Chapter 186 The Sky Falls (21) (1st + 2nd) [VIP]

"Where is your gas meter?" Bai Jinshu's expression remained unchanged. He turned to look at the cleaning lady following behind him.

"Hey, I don't know about that either," the auntie walked into the kitchen and looked around, "I only come to clean once a week. I'm not a live-in auntie, so I'm not responsible for cooking."

She looked around as she spoke: "The gas meter is probably in the kitchen."

The kitchen at Ren Zhiling's parents' house was unexpectedly clean. There was almost no smoke behind the stove, the tiles were extremely clean, and there was no clutter on the counter. There was only a row of seasoning jars against the wall. The seasonings in the transparent jars were basically only half filled, and at first glance, they looked neat and tidy.

It looks like the owner doesn't cook often.

This is similar to what Ren Zhiling said. Her parents live in the laboratory all year round and rarely go home.

Ren Zhiling has never mentioned the cleaning lady at home. It is estimated that her parents hired her after she left home. It seems that the cleaning lady is not familiar with Ren Zhiling's parents' home, otherwise she would not be able to find even a gas meter.

It seems that if you want to get any information out of her, this aunt probably doesn't know much.

"Young man, where was the gas meter when you checked it downstairs before?" The cleaning lady looked around but couldn't find the gas meter, so she had to turn back and ask.

"Usually they are up there," Bai Jinshu retracted his gaze and said in a normal tone, "When I checked the houses below just now, I found that the gas meters in each house are in different locations. It may be because this is an old community and many of the decorations were renovated in recent years. The location of the gas meter was moved during the renovation process, so I don't know where the gas meter in your community should be originally located."

"Eh?" The cleaning lady scratched her head in confusion, "But this isn't outside either?"

"Is it in the cabinet?" Bai Jinshu reminded him. "When I was reading the meter downstairs before, I found that several gas meters were placed inside the cabinet for aesthetic reasons."

"Then I'll look for it. You wait a moment." Auntie patted her head and started to rummage through the kitchen cabinets on tiptoe.

Bai Jinshu stood at the kitchen door and turned to glance at the modernist painting hanging next to the living room.

This world has just been opened, and there must have been no exploration team from the Foundation before them.

In other words, this thing... was most likely a mark left by an evil god who disappeared as soon as he entered the dungeon. Apart from revealing his identity, he could not think of any other possibility.

If he traveled to the future, how did Huai Jiamu manage to put this thing five hundred years ago?

If he couldn't see him, Huai Jiamu would definitely not be able to recover his memory and break free from the identity of the native in the copy he possessed. This pattern was only known between the two of them, and it had nothing to do with Huai Jiamu's identity as an evil god.

It is certain that this mark was definitely because he recovered his memory and intended to convey information to his past self five hundred years ago.

But what exactly is this message…

Ren Zhiling’s parents?

Huai Jiamu's mark was an unexpected gain. Apart from that, Bai Jinshu's main purpose of coming here was to leave surveillance. He had to find a chance to get this aunt away and put the surveillance equipment in a suitable place.

Ren Zhiling had already taken a general look at the residential compound where his parents live when he checked the gas meters of several houses below. The average room area is not large, with three bedrooms and one living room. Most homeowners choose to decorate a master bedroom, a second bedroom for their children, and the remaining room as a study.

The largest room must be the master bedroom, and which of the remaining two is the study and which is the second bedroom needs to be observed. He came at a coincidence that someone was cleaning and all the doors of the rooms were open.

If Ren Zhiling's parents wanted to talk to her, the most likely places they would choose would be this study and living room.

But they installed surveillance cameras mainly to see what her parents would do at home after she left, so the safest way was to leave a surveillance camera in every room in case of emergency.

The living room is the easiest. The display stand in the middle faces three rooms. As long as a camera is placed there, the dynamics of the entire room can be captured. But the problem is, if they close the door to talk, what should be done with the remaining three rooms...

"Young man, I can't find it. Come over here and take a look." The cleaning lady behind him opened a few cabinets and waved at Bai Jinshu, "Is it not in these cabinets?"

Bai Jinshu turned around.

Of course, he couldn't be unaware of the location of the gas meter. Most of the gas meters in this community were located directly above the stove, that is, in the middle.

