My Boss Said Weekend Overtime Study Was Voluntary—So I Get to Keep What I Learned, Right?

The call ended. The office fell silent. I lowered my head and looked at the layoff notice printed in black and white on my desk. Under the reason for termination, it clearly said: Inadequate ability, negative attitude. Negative attitude? I thought back over the past three years. More than a thousand days and nights. All for Mr. Blake’s promise that once I finished the core project, he would promote me to director of technology. I had treated the company like my home. I had even sat outside the intensive care unit, typing code on my laptop, on the day my mother underwent surgery to remove a tumor. When I was hungry, I ate dry instant noodles. When I was tired, I slept on a musty cot. Last winter, I was hospitalized after suffering a stomach hemorrhage, and the doctor ordered me to stay in bed and rest. Then Mr. Blake called and said the project had reached a critical stage and the team couldn’t manage without me. I steeled myself, pulled out my IV, and rushed back to my workstation overnight. I had traded all my health and time for this flimsy piece of paper. I had traded it for the smiling words, “You don’t need to come in tomorrow.” In their eyes, the lives of ordinary employees were worth less than weeds. We were nothing but disposable batteries. The face of capitalism was truly disgusting. Mr. Blake finally realized what was happening. He slammed his hand on the desk, jolting the coffee cup onto the floor. Coffee and shards of broken glass scattered everywhere. “You’re trying to scare me?” Mr. Blake shouted, his face turning livid as he pointed at my nose. “Go ahead and sue me! Do it now!” “I’d like to see which department dares interfere with Blackwood Group’s affairs!” The office door was suddenly shoved open. Megan Hart, the human resources director, hurried in on high heels. She was carrying a thick folder. “What’s all the yelling about, Richard? Everyone in the work area outside can hear you.” Megan frowned and swept me with a disgusted look. Richard snorted. “This idiot’s lost his mind. He actually called the labor department.” “Director Hart, follow the procedure immediately. I want him gone today.” Megan walked over to me and slapped the folder onto the desk. She pulled out a sheet of paper and pointed to the signature at the bottom. “Ethan Carter, look carefully. This is the Employee Voluntary Waiver of Rest Time you signed when you joined the company.” “It clearly says you agreed to work overtime voluntarily. Don’t even dream of getting a single cent in overtime pay.” “Sign the resignation form right now. The company may even show a little kindness and give you an extra half-month of base pay for travel expenses.” I didn’t move. I picked up the waiver and looked it over. Then I tore it in half with both hands. “Labor law clearly states that any agreement violating mandatory legal provisions is invalid from the beginning.” I looked coldly at Megan. “You work in HR. Do you not even understand something this basic?” Megan’s expression changed. Her voice rose. “Don’t try to show off your legal knowledge to me! The company supported you for three years. You ate our food and drank our water, and now you’re turning around and biting us?” “If you refuse to sign, your employment certificate will say you committed a serious disciplinary violation!” “You’ll be blacklisted in the background-check system. No major company in this city will ever hire you!” At that moment, a young man entered through the door. He was wearing a perfectly tailored designer suit and holding a Starbucks coffee. He was Richard’s nephew, Kevin Blake. He had been parachuted into the technology department just last month and had immediately become my direct supervisor. Kevin walked straight to my workstation. He pulled out the chair, sat down arrogantly, and propped his polished leather shoes on my desk. “You’re still not done packing?” Kevin took a leisurely sip of coffee. “What about the core source code for the Cloud Intelligence System? Hurry up and give me the administrator password.” “I need to take it to Sterling Group’s bidding meeting first thing tomorrow morning.”I understood. I finally saw everything clearly. The “executive training” Richard had talked about for the past three years was nothing more than an excuse to make me develop the extremely complex Cloud Intelligence System alone and without pay. Now the entire system had finished testing and was about to launch. They planned to kick me out and claim all my development work under Kevin’s name. Tomorrow was the city’s biggest technology bidding event. If they won the contract, the project leader would receive several million dollars in bonuses. They didn’t even want to leave me a single bite. I looked at Richard and suppressed the anger burning in my chest. “So that’s how it is. Once the horse has done the work, you butcher it?” Richard leaned back in his leather chair and pulled a cigar from its case before lighting it. “Watch your language, kid. What do you mean, ‘butcher the horse after it does the work’?” “The company gave you a platform and a computer. What’s wrong with making a contribution to the company?” “Kevin graduated from a top overseas university with a master’s degree. The investors and clients will only take the project seriously if it carries his name.” “You’re just some poor kid from an ordinary college. What do you have to compete with him in terms of education or connections?” Kevin impatiently tapped the desk. “Enough nonsense. What’s the password?” “Unlock all the core data on your computer.” “Otherwise, you won’t be walking out of this office on your own two feet today.” I stood where I was and stared at him without backing down. “You want the data? Fine. Pay me $897,500 in overtime and buy it.” Megan let out a sharp, mocking laugh from the side. She pulled out her phone and pointed the camera at me. “Everyone, listen to this! This is extortion! I can call the police and have you arrested whenever I want!” “Ethan Carter, if you fail to complete the handover, the company will immediately sue you for stealing trade secrets.” “Not only will we destroy your reputation, we’ll send you to prison!” Kevin stood up. Relying on his height, he reached out to snatch the phone recording from my hand. “You still dare to record us? I’ll show you what happens when you record me!” I quickly stepped aside. Kevin missed and slammed his waist into the corner of the desk. He grimaced in pain and clutched his lower back as he shouted, “Security! Are you all dead? Get security up here!” Four burly security guards in uniform rushed in through the door. They moved quickly and surrounded me at my workstation. Richard exhaled a thick cloud of smoke. “You refuse a polite offer and choose force instead.” “Smash his phone. Get someone from the technology department to crack the computer data.” One of the guards reached out to grab my shoulder. I swung around, seized the keyboard from the desk, and smashed it against the tabletop. The keys shattered and flew in every direction. The enormous crash brought everyone to a halt. Without the slightest panic, I picked up the mouse and lit up the computer screen. “You can take my phone. You can smash my equipment.” “But let me remind you. I implanted a foundational self-destruct program in the Cloud Intelligence System.” Kevin froze. Richard shot up from his chair and strode to the screen. “What did you say?” I expressionlessly pressed the Enter key. A red countdown appeared on the screen. “There are fourteen hours left until tomorrow’s bidding meeting.” “Without my personal dynamic passcode, all the core code and databases will automatically be erased at eight tomorrow morning.” “Even the backup drives will be completely destroyed.” “Go ahead and take a pile of gibberish to show your clients at the bidding meeting.” Kevin’s eyes turned red with panic. He grabbed me by the collar, spraying saliva across my face. “