Chapter 24: Overlord of the Skies

"The host must find the gold hidden by Kaori Kayama within 15 minutes. As a reward, the host will receive a book titled [Master of the Skies]. If the host fails to find the gold within 15 minutes, the host will lose this book and lose the opportunity for the multiple flight simulations to soar through the sky."

Hint: 20 pounds of gold are inside this villa. The host must find it within 15 minutes. This is a test of the host's analytical thinking as well as their overall capabilities.

"If the host cannot find the gold within 15 minutes, it means that the host's current comprehensive ability is not yet suitable for piloting an aircraft, and they must remain at the Infantry Academy for further study."

"The gold is inside this villa?"

There was no time to ponder what [Master of the Skies] was; finding the gold was the top priority. Otherwise, everything else was just empty talk.

He had no desire to stay at the West Point Infantry Academy any longer.

There was nothing left here to show off about.

Zhou Zhihan walked quickly to several windows, pulled the curtains slightly, and looked around.

This villa was not very large, consisting of an upstairs, a downstairs, a basement, and a small yard outside, as well as a yard by the back door. However, finding the gold in this villa within 15 minutes was not necessarily harder than reaching the heavens, but it was certainly harder than growing wings on one's own back.

"System brother, give me another hint. Is the gold upstairs, downstairs, or in the basement?"

System: "Please activate your wisdom. The countdown to finding the gold begins now: 900, 899..."

Zhou Zhihan's mouth twitched. He knew that once the system started a countdown, it was useless to beg or plead. Fortunately, the system had hinted that the gold was indeed in the villa. Without that hint, he wouldn't be able to find it in 15 hours, let alone 15 minutes—heaven knows where Kaori Kayama would have hidden it.

Zhou Zhihan hurried to the kitchen to turn off the gas stove. The water in the kettle was already hissing; once it boiled over, it would extinguish the flame, causing gas to leak—the very reason why so many people suffered from gas poisoning.

Only after confirming the gas was completely shut off could he safely look for the gold. He didn't want to die here from inhaling too much gas while busy searching, which would make his trans-dimensional journey a complete waste.

Zhou Zhihan concluded that, for the time being, he was the only one who knew about this villa belonging to Kaori Kayama. It was already past ten o'clock at night, and no one would be coming.

Zhou Zhihan calmed his mind to think: If he were Kaori Kayama, where would he hide the gold?

Upstairs, the basement, or the kitchen?

The kitchen was a possibility; when people visited, guests rarely went into the kitchen, as it was usually the domain of the housewife or househusband.

But Zhou Zhihan immediately dismissed the theory that the gold was hidden in the kitchen.

Kaori Kayama once said that only she and her parents had lived here. However, judging by the state of the kitchen, no one had cooked there for a long time, which was clearly a lie.

Zhou Zhihan believed that the parents Kaori Kayama mentioned did not exist either, because in the bathroom, he had only seen her slippers, undergarments, pajamas, and cosmetics.

There were no undergarments for an elderly woman.

Undergarments for elderly women are different from those of young people; young women's undergarments are always petite to accentuate a slender waist, while older women prioritize comfort, with larger, looser underwear.

If her parents had frequented the place, why were there no men's slippers or other items in the bathroom, nor any items for an elderly woman? The weather was still cold, and the hot water produced by the fireplace was only enough for one bathroom.

Kaori Kayama would not have hidden the gold in her own bedroom. Hiding valuables in a bedroom is the least secure option; if a thief visits, the first place they search is inevitably the bedroom.

The living room was even less secure; that went without saying.

Excluding the kitchen, living room, and bedroom, that left only the upstairs and downstairs. Compared to upstairs, the chances of the gold being hidden in the basement were greater.

It was impossible for the gold to be buried in the yards in front of or behind the villa.

Zhou Zhihan found a flashlight and turned on the basement light. As soon as he pushed open the door to the basement, a musty odor rushed toward him, thick with the scent of dust.

The stairs leading to the basement were covered in a thick layer of dust. Judging by the dust, no one had been to the basement for at least half a year.

As the flashlight beam shone into the basement, Zhou Zhihan felt a pang of frustration. The basement was full of miscellaneous items. Searching through them one by one would take at least three to five hours. Furthermore, the basement was filled with mold, spiderwebs, and dust. It was clear no one had been here for a long time. If Kaori Kayama had hidden the gold here, she wouldn't have gone six months without visiting.

Zhou Zhihan returned to the living room. He decided to give up on searching the basement. Even if the gold were there, he couldn't possibly find it in 15 minutes. If he went down there, he would spend a long time just cleaning his own footprints off the stairs before leaving the villa.

Zhou Zhihan reasoned that the system wouldn't make him waste several hours searching the basement.

If he were stupid enough to spend hours searching the basement for gold, it would mean the system wasn't much smarter either.

The system wouldn't be so foolish as to make itself look that dim-witted.

The gold must be somewhere else.

Zhou Zhihan returned to the living room and headed straight upstairs. There were three bedrooms upstairs, with beds, bedding, furniture, and wardrobes. Searching through all three rooms like this would be impossible within 15 minutes.

He glanced at the time; seven minutes had already passed.

According to the conventional way people hide precious items, the 20 pounds of gold should be in the most concealed place. In this villa, the most concealed place should be the basement.

But Kaori Kayama was a trained agent; she possessed an analytical ability that ordinary people lacked.

She must have known that if a common person were to search someone else's house for valuables, where would they think the items were hidden?

Certainly the basement.

Therefore, she would not have hidden the gold in the basement.

Zhou Zhihan thought for three seconds, activated the system, and pulled up the text and images from Kaori Kayama's final moments stored within it.

The text contained no record of the gold.

The images appeared in the system in a semi-abstract form.

Each one had to be carefully pondered, like clouds in the sky—to 100 people, they appear as 100 different patterns. Whatever you think it looks like, that is what it is. If you think it is changing, it is changing. These clouds were like abstract paintings in each person's vision.

Zhou Zhihan narrowed his eyes, letting his upper and lower lashes form a faint, hazy mist before his pupils. Using this blurred perspective, he observed the abstract, final images left by Kaori Kayama.

His sketching teacher once said, "When you cannot distinguish the five shades of light and dark in a painting, narrow your eyes."

One image seemed to be a rainy day, with a blurry figure holding an umbrella. It was unclear whether the figure under the umbrella was her or someone else.

One image appeared to be a blue sky with white clouds, with what looked like green grass below; looking for a few more seconds, it seemed like the deep blue surface of the sea.

Suddenly, a white image jumped into Zhou Zhihan's view. This image was a long oval, mostly white, surrounded by hazy, faint mist. In the upper-left corner of the white oval, there was a tiny purple-red dot.

What did this mean?

White, long oval, faint mist, tiny red dot.

What did these represent?

Could it be the sofa?