Qu Wanyue's firsthand account couldn't be false. Moreover, she blended into the environment using a Chameleon card, secretly infiltrating General Lin's house. No one would have discovered her, so there's no possibility of her deliberately acting.
Having nightmares and calling out "Yan Yan's" name, yet not recognizing her daughter during the day? The most likely explanation is that Zhang Shaohua is feigning madness but can't control his dreams.
Xiao Lou looked at Qu Wanyue and asked, " Zhang Shaohua has been staying at home all day without going out. Do General Lin and Lin Yan come to see her often?"
Qu Wanyue said, " General Lin rarely goes home, but Lin Yan comes to see her mother every afternoon, takes her outside to sunbathe, serves her tea and water, and massages her shoulders and back. This girl is very filial."
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang exchanged a glance and simultaneously came to the same conclusion: " Lin Yan doesn't know she's a clone?"
Qu Wanyue said, "I can't tell she's a clone. She really cares about her mother; it doesn't seem like she's acting."
Xiao Lou thought about it carefully and said, " The culture medium developed after the Noahs Ark Project was restarted may have successfully controlled the growth rate of cells. For example, allowing a cell to grow to the size of a 5-year-old or a 30-year-old cell in a few days?"
Tang Ci walked over and said, "Suppose they added insect-like fungal mats to the culture medium and freely controlled the cell growth rate, then that would explain why the General Lin family clones could appear at the same time. General Lin was 30 years old at the time, and his daughter was 5 years old, so the clones made had to match the age characteristics of one being 30 and the other being 5."
Lu Jiuchuan stroked his chin and said, "So, although the cells were taken at the same time, one catalyst was used more, causing it to grow to 30 years old in a short period, while the other grew to 5 years old. Then they were taken out of the culture medium and became a family?"
Xiao Lou nodded and said, "That's right. In this way, Lin Yan has stayed with her parents since she was 5 years old. Even if her parents are clones, she will develop a deep affection for them. She probably won't know that she is a clone."
Yu Hanjiang added, " General Lin probably doesn't know either. The real General Lin is dead, so this clone will definitely obey His Majesty's every command. In this way, no one can shake His Majesty's position."
Lu Jiuchuan crossed his arms and pondered for a moment before saying, "Among the generals in the military, Lin Zecheng has the highest prestige and the best relationship with His Majesty. That's why, when the Queen was still alive, she arranged for the prince to be engaged to General Lin's daughter."
Xiao Lou turned to Qu Wanyue: " Has Lin Yan met with His Highness the Prince recently?"
"Yes. She went to the palace yesterday afternoon, saying that His Highness the Prince had invited her to dinner. She returned home at 9:30 pm and happily told Zhang Shaohua about it. But her mother, Zhang Shaohua, remained expressionless and unresponsive. Lin Yan muttered to herself a lot, praising His Highness for being gentle, gentlemanly, and kind to her," Qu Wanyue said.
"Your Highness?" Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang asked in unison.
"Yes, Long Sen went home on leave yesterday. He told me that His Majesty had not mentioned the prince's escape to anyone. What's even stranger is that he saw ' Xiao Lou ' enter Gemini Palace yesterday while he was patrolling the palace. The guards at Gemini Palace said that His Highness the prince has been staying at Gemini Palace to study recently."
"It seems that after we escaped, His Majesty simply had Clone replace me." Xiao Lou didn't know how to evaluate this emperor. From the fact that he made 5-year-old Xiao Lou participate in that cruel "natural selection" back then, it can be seen that he does not have any favoritism towards Xiao Lou just because Xiao Lou is the child born after the queen carried him for ten months.
If Xiao Lou had died in that selection, His Majesty probably wouldn't have shed a single tear.
Anyway, there are so many children who look exactly like Xiao Lou. To His Majesty, all clones are his sons; there's no distinction between biological and non-biological offspring. If one runs away, there's always another.
"Perhaps the death of the First Prince triggered him. This Emperor has long been psychologically twisted. Otherwise, he wouldn't have agreed to the Noahs Ark Project." Yu Hanjiang looked at Xiao Lou and whispered, "This plan cannot be made public after all. He doesn't dare to approach you openly. Pretending nothing happened and having clone replace you is the best way."
"Hmm, it's also possible that he'll secretly send someone to find me and then kill us to silence us." Xiao Lou took a deep breath and said, " Teacher Qu, you continue to keep an eye on Lin Yan's side. If there's any trouble, contact CEO Shao."
"Understood." Qu Wanyue nodded to everyone. She spotted Liu Qiao, Gui Yuanzhang, and Lao Mo, and exclaimed happily, "You found Xiao Liu and the others?"
