Chapter 87 A Narrow Escape from Desperation
"Ms. Hart?" The host noticed her standing frozen and urged again, "Can you begin your presentation?"
Daisy took a deep breath, bowed to the audience, then faced the judges' panel and said nervously, "I'm sorry, there's a problem with my equipment. My files won't open. Could I... could I postpone my presentation?"
Every word she spoke trembled, but she didn't even realize it. Her mind was consumed by a single thought: the files were clearly saved—she had just checked them—so how could they suddenly disappear?
The audience fell silent for a moment before whispers began to ripple through the crowd.
At the judges' panel, several experts exchanged glances. Finally, Professor Morgan picked up the microphone and said, "Alright, take care of it. We'll move you to the final slot."
"Thank you." Daisy bowed again, quickly gathered her things, and hurried off the stage.
Even after stepping down, her legs remained weak from the overwhelming tension.
If she hadn't been holding onto the table, she would have collapsed to the floor.
Ethan had witnessed everything. Seeing Daisy head toward the preparation room, he quickly followed, his expression dark with anger.
"What happened? Did you leave your USB drive behind?"
"No, that's not it... I don't know what happened. Everything was fine just now, but once I got on stage, none of the files would open!"
By now, Daisy's voice was so anxious she was on the verge of tears. "Could my computer have gotten a virus, or did someone..."
"What, are you going to go find out who did it now? Even if you do, what good will it do?" Ethan cut her off, pacing around the room in frustration.
"Do you have a cloud backup of your files?"
Daisy silently shook her head.
Ethan frowned deeply. Though he usually had a good temper, he couldn't keep it in check this time.
"You... I don't even know what to say to you. This is such an important competition—how could you be so careless? If I'd known, I would have sent Noah instead!"
Daisy kept her head down, saying nothing, letting Ethan vent his frustration.
Just then, a voice spoke up from behind them.
"What's the point of saying all this now? Ethan, aren't you supposed to be a gentleman? Why are you so worked up?"
Daisy quickly turned to see Vincent striding in from outside.
Despite his sarcastic tone, his expression showed genuine concern for Daisy.
Ethan frowned and looked at him with disgust. "This is Reed Corporation's internal matter. It has nothing to do with you—or are you the one who pulled this dirty trick?"
Vincent raised an eyebrow. "Nothing to do with me? You're scolding my wife, and you still say it has nothing to do with me?"
"So you're admitting you did it? That's low!"
Vincent didn't get angry and fired back sarcastically, "If your brain were even slightly bigger than a walnut, you'd realize that if I had really done it, I'd be sitting in the audience enjoying your embarrassment right now—not coming here to help you figure it out."
Ethan stared at him. "What solution could you possibly have?"
Vincent ignored him and looked at Daisy instead. "You have at least four hours before you go on, right? I have a backup plan. Take it, familiarize yourself with it, and get through the competition."
Ethan snorted in disdain but didn't reject the suggestion.
Because this was the only option right now—better than withdrawing without a fight, which would be truly embarrassing.
But Daisy shook her head. "This is an industry technical competition. What would it mean if I used your company's backup plan? If word got out, Reed Corporation would lose face!"
"Then what will you do...?"
"I have... a backup plan too," Daisy said hesitantly.
It was actually a discarded plan—the earliest version—which she had rejected because the technology wasn't mature enough.
But it wasn't fully mature, not entirely unusable either.
Moreover, the approach of this plan was completely different from the current mainstream direction. It could be a bold attempt—or it might be rejected outright by the judges for being too unconventional.
Ethan frowned. "You mean... but didn't you say that plan wasn't finished?"
"Four hours is enough for me to complete it."
She returned to her desk, opened her computer, and downloaded the backup plan from the cloud. She was frowning as she worked through her ideas when, less than ten minutes later, she watched helplessly as the file was deleted automatically!
Daisy's eyes widened. "This... this is..."
Ethan rushed over. He wasn't formally trained as a programmer, but he had some basic knowledge and could tell at a glance that someone had planted a new type of virus on Daisy's computer.
Local files were being automatically deleted with a delay.
Someone had definitely tampered with it.
But now wasn't the time to investigate. Daisy looked at Vincent. "Do you have a spare computer?"
"Of course."
After borrowing a computer from Vincent, Daisy immediately got to work, refining the plan step by step.
Many parts required data support. She skipped what she could, and for what she couldn't, she relied on existing lab data and rough estimates.
Four hours passed in the blink of an eye.
"Last contestant, get ready," a staff member came over to notify her.
Daisy looked up and checked the time. She needed just a little more time.
"Ms. Hart?" the staff member prompted.
"Coming!"
She stepped onto the stage as the spotlight fell on her once more.
The audience was already somewhat tired, and quite a few had left, clearly not holding much hope for a contestant who had kept running into problems.
At the judges' panel, several experts leaned back in their chairs, their posture relaxed.
What she didn't know was that before her turn, the judges had already discussed the rankings for the competition. They clearly hadn't taken her seriously and were only there to go through the motions.
Daisy sensed this, but she didn't back down. Standing at the podium, she took a deep breath, opened her computer, brought up the work she had just completed, projected it onto the big screen, and began her presentation.
As her presentation progressed, the once-casual audience grew more attentive, and the judges exchanged glances, surprise evident in their eyes.
Professor Morgan, in particular.
Professor Morgan had been leaning back in his chair, but now he sat upright. His fingers, which had been tapping the table, were now clasped together on the desk, his eyes fixed intently on the stage.
Half an hour later, Daisy concluded her presentation.
She stepped down slowly, letting out a quiet sigh of relief.
Aside from a brief glance at the audience at the beginning, she hadn't dared look at their reactions. No matter what, she had done her best. Whether she would place was up to fate.
Just as she was about to leave the stage, she was suddenly called back.
Professor Morgan stood up, his expression serious. "Did you complete this plan independently?"
"Yes."
"You're currently working at Reed Corporation, correct? How much is your boss paying you?"
Daisy was stunned. "You mean..."
"My lab is also working on this plan. Many of the concepts you just presented, while not fully mature yet, align perfectly with mine!" Professor Morgan said, then laughed and continued, "Whatever your boss is paying you, I'll pay triple. Come work for me."