LOGINOn the first day back after the New Year break, I returned to find my workstation gone—replaced by two large trash bins sitting side by side. "Josh, even though you've been with the company for ten years, you still have to comply with company arrangements. "You were supposed to be reassigned before the holiday. We held off so you could enjoy your New Year. You should be grateful." As he spoke, my boss pointed toward a corner beside the restroom. There sat a set of low, worn desk and chair—something that looked like it had been discarded by an elementary school. I set my bag on it. The desk wobbled twice, then collapsed outright. Amid the muffled snickers around me, I didn't argue or make a scene. I simply looked at the boss, calm and steady. "You don't have to go through all this trouble to force me out. I'll resign now. I'll forfeit the compensation—just process it as quickly as possible." His eyes lit up, though his face feigned regret. "Since you've made up your mind, there's not much I can say. But the Vespere chip you've spent ten years developing belongs to the company—you have no right to take it with you. "Oh, and when you handle the paperwork, don't forget to pay for that cup of coffee in your hand. It's an employee benefit. As an outsider now, you'll have to cover the cost." I nodded and signed the termination agreement without resistance. But the moment I stepped out of the company, I activated the self-destruct program embedded deep within the chip's core.
View MoreNatashian Rynne Elboser’s Point of View
I stood alone – at the center of the town as two familiar faces stood before me. The Stylynx brothers – my greatest nightmares.
“A woman from the slums… I reject a mate with no dignity – banish her this instant!” The spoiled son of the Stylynx pack announced as he stood beside his brother.
Shivers traveled up my spine as I kept my head down, “Great Alpha, please – let me live! I shall never show my face in front of you.”
However, I knew this situation all too well – no matter how much I beg – this man never fails to throw me out in every scenario. I would lose all that's left of me, and I would die every single time.
“Damn…” I was about to curse at him while I could, however –
“Damn bitch! Wake up!” I flinched as I felt cold water being thrown straight to my face. It’s another day in the slums, and the same old things happen repeatedly as if we are enclosed in a pathetic cycle.
I sigh as I stood on the cement floor, the bed I have been sleeping on for almost my whole life. The vile leaders of the slum continue to spray cold water as the sun was barely even up.
“Ugh,” people were groaning as they stirred awake.
I stood alone, the alleyway seemed to be getting narrower and narrower for me as I felt unusually insecure. I have a bad feeling about this day.
“The ship will arrive today, make sure you acquire the items undetected. You can’t fuck this up today, or else you’ll really die – but the blood won’t be on my hands,” I rolled my eyes.
The same exact threat is being repeated every single day, I’ve become immune to this at this point. No matter what he says, he’ll always have the blood on his hands.
A cycle wherein even my dreams are repeated, a prophetic dream of dying at the hands of the pack’s center of power.
After a while of standing around, they finally gave us our individual jobs – I was designated to take the goods from the ship.
The light blinded my eyes as I took a step outside of the gloomy slum – people were going by their day normally. “Hmm,” I hum as stepping out of the slums will always cheer me up.
People were carrying freshly bloomed flowers – young wolf children were playing around, the whole town smelled of morning dew and a combination of roses, perennials, and everything good. The town looked like a standard medieval town, however, a somewhat modernized one.
The insignia on my left arm started to sting, “Ah,” I hissed as I felt the familiar burning pain.
I knew what it meant, “Fine fine, I’ll do it quickly.”
Although all I wished for is a little more time in indulging with the peaceful environment of the privileged.
I ran towards the ship they mentioned, took the goods, and quickly handed it to them. We needed to move discreetly, everything we’re doing now is illegal – and being found as a slave could get you killed.
This is the reason why we wear severely torn clothes which, for some reason, are designed to fully cover the insignia they marked on us.
As I was walking away from the ship, I stopped – I’ve dreamed of something like this before, I sense a déjà vu.
I looked to my right, my eyes widened – my hands unconsciously gripped the box tighter. “Lady, out of the way!” I heard the man shout.
Instead of turning away, I extended my arm out to push the box out of my way. Even if my hands get fractured, nothing can be worse than death.
The man looked at me in awe – “Don’t look at me like that, I contemplated for a long time how to escape this type of death,” I said before walking to the town center again.
“Hail the youngest Alpha of our great pack, Maximus Vethor Stylynx!” I froze in my spot as I heard it, the name I’ve been dreading for my whole life. “The graceful Alpha Zonner Xuer Stylynx has also come to grant us an audience!”
The people were rejoicing, throwing flower petals onto the paths of the pack’s territory – the center of the pack was lit with radiance. Members from different walks of life were gathered as they await the youngest Alpha’s blessing.
“The goddess’ blessing…” I mumble – I’ve never seen anything like it nor do I have the chance of being bestowed of something like that.
“Fuck! I need to do this quickly,” I mutter to myself as I ran as fast as I could. I got so distracted by the happiness they were exuding, a complete opposite of the life I’ve been living.
How stupid could I be? There was a reason why people were carrying flowers, today is the youngest son of the Stylynx’s coming of age!
I was cursing myself all the way; my task hasn’t even been done halfway – it’s either I get beat up to the brink of death or I would starve for a whole month.
I tightly shut my eyes, “I’m going to die either way.”
