1 One week before the company went public, an all-staff announcement popped up in the internal office system. The moment I opened it, I saw that the newly hired graduate from a top university was listed on the equity incentive plan. I froze at my desk. My chest tightened, and for a long time, I could not say a word. From the company’s earliest startup days to its upcoming IPO, I had fought my way through every stage. I led the core gameplay design for three blockbuster online games. The underlying framework and key code of the game engine were all written by me. Whenever the team ran into the hardest problems, management always came to me first. Yet after all these years, I was still only an ordinary programmer. I had never received even half a share of equity. A newcomer had just joined and was already standing at the top of the bonus pool. I had stayed with the company through the hardest years, all the way to IPO, and received nothing. My heart went completely cold. I submitted my resignation on the spot. The CEO looked confused. “The project is at a critical stage. Why are you suddenly leaving?” I said flatly, “I’m tired. I want to lie flat.” Mr. Reeves sighed, his tone gentle. “I know you’ve been fighting with us since the startup days. You’ve stayed loyal all the way to IPO. You’ve always been dedicated.” “Promotions will naturally prioritize younger people, but you’re the stabilizing force of this company. I’ll apply for an extra two thousand in your year-end bonus. Everyone is treated the same.” “I know your skills are strong. You handle difficult problems well. You’ve carried many of the core modules. The projects can’t do without you. The company sees all of that.” “Mr. Reeves,” I interrupted him. “The live core systems are all watched by me. Every emergency failure at night, I’m the one on duty. But after all these years, the equity list has never included me. Have I ever had even one chance at promotion?” His expression stiffened instantly. Over the years, I had guarded the core business like my life depended on it. Whenever they called, I showed up. No excuses. No hesitation. As the main programmer, I carried the underlying architecture and emergency fixes. Even when I was exhausted to the point of collapse, I never dared slack off. What I got in return was a tiny base salary and an ordinary employee title. I had a stack of excellence awards, but when it came to equity or dividends, I was never considered. “The company has its rules.” He cleared his throat. “There are so many people in management. I can’t give equity to everyone. You’re capable. Don’t rush.” “I’ve waited this long and still don’t even have hope.” My voice was calm. “I trained several batches of new hires. Some have already entered management. Some got shares. Only I have stayed exactly where I started.” “The new graduate received equity dividends as soon as he joined, while I don’t even qualify for consideration.” Mr. Reeves sighed. “Try to understand. The number of slots is limited.” “I understand.” I stood. “So I won’t keep wasting myself here.” His face darkened. “That’s not the right attitude. The company trained you for so many years. You say you’ll leave, and you leave? That’s heartless.” “Heartless?” I laughed, my eyes cold. “For years, I didn’t take a full annual leave. Because of urgent projects, I stayed at the office for months. I missed three Spring Festivals with my family just to make sure there were no bugs.” “And all I got was verbal praise.” “Not even a decent bonus.” “On my wedding day, a major live bug appeared. I left the ceremony and came straight back to the office to fix it. My wife fought with me over it, and we almost divorced.” “Now I have nothing, and you want to talk to me about heart?” His expression hardened. “The company gave you a platform. It gave you growth and experience. You should be grateful.” I looked at him. The last bit of expectation in me went out completely. I had taken the lowest pay and done the most critical work. I had given everything, yet I was always excluded from the rewards. The so-called platform was nothing but cheap exploitation. “I understand.” “Thank you, Mr. Reeves.” I turned and left his office. Thank you for making me see everything clearly. There had never been a place for me here. And there never would be. 2 I went to the break room to get some air, trying to suppress the dull pressure in my chest. When I passed the CEO’s office, the door was slightly ajar. The new hire, Tyler Shaw, was speaking inside. “Mr. Reeves, don’t worry. I’ve tuned the new intelligent operations system. It can automatically repair most online issues. You even personally ran the stress test with me a few days ago.” “Good, Tyler. Young people like you have flexible thinking and learn technology fast.” Mr. Reeves’s voice carried obvious admiration. “Work hard. After the company goes public, I’ll reserve the deputy technical director position for you.” I wanted to leave quietly. I did not want to hear any more. “Thank you, Mr. Reeves,” Tyler immediately lowered his voice. “But I just saw Alex heading this way. His face looked scary. It seemed like he was coming to resign.” A faint laugh sounded from the office. My steps froze. The blood in my body seemed to congeal in an instant. “Him?” Mr. Reeves’s tone was light, full of certainty. “A nearly forty-year-old code grunt with elderly parents and kids to support. His whole family depends on his salary. Does he really dare leave?” That sentence pierced straight into the softest part of my heart. My peers from back then had all jumped to top companies. Some had entered senior management years ago. Some held equity. Their salaries had multiplied several times. Only I stayed at this unknown little company, taking a salary that barely covered expenses, enduring for six full years. I always thought that as long as I guarded the underlying architecture like a fortress and covered every crisis at the critical moment, Mr. Reeves would at least