American comics: I am full of martial virtues and I love to be kind to others.

Chapter 711 I really hate these clever thieves!

"Why didn't the alarm go off?" Lynn asked.

Blake gestured towards the outside of the vault: "The security chief said the system was working perfectly last night. But a normal system wouldn't allow someone to cut open the ground."

“The surveillance was interrupted for four minutes,” Jason said. “That’s enough time for an experienced person to get a lot done.”

“The premise is how he got in and how he got out.” Blake crossed his arms and looked at the hole. “He can’t really crawl through the wall.”

Lynn crouched down and examined a tiny scratch on the inside edge of the hole. It didn't look like a cut; it looked more like something hard had used its force against the edge, leaving a short abrasion mark. He didn't touch it with his fingertips, only looked at it for a few seconds, and asked, "Did you find any footprints?"

“Curry has almost no unusually complete footprints,” the technician replied. “There’s only one partially formed footprint, on the east side of the hole, like the toe of a shoe brushed against it, but the size is incomplete. We’ve already made a mold of it.”

"Not barefoot?"

"No."

Jason chimed in, "The fact that they have shoes means they weren't floating in mid-air the whole time."

“It’s also possible that it just landed briefly,” Blake said.

“It could also be a deliberate attempt to mislead.” Lynn stood up. “Who was the first to notice?”

Blake turned around and called out, "Ms. Floyd!"

Not long after, the vault manager, Amanda Floyd, was brought in. She was in her early forties, wearing a sharply tailored gray suit, but the collar was now slightly disheveled, her fingers were clutching a tissue, and her face was almost the same color as Curry's lights.

She visibly flinched again when she saw the opening, as if even though she had seen it once before, she still couldn't accept that the thing was in the vault she was in charge of.

“Detective,” she said, her voice dry, “I’ve already explained the discovery to the detective.”

“Say it again,” Lynn said.

Amanda took a breath, trying to sound calm: "At 7:05 this morning, I went into the second basement level with the morning shift inspector to do the routine warehouse opening inspection. The first door was normal, the second door was normal, and the temperature, humidity, and pressure readings were all within the range. Around 7:12, we entered the main storage area, and I first noticed that the color of the ground on the west side was wrong... no, not the color, but the reflection was wrong. Then I took a couple of steps in and saw this hole."

As she spoke, her throat tightened again, and she didn't dare to look away.

"When was the last time you went into the warehouse last night?" Lynn asked.

“21:37,” Amanda replied immediately. “Final inspection before closing. I saw it myself; the ground was absolutely intact at the time.”

"Who knows the location of the high-value targets stored in Curry's inventory?"

“There are internal access restrictions, and not everyone knows the exact ranking,” Amanda said. “Only I, the security supervisor, two authorized persons from the head office, and the system administrator can check. Theoretically, only the customer and a very small number of people in the back office with sealed records know the contents of the private safe deposit box.”

Jason looked at her: "Theoretically?"

Amanda pursed her lips: "There's no absolute 'only' in banking. But by the system, very few people know this."

"What was the status of the alarm panel when you came in this morning?"

"No abnormalities found."

"Did you hear anything?"

“No.” Amanda shook her head. “It was so quiet here that… so at first I didn’t even realize it was a hole. I thought it was a problem with the reflection from the ground.”

Jason glanced down at his clipboard: "Have you noticed which private safe deposit boxes are missing?"

“It’s still under investigation, but it’s preliminarily confirmed that there are two cells in zone C, one cell in zone E, and two cells in zone G,” Amanda said. “It doesn’t look like they were opened consecutively by zone.”

“It means they brought a list,” Blake whispered beside him.

Lynn asked, "Is there any maintenance, repair, or outsourced work going in or out at night?"

"No."

What about last week?

Amanda paused for a moment: "The day before yesterday, there was a maintenance on the air conditioning circulation system, which was in the upper equipment area and did not involve the second basement level."

"Give me the list of outsourced workers."

"I've already had my secretary prepare it."

Lynn looked at her: "Is there anyone you shouldn't have known about this in the first place, but who found out before others?"

Amanda was clearly taken aback: "What?"

"For example, before you call the police, does anyone ask you 'Is something wrong underground?' or does the legal department at headquarters react too quickly when answering the phone?"

Amanda's eyes flickered.

Jason immediately noticed: "Who?"

“I…” She frowned and thought for a few seconds, “I called the security supervisor at 7:13, and he arrived at 7:14. At 7:15, I called the head office legal department. The deputy general counsel answered the phone, and her first words were—”

"What is it?" Lynn asked.

