Silence fell once again in the room as the table was covered with Morse code banknotes.
The clues left by Shao Qingge's father left everyone with mixed feelings. Unexpectedly, the Noahs Ark Project, which started 25 years ago, caused the deaths of hundreds of cloned babies within six months, forcing the project to be terminated.
If that's the case, why was the plan restarted when Xiao Lou was 5 years old?
Why would Old Mr. Shao, who felt uneasy during the first plan and even secretly destroyed Shao Qingge's specimen, agree to launch the second plan and sign the proposal?
Less than two years after the plan was implemented, all those who signed it died due to various "accidents," except for the only survivor, Professor Zhang Shaohua. Why did the boss behind it suddenly kill these people to silence them?
These are the key issues that need to be investigated next.
Xiao Lou carefully organized his thoughts and speculated: "From the clues left by Mr. Shao, we can guess that the original intention of the Noahs Ark Project was to provide humanity with a 'backup healer' to deal with various diseases that may arise in the future. Once the original body falls ill, the clone's organs, bone marrow, and blood can be directly used by the original body. They may stay in the petri dish for their entire lives, without social interaction or self-awareness, just like flowers grown in a greenhouse and isolated from the outside world."
Tang Ci looked at Xiao Lou and said, "I'm used to backing up my computer data using an external hard drive to prevent data loss if my computer gets infected with a virus. Is this kind of cloning equivalent to backing up human data? If the original data is corrupted, the backup data can be used to repair it, is my understanding correct?"
Xiao Lou nodded: "That's right. The backup clones have no self-awareness and only grow in the petri dish. They can't speak and can't even understand human language. Such clones cannot be called 'humans'; they are just a bunch of experimental data."
Shao Qingge crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes slightly as he said, "So, that's why my father agreed to the first plan and wanted to make a data backup for me? It was only after discovering that the scientists had copied more than a dozen specimens that he became alarmed."
Yu Hanjiang frowned thoughtfully: "The first experiment failed because of a problem with the petri dish; none of the babies produced survived. So, what triggered the second plan? Since they dared to restart it, they must have improved this cloning technology, at least ensuring the survival of the clones and that they are the same age as the original?"
Xiao Lou said, "If it were just that the catalytic technology had matured, allowing the clones to grow rapidly to the same age as the originals, that shouldn't be enough for the mastermind to kill all the participants to silence them. There must be another reason."
Ye Qi boldly speculated, "Could it be that a clone developed self-awareness and escaped from the laboratory?"
Ye Qi's teammates were stunned for a moment and turned to look at him.
Xiao Ye scratched her head and said seriously, "Isn't that how it always goes in science fiction movies? The clone escapes from the lab, comes back for revenge, and kills all the scientists who treated him like a guinea pig."
Shao Qingge chuckled and patted his hair: "You've seen quite a lot of movies."
Ye Qi was a little embarrassed: "I just guessed."
Unexpectedly, Xiao Lou agreed with Ye Qi's guess, saying, "Xiao Ye's guess makes sense. It's possible that clone escaped from the lab or took away confidential documents, leading to the complete silencing of the Lover."
He paused, then said, "But I think it's unlikely that the clone would come back to take revenge and kill all the Lovers mentioned in the proposal. The causes of death of these people—car accidents, sacrifices on the front lines, laboratory poisoning, falls from heights, etc.—are all reasonable 'accidents' on the surface. The murderer must be very powerful to be able to create so many accidents."
Ye Qi nodded in agreement: " Professor Xiao is right. The clone doesn't have that much power. It killed nine people without leaving any loopholes. There must be a big boss behind it."
Yu Hanjiang looked into Xiao Lou's eyes and asked in a low voice, "Do you have anyone you suspect?"
Xiao Lou smiled helplessly: "It's pretty much what you thought."
"Your Majesty?" Yu Hanjiang felt that the most suspicious person was His Majesty.
"Hmm." Xiao Lou agreed, saying softly, "If it was an accident orchestrated by my father, he could have done it flawlessly. Moreover, with three princes cloning in the palace, he would have had a motive to silence all those involved."
There was a few seconds of silence in the room.
Shao Qingge leaned back on the sofa and said regretfully, "Unfortunately, of the people mentioned in the autographs, only Zhang Shaohua is still alive. We can't just go directly to His Majesty to ask, can we?"
Lu Jiuchuan suddenly interjected, " Will there be any progress on Qu Wanyue's side? Isn't she very familiar with Lin Yan? Maybe she can get close to Lin Yan and find out something from the survivor, Professor Zhang Shaohua."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shao Qingge's communicator suddenly lit up; it was a message from Qu Wanyue.
To avoid being tracked, Xiao Lou, Yu Hanjiang, Lu Jiuchuan, and Tang Ci left their communicators at Capital Star before teleporting to Peach Blossom Spring. Qu Wanyue will contact Shao Qingge directly with any updates.