remember some old loyalty. It turned out everything was just my wishful thinking. I pressed myself against the cold wall and held my breath, listening to the conversation inside. “He’s just upset because he didn’t get dividends.” Mr. Reeves sounded disdainful. “At his age, where else can he find a job if he leaves? With AI now, his old skills are already useless. Let him cool off for a couple of days, and he’ll behave.” Tyler hurried to agree. “That makes sense. Alex definitely can’t leave.” Mr. Reeves hummed, then his tone warmed as he turned back to the newcomer. “You’re different. You have energy and understand cutting-edge technology. Your future is limitless.” “Follow me and work hard. In the future, this company will belong to young people like you. The resources will naturally tilt toward you.” Leaning against the wall, I felt coldness shoot from my feet to my head. Even my fingers felt frozen. So my six years of late-night problem-solving, countless emergency responses, and protecting the team from every crisis were nothing in their eyes. Because I had a family to support, they saw me as someone easy to control. Because I did not know how to package myself with flashy concepts or chase every shallow tech trend, I had become a burden that could be replaced at any time. Just then, my phone vibrated in my pocket. A familiar name appeared on the screen. Mr. Lang from the venture capital firm. He was the key investor leading the company’s IPO financing. I walked to a quiet corner and answered. His steady voice came through. “Alex, it’s Lang.” “The real reason I was willing to invest in your company and push for the IPO was the unreleased new project in your hands.” “I feel wronged on your behalf, seeing them treat you like this. Do you want to start your own company? I’ll fund it. I’ll connect the resources. You only need to be the technical leader.” Holding the phone, I heard the sincerity in his invitation and suddenly gave a low laugh. It was full of self-mockery and relief. I had endured six years here, begging for recognition and reward, yet never receiving either. But someone who truly understood my value gave me the best possible destination with one sentence. Memories surfaced one after another. The year I joined, my boss patted my shoulder and said, “Alex, let’s give the equity to the older staff first. You’re young. Next time, you’ll definitely be prioritized.” At the third-year celebration dinner, he publicly praised me as the backbone of the technical department, then turned around and said bonuses would go to operations first because I lacked seniority. By the fifth year, I still had no dividend eligibility. He held his coffee and advised me, “Don’t rush. Once we go public, I’ll immediately make it up to you.” I believed him again and again. Compromised again and again. Swallowed every grievance for the sake of stability. Until today, when I personally heard them belittle my value and calculate my difficulties. At last, I woke up completely. In his eyes, I had never been a comrade fighting beside him. I was only a useful, obedient tool who did not dare resist. But I had forgotten. I was also a person with flesh and blood, dignity, and choices. I took a deep breath and spoke into the phone, calm but firm. “Mr. Lang, thank you for trusting me. I’m willing.” 3 After I sent the message, Mr. Reeves tagged me in the company group chat. “@Alex Carter. The game server suddenly failed last night. Your response was slow, and you didn’t handle it properly. Your mind hasn’t been on work lately. Don’t bring personal matters into the company.” I stared at the screen, my finger hovering in midair. Over the past six years, I had heard this kind of criticism countless times. Every time, I immediately apologized and promised to do better next time. This time, I said nothing. I messaged Tyler privately. “You were on live night duty last night. Check the operations logs and send screenshots directly to Mr. Reeves.” The message went out. There was no reply. Soon, a private message from Mr. Reeves popped up. 【Come to my office now.】 I pushed the door open and went in. He pointed to the chair across from him. “Sit.” I did not move. “If you have something to say, say it directly.” “Alex,” he softened his tone, as if patiently advising me, “I know you’re upset. But as the company grows, I have my difficulties too. You have to understand the company’s position.” “You’re an old employee and the backbone of the technical department. When hasn’t the underlying framework of our main game relied on you?” “I know you feel wronged, but management has to consider the big picture. I see everything you’ve done. You can’t just focus on salary and equity as short-term benefits.” “Then what should I focus on?” I asked calmly. He paused, then said confidently, “Trust.” “Haven’t I valued you enough?” “Think about it. Our most critical core servers with the highest user traffic. If I didn’t trust you one hundred percent, would I place that entire burden on you?” “Look, now whenever a server alarm goes off, the whole company comes to you. Everyone listens to your instructions. Isn’t that enough value?” “Isn’t it obvious that we’re training you as the technical lead?” “All that trust, and you pay me thirteen thousand a month?” My voice remained steady. Mr. Reeves fell silent for a few seconds, then put on a generous expression. “How about this? I’ll talk to HR and max out your performance bonus. I’ll also make up the allowances for you.” His tone sounded like charity. “Don’t bring up resignation again. Let’s both take a step back.” “Mr. Reeves,” I looked into his eyes and said seriously, “Tyler, who I trained, received equity as soon as he joined. His base salary is twenty-eight thousand.” His face darkened, and impatience returned immediately. “You can’t compare salaries like that. He was recruited from a top university. His starting pay is naturally high. You’re an old employee. The platform and growth opportunities the company