“She said, ‘Is there a problem in the basement?’” Amanda paused for a moment after saying that. “I was too panicked at the time and didn’t think there was a problem. But I didn’t say it was the basement. I only said that ‘there’s a serious anomaly in the vault.’”

Blake said coldly from the side, "Fine, now I prefer your head office legal department."

"Where is she?" Lynn asked.

“On its way,” Amanda said. “Headquarters is sending someone—”

“Don’t let her touch any internal communications records,” Lynn interrupted her. “From now on, headquarters is also a potential source of information leaks.”

Amanda's face paled even more: "You mean headquarters—"

“I haven’t said anything yet,” Lynn said calmly. “I’m just saying, don’t let anyone get ahead of us in compiling our narrative.”

Jason tilted his head at Blake: "Have someone keep an eye on the people coming from headquarters. Secure their cell phones, tablets, and laptops on the spot if they're willing to cooperate; otherwise, record who's contacting whom."

Blake nodded, turned and left.

Lynn then looked at the cave entrance again: "Who on duty last night heard the strange noise?"

“The security guard in the monitoring room is named Peter Stone,” Amanda said. “He said he thought it was an old pipe in the building.”

"bring."

Amanda was about to leave when she suddenly stopped, as if hesitating about something.

"Is there anything else?" Lynn asked.

“There’s a detail… I don’t know if it will be useful,” she said softly. “When I first entered the warehouse, I smelled… how should I put it, like a basement after the rain or like burnt metal. But the smell was very faint, and it dissipated after a few minutes.”

Jason raised his eyes slightly: "Does Curry usually smell like this?"

"Absolutely not."

Lynn nodded: "Write it in."

After she left, Jason squatted down by the hole and looked down for a while.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

“Two directions,” Lynn said.

"explain."

"First, this is a spatial capability, not traditional excavation. Someone simply 'removed' this structure, or temporarily removed the material from its original position, and then reconstructed and sealed it off."

Jason grinned. "That sounds awful."

"Secondly, it wasn't a solo act."

"Because you need to get the list?"

“Because the hole and the lock are not necessarily the same method.” Lynn looked at the several high-security storage cabinets that had been opened. “One is responsible for entry and exit, and the other is responsible for disabling the lock, or one is responsible for creating an entry window, and the other is responsible for retrieving the goods.”

Jason stood up: "A duo."

"At least."

"Do you think it was a last-minute team or a professional pair?" "Their movements seem like a team," Lynn said. "They monitored the gap for four minutes, accurately retrieved the goods, and handled everything cleanly without leaving many traces. A last-minute team wouldn't be this reliable."

Jason was silent for two seconds, then suddenly said, "Could it lead to Raphael's connection?"

Lynn paused for a moment: "It's too early now."

"But you've thought of this too, haven't you?"

“The anomalous drug chain doesn’t just sell drugs; it also needs money, rare materials, and valuable items that can be washed.” Lynn’s voice was low. “If this is a regular high-end anomalous theft, treat it as a theft. If not, it will be exposed later.”

Jason smirked. "Great, now I'm even less able to sleep."

Not long after, Peter, the security guard who had heard the strange noise the night before, was brought in.

He was in his early thirties, and his uniform collar was slightly damp, as if he had been sweating the whole way. His eyes didn't entirely look guilty; rather, they showed the kind of panic that comes from being suddenly caught up in a major case.

“I already said that.” He raised his hand as soon as he came in, as if to prove that he was not lying. “I really only heard it once, not loudly, like something in the building sinking.”

"What time?" Lynn asked.

“Around... 2:30.” Peter thought for a moment. “2:45? No, not necessarily that precise. I was watching the surveillance footage in the B-section corridor when I heard a 'thump,' a muffled sound.”

"Like what?"

“It was like someone knocking on a thick wall from a great distance,” Peter said. “It wasn’t an explosion, absolutely not.”

Why didn't you go see it?

“I checked the surveillance footage on the second basement level!” Peter said immediately. “But that small area of ​​the screen was full of snowflakes, so I thought it was a signal problem. After four minutes, it was restored, but I couldn’t see anything unusual on the screen. All the doors were closed, and the alarm didn’t go off… So I just noted it down in the duty log and planned to report it to the equipment team when I handed over the shift.”

Jason raised an eyebrow: "So you heard a strange noise, saw the scene near the vault flashing for four minutes, and finally decided to write a log."

Peter's face flushed red: "I know this sounds like I'm an idiot, but the equipment here has had occasional interference before! And the system didn't alarm, so I don't have permission to open the second-floor storage door alone."

