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.

Peter patted Jason on the shoulder, and the two of them stepped into the elevator together.

Oliver let out a sigh and pulled me aside into a corner.

"Rex, you were too impulsive. You offended Peter—there's nothing I can do to protect you now."

I shook my head with a bitter smile.

"Oliver, you know that project was mine. Why didn't you stand up for me?"

He glanced around and lowered his voice. "This is reality. You have to accept it. How about this—I'll give you some compensation privately. Just stop making trouble, all right?"

A wave of nausea rose in my chest.

"No need, Oliver. I understand now. In this place, skill is worthless. Connections are the real currency."

That night, I met a few friends from the tech circle for drinks and poured out everything that had happened.

"This kind of thing is everywhere," one of them said. "Same at our company. The well-connected get high pay for doing nothing, while we tech guys work ourselves to death and get treated like tools."

Another friend raised his glass. "That's the IT industry. Rank crushes people. Just endure it, man."

I drained my drink in one gulp. "So that's it? My year of work just gets handed over for free?"

They exchanged looks. Finally, one of them patted my shoulder. "Why don't you find a connection of your own? It's job-hopping season. I can help refer you."

The next day, a message popped up in the company group chat: [Tonight at seven, celebrating my Technology Innovation Award. All tech department staff are invited to dinner. @Everyone]

Another message followed immediately: [@Rex (outsourced) isn't invited. Trash like you isn't on our level. Don't embarrass yourself.]

I stared at my phone screen, my fingers trembling.

At the afternoon project meeting, Jason sat in the main seat, looking smug.

"Next, work assignments. Rex will handle basic code cleanup and documentation."

I looked up, hardly believing my ears.

"Jason, documentation isn't my responsibility. I handle core algorithm development."

Jason let out a cold laugh.

"I'm the project lead now. You do whatever I tell you. Outsourced workers do the dirty, exhausting work. Got a problem? Not happy? Then get out."

The meeting room fell silent. Everyone kept their heads down.

I took a deep breath and stood up.

"In that case, I'd like you to explain the latest code you submitted, so everyone can learn from it."

As I spoke, I projected the code Jason had submitted the day before. It was riddled with errors—so bad it couldn't even pass basic syntax checks.

"This is the level of our Technology Innovation Award winner. He can't even write a simple loop correctly, yet he's the project lead."

An uproar broke out in the room. Someone couldn't help laughing.

Jason's face flushed red. He jumped up and slammed the table.

"Rex! I'm telling you, you're finished! Today, I'll have the company terminate your outsourcing contract!"

I looked at him calmly. "Do whatever you want. You already took my code and my algorithms. I have nothing left to lose."

He trembled with rage. "You think this is over? I'll make sure you can't survive in the entire IT industry! My uncle knows executives at every major company!"

I smiled faintly and turned to leave the conference room.

Back at my desk, I opened my computer and logged into the company intranet, my heart pounding so hard it felt like it might burst out of my chest.

The flaw I had discovered by accident last night was enough to bring the entire system down within three days. All data would be completely lost—irretrievable.

My fingers hovered over the keyboard, hesitating for a single second.

Should I do anything about it?

In that instant, countless images flashed through my mind: a year of overtime and sleepless nights, my stolen achievements, Jason's arrogant face, and my father's disappointed gaze before he died…

I took a deep breath and finally made my decision.