The prints could also reveal a person's habits.

Most of the time, it only took one footprint for me to locate a person. My captain had once patted me on the shoulder and said, "Remember, the ground will never lie to you."

My flashback ended, and I stood up to look at the drag mark on the ground. "The person who took the item used a forklift, and he only drove it once."

Lynn was taken aback. "What?"

I pointed at the corner of the warehouse. "There is only one drag mark, which means whatever was taken was first dragged toward the forklift. After that, it was moved with the forklift." I looked at the forklift one more time. "If this were an outside job, the thief wouldn't have known where to take the forklift keys."

The warehouse was silent as everyone stared at me. Even Lynn was surprised. She looked at me, a middle-aged man in a worn-down worker's uniform with hands full of calluses. It was difficult for her to imagine me as an ordinary stockkeeper.

Lynn had no idea what to make of the contrast. “W-who exactly are you?" she could not help asking. There was respect in her tone.

I smiled but did not answer. All I did was walk toward the forklift again to gently knock on the forklift door while glancing down at the tire. The dust was pressed flat to the ground, which meant the tires had moved.

My footsteps and the clanging of metal were the only sounds that could be heard in the warehouse. The echoes were particularly loud and crisp in the warehouse's wide space. Everyone around me gradually stopped speaking as their expressions shifted from curious to solemn, and ultimately to one of indescribable surprise. They walked past this place every day, but none of them had ever noticed anything different.

Three hours later, I had deduced the entire situation from every trace and mark I found in the warehouse. I compared several other drag marks on the ground once more. The route was clear to see.

The metal cupboard, the forklift, and the side door. There was only one set of footprints throughout the entire process. "I'm done." I let out a long exhale as I stood up. The warehouse was quiet as everyone looked at me.

Tony unconsciously clenched his fist as sweat covered his palms. He looked nervous and doubtful at the same time, while Lynn looked at me with a whole new perspective. She walked to the side door and took a deep breath while slowly clicking into the security footage showing the outside of the warehouse.

Bzzt…

The sound of a machine starting was heard from inside the warehouse. The footage from outside the side door lit up, and the path toward the warehouse gradually appeared on the screen. It was quiet at first. All that could be seen on the footage was the light outside the warehouse and the security guard passing by occasionally.

Someone shouted, "Look! The lights are turned on!"

Tony quickly went closer to look at the footage with an agitated expression. This was it! The thief would be caught the moment the cameras caught him. However, his hopes lasted less than ten seconds.

Beep… Beep…

A sharp alarm was suddenly heard from the main controls, and the screen jumped. The clear footage turned red with a warning, then disappeared. The system notification indicated that the footage data had been damaged.

The hopes of everyone in the warehouse were dashed, and Tony's smile froze. "What happened? Why is the footage damaged?"

That was when hurried footsteps were heard coming from the warehouse door.

"Mr. Chapman! Mr. Chapman!" His assistant, Charlie, ran in breathlessly with a middle-aged man in a suit following behind. It was the security consultant hired by the company, Greg Walsh. The first thing Greg saw upon entering the warehouse was the crowd around the security footage. His face fell when he saw me standing by it.

"This is atrocious!" Greg yelled angrily because his authority had been challenged. "Mr. Chapman, didn't I tell you before that the warehouse investigation has to be conducted by professionals? How can you allow a stockkeeper to simply look into this?"

He went quickly to the screens and glanced at the red warning with a disappointed look on his face. He slammed the table hard. "Damn it! The footage has been destroyed! It could have been salvaged, but everything is gone now because someone looked at it without thinking!"

His words were a huge blow to everyone listening, and Tony's face fell. "What do you mean?"

Greg pointed at the screen. "Someone tampered with the system and overwrote the footage. We won't be able to continue investigating via security footage anymore."

Tony's expression turned darker with every word Greg said. Soon, his pale face turned red with anger as he suddenly turned to stare at me. He looked like he wanted to eat me alive. "James Leigh..." His voice was frighteningly low.

The contract I signed, which demanded $3.6 million in compensation, felt heavy on my shoulders. Everyone in the warehouse started whispering again. Some were gleefully waiting for more drama, while others took pity on my situation. There were some who gloated over my situation as well.

I looked right into Tony's murderous eyes and Greg's arrogant face, and I replied calmly, "He's wrong." The warehouse turned silent right away as I looked at the red screen and continued slowly, "The footage isn't damaged. This portion of the footage was deleted earlier by someone."

