Chapter 67
Austin panicked. "Leonard, you're fired."
Leonard shouted in protest, "What gives you the right to fire me? What did I do wrong?"
"I didn't do anything wrong. You can't just fire me like this."
James lifted his chin, and Dane pulled out a stack of documents.
James chuckled, "You took bribes, sexually harassed female students..."
The more he said, the paler Leonard's face became.
"Need me to go on?"
Austin said in frustration, "You did wrong and still won't admit it. Apologize right now and get out!"
Leonard gritted his teeth, glaring at me.
"Leonard!" Austin shouted, forcing him to apologize. "Hurry up, apologize!"
Leonard's face turned red as he said weakly, "I'm sorry."
I rubbed my ears. "Leonard must be getting old - he can barely speak."
Since Leonard and I were already enemies anyway, I didn't care if he hated me more.
"Leonard, apologize now!" Austin urged.
"I'm sorry!"
Indigo snorted, "We don't accept that kind of apology."
Austin pushed Leonard down to his knees. "Apologize properly!"
Leonard's face looked terrible, but he had no choice but to grovel before me.
"I'm sorry. I was petty. I was wrong. Please be merciful and let me go."
I looked at Indigo. "Grandma, since he's apologizing sincerely, let's just drop it."
Indigo reluctantly agreed, "Let him go. I don't want to see him at Celestial University ever again."
Austin pulled Leonard up. "Pack your things and leave immediately."
As Leonard walked out, he turned at the door and gave me a vicious look.
Austin apologized to me again and asked James not to let this small matter affect the cooperation between the school and the company.
Austin went on and on, saying the same things over and over. I was getting so bored that I secretly yawned.
James said flatly, "I got what you said. That's all for now."
Finally, we could leave. I stood up right away.
As soon as we got downstairs, I heard students around us talking louder and louder. I could vaguely hear things like "using power to bully people" and "rich people think they're so great, just bullying others."
I felt nothing inside. What they were saying meant nothing to me.
But James's face darkened considerably, and he ordered Dane coldly, "Go handle this."
Dane said something to those students, and their faces turned pale as they pushed each other and left.
We didn't give this little incident another thought.
We didn't stay at Celestial University any longer. James drove me back to my apartment, then he and Indigo would go back to The Smith Mansion together.
Just as we arrived downstairs at the apartment building, James's phone rang.
He answered, and his face immediately turned serious, his brow furrowing tightly as he said, "I know, I'll handle it right away."
After hanging up, he looked at me, his tone urgent. "There's a problem at the company. The Smith Group's system is under a massive hacker attack. Our internal data is at risk of being leaked. I need to get back to the company right away."
"That serious?" Indigo asked in surprise.
James nodded. "It's a coordinated attack by a group of hackers. They're coming on strong, and our technical staff can't hold them off."
My mind stirred. A hacker attack?
Given The Smith Group's capabilities, if hackers could overwhelm their technical staff, those hackers must be pretty skilled.
I pulled out my phone, quickly connected to the network, and searched for related information.
Sure enough, there was already some news online about The Smith Group being hacked. Though it hadn't spread widely yet, it was getting attention.
"I'll go with you," I said.
Indigo warned us worriedly, "You both be careful."
We agreed and drove to The Smith Group.
When we got to the company, it was chaos inside. The technical department employees were all frantically working at their computers, their faces full of anxiety.
James strode up to the technical department supervisor and asked in a deep voice, "How's the situation?"
The supervisor shook his head, his face pale. "Mr. Smith, their firepower is too strong. Our defense system is about to collapse, and some confidential data has been stolen."
James clenched his fists, anger clouding his features.
Looking at the mess in the technical department, I said calmly, "Let me try."
James and I weren't completely divorced yet. If something happened to The Smith Group, I'd be affected too.
James grabbed my hand, frowning slightly, his tone heavy. "Sophia, this isn't a place for you to mess around."
I didn't waste words with James. I shook off his hand and walked straight to a computer.
I patted the employee's shoulder. "Get up."
The employee looked at me in confusion, then at James.
Probably because his boss James was there, he didn't dare move.
"Mr. Smith, do you want to watch the company's data get completely leaked, or let me try and minimize the company's losses?" I pulled the employee up, sat down, and started typing rapidly on the keyboard while speaking to James without looking back.
James watched the code scrolling rapidly on my screen, a flash of surprise in his eyes.
"Give me the highest access level," I said to James without turning my head.
James hesitated for a second, then turned to the supervisor and said coldly, "Give it to her."
The moment I got access, I moved quickly.
The hackers' attack methods were fierce, but to me, they were still somewhat immature.
People around put down their work and gathered around, whispering to each other.
"Where did this woman come from? Does a woman even understand computers?"
"Who knows? Didn't you see Mr. Smith brought her himself? Even if she fails, Mr. Smith won't do anything to her."
"What can a woman possibly know? She's just showing off."
I ignored them, quickly switching between windows, pulling up the system architecture diagram. My eyes scanned it as my right hand added new defense code.
"She's rebuilding the firewall..." the supervisor muttered. "But how is that possible? Writing code on the spot, there's no time—"
"Shut up." James cut him off coldly, but his eyes were fixed on me without blinking. "How confident are you?"
"One hundred percent. Our studio took this kind of urgent job before. I watched Andrew handle it."
The red alerts on the screen started going out in large patches.
The technical department fell silent, with only the sound of my typing.
The keyboard sounds were clear and distinct at first, then later almost merged into a continuous patter like rain.
I frowned slightly, completely focused on the computer in front of me.
"The reverse tracking program has started..." The supervisor's voice trembled. "She's reverse-locating the attack source."
A male employee shook his head. "How is that possible? Even if a woman watched someone else do it, she couldn't possibly understand this, right?"
Another male employee said, "Pretty impressive, but it's not over yet. Who knows if this thing will even work?"
"She's just lucky."
Another female employee couldn't help but snort. "What's wrong with being female? Without your mother, could you be here saying things that look down on women?"
"No, that's different..."
James said coldly, "Everyone shut up!"