Five Years Wasted Now They Beg Her Back novel Chapter 371

“If Amelia Cross loses, she will publicly apologize to Grace in front of all the media and officially admit she stole the data.”

Damien's voice wasn't loud, but when Amelia heard it, her face stiffened before she broke into a cold smirk. “And what if the Clarke family loses?”

“You’ll get the Clarke family’s newest lithium mine.”

A gasp went through the entire room.

That was a lithium mine worth tens of billions! How could Damien wager such a massive asset on a woman?

“Damien…” Grace tugged at his sleeve, a hint of worry in her eyes.

“Don’t be afraid,” Damien said, leaning down to whisper in her ear. “I have faith in you. Besides, you need to get used to this. In this world, you have every right to be arrogant.”

Amelia, successfully provoked and confident in the data on her flash drive, didn’t hesitate.

“Fine! It’s a deal!”

The review meeting officially began.

According to the lottery, the Cross Group consortium went first.

Amelia walked confidently to the podium and opened her presentation.

“Esteemed judges, the ‘Aurora’ system that the Cross Group is presenting today utilizes the world’s most advanced temperature control algorithm…”

As she spoke, complex data points flashed across the large screen.

The judges in the audience nodded frequently. Even the stern-faced Mr. Halstead, sitting in the center, showed a glimmer of approval.

Amelia grew more animated as she spoke, even finding a moment to shoot a provocative glance at Grace in the audience.

*See? This is the fruit of your hard labor. And now, it’s mine.*

Just as Amelia was explaining the core thermal runaway protection mechanism, Grace suddenly raised her hand.

Sure enough, in an inconspicuous corner, there was a subtle ripple in the line.

“That… that could be an equipment error…” Amelia said, trying to cover.

“No, it’s not an error.”

Grace stood before the stage, her posture straight and proud.

“It’s a ‘watermark’ I deliberately coded into the original source code to prevent someone from stealing the data without running their own verifications.”

“What are you talking about? That’s nonsense!” Amelia’s face went white as a sheet as she shrieked, “What watermark? This is the result of the Cross Group’s independent research and development! Grace, are you just trying to sling mud because your own skills aren’t up to par?”

“We’ll see if it’s mud-slinging after a simple test.”

Grace calmly took a laser pointer from her pocket and circled the ripple on the screen.

“According to the laws of thermodynamics, in this temperature range, if you were using your so-called ‘advanced international algorithm,’ the pressure curve should be a smooth parabola. The only way for a sine-wave jitter to appear is if the system is attempting to execute a faulty infinite logic loop—what’s commonly known as a precursor to a system crash.”