An unexpected gain

After the family member's accident, Zhang Xuezhou and others checked the accident site for any issues.

No!

When this answer came to Professor Luo Hui's mind, his laboratory, which rarely had outsiders, gained another person.

"You are welcome to visit freely. It was there that Zhang Manqian was electrocuted!"

Professor Luo Hui held a test report, while Ding Hao stood happily waiting not far away.

The time between the decision to appoint Zhang Manqian as a team member and Zhang Manqian's accident was not long.

The afternoon after Professor Luo Hui's test, Ding Hao received confirmation from Professor Luo Hui that he even had the possibility of altering the fighting genes in his body ahead of schedule.

This generous treatment undoubtedly delighted Ding Hao, whose face was filled with barely suppressed joy.

But compared to his joy, Luo Gaogao, Zhu Kuang, and the others were not so overjoyed.

If Ding Hao was the first choice, Zhang Manqian wouldn't have come here in the first place.

When teammates go from being excellent to being mediocre, it's definitely not a good thing.

However, if Luo Gaogao were to personally find a qualified teammate, he would find it difficult to choose a suitable target.

This involves not only individual abilities, but also social networks and relationships, as well as the intertwining of Lineage influence.

If Luo Gaogao were to choose a young member of a certain Lineage as a teammate today, and work together with that person for several days, and then that person suddenly runs off to another team, it wouldn't be too surprising for such a thing to happen.

After all, this kind of relationship isn't very stable. He can win over the other party, and he can also win over other team leaders who are participating in the sequencing conference.

Among all these connections, only someone like Zuo Teng can navigate through various stages and thus secure reliable teammates.

Whenever Luo Gaogao thought of this, he felt a little envious, but he could only spit out a "pui" and scoff at people like Zuo Teng, saying they were really unlikable.

"Zhang Manqian's family, it seems... is that Zhang Xuezhou?"

While Luo Gaogao was still cursing Zuo Teng and the others, Zhu Kuang suddenly realized something.

This prompted Zhu Kuang to nudge Luo Gaogao and point to the 'Second-Generation Rich Kid's Backyard' chat group on the monitor. After scrolling through several records, Luo Gaogao finally gasped.

"He seems more suitable for us than Zhang Manqian," Luo Gao said in a low voice.

"I think so too," Zhu Kuang replied in a low voice. "I just don't know if he participated in the competition, or if he was recruited to a team!"

"Shall we investigate?"

"Just ask!"

The two exchanged a few words in hushed tones, glanced at Ding Hao's delighted expression, and then slowly moved to the specimen display area that Zhang Xuezhou had been examining.

The specimen display area had been cleaned and the broken jars had been replaced, making it largely unchanged from before.

Apart from a slight smell of disinfectant, there's not much else to see here.

Seeing Zhang Xuezhou staring intently at the head submerged in the liquid in the tank, Luo Gaogao then began to explain.

"These heads were left by cadavers who were willing to make a contribution. The preservation conditions for these specimens are very strict. They are prone to decay if they come into contact with air or become contaminated with bacteria," Luo Gaogao said. "The bottle is almost sealed and has an electrical connection for sterilization. However, electrical sterilization has a certain impact on the bottle. Over time, it may cause the bottle to become brittle. These storage bottles are generally replaced every thirty years."

"Oh!"

"Your sister must have touched the brittle can, which caused it to crack and lose electrical charge!"

"So that's how it is!"

Zhang Xuezhou stared at the head inside the jar, feeling no sign of life.

Before me was indeed a dead head, showing no sign of life whatsoever.

A human brain cannot survive being immersed in this aqueous solution.

He had seen the spot where Zhang Manqian had smashed the glass jar, and then looked at the surrounding sealed jars. He saw that each jar contained inanimate objects, and it was difficult to find any sign of life in them.

"Actually, this method of preserving specimens is risky and they are prone to damage. The most effective way to store them is to change the specimens frequently," Zhu Kuang interjected.

"Changing the specimens is a good idea," Luo Gaogao agreed. "Anyway, these specimens will be used up once their experimental value is exhausted; there's no need to store them for decades."

"That's right, we might lack anything else, but we'll never lack specimens!"

Luo Gaogao and Zhu Kuang's ramblings made Zhang Xuezhou understand the situation: the head Zhang Manqian touched had likely been replaced.

Regardless of whether Professor Luo Hui was aware of the situation or not, there was no way the other party could have told Zhang Xuezhou.

If we're talking about information, it's very likely that only Luo Gaogao and his group know it.

