Chapter 3

Jason was holding a meeting with his team in the conference room. I stood outside the door, waiting for it to end.

"So, this quarter, our KPIs exceeded the target by twenty percent. All of this is thanks to the new algorithm I led," Jason declared. "Without my genius, this project would've collapsed long ago."

A wave of flattering applause rose from inside the room. My stomach twisted painfully.

That algorithm had taken me seventy-two straight hours to complete. Jason couldn't even understand the core formulas.

When the meeting ended, he walked out and saw me standing there. His brows knitted together as if he had run into a pile of trash.

"What do you want? Get lost. Don't block my way."

"I do have something to say," I replied bluntly. "What about the compensation you promised last month? Why was my salary docked instead?"

Impatience flashed across his face. "What compensation? I don't remember any of that. Are you out of your mind?"

The colleagues passing by slowed their steps and began to listen in.

"Oliver agreed to it personally. You promised it yourself on the phone."

Jason let out a cold laugh and deliberately raised his voice.

"You're just an outsourced nobody, and you want to bargain with me? Be grateful. Even mopping floors at our company is a blessing earned over eight lifetimes."

Something inside me snapped.

"Jason, don't think people don't know the truth. You can't even write basic code! That award-winning project—from design to implementation—was done entirely by me!"

The hallway fell silent. Everyone stopped and stared.

Jason's face shifted from white to red, then from red to green.

"The patent and the award are already mine. What can you do about it? Touch me and my uncle will make sure you can't even beg on the streets of this city!"

I sneered back. "Why don't we write an algorithm right here? Let everyone see the real skill level of our so-called Technology Innovation Award winner."

Panic flickered in his eyes before turning into rage. "You dare threaten me? Do you know who my uncle is? One phone call and your whole family will be unemployed!"

I was about to fire back when the elevator doors opened. Oliver and Peter stepped out.

"What's going on here?" Peter asked, frowning.

Jason instantly put on a wounded expression.

"Uncle, this outsourced worker is being outrageous. He's questioning my technical ability and even trying to extort money from me."

Oliver glanced at me, a trace of discomfort in his eyes. "Rex, didn't we already agree? Don't bring up these small matters again."

Unwilling to back down, I argued, "Oliver, you clearly promised me compensation. Not only did Jason refuse to pay it, he even docked five hundred from my salary!"

Peter cut me off coldly. "Oliver, what's going on?"

Oliver wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Peter, your nephew did agree to give Rex some extra compensation. After all, he contributed a lot to the project…"

Jason immediately interrupted, "Oliver, how could I ever agree to that? This outsourced worker is incompetent and always shirks responsibility. Now he's trying to blackmail me!"

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. "You're twisting the truth! Everyone in the tech department knows that project was done by me!"

Peter's expression darkened. "Enough! A mere outsourced worker dares to make trouble in the company? Oliver, why are you keeping someone like this?"

Oliver looked at me awkwardly. "Rex, calm down for now. We'll discuss this privately later."

I stood there, rooted to the spot, overwhelmed by a sense of despair and rage I had never felt before.