"Yes, they're all in Merfolk Clan. Xiao Liu is the Mermaid Princess," Xiao Lou said.
"No wonder you all turned into mermaids and grew tails. So Xiao Liu and the others are from the Merfolk Clan." Qu Wanyue's gaze swept over her teammates. "By the way, where's Sister Huaying?"
" Sister Huaying, she…" Ye Qi was about to speak when Xiao Lou suddenly interrupted him, " Huaying has another mission. I sent her to the Azure Empire palace to investigate my sister's connection. She will be back to join us in the next day or two."
"That's good. Take care, and feel free to contact me if you have any problems." Qu Wanyue ended the video call.
Ye Qi was very puzzled— Chu Huaying was clearly a wanted Space Pirate, waiting to pick them up in her Dark Night Starship near Azure Planet, so why did Professor Xiao suddenly say that she went to the Imperial Palace to investigate Princess Xiao Rou, and that she would meet up with everyone the day after tomorrow? Wasn't this blatant lying?
Xiao Lou must have had his reasons for saying that, and Ye Qi, of course, wouldn't expose them, so he wisely shut his mouth and backed down.
He went behind Shao Qingge.
Beside them, Lu Jiuchuan and Tang Ci exchanged a glance, seeing a hint of doubt in each other's eyes, but quickly calmed down.
Xiao Lou approached Liu Qiao and said gently, "Little Liu, it's been more than two hours since Senior Gui and Lao Mo risked their lives to rescue you. That clone of the Merfolk Clan should have already discovered that you were rescued. If he calls on the people of the Merfolk Clan to come looking for you and say that we have kidnapped the princess, we are outnumbered and may not be a match for the Merfolk Clan."
Liu Qiao nodded: "Yes, the Merfolk Clan has hundreds of thousands of people, and their attack power is comparable to that of a giant whale. If we really fight, we certainly won't have the upper hand. Besides, isn't the secret chamber supposed to only be considered cleared if I inherit the throne? Directly going to war with the Merfolk Clan isn't the best option. Professor Xiao, what are your thoughts?"
Xiao Lou thought for a moment and said, "I want to give you a task that requires you to take a risk."
Liu Qiao was taken aback: "What mission? Am I going alone?"
Xiao Lou said, "Of course I won't let you go on the adventure alone. It would be best if Lao Mo and Senior Gui went together as well. The three of you should first explore the palace and try to find the laboratory that researches clones. Once we find the way, we can then take action, which will save a lot of time."
Yu Hanjiang nodded in agreement: " The transformation effect of Mermaid Princess can only last for 8 hours. We need to find as many clues as possible within the limited time. We can't just wander around in circles in the maze. We need to scout out the way in advance so that we can finish this quickly."
Xiao Lou looked at Gui Yuanzhang and Lao Mo and said, "The three of you are originally from the Merfolk Clan, so you are very adapted to the deep-sea environment. Moreover, Lao Mo has the best sense of direction among us. Once you figure out the location of the laboratory, we will go in together."
Old Mo readily agreed: "No problem. I've already explored half of the path to the Mermaid Royal Palace. It's dawn now, and most of the Merfolk Clan will be asleep after daybreak, which will make it easier for us to move around."
Xiao Lou said, "Let's wait until after midnight when the card skills refresh before going. I'll place a Peach Blossom Spring here to meet you then. If you encounter any danger, I'll teleport you back directly... I must ensure everyone's safety."
Old Mo nodded understandingly: " Professor Xiao is indeed very thoughtful."
Everyone had only slept for less than an hour last night and was completely exhausted. Ye Qi's stomach was even rumbling. Ye Qi scratched his head sheepishly, "I didn't eat much last night, cough, I'm a little hungry."
Xiao Lou smiled and glanced at Xiao Ye, saying, "Actually, I'm hungry too. Why don't we all eat something first? We have other plans for this afternoon."
The supply card can get you chocolate, milk, instant noodles, and mineral water, but you definitely won't be full eating only these all day. Luckily, this deserted island is covered in vegetation, so you should be able to find some food.
Yu Hanjiang said, " CEO Shao and Xiao Ye, come with me to pick fruit and see if we can hunt some wild game. Your Teleportation Cards and my Lightness Skill Card will be useful in case there are dangerous wild animals on this deserted island, so we can escape."
Shao Qingge and Ye Qi nodded, then turned and quickly followed Yu Hanjiang away.
Xiao Lou then asked, "Ninth Brother, do you know how to catch fish?"
