Chapter 2

I didn’t bother arguing any further. Turning on my heel, I walked out of the conference room and went straight back to my desk.

Opening my laptop, I clicked into a hidden folder.

There was something Sebastian and Julian didn’t know.

I had developed the core logic of the Nebula Algorithm entirely independently on my personal computer.

I had even planned ahead and registered the software copyright under my own personal name months ago.

It belonged entirely to me. The company didn’t hold a single grain of ownership over it.

I hit the enter key.

A pre-written script immediately kicked into action.

The progress bar flashed rapidly across the screen.

Line by line, I purged my proprietary core encryption modules completely from the company’s servers, wiping every trace of backup files clean while I was at it.

What I left behind on their server was nothing more than an empty, hollow shell framework.

Once that was finished, I unplugged my USB drive and packed it safely into my backpack.

Then, I opened a Word document and typed out a letter of resignation.

Five minutes later, I slammed the resignation letter down onto Sebastian’s desk.

Sebastian didn’t even glance at it before signing his name.

He leaned back in his leather executive chair, letting out a contemptuous laugh.

“What’s this? Throwing a temper tantrum just because your pride got hurt?

“Let me give you a piece of advice, Aaron—don’t let your arrogance get the best of you while you’re young.

“Once you walk out that door, a community college diploma like yours won’t even land you an interview at a respectable company.”

I looked at his arrogant face, feeling nothing but pity.

“Mr. Carter, I hope you don’t live to regret this.”

Sebastian reacted as if he had just heard the most absurd joke.

“Regret it? The world keeps spinning with or without you!

“Dime-a-dozen code monkeys with community college degrees like you are a dime a dozen. They’re practically crawling all over the streets!

“Get out of here already. Don’t waste Director Monroe’s time taking over your work.”

Ignoring him entirely, I turned around and walked out of the company I had poured my blood, sweat, and tears into for three long years.

That very evening, I logged into the country’s largest developer forum.

I created a stripped-down version of the core encryption module and open-sourced the underlying foundational algorithm.

After publishing the post, I took a shower and went straight to bed.

Around noon the next day, I was awakened by a sharp, persistent phone ringing.

Groggy, I pressed the answer button.

“Hello? Who’s this?”

A deep, commanding voice came through the receiver.

“Hello, am I speaking with Mr. Aaron Bennett?

“I’m Alexander Dawson, CTO of Apex Global.”

I snapped awake instantly.

Apex Global.

The undisputed Titan of the tech industry—the exact company Sebastian’s petty enterprise dreamed of riding the coattails of.

“Mr. Dawson? How can I help you?”

Alexander’s voice carried an excitement he couldn’t quite mask.

“Mr. Bennett, I saw the algorithm you open-sourced on the forum last night.

“It’s nothing short of pure genius!

“Our group is currently tackling a massive national-level big data initiative, and we happened to hit a brick wall at that exact bottleneck.

“Your algorithm solved our pain point flawlessly.”

Leaning back against my headboard, a cold smirk played at the corner of my lips.

It seemed there were still people out there who actually knew real talent when they saw it.

“You flatter me, Mr. Dawson. It was just something I put together.”

Alexander’s tone turned serious and professional.

“Mr. Bennett, I’ll cut straight to the point.

“We ran a background check on you and saw that you just resigned from your previous company.

“On behalf of Apex Global, I officially extend an invitation for you to join us.

“If you agree to come onboard, your starting salary will be $300,000 annually, plus core tech equity options.

“Furthermore, you will directly serve as the Chief Architect for our upcoming ‘Project Genesis’!”

My hand tightened around the phone.

An offer like this was something I wouldn’t have even dared to dream of before.

I deliberately paused for a moment.

“Mr. Dawson, you might not have read my full resume.

“I only hold a community college degree.”

A hearty laugh echoed from the other end of the line.

“Aaron, in the face of true technical genius, a piece of paper isn’t worth a dime!

“When can you start?”

I looked out the window at the dazzling sunlight and spoke softly.

“Tomorrow.”