After leaving the company, I looked at my team and gave them a wistful smile.

"Tonight, we're going out too, to celebrate escaping a beast of a company. It's time we enjoyed life for once—my treat."

The team nodded in agreement.

That evening, the restaurant lights felt strangely unfamiliar. It was as if I hadn't been in a place like this for lifetimes.

Just as I was about to sit down and order, an offer letter slipped out from inside the menu and landed in my hand.

It was an employment offer from Mecha Games, the largest game developer in the world.

I looked around in shock, and finally spotted Leo Winters, Mecha Games's current CEO, seated in an inconspicuous corner.

He raised a hand to me naturally.

I returned a calm smile, then suppressed the joy rising in my chest and turned to my team.

"Looks like we've found a better job."

An hour later, when I placed the hundred-thousand-dollar annual salary offers in front of them, both my teammates and I burst into tears.

We had worked for ten years as core technical staff, yet our annual salaries had been less than 25,000 dollars. That was lower than what interns earned after becoming full-time employees.

I had once applied for a raise. But Preston always brushed me off with excuses.

Once, he even pointed at me and shouted, "Don't you have husbands? Won't your husbands give you money? Why do you have to keep eyeing the company's money?

"You women are just greedy! It's not like you've done anything extraordinary!

"Don't think you can threaten me with resignation. With so many married women in your team who haven't even had kids yet, what company would dare hire you?"

Back then, I truly began to doubt myself—to wonder whether I had really brought any value to the company.

Now that I thought about it, I had simply been foolish. Our worth had always been seen by someone.

Mecha Games had long been observing several of our company's outstanding systems, and Leo had noticed us a long time ago. So when we were just talking about getting fired, he decisively extended an olive branch.

After accepting the offer, we raised our glasses and drank happily.

Before we could even finish celebrating, employees from our former company walked into the restaurant.

When they saw us, their faces filled with shock. Preston even laughed in disdain.

"What's the point of having a party now? I'm not going to cancel your resignation just because you're out celebrating!"

I waved a hand.

"Of course. We're just here to eat. We have no intention of going back."

My words infuriated him. After seating his employees, he strode over to me.

"Don't think the company can't run without you! Without you parasites, our company will only get better and better!"

I nodded calmly.

"Then I hope AI leads your company to go public."

Preston sneered.

"Of course! We have expensive AI system and graduates from top universities. You useless women can't compare at all! And AI and graduates don't need to take frequent leave!"

An employee immediately echoed him.

"That's right! With AI, our company will only grow stronger!"

I gave a cold laugh.

"I hope so."

The sarcasm in my tone was not lost on Preston. His face flushed red.

"I have a PhD from Xaturn University! I know far more than a mere master's graduate like you!"

Before he could continue shouting, a company alert was broadcast through everyone's phones.

Hearing that familiar alarm, the corners of my lips lifted unconsciously.

It was the SSS-level high-risk alert. If the vulnerability was not patched within two hours, all confidential archives stored by the company would be stolen by hackers.

Our company was famous for its security systems. Not only did we have one of the world's most secure game payment platforms, but also one of the world's most secure virtual currency storage systems.

Many internationally known tycoons trusted our protection and appreciated the company's low profile. So they stored their virtual assets with us.

If the data were stolen now, not only would the accounts of players worldwide be compromised, those tycoons' fortunes would vanish overnight. By then, the company would be saddled with massive debt, and the project heads would land directly on the tycoons' revenge list.

Seeing my expression, Preston ground his teeth.

"Kylie, what are you gloating about? The company has had alarms like this before! Don't think only your team can handle it!"

I took a sip of red wine and smiled calmly.

"Then I wish you good luck, Preston."

One male employee, displeased with my attitude, snatched the glass from my hand.

"What are you being so arrogant about? Preston will fix everything in a moment! When that happens, you'll see how wrong you were!"

Others chimed in at once.

"That's right! Your leaving will only make the company better!"

Amid their flattery, Preston smugly took out his phone, pulled up a script, and clumsily began importing it.

As he entered the AI command, he looked at me with unmistakable triumph.

"Now I'll show you how powerful AI really is."

The next second, his phone emitted an even sharper alarm. Then came the AI's broadcast.

"Error! Unable to run.

"Error! Unable to intercept.

"Error! Data leakage detected."

The smugness in Preston's eyes instantly turned to panic.

He tried again, but it made no difference.

All that answered him was the cold, mechanical female voice.

When our eyes met, his face flushed crimson with rage as he pointed at me.

"Kylie, don't get cocky! Someone in our company can definitely fix this!"

He turned and looked at a male employee.

I remembered him well. From the day he joined, he had always looked down on our department and belittled us at every turn.

After I won the championship in the Information Security Competition, he even spread rumors that I had slept with a judge to get the result.

The job promotion that should have been mine was given to him instead.

When Preston called on him, the man quickly composed himself.

"Preston, I'm not like these parasites. I'm the technical director. Half an hour is all I need to fix these vulnerabilities."

Watching him leave, Preston turned to me with a smug smile.

"Parasites will always be parasites! Good thing I didn't give you the director position back then! A vulnerability he can solve in half an hour—some people need six hours. Ridiculous!"

Hearing this, someone shrieked, "What? Six hours? Overtime is twenty dollars an hour! Those shameless women—how dare they report that many hours!"

"Firing them was the right decision! They're tumors!"

"They never work properly—only think about cheating money by inflating overtime!"

Amid the clamor, Eva beside me suddenly burst out laughing and raised her phone.

"Oh my God, Preston—your company is on the news. Congratulations!"

He looked at her in confusion, then pulled up the news article.

[Dolce Group System Crashes: Tens of Millions of Accounts and Virtual Assets Lost—Who Will Pay for the Damage?]