Apple Stock plunged 1% within an hour of opening, wiping $8.2 billion off Apple Inc.'s market capitalization. Apple Stock continued to fluctuate, falling for three consecutive days before finally stabilizing. Its total decline over those three days was close to 4%, an enormous drop for any company, especially a giant like Apple Inc.
The last time it had suffered such a major decline was when Apple Inc. announced it would charge fees for tips on its platform. This sudden drop naturally made people think of the Intelligent Assistant.
The Apple System was closed-source and could not support the Intelligent Assistant, meaning it would no longer hold an advantage in the coming mobile phone market. Apple Phones were also the most profitable of Apple Inc.'s many businesses, so Apple Stock had begun trending downward. Although the decline was not severe, its impact had already emerged.
This development caused an uproar in the market, and numerous media outlets launched reports on the subject.
"Has Army Ant Taken Shape?" — New York Times
"A Rising Giant?" — Wall Street Journal
"The Aggressive Army Ant!" — The Times
Countless reports flooded the media, all discussing the threat posed by Army Ant.
While the outside world buzzed with activity, Apple Inc.'s headquarters was far from peaceful. A researcher with a hooked nose and a full beard stared grimly at the code on his computer screen.
It had been a week since they hacked the files back from Ant Army Company's database.
Over that week, he had been trying to crack the folder. After so many attempts, he had finally made a little progress today.
He had never expected Ant Army Company to be so troublesome. They had actually encrypted the data, leaving him racking his brains.
The company's stock market performance had not been