Chapter 40 - Reviewing the Footage
Security staff converted an empty conference room into a temporary review center.
Every available camera angle from the exhibition hall was synchronized onto multiple monitors.
Supervisor Moreno worked alongside event organizers and district investigators.
Hours of ordinary footage passed.
Students assembling displays.
Parents taking photographs.
Volunteers arranging signs.
Nothing unusual.
Then one timestamp caught everyone's attention.
10:47 p.m.
Long after exhibitors had left for their hotels.
A maintenance crew entered the testing area for routine cleaning.
Minutes later, another individual appeared wearing an event volunteer jacket.
The badge was visible.
The face was not.
The person walked confidently toward the demonstration course.
No hesitation.
No signs of searching.
Almost as if they already knew where they intended to go.
The individual remained beneath the final ramp for less than thirty seconds.
Then disappeared through a service corridor.
Moreno paused the recording.
"Zoom in."
The image sharpened slightly.
The volunteer badge remained unreadable.
But something else became visible.
A distinctive wristwatch with a blue fabric band.
Investigator Bennett, who had been invited to observe because of the earlier online leak, studied the frame carefully.
"It may not identify the person."
She pointed toward the corridor.
"But it identifies their route."
Another camera covered that hallway.
Reviewing the second recording revealed the same individual removing the volunteer jacket before exiting through a side door.
Underneath...
A school polo shirt.
Unfortunately, the logo remained hidden beneath a rain jacket.
Not enough for identification.
Enough to continue searching.
Across the building, the competition resumed.
Alex completed the remaining sections of the course without incident.
The prototype crossed every obstacle successfully.
Applause followed naturally.
No dramatic celebration.
Just genuine appreciation from judges and spectators.
Professor Chen smiled as she completed her scoring sheet.
"Thank you."
Alex nodded.
"Thank you for giving us the opportunity."
As he left the course, he noticed several competitors approaching.
Not to question his design.
To congratulate him.
Whatever rivalry had existed before the demonstrations seemed replaced by mutual respect.
Yet somewhere inside the convention center, the unidentified individual had already disappeared.
May you like
Leaving investigators with only a blurred image and a blue watchband.
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