Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Zhang Zian suddenly thought of Cathy’s Abyssinian cat breeding manual. The contents within the manual were very difficult and technical. It made him regret returning all his biology knowledge to his junior high school teacher. Zhang Zian felt that Cathy sometimes deliberately took a longer detour in her breeding process when she could have taken a shortcut. Much like the mathematical sum of 1+(1×1-1×1), Cathy deliberately calculated the numerals in the brackets despite that it was absolutely fine to ignore them.
It was only at this moment that he realized how complex the genetic codes for cats’ coat colors were. It was not as simple as 1-1=0. It would be silly of him to try to find shortcuts.
Hans took out a small U disk from his pocket and handed it to Zhang Zian. “This is the information your professor asked for. You can take it to him since I just so happened to bump into you here. Also, send him my regards. I mean, if I ever head down to China for some archaeological dig, I may need him to look out for me too.”
“Sure thing. No problem at all.” Zhang Zian took the U disk. He watched as the other archaeologists placed the mummified cat in a sealed box and locked it in the trunk of the car.
He thought that he could observe, on the spot, how DNA was extracted. At the same time, he was curious as to what the mummies beneath the linen looked like. This would definitely help when he needed to brag about his work, yet it seemed that nothing was going to happen, and all of the work would be carried out after shipment.
Hans saw Zhang Zian’s face and smiled. “The process of extracting DNA from bones more than thousands of years old is very troublesome,” he said. “Whatever DNA remaining in the mummies is often stored inside the bones and needs to be carefully extracted in the laboratory. We do this by freezing the bones in a liquid nitrogen environment before grinding out a tiny bit for testing. The high temperature generated by the grinding has the potential to destroy DNA, so everything must be done in an ice-cold environment. If we get lucky, after all that work, we might be able to get a small piece of DNA. We then have to put these different pieces together so that we can get a complete strand of DNA for further research.”
Zhang Zian listened and thought to himself that archaeological research was indeed tedious. Those who had no patience would probably not continue in this line of work.
Suddenly, some of the locals dug something up and called Hans over to take a look. Zhang Zian saw that they were very busy and decided not to disturb them any further. In addition, he noticed that Fina was no longer in a state of ecstasy and was back to its usual calm self. He prepared to leave and said his goodbyes to Hans.
“What were you doing earlier?” Fina asked fiercely as soon as she appeared
“Talking to these foreigners.” Zhang Zian pointed towards Hans, directing the responsibility away from himself.
Fina was not interested in those people. She threw them a casual glance and continued her line of questioning. “Talking to them the whole time? What happened before then?”
Zhang Zian innocently lifted up his mobile phone. “Before, I was browsing Pinduoduo. The items on display were simply too attractive…”
“And I can prove that’s what he did! In his search history, there’s a huge catalogue of colored silk…” Richard added. “It’s a pity that he didn’t expect men to be the ones wearing silk now!”
“Actually, I only wanted to search for fish-flavored pork,” Zhang Zian clarified.
Fina was not easily distracted by their efforts to change the topic and asked coldly, “So have you heard anything?”
“No.” Zhang Zian and Richard replied in unison, shaking their heads with perfect synchronization.
“Really?” Fina asked.
“Really! We hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil, and didn’t see evil move!”
“Correct!”
Zhang Zian and Richard spoke in tandem.
It was then that they discovered that the other elfins had been slowly getting farther away from them. Only the two of them were left to deal with Fina’s anger.
Fina’s face grew a little darker. “If you dare lie to me…”
“Then bury Richard alive as a sacrifice!”
“Then have the snow lion castrate him!”
Even when betraying one another, Zhang Zian and Richard were still in sync.
They knew why Fina refused to let up on her line of questioning. It was because she did not wish to expose her most vulnerable side to others. Even when exposed, she wished for no one to see it because she felt that it would greatly hurt her dignity. So in order to avoid being silenced, they could only make the same choice.
Fina snorted and looked at them with a face full of suspicion. “You better be speaking the truth. Otherwise, if I find out that you are lying…”
“It’s absolutely true!” Zhang Zian and Richard tried their best to give Fina innocent looks. They also sensed the opportunity to take on various personal oaths that were highly detrimental. Only with these efforts did Fina decide to, albeit reluctantly, drop her questioning.
“Well, I shall believe the both of you.”
Both Zhang Zian and Richard heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that their worthless lives were saved. They looked at each other, and although it was mere moments ago that both had betrayed each other, they had looks of appreciation for one another. They were indeed great Chinese comrades.
Like the Chinese saying that if, during the questioning just now, either one of them had sung a different tune, they would’ve both been outed and could await a painful death. Therefore, the only option for both of them was to flatly refuse to speak the truth.
The other elfins, seeing that the crisis had passed, ran back briskly, all carrying innocent looks on their faces.
Zhang Zian looked down on them for running away at the first sign of trouble. He was, after all, their master, and therefore their leader. Should the followers let their leader be the first to go instead?
However, he knew that this would not be something he could speak of outright. Alas, he and Richard would have to swallow their anger and keep quiet about it.
“I overheard that both of you are you going over to the western desert,” Fina suddenly said
“Ah? That is correct.” Zhang Zian took a moment to react. Up until now, Fina had not taken an interest in his scientific experiments and returned to Egypt purely for sightseeing.
“The western desert is highly inaccessible. Where exactly are you going?” Fina asked again.
“About that…” Zhang Zian scratched his head. “It seems that there is no final decision. We may cut through it, walk past it, or take a winding detour. The specific route depends on Professor Wei Kang’s arrangement.”
“Oh.” Fina nodded quietly.
Zhang Zian paused to analyze the situation. Fina would not be asking for no reason. Zhang Zian decided that he would need to be the one to figure out what her actual intentions were, so he asked, “Is there somewhere you want to go?”
Fina took her time before shaking her head. “There is nowhere special that I would like to go.”
Zhang Zian didn’t reply. It was obviously an insincere response. Fina had lived in Egypt for so long. How could it be that she had no special memories of any places?
Whether or not one could curry favor with his lord depended entirely on his ability to guess what the lord’s true intentions were. In many cases, subjects spoke without much thinking. Such examples included, “My lord, you have worked for half an hour today. You should take more rest!” or “For the sake of the country’s long-term stability, you need to have more children. Why don’t you choose a few beautiful girls and bring them into the palace?” The emperor would usually half-heartedly agree with these lousy suggestions in the hopes that his decisions would appease his citizens.
These efforts were nothing but part of a devious plan!