Who has the authority?

"Supervisor, security supervisor, and dual authorization."

Who did you call?

“Nobody’s here.” Peter’s lips were pale. “I’m afraid I’m overreacting. Calling someone down in the middle of the night is just a line problem.”

Jason turned his head and whispered to Lynn, "At least this explanation fits the general pattern of human stupidity."

Lynn didn't answer, but instead asked Peter, "Before the snowflakes appeared, did you see any figures, shadows, unusual door openings, or changes in lighting in the frame?"

Peter frowned and tried desperately to remember: "No... wait a minute."

"explain."

“When the snowflakes first started to appear, there seemed to be a very short bright line in the upper right corner.” Peter gestured. “It wasn’t a light reflection, it was like…like someone made a very thin arc of electricity along the edge of the lens. But I can’t be sure.”

"direction?"

"From bottom to top, diagonally."

How long will it last?

"Less than a second."

Lynn nodded: "Did you smell anything unusual when you were on duty last night?"

Peter paused, "There was a little, but it was very faint. I thought it was because it was raining outside and the old ventilation shaft was damp."

What does it taste like?

“A metallic smell…and a bit like the heat you get when a subway tunnel brakes.” Peter said, wrinkling his nose. “I know it’s a terrible description, but that’s pretty much it.”

Lynn looked at him: "Did you leave the monitoring room for more than five minutes last night?"

“I went to the restroom once, for less than two minutes. I had Townsend on patrol keep an eye on me before I left.”

Where is Townsend?

"Outside."

“Bring him along too.”

After Peter was taken away, Jason whispered, "This guy doesn't seem like someone who can handle big things."

"Ah."

"Do you think he really didn't participate, or that he only participated on the outermost edge?"

“It’s not obvious yet,” Lynn said. “But he doesn’t have the mental fortitude to pretend the snowflakes are fine for four minutes after seeing the hole.”

Blake re-entered, carrying a printed temporary visitor list and internal communications security records: "Here you go. Also, the deputy legal counsel from head office has arrived, with two lawyers and a security director. They're upstairs throwing a tantrum."

Jason chuckled. "Let her post it a little longer."

“There’s something else.” Blake turned to the second page. “At 2:52 a.m., a municipal maintenance vehicle passed by the surveillance camera in the back alley of the building, but it didn’t stop. The license plate wasn’t captured completely; you could only see the last two digits, which looked like 7 and K. The vehicle was white-gray, and there was mud on the side of the vehicle.”

Lynn took it and glanced at it: "Bring out all municipal and engineering vehicles from the surrounding three streets within the last half hour."

"The traffic surveillance system has already been bypassed."

“What about the nearby drainage system?” Lynn asked.

Blake was taken aback: "You also thought about going down into that hole?"

"What I'm thinking is that if someone wants people to guess the sewers first, they might deliberately take that visual route."

Jason continued, "But the bottom is sealed off, so this 'downward' is like smoke."

Blake crossed his arms and clicked his tongue: "I really hate these clever thieves."

As they were talking, a second night patrol guard, Townsend, was brought in. He was taller and older, with an unshaven beard. As soon as he entered, he looked at the cave entrance before quickly looking away.

“I didn’t see anything,” he said first. “I was sitting right outside the monitoring room for the two minutes Peter went to the bathroom.”

“What was your patrol route last night?” Jason asked.

“Every forty minutes, one round, the first floor, the equipment floor, and the basement, excluding the second floor main warehouse,” Thomson replied. “The second floor main warehouse is not open at night.”

"Did you ever pass through an equipment area near an underground structure during a patrol?"

"Yes, it's in the corridor outside the fan room on the west side of the equipment floor."

"What time is it?"

"Around 2:40."

Is there anything unusual?

Townsend hesitated for a moment.

Lynn looked at him: "Just say it."

“When I passed the section with the wind turbine room, I heard a sound like water coming from inside the walls,” Townsend said. “But it wasn’t like a leaking pipe; it was more like a large stream of something squeezing through a very narrow space, ‘whoosh,’ very quickly.”

Jason looked up: "You didn't report it?"

Townsend was taken aback: "This building is old, I've heard strange noises before. Besides, I couldn't have imagined back then that someone would make a hole downstairs."

"Did you smell anything?" Lynn asked.

"I've smelled it. Like rust that's been burned."

"During your patrol, did you see any external maintenance personnel, cleaning staff, or unfamiliar faces?"

"No." (End of Chapter)