parentshiftbook Chapter 16 The Scent of Books
Chapter 16 The Scent of Books
"I don't want to interfere in your private life, but you should be careful not to bring all sorts of shady people home."
"Teacher, Li Ang isn't some shady character, and besides, he counts..."
"Here's a thousand dollars, enough for you to find a safe place to move to. Don't stay here anymore. And I'm reminding you, this money is for your housing, don't just donate it to anyone. Put away your cheap sympathy. Leon works at the Danube Clinic, and his daily wage of $15 is already pretty good. He has to rely on his own efforts, not yours."
"teacher……"
"Alright, I'm relieved to see you're alright. I still need to go to the police station. You can go back now."
"Tap, tap, tap."
"Squeak."
"Li Ang? Li Ang?"
"You little Li Ang, you actually left without saying goodbye."
"I even made you a candlelight dinner today."
"Next time you come to my house, I'm going to squeeze you dry."
Li Ang, who had already walked away, thought, "..."
He sensed something was off about Nicole during dinner.
It was indeed a wise choice to slip away during her conversation with Kayla.
Otherwise, she might really catch me.
Although Nicole is very beautiful, as a wizard with a genius learning system, women will only affect his learning speed.
……
Chicago Police Department, Major Crimes Unit.
Jason threw the photos on the table and concluded, "On the surface, the Adam Street incident was just an accident."
"These are the autopsy results." Jason spread out the medical examiner's report. "The deceased was Isaac Miller, 21 years old, a junior at Northwestern University. The report found amphetamines in his system, and he was extremely agitated before his death. Furthermore, he had a prior record of harassing Nicole Nolan."
At this point, Jason paused, pointing to a photo of a white woman, "Nicole Nolan. Her aunt is Kayla Nolan, a professor of mathematics at the University of Chicago, chair of the biology department, a member of the board of trustees, and has a close friendship with the mayor. She also seems to own an innovative drug-related company. So, we've been instructed not to touch this matter carelessly."
A young policeman frowned and said, "So, boss? You mean we're not going to investigate this?"
Jason remained silent, but the blond white officer Russell spoke up: "Such a heinous crime occurred on Adam Street late at night, of course we have to investigate. I think the boss means we can't just take a hard line. I just checked the location where the GG sign fell. The Fairworth Building was built in 44, and this upright GG sign belongs to Baoxiang Company, an old company with over ten years of market experience."
"This GG sign is connected to the building's exterior wall with a wooden structure, and it has been in disrepair for many years, so it is indeed not very sturdy."
"However, the strange thing is that the wooden structure seems to have been subjected to some kind of external impact."
As he spoke, Russell showed the relevant photos to everyone and explained, "The cuts are irregular, and there are traces of oxidation nearby, as if someone climbed onto the outside of the building and used some kind of 'air hammer' to strike the connecting structure."
Jason tapped the table and sighed. "The key issue is that there were no chemicals, fingerprints, or footprints left at the scene. Is the killer a ghost?"
Russell: "Boss, I suggest Nicole Nolan or..."
"Isaac Miller doesn't have much power, but Nicole Nolan is different. Investigating her would face too much resistance and wouldn't yield any benefits."
"Boss..."
"That's all I have to say," Jason emphasized again. "Notify Isaac Miller's family and tell them not to forget to claim the compensation from the insurance company."
"Yes," the police officers responded in unison.
Soon, the incident was classified by the Chicago Police Department as "accidental death with the victim in possession of an unlawful weapon," and the matter was temporarily closed.
Russell, however, had a hunch that Leon Aldrin, who was present at the scene, had some inexplicable connection to the matter.
Intelligence indicates that Li Ang and Nicole have a good relationship and even work at the same clinic.
Russell remembered the murder that happened downstairs at the Moonlight Youth Hotel. Li Ang's answer at the time was flawless, but Russell just felt that something was wrong.
This time it was the same on Adam Street.
Russell couldn't pinpoint the exact problem.
He only knew that he couldn't easily alarm Li Ang, especially when he lacked direct evidence.
The most important thing a qualified police officer needs to do is wait patiently for the suspect to reveal their own flaws.
……
Sunday.
Li Ang did not go out.
After spending 8 learning coins to activate the "Mental Focus" skill, he spent a day reading at home and successfully gained 19 points of math experience.
After a whole day of exposure, the room was filled with the distinctive smell of new books' ink.
This smell made Li Ang feel refreshed and even thought that sometimes a small room has its advantages.
"If I ever have the money to build a large private library here in America, I'll at least include a few small rooms."
"Flat-to-ceiling windows, sunlight streaming in—it feels nice to sit inside and read all day."
"And the magic tower, we have to find a way to build it. Having to return to Aiolia to meditate after each spell is too troublesome."
Sitting at his desk, Li Ang casually opened a book called "Modern Algebra".
In his previous life, Li Ang had studied group theory in college, but he had never formally taken a course on it.
According to the course classification for university students in China, this elective course is only taken by third-year students in the Department of Mathematics within the School of Mathematics.
After continuously improving his intelligence and learning efficiency, Li Ang found it much easier to study the content of "Modern Algebra" than in his previous life.
More importantly, during the learning process, Li Ang vaguely sensed that the content related to group theory could be applied to magic models, and that it might help him to further optimize certain spells later.
For example, there is room for further optimization in skills such as [Thunder Slash] and [Burning Fire].
Even the most basic level 0 trick, "Hand of the Wizard," has room for improvement.
If it weren't for the fact that America is a magic-free environment, and Li Ang wasn't reluctant to expend his own magic power, he would have insisted on using [Mage's Hand] to help flip through the book.
think about it.
He sat at his desk studying math, and a semi-transparent magical hand turned the pages of the book by itself.
What a pleasant thing.
Li Ang was starting to look forward to the future.
For a wizard with an academic superpower system, what could be happier than delving into knowledge?
There seems to be one...
Name: Li Ang
Mathematics: Level 1 (143/200)
Physics: Level 0 (71/100)
Chemistry: Level 0 (65/100)
[Biology: Level 1 (100/200)]
Informatics: Level 0 (49/100)
【Intelligence: 1.3】
Physical Strength: 0.5
[Learning Coins: 116]
[Attribute points to be assigned: 0]
[Experience points to be assigned: 1]
[Skills: Interdimensional Travel (Level 0, 20%), Mental Focus (Level 0, 20%)]
Seeing his somewhat unbalanced academic performance, Li Ang felt that while staying home all day reading was quite nice, it was also necessary to exercise to keep his body fit.
As a wizard who casts spells, you don't need to be big and muscular.
At the very least, one's figure should be well-proportioned.