Chapter 56: Looking for a Secretary
The next morning, the Gotham Daily broke a major news story.
Dominic Sidney, the Falcone family's number two man, had been captured.
The Central Bank was the conduit for money and favors between Falcone and the city's upper echelon. As the bank's president, Sidney possessed many unpublicized secrets. If his mouth could be opened, Arican society could be turned upside down.
Suddenly, many high-ranking officials were restless.
The recently cald city of Gotham felt like it was on the verge of another storm.
Luke glanced at the newspaper, curled his lip, and tossed it aside.
I turned Sidney into an idiot who only squats on the ground and counts ants. If Jim Gordon can extract intelligence from an imbecile's mouth, I, Luke Shaw, will call him the strongest man alive.
Gordon couldn't get the intel, so he must be pulling a stunt—using Sidney as bait to lure Falcone out.
It was a good idea, and highly likely to succeed.
Falcone wouldn't know his forr subordinate had beco an idiot. Upon hearing he was caught, he would be anxious. Even if he didn't act, the politicians behind him would force him to.
It was a stalemate.
Having figured this out, Luke stopped paying attention. What happened next in Gotham was irrelevant to him.
He had secured $800 million, Sidney took the fall, Roger Consius was neutralized, Show was trending, and Emily had successfully risen in rank, likely becoming the head of the FBI's local East End office. With her protection, he wouldn't have to worry about the police bothering him. That's the power of dating an FBI agent.
As the mastermind, Luke was very satisfied with the current outco and ready to move on to the next phase of his plan.
At ten o'clock that morning, after holding a full staff eting, a sowhat bizarre recruitnt announcent appeared on the Show hopage.
Most of the job requirents were normal, except for the Technician and Presidential Assistant positions, which baffled people.
The requirent for the Technician was virtually non-existent, just two words: Genius.
Below it was a bolded annotation: "Show is a genius company, and a genius company only needs genius technicians."
Listen to that tone—clearly an invitation to be smacked!
Compared to the Technician, the requirents for the Presidential Assistant were extensive, covering half a page.
Gender: Female (excluding trans individuals)Age: 18–25 years oldHeight: 167cm–177cm (5'6"–5'10")Weight: 105lbs–135lbsAppearance: Clean, proper facial featuresHair: Past the shouldersSkin Color: None (i.e., not specified)Education: University student or graduate, IQ above 125, proficient in at least three languages (including English), no criminal record, no bad habits, no drug history (including prescription painkillers, etc.). Work experience preferred.Physical Condition: Physically robust, proficient in various fighting techniques, left punch strength no less than 500 lbs, right punch strength no less than 600 lbs. Practical combat experience preferred.Special Requirent:No perfu!Annual Salary:$250,000
After reading the requirents, a question popped into everyone's head: Is this a beauty pageant? An assistant search? Or a bodyguard recruitnt?
And what the heck was "No perfu"? You're looking for a female secretary, but you won't allow her to wear perfu? Isn't that just difficult for the sake of being difficult?
Are there even won who don't wear perfu these days?
The announcent imdiately sparked controversy.
The Presidential Assistant position was sowhat understandable. With a salary of $250,000, it was high-inco, so excessive requirents were perhaps normal. n, after all, have their unique fetishes.
It was the Technician recruitnt that ignited a firestorm, especially among Ivy League university students.
They were outraged that an internet startup like Show would not specify educational requirents in its job posting. Such a practice seed to violate social norms.
If every internet company ignored academic qualifications, what was the point of a university computer science degree?
Students and graduates alike left comnts under the announcent, fiercely condemning Show's "unfair" behavior.
Conversely, the hacker community was intrigued. Hackers' educational backgrounds varied widely, from graduates of famous schools to self-taught talents. The forr sneered at the ad; the latter showed great interest.
The hacker circle wasn't small. They had all heard what kind of "talent" was in Show's tech departnt. Zachs Berger, for example, had stolen bank money, been tracked by the FBI, and served two years in prison.
If soone like that could be Show's technical supervisor, they could easily beco the CTO!
