Chapter 259
Talia chuckled mockingly, “Ms. Henderson, I know you have connections, but this is a government backed project. No one gets to call all the shots.
“The rules are clear, Any company caught slandering others or resorting to underhanded tactics to secure a spot will be disqualified.
“So, do you actually have proof that our company
y cheated, or are you just dragging us down with you out of spite?”
Ar that, several of the event organizers exchanged looks. Then, the host said, “FlexiTech Group, unless you can present solid evidence, your company will be disqualified for attempting to disrupt the event.”
Audrey nodded politely to the host and said, “I have concrete evidence.”
“Then please present it,” the host replied.
Audrey lifted her hand and pointed to Talia’s laptop. “it’s on her laptop”
Talia’s sexpression shifted slightly. She quickly pressed her hand against the laptop. “This is absurd! Your designs couldn’t keep up, so now you’re trying to steal our tech and blame us? I object”
Audrey tilted her head with a dazzling smile, though her eyes were cold. She asked, “Oh, what are you so afraid of? Your laptop is hooked up to the projector.
“I promise I won’t even open your project presentation. With all these people watching, it’s not like I could sneak a look.”
Seeing how confident she was, Talia started to feel a bit uneasy. Still, she insisted, “There are sensitive files on this laptop. You could plant a virus without even opening a document. Unless you can explain how you’re going to prove it first.
With a challenging glare, Audrey glanced at her before turning to the organizers and saying “Ladies and gentlemen, there are plenty of bach companies here besides Stella Core and FlexiTech Group
“With all these industry leaders watching my every move, if I’m found guilty of stealing any of her content, FlexiTech Group will withdraw from smart tech development for good”
James Lawson, one of FlexiTech Group’s engineers, stood up in frustration and snapped, “Audrey! Who gave you the right to decide FlexiTech Group’s future?
“The company’s creative designs and original code were handed to you by Handy himself. Now both the ideas and the code have been stolen. How could you do this to him!
“Before the meeting, I saw you talking with Talia from StellarCore. I think you two are in on this together. First, you leak our trade secrets, then you use some excuse to force FlexiTech Group out of the smart tech industry entirely!”
“James, you have to believe me,” Audrey said.
James shot back, “And why should 17”
Seving them turn on each other, Talia could barely hide her smile. She thought, ‘Go ahead and make a scene. The messier, the better.
FlexiTech Group gets disqualified, Audrey gets booted from the company and blacklisted across the entire industry. Three birds with one stone. Works perfectly for me!
Audrey suddenly turned to look at her. Talia didn’t have time to wipe the smugness from her face before Audrey caught it. She cleared her throat. “Are you really willing to risk FlexiTech Group’s future in smart tech just to dig through my laptop?”
“I am,” Audrey replied firmly.
James opened his mouth to argue, but another engineer yanked him back into his seat. He sat there furning, glaring daggers at Audrey looks could kill
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she would be nothing but ashes by now.
Talia turned to the event organizers. “Ladies and gentlemen, FlexTech Group insists on checking my laptop. if refuse, it look like ‘n Hiding something, right?”
She added, “Well, I’m willing to let her check it But if she can’t find hand prest, I want Flexitech Group out of this exhibition and banned from a development for the next five years.” She put deliberate emphasis on the word “hard proof”
Talia was confident that even if Audrey found signs of data stitching on her laptop, there would be the way to prove the source came from her taptop
The event officials huddled for a quick discussion,
According to the rules for today’s expo, plagiarism or malicious competition would lead to disqualification. There was no official i
ban from Al
But since both parties were so adamant, the organizers figured one extra clause wouldn’t hurt. It might even send a message to the companies waiting their turn–don’t get any bright ideas.
“You have a deal” said one of the officials “FlexiTech Group, if you can’t produce hard evidence, you’ll follow the consequences outlined in today’s
nules.
“I agree,” Audrey responded without hesitation.
“No-“James started, but someone clamped a hand over his mouth as
th as he glared at her with pure venom.
Talis stepped aside from the podium and made a gesture, inviting Audrey to take the stage.
Audrey walked up slowly, opened Talia’s laptop, and in seconds, a blue screen filled the projector, Lin
Talia’s eyes widened in shock. “Audrey, you know how to code?”
Audrey didn’t answer. Her fingers flew over the keyboard with practiced ease.
of code began to scroll rapidly across the screen
A flicker of panic rose in Talia. She kept her eyes locked on Audrey’s hands and then darted a glance at the screen, worried she might miss the moment Audrey plugged in a USB drive.
At first, the other engineers in the room didn’t react. They had no idea who Audrey was and assumed this was just basic technical sup
But then, something changed in the stream of code. A hush fell over the room,
followed by murmurs spreading like a slow wave.
Cold sweat broke out down Talia’s back. The air conditioning above her blew strong and steady, but it felt like an icy wind cutting through her limbs.
Right after Audrey tapped Entor with a sharp click, the stream of fast-scrolling code came to an abrupt halt, and green numbers flashed across the screen: 13,2,11
As soon as the numbers disappeared, massive letters took over, rolling slowly upward and revealing the next word. The phrase “I played FlexiTech Group” kept scrolling again and again.
Talia’s face turned ghostly pale. She clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles cracked, sweat dripping down her forehead in thick beads.
She stared in disbelief, wondering, ‘How is this evgh possible? Wasn’t Audrey just scraping by to get into some low–tier college? A garbage third–rate school with no real program?
‘But the way
she handled that laptop… she way fast, confident, and precise. Did Lucia lie to me, or has Audrey been hiding her skills all along!
The host spoke up. “StellarCore, do you have anything to say for yourself?”
Talia refused to admit fault. “That was sophething Audrey planted, it doesn’t prove plagiarism.”
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Chapter 259
Of course, she couldn’t admit it. If Stellar Core was exposed for stealing ideas, they would be disqualified from the project entirely. And the had sunk every last cent she had into this one. There was no way she could afford to walk away.
Audrey switched on her headset and addressed the organizers and the rest of the companies in the room. “Tadmit it’s a virus. It was pre–installed on my laptop. Any device connected externally would be infected”
She turned to Talia with a faint smile. “Once it’s activated, there’s no way to erase it.”
Talia’s laptop was now completely unusable. Whether she admitted anything or not didn’t matter–her system was locked down. Even StellarCore’s proprietary data had been frozen
It was like a bomb went off in her head, and she felt seconds away from losing it completely.
Seething, Talia thought, “That bitch actually tricked me!
“Even if StellarCore manages to stay in the top five, all my data is gone. Rerunning those figures will take time and specialized help. And some of that data? I bought it outright from external vendors!
Without warning. Talia’s hand shot up, alming
a slap at Audrey. “What gave you the nerve, Audrey?”
-wift