The cleaning lady didn’t find it, of course it was just a little trick.

In order to prolong his stay and give him ample opportunity to observe the sleight of hand used.

"It's not easy to find it in this location," Bai Jinshu squinted his eyes in embarrassment, "How about I go to the living room and get a stool so I can go up and look for it. Some gas meters are located further back, so there might be a bunch of things in front of them."

He walked towards the dining table in the living room naturally, his fingers casually brushed across the display table with a bunch of trophies next to it, and turned to look at the cleaning lady: "How about this dining stool?"

"Okay," the cleaning lady turned around and glanced at him casually, without any suspicion, "just move it over."

Bai Jinshu turned around, picked up a stool, put it under the cabinet, pretended to search for it, turned around and said, "I found it. It's this cabinet. There are too many things in front of it blocking it."

"Let me shine the flashlight on it." He picked up his phone, turned on the flashlight and looked at the number on it. He got down from the stool and picked up the pen on the folder and wrote a few strokes. "Hey, my pen is out of ink. Can I borrow yours?"

"I'll find one for you," the cleaning lady came over to take a look, then subconsciously turned and walked towards the study.

As she went in to search, she subconsciously turned back to pay attention to Bai Jinshu's movements.

This was of course what Bai Jinshu had predicted. After all, she was just a cleaning lady and she was the only one here now. When someone came to read the gas meter, she naturally had to guard against the possibility of outsiders coming in and taking away things from the residents. Otherwise, if something was lost, the responsibility would be put on her.

Bai Jinshu acted as if he was used to it and was very understanding. He did not stay in the living room alone, but took a few steps forward and politely stopped at the study door, leaving the cleaning lady enough space to observe.

During the conversation, he picked up a pinhole camera that he had exchanged from the Foundation Mall with his fingers and stuffed it into the crack of the door, watching it slide into the corner of the wall at this angle.

He had used this thing once before in the space of [Yin Group]. It can be disguised as a small object like a button. After it is released, it can be recovered through the recycling function of the mall, so it doesn't matter if it is discovered.

Bai Jinshu quickly placed a camera inside.

The aunt who had been searching in the study for a long time also asked in surprise: "Huh? Why can't you find it?"

"I'll go check out the other two rooms."

Bai Jinshu used the same trick again, blocking the cleaning lady's vision, and followed her through three rooms, until he finally helped her find a pen next to the bedside table next to the master bedroom.

Bai Jinshu took the pen, wrote down the numbers on the folder in his hand, and left Ren Zhiling's parents' home with a normal expression.

He put on a complete show. In order to avoid being discovered, he rechecked all the gas meters on the remaining four floors before leaving the community.

When they were walking out of the door, the "Uncle Liu" who had seen Ren Zhiling at the gate of the No. 3 Primary School was still leading his grandson back from school. Bai Jinshu, wearing a blue work suit and with his hat brim lowered, walked calmly past the two of them, walked to a bench in the municipal park near the community, and opened the foundation's temporary group chat.

In one morning, a lot of messages had been sent in the group chat. He started from the top and found that the first message was sent by Song Jirou.

Song Jirou: [You want to check the surveillance? The surveillance at the concert hall that day was not available.]

Next, Fu Yandong and Ning Xiao went to check the surveillance cameras at A: [Nothing? ]

Song Jirou: [Just like the attack on the first day of the conference, there was no trace of Liu Yi in the surveillance cameras. When I went to suppress the news, I was planning to destroy the surveillance cameras, but I found that Liu Yi did not appear in the surveillance cameras of the concert hall during the entire process.]

Ning Xiao: [What about the corridor where Liu YiD appeared? ]

Song Jirou: [There is no surveillance camera at that location. It is a blind spot. The surveillance camera in the classroom cannot capture that location.]

In other words, neither Liu YiC nor Liu YiD appeared in the camera that day.

Fu Yandong: [Have you checked the surveillance cameras on the road from the teaching building to the concert hall? Could you have missed something? Have you checked the surveillance cameras at every location?]

Song Jirou: [I have seen it, but I didn’t check it in detail. If you don’t believe it, you can go there again.]

