Chapter 3 — The French company paid me 2,000 yuan, the next day the entire chain was paralyzed

Pierre screamed like a wild animal, then angrily threw all the files on the table to the ground, the papers flying everywhere. She even dared to ask him… to contact him via email? What is that kind of "superiority"? Who does she think she is? But behind that crazy anger, a cold despair was taking over his body. The wall clock continued to patiently go “tick… tock…,” each sound like a countdown to the company's demise — and his own. The newly updated damage report jumped up to a number that made him not dare to look straight. The internal phone rang continuously, on the other end of the line was a call from the Board of Directors - at first it was a question, then it changed to an ice-cold reprimand. Pierre knew clearly: if he couldn't handle this crisis today, his position as project manager would be over. Under terrible pressure, all pride and dignity become trash. He groggily bent down, picked up the SIM card from the rubble on the floor, and inserted it into the secondary device. Pierre then sat down at his desk, opened his laptop, took a deep breath, and began composing the email that would probably become the most humiliating plea of his career. He tried his best not to be too mean in his words, trying to keep a "professional" tone, even though his hands still trembled every now and then. In the email, Pierre skillfully avoided any mention of salary or reasons for leaving the company, but only spoke vaguely about "technical problems with the production line". He attributed the entire problem to “unexpected incompatibility between the system and the new device environment.” At the end of the letter, he expressed hope that Ms. Lam Vi, with the spirit of "responsibility towards work", would "provide technical support to the extent necessary" to "help the team overcome this difficult period". No longer a powerful director. No longer was she the person who coldly chased her away with the words "go back to the human resources department to finalize the settlement". Now, there is only one man left who is desperately clinging... to the fragile hope that she will change her mind. The entire email, from start to finish, was imbued with a typical managerial tone — both fake and pushy. After typing, Pierre read it again several times, checking each sentence and each word, and finally gritted his teeth and clicked "Send". At the same time, I was applying a moisturizing mask at home, sipping hot tea and watching an old movie. The corner of the laptop screen flashes a notification: You have a new email. I pressed open. Skipping through the long "eulogy" that Pierre sent, I almost burst out laughing after reading half of it. Even though he's dead, he's still trying to maintain his so-called "decent" cover. Obviously begging, but still trying to play the role of giver. The mouth says "cooperate and support", the hands are shaking, the heart is nervous - but still can't understand: who needs who right now. I turned off the movie and sat up straight. Hands placed on the keyboard, typing each word without hesitation. My response — short, clear, no room for unnecessary kindness:

“Can provide technical advice.”

“Fee: 1 million euros per day.”

“Calculated by day, less than 1 day is still counted as a full day.”

“Transfer money first, confirm the money has arrived before starting work.”

“No negotiation of any kind.”

I click send. Just imagining their reaction when they read the email makes me feel that this evening is especially pleasant. Absolutely not unexpected. At the executive meeting room of the company in France, when Pierre projected the content of my email response on the big screen, the whole room immediately exploded like a barrel of gunpowder.

“A million euros a day?! Is she crazy?!”

"This is blackmail! It's clearly blatant blackmail!"

“Is she a robber?!”

A board member was so angry that his face turned red, he slammed the table and stood up. Pierre, as if he had caught an excuse to blame everything, immediately followed in shouting:

"I warned you! She is dangerous! You must report to the police immediately! You must sue her in international court!"

The entire meeting room was shaken by screams, indignation, and condemnation. A group of men, who once looked down on me, are now standing still because of a mere email... 5 lines. And I, half a world away, took off my mask and smiled. Play contemptuously first, then don't ask to be treated kindly later. However, in a corner of the room, the company's legal manager — a bald man with a serious expression — finally spoke. His voice was not loud, but it had such weight that it immediately silenced the entire meeting room.

"Sue her? On what basis?"

"Commercial extortion? She simply quit. And from the beginning, we violated the previous salary agreement, which constitutes a unilateral breach of contract."

"Intentional sabotage? The system she left behind did not have any 'backdoors' or malicious code, nor were there any signs of intentional sabotage. The system collapsed because our technical team could not understand the code she wrote, and then arbitrarily intervened, making everything worse."

He gently pushed his glasses, then said each word, word by word:

“From a legal standpoint, we have absolutely no chance of winning the case.”

“Currently, she is simply a freelance technical expert.”

“And has every right to charge what she thinks is a fair price for her services.”

His words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing all the anger burning in the room. The atmosphere was so heavy that everyone felt suffocated. No one dared to say anything more. Outside the glass window, the afternoon light has fallen. Another day has passed. And the company's losses are now astronomical — enough to make anyone in this room write their own resignation letter. One million euros a day. The number that yesterday was considered absurd and a joke. Now… it was the only option they had left. If they want to save production, they have to pay the price. If you want to save face, prepare to accept the company's identity.