The Unveiling of Secret Queen

Chapter 769: Exposing Her True Face in Public_1

Alfred Garland displayed an expression of disdain.

Neither Wallace Radcliff nor anyone from the tech department chimed in.

The atmosphere became tense for a moment.

Phoebe Hoffman felt inexplicably isolated by everyone; though no one spoke, she felt as if she had been slapped in the face, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

What are these people doing!

What does this mean?

Hadn’t they called her here to fix the ’bug’ in the USB flash drive? Why was no one speaking then?

It was Brian Bonette who gave her face, seeing that no one paid her any attention, he softly said, "Nathalie Quinlan has already resolved the bug in the USB."

Resolved it?

Phoebe Hoffman’s first reaction was substantial: "Her? How is that possible?"

"Tsk." At this moment, Amadeus Yancey raised his eyebrows, appearing quite indolent yet casting a sharp glance over her, making Phoebe Hoffman’s heart skip a beat: "Tell me, why can’t she have?"

"Uh..." Phoebe Hoffman’s back was drenched in cold sweat, and she was at a loss for words.

She knew really well that what was in the USB flash drive was not a bug but a very powerful Trojan virus.

This virus could infect system library files and replace system files. Ordinary people would have a tough time detecting the presence of the Trojan, attributing such issues to system vulnerabilities instead.

The virus was given to her by her uncle, supposedly a creation from Red Alliance Sun that had briefly appeared on the Black Market long ago before it had been cleaned up by Red Alliance.

The only reason her uncle had the virus was that he knew a member of Red Alliance, who had sent it to him for research purposes.

The Trojan virus was called Lizard’s Tail.

It took her uncle five years to figure out how to crack the Trojan, and he then shared the solution with her.

Had it not been for this, she wouldn’t have dared to use the virus.

She was certain that apart from herself, no one else at The Ninth Institute recognized this virus, let alone resolved it!

With this thought, Phoebe Hoffman steadied her heart, lifted her head, and explained logically: "I just think that Ms. Quinlan, still being a high school senior, hasn’t systematically studied programming and software. Even with talent, it’s normal to encounter bugs she has never seen before and be unable to resolve them."

Her argument seemed reasonable at first and explained why she had reacted so strongly earlier.

But everyone in the conference room had seen the surveillance video!

Hearing her feign composure while claiming Nathalie Quinlan couldn’t solve the problem only added to the dramatic irony.

Unable to tolerate it, Alfred Garland mocked her coldly: "I don’t think that’s the real reason."

"Then what do you think is the reason?" Phoebe Hoffman retorted with a displeased curl of her lips, still unaware that everyone knew the truth.

"You know very well yourself!" Alfred Garland looked at her: "Is there a bug in the USB drive? Are you sure it’s not a virus?"

Phoebe Hoffman’s face turned pale and she reacted strongly, raising her voice, "What virus? Who said so? Did Nathalie Quinlan say it?"

Still pretending! Alfred Garland didn’t indulge her silliness but looked at her with contempt, "Don’t try to pin everything on Miss Quinlan!"

Under his scornful gaze, Phoebe Hoffman gritted her teeth and then turned to look at the burly man with a pleading tone: "Mr. Radcliff, you have always held the USB flash drive. How could there be a virus in The Ninth Institute’s files? Obviously, the programming has a bug! The programming was never perfect to begin with, right?"

Wallace Radcliff was taken aback that she had the gall to ask him, and meeting Phoebe Hoffman’s line of sight with a grim expression, he spoke deliberately: "The USB drive indeed contained a virus."

"Lizard’s Tail."

Phoebe Hoffman clenched her fingertips tightly, her lips turning pale. When Wallace Radcliff accurately named the virus, her eyes widened involuntarily, filled with shock and panic...

How did Wallace Radcliff recognize the virus in the USB drive.