Sylvie was caught off guard by Elodie’s words.
Reverse engineering?
Who did she think she was?
Did she really believe she had that kind of ability?
Her first instinct was to scoff at the absurdity of it, but even so, Sylvie’s heart skipped a beat for reasons she couldn’t name.
Almost involuntarily, she glanced over at Waldron.
Waldron hadn’t said a word throughout, merely watching in silence, his expression giving nothing away. Not seeing any reaction from him, Sylvie managed to steady herself—at least a little.
“Elodie, I hope you’re not just trying to stir up drama,” Sylvie said coolly, her voice edged with mockery. “If you could really figure out the answer so easily, would it still be considered confidential?”
Elodie had no interest in wasting words on her.
She looked straight at the judges. “I can perform a reverse analysis on the technology right now.”
“If you really have the skill, then by all means.” Waldron finally spoke, his tone light and unreadable. It was impossible to tell whether he believed Elodie or not.
Charlie shot Waldron a look.
He knew perfectly well what Elodie was capable of, yet he still spoke that way.
Not a single word of encouragement.
Sylvie’s throat tightened.
Had Elodie lost her mind? Making such bold claims in front of everyone?
Elodie didn’t hesitate.
She already had a clear line of reasoning about several highly similar sections.
What’s more… she suspected Sylvie’s dataset was linked to her own work on U.N2.
Elodie’s approach left the audience in shock.
Most people probably thought she was bluffing—making empty boasts.
Jarrod’s gaze lingered on Elodie. After a long moment, he arched a brow, his expression inscrutable. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Waldron.
Elodie knew what she was doing. Even reverse engineering wasn’t a shot in the dark for her—she had a precise direction.
And sure enough…
Wasn’t this supposed to be Waldron’s work? How could it—
Waldron finally looked up at Sylvie, a slow, unhurried smile spreading across his face. “Is that so? You’re certain?”
It felt as though a guillotine had dropped onto the back of Sylvie’s neck. The surge of panic was overwhelming—especially now that she’d been linked to U.N2. That meant a full investigation was inevitable.
She had no idea how Elodie had managed to deduce all this.
Now, her only hope was to prove she had nothing to do with U.N2.
Sylvie’s face was ghostly pale as she spoke quickly, “There’s been a misunderstanding—nothing of the sort happened. I can make some of my real data public.”
She was sure her data would be different from whatever Elodie had reverse engineered.
So much so that—
She didn’t even wait for the judges’ permission.
She simply handed over part of her own data.
When Elodie saw the familiar numbers, she was almost incredulous. Her lips curled coldly. “It matches the majority of my findings, Ms. Fielding. Care to explain?”
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