Chapter 45

Emilia’s secret weapon was Olivia II. If Luther got there first, she would lose her advantage, and the entire situation would backfire. That thought alone was enough to make her anxious.

Just then, Luther’s tone shifted. “But Ms. Clements shut us down. So it’s all on you now. The whole team’s relying on you to pull this through.”

Luther knew about Emilia’s relationship with Damien, so he offered some private advice. “This is also an opportunity to establish your authority. Once you earn their respect, future work will be much easier.”

Emilia never planned on staying at Luther’s laboratory. Her goal was to use this place as a stepping stone to polish her resume. Whether she chose to start her own company or pursue postdoctoral research, she wanted options. Of course, if she ever got the chance to meet someone like Bock, that would be ideal, as it would solidify her place in the industry. As for her teammates’ earlier doubts about her—well, they’d have to keep their mouths shut in the future.

Since Luther had already contacted Olivia, Emilia believed her plan needed to change. After thinking it over, she said, “If we outsource to MegaTech, we could get results faster. I could try talking to Ms. Clements.”

Luther had been turned down quite bluntly by Olivia, so he replied, “Don’t get your hopes up, but it’s worth a try. Of course, you need to prepare a backup plan. If this project gets delayed any further, it might have to be scrapped.”

Emilia responded, “Understood. I’m someone who focuses on results, and I’ll definitely solve this as quickly as possible. I’ll do everything I can to persuade Ms. Clements.”

As the lab director, Luther was very pleased with Emilia’s proactive work attitude. He also understood why Damien appreciated her. She was indeed an exceptionally outstanding woman.

After going over some technical details, Emilia returned to her workstation. Her things had already been moved to the former team leader’s private office.

High intelligence doesn’t always come with high emotional intelligence, but every team had a few people who knew how to read the room.

“Kochie,” Emilia sat in the chair that Kylie had dusted off and prepared to assess her.

“Hello, Ms. Mason. I’m Kylie Stevens, the former team leader’s assistant,” Kylie replied calmly.

Emilia appreciated people who knew how to behave. She smiled. “Lots of people out there don’t think I deserve this. Aren’t you afraid they’ll freeze you out for pledging loyalty so soon?” Kylie was direct and to the point, “I respect competence. If you can solve problems that the former leader couldn’t, then I’m with you.”

Emilia was very pleased. “Alright then, go ahead with your work. I’ll call you if I need anything.”

After Kylie left, Emilia tapped her fingers on the desk and then made a phone call. “Jayden. Tia already contacted Ms. Clements. We might be able to meet Lugi-X’s developer tomorrow. Do you want to come with me?”

Jayden replied, “Of course.”

Bringing Jayden was a calculated move. As the son of Havenmor’s richest man, he was a valuable asset—another card she could play.

As for Olivia, she’d struck gold three years ago by developing Lugi. Compared to the endless stream of AI assistants being developed by major tech companies today, her most successful project was being ahead of its time and the first to catch the wave. Beyond that, Emilia didn’t think there was much else to admire. In a few more years, Lugi-X would be outdated anyway.

MegaTech tomorrow. It would be a surprise.

Still, Clava’s schedule was full, and the time slot was a weak point. Since the situation was urgent, Emilia decided to wait for her outside MegaTech's visit, confident Olivia would be happy to see her. After all, Damien had taken her to high places; Emilia was no longer the nobody she once was.

No sooner had Autumn gotten off the phone than she forwarded the case to her. She’d already finished her work for the day, so she immediately reviewed the documents.

They maintained strict confidentiality, so naturally, she didn’t receive the entire project—just the problem section. Even so, it was 30 pages long.

Autumn skimmed through it. First, she identified the imprecise wording that described the problem and the weak relevance of the cited papers. Then, she began reorganizing everything, condensing the 30-page problem description down to ten pages. After that, she outlined some possible solutions and quickly downloaded relevant domestic and international publications in that direction.