Chapter 58


    Pearl remembered Ruby Snyder, the young woman who spoke ill of her in a low voice.


    Ruby had been close to Abby when thetter worked here previously.


    “What? Yourputer didn’t crash, Miss Pearl?”


    Everyone looked over and saw that Pearl’sputer was still functioning.


    “Ourputers are down, but yours is fine.


    Well…”


    ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    Ruby didn’t outright use Pearl, but her insinuations were clear. She hinted that Pearl might be behin


    d theputer issues, raising suspicions among her colleagues.


    Pearl shot Ruby a cold re in response. “What do you mean?”


    Ruby tried her best to maintain herposure. “I’m not using you, Miss Pearl. I’m just suggesting it’


    s possible. If it’s not you, then prove it. Don’t intimidate your subordinates.”


    Pearl looked away and asked the others, “Do I have to prove it?”


    A man cautiously spoke up, “Miss Pearl, I don’t think you’d do something like this based on your charac


    ter, but—


    Ruby chimed in, “It’s not impossible! Everyone wants to excel in thepany and stand out by putting


    others down.”


    Ruby’s words triggered a realization in Pearl. “Well, Ruby, it seems like you have a good grasp of the m


    otives behind this scheme.”


    Ruby looked pale but vehemently denied any involvement. “No, I don’t. Don’t nder me. Myputer


    … is broken too.” She pointed at herputer and sneered. “Mine was the first to crash, right in the mi


    ddle of working on a proposal.” With an arched eyebrow, Pearl looked at Ruby’s mocking smile and ask


    ed, “Can I take a look at yourputer then?”


    Ruby nodded confidently. “Sure, go ahead. Since it crashed, there’s nothing to hide.”


    She had intentionally nted a highlyplex virus in herputer, confident that Pearl wouldn’t be a


    ble to fix it. Lookingposed, Pearl said, “Okay, don’t regret it.”


    She examined Ruby’sputer and identified a notorious virus named Ellisa. Only five people in the w


    orld could crack it, and Pearl happened to be one of them.


    Pearl swiftly typedplex code and mathematical symbols, leaving others


    bewildered by the iprehensible disy on


    the screen.


    Finally, Pearl cracked the virus, and everyone saw Ruby’s unfinished work–a simple drawing of a frog.


    “Oh, the proposal you were talking about was this little frog,” Pearl taunted Ruby.


    Ruby, still in denial, retorted, “Maybe the virus turned my proposal into a frog!” She blushed but continue


    Ruby inadvertently let sl*p that she had a backup.


    “You have a backup? You foresaw the future and created a backup because you knew yourputer w


    by a virus,” Pearl exposed Ruby’s lie.


    Unable to maintain the pretense any longer, Ruby confessed vehemently, “Yes, I did it! What are you go


    Ruby felt that she had worked her “ss off for thepany and deserved a promotion.