Chapter 153 - 144: Good Little Brother, Leave a Little Something for Me

"If I tell you everything, can you keep it a secret?"

"What’s in it for me?"

"I’ll buy you bubble tea."

"I’ll think about it."

"I’ll buy you bubble tea for a month."

"Deal!"

"The truth is, I’m a clone. Zhao Yuanyi created me to be a scapegoat for Zhao Lingxiao."

After Su Ze said this, he carefully observed Liou Wenxin’s expression, only to find she showed no signs of surprise.

It seemed she had already suspected as much.

"You don’t seem surprised at all." Su Ze found it a little anticlimactic.

"Did you expect me to be surprised? You’re underestimating my ability to accept things as an evolution scientist, you know."

"I actually did consider this possibility," Liou Wenxin said with a smile. "But your personality is so different from the Zhao Lingxiao I know about. I couldn’t explain why a clone would have a completely different character from the original."

This involved his transmigration, which Su Ze couldn’t explain, nor would he ever reveal.

He could only say, "While I was in prison, I unexpectedly unlocked hidden memories and learned I was a clone. From that moment on, it was as if I gained my own independent perspective. I broke free from Zhao Lingxiao’s point of view and began to treat the memories I possessed as an observer."

"I know for a fact that I am not him!"

Liou Wenxin didn’t press the issue. Instead, she said, "I’m more curious about why the Filth Earth Organization is after you. As a clone, what could you possibly have that they’d covet so much?"

Su Ze shook his head. "They didn’t know I was a clone when they first came after me. I’m not sure if they know now."

Liou Wenxin said, "I remember you mentioned they were hunting you for a skill you have that they want, right?"

"That’s right. It all started with Zhao Lingxiao’s first meeting with Feng Bqing..." Su Ze then recounted the full story he had learned from Zhao Lingxiao’s memories, holding nothing back.

However, he didn’t immediately mention the effects of the Evolution Divine Grace Skill.

The more Liou Wenxin listened, the tighter her brow furrowed. After Su Ze finished, she sorted through the timeline. "So, Zhao Lingxiao absorbed an extract from Princess Zhuzhi and gained a powerful skill. Then, through cloning, you replicated that skill. And you learned from Feng Bqing that this skill came from a Bloodline Crystal."

Su Ze nodded. "That’s right."

"There are two questionable points in all this—questionable from an evolutionary science perspective, that is." Liou Wenxin grabbed a pen and paper, jotting them down as she spoke.

"One: According to what we know, only Saint-level powerhouses can absorb a Bloodline Crystal. So how did Princess Zhuzhi manage it?"

"Two: Can a skill from a Bloodline Crystal even be replicated by methods like cloning?"

Su Ze replied, "We can’t answer the first point. That’s just what I heard from Feng Bqing. I’m not even sure if Princess Zhuzhi really absorbed a Bloodline Crystal."

Liou Wenxin twirled the pen in her hand. "Feng Bqing’s information came from the Filth Earth Organization. The Filth Earth Organization is a more powerful force than the Dongli Kingdom, with access to higher-level intelligence. So, for now, let’s trust their judgment and assume that there are Bloodline Crystals in this world that can be absorbed by a Mortal-level Life Form."

"Alright. Only if we accept that assumption can we move on to the second point," Su Ze said with a slight nod.

Liou Wenxin sat up a little straighter, adopting the professional demeanor she used for her research, and began her analysis.

"Normally, only Saint-level powerhouses can absorb a Bloodline Crystal, and a Saint-level powerhouse absolutely cannot be cloned. But if a skill from a Bloodline Crystal appears in a Mortal-level Life Form, can it be replicated by cloning technology?"

"There have been no experiments on this, so I can’t be sure, but my gut feeling is no. After all, a Bloodline Crystal involves things on the level of ’divinity.’ Current cloning technology can’t even properly clone someone at the Pupa Stage, let alone replicate a skill on a divine level."

"Besides, let’s look at it from another angle. If there really were Bloodline Crystals that Mortal-level Life Forms could absorb and could also be replicated through cloning, the Filth Earth Organization would have started doing it long ago. But clearly, they haven’t achieved mass production of Bloodline Crystals."

Su Ze gave a wry smile. "I thought so too. The key thing is, the skill really did appear in me!"

"Then it must be more complicated than simple cloning," Liou Wenxin said with certainty.

’If it wasn’t just simple cloning, then what was it?’

’How on earth did I get the Divine Grace of Evolution skill...?’ Su Ze understood that only one person likely knew the answer to that question.

And that person was Feng Boyi!

Even Zhao Yuanyi probably didn’t know the reason why.

But Feng Boyi, the man who had personally cultivated his clone body, definitely knew!

’Looks like I have to go meet this Mr. Feng...’ Su Ze thought, wondering how he could get close to Feng Boyi.

’Wait!’

Su Ze’s eyes suddenly widened. He looked at Liou Wenxin and asked, "That academic conference you mentioned... will Feng Boyi be attending?"