A video, recorded by Qu Wanyue, was sent through the communicator.
The scene shows the backyard of a large villa. A woman with short, ear-length hair is sitting in a wheelchair. Her face has few wrinkles, and her features are delicate. She is a woman with a lot of poise. However, her gaze is calm as still water, as if she has no soul. Her eyes are quietly staring at the teacup on the stone table, revealing no emotion.
Zhang Shaohua should be in his fifties this year.
He still looks very young.
Lin Yan walked over and squatted down beside her, saying softly, "Mom, I brought you some oranges that you like. Would you like a few?"
The woman turned around and looked at Lin Yan as if she were a stranger.
Lin Yan smiled and peeled an orange for her, then held a segment to her lips: "Mom, have a taste."
The woman in the wheelchair opened her mouth like a puppet and ate the orange without saying a word.
Lin Yan fed her an orange and then said, "Dad has been quite busy lately and hasn't been able to visit you in a long time. Mom, please don't blame him. He was thinking of you when he left today and asked me to spend more time with you..."
She kept talking to herself, but her mother remained unresponsive.
Lin Yan's voice choked up, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Seeing her cry, Zhang Shaohua gently reached out and touched her head, softly asking, "Who are you? Why are you crying?"
A gust of wind blew through the courtyard, scattering the woman's hair. Lin Yan stood up, quickly wiped away her tears, covered her with a blanket, and pushed the wheelchair, saying, "It's getting windy. I'll take you back to rest."
The recording ended after the two people entered the house.
The six people looked at each other, bewildered.
Shao Qingge's expression was complicated: "So, Zhang Shaohua survived because she lost her memory?"
Immediately after, Qu Wanyue sent another message: "I went to see Lin Yan this afternoon. After we finished talking, I pretended to go out and sneaked into her house using a Chameleon card. They have a secret backyard that is always locked, and Mrs. Lin is being held captive there. There are rumors that Mrs. Lin is in poor health and has retired early to recuperate at home, but I think she is not in poor health, but rather in poor mental health."
Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou exchanged a glance.
Yu Hanjiang had previously speculated that since the person behind the scenes wanted to kill Noahs Ark Project's confidante, they wouldn't have left Zhang Shaohua as the only threat. So that's it— Zhang Shaohua became the sole survivor because she had forgotten everything, not even recognizing her own daughter.
Yu Hanjiang walked over to Shao Qingge, took the communicator, and quickly typed: "Confirm she has amnesia?"
Qu Wanyue said, " Lin Yan spent an afternoon with her, and I observed from the side the whole time. It didn't seem like acting. Moreover, according to my investigation, this Mrs. Lin has not appeared in public for nearly 18 years."
Yu Hanjiang asked, "What's His Majesty's reaction?"
Qu Wanyue replied, " Long Sen is in the palace, and the signal is blocked so he can't talk to me. But Capital Star is calm, and the troops stationed here haven't made any moves. His Majesty may not have discovered that the prince escaped yet."
Yu Hanjiang said, "Keep an eye on Lin Yan's family's movements. You two be careful."
Qu Wanyue: "Understood, I will report back when there is progress."
After cutting off the communication, Yu Hanjiang frowned: "It seems that Zhang Shaohua's side can't find any useful clues for the time being. But there's a problem that I've been feeling is not right."
Xiao Lou, who was connected to him via Telepathic Connection, quickly guessed: " Lin Yan?"
Yu Hanjiang opened the Morse code clues he had just translated, pointed to one of them and said: "The experiment must be kept secret. The human cells should ideally be provided by a few of us who know the lover... Professor Zhang used her daughter Lin Yan's cells."
Lin Yan's cells.
She and Xiao Lou were born in the same year. In the first project, the clones cultured from Lin Yan's cells naturally all died. So, did she participate in the second project?
Thinking about this, Shao Qingge said, " Zhang Shaohua is a professor at the Academy of Sciences. In the second experiment, she will probably continue to add her daughter's cells to the experimental group. So theoretically speaking, Lin Yan should also have some surviving clones, right?"
Tang Ci quickly looked up information on Zhang Shaohua, Lin Zecheng, and Lin Yan, and enlarged the virtual LCD screen in front of everyone: " Professor Zhang Shaohua graduated from the Imperial Academy of Life Sciences with a doctorate in genetics. She married General Lin Zecheng in Star Calendar 2973 and gave birth to their daughter Lin Yan in 2975. In 2981, a year after the Noahs Ark Project was restarted, she suddenly fell seriously ill and could no longer work. The Imperial Academy of Sciences granted her early permission to go home and recuperate."
Her serious illness is definitely not simple; the so-called "recuperation" is actually house arrest. Her husband, General Lin, is certainly not innocent either; he might be a knowledgeable participant in the genetic project, just like His Majesty.
Now, she doesn't even recognize her own daughter, so it won't be easy to get clues out of her.
