12dz Chapter 5 Investigation
Chapter 5 Investigation
In the early morning, before the mist had completely dissipated from the river, Pier No. 3 had already begun its new day of hustle and bustle.
Lin Mo arrived at his workstation on time, and Old Zhang nodded to him as a greeting.
This quiet but incredibly strong young man left a good impression on him.
"Today we're unloading silk and porcelain from the south, so be careful! If you get hurt, we couldn't afford to pay for it even if we sold you all!" Old Zhang shouted at all the laborers.
He glanced at Lin Mo, seemingly finding him reliable. "Lin Mo, you take two people and take charge of the silk from the 'Fu Shun' ship. Move it directly into Warehouse No. 3, Class A."
"Understood." Lin Mo replied, pointed to two seemingly honest refugees beside him, and walked towards the "Fu Shun," a ship whose decorations were clearly more exquisite than those of other cargo ships.
The silk was wrapped in a waterproof oilcloth bag. It was not large in size, but it was quite heavy and required extra care.
Lin Mo demonstrated by hoisting a bag onto his shoulder and walking steadily toward the designated Warehouse No. 3.
At the entrance of the warehouse, there was an accountant from the canal gang registering people, and two canal guards wearing water-dividing spikes, their eyes scanning everyone who came in and out with vigilance.
The Class A warehouses are the most heavily guarded warehouses in the dock area, and they are usually used to store high-value goods.
Lin Mo observed the warehouse's internal structure and the distribution of guards without making a sound, memorizing the information.
He moved with remarkable efficiency and with exceptionally steady movements. The heavy silk satin seemed weightless on his shoulders, and he stacked the satin in perfect order, attracting the attention of the accountant.
"Damn it, this is really weird!" A man dressed as a minor leader from the canal gang cursed as he walked over and complained to a martial arts master guarding the canal entrance.
"Old Wang, you said you added two more brothers to guard this Jia-class warehouse last night, and not even a mouse could sneak in. How come three boxes of 'Pre-Rain Longjing' tea are still missing? That was specially prepared by the gang leader to entertain distinguished guests!"
The guard, known as Old Wang, frowned and lowered his voice: "Keep your voice down! The gang leader is furious about this and is investigating thoroughly. The accounts and inventory records match, but the goods just vanished into thin air. Isn't that strange?"
"Could it be... haunted?" the leader said, half-jokingly and half-seriously.
"What a load of rubbish!" Old Wang spat. "I bet it's an inside job! And the methods are so sophisticated, they didn't leave a single trace."
"A mole? We've been investigating for so long, and we haven't found a single clue! If this continues, the brothers won't be able to work anymore. We'll be living in constant fear."
The two lowered their voices, but Lin Mo's keen hearing still caught the key information.
"Pre-rain Longjing", "Jiazi Warehouse", "Insider", "Without a trace".
Their conversation confirmed the rumors he had heard yesterday.
The disappearance of the goods was not unfounded, and it happened right in this heavily guarded core area.
He lowered his eyelids, his mind racing.
Ordinary theft would be impossible to carry out without leaving a trace under such tight security, especially for something as bulky as tea. Either it was an inside job, with multiple people working together in a meticulously planned operation, or the thief used unconventional methods.
For example... martial arts.
Over the next few days, Lin Mo continued working at the dock, deliberately maintaining an efficient but not outrageous work performance, gradually winning the basic trust of Old Zhang and several guards.
He took advantage of the opportunity to move goods in and out of different warehouses to observe the dock's terrain, personnel flow, shift change times, and those potentially overlooked corners more closely.
He discovered that while the docks appeared well-guarded, the security was mainly concentrated at the entrances and outside important warehouses. Patrols were less frequent in areas where ordinary goods were stored or in blind spots.
Moreover, there seems to be a certain barrier between the guards and the ordinary gang members, who both respect and distance themselves from the guards.
When moving a batch of heavy pig iron ingots, Lin Mo deliberately chose a route that required crossing an abandoned old pier.
This pier has been out of use due to years of disrepair, and few people come here. The water under the pier has formed a backwater area due to the bend in the river, and the current is relatively gentle. The water near the shore is covered with lush aquatic plants.
As he carried the iron ingots across the pier, his gaze inadvertently swept across the junction of the pier and the water, and he keenly noticed a patch of water plants that appeared to have been frequently disturbed rather than swaying naturally with the waves.
Although the marks were very faint, they were exceptionally clear to him.
He already had a plan in mind.
After finishing work, Lin Mo did not immediately return to his shack to rest like the other laborers. Instead, he made an excuse to take a walk along the river and came to the vicinity of the abandoned pier.
Lin Mo concealed himself in the shadows on the shore, blending into the night, his aura completely suppressed, his gaze fixed on that unusual area of aquatic plants.
Time passed little by little.
Around midnight, a very faint splashing sound, almost drowned out by the sound of flowing water, was heard.
In the dim moonlight, he saw several dark figures swimming like ghosts from downstream, silently approaching the abandoned pier.
These people are excellent swimmers with coordinated movements, clearly well-trained.
They arrived at the area with unusual aquatic plants. One of them dived into the water and, moments later, pulled out a long, rectangular object tightly wrapped in tarpaulin! Then, the others dived in one after another and pulled out several similar packages.
They secured the package underwater and then silently drifted downstream with the current. The whole process was as fast as a ghost, without making any loud noise. If Lin Mo hadn't noticed the anomaly beforehand and been waiting there, it would have been impossible for them to discover it.
"Sure enough, the goods weren't stolen from the warehouse, but rather cleverly 'intercepted' and hidden in the water during transport, or before being stored, and then secretly transported away by waterway!"
This explains why warehouses, despite being heavily guarded, can still be burglarized. The problem may lie in the loading, unloading, or transshipment of goods, and may even involve the people responsible for receiving and transporting them.
Lin Mo didn't alert them. He memorized the approximate size and movement characteristics of the dark figures, watching them disappear into the darkness downstream.
The water at the Caobang Wharf is much deeper than it appears on the surface.
Behind the continuous disappearance of goods must lie a tightly organized network of moles.
He quietly retreated and returned to the noisy and crowded shantytown.