Chapter 61: The Piano Lesson
Just then, another employee let out a startled cry. "Shit! My phone’s restarting too! I searched the full name just now!"
"Same here! What the hell is happening?"
Panic started to ripple through the room.
An older manager from the IT department, known for his calm demeanor, stood up and said gravely, "Everyone, stop searching immediately. I think this is a deliberate warning. Think about it... either Google itself has implemented a restart protocol that overrides all security firewalls, or someone powerful enough has hacked into Google’s system to set this up. Both possibilities are terrifying."
A nervous chatter broke out instantly.
Around the room, more people reported sudden restarts... regardless of the search engine they used. It became obvious that searching ’Eleanor’ or ’Eleanor Elizabeth’ brought nothing unusual. But searching ’Eleanor Elizabeth Raynor’ resulted in a device restart, no matter the platform.
One woman clutched her laptop in horror. "My laptop just restarted too! I thought only phones were affected..."
Gradually, an unsettling realization dawned over the gathered employees: there was absolutely no public record of their boss online. It was as if Eleanor Elizabeth Raynor didn’t exist in the world at all. The more tech-savvy employees felt a cold shiver running down their spines.
Who could erase someone’s entire existence from the internet so cleanly... yet leave such a terrifying booby trap for anyone curious enough to dig?
At the same time, the employees also felt a deep, unexpected sense of relief. Doubts or reservations they might have harbored about the company’s mysterious new owner evaporated like mist under the midday sun. If someone had the power to do this, then NexaByte Technologies was in very, very capable hands.
Only awe and respect remained in their hearts.