After thinking things through, Zhang Xuezhou stopped conducting pointless investigations and casually chatted with Luo Gaogao and Zhu Kuang about the limb specimens.

While he repeatedly steered the conversation toward human skull specimens, Luo Gaogao and others intentionally or unintentionally pulled the conversation toward the sequencing conference.

However, neither of them is particularly adept at engaging in conversational sparring.

After a little thought, Zhang Xuezhou understood what the two men meant.

"It's such a pity. If I had known your team was short-handed, I shouldn't have signed up so blindly," Zhang Xuezhou lamented.

"You signed up?" Luo Gaogao asked in surprise.

"Yes, you can still find it now," Zhang Xuezhou said. "When I heard about this great opportunity, I excitedly asked Professor Ren to help me register. At that time, I didn't have any teammates."

"And now?"

"Even my sister doesn't think highly of my team. She's thinking of joining some other team to try and get some experience. How many teammates do you think I have right now?" Zhang Xuezhou said, shrugging.

"That's terrible!"

Luo Gaogao sighed with a sense of sympathy.

No matter how high Zhang Xuezhou's shooting skills are, the lack of teamwork will be a huge disadvantage.

Those who cultivate during the sequencing stage are beyond the reach of ordinary people, but still within the realm of normal human cognition, which makes it difficult for even two fists to fight against four hands.

Even if Luo Gaogao is arrogant, he will still be defeated if he is attacked by three or five people. If he encounters some top sequencing experts, it would not be surprising if he is restrained and loses.

Luo Gaogao also needs a partner.

A skilled shooter like Zhang Xuezhou needs a partner even more.

However, knowing that Zhang Xuezhou had signed up to be the team leader, they abandoned any thought of recruiting him into the team.

The team can accept all kinds of members, but this does not include adding the team captain who has signed up.

If Zhang Xuezhou comes, Luo Gaogao has to leave; if Luo Gaogao is in the team, there's no room for Zhang Xuezhou as the captain.

However, despite knowing the significant shortcomings of Zhang Xuezhou's team, Luo Gaogao did not show any hostility from the competition at the sequencing event. He even expressed sympathy and regret for Zhang Xuezhou's lack of teammates.

"If we can fight, we'll fight; if we can't, then forget it," Zhang Xuezhou waved his hand and said, "It's just a sequencer competition. Maybe I won't even bother to be a supporting character and will simply not participate!"

"You're thinking the wrong way. Although the team's level isn't high, it's a good thing to see different opponents," Luo Gaogao advised. "Both the main attraction and the supporting cast are indispensable. Besides, nothing lasts forever. After we've finished our internal competition, we still need to expand outwards. Who knows, we might have the opportunity to fight side by side someday. Perhaps you'll even find a future partner at the grand event!"

Zhang Xuezhou is unlikely to collaborate at the sequencing conference, but Luo Gaogao doesn't mind potential future connections.

In the events of Song Xianzong's later years, Zhou Xin and others undoubtedly made the most noteworthy contributions, but there were also figures who attracted the attention of the younger generation.

Zhang Xuezhou is undoubtedly one of the key figures of interest among the younger generation.

The rumors about Zhang Xuezhou are varied, but one thing is certain among all the unreliable information: Zhang Xuezhou is definitely a master shooter, even surpassing the Song family, who are renowned for their marksmanship.

If Zhang Xuezhou had learned Gene Fighting Technique, it would indeed be difficult for him to keep up with the Lineage members if the other side did not have a strong financial background.

However, Zhang Xuezhou's specialty is marksmanship; given a good gun, his opponent can unleash its full power.

Correspondingly, Zhang Xuezhou's family background is not so important, and his lack of skill in Gene Fighting Technique is offset by many shortcomings, even making it possible for him to cooperate with young Lineage members like them.

Furthermore, Zhang Xuezhou seems to have a fairly good relationship with the Ren Household, which is also a plus.

In the mutual understanding among young people, Luo Gaogao also added Zhang Xuezhou as a contact friend and even recommended 'the backyard of rich kids'.

This is a channel for the younger generation of Lineage in Western Capital to communicate remotely. To enter, one must either submit a family background card or be introduced by at least two group members.

Luo Gaogao introduced them, and Zhu Kuang didn't mind.

Zhang Xuezhou was eventually introduced by these two men to this gathering place frequented by the sons of powerful and wealthy families in Western Capital.

This was an unexpected discovery for him while investigating the head injury that had wounded Zhang Manqian.