"Feng Boyi was the one who cloned your body?" Liou Wenxin keenly realized something. "He’s one of the top evolution scientists in the Six Countries. He’ll definitely be invited to this evolution conference."

Su Ze realized this might be a rare opportunity.

Otherwise, Feng Boyi usually stayed cooped up in Luofan Academy, and the Luofan Country wasn’t exactly friendly toward Su Ze. It would be dangerous for him to go there recklessly.

But on the Sovereign Country’s turf, he wouldn’t have to worry about that.

"Wenxin, let me go with you this time," Su Ze said.

Liou Wenxin roughly guessed what Su Ze was thinking. She thought for a moment and said, "The screening process to enter Lin Hua Country is very strict. You’ll need a legitimate reason."

Su Ze had heard about this. Travel between Lin Hua Country and the Six Countries wasn’t open. Lin Hua Country had sealed its borders. Whether it was people from Lin Hua wanting to go to the Six Countries, or people from the Six Countries wanting to enter Lin Hua, everyone had to apply in advance and complete the necessary procedures.

And getting those procedures approved was very difficult. You needed a sufficient and specific reason, like Liou Wenxin being invited to an official academic conference in Lin Hua Country, or her previous trip to apply for a patent.

If you just wrote a vague reason like "for business" or "to visit friends," you would almost certainly be rejected.

Liou Wenxin said, "Each of us invited evolution scientists gets one spot for an assistant. However, they also have to be an evolutionary researcher. Looks like I’ll have to rush to finish that paper for you."

Su Ze had no academic research accomplishments to his name. Claiming to be an evolutionary researcher would probably not get him past the screening, which made that paper absolutely crucial.

"You’re working so hard for me, Wenxin. I’ll go buy you that bubble tea right now," Su Ze said tactfully.

"The bubble tea can wait." A curious look appeared on Liou Wenxin’s face. "So, are you really not going to tell me what effect that skill you copied from Zhao Lingxiao has?"

Having been so open with Liou Wenxin already, Su Ze had no reason to hide this. He said:

"It’s actually nothing that special. It just lets me absorb one extra tube of extract at each stage of evolution."

Then, Su Ze watched as the evolution scientist who claimed to have a high capacity for acceptance stood frozen on the spot. Her face showed no surprise or shock—only a complete, stunned blankness.

A satisfied smile spread across Su Ze’s face. ’I knew that would blow your mind!’

Liou Wenxin was completely floored!

As a top evolution scientist, she understood the power of this skill even better than Su Ze himself.

After recovering from her profound shock, Liou Wenxin’s eyes began to gleam. Her dark brown pupils reflected Su Ze’s image as if he were a priceless, one-of-a-kind treasure.

But a chill ran down Su Ze’s spine. He felt like a lab rat about to be dissected. Seeing Liou Wenxin silently pick up a scalpel, he asked with a tremor in his voice, "What are you doing?"

Liou Wenxin’s tone was unprecedentedly gentle. "Good boy, leave a little something for me."

In the end, Su Ze left only after giving her some hair, fingernails, and a vial of blood.

He, too, hoped Liou Wenxin could discover something from them.

...

「Dongli University Training Hall.」

When Su Ze enrolled, he had been promised free use of all the university’s training facilities, but he had never actually come here before.

He was visiting the training hall for the first time today because his Needle Strike skill had just been upgraded, and he wanted to test its power.

After Needle Strike was upgraded, Su Ze could naturally perceive the skill’s effects, but without testing it himself, he couldn’t know its actual power.

Needle Strike: Focus all of the body’s power into a single point to unleash a piercing strike. After the Qi Force penetrates the target’s body, it will explode. (If the user has mastered poison-type skills, this skill can gain Poison Attachment.)

Compared to before, the upgraded Needle Strike not only had increased power but also gained an explosive effect, which compensated for the skill’s small area of impact.

He just didn’t know how powerful the explosion would be.

Su Ze looked at the alloy dummy in front of him. It was one of the training hall’s targets, which you had to pay to use. The more advanced the target, the more expensive it was.

However, Su Ze had special privileges and could use them for free.

The target in front of Su Ze had a durability roughly equivalent to an average Cocoon Stage evolver.

Without using the boost from "Ant Power," he used only the Needle Strike skill, jabbing a finger toward the dummy’s head.

The alloy dummy was like tofu as Su Ze easily bored a hole through it. Then, with a BANG, a fist-sized hole exploded in the dummy’s head.

"Not bad," Su Ze commented.

If this explosive force were to detonate on an enemy’s surface, it would be pretty average. But if it exploded inside an enemy’s body, the effect would be completely different.

Su Ze thought for a moment, activated his "Ant Power" skill, and once again jabbed a finger at the alloy dummy.

This time, he aimed for the dummy’s chest.

His fingertip sank into the metal. After a thunderous BOOM, the alloy dummy shattered into pieces!

As expected, the explosion’s power was boosted by his strength.

Su Ze nodded in satisfaction. Needle Strike, which had been his lowest-quality skill, had been completely transformed by this upgrade.