Chapter 4

The moment I sat down at my desk, the department manager, Donald Larson, came rushing over frantically. His face was drenched with sweat.

"Hurry, Mickey! We've got a huge problem!"

I looked up, feigning surprise. "What's wrong, Mr. Larson?"

He replied urgently, "The SkyDome system! All the core user data is gone! It's empty! There's nothing left!"

I felt perfectly calm inside, but I put on an appropriately shocked expression. "How could that happen? Everything was fine on Friday."

"How should I know?" Donald looked like he was about to cry. "Mr. Zucker is losing his mind. Even the CEO has been alerted. He's in the conference room right now, tearing into everyone!"

Before he could finish, Hank came storming toward my desk like a whirlwind. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair was a mess, and he looked nothing like the composed vice president he'd pretended to be.

He grabbed my arm with astonishing force. "Mickey! Did you do this?"

I frowned and shook off his hand forcefully. "Watch your mouth, Mr. Zucker. This is a major incident. You have absolutely no evidence. What gives you the right to accuse me?"

The contrast between my composure and his frantic behavior was impossible to miss.

My coworkers gathered around us, whispering among themselves.

"How could all the data just disappear? That's the most valuable asset our company has!"

"We're talking about core user profiles and behavioral data that's worth hundreds of millions, not to mention the AI model's source code..."

"If that information gets leaked, the company is finished!"

Hank seemed to realize how badly he'd lost his composure. He took several heavy breaths and forced himself to calm down.

Then, he demanded, "Fine. I'm not going to waste time arguing with you. Go restore the data right now! You're the one in charge of this system. You must have a way to fix it!"

I spread my hands, wearing an innocent expression. "I'd love to help, but I can't."

He froze. "What do you mean, you can't?"

I opened my computer and pulled up the overtime request I'd submitted the previous Friday. Under the approval status, there was one unmistakable word—"Rejected".

Below that was Hank's comment, "Completely ridiculous. Not approved."

I turned the screen toward him, making sure everyone gathered around could see it.

I said, "You didn't approve my overtime request, Mr. Zucker. According to company policy, employees are prohibited from performing any work-related duties outside regular working hours without prior authorization.

"Doing so would constitute a serious violation, and the company would have the right to terminate the employment contract unilaterally. I clocked out last Friday and didn't log into the company system once all weekend. My attendance records and apartment access logs can prove that.

"It's now 9:05 am. on Monday. I've only been at work for five minutes, and I haven't even had a chance to assess the situation. So, I'm sorry, but I can't help. The moment I touch anything, I'll be violating company policy."

My voice wasn't loud, but every word carried clearly through the office.

The entire room fell silent. Everyone stared at me as if I were some kind of monster.

Hank's face turned from red to purple, and then from purple to white. His expression changed so rapidly it was almost comical.

He pointed at me, his lips trembling. But for a long moment, he couldn't get a single word out.

Hank stammered, "You... You..."

Just then, the CEO's secretary came rushing over, her face deathly pale. "Mr. Zucker, Mr. Sloan wants you and Mickey in the main conference room immediately!"

She paused for a moment before continuing in a trembling voice, "Mr. Sloan just received an anonymous email. The sender claims to have the SkyDome system's data and source code. If they don't receive a satisfactory ransom payment within 24 hours, they'll publish everything on the dark web.

"The email even included a sample attachment containing some actual customer data as proof..."

Everyone gasped in horror.

This was no longer just a simple incident. It was outright extortion. This catastrophe was serious enough to bring the entire company crashing down overnight!

Hank's knees buckled, and he nearly collapsed to the floor.

I watched him stand there, completely shattered, with only one thought running through my mind—the real show had only just begun.