Chapter 40: Scammed but Incapable of Doing Anything

At two o'clock that afternoon.

The press conference for Cross Group convened precisely on time.

Over this recent period, Cross Group had stirred up a great deal of ridiculous news regarding game development, and veteran employees had shrunk by half, setting off a massive wave of shock inside and outside the industry circle.

Therefore, for the sake of this press conference, Adrian Cross had exhausted his painstaking efforts, advertising in advance and securing well-known media outlets for coverage, even opening a live stream across the entire network.

He wanted everyone to witness this exact moment.

Due to the exceptionally well-executed publicity, game players, gossip enthusiasts, and insiders across the network had all been attracted.

The live streaming room had been open for less than five minutes, and the number of online viewers had already broken one hundred million.

At the press conference venue, Tiffany Rose wore a white suit-dress, stepping onto the stage filled with fighting spirit.

Facing the cameras, she tilted her chin high, her expression proud: "Welcome, everyone, to the press conference of Cross Group. I am the Chief Technology Officer of Cross Group, Tiffany Rose. Today, I will showcase a major program I newly developed. Supported by it, it can bring everyone an unprecedented visual shock effect and gaming experience..."

Under the watchful eyes of the massive crowd, she opened the computer before her, implanting the data to begin execution.

Initially, the crowd merely assumed she was exaggerating and over-boasting.

Not many people took it to heart.

But when the data executed successfully and the shocking effects manifested one by one before everyone's eyes, the entire network was stunned.

The reporters and industry peers at the venue were also exceptionally surprised, whispering rapidly among themselves.

"Who would have thought this unknown Miss Rose possessed such great capability, she is simply a genius!"

"Too brilliant! How come our company can't recruit a talent like this."

"Cross Group truly is going to turn the tables this time!"

This truly was a complete reversal against the wind, and public opinion tilted entirely toward Cross Group's side.

Standing to one side, Adrian was considerably satisfied with the current situation; it hadn't wasted his efforts in divorcing Vivian.

Tiffany, conversely, was so proud her tail was on the verge of lifting into the sky.

Adrian had promised her with his own mouth that he would register their marriage right after this press conference concluded.

She wasn't terrified that he would back out; with this success, her reputation would ring out across the entire industry circle. Once he saw her value, Adrian would definitely be reluctant to let go for the sake of Cross Group's future interests.

When that time came, she would reap a triple harvest of love, fame, and fortune!

Thinking up to this point, the corners of her mouth were on the verge of splitting all the way behind her ears.

Just as she was on the verge of losing all composure from pride, someone among the reporters below suddenly let out a startled cry.

"Heavens, Cross Group has been sued!"

As the words fell, Tiffany hadn't even reacted to what was happening.

Adrian, however, darkened his face and took a step forward, speaking into the microphone: "This reporter friend, this is the press conference of Cross Group, not some lawless place. Please do not manufacture rumors at will."

"I'm not manufacturing rumors! A hot search just erupted—the patent for this exact set of a program Miss Rose is executing right now has already been applied for by someone else, and the signature belongs to another person's name. Miss Rose is glaringly committing plagiarism!"

The reporter, Tracy, brandished her phone.

"A program someone else worked painstakingly to produce hasn't even been officially announced yet, but she somehow used some unknown methods to seize the initiative. Fortunately, the other party applied for the patent ahead of schedule and just posted a digital copy of the patent certificate on Weibo, otherwise they wouldn't even be able to wash themselves clean if they jumped into the Yellow River!"

The moment these words were uttered, a massive uproar blanketed the entire venue.

Because they were focused on the press conference, the people present hadn't paid attention to the online public opinion. Right now, they pulled out their phones one after another to click open the number one hot search to investigate.

Sure enough, they spotted a Weibo user named MOMO publicly stating that they were watching the Cross Group press conference, only to discover that their own patent achievements had actually suffered plagiarism by Tiffany Rose, and they intended to sue Cross Group to hold them legally responsible.

The attached image of the patent certificate wrote the information with crystal clarity.

This time, even Adrian was left completely dumbfounded.

What? Tiffany’s patent wasn't her own? She plagiarized it?

What exactly did this imply?

Furthermore, so many media outlets below were still watching. Adrian turned a deathly pale face toward Tiffany.

Speaking almost through clenched teeth, "What on earth is going on here?"