The Grand Gauntlet
On the 13th floor of Sea Prosperity Tower, Zachs Berger stood awkwardly before Luke's desk.
"Boss, do we really have to do this?"
Luke smiled and asked, "What's wrong? No confidence?"
"Of course I have confidence! The problem is, this approach is likely to draw the public's wrath."
"You're scared!"
"Of course I'm not scared!"
Zachs straightened up forcefully. "When it cos to computer technology, who is better than , besides you?"
After the soft flattery, Zachs imdiately deflated.
"Not being scared is one thing, but we can't offend everyone! There are plenty of skilled people in the hacker community. If they work together to cause trouble, the company might not be able to handle it."
"If you can't handle it, I will. Whose skills are better than mine, anywhere in the world?"
Zachs felt like hitting him with a brick.
Even if you're the boss, you can't be this reckless! People will die, you know!
Luke was done with the banter.
"Alright, go back and prepare. The first test is about to begin."
Zachs sighed helplessly and walked out crestfallen.
Great. Now I'll be famous, whether I want to be or not.
A few minutes later, an even more explosive announcent appeared on the Show official website.
To provide a convenient channel for top talent, the Show Technical Departnt hereby declares: Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, between 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM, any Show user can sign up to participate in a hacking challenge. Anyone who successfully hacks into the Show resource repository will bypass all written and interview stages and beco a direct Show employee. Show will not pursue legal action for any hacking activities conducted during this period. (Registration is open daily from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM. The event is valid from August 2003 to September 2003.)
If the previous announcent was a provocation, this statent was a blatant slap in the face—a dual-handed, continuous attack that left everyone red and swollen.
The announcent was like a wealthy heir standing before a poor man and arrogantly declaring: I'm rich, good-looking, and fit. I have hundreds of millions in my bank account, and I drive Ferraris and BMWs. If you're unhappy, what can you do? Are you going to hit ? If you dare, I'll be your grandson.
As the poor man, what should you do? Take the insult, or fight back?
The greatest trait of a genius is defiance, especially geniuses in computer technology. They might be ek in reality, but they strike hard online. If you dare claim to be their "grandfather," they'll leave digital "feces" on your desktop.
Show's statent blew up the entire internet industry and infuriated many experts.
In duels between masters, there is usually mutual respect and restraint. Now, Show was throwing all conventions out the window, so no one felt obligated to be polite anymore.
Thus, a unique campaign of conquest began.
High-achieving computer science students from major universities, master hackers, FBI tech employees itching for action, programrs from other internet companies, and even so foreign hacking organizations all joined in.
At 12:00 PM.
Charlie rushed into the office.
"Boss, the number of registrants has exceeded two thousand! Zachs wants to know if we should terminate registration."
"Why should we terminate it?"
Luke smiled. "Out of two thousand people, no more than 10% have real skills. The rest are just bandwagon-jumping amateurs. Why worry about them?"
Charlie wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Boss, I don't understand why you published that statent. It's not like you."
Luke didn't hold back.
"I need to develop an Artificial Intelligence system. The process is extrely complex and cannot be handled by ordinary technicians. Only geniuses are qualified to work under ."
"Geniuses are rare. I don't have ti to waste searching for them. I have to use this extre thod to dig them out of the crowd."
Charlie hesitated. "What if it all goes wrong?"
Luke laughed heartily.
"We grew up together. Have you ever known to ss things up?"
"Alright," Charlie shrugged. He then changed the subject.
"There's one more tricky issue. Mrs. Helen sent an email demanding that we revoke the hiring requirents for the Presidential Assistant."
Luke looked confused. "Which Mrs. Helen?"
"Mrs. Helen is a prominent advocate for the won's rights movent and currently resides in tropolis," Charlie explained, then added, "Boss, I think it would be better to revise the requirents. That woman is notoriously difficult. If she targets us, it's going to be a big hassle."
"Hassle my butt!"
Luke slamd his hand on the desk, enraged. "I'm looking for a secretary, and I have to watch soone else's face? Who does she think she is? The Queen Mother of the West, holding the Seven Fairies?"
"I'm not changing it. Let's see what she can do."
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