He really lacked vision.

Alexander was just going to let Elodie get away with this?

“Goodbye, Mr. Whitaker.” Sylvie didn’t press further. With graceful composure, she nodded to Naylor, then turned and walked away.

She carried herself with quiet pride, refusing to stoop to Elodie’s petty provocations.

Naylor watched Sylvie’s retreating figure for a moment, then glanced up at the glass tower that he hadn’t even bothered to enter.

He wished he could just walk away too, ignore VistaLink Technologies entirely. But he didn’t have that luxury. If he didn’t buy the patent, he’d be surrendering the entire market.

The thought soured his mood further.

Sylvie didn’t linger long outside VistaLink. She knew perfectly well that Alexander was avoiding her because Elodie had him firmly under her thumb. Waiting around would accomplish nothing.

But if she didn’t use VistaLink’s flight control system, Neural Intelligence would fall hopelessly behind-maybe even get swept away by the next technological wave.

She couldn’t help but wonder just how much brainpower VistaLink had assembled. Was there someone else behind the scenes, some hidden genius besides Alexander? It had to be something extraordinary to build a system like this.

Once she got in the car, Sylvie glanced back at the sleek glass façade of VistaLink. Her expression grew colder, touched with a bitter chill.

In the end, she pulled out her phone and dialed Jarrod.

He took a long time to pick up. Sylvie rubbed her forehead and sighed. “Jarrod, Mr. Sterling refused to see me. VistaLink’s people told me to book an appointment with Elodie. Honestly, I doubt Elodie ever intends to meet with me-it’s probably just a tactic to keep me waiting.”

She found such pettiness beneath her.

Jarrod’s tone was calm and even. “I understand. Come back for now.”

Sylvie pressed her lips together. “I’m really out of options here.”

VistaLink clearly had it in for her. As long as Elodie was around, the odds of resolving this were slim.

Jarrod wasn’t surprised; he could hear the frustration in Sylvie’s voice. He simply said, “We’ll figure something out.”

Downstairs, Elodie and Alexander only learned what had happened after their assistant filled them in.

Elodie shot the assistant a surprised look.

Alexander couldn’t help but chuckle. “York, you really think on your feet. You definitely earned your bonus today.”

Just that one phrase, “Please schedule an appointment with Ms. Thorne,” was enough to leave Sylvie stewing for quite a while.

Elodie shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips.

She hadn’t meant to target anyone in particular. The truth was, these days, companies were lining up at VistaLink’s door. The ball was entirely in their court.

She had no desire to monopolize the market. Technology was a matter of national strength-if her system could be widely adopted, it would benefit all sorts of industries, help drive the country’s technological progress, and boost the economy as a whole.

She fully intended to license the patent to a range of companies.

After all, this flight control system wasn’t her final achievement. It might drive the industry forward, but for her, it was just one milestone-she was already thinking of more advanced breakthroughs.

Even selling the patent wouldn’t hurt VistaLink’s position; if anything, it would strengthen it. The licensing fees alone could bring in over a billion dollars a year.

Soon, apart from a handful of equally powerful tech companies, most drone and aerospace manufacturers would be using VistaLink’s system. Of course, VistaLink would hold some things back, keeping a competitive edge-they intended to stay at the forefront of the field.

As noon approached, Elodie’s phone lit up with yet another call from Keith.