Chapter 33: The Culprit

Listening to Vivian Hale’s people counter him in public, Adrian Cross's expression grew even more hideous.

He asked back in a freezing tone, "Does this company listen to me, or does it listen to you?"

Darren Vance was momentarily choked for words.

Seeing that the situation was turning south, several sycophants who usually defended Tiffany Rose quickly spoke up.

"Director Rose is also acting for the sake of the company. God’s Island is already outdated, and its replacement was bound to happen sooner or later. If it's ruined, so be it."

"What's the use of constantly bringing up someone from the past? She's nothing more than a housewife staying at home now."

"If you ask me, testing Director Rose's program is what matters most right now! The entire company relies on her entirely at this point!"

In an instant, the entire office area fell into absolute chaos.

Adrian’s head throbbed from the noise, and he simply grabbed Tiffany by her wrist.

"Go run the test."

Leaving behind these four short words, the man paused for a split second.

A chilling sharpness burst from the depths of his eyes, his tone carrying a terrifying hint of a threat: "The company cannot be left without a single project. If your application cannot execute successfully and go live within an hour to replace Vivian Hale's old patent, you know what the consequences will be."

Tiffany couldn't help but shudder fiercely.

An inexplicable wave of fear flooded her heart, but it was already too late to back down now.

Tiffany tightened her grip on the USB drive in her hand and summoned her courage.

"Rest assured, I'm confident."

Only then did Adrian release her wrist.

He tilted his chin, indicating for Darren's people to yield their seats.

Darren was completely driven to absolute desperation now, unable to resist pleading, "Mr. Cross, Vivian's old patent is not as easy to replace as you think. You..."

But Adrian was too lazy to pay him any attention.

He only stared fixedly at Tiffany’s movements, watching her halt all current executions of God’s Island.

The entire game server plunged into total paralysis in an instant.

With all their lifework forced to a screeching halt, Darren felt entirely consumed by despair.

Yet Tiffany insisted on being provocative, beginning to import the application she had prepared long ago.

She raised an eyebrow at Darren: "Director Vance, just you wait and see."

As the application was implanted, all the equipment in the technology department plunged into the dimness of a complete readjustment.

Everyone's breathing stopped.

Tiffany’s palms were slick with sweat.

She couldn't understand a single thing about the product she had purchased; she could only press the keys one by one based on the tutorial she had viewed moments ago.

It was unknown how much time passed.

The office computers finally illuminated slowly.

The game graphics of God’s Island reappeared before everyone's eyes, yet after the data upload, they appeared visibly more exquisite.

It worked!

Tiffany’s eyes lit up abruptly.

As expected, the vendor who sold the patent hadn't cheated her!

She turned her head toward Adrian in excitement, just about to claim credit.

But her nose suddenly caught a whiff of a burning stench. Before she could even react.

The startled cries of the crowd erupted out of nowhere.

"It-It's on fire!"

"Oh no, execution overload! The processor is fried!"

Tiffany’s face drained of color. Turning her head, she saw streams of white smoke billowing from the computer processor.

Following several sharp crackles of electrical currents, a loud bang echoed.

The processor exploded!

"Ah!"

Tiffany was startled, violently pushing herself away from the desk.

Her entire being was thrown into absolute panic, her little face ghostly pale.

Meanwhile, the computer screen before her had already gone black.

Adrian was also startled by the scene.

He repeatedly ordered the assistant beside him, "Go cut the main power supply!"

The assistant didn't dare to delay, cutting the power to the entire floor. The area instantly plunged into darkness.

Gazing at Tiffany’s heavily shaken state, Adrian’s face darkened completely.

"What on earth is going on here?"

"I-I..."

Tiffany hadn't recovered from the shock at all, completely unsure of how to answer for a moment.

Ultimately, someone beside them reminded them.

"Isn't this because Director Rose's program contains too much data, causing an execution overload and directly frying the machine?"

Only then did Tiffany snap back to reality.

Staring into Adrian’s freezing eyes, she scrambled to explain in a frantic rush.

"Yes, yes, it was merely an execution overload. It's just that this computer processor is too low-end. I've said long ago that our entire department needs to replace its machines with higher-end ones. Swapping to a computer with a higher configuration right now will solve it."

Without waiting for Adrian to reply, Tiffany hurriedly switched to a computer equipped with a higher-level processor.

