The First Order

The clones of Chen Wudi and Li Shentan had kept trying to prove they could surpass their original selves or even sought to replace them. But Qing Zhen’s clone was really strange. He was actually willing to become a part of Qing Zhen’s plans after learning about him.

Honestly, even Luo Lan might not know about all of Qing Zhen’s plans, but Qing Shen seemed to know a lot. Was it because Qing Shen was special? Or was the special one Qing Zhen? This feeling was just like how the Pyro Company had worked so hard to create a leader for themselves, only to realize they had actually helped Qing Zhen.

Perhaps it was precisely because of something Qing Shen had expressed that caused him to be placed under house arrest here.

However, Luo Lan understood the Pyro Company’s reaction. Even if the Pyro Company were all scientists who were willing to dedicate themselves to science, some would still prefer holding onto power themselves rather than hand it over to a “leader” they created.

Therefore, differences had arisen a long time ago within the ranks of the Pyro Company, and they were no longer united. One side supported this plan while the other did not. The two sides even had a violent clash over this matter, but the rest of the world was unaware of it. Luo Lan looked at Qing Shen and said, “How do I know if this is part of your plan?” In response, Qing Shen took out a fruit knife and made a cut on the back of his hand. “Take this as my mark. With it, you won’t confuse me with Qing Zhen. Besides, you guys should’ve already noticed that the clones are actually inferior to their progenitors. Surely you should have confidence in him, right? As long as he knows of my existence, I won’t stand a chance.”

Qing Shen’s blood was dripping profusely onto the ground from his hand. It was utterly silent in this underground space.

Luo Lan pondered what Qing Shen had said and analyzed every detail.

In fact, he agreed with what Qing Shen said. Once Qing Shen was at the Qing Consortium’s territory, it would be impossible for him to outwit his younger brother, Qing Zhen.

Everyone got rather emotional. Was Qing Zhen so charismatic he could even conquer his own clone? This was a little too bizarre.

In the end, Luo Lan said coldly, “I’ll bring you back to the Qing Consortium, but it’s up to my brother what we do with you. Think about it carefully. If he wants to kill you then, not even the Heavens can stop him.”

Qing Shen smiled and said, “That won’t happen. He’ll firmly grasp everything he can make use of.”

“So that’s why you only allowed our group in because you wanted to talk about this?” Luo Lan wondered.

“Yes, all of you here are able to keep secrets, and Qing Zhen’s plans have no conflict of interest with you,” Qing Shen said.

Luo Lan waved him off impatiently. “As if you can guess what my brother’s plans are! Stop talking about this. The outcome of your survival when we get back to the Qing Consortium is another matter altogether.”

Qing Shen smiled and said nothing else.

In truth, Luo Lan was quite unhappy with the clone. Qing Shen looked just like his younger brother, but similar to how Ren Xiaosu hated Chen Liu’er, there was also no reason for his dislike of Qing Shen. He just felt that this clone had stolen something from Qing Zhen. So it was difficult for Luo Lan to have a good impression of him.

However, the clone did not seem to mind Luo Lan’s attitude, or rather, he was willing to accept the disdain.

All of a sudden, Li Shentan asked, “Don’t keep talking among yourselves. I still have a mission to do that was entrusted to me by someone. Let me ask you, where’s the No. 001 Experimental?”

“The Pyro Company never captured the No. 001 Experimental in the first place.” Qing Shen shook his head and said, “From the beginning, it was just a standard operation to capture a superhuman. The Pyro Company found out there was a powerful superhuman in the grasslands, so they sent out some T5 combatants to capture him and obtain his DNA sample. But it suddenly became a rumor that the No. 001 Experimental was captured. However, that superhuman was only a khan in the grasslands.”

When everyone heard this, they were stunned. To think that all of them had come all the way out here for the No. 001 Experimental, yet it turned out to be just a big misunderstanding?

The Great Hoodwinker wondered, “Isn’t this blunder a little too big? I don’t believe the rumor was completely baseless.”

“Of course it’s not baseless. It’s just that someone was deliberately trying to mislead everyone.” Qing Shen said, “The Anjing House released false information saying the No. 001 Experimental had been captured because only the secret of the No. 001 Experimental’s immortality can arouse the interest of the various consortiums’ higher-ups. There’s a large number of older, high-ranking members in the Kong Consortium and Zhou Consortium. Their interest in immortality might even surpass their pursuit of power. After all, achieving immortality would mean they can hold on to power forever.”

“So you mean to say this was not the Pyro Company’s trap but bait by the Anjing House?” The Great Hoodwinker muttered. His mind was already working quickly as he considered the rationale behind this.

Qing Shen continued, “The Anjing House attracted the various consortiums’ superhumans over here because they wanted to eliminate potential threats in order to facilitate the Wang Consortium’s future plans. Even if the Pyro Company makes a clarification at this time, the various consortiums will not believe it. Besides, the Pyro Company won’t want to clear up the rumor either. They’d rather have these superhumans come stumbling right into their net. So the boss of the Anjing House already predicted all of this. She knows the Pyro Company will definitely work together with her to put on a good show, so she’s not afraid of getting exposed at all.”

“Is that all?” The Great Hoodwinker asked doubtfully.

“Also,” Qing Shen said with a smile, “they might come up with further bait, but I can only tell Qing Zhen about it.”

Li Shentan was speechless for a long time. To think that Ren Xiaosu had asked them to find the No. 001 Experimental on his behalf, but it actually turned out to just be bait in the end. The No. 001 Experimental was not here at all. Then would Ren Xiaosu be very disappointed if he told him about this?

Li Shentan looked at Qing Shen. “I have another question. Since the Pyro Company has the means to awaken the superpowers of their clones, why didn’t they use it on a wider scale?”

“Because they only have three chances to do so,” Qing Shen said.

Luo Lan realized they could learn a lot about the secrets of the Pyro Company with Qing Shen around.

They listened to Qing Shen explain, “These three chances are extremely precious, so they must choose the clones of the most powerful superhumans to use it on. One of them is Li Shentan, and the other is Chen Wudi. They even went to the Northwest to look for the DNA sample of the Stronghold Destroyer. However, he seemed to have evaporated into thin air and was nowhere to be found, so they went to the Northern Plains instead to capture someone else as the third candidate for cloning.”

Li Shentan nodded. “They’ve got a rather good

eye.”

Yang Xiaojin shot him a glance and suddenly turned to ask Qing Shen, “So what is this method they’re using?” “They have three drops of the No. 001 Experimental’s blood that was preserved from before The Cataclysm until now.” Qing Shen said in a serious tone, “They call it the Blood of God. Although they can’t reproduce it, the blood can be used to create pseudo-gods.”