If it weren't for the fact that the occasion was incorrect, he wished he could tear this tramp into absolute pieces.

Tiffany shuddered fiercely from terror, "I don't know..."

This patent was glaringly item she had spent over twenty million dollars to purchase.

Wait... could it be that the person scammed her?

So she spent over twenty million dollars only to buy a patent someone else had already applied for?

At the thought of this possibility, Tiffany’s face turned utterly bloodless, her entire being thrown into absolute panic to the maximum limit.

Meanwhile, a massive commotion had already erupted below.

記者舉著話筒詢問。

"What on earth is going on here? Mr. Cross, please explain?"

"So Miss Rose plagiarized someone else's patent, do you possess any understanding regarding this matter?"

"So many people are watching, Mr. Cross, please provide an explanation as rapidly as possible."

Following this barrage of questions, Adrian’s face looked like a tipped-over color palette.

But how was he supposed to explain? Claiming he was entirely unaware—no one would believe that.

He could only cast a venomous glare at Tiffany, bringing the press conference to an emergency conclusion, driving away the reporters, and contacting public relations to salvage the situation.

However, it was already too late for everything.

The public live streaming room contained over one hundred million gossip-loving spectators.

Everyone had witnessed Cross Group's disaster with their own eyes at the exact same moment.

The moment Cross Group spent a high price to remove one hot search, another hot search immediately pushed its way to the top.

Public opinion was completely impossible to control.

Cross Group's stock price plummeted to a brand-new depth, leaving Adrian on the verge of driving himself completely mad from rage.

He turned around and pinned Tiffany firmly by her neck, his twin eyes bloodshot, consumed by uncontrollable fury.

"Tramp! I trusted you so absolutely, believing you possessed genuine capability, yet in the end, you were playing me all along! You actually dared to play me! You plagiarized someone else's patent and bamboozled me like a complete joke?!"

He had never hated a person this intensely in his entire life.

Cross Group's stock was on the verge of hitting the limit down, the people on the outside were launching a tidal wave of curses, and Cross Group had even received a bill of indictment.

Every shred of this suffocating frustration had been brought upon him by Tiffany.

"No..." Tiffany’s cheeks turned flushed red, her eyes bloodshot as she desperately climbed at his hands, squeezing the words out of her throat with immense difficulty.

"I... I was framed. Please... give me one more chance..."

Adrian desperately wanted to choke her to death directly.

But at the absolute final moment, he released his grip.

"You had best explain this to me with absolute clarity."

His gaze was sinister, his teeth grinding.

Tiffany clutched her neck, hacking violently as though on the verge of death, physiological tears falling cascading down.

"Adrian, give me a bit of time. I will figure it out and tell you the answer, alright?"

Adrian already possessed absolutely zero other alternatives before his eyes.

"Tiffany Rose, you had best not deceive me, otherwise I possess a myriad of ways to make your life a living hell."

His warning was like a venomous snake spitting its tongue by her ear, causing the blood across Tiffany’s entire body to run cold, her mind filled to the brim with an intense wave of terror.

She returned to her own office, opening her laptop to contact the person who sold her the patent.

"Get out here right now! You intentionally framed me, didn't you! Who on earth are you, I'll fight you to the death—"

However, the exact millisecond the message dispatched, she discovered a notification: You are no longer a friend of the recipient; the recipient will be unable to receive your message.

She had been blacklisted?

Tiffany instantly suffered blackness before her eyes, nearly driven to absolute death from rage on the spot.

That constituted twenty-eight million dollars!

It was every single cent of the money she had manipulated from Adrian, yet right now it was entirely gone, and she hadn't even obtained the patent. She currently possessed absolutely nothing, and she had even lost Adrian's trust in her.

Every shred of this was caused entirely by that person who sold the patent!!!

Thinking up to this point, Tiffany picked up her phone, getting ready to dial the emergency number.

But right before pressing the call button, she suddenly realized that calling the police required presenting evidence.

If she wished to report the other party for fraud, she would have to provide the chat records over. When that time came, wouldn't it be equal to admitting that she had sought someone to ghostwrite the program, calculating to plagiarize another person's patent?

This broke the law; she would also be hauled into a prison cell and sentenced when that time came.

Thinking of this, she was left utterly dumbfounded on the spot.

She had been scammed, yet she was completely incapable of even calling the police?