Yu Hanjiang frowned and said, "Currently, apart from Old Mr. Shao who sensed the danger in advance and secretly left a safe, the others who knew about the lover were either killed or suffered amnesia, making it difficult to find out exactly what happened back then."
In the other escape rooms, Yu Hanjiang's identity is mostly that of a police officer, who can arrest and interrogate suspects.
But he couldn't very well interrogate His Majesty and General Lin in this secret room, could he? The suspect was of special status and held a high position of power, and they couldn't act rashly without sufficient evidence.
Xiao Lou carefully sorted through the current clues in his mind and said, "Now we only have two breakthroughs. One is Lin Yan's side. If her mother can remember anything, that would be great. The second is that my sister Xiao Rou might know something."
Xiao Lou always felt that what the princess said to him on the day of her wedding was not simple.
—Xiaolou, your older sister is going to marry someone from a very far away place. You must take good care of yourself, grow up quickly, and come to see me when you have the chance.
On the surface, it seems like something a family member would casually say when parting ways.
The question is, why did she say this to Xiao Lou and not to the other two princes in the palace?
The year she married, Noahs Ark Project had already started its second phase, and the clone was definitely successful. Did she know the prince had a clone? As a prince...
Can the older sister of the child distinguish between a replica and the real thing?
Xiao Lou gets a splitting headache whenever he thinks about his memories of being five years old.
Seeing that his face was pale, Yu Hanjiang immediately went to his side, gently put her arm around his shoulder, and said softly, "Don't think about your headache. When we get to Azure Planet, we'll try to contact your sister and find out her stance."
Xiao Lou gave a soft "hmm" and stopped thinking.
Just then, a gentle female voice suddenly came over the loudspeaker: "Dear passengers, our spacecraft is about to pass by the β-Helix Nebula. You are welcome to go to the observation deck on the 3rd floor to enjoy this beautiful and spectacular cosmic spectacle..."
All six of them were stunned.
Ye Qi couldn't help but complain: "Does the interstellar spaceship even have tourist attraction announcements?"
Back when he traveled to university by train, the announcer would introduce the famous landmarks of each provincial capital city. Those distant memories stirred a pang of nostalgia in Ye Qi. He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked out at the view.
It must be said that the luxury suite that CEO Shao booked was indeed worth the price. The view was unobstructed, and he could clearly see the spiral nebula in the universe. In the distance, layers of nebulae rotated and intertwined, forming a huge purple vortex. Compared to the nebula, human spaceships seemed incredibly small.
Ye Qi exclaimed, "It's truly magnificent! I'd only ever seen spiral nebulae like this in photos taken with telescopes before. I never imagined I'd be able to see a cosmic nebula so close up one day!"
Upon hearing his words, his teammates also went over to look at the spectacular view outside the window.
Before reaching Azure Planet, the investigation could not continue, so everyone had to take a break and relax.
After the spaceship passed through the Helix Nebula, it was already 10 p.m.
Shao Qingge said, "Let's rest first. Anyway, we can't leave the spaceship, so we need to conserve our energy to deal with what's coming next. How should we arrange the three bedrooms?"
Ye Qi enthusiastically replied, "I'll be in the same room as Professor Xiao."
This guy was clearly a die-hard fan of Xiao Lou. Yu Hanjiang naturally disagreed and took Xiao Lou directly to a bedroom, casually saying, "Go sleep with your dad."
Ye Qi: "..."
Lu Jiuchuan ignored Xiao Ye and took Tang Ci to the next room, leaving with a smile and a "Goodnight".
Ye Qi looked at Shao Qingge with a conflicted expression.
Shao Qingge walked up to him with a smile, leaned down, stared into his eyes and asked, "What, don't you want to sleep with Dad? I remember when you were little, you loved snuggling in Dad's arms."
Ye Qi immediately retorted, "Nonsense! I don't remember that!"
He actually remembered. He was already over five years old when he was adopted. Perhaps because he grew up in an orphanage, he had no concept of "home" and no sense of security. When he arrived in the new environment, Ye Qi couldn't sleep at all, so Shao Qingge took the initiative to carry him to his bedroom and sleep with him.
Many times when Ye Qi woke up in the morning, he found himself nestled in Shao Qingge's arms, using him as a pillow.
It's so embarrassing to think about it. Guardian must have a grudge against him to make him Shao Qingge's adopted son and give him so many childhood memories...
Seeing Ye Qi's ears gradually turn red, Shao Qingge's heart softened, and he reached out to touch his head: "Don't think too much. In this secret room, I am your father. What's so shameful about you holding me to sleep when you were little? Not to mention holding me to sleep, you seem to have wet the bed when you were little."
Ye Qi's face turned completely red: "...Can you please stop talking!"
Shao Qingge chuckled softly: "Hmm, I won't say."
I'll get it back double later. Of course, Ye Qi will use a different name then, snuggling in his arms.
******