Xu Zichen: [Not only should we check the surveillance, but if the person with Liu Yi C that day was from that extremist organization, then there should have been non-teacher and student personnel who entered the A University campus that day. If the surveillance camera can't capture Liu Yi, try to find out if you can find the non-school personnel who entered A University that day.]

Ning Xiao: […That’s an idea. Fu Yandong and I will act separately. This way, it will be faster.]

The first chat record ends.

As he expected, all the surveillance cameras were out of service where Liu Yi appeared. Song Jirou had already retrieved these surveillance cameras, so there was no point for Fu Yandong and Ning Xiao to go there again.

Xu Zichen’s suggestion of looking for outsiders was somewhat useful, but this time it was doomed to fail.

Bai Jinshu's hand continued to scroll down a few times, and sure enough, a few hours later, Fu Yandong's first message was: [I searched all the surveillance cameras, and there was no Liu Yi in them. ]

Then there was Ning Xiao's: [There are too many non-campus people in A University. The school has no access control. Usually after dinner in the evening, many residents will go directly into the university for a walk. Any non-campus person can come in.]

Ning Xiao: [There are surveillance cameras at several gates, but who knows if the person coming in is a student or teacher or someone else? This system doesn’t have facial recognition, so no one can recognize all the teachers and students in the school.]

Sure enough, this method failed.

Ning Xiao and Fu Yandong went to University A, but found nothing.

Yin Liantao said in the group that Ren Zhiling had contacted her parents. Although the tone on the other end sounded very bad, she agreed to "talk" with her parents this afternoon.

Bai Jinshu replied in the group: [I have already put the camera away, where are the pinhole camera and cash register equipment on Ren Zhiling? ]

Yin Liantao: [Put it on top of the badge on her chest.]

Yin Liantao: [Ren Zhiling and I have tested it. The camera device transmits in real time. As long as it is within a certain range, it can receive the signal.]

Yin Liantao: [It’s just that her parents won’t be home until after get off work in the evening, and by that time it’s already past six o’clock, Liu Yi…]

Liu Yi should show up at five o'clock.

What would Liu Yi say on this day when they did nothing?

[Liu Yi might not show up.] Bai Jinshu lowered his eyes and replied casually.

Yin Liantao: [??? Why?]

Bai Jinshu curled his lips: [Feeling.]

Yesterday, Liu YiG didn't even show up. It was estimated that he had already known through some channels that they had discovered the clues.

If nothing unexpected happens, Liu YiG will be the last Liu Yi to appear in front of everyone.

Song Jirou's fixed attributes gave them the first key point - the fall of the sky was caused by the elements researched by Xienze.

The second key point about the clue is the mark left by Huai Jiamu who has never appeared - Ren Zhiling's parents.

Bai Jinshu stood up from the stool: [I will wait for you in the Citizen Park near Ren Zhiling's home this evening. ]

Ning Xiao and Fu Yandong, who had already left University A, replied quickly: [We will come over now.]

*

At five o'clock in the evening of the seventh day after entering [Sky Falls], Liu YiH, who was supposed to show up on time, did not show up.

In the citizen park near Ren Zhiling's home, many old men and women who had just finished dinner had already brought their speakers to dance square dance. Not far away, Bai Jinshu sat cross-legged under the tree canopy with a screen that was broadcasting live images in his hands.

The screen shook, and it seemed that the camera was shaking as the person moved. After a while, Ren Zhiling's voice came from it -

"Cough... cough," she coughed somewhat unaccustomedly, "Hello? My parents' home is in the residential building in front, can you hear me?"

Bai Jinshu took out his cell phone and typed "OK" in the group chat.

Ren Zhiling let out a long sigh.

A few words floated out from the barrage:

【Achievement achieved, I am watching the live broadcast. 】

[Why didn't the property manager move the camera directly to Yin Liantao's place? Why did they put it at Ye Dian's place? It's really hard to see with the screen inside the screen.]

[Wake up, move directly to Yin Liantao, can you understand? ]

[The property manager wanted to find some explanation for you, but how come there are still people who want to increase the difficulty on their own? 】

…

"Don't be too nervous," Yin Liantao encouraged her. "You don't need to say anything else later. Just say that you don't plan to do research and have decided to go into other industries."

"Well, I'm not nervous," Ren Zhiling stroked her hair awkwardly, "It's just that this is my first time telling a lie and I'm still a little uncomfortable. How about we go over our words again?"

