It was time for case study, it wasn't just answering the questions but seeing the consequences of what options they had choosed.
"Welcome to the the second round. I am happy that you people made it to this round, now this round is going to be for one week and your given 10 thousand dollars, and one wrong move you face a huge loss and will considered as fail in the test.
" It is like a game right? And money are fake ones is it ? "
One of the candidate asked.
"No it's not a kids game , at the end of the week . By looking at the state of your project, you will be awarded and this certificate acts as the face card for your career. "
Candidates starts to sweat. They never heard something like this,
"So now I understand why people called it as big company's interview " Someone murmed.
Likewise case study was started.
Lay was given a project which costs 10 thousand dollars as others . Now Lay has ultimate power to make a big hit or crash it to the dusts.
They were given a cabin all necessary equipments required. Some paniced, some went so blank to think.
Lay looks the cabin from outside, his body shivers. He takes deep breath and enters. An employee of the company will assist them throughout the week, the candidates can ask their opinions, ask them to help to find the papers and others.
Lay doesn't sit on the main chair of the cabin but sits on the chair which was kept at the corner. He drinks water and look around one more time.
He rolls his sleeves up and ask his guide to give him the papers and give the complete history of the project.
The guides are needed to be address the progress to the higher authority.
That night, Lay studied the papers at home.
The project was simple on the surface — a small distribution plan for an eco-friendly household product NOVA had recently started producing.
The target: expand its reach in two untapped cities within a week.
Budget: $10,000.
Profit or loss depended entirely on strategy.
He did research on it for two days straight, the days left were five. He asked his assistant to help him with survey and sent her from the second day itself.
Day three.
Lay spent the morning identifying the cheapest yet most reliable suppliers.
Some candidates rushed to place big orders immediately — eager to show results fast.
Lay didn't. He ran numbers again and again, making small, careful purchases instead of going all in.
Day four.
Whispers in the hallway said one candidate had already burned through their funds and was in debt.
Another was barely breaking even.
Lay, on the other hand, had doubled his product visibility without spending more than half the budget.
He smiled quietly to himself — not from arrogance, but from seeing his slow plan take shape.
Day Five
He took a risk — a flash discount campaign in both target cities. It cost him nearly all the remaining funds, but the sales jumped overnight.
By the morning of the final day, his $10,000 had grown to $15,000 in net value.
Results
The candidates gathered in the main hall.
Some sat with pale faces, having lost everything.
A few broke even.
Only four candidates, including Lay, had made significant profit.
The man in the dark suit — the one who had been silently observing — stood before them.
"Congratulations. You've proven you can grow, adapt, and survive in high-pressure environments. You four… are officially part of NOVA."
Lay felt a strange calm wash over him.
This wasn't just a job anymore.
This was the first brick in the road he was going to build for himself — on his own terms.