In the sweltering summer, Lillian always turns on the air conditioning and closes the car windows when she goes out, which prevents the spread of odor molecules.
The reason why the scent was still relatively noticeable inside and around the villa was because once she got home and out of the car, the scent molecules on her body had room to dissipate.
It seems that relying on a single odor molecule alone is not enough to directly locate her destination.
"Lillian, are you going out this afternoon?"
"No, what's wrong?"
"Minion, open the door for me, my air conditioning is broken."
That's right, Gao Ang set his sights on the MINI.
Lillian drove out in the morning with the windows closed, and the only place that emitted a strong smell along the way was the MINI's exhaust pipe.
After getting the keys, they got in the car and started it. The man and the cat squatted by the exhaust pipe at the rear of the car, breathing in the exhaust fumes.
After taking a sniff, Xiaohua couldn't help but sneeze. She slapped away Gao Ang's hand that was pressing down on her and disgustedly darted into the MINI.
"You little rascal, this smells wonderful."
I'm not ashamed to say it, but Gao Ang loved this smell when he was a child. Back then, cars weren't common, but motorcycles and tractors were.
I would follow behind the tractor whenever I had a chance, and occasionally I would take a big whiff of that fragrant aroma, which would fill my nostrils and make me feel much better.
It wasn't until he entered junior high school that he realized how foolish his behavior had been.
Fuel exhaust contains too many toxic gases. Even the aromatic hydrocarbons and aldehydes that he was addicted to are no less harmful to the human body than nicotine, and may even be more harmful.
So from that time on, he stopped chasing the tractor and instead hid in the toilet to breathe in the aroma of nicotine.
After taking a few deep breaths of exhaust fumes and importing the odor molecule data of the MINI's exhaust into the database, the cat and its owner began their tracking journey.
Although the weather had turned gloomy, fortunately there wasn't much wind, and the scent molecules were still floating along Lillian's route, so they didn't cause too much trouble for the person and the cat.
"How did we end up here?"
Looking at the gilded characters "Chang Sheng Biotechnology", Gao Ang realized why he felt a slight familiarity with the scent on Lillian.
This smell is the same smell as that of the pharmaceutical factory near Vanke Apartments, which is the company 'Changchun Biotechnology'.
In other words, he traveled through most of Shanghai, but ended up back where he started.
He remembered passing by the gate of this pharmaceutical factory once; it was bustling with traffic, and seemed to be a fairly large factory.
The security measures seem to be quite strict; I recall there being at least eight security guards at the gate during rush hour.
Now that they had found the source of Lillian's scent, Gao Ang was no longer in a hurry to find the person who was in contact with Lillian.
The daytime environment was not conducive to his search for people.
One reason is the large number of people and their presence, and another is that there are definitely many cameras inside the factory.
Even if he can fast-forward his speed, or even increase it to supersonic speed, he will still leave clues on the camera.
With such a large factory, their cameras must be high-end. They can't detect him at 1x speed. By checking frame by frame, they'll eventually uncover his identity.
Just in case, he decided to act that night.
First, I went to the convenience store to buy enough food for Xiaohua, and also bought some bottled water for myself. The two of us then snuggled in the car, listening to the raindrops pattering against the roof and windows.
The factory security guards weren't surprised, since there were plenty of unlicensed taxi drivers waiting to solicit customers at the gate, so one more wouldn't make a difference.
At 5:30 p.m., Changsheng Biotechnology Factory began to gradually release the fish. For physical businesses like theirs, they usually start work at 8 a.m., take a break at noon, and then leave in batches starting at 5 p.m.
The goal was to avoid rush hour, since traffic in Shanghai is just too congested.
Other unlicensed taxi drivers also got out of their cars and started soliciting fares. Gao Ang also pretended to walk downwind and began to use his "star-absorbing technique" on the passing crowd.
This doesn't match; it only has about 20% overlap with Lillian's scent molecules.
This one doesn't match either; it's also a little over 20% overlap, slightly higher than the previous one. Hmm, probably because it's a woman who went to the women's restroom.
I "absorbed" several people in a row, and they all had about 20% overlap. There wasn't a single one with a higher overlap.
As the workers left the factory gate, some chatted and joked with their companions, some silently took off their name tags and got into unlicensed taxis to leave, and others walked along the road to the nearby bus stop to wait for the next bus.
Hmm? The overlap of scent molecules among these people has increased significantly, from 20% to 35%, but it's still not enough.
Looking at their name tags, they all said "Longevity Research," so it seems Lillian has also been to this area.
In the following period, Gao Ang discovered several more people with an even higher degree of overlap than the previous ones, and their names were 'MMN Lab'.
The overlap between these individuals is as high as 60%, which is probably the highest among all the people who went out.