Greg burst out laughing. "That's ridiculous. What a bunch of nonsense!" He pointed at me and said to everyone around, "Did you even hear what he said? What does a stockkeeper know about surveillance systems? Do you know that deleting security footage requires permission from a higher authority?"

He turned to look at Tony while trying to provoke him. "You put too much trust in someone like him, Mr. Chapman. Now look where it's gotten you. The surveillance is gone, and we've lost all traces of any clues."

Tony clenched his fists slowly as the veins on the back of his hands throbbed. He pointed at me as his voice trembled with anger. "Explain yourself, Leigh, or else…" He glanced at the contract and said coldly, "Or else you won't walk out of this warehouse in one piece."

Intense pressure washed over me from every direction like a tidal wave. Tony's eyes glinted viciously at me, as if he could tear me apart the very next second. Greg stood to the side with a small smile on his face.

What little respect the workers of the warehouse had just developed for me vanished in an instant. They turned back into an audience, awaiting more drama. However, I was particularly calm. I pointed at a warehouse record in the footage on the screen and said to Lynn, "Look here."

She was taken aback but leaned closer to look.

"Number 4711," I remained levelheaded and said it loud enough for everyone in the warehouse to hear. "It's not a normal warehouse record. The real serial number for damaged equipment or system mishandling is usually the same, but this is a completely different number. This serial number means that someone tampered with the system from the outside.

"To put it simply, someone managed to bypass higher authority to modify the warehouse's security settings, which caused the system to go into auto lockdown," I said while turning to look at Greg.

"You're in charge of the warehouse's security system, Mr. Walsh. I believe you're well aware of what this number means."

Greg's smile froze. There was panic in his eyes, but he quickly calmed down to deny everything. "That's complete nonsense!" He pointed at me and said to everyone else, "Are you sure you want to listen to him? What does a stockkeeper know about a system's records? Anyone would know how to make up these numbers. It's clear that the problem is with the equipment! Stop trying to stall for time with your nonsense!"

"Are you sure?" I laughed coldly and turned to look at Lynn, who looked taken aback, while ignoring him. "Can you help me with something, Lynn?" My tone was calm.

Lynn was surprised but nodded.

"Can you get your laptop from your car and connect to the warehouse's main security camera via data cable?"

"What are you trying to do?" Lynn looked cautious.

"I'm trying to pull backend records from the system."

"That's impossible!" Greg suddenly screamed. "Backend records can only be viewed with the highest authority’s permission! The only people who have the password are the technicians of this security system model. What does a stockkeeper like him know?!"

Greg's reaction was so extreme that even Tony started to realize something was not right. His dark gaze moved between Greg and me.

Lynn was hesitating. She looked at Greg's emotional outburst and then at my calm demeanor. She clenched her teeth in the end and said, "All right." Lynn turned to run out the door and quickly returned with a pink laptop. She swiftly set up the data cable as per my request.

"Click on the terminal interface," I said, "and make sure the connection parameters are accurate."

Lynn's fingers flew across the keyboard, and very soon, the black operating interface popped up.

"Type in the password now."

I took a deep breath and told her a string of numbers and symbols. After I was done with the last digit, Lynn's finger paused above the 'Enter' key. She looked up at me in shock. She knew this password well.

The first half of the password was the warehouse system's code name, but the second half was her mentor's name. The numbers in the middle were the year her mentor had taken part in designing this system. It was also a hidden code her mentor had mentioned to her in private, which should not have been used as a password.

However, she did not hesitate as she hit the 'Enter' key hard.

A notification appeared instantly on the screen. She was able to access the system. A backend interface not seen before immediately appeared, full of data records. Greg turned ghostly pale.

"Click on the last activity record," I said.

Lynn nodded and clicked on the file. Every line of the record was displayed clearly, and I pointed at the last few records. "Look here. Someone logged into the warehouse system yesterday afternoon at 3.15 PM via a remote maintenance port. The login belongs to an administrator. That person turned off the alarm system in Warehouse 1 and temporarily opened up the back door of the loading dock.

"This was when the item was stolen."

Lynn immediately checked the origin of the login, and her head jerked up the next second. She glared at Greg. "This IP address belongs to the intranet of South City University."

Greg was a visiting professor of South City University.

Everyone in the warehouse immediately turned to look at him.