Chapter 4

When I returned to the small rented apartment, I slept blissfully and lost all sense of time.

When I opened my eyes again, it was already the early hours of the morning, and I had been woken by loud banging at the door.

Yawning, I went to check the door camera and saw that it was Ian, the CEO of the company that I just resigned from. During the company's hardest startup phase, he had once used my apartment as an office, so he knew this place.

He looked travel-worn and exhausted, his face haggard and his eyes bloodshot. It was obvious that he had rushed back after booking a flight the moment the incident happened.

Seeing that I had not responded for a long time, he grew more and more agitated, and he knocked harder and harder.

"Open the door, Jane! I know you're in there! If there's some misunderstanding, let's talk it out!"

I could not be bothered to deal with him. I stretched lazily, went into the kitchen, and slowly poured myself a glass of milk. As I drank, I took out my phone and scrolled through the trending searches.

Not even a day had passed since I resigned.

Online discussions about my former company had already exploded.

The topic of the company's game crashing and lagging had surged onto the trending list.

In order to build hype, the company had livestreamed the entire tournament both online and offline. As a result, in full view of everyone, hundreds of thousands of viewers watched as two teams of characters that had been locked in a back-and-forth battle suddenly froze in place.

No matter how the players swiped their screens, the game lagged frame by frame.

The company made a complete fool of itself in front of everyone and was mocked online.

In contrast, the rival company, the Conquest Group, held its ground steadily. The quality of its new game remained solid, and it even used this wave of attention to attract a large number of new players.

Outside the door, Mr. Yates' knocking grew louder and louder, and quite a few neighbors had already opened their doors to curse at him.

In order not to disturb the neighbors, and as a final show of respect for the more than ten years we had struggled together, I still opened the door.

Ian walked into the living room with his head lowered, muttering to himself, his expression anxious.

"Jane, don't rush into taking leave just yet. Something big has come up in the tech department. That bunch of useless idiots caused a massive disaster during a global livestream. We still need you to go back and take charge of the situation..."

I keenly caught the key point and interrupted him in time.

"Taking leave? Mr. Yates, you must be mistaken. I've already resigned."

Ian froze for a moment, then his expression shifted into a confused look that was obviously fake.

"Resigned? What happened? If there's anything at work that upsets you, tell me. You built the company from scratch with me. We've been partners for over 10 years, how could you... Don't joke with me. The tech department is still counting on you. Who upset you? I'll fire them immediately!"

Watching his over-the-top acting, I sneered.

I spread the resignation report out in front of him and pointed my finger at the final column labeled "CEO's Opinion," where a large handwritten "Approved" stood out clearly.

"You're forgetful, aren't you? Didn't you personally sign and approve this?"

"Oh, right, didn't the company also say that because I'd pulled all-nighters for a whole week, I should pay the company's electricity bill this month, and that I was already 35, too old, and should know my place? I assumed people in your esteemed company don't live past 35, so I resigned."

Ian's expression finally cracked, growing more and more awkward.

"This... this is all a misunderstanding..." he stammered and grasped at excuses, pulling things left and right, but I no longer paid him any attention. I simply opened my laptop and started working on my own matters.

Ian watched as I clicked into the official websites of rival games companies one by one and sent out emails one after another. Before long, notification sounds rang nonstop from my phone, and his expression grew increasingly grave.

"Jane, what are you doing?"

I cocked my brows indifferently.

"Job hunting and renting out my server. The server I built myself is definitely better than theirs. I'll just rent them out. If problems come up, they can maintain themselves. I can even rent the server to several companies at once. Collecting rent from renting my server to others isn't bad at all."

Watching the enthusiastic responses from various rival companies, with some already starting to bid and book time slots, Ian's face became darker than ever.

"Jane! You know how valuable technology is as a company asset. Are you really going to hand a knife to our competitors like this?"

My expression did not change in the slightest.

"Mr. Yates, the server is my private property. I have the right to dispose of them. In the past, I allowed your company to borrow it out of personal sentiment. But now, Mr. Yates, do you really think there's any sentiment left between us?"

Ian's face turned pale. His mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.

He probably also suddenly remembered that back when I graduated, with a bright future ahead of me and offers from countless established companies, I had resolutely chosen his small, poor company with no money and no connections.

When the company was at its hardest, I had gone for months gnawing on instant coffee with bread, complaining about nothing as I worked with him on improving and optimizing the games. Yet when the company grew bigger and bigger, he chose to stab the comrade who had walked this road with him all along in the back.

I didn't owe the company anything, so Ian had nothing else to say.

At that moment, another company called. I ignored him and went to answer the call on the balcony.

When I returned to the living room, Ian had already left. However, I noticed that someone had touched the hard drive disk I left on the table, which contained my server.

I squinted my eyes, but wasn't surprised.

On the morning of the next day, as soon as I looked at my phone, the pop-up of the latest news caught my attention.

"Shock as Startup Game Studio's Core Tech Secrets Stolen; Vows Legal Action"

I was expecting it.

Someone knocked on my apartment door again.

Police officers showed me their IDs with a serious look on their faces.

"Ms. Lawson, someone reported you for stealing their company's core technology. You'll have to come with us."