However, he still couldn't find anyone whose scent molecules matched those on the ring, not even a single one.
The number of people coming out of the factory had dwindled, and the security guards at the gate had repeatedly cast suspicious glances at Gao Ang.
To avoid attracting their attention, Gao Ang could only get into the car, drive it downwind, open the window, take out his phone, pretend to make a call, grumble a few words, and then slam the phone down, slapping the steering wheel as he did so.
To outsiders, it seems like he's been waiting for someone for a long time, only to be stood up or made to keep waiting, which makes him a bit irritable.
After all that performance, the security guard finally looked away from him, because another group of people were about to leave work.
This group is more important than the previous ones because they face more rigorous searches and examinations.
Previously, the workers could simply swipe their cards, undergo a metal foreign object detection, and then leave through the gate.
These people were then to enter the security room, but what happened inside remains unknown.
Fortunately, there weren't many people in this group; there were only about three people, and the testing was over in no time.
It was clear that they were highly respected by the security guards; when they reached the door, the guards waved and were extremely polite.
Compared to other workers, these three people were treated like national treasures.
Most importantly, all three of them are foreigners.
They were probably speaking English, but unfortunately Gao's listening comprehension was really poor, and he hadn't put any effort into improving it recently, so apart from simple interjections like 'Year' and 'Ok,' everything else was like listening to gibberish.
The three of them did not choose a black cab or a bus, but walked directly along the side road where Gao Yang had parked.
As they approached the MINI, Gao Feng suddenly felt a jolt of excitement.
Because he finally smelled the exact same scent molecules as the ring. In addition to this scent, the other scent molecules also highly overlapped with those on Lillian, with an overlap rate of up to 85%.
Although the other two scents also overlapped quite a bit, even up to 90%, these two people were not within the high range of detection because they did not have the scent molecules of the ring.
This proves that Lillian should be meeting those two people today, not that person.
Gao Feng closed the car window and began to locate the person.
He was around thirty years old, about 180 cm tall, with a slightly pale complexion, dark circles under his eyes, and heavy eye bags. He looked like someone who had overworked his brain and was extremely tired.
His hair was a bit messy, with curly bangs hanging down, probably reaching his chin. His beard also looked like he hadn't shaved for several days, with dense stubble covering his cheeks.
Wearing a white shirt, black trousers, and leather shoes, with a leather briefcase tucked under his arm, he would be mistaken for a typical urban white-collar or gold-collar worker if you didn't look at his hairstyle and face.
Unfortunately, his messy hair and deadpan expression completely ruined his image, making Gao Ang feel a little smug: I'm still a bit more handsome than him.
The two people in front were chatting and laughing, showing no intention of communicating with the person behind them.
If Gao Feng hadn't seen the three of them leave together, he would have thought they were two completely different groups of people.
The three of them passed the first traffic light, but Gao Ang did not move.
He started the car when they were almost halfway through the next section of the journey and approaching the second traffic light.
Um?
These three people didn't even cross the traffic lights; instead, they turned left and entered Vanke Apartments!
This is interesting. Could it be that they were my former roommates?
But I've lived here for three years and haven't run into him even once.
Or are they newcomers?
But judging from their familiarity with the security guards and their posture and movements as they walked, they didn't seem to have moved in recently.
Once the three figures disappeared around the bend, Gao Ang stepped on the gas and followed them.
The gate railings were not down, and there were still parking spaces inside the Vanke Apartments.
The three of them did not turn left, but continued walking forward.
Turn left to reach the Vanke Apartment building; if you keep walking, you'll either reach the Four Seasons Hotel or the bus stop.
But if they were to take public transportation, wouldn't it be more convenient to go to the factory gate? So their destination must be the Four Seasons Hotel.
After parking the car, Gao Ang, carrying Xiao Hua, followed his scent, keeping a safe distance.
As expected, the three of them indeed entered the Four Seasons Hotel.
He quickened his pace and closed the distance between himself and the three of them. Just as he was about to follow them into the elevator, the hotel receptionist called out to him in time.
"Sir, pets are not allowed in the accommodation area."
Hearing the voice, the three of them turned around with a hint of curiosity. Fortunately, Gao Feng had not had any direct contact with them before, so they only glanced at him, swiped their cards, and entered the elevator.
After a polite yet slightly awkward apology to the front desk, Gao Feng left the Four Seasons Hotel and returned to his car.
"Little Flower, stay put and don't run around. If you're hungry, eat these. This one is spicy, and this one is garlic... Also, don't stick your claws out, understand?"
"Meow."
Xiao Hua impatiently interrupted his nagging, jumped into the back seat, and started a physical fight with a pile of snacks.
Gao Ang took out his wallet from his small handbag, counted out a few bills, and then turned back to the Four Seasons Hotel.
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