Dumping The Ice King His Mini-Tyrant novel Chapter 460

Annalise Johnston led the group through the doors of the digital data center.

“Good afternoon, Director Johnston.”

The staff greeted her with a mixture of respect and awe, their eyes full of admiration as they watched her enter.

With a calm and cool demeanor, Annalise asked, “How’s the data testing for Prism coming along?”

“We’ve stabilized the basic framework,” one of the engineers replied. “We’re working on fine-tuning the database now.”

Annalise nodded. “Let’s run Prism Network for the executives.”

“Uh, well…” The employees hesitated, glancing at each other uncertainly. “We’re still not fully comfortable with the framework yet…”

Annoyed, Annalise’s brows drew together. “It’s been days—how have you not mastered it yet?” Seeing their discomfort, she added, “The data structure is hardly complex. Fine, I’ll handle it myself.”

That pronouncement seemed to spark hope among the research team, their eyes lighting up with expectation.

“The Prism model’s framework is pretty fiendish,” one whispered. “It’s nothing like anything we’ve seen before, but Director Johnston’s only been here a short while and she’s already mastered the code inside and out.”

“No wonder she’s Silicon Valley’s hottest rising star. Director Johnston is in a league of her own!” murmured another, and all eyes locked onto Annalise.

She took her place in front of the workstation and began typing rapidly.

Selene watched the code scroll across the big monitor, exchanging a glance with Leo.

“Are you close with her?” Selene whispered.

“Not really,” Leo replied, his tone clipped and distant.

Selene snorted quietly. “You’re a terrible liar, Professor.”

Leo hesitated, then leaned in to defend himself in a hushed voice. “Seriously. We’re not close.”

Selene figured Annalise must be someone from Altair’s past, but since it clearly involved personal matters, she didn’t press.

Annalise’s fingers moved deftly over the keyboard, her brow deeply furrowed.

The executives craned their necks to watch, the only sound in the room the constant stream of blue code on the screen.

“Maybe I should give it a try,” Selene offered when it became clear Annalise was making no progress.

Annalise spun around, surprised to see Selene speaking up. “You know Prism Network?”

A staffer turned to her. “Director Johnston, do you even know how to operate Prism Network?”

“There’s something wrong with the system itself!” Annalise shot back, her voice echoing across the room.

Sweat beaded on Quentin’s forehead. “This is bad, really bad. What are we supposed to do?”

Suddenly, a thought struck Annalise. “I’ll call Ms. Lockridge!”

She dashed out of the center to find somewhere quieter, then quickly dialed Gwyneth.

A moment later, Selene’s phone buzzed in her pocket.

She glanced at the screen—Gwyneth was calling.

Selene answered, and Gwyneth’s voice came through, sharp and urgent. “Selene…”

She could hear the alarm blaring in the background. “Are you at the data center right now? Why is Prism Network in alert mode? The staff at QuanTech seem completely lost. As the project lead, this is your responsibility!”

Selene turned to see Annalise returning to the room.

“Everyone, don’t worry,” Annalise said, trying to sound reassuring. “I’ve already notified Ms. Lockridge, and she said she’ll contact the Prism Network developer right away…”