readease Chapter 222 Bezos's Provocation
Chapter 222 Bezos's Provocation
Chapter 222 Bezos's Provocation
Ernst has recently become quite engrossed in his farm life, enjoying his leisure time every day.
The pace of daily life is as slow as the hands of an old clock, every minute and every second is imbued with the unique leisurely atmosphere of the farm.
The farm's mornings are always full of surprises, with no jarring alarm clocks, only the incessant chirping of birds. These little birds seem to be born musicians; some perch on branches and sing their hearts out, while others hop and skip across the grass, providing accompaniment. Their chirping blends together to create a unique pastoral symphony.
Waking up naturally to such songs every day, stretching lazily, and opening the window to smell the fragrance of grass and earth in the air, it's hard not to feel happy.
In the afternoon, the sunlight became gentler, no longer as scorching as at noon.
The old locust tree in the farm spreads its dense branches and leaves like a giant green umbrella, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
Ernst would place a deck chair under the shade of a tree and take a nap in the lazy afternoon atmosphere.
The evening scenery is even more breathtaking. The setting sun, like a giant orange-red fireball, slowly sinks towards the horizon, dyeing the sky with a variety of colors, from golden yellow to pink, and then to deep purple. Each color transitions perfectly, as if God had accidentally spilled his palette.
Daily activities are simple yet full of fun, which can be summarized as playing with cats and dogs, riding horses and shooting guns.
The only pity is that there are fewer rabbits now, and the helicopter he bought at great expense can only sit in the hangar and gather dust for the time being.
Ernst was almost completely immersed in these leisurely days, and sometimes he even had the urge to stay like this forever.
However, just as Ernst was enjoying farm life, a sudden phone call shattered the tranquility, prompting him to rush to the Helios Laboratory in Menlo Park.
When Ernst arrived at the Helios Laboratory, the sight before him was a sight to behold.
The laboratory is now fully operational, with all tasks progressing smoothly and exuding an atmosphere of professionalism and efficiency.
The interior layout is neat and orderly. In the bright office area, rows of computers are arranged in an orderly manner, and the researchers are all focused on the computer screens, their fingers flying across the keyboards.
Sunlight streamed in through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating everyone's busy figures and the green plants on the desks, adding a touch of life to the serious research atmosphere.
The laboratory currently has more than 60 full-time employees. This team is truly a hidden gem, encompassing professionals from multiple fields such as computer science, mathematics, and engineering, each with profound expertise in their respective areas.
They are like the engine of the laboratory, providing solid human support for the projects being developed and enabling various research and development efforts to proceed smoothly.
Looking at the vibrant laboratory before him, Ernst couldn't help but sigh once again that inviting old man McCarthy out of retirement was an extremely wise decision, a real stroke of luck.
McCarthy has been deeply involved in the field of distributed computing for many years, and it is no exaggeration to call him an industry giant.
He not only possesses solid professional knowledge, but also has accumulated extensive connections and a high reputation in the industry. As long as he speaks, many professionals in the industry will give him face.
Leveraging his personal influence, McCarthy quickly assembled more than twenty senior researchers with significant achievements in the field of distributed computing for Helios Labs.
Most of these researchers had previously worked in related research at universities or top technology companies. Their addition was like a shot in the arm for the laboratory, enabling it to take a crucial step in the research and development of core technologies for distributed computing.
To Ernst's even greater surprise, McCarthy also recruited more than thirty outstanding graduate students from MIT to serve as research assistants for the lab.
It's well known that MIT graduate students are highly sought after; many companies and research institutions are vying for them.
When they heard that McCarthy was leading the project as an advisor, everyone was as excited as if they had been injected with stimulants, vying to come and be free laborers.
"If the current research phase of the lab didn't require so many research assistants, even a hundred graduate students would be a piece of cake for us."
Ernst could clearly hear the undisguised pride in his tone, and at the same time, he could feel his recognition of the abilities of these young students.
In the office, Ernst first had a brief exchange with Mr. McCarthy about the current overall situation of the Helios Laboratory and the progress of the project.
Mr. McCarthy gave a detailed introduction to the recent research and development results, explaining every detail from technological breakthroughs to teamwork.
Ernst listened and nodded, very satisfied with the laboratory's rapid development and achievements.
Then Ernst's face suddenly darkened. He turned his gaze to Cassio sitting opposite him, his tone clearly showing displeasure. "You should have told me about the Amazon situation earlier. Why are you only telling me now?"
Upon hearing this, Cassio's face immediately showed a wry smile. He sighed softly and explained helplessly, "I originally thought this was just a personal matter and didn't want to cause too much trouble for the lab. Besides, I really didn't expect Bezos to be this kind of person, acting so unethically."
