Job Stolen, I Took N+1 and Quit Chapter 2

I rented a shabby two-bedroom apartment that served as both our living quarters and our office. The living room was crammed with secondhand server racks, the buzz of their cooling fans a constant, tireless hum.

Noah sat on a sofa missing a leg, staring at me.

“You’re broke,” he stated, not as a question.

After paying his fine and renting all this equipment, I didn’t even have next month’s rent sorted.

I pulled a cup of instant noodles from my bag and tore off the lid.

“As long as the servers have power, I won’t starve. What, is the great Noah too good for this?”

He didn’t answer, just stared at the noodle cup. In my past life, I only knew he was a tech genius. I didn’t know he was also the runaway scion of a powerful East Coast family. He’d cut ties with them because he refused to inherit the family business, choosing to pursue technology instead.

This time, I was going to make this hidden dragon soar ahead of schedule.

“The new department’s project is a trap,” Noah said suddenly, his tone flat. “I wrote the architecture, but I left a back door. Once the concurrent user volume exceeds ten million, the entire system will crash.”

I smiled and pushed the now-ready noodles toward him.

“I know. And I also know that your back door is actually an infinite loop. Once triggered, it’ll fry the hardware.”

Noah’s pupils contracted. He looked at me like I was some kind of monster. “How did you know? I haven’t even finished writing that algorithm…”

I didn’t explain. I just sat down at the computer. My fingers flew across the keyboard, lines of code pouring out like a waterfall. It was the same algorithm that had taken him three years to complete in our last life, the core technology that would later have industry giants scrambling.

Ten minutes later, I hit Enter.

A green “SUCCESS” flashed on the screen.

The fork dropped from Noah’s hand, clattering on the floor. He rushed over, his eyes glued to the screen, his breathing heavy and ragged.

“That… that’s the logical loop I’ve been trying to solve for six months…”

I pointed to the screen. “I want to turn this project into a SaaS platform. I need it online within a month. Any problem with that?”

Noah licked his dry lips, a fire igniting in his eyes.

“As long as we can pay the electricity bill, I can get it done in two weeks.”

The days that followed were a blur of manic energy. We were like two mad scientists, doing nothing but eating, sleeping, and coding. To save money, I sold all my old designer bags. Noah saw it all but said nothing. He just typed faster.

In our old work group chat, Jessica was broadcasting her “highlight reel” daily.

“Another late night at the office. The coffee in the new department is amazing.”

“The boss said I’m the future of the company. So much pressure, lol.”

“Heard someone’s been dumpster diving since they left? So sad.”

The posts were accompanied by pictures of her posing at her desk in a bright, spacious office. I knew that the screen of her computer actually showed an order page for a freelancing website.

She was hiring a ghostwriter. Because before I left, I’d completely wiped my old computer. She couldn’t find a single useful document.

One day, one of our graphics cards burned out. We had no choice but to replace it.

Noah and I went to an electronics market.

And of course, we ran into them.

We had just walked into a shop when we heard Jessica’s shrill voice.

“I’ll take this A100 graphics card. The company’s paying, money is no object!”

She was clinging to the arm of a balding man—her sycophantic boss, Mark, the one backing her in the new department.

I glanced at the card. It was the best secondhand one in the store, exactly what we needed.

“I saw that card first,” I said, walking over.

Jessica turned, and a mocking smile spread across her face when she saw me. “Well, if it isn’t Ava. What, are you scavenging for parts now?”

She scanned my cheap t-shirt, then glanced at the scruffy Noah beside me. “Tsk, tsk. Still hanging out with your homeless boyfriend? This card is eight thousand dollars. Can you afford it? You probably couldn’t even get that much if you sold yourself.”

She deliberately lifted her high-heeled foot and pressed it down on the graphics card, grinding it against the floor.

“Oh, sorry, I got it dirty. But since I saw it first, even if I smash it, I wouldn’t give it to a beggar.”

The balding man chuckled. “Jessica, don’t waste your time on these lowlifes. Let’s just have security throw them out.”

The other shop owners and customers were watching the spectacle. I clenched my fists, about to snap.

But the ever-silent Noah, standing behind me, suddenly moved.