Lunch ended and everyone instinctively felt a strong sense of sleepiness. After all, they only slept for one or two hours last night and were seriously lacking sleep. Seeing his teammates yawn out of sleepiness, Xiao Lou told Old Mo, “Old Mo, use the Lazy Sofa card.”
Mo Xuemin took out the Lazy Sofa card from his card pack. “Come on, let’s take turns sitting.”
The lazy sofa could instantly eliminate tiredness and rejuvenate people. It was used to strengthen their spirits quickly because of the time constraints. Xiao Lou had arranged tasks for the afternoon.
Everyone took turns sitting on the sofa and soon felt refreshed.
“We have to go back to the Azure Empire and ask my sister for help.” Xiao Lou took some bone fragments out of his pocket. “I took a small piece from each of the 10 skeletons in the shipwreck just now. I want to go to the hospital’s lab to extract DNA from the bones and test the genetic fragments to identify these 10 people.”
Ye Qi was curious. “These people have been dead for 20 years. Can DNA be extracted from the bones?”
“Yes. The half-life of DNA is 521 years. Every 521 years, only half of the chemical bonds between DNA will be broken. DNA can be extracted from bones stoned in ancient tombs for hundreds of years. 20 years is nothing.”
“Great. If the extracted DNA can confirm the identities of the deceased, we can unlock a large part of the secrets of the Noah’s Ark plan.” Lu Jiuchuan smiled at Xiao Lou. “It is really convenient to have a forensic doctor.”
“I just hope that the gene bank of the empire has saved everyone’s genetic data.” Xiao Lou said. “If Mr Tang can invade the empire’s gene bank and retrieve the data, we can compare it to the identities of the 10 deceased.”
Tang Ci nodded. “I don’t know the encryption level of the gene bank but I will try my best.”
“Get ready to go.” Xiao Lou glanced at Liu Qiao’s group of three. “You should also go together with us. We can meet Huaying and see if we can get any clues from her.”
“Okay.” Liu Qiao’s group of three also followed.
They could jump directly into the sea to swim toward the shore. Xiao Lou and the others could only use the light footwork card and teleportation cards to move forward.
The displacement ability of these cards was excellent. Everyone soon arrived at the small fishing village. Liu Qiao’s group of three immediately put away their tails and walked on both legs like normal humans.
The suspension car that Shao Qingge had bought previously had been sucked in the whirlpool and turned to scrap. Fortunately, he wasn’t lacking in money. He bought a new car and drove it. As they passed near the palace, Xiao Lou pressed on his earpiece and spoke softly, “Sister, can you hear me?”
The effective range of the team’s Voice Headset was 10 kilometers. Last time, Xiao Lou left an earpiece with his sister for contact. At this time, Xiao Rou was eating in the palace. She pretended to rub her ears and pressed quietly on the bump of the earpiece. Then she asked the maid next to her, “What are we eating tonight?”
Xiao Lou knew she had heard it and quickly said, “Sister, I would like you to ask Dr Edwin for help. He should have genetic identification equipment at his hospital? I need to extract some DNA from bones to identify the genetic sequence.”
Inside the palace, the maid took out a recipe. “Princess, the doctor said you need vitamin supplements. This dinner recipe is nutritionally balanced. Do you need to check if it should be changed?”
Xiao Rou smiled. “That’s fine. I’m a bit tired. I want to take a shower and then sleep for a bit.”
The maid answered, “Yes, Princess. Call me if you need anything.”
A few seconds later, Xiao Rou came to the bathroom. There was the sound of a lot of water rushing from the headset. Apparently, she had turned on the shower to the maximum in order to disrupt any eavesdropping device. She pressed on the earpiece and said in a low voice, “Xiao Lou, what’s the matter? Where are the bones from? Is someone dead?”
There was the sound of the shower but Xiao Lou still heard her clearly. He explained, “I found some skeletons at the bottom of the sea and we are suspecting they escaped from the empire. I need to determine the identity of these people. Sister, can you contact Dr Edwin and ask him to help?”
Xiao Rou spoke softly, “Yes, Dr Edwin is on duty this afternoon. He is an obstetrician. Find a woman to pretend to be pregnant and go to him for a consultation. Tell him I sent you and he will find a way to help.”
Xiao Lou answered, “Thank you, Sister.”
Xiao Rou paused before continuing, “Father never mentioned the matter of you escaping from Capital Star to me. There are also no movements from Prince Herman’s side. I don’t know what Father means… In short, you must be careful and take good care of yourself.”
“I know. Sister, you should also take care.”
After the call, Xiao Lou looked at Liu Qiao. “Xiao Liu, you are the only girl here. Later, you will pretend to be pregnant. We have to go to the hospital to see an obstetrician.”
Liu Qiao nodded. “Okay.”