"Okay," Yin Liantao said again, "I'll say you're my best friend later. We've only known each other for a short time. You listened to me and thought that doing research wasn't the life you wanted, so you quit your job and planned to start a business with me."

"Hmm..." Ren Zhiling scratched his head, "Wouldn't this make you look like a liar?"

"I want you to act like a liar," Yin Liantao nodded. "The more ridiculous you act, the angrier your dad will be."

[Besides, you were too opinionated and reliable when you were taking the postgraduate entrance exam and looking for a job before. Your parents couldn't find any reason to force you to change your choice. Not only did you leave yourself no way out, you also didn't give your parents any chance to intervene.] Bai Jinshu said in the group, [But this time is different. You were "tricked" this time. This is a perfect time to intervene.]

"Yes," Yin Liantao confirmed, "You were deceived this time, so they will think that you still have a chance to return to your original career. In this case, they will definitely need to do everything they can to get you back on track."

"During this period of time, if you continue to be stubborn, people will tell you anything when they get anxious."

"Okay, I understand." Ren Zhiling nodded.

"By the way," Yin Liantao said, "I can only help you with the first part. As for the genetic issues, you will have to deal with them as you go in."

"Okay, I'll take a look myself when the time comes." Ren Zhiling nodded, adjusted the badge on his chest, and walked towards the community gate.

Beside Bai Jinshu, Fu Yandong and Ning Xiao, who had just returned from University A, also spoke up: "I wonder if Ren Zhiling's parents can give us any key clues."

Now all hopes of advancing the clues depend on this conversation. Obviously, it is Ren Zhiling who is about to face the key person, but it is these outsiders who are nervous.

On the screen, Ren Zhiling knocked on the door, and the camera on the badge faithfully transmitted all the images in front of her.

The person who opened the door was a middle-aged woman who looked very similar to her, with her hair tied up. She looked at the two people at the door before she spoke: "Lingling, who is that person next to you?"

Through the screen, everyone saw the face of Ren Zhiling's mother for the first time. Her appearance and voice were completely different. She was not gentle at all, but instead gave people the first impression of being shrewd.

Very smart.

Yin Liantao felt a chill on his back when her gaze swept over him.

Ren Zhiling, who was standing next to her, was able to maintain a calm expression despite such a gaze. She took Yin Liantao's arm and said calmly, "This is Yin Liantao, my best friend. Taotao, this is my mom."

"Ah... Hello, Auntie," Yin Liantao greeted her with a stutter, "I'm Zhiling's best friend."

"Oh, why did you bring your best friend home, Lingling?" Ren Zhiling's mother glanced at Yin Liantao. "What major is your major, girl? Which research institute do you work in? Who is your supervisor? Maybe I know her."

"I'm not a biology student," Yin Liantao withstood the initial glares from Ren Zhiling's mother, and gradually gained courage as he stood up. "I started my own business, and now I'm trading stocks."

"Stock trading?"

"Yes, I'm with Zhiling," Yin Liantao straightened his face and got back to his previous nonsense rhythm, "I heard that you guys don't support Auntie's work, so I want to persuade you and tell you that this is a legitimate industry, and it's definitely not what you think."

"Don't support her work? Her father and I support her work very much," Ren Zhiling's mother raised her eyebrows and said in a gentle tone, "It's just that not all jobs can be called jobs. Little girl, don't mess around with our Lingling."

[Hiss... her mother looks scary like this.]

[This is the first time I have such a concrete understanding of the meaning of the term “smiling tiger”. Her mother’s tone, coupled with this subtext, is disgusting…]

[It’s so funny, any job other than research isn’t really a job, right? Don’t hate me too much, auntie.]

"I know what I'm doing. We need to talk about it. I brought Taotao here to make it clear to you," Ren Zhiling said calmly. "What I want to do is my own business. I have my own choices. The institute also has its own rules and regulations. He has been dragging my resignation process with the director, which is not fair to others."

"What do you mean by calling him?" A full-throated shout came from behind Ren Zhiling's mother, "I'm your father!"

"You came back with a shady friend. Do you take me seriously? Where can I put my face?"