Lu Jiuchuan raised his chin: "You've come to the right person. I studied wilderness survival when I was in military school. Catching a few fish is a piece of cake—of course, provided there are fish to catch here."
Xiao Lou walked to the beach, looked at the clear seawater, and said, "There should be edible fish in the shallow sea. Let's go take a look."
Lu Jiuchuan waved to Tang Ci: " Xiao Tang, let's go together."
Xiao Lou followed, saying, "My Compass can be used to make fishing nets, maybe it can help." He looked at the remaining three and said, "By the way, Lao Mo, Xiao Liu, and Senior Gui, could you help me gather some branches to start a fire later?"
The three nodded and said, "Okay."
A moment later, Yu Hanjiang came over carrying a rabbit and a pheasant. Ye Qi, holding a lot of green berries, said excitedly, "These berries shouldn't be poisonous. I just saw some monkeys eating them. Also, Captain Yu shot a pheasant and a rabbit. His marksmanship is amazing, one shot, one kill!"
Just then, Xiao Lou returned. Hearing Ye Qi's words, he asked with concern, "Did you use a silencer? The sound of the gunshot might attract the mermaids nearby."
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "Don't worry."
Xiao Lou and his two companions also had a good haul. Lu Jiuchuan and Tang Ci each carried several fish. Lu Jiuchuan said, "We caught nine fish, one for each of us."
Ye Qi suddenly looked at Uncle Mo and asked a strange question: "By the way, Uncle Mo, are the Merfolk Clan carnivores or herbivores? When you three eat fish, don't you feel like you're eating your own kind?"
Old Mo sighed and rubbed his forehead: "Marine life is basically about big fish eating small fish, so they're not really of the same kind. Merfolk Clan are omnivorous, eating marine plants, as well as small fish and shrimp."
Ye Qi was relieved and handed a fish to Lao Mo.
Everyone has now regained their human legs, and Lao Mo, Gui Yuanzhang, and Liu Qiao can tuck their tails away on land. The group sat around a tree branch, and Xiao Lou started a fire with [ Bai Juyi ]. The brothers Yu Hanjiang and Lu Jiuchuan were very skilled at roasting wild game, and soon a delicious aroma filled the air.
Shao Qingge said with a smile, "Our team seems to rarely go hungry."
Ye Qi stared longingly at the grilled fish in front of him, rubbing his hands together greedily, and said, "After all, whether it flies in the sky, runs on the ground, or swims in the water, as long as it's edible, you guys always have a way to get it and grill it!"
Xiao Lou chuckled, "Xiao Ye, you make it sound like we're here to rob a secret room."
Yu Hanjiang handed the grilled fish to Xiao Lou and whispered, "Try it."
Xiao Lou took it, took a bite, and couldn't help but exclaim, "It's so delicious! Xiao Liu, why don't you try some?"
Liu Qiao said with a bitter face, "We Merfolk Clan usually eat fish raw, we don't really like it when it's cooked..."
Gui Yuanzhang said, " Give us the remaining three of a Kind."
Old Mo scratched the back of his head and said, "The scene of eating raw fish is a bit bloody. Why don't we go eat it over there?"
Ye Qi asked curiously, "How is it bloody? I've eaten sashimi at Japanese restaurants before."
Old Mo: "Are you sure you want to see this?"
Ye Qi laughed and said, "Yeah, isn't it just about tearing it apart piece by piece to eat?"
The next moment, Old Mo suddenly opened his mouth wide, revealing a large number of sharp fangs that could instantly bite through a human's neck! His mouth opened to the size of his entire face, and Ye Qi's vision was filled only with that terrifying, blood-red maw. Then, Old Mo put a fish directly into his mouth.
Ye Qi stared in disbelief, and the grilled fish in his hand fell to the ground with a "thud".
Shao Qingge, both amused and exasperated, put his arm around Ye Qi's shoulder: "I had a feeling something was wrong, but you insisted on seeing it."
Old Mo swallowed the whole fish with a "whoosh," then closed his mouth, his facial features returning to normal. He laughed and said, "Did I scare you? Don't be fooled by the fact that mermaids look like humans from the waist up. They are actually very ferocious animals, even more terrifying than sharks. Sharks are just ferocious, they have no intelligence. Merfolk Clan, besides having sharp teeth, are also the most intelligent species among marine creatures."
Ye Qi was terrified: "A mouth the size of a face, could it bite a human's head off?"
Gui Yuanzhang said solemnly, "Therefore, everyone should not rush into Mermaid Royal Palace without being absolutely certain. Professor Xiao's idea is correct; we must be fully prepared."
******