Chapter 946: I Am A Human Clone
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The proxy war dungeon’s difficulty had been one of the hottest topics in discussion among the players. Although the agents on top of the leaderboard didn’t share their experience in the proxy war dungeon, the players who scored too low and failed to enter the next round of the game were more than willing to share theirs.
According to their descriptions, the proxy war dungeon’s content could be bizarre at times. The one thing that the players agreed on, however, was that it was a lot more difficult than an ordinary dungeon. The Alien quest Zhang Heng completed was one of the most challenging quests he had encountered. As for his current quest, Zhang Heng had not encountered any complications until tonight.
The person he was supposed to protect, Xu Qian, was just an ordinary girl. She lived at the third level of the city with good security, and although she had encountered some minor problems before, they did not seem a major issue.
As of now, Zhang Heng had acquired a good deal of information about the man who stalked Xu Qian. His investigation was steadily progressing. If this went on, he could complete this two-week bodyguard mission easily. It also meant that he’d still have half of the game time left upon completing this task. He never expected that this quest with the title, Bodyguard, would have nothing to do with this bodyguard mission.
Until tonight, he still did not know where the threats could come from.
It wasn’t until Old Man Geng told him about the memory encoder and human cloning that Zhang Heng vaguely noticed something wasn’t right. Previously, he had searched up information relating to New Shanghai 0297 but found nothing about human cloning. According to Old Man Geng, the residents of New Shanghai 0297 were supposed to be aware of the existence of human clones.
Being a player put Zhang Heng at a disadvantage. It made sense that he was completely oblivious that he was a clone. However, when he thought about Miss F’s attitude towards him when they first met and the hamster who could never get out of the cage, Zhang Heng finally realized his identity in this quest.
Although Xu Qian did not answer him, Zhang Heng had gotten the answer he wanted from her facial expressions.
“Interesting. Did someone mess with my mobile network? When I search the internet, I can’t seem to find any information related to human cloning.”
Xu Qian was horrified. She then took two steps back.
“I, I don’t know.”
“Someone told me that the memories clones have were generated by the memory encoder. That means all the contacts in my address book and the emails in the mailbox are fake. This also explains why my relatives are not here in this city. Uhm… they were supposed to communicate with me once a month. In other words, my memory would very likely be reset at least once a month. No wonder you wore so casually when we first met. As far as I know you, you occasionally dress skimpily during your livestream, but you are actually quite conservative in private, especially considering that you are about to get engaged.”
Zhang Heng finally found the loophole in this quest.
If he failed to realize his identity as a clone during the two weeks of protecting Xu Qian, then the next thing that awaited him was probably a memory reset. He might even forget that he had been playing for fourteen days. As for the worst-case scenario, others might discover that he was an outsider when they rewrote his memory.
“We shouldn’t talk about this kind of thing.” Xu Qian had backed up to the wall. She looked a little overwhelmed, with both hands behind her back.
“Why? Is it because some laws and regulations prohibit you from talking about human cloning in front of a clone?” Zhang Heng paused, then continued, “Are you trying to contact a security company? Report my anomaly? I strongly advise against it.”
Xu Qian’s intention was exposed by Zhang Heng. And she could not help but panic even more. Considering the difference in strength between the two and the time needed by the personnel from the security company to come here, she finally stopped what she was doing. Waving both of her hands in front of her, she asked in fear, “What do you want?”
“Nothing. I just want to have a chat with you.” Zhang Heng stretched out his hand and signaled her to sit down.
Xu Qian hesitated for a moment when she saw it and finally sat down on the sofa aside. She used to sit here and chat with Zhang Heng about her problems. Back then, the circumstance was different. She knew that Zhang Heng’s memory would be rewritten later. So, she did not have to worry about anything. In other words, she could say anything to him without holding back. But now, the situation had become very complicated for her.
Xu Qian subconsciously tightened her neckline.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you.” Zhang Heng said.
“We have been staying together for so many days. I know what kind of person you are, and I am deeply sympathetic to your discovery,” Xu Qian said. “But you should know… You can’t escape them. I think you should take the initiative to make a confession at your company.”
“Really? How did they deal with the clones who discovered their identity? Rewrite their memories? Or destroy them outright?” Zhang Heng asked rhetorically.
“I’m sorry. I can’t tell you anything. Once they capture you and check your memory, they will find out that we had this conversation,” Xu Qian replied.
“You are right. There are indeed laws and regulations that prohibit me from telling you anything related to human cloning.”
Upon hearing that, Zhang Heng did not make any comment. Instead, he continued to ask, “What is the difference between clones and ordinary people?”
Xu Qian wanted to stop talking about it, but for some reason, she felt that Zhang Heng’s temperament seemed to have changed. Earlier, his presence seemed oblivious to her, and now she could feel the pressure from him.
So after going silent for about half a minute, Xu Qian said, “As far as I know, the body of a cloned human is no different from an ordinary human. The only difference is that there is a special fluorescent mark on the back of the clone’s neck. That is your serial code, and it can be seen under ultraviolet light. In addition, there is a tracking device in your body.”
Xu Qian’s words also explained why Miss F’s attitude towards him changed in the screening room. If Zhang Heng was right about it, the light above him was an ultraviolet light when he stepped into the building through the door. It was also at that time that Miss F discovered he was a clone.
Zhang Heng was more concerned about another issue now.
“Tracking device? Where is it?”
“Your… Underneath the cerebral cortex.”
This was bad news for Zhang Heng. It meant he couldn’t remove the tracking device by himself. And the hospital in New Shanghai 0297 would not provide such a surgery on a clone.