has given you, why don’t you count those hidden values?” “Hidden value.” I repeated the words and felt a chill in my heart. “The underlying framework I built, the hundreds of performance bugs I optimized, the technical department I trained, and the core servers I saved from collapse again and again. Do those count as value?” His face darkened completely. “You’re leaving just like that? The company absolutely cannot have problems before the IPO. You’re the strongest technician in the company, the only one who can stabilize the situation.” “If you walk away, who takes responsibility? Where’s your professional ethics?” I had already prepared. I took a file from my bag and handed it to him. “This is the handover document I organized.” “All server deployment documents, exception handling plans, and historical incident review experience from the past six years. I will organize everything clearly and hand it over.” Mr. Reeves flew into a rage. “The company gave you such a stable job. Instead of being grateful, you’re using resignation to threaten me. Do you really think the company can’t run without you?” “Stable job?” I could not help laughing. “I’m only an ordinary employee on a fixed salary, without even touching equity. What stability are you talking about?” His tone softened again. “Fine. I’ll make up last month’s performance pay and give you this year’s excellent employee award too. The total bonus will be three thousand.” “But you must take responsibility for the technical guarantee work before IPO. Let’s pretend this never happened.” Even the benefit he gritted his teeth to offer could not compare to a newcomer’s base salary. I laughed out loud. Even now, he still thought I was bargaining with him. I stood. “Fine, Mr. Reeves. I will take responsibility for the pre-IPO technical guarantee work to the end.” These three major online games were the key to the company’s IPO. The servers were built by me, and the code logic was so complex that no one dared change it lightly. One wrong touch could cause a collapse. At this critical IPO stage, the company could not afford an incident. If anything went wrong, investors would immediately withdraw. I wanted to see whether, after pushing out the loyal worker who carried everything, the AI department he placed all his hopes on could hold the line. 4 That night, Mr. Lang had the angel round investment agreement fully drafted. There would be sufficient startup funds. I would serve as technical co-founder and take full responsibility for product development. Once my resignation was complete, we could begin. Looking at the agreement in my hands, my emotions were complicated. From now on, I would no longer need to read anyone’s expression. I could finally fight for my own career. The next morning, all employees were urgently called into the conference room. Mr. Reeves sat at the head of the table with a dark expression. Representatives from the venture capital firm were also present, their faces unusually serious. The latest performance evaluation forms were on the table. Everyone was to step forward one by one, review them, and sign. “We are now entering the critical IPO stage. This evaluation will directly determine your year-end bonuses. Everyone must take it seriously.” His gaze swept across the room, his tone forceful. “Come confirm your evaluation results. If there are no issues, sign immediately.” “Those who perform well will be prioritized for awards, bonuses, and dividends later.” Scattered applause sounded. Coworkers stepped forward one by one. After reading their forms, they signed happily. “Alex Carter.” Mr. Reeves suddenly called my name, his voice frighteningly cold. He threw my evaluation form in front of me. It clearly stated: lowest evaluation level. Every metric had been maliciously lowered. Anyone could see it was deliberate retaliation. He looked at me coldly, his tone harsh. “Your evaluation result is unsatisfactory.” The whole room instantly went quiet. Everyone knew I had already submitted my resignation. Mr. Reeves tapped the form with his finger and pretended to be stern. “Your performance is this poor, yet you keep thinking about resignation. You have no sense of responsibility.” “The company trained you for six years, gave you a platform, gave you opportunities. This is how you repay us?” He forced the pen into my hand in front of everyone. “Sign it. Reflect on yourself. Even if you resign, you must do your work properly. The pre-IPO technical guarantee must still be handled by you.” He wanted to publicly suppress me. He bet I would not dare resist in front of everyone. As long as I signed, it would mean admitting I was incompetent and allowing him to control me however he pleased. Dozens of gazes fell on me. Some surprised, some sympathetic, more waiting to watch me make a fool of myself. I took the pen, my grip steady. “Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Reeves.” My tone was calm, without a ripple. “I am aware of this evaluation result.” Mr. Reeves immediately showed a smug smile. “Perfect,” I raised my head, my voice clear throughout the entire meeting room, “then I’ll take this opportunity to tell everyone something.” “Starting today, I officially resign. Mr. Lang has already invested in my new company. I will serve as technical founder and independently lead all core projects.” “The new company needs people. Anyone who wants to come with me can message me privately.” The moment I finished, the conference room door was suddenly shoved open. An assistant rushed in with a deathly pale face. “Something’s wrong. The game servers have fully collapsed. A major bug appeared. The AI department can’t fix it at all. All three main online games are down and unable to operate.” The meeting room exploded. Mr. Reeves’s face changed drastically. He froze on the spot. The venture capital representative shot to his feet, face ashen, his gaze cutting toward Mr. Reeves like a blade.
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