The data was implanted once more.

Everyone's breathing slowed down again.

The screen illuminated, displaying game graphics that were even more exquisite than before.

But before Tiffany could let out a sigh of relief, the familiar burning stench wafted over once more, and the processor exploded again!

There was absolutely no color left on Tiffany’s face.

She didn't know why the situation was turning out this way, and she didn't even dare to turn her head to look at Adrian’s expression.

She could only open the next higher-level computer without a single moment's pause, continuously implanting the program.

Right now, her only desire was for the program to execute normally!

Yet after switching through four computers in a row, every single one of them was fried without exception.

The office was completely blanketed in a heavy burning odor.

The smoke alarms were triggered, and the property security guards came rushing over in a hurry.

"What are you doing? Setting off fireworks and firecrackers inside the office area is strictly prohibited!"

Adrian’s face blackened to the core in an instant.

Meanwhile, Tiffany had switched to the highest-level computer, one worth nearly one hundred thousand dollars.

The program was re-implanted, and the screen illuminated.

Every visual element manifested one by one. After a tense wait for several minutes, the familiar burning stench finally failed to appear.

Tiffany’s wildly thumping heart settled down instantly.

She looked toward Adrian behind her with a state of near ecstasy: "Mr. Cross, look..."

This time, before she could finish claiming credit, Darren let out a cold sneer first.

He reminded Tiffany: "Try operating it and see."

The smile on Tiffany’s face solidified instantly. She tried moving the keyboard and mouse a couple of times.

The entire interface lagged to a point where it was completely impossible to operate.

"How-How on earth is this happening..."

Tiffany was left utterly dumbfounded.

She never could have anticipated that it would yield this kind of result.

The hour was on the verge of slipping away, leaving Adrian with no time to even unleash his fury.

He could only hurriedly urge Darren to activate the backup solution.

"Switch the equipment, continue repairing the previous bugs on God’s Island, and ensure it continues to run."

However, Darren didn't make a move.

He clutched his phone, the gaze he directed toward Adrian filled entirely with mockery.

"Repair what? Didn't Mr. Cross feel that our project was an abandoned piece, and that Miss Rose's new patent was more than enough?"

Adrian’s expression altered. He hadn't expected Darren to speak to him in such a manner.

He knit his brows, just about to reprimand him.

Darren directly yanked the employee badge from his neck, his tone laced with a heavily suppressed fury.

"Tiffany Rose ran amok within the company in the past, organizing a bunch of chaotic and messy projects. It was one thing for you to indulge her when it was at least within controllable parameters. But now she has butchered the lifework of every single one of us into this wretched state, and you expect us to go wipe her ass? On what grounds?"

With those words, Darren cast a freezing glance at Tiffany.

His tone took on a few traces of absolute mockery: "Give you an inch and you take a mile. Did you truly consider yourself some big shot director, thinking you could hold a candle to Director Hale?"

Those words were far too piercing, causing Tiffany’s face to instantly flush crimson.

She stood up abruptly, speaking in a sharp voice, "What do you mean by that?! Aren't you afraid of—"

"Afraid of what?" Darren interrupted with a cold laugh.

"Isn't it just getting fired? Your esteemed company focuses exclusively on high-end demographics, only wanting to make games for wealthy individuals to play. Even a virtual world has to be divided into distinct social classes. A game that requires a one-hundred-thousand-dollar computer just to be played—a commoner like me can't afford to develop it.

"There's no need for you to fire me. I'm leaving on my own!"

Those final words could be described as ringing out with absolute power.

Darren tossed down the employee badge he had worn for numerous years, turned on his heel, and left.

Adrian also lost his composure for a moment, forbidding him in a harsh tone.

"Darren Vance!"

Yet Darren didn't turn his head once, striding out without a single pause in his step.

Seeing this scene, the remaining employees of the technology department couldn't help but display expressions of intense resentment.

A substantial number of people directly stripped off their employee badges, proposing their resignations on the spot.

"I'm not doing this anymore either. I resign."

"I'm leaving too."

"Me too..."

In an instant, the entire office area descended into absolute chaos.

Adrian only felt wave after wave of heat rushing straight into his brain, leaving his head spinning with a sudden dizziness for a moment.

He gritted his teeth, directing his gaze toward the absolute culprit of today's disaster.