“Well, at least, I need to try,” I bit my tongue sheepishly as I brought my hood all the way down – covering my entire face. I’m sure he wouldn’t even notice me… right?
I stopped dead in my tracks, I caught a whiff of a unique smell – something I can’t even begin to describe. It smells of sweet caramel and something else I can’t comprehend, a sweet smell luring me in with temptation.
I turned my head – and there he was, staring at me with curiosity in his eyes. My eyes widened, I knew it…
In my eyes, he was glowing with a turquoise accent – a glow only visible to each other.
“My mate,” I could see his mouth moving as he slightly stepped forward. I fancied the idea of getting near him, I was severely tempted.
“Fuck!” I muttered as I slapped myself – I closed my eyes and barred my nose from inhaling any more of the malicious scent he was exuding.
For the last time, I looked back – his eyes were still stuck on me. His brother was holding him back – I must not let them see my face, I can’t afford to die right now.
I shook my head, “Natashian, wake up!”
I ran away, however, unlike in my dreams – I wasn’t being chased by a mob of angry wolves. I ran into the slums – something I never did voluntarily.
I continued running away, reaching the deepest part of the forest, where I hide my elusive secret.
“I knew it – I knew this would happen.”
The moment the new chip was released, it sent shockwaves through the entire semiconductor industry.On the very day of the launch, dozens of companies signed letters of intent with Genting. Even top international tech firms reached out, eager to negotiate licensing deals or even propose joint ventures to build factories together.Every client who had cut ties with Dalton turned around and signed long-term exclusive agreements with Genting. They all understood one thing clearly: only I could produce truly stable, high-performance chips they could rely on.Within just a month, Genting secured over two billion in orders. The company's market value skyrocketed, cementing its position as the undisputed leader in nation's semiconductor industry.Meanwhile, Dalton Technology was spiraling into ruin.All their core clients had fled. Without new orders, the company had no revenue. The tiny funds remaining in the accounts had long been frozen by banks, leaving them unable to repay massive d
Zachary and Brian hired several industry-focused media outlets and distributed countless press releases, spreading rumors everywhere.The story they pushed was simple and vicious: when I resigned, I had allegedly maliciously tampered with the Vespere chip's core code and stolen Dalton's critical trade secrets, causing the current chip failures.They pinned all of Dalton's crises and financial losses on me, painting themselves as the victims.For a time, whispers spread throughout the industry, and many people who didn't know the truth began pointing fingers at me.To escalate the situation and destroy me completely, they even filed a formal lawsuit in court, accusing me of trade secret theft and maliciously damaging company property, demanding a staggering 5 million dollars in compensation.When the news broke, Genting's legal team immediately contacted me.Greg personally came to the lab, closed the door, and assured me: the company would mobilize all legal and PR resources to h
I immediately disabled friend requests on that social media account and quit every Dalton work group and colleague chat I'd been in.When Zachary saw I was unmoved, he turned to former colleagues and our university classmates, using them one by one to lobby me.Almost every classmate who still kept in touch over the years received a call from him. Some felt obligated out of years of friendship, others were harassed into compliance, and all reluctantly contacted me.The messages were all the same: appealing to our ten-year bond, urging me to return to Dalton to help Zachary weather the crisis.One university roommate, someone I'd been close to, called and said Zachary promised that if I came back, any condition would be met.I listened patiently and replied, "My ties with Dalton and Zachary are over. When he did what he did, he never considered the consequences. Don't try to persuade me again."After that, I ignored any similar calls and didn't reply to any messages. I had no ener
Brian could only pound his chest and promise that the problem would be solved within three days.He led the entire tech department through three sleepless days and nights, yet they couldn't even locate the source of the issue.The chip's underlying logic had been completely locked. All they could see was the surface code. No matter what they tried to modify, they couldn't bypass the core restrictions—let alone repair the failures.It was only then that Brian remembered the backdoor data interface I had left in the Vespere chip.At the time, he had thought the interface was redundant—a useless design I left behind. But now he realized it was the only channel to access the chip's foundational logic.By shutting it down himself, he had completely blocked every possible repair path.The tech department tried every conceivable method, but the underlying lock couldn't be breached. The entire department was paralyzed.Dalton's crisis gave Zachary no room to breathe.The total collapse
My workstation was gone. In its place stood two enormous trash bins, set side by side, right in the center of the office."Josh," Brian said, hands in his pockets, strolling over with a slow, deliberate swagger, his face brimming with unhidden provocation. "Aren't you usually the model worker? How
Two or three hundred unread messages flooded my phone—all from HR departments of well-known companies across the country, and even a dozen overseas giants.The one that surprised me most was Genting Technology.Before I joined Dalton, Genting had always led our country's chip industry. Over the pa
I froze in my tracks.Over the past ten years, Zachary had patted his chest countless times and promised me, "Josh, the current director is my uncle. He invested early on, so I can't move him. Once he retires, the director spot is yours—salary doubled, no question!"I had waited—ten years—thinking
All of this started on New Year's Eve.That night, I got a last-minute emergency call from my boss, Zachary Simmons. I set down my half-eaten bowl of food and, under the disappointed gaze of my whole family, rushed back to the office for overnight overtime.I worked from the eve of the New Year st












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