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang once again used the Fake Face card to pretend to be two ordinary passersby. Their identity was Liu Qiao’s family while Liu Qiao was the patient. The others would wait nearby.
The trio registered at the hospital and it was soon their turn.
Liu Qiao walked to the clinic. Dr Edwin glanced at the young girl and asked, “Are you pregnant? Is this your first visit?”
Liu Qiao calmly answered, “Yes, I came for a pregnancy check-up.”
The doctor looked at the two men behind her. He was just about to have the family members go out when Xiao Lou suddenly walked to the doctor and told him in a low voice, “Princess Xiao Rou had us come. We are the two interns from before. Please help.”
Edwin responded quickly and smiled. “Okay, the patient and her family should come with me.”
He took the three people to a consulting room and had the interns go out. Once there was no one left, Xiao Lou explained his intention. “Professor, I want to borrow the equipment of the genetic identification center.”
Edwin frowned. “You can’t get in the identification center now… they will leave work on time at 5:30 in the afternoon. I will find a way to take you there at that time. Wear the clothes of an intern like you did last time.”
Yu Hanjiang told him, “Thank you, Professor.”
***
At 5:30 in the afternoon, Professor Edwin’s consultation time ended. He brought three ‘interns’ in white coats to the identification center. He quickly entered the laboratory and locked the door.
The equipment in the future world wasn’t the same as the one known by Xiao Lou. Fortunately, with the help of Professor Edwin. Xiao Lou successfully extracted DNA from the bones and used the instruments to analyze the gene sequences.
The identification process of the high-tech equipment was fast. In a flash, 10 detailed gene sequences appeared on the screen. The densely packed nucleic acid data made Xiao Lou’s eyes brighten. He copied the information before destroying the records of the data, speaking in a low voice, “Thank you, Professor.”
Edwin waved his hand. “Go now lest you are discovered.”
After leaving the hospital, Xiao Lou, Yu Hanjiang and Liu Qiao walked quickly to the coffee shop near the hospital that they had agreed upon with the others.
In a small private room on the second floor, Tang Ci, Old Mo and Gui Yuanzhang were drinking coffee. There was a woman sitting with the three men. She was dressed in a black leather coat and her hair was neatly tied up in a ponytail. She looked heroic and cool.
Liu Qiao asked, “Sister Huaying?”
Chu Huaying hummed lightly in response. “I have limited time so I will tell you the key points.”
Xiao Lou walked into the private room and sat down. “What did you discover when investigating my sister?”
Chu Huaying answered, “Princess Xiao Rou doesn’t know much about the Noah’s Ark plan. She married Prince Herman 20 years ago. Before marrying, she had seen Xiao Lou’s clones but she couldn’t find any more information. After her marriage, her actions were monitored by her husband. I suspect this is an arrangement the emperor had with Prince Herman.”
Xiao Lou nodded. “What about Herman?”
Chu Huaying frowned. “The prince is very wary. It is difficult for me to get close to him but based on my investigation, he has no knowledge of the Noah’s Ark plan. The Locke Empire secretly studying clones can’t be known by too many people. On the Azure Empire’s side, Xiao Rou knows a bit but Prince Herman doesn’t know anything. The focus of our investigation should still be the merpeople.”
Xiao Lou thought carefully. “After midnight tonight, Xiao Liu will go with Old Mo and Senior Gui to explore the way. If you successfully find the clone laboratory, I will pull you back to the Peach Blossom Spring. Then we will go to the palace to solve the behind the scenes culprits—the hunters who look exactly like us.”
Chu Huaying simply said, “Okay, I will wait for you to summon me.”
She stood up and walked toward the door. She had just arrived at the door when she abruptly stopped and looked back at Liu Qiao. “Xiao Liu, you must be more careful. I heard that you are the mermaid princess. Perhaps the person the other Xiao Lou wants to get rid of the most is you. After all, you will threaten his inheritance rights.”
Liu Qiao nodded earnestly. “I know. Sister Huaying, you should also be careful.”
Chu Huaying declared, “I will go first. See you later.”
She turned and left, her high-heeled leather boots clicking on the floor as she quickly disappeared from everyone’s vision.
Xiao Lou looked at Tang Ci and wondered, “Where is Brother Jiu?”
Tang Ci answered, “Chief Shao and Ye Qi returned to the hotel to check out. They checked in at the Ferris Wheel Hotel and will definitely arouse suspicion if they don’t go back to the room for a few days. Brother Jiu followed them secretly to protect them from accidents.”
Xiao Lou nodded. “It’s indeed better to be more cautious. Mr Tang, can you invade the Locke Empire’s gene bank?”
Tang Ci took out his communicator. “Don’t worry, it is already done. Let’s compare the sequences you have detected.”
7th anniversary celebration event
Proofreader: Paranoid Kitten & Fictional Reality
