Chapter 1099: Chapter 98: My Love (Part 3)

"Anyway, let’s first observe the surroundings."

Li Ang scanned the room. Aside from the lampshade, the ceiling had the grid-like air conditioning vent, a smoke detector, and a fire sprinkler system.

If the smoke detector senses thick smoke, it will sound an alarm, while the lotus-like sprinkler begins to spray water or fire suppressant.

"Sounding the alarm might startle the real culprit, and having the sprinkler start spraying doesn’t seem to help my current situation—the handcuffs are very tight, and even with water or fire suppressant, it’s unlikely I can use lubrication to slip my wrists out of the handcuffs."

Li Ang’s gaze swept through the room, finally settling on the padlock.

From its appearance, this padlock is the most ordinary straight-opening padlock,

with a silver-white shackle and a brass-yellow body,

entirely made of stainless steel,

with a slotted-lock core.

It’s indistinguishable from the locks usually used on bedside tables or wardrobes.

"On one side of the lock body, there are obvious scratch marks. That is to say, the label has been deliberately ground off."

Li Ang furrowed his brows, observing the lock more carefully under the light, and murmured, "Is it to prevent me from knowing the brand of the lock?

But does it matter? Even in modern times, this type of straight-opening padlock is significantly less used,

yet they are still abundant in supermarkets and malls, easy to purchase and widely used.

The various brands and models of locks make it impossible to determine the buyer’s geographic location based on the brand.

Moreover, each brand and model employs widely varying lock core technologies. It’s not as if seeing the brand tells you how to unlock it..."

Li Ang shook his head and continued observing.

On the shackle hung three small-diameter metal rings, each attached to a key, whole or damaged.

Key A is in good condition,

Key B only has the top half,

Key C only has the bottom half, and is connected to a metal ring through a small hole.

Li Ang thought for a moment, slowly stood up slightly against the wall, then released his hands, letting the flashlight drop,

bit down with his mouth, and caught the flashlight just right.

He sat against the wall, using the flashlight to shine upwards,

despite a slight imbalance due to blood flow, he managed to remove the three keys along with the metal rings.

Li Ang was quite confident in his lock-picking skills. With ordinary mechanical padlocks, he could easily open them with small steel wires, small iron pieces, or hooks,

and even for slightly more difficult lock cores, there were many lock-picking methods available.

Screwdrivers, tin foil, chewing gum, mud, matches, air pumps, lime... there’s nothing that can’t be used to pick a lock.

But the problem is, even the cleverest housewife can’t cook without rice,

and the closest thing to a lock-picking tool at hand was the metal rings,

but the small-diameter rings were tough and strong, and Li Ang’s slightly blood-starved hands couldn’t straighten them,

nor could his teeth, due to the position of his head, cooperate with his hands to bite open the rings.

"Without any tools, I’ll have to unlock it normally."

Li Ang held the three keys between his left thumb, index, and middle fingers, examining closely,

all three were slotted straight keys made of imitation brass, with key teeth corresponding to the pin structure inside the padlock.

"Hmm?" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Li Ang placed the three keys under the light to compare closely, discovering the issue.

Keys B and C both had broken cross sections, and from their shapes, they could fit together, and their teeth matched as well.

It looked like the BC keys should form a key identical to Key A.

However, Key A had six teeth,

while the teeth formed by BC keys had only five,

and their lengths were also different—Key A was longer than the combined length of B and C.

"Are BC not two halves of a complete key, or do they not correspond to this lock? Or is A the key to another lock?"

Li Ang hesitated for a moment,

in the absence of any auxiliary tools, recklessly inserting a key could leave it stuck,

or even broken, with no way to recover.

"Let’s try Key B first then."

Li Ang took a deep breath and inserted the half of Key B into the lock core, attempting to rotate and manipulate it.

The entrance of the lock core was a bit loose, and Key B could turn back and forth a couple of millimeters, but it couldn’t rotate ninety degrees.

