New Head of the Technical Department, Miss Gu Yi

Five days later.

Serpent Coil held its routine board meeting every month, consuming a precious half day of everyone's life.

Because everyone understood that meetings like this were not very useful. They amounted to nothing more than empty formalities like "don't... must... vigorously... thoroughly... also... uphold... accelerate... explore... persist... focus on... strive..."

The real decisions were basically made under the table—over the years, the shareholders had long formed their own factions, and their private connections had become an unwritten rule.

So when the old men in suits gathered together, they had no real business on their minds at all.

That was why they could not help being surprised when they saw Xu Shi push open the door and walk in.

Why was he here?

Ever since the previous chairman, Xu Cheng, passed away, Xu Shi had held the position for more than two years.

But he had never involved himself in the group's affairs before. He never even showed his face at meetings like this, leaving Su Lin to "convey his messages" every time.

So had he taken the wrong medicine today?

"What? Never seen me before?"

Xu Shi sneered and walked to his own seat. "What are you all staring at me for? Sit down."

"...Hahaha, yes, yes. Sit down, everyone, sit down."

The gray-haired middle-aged man on his right was the first to react, forcing a laugh, though his gaze still kept drifting toward Xu Shi.

Xu Shi naturally noticed his little movements.

Lin Wenhua, his father Xu Cheng's sworn brother and one of the group's veterans.

He was also the largest shareholder on the board aside from Xu Shi himself.

Xu Shi had never particularly liked or disliked the man before. Whenever they met, he gave him due respect and called him Uncle Lin.

But things were different now... He knew that Lin Wenhua had coveted the chairman's seat even before his father died. In private, he had formed cliques and gathered quite a few followers.

Jiang Fengshan from the Engineering Department was this man's most devoted supporter.

It was the same in the original novel. From beginning to end, Lin Wenhua had done nothing but make trouble for the original owner.

Even when Xu Shi did not involve himself in the company, the diligent Su Lin was constantly constrained by Lin Wenhua, delaying many things that could have been avoided.

That alone would have been one thing, but what angered him most was that in the middle and later stages of the story, once this guy saw the tide turning against him, he actually took the group's core secrets and defected to Shen He. He had undoubtedly poured fuel on Serpent Coil's destruction.

A traitorous bastard. Certified Xiang Bo material.

Although he had not come to a good end because of it, Xu Shi could not accept that kind of behavior.

And if he wanted to truly have the final word on the board, he would inevitably have to thoroughly eliminate people like this.

Seriously, how had he never noticed this guy was so unpleasant before?

But now was not the time to completely tear off the mask. The other man's foundations within the group were even more solid than Xu Shi's, and Xu Shi would only be the one to suffer.

So Xu Shi merely smiled at Lin Wenhua's curious look and let it pass.

Soon, everyone had arrived, and the meeting officially began.

Just as Xu Shi had expected, the speeches sounded passionate but contained no substance whatsoever. Listening to them made his eyelids droop.

It was like high school math class, which somehow always had the magical power to send people into baby-like sleep.

Sure enough, he had been right not to come before.

Still, he patiently listened to everyone finish speaking before he finally opened his mouth at an unhurried pace.

"Everyone has made excellent points, and I agree completely."

"I'd also like to take this opportunity to announce a personnel change within the group."

"...Hm?"

As soon as he said that, everyone turned to look at him in unison.

A personnel change?

What personnel change?

Why had they not heard about it before?

"Come to think of it, this is Chairman Xu's first time attending a board meeting, isn't it?"

Lin Wenhua paused, then replied with a smile, "If it is merely an ordinary employee joining the company, there is no need to mention it here. You may decide that yourself."

"Of course it isn't that simple."

Xu Shi shook his head and gave Su Lin a look.

She immediately understood and displayed a document on the screens before everyone present.

"Following discussion by the Human Resources Department, it has been decided that Xu Anbang, head of the group's Cybersecurity Department, will be removed from his current position and reassigned as an ordinary clerk."

!

"...Why?"