As soon as Ren Zhiling's father's voice came out, the originally sparse comments suddenly became dense:

[Still the familiar mania...]

[I give up. Every time this happens, I want to complain. Who is embarrassing themselves?]

[You're shouting so loudly even with the door open, you're really afraid that others won't know...]

[If I were a neighbor, I would have already started to watch the fun. ]

[If you were a neighbor, you would have gotten used to it after twenty years.]

[No, it is human nature to watch the fun. If this happens every night after dinner, I can do it for decades.]

[The house opposite Ren Zhiling is the best place to watch the show. If it were me, I would move a stool and sit at the door to watch the show.]

【I also want to eat melon seeds. 】

【I also want to make popcorn. 】

【I'll open another bottle of beer. 】

[Pearl seeds, drinks, mineral water, please move aside——]

【Grass. 】

【you……】

…

On the screen, Ren Zhiling's father walked to the door. After a few words of confrontation between father and daughter, Yin Liantao saw that the effect had been achieved, so he quickly pretended to give in. After whispering a few words to Ren Zhiling, he hurriedly turned around and left the door.

Now, only Ren Zhiling's family was left on the screen.

In the temporary group chat, Yin Liantao: [I am coming to the Citizen Park now. ]

Xu Zichen: [It’s hard work.]

Yin Liantao: […It’s not that hard. It’s normal to have different divisions of labor in project exploration. But after meeting her parents this time, I had a new idea.]

Yin Liantao was silent for a few minutes: [I feel that Ren Zhiling's mother is actually the one who occupies a more dominant position. Her father just shouts louder, but he doesn't seem as scary to me as Ren Zhiling's mother.]

Bai Jinshu raised his eyebrows: [What do you mean? ]

Yin Liantao: [I don’t know if you can get that feeling through the screen, but when I stood in front of her mother, I felt deeply that she absolutely looked down on anyone who didn’t do scientific research from the bottom of her heart.]

[Her mother's concept feels particularly... abnormal,] Yin Liantao found an adjective, [Just like what we said that day, she truly felt that Ren Zhiling could only be a scientist, and she would not be successful in any other industry.]

[Ren Zhiling's father gave me the impression that I had led her astray, so he was very angry, but her mother was not like that at all,] Yin Liantao recalled as she typed, [Her mother was absolutely certain that Ren Zhiling would not become a scientist, and her attitude was like letting Ren Zhiling do whatever she wanted, as Ren Zhiling would not be able to escape her control anyway, so she could easily maintain her gentleness.]

Yin Liantao's comments appeared one by one in the temporary group chat. On the screen of the pinhole camera, as the dispute between Ren Zhiling and her father about career choice deepened, Ren Zhiling's mother, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up: "Lingling, you have to know that your mother will not harm you."

"We have chosen the best path for you, why don't you take it?"

"I chose the best path." Bai Jinshu repeated this sentence in a subtle tone.

Combined with what Yin Liantao said before, Ren Zhiling's mother has always been very sure that she will only be a scientist, and she has been contemptuous of all professions other than this industry.

In this education system jointly established by the couple, Ren Zhiling's mother, who seems shrewd and gentle, is the leader, while Ren Zhiling's father, who seems manic, is the follower.

So what is the meaning behind this leader's question?

"How does she know that other roads are bad?" Bai Jinshu narrowed his eyes.

"No, I should ask it in a different way." Bai Jinshu put his knuckles on his chin under the confused gazes of Fu Yandong and Ning Xiao, "How did she know the other way?"

Wasn't Ren Zhiling trained to do scientific research since childhood?

The author has something to say:

The last clue of the Riddler has finally come to an end! The next chapter will follow the complex hidden thread of this copy!

I don't know if anyone can figure out the mechanism of this book by this chapter.

The weekly meeting of the rich ladies to thank you! Thank you for the 2/2125/2/1314 moonstones airdropped by the pretty lady on the 3rd! 2/50 moonstones airdropped by the pretty lady on the 4th! 3456/2/50 moonstones airdropped by the pretty lady on the 5th! 2 moonstones airdropped by the pretty lady on the 6th! 2 moonstones airdropped by the pretty lady on the 7th! 1/3 moonstones airdropped by the pretty lady on the 8th! 100 moonstones airdropped by the pretty lady on the 9th!