Chapter 460

Dr. Preston Quincy adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses. The cuffs of his white dress shirt were rolled up to his elbows, revealing a discreet mechanical watch on his wrist.

William Lowell was straightening his tie when his assistant stumbled into the conference room.

"Disgraceful!" William slammed the table. "Don't you know we have a product launch today?"

Beads of sweat formed on the assistant's forehead. He first bowed to William, then turned to Dr. Quincy. "Doctor... the core database has been wiped clean."

Christopher Lowell shot up from his chair, the legs screeching against the floor.

"Say that again?" He grabbed the assistant's collar. "Do you know the prison sentence for falsifying trade secrets?"

The assistant turned pale, casting a pleading look at Dr. Quincy.

The doctor pressed his hand over Christopher's knuckles, where veins bulged. "Let him finish."

"This morning when I went to retrieve the presentation materials..." The assistant's voice trembled. "All encrypted files were gone. Including the robot prototype designs and algorithm codes..."

The central air conditioning in the lab suddenly hummed to life.

Dr. Quincy's fountain pen slipped from his fingers, leaving an ink blot on the contract.

"What about the security system?" His voice turned sharp. "Who was the last to leave the lab last night?"

The assistant shook his head. "The surveillance room reported system anomalies at 3 AM..."

Christopher suddenly lunged, pinning the assistant against the wall. "Was this an inside job?"

His distorted reflection glared back from the glass partition.

"Christopher!" William barked. "To the server room first!"

As Dr. Quincy bent to retrieve his pen, he noticed his fingers trembling uncontrollably. Two years and four months of research data. Thirty-six thousand lines of core code. All possibly auctioned off on some dark web marketplace.

The assistant coughed, rubbing his throat. "Doctor... the launch event..."

Outside, giant banners for the press conference were being raised. The metallic head of the surgical automaton glinted coldly under the sunlight.