Chapter 372 - 461: Crime
Whitespire Tech collapsed with incredible speed.
Less than half an hour after the scandal broke, the Kennet Police Department posted a news update about a theft case.
As soon as people saw it, they immediately connected it to the topics trending online that day.
Countless people flooded the comments section of Whitespire Tech’s social media pages to "send their regards."
Some even came forward to share their own experiences, and one of them was Aaron Archer.
Aaron Archer only had a little over five thousand followers on social media, most of whom were bot accounts, so his influence wasn’t significant.
However, in the discussion thread for the trending topic, Aaron Archer’s comment directly exposed Whitespire Tech’s crimes.
Six months ago, Aaron Archer had just graduated and joined Whitespire Tech. At first, everything seemed normal.
But after a manager learned of his academic achievements, they started making a point of getting close to him, showing extra concern for his well-being.
Aaron Archer initially found the manager very approachable and was happy to chat with them and share his thoughts on his research.
Before long, however, the company’s malicious intentions began to surface.
His manager first assigned Aaron Archer to research biopharmaceuticals, offering him the utmost support, both verbally and financially.
He had never imagined the company would invest in him so heavily, so he threw himself into his work. Three months later, he successfully developed an inhibitor drug.
Just as Aaron Archer was preparing to write his research paper, his manager approached him again. This time, they cut right to the chase, telling him to credit his supervisor as the primary author.
Naturally, Aaron Archer refused. He had developed the inhibitor drug entirely on his own; aside from a few assistants, no one else had participated in the project.
After repeated threats from his manager, Aaron Archer decided he would resign as soon as he published his paper. But to his shock, just three days later, an article appeared online that was ninety percent identical to his own research. It caused a minor sensation, and the primary author listed was the exact supervisor his manager had mentioned.
He hadn’t resigned yet, so he furiously confronted his manager, only to be handed a termination notice.
Aaron Archer tried to pursue legal action, sending a letter from his lawyer and attempting to file a civil suit, but he was stymied by a lack of evidence.
This clearly wasn’t the first time Whitespire Tech had pulled such a stunt, and they were experts at covering their tracks.
Reading Aaron Archer’s sincere and emotional account, netizens were furious, even if they couldn’t fully empathize with his situation.
’This was clearly his research! You didn’t just not participate—you silently stole it and then had the gall to fire him!’
’How could anyone stand for that? Absolutely not!’
[Holy crap, how has Whitespire Tech not gone bankrupt yet?]
[Hope this scummy company goes under soon. Can some big shot please look into this?]
...
Everyone was just joking and didn’t think anything would actually happen. But ten minutes later, the Shaw Group suddenly reposted the comment.
Reply: Received!
Netizens: !!!
[The big boss is amazing!]
[Sob, is Chloe the big boss’s precious darling or what? No matter what happens to her, he’s always the first one to step up.]
[I ship it!]
[Forget shipping, I’ve got the latest update for you guys! Whitespire Tech just had a sudden three-minute power outage. There was non-stop screaming from inside, and a little while later, the police showed up. The whole company is sealed off now.]
[I just took a peek at the stock market. You guys know the rest.]
In short, the name Whitespire Tech would soon be wiped from existence.
The online discussions died down within a few days, but in the real world, the employees of Whitespire Tech were not faring so well.
With the company sealed off, all employees who were present at the time were taken to the police station.