Back when Cassio decided to join Apollo Labs, Ernst had warned him that, given Bezos's style, he would not let him leave easily.
In the business world, the loss of key talent itself means a potential competitive threat, not to mention that Cassio participated in most of the important technology projects during his time at Amazon and had an intimate knowledge of Amazon's technical architecture.
If Cassio wanted to, it wouldn't be impossible for him to replicate an Amazon-like platform with the technology he possessed.
In addition, Bezos himself was hostile towards him, so from the beginning Ernst felt that a peaceful breakup between them was impossible.
For some time now, things have been calm and peaceful, with no news from Amazon. This surprised Ernst, who even thought Bezos was quite magnanimous and his opinion of him changed slightly.
But now it seems he was overthinking things. Bezos not only showed no magnanimity, but also resorted to extremely insidious methods.
After Cassio formally submitted his resignation to Amazon, Bezos outwardly agreed with a smile, as if it were an amicable parting, but then turned around and put forward an extremely harsh condition.
That means he can't take any of the stock options he earned while working at Amazon with him.
This means that Cassio must leave Amazon by resigning without notice.
Cassio was always mild-mannered and disliked arguing with others. At that time, he was preoccupied with getting rid of the Amazon's constraints as soon as possible, joining the Apollo Laboratory, and devoting himself to the scientific research he loved.
So even though he knew the request was unreasonable, he gritted his teeth and agreed to Bezos's conditions.
I thought that was the end of it, and that we would leave each other alone. But who would have thought that Bezos's harassment wouldn't stop there, but instead became even more outrageous.
The head of Amazon actually filed a lawsuit against Cassio for leaking Amazon secrets, and even demanded that the court rule that Cassio could not work at the Helios Laboratory.
Ernst's gaze hardened. He stared intently at Cassio and said firmly, "You don't need to worry about this. Leave it to me. I will make Bezos return everything he took from you."
Upon hearing this, Cassio hesitated for a moment. He looked at Ernst and said softly, "Let's forget about it. I don't really value those Amazon stock options that much. They're only worth a few hundred thousand dollars. There's no need to make things too awkward with Bezos over that little bit of money, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble for the lab."
In Cassio's view, the development of the laboratory was the most important thing, and he didn't want his own affairs to affect the entire team.
But Ernst's face darkened, and he said with a grim expression, "You're wrong. This matter is no longer just about you. Bezos's real target is me. He just wants to cause me trouble."
In Ernst's view, the so-called leak of Amazon secrets is utter nonsense and is purely Bezos deliberately trying to cause trouble.
Leaking confidential information?
Amazon has no secrets whatsoever.
When Cassio was at Amazon, he was mainly responsible for technical matters and did not participate in the company's management or core strategic planning. What important secrets could he have access to?
Moreover, even if Amazon does have secrets, those technologies have absolutely nothing to do with the distributed research he is currently conducting at Helios Labs. They are completely different fields, so there is no question of any leak of secrets.
From a legal perspective, such a lawsuit makes no sense, and the court is unlikely to accept it, let alone support Bezos's claims.
Ernst knew perfectly well that Bezos's purpose in launching such a pointless lawsuit was simply to disgust him.
"I haven't even settled accounts with you yet, and you've already come to me willingly. You're really overestimating yourself," Ernst thought to himself.
Since Bezos wants to cause trouble, Ernst must teach him a lesson and let him know that in front of him, Amazon and Bezos are nothing.
A sharp glint flashed in Ernst's eyes. Cassio, seeing Ernst's resolute expression, knew he had made up his mind and stopped trying to dissuade him.
Moreover, he was indeed annoyed by Bezos's behavior. When I was at Amazon, I sincerely devoted myself to the company, but I never expected to get this kind of ending.
Thinking of this, Cassio couldn't help but feel a surge of resentment and anger.
"So what are you planning to do?" Cassio asked curiously. "Start an e-commerce website and compete with Amazon?"
He hadn't forgotten that when they were discussing cloud computing, Ernst had mentioned wanting to establish an e-commerce website, so he thought Ernst would take the opportunity to enter the e-commerce field, compete head-on with Amazon, and defeat Bezos with business tactics.
Ernst shook his head and said with a smile, "There's no such plan yet. Dealing with this half-bald guy doesn't require such a big effort. Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut?"
"Half-bald?" Cassio was taken aback, not immediately realizing who Ernst was referring to.
But he quickly thought of Bezos's image, his signature hairstyle, with sparse hair on top and relatively thick hair on the sides, which made him look like he was half-bald.
Thinking of this, Cassio couldn't help but smile.
That's quite a vivid description.