The bald man seated at the end of the table could no longer sit still. He raised his voice and shouted, "Chairman Xu, may I ask what I did wrong to be suddenly dismissed?"

"Don't you know perfectly well what you did wrong?"

Xu Shi looked at him calmly. "Director Xu, you remember the hacker attack two weeks ago, don't you? Do you think you are still qualified to sit in that position?"

Xu Anbang fell silent at that.

Indeed.

The Technical Department was his territory, yet when faced with the aggressive hacker intrusion, he had been completely helpless.

If word had not later come that the problem had been resolved, who knew how long he would have had to agonize over it?

"You couldn't even handle a hacker attack launched by Sin City gangs, yet you still have the nerve to ask me why?"

Xu Shi continued, tapping the table with his fingers. "If I hadn't personally stepped in to resolve the matter, do you know how serious the consequences could have been?"

"They were targeting the transaction between the group and Prism... If they had succeeded, who would have borne the loss of thirty million Credit Points?"

Upon hearing that, the others began to think it over.

Of course, they all knew about the attack. When they heard that disaster had been averted, they had all breathed sighs of relief.

But on second thought, Xu Anbang's fault was indeed no small matter.

After all, if the deal had failed, it would have been the interests of shareholders like them that suffered.

"...Fine, I admit that I fell short in this matter. But are you going to remove me from my position over this alone?"

Xu Anbang was somewhat guilty, but he still refused to accept it. "Besides, if you remove me, who does Chairman Xu intend to find to take my place?"

"That is not something you need to worry about."

Xu Shi smiled. "But I was just about to introduce everyone to the new head of the Technical Department, Miss Gu Yi."

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Lin led Gu Yi into the room.

This undoubtedly left everyone stunned.

This was her?

Just a little girl like this?

She did not look like much... Wait, was she even an adult?

Miss Black Rabbit was actually nineteen years old, but her development had indeed been somewhat delayed, making her look much younger than she really was.

She herself looked extremely nervous as well. It was clear that years of being alone had left her unable to adapt well to crowded environments.

"This is the successor Chairman Xu found?"

Xu Anbang was even more unconvinced. "What advantage does she have... or has Chairman Xu changed his taste lately?"

He instinctively assumed that this little girl had probably used some means to seduce Xu Shi. After all, that was the kind of man he was.

"Her advantages far surpass yours."

Xu Shi sneered. "In fact, Miss Gu Yi also took part in the previous intrusion incident... as one of the intruders, she hacked into the database and obtained what she wanted in less than an hour."

"Of course, after our friendly discussions, she also voluntarily chose to join Serpent Coil."

"And Miss Gu Yi has likewise made great contributions to the recent security system upgrade and the operation to eliminate Sin City's electronic kidnappers."

"Given such outstanding performance, I intend to promote her exceptionally and have her replace you."

Xu Anbang opened his mouth, but no words came out.

He found it hard to believe... He had only heard bits and pieces about the Technical Department's recent affairs and did not truly understand them.

After all, Xu Shi had never told him about any of it.

"...But she's a thief! Is Chairman Xu really going to appoint a criminal who once infiltrated the company as the head of the Technical Department?"

That made the reality even harder for him to accept. "Who could rest easy with someone like that in charge of the Technical Department?"

"I'd be even less at ease with trash like you in charge."

Xu Shi stared at him and said seriously, "What I value is her ability... As for whether she has a record, isn't that just a matter of saying the word to the Inspection Bureau?"

"So, can we vote now?"

"Gentlemen!"

Seeing the hesitation on the faces of the people around him, Xu Anbang immediately sensed trouble.

That was simply how things were. No matter how much they called each other brothers in ordinary times, once their own interests were involved, these people would not show anyone mercy.

There was no point counting on them... He could only turn a pleading gaze toward Lin Wenhua, who was frowning.

He had chosen his side long ago. If Lin Wenhua intended to protect him, then there was still hope.

But to his surprise, after hesitating for a moment, Lin Wenhua was the first to raise his hand.

"I approve this decision."