The project I had poured my heart and soul into earned the company over a hundred million in profit, yet the credit was handed to the vice president's nephew.

I stood in a corner, the stack of source code documents trembling in my hands, nearly crushed by my grip.

That nephew—who couldn't even get Hello World to compile—was now on stage, smiling brightly as he accepted the award.

The vice president came over and draped an arm around my shoulder like we were old friends.

"You're just an outsourced worker," he said casually. "These honors wouldn't mean anything to you anyway. Jason is new. He's got limitless potential. From now on, you'll be responsible for mentoring him properly."

Only then did I realize that decades of struggle had been nothing more than laying out a red carpet for someone else's glory.

That very night, while reviewing the project's code repository, I discovered a massive flaw—one serious enough to bring the entire system crashing down within three days.

"Congratulations to Jason Mahone, winner of the Annual Technology Innovation Award!"

Thunderous applause erupted in the conference room. I stood in the corner again, the code documents in my hands trembling, nearly crushed by my grip.

That achievement cost me a year of sleepless nights. It was the honor that the Vice President of the company, Peter Mahone, had personally promised me.

Jason—Peter's nephew, who couldn't even write Hello World—was smiling brightly as he went up to accept the award.

The applause still echoed through the room as I clenched my fists.

"Peter, the core algorithms of this project were all written by me. Jason can't even understand the code!" I said in a low voice, forcing myself to stay calm.

My supervisor, Oliver Ackerman, patted my shoulder, his smile filled with condescension and pity.

"Rex, who do you think you are? Just an outsourced worker. In this company, being an outsourced worker means you are at the very bottom of the food chain. And you're telling me you want to apply for patents and technical awards?"

My chest rose and fell violently.

"I worked on this project for a full year. I didn't even go home when my father passed away to see him off!"

My voice broke off abruptly. The look in my father's eyes before he passed flashed through my mind.

Oliver's smile stiffened for a moment, then returned to its official, polished form. "The company adjusted its policy at the last minute. Besides, Jason is Peter's nephew. He needs this award for his performance evaluation and promotion."

I couldn't help letting out a cold laugh. "He needs it? He can't even fix the most basic bugs. Every time, I'm the one cleaning up after him!"

Oliver's expression turned icy. "Rex, you don't understand how things work. In this company, connections matter far more than ability. No matter how good your skills are, without a background, you'll always just be outsourced labor."

My heart sank to the bottom.

"So what you're saying is, all my hard-earned results are just going to be given away for free?"

Oliver pushed up his glasses, speaking in the tone of a school disciplinarian.

"Not only that. Starting tomorrow, you'll spend two hours every day licking Jason's boots—ah, I mean, guiding him through the project code. After all, he's your superior now."

I could hardly believe my ears. "You want me to teach him everything, then let him take my credit?"

Oliver's gaze sharpened. "And one more thing. On the patent application, you'll put Jason's name first. You can barely qualify as the second author. That's already a favor to you."

I sprang to my feet, my voice shaking with rage. "Other than being Peter's nephew, what does Jason have? He doesn't even know how to write a simple loop!"

Oliver looked at me coldly. "Because his last name is Mahone. Because he's a full-time employee, not an outsourced worker who can be replaced at any time. You'd better face reality, Rex."

The conference room door opened, and Jason walked in, a victor's smile on his face.

"Oliver, Uncle Peter is looking for you." He shot me a glance, his eyes full of contempt.

Oliver immediately put on a smile. Before leaving, he said, "Rex, tomorrow at nine, go to Jason's office and explain the code to him. Two hours a day, every day. All right?"

He said "all right," but his tone was nothing but an order.

I stood alone in the now-empty conference room, overwhelmed by a humiliation I had never felt before.

The next morning, I dragged my heavy steps toward Jason's office.

A year ago, I had joined this project full of passion, believing technology could change the world.

Now, I was here to teach a trust-fund baby—who couldn't even get Hello World to run—how to pretend he understood technology.

Jason's office was larger than the entire workspace of our outsourced team. On the wall hung the certificate for the Technology Innovation Award he had just received.

"You're here, Rex," Jason said without lifting his head, his fingers pounding randomly on the keyboard.

I swallowed my anger, opened my laptop, and prepared to explain the code.

"Oh, right," he added casually. "Oliver told me they'll give you some extra compensation."

I looked up, a flicker of hope rising in my chest. "How much?"

Jason finally raised his head, a mocking smile on his face. "That depends on my mood. Anyway, you outsourced guys only work for money, right?"

Under the desk, my fists clenched and loosened again.

"Jason, I spent a full year on this project. I hardly had a single day off."

He cut me off. "Save it. Outsourced workers are supposed to work harder, aren't they? My uncle said it himself—you people are just disposable toilet paper for the company. You can be flushed away anytime."

Outside the office door, several colleagues from the tech department passed by, casting sympathetic glances at me.

At lunchtime, Oliver Muller from the outsourcing group quietly sat down beside me.

"Rex, everyone knows that project was your work. This is so unfair."

I gave a bitter smile. "Fair? Around here, your last name matters far more than your ability."

Oliver lowered his voice. "I heard Jason can't even understand basic code. Every demo is actually run by you behind the scenes."

I put down my fork, my appetite gone.

"The joke is, he's my 'boss' now—and I have to teach him two hours every day how to steal my own achievements more efficiently."

That afternoon, I decided to talk to Oliver again about the compensation.

His office door was open. I knocked lightly.

"Oliver, about the compensation Jason mentioned…"

Oliver gestured for me to sit and dialed Jason's number.

"Jason, have you thought about Rex's compensation?"

On the other end of the line, Jason's voice turned unusually respectful.

"Oliver, I was planning to include it in next month's performance bonus. I definitely won't shortchange him."

Oliver hung up and smiled at me.

"You heard him. It'll be paid next month. That settles it."

I was about to speak when his expression suddenly turned stern.

"Rex, the company doesn't support idle people. I hope you understand reality and stop obsessing over these small matters."

As I left the office, I ran into Jason in the hallway.

He gave me a cold look.

"Remember your place—outsourced worker."

…

A month passed. It was finally payday for performance bonuses. I opened my payslip and saw that the "extra compensation" line showed a negative number—Jason had docked five hundred dollars, citing "poor work attitude."

I stared at the slip again. The so-called extra compensation column was blank.

"Fooled again, and even stabbed in the back," I muttered with a bitter laugh. My stomach twisted as if a knife were cutting into it.

The other outsourced workers in my group looked at me with sympathy.

"Rex, don't bother. They never treated us like people in the first place."

I took a deep breath and made up my mind to fight for it one last time.

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.