"I did hear pins moving inside the lock core just now, although the key didn’t turn, I don’t know how many pins moved, but Key B didn’t get stuck inside."

Next, was Key A.

Li Ang inserted the complete Key A into the lock core, and again it wouldn’t turn.

"Hmm? What does this mean?"

The lock core is the heart of the lock,

mechanical locks are usually divided into the blade and pin types, the former being superior to the latter.

The more and more complex the pin and blade structure inside a lock core, the harder it is to pick—this is because the pin blade structure inside the lock core is arranged jaggedly and unevenly and can move up and down.

When a key is inserted into the lock core, the key’s teeth press against the core’s blades, pushing them up,

if it’s the correct key, it will align all the blades simultaneously, unlocking it—commonly known as one key opening one lock.

The basic principle of picking a lock is to use foreign objects like wire or iron pieces to lift up the pins and blades inside the core and align them, thus unlocking it—the concept of a universal key is similar.

"Key A doesn’t work, so I’ll have to use Key C."

Li Ang took a deep breath, slowly pushing Key C into the lock core, listening closely for the sound of pins moving inside, while continuously turning Key C, trying to unlock it.

Unfortunately, even when Key C was almost entirely in the lock core, the lock didn’t open.

"If I push Key C in, it’ll get stuck. Earlier, I found neither of the other two keys nor the metal rings are magnetic, so I can’t pull out the broken Key C..."

Li Ang hesitated, just about to remove Key C when the shape of Key A flashed through his mind, "Wait, earlier I remembered when Key A was fully inserted, part of the key handle was exposed, not fully fitting.

The discrepancy length coincided with the difference in length between Key A and the combined length of BC keys.

In other words, it’s a hint,

indicating that the lock core that didn’t fully fit Key A could be completed with BC keys combined."

Revived, Li Ang didn’t hesitate to push Key C all the way in, simultaneously inserting Key B,

the key handle fit perfectly with the lock body, not a millimeter off.

"Ha."

Li Ang grinned, then turned the handle of Key B.

No movement still.

"Hmm?"

Li Ang squinted his eyes and tried turning back and forth with force, but couldn’t get the key to turn.

"What did I miss? That’s strange, earlier I distinctly heard all the pins bounce up, whether from the lower part or the upper part.

Wait, could it be..."

Li Ang slightly pressed the B key, which only had the upper part, along the side of the lock,

With a "click,"

As if a switch was triggered, the B key suddenly could turn.

"Indeed... if the C key is already fully engaged with the back of the lock core and all pins are activated, then the issue lies with the B key.

The lock’s core must be divided into two composite structures, front and back.

The front and back structures can be opened by B and C keys, but simultaneously, they interfere with each other,

The vertical pins in the structure opened by the B key behave like bolts, locking the rear structure that the C key is responsible for.

Only by pressing down the B key can the hidden bolt be released,

This is also why the key entry of the lock body seems a bit loose—it’s meant to be a movable switch."

Li Ang bit the flashlight, took a deep breath, and turned the B key all the way,

With a "click," the silver lock shackle bounced up.

The lock opened.

"Heh..."

Li Ang shook his head, slowly rotated the lock, so the curved shackle no longer fastened the handcuff’s loop.

Shackles freed!

Li Ang removed the lock, stood upright, shook his sore wrists squeezed by pressure, and took down the flashlight from his mouth.

Although the handcuff loop was not completely removed and still felt awkward, at least he regained freedom of movement and didn’t have to worry about imbalanced blood supply to his hands.

"Phew."

Li Ang casually pulled the B key out of the lock,

Possibly due to the lock core being divided into two parts, the silver lock shackle fell out as well.

He gathered the AB key along with the lock shackle and lock body, putting them in his pocket,

The pockets of his high-end suit were empty, even cleaner than Li Ang’s face, giving no information at all.

Holding the flashlight, he examined the room, gently tapping every piece of flooring, then the walls, tearing off wallpaper, but found no hidden door,

The metal pipe that had been restraining Li Ang was securely fastened to the wall with nails, unable to be dismantled for use as a weapon.

"Next, what needs searching are... the boxes in the corner."

Li Ang took a few steps out, squatted before the boxes, rummaged through them several times, discovering four open cartons filled with records, both vinyl and CDs.

From the record covers, it could be seen that these songs mostly came from late 20th century United States celebrities.

Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Michael Jackson, etc.

"The records are in good condition. The owner of this house is a recently relocated music enthusiast?"

The first-phase mission target didn’t specify a time limit; there might be other clues in the entire room,

Li Ang wasn’t in a hurry to escape. He first examined all the records, then took them out and placed them on the floor, inspecting the record packaging and the carton.

Searched inside and out, even tearing the carton into small pieces,

Finally confirming they were just ordinary boxes holding records, without hidden passwords, keys, or vital tools like screwdrivers.

"Alright then, what about other things?"

Li Ang stood up, looking at the metal pipe on the wall.

He approached, left hand supporting the wall, right foot on the metal pipe, slowly shifting his center of gravity to the right by pushing his left arm,

His whole body pressed against the wall, standing on the metal pipe, reaching with both hands for the grille-shaped central air conditioning vent.

From this angle, he could barely reach the vent, sticking his finger in two or three centimeters.

Li Ang explored for two minutes, but aside from getting dusty hands, found nothing.

There was nothing near the vent,

Moreover, the grille was metal and its nuts inside required a cranked screwdriver to unscrew, impossible for Li Ang’s bare hands.

Failing to find more clues didn’t make Li Ang too disappointed,

He brushed off the dust on his hands and looked at the room’s only door.

"Everything’s searched, nothing left but this door."

Li Ang retrieved the heavy lock body from his pocket, using it as a weapon, and approached the door with utmost caution.

With his right hand, wrapped in a record’s paper packaging, he grasped the door handle (to prevent rare cases like poisoned handles, and avoid leaving fingerprints on it), gently pulling down.

The door handle rotated smoothly downward, unexpectedly without obstruction, and the door opened.

"Hmm?"

This smoothness seemed odd and eerie. Li Ang’s brow furrowed slightly, as he slowly pulled the wooden door open a crack, peeking outside.

Contrary to what he imagined, the scene outside the room was just an ordinary hallway in an American residence.

A globe-shaped light bulb hung from the ceiling,

Carpets covered the floor,

Beige floral wallpaper adorned the walls, along with a few landscape paintings—the frames not high-end, the paintings themselves merely mass-produced prints.

Directly opposite Li Ang’s room, was another similarly styled wooden door, not opened.

The hallway’s left side led to an L-shaped corner, where the lighting was off,

Faintly visible in the corner were a knee-high stool and landscape plants placed on top.

The right side of the hallway led to an open kitchen.

The kitchen’s lights were off,

In the dim light from the hallway, the central kitchen counter and dining table and chairs in the back of the kitchen were barely discernible.

"Nordic style decor, the economic condition isn’t particularly wealthy but appears cozy, the homeowner is quite diligent—no grease or unwashed dishes on the counter, furniture is neatly arranged, the hallway carpet is clean and tidy.

The couple might have children."

Li Ang quietly pondered every observation, when suddenly,

A dim light glimmered to the left of the dining area, and an adult male voice disrupted the house’s silence.

"...Welcome back, this is Monterey TV Station..."

The voice, deep and magnetic, emanated from left of the dining area, seemingly a male TV host.

Is someone watching TV in the room?

Li Ang raised an eyebrow, pressing the flashlight button twice—the first press kept the light on, the second activated the anti-riot mode, strobing strong flashes blinding anyone.

The third press switched it off.

He turned off the flashlight, stealthily and silently exiting the room, using carton remnants to wedge the door ajar, preventing it from fully closing,

And instead of heading towards the source of light in the dining area left,

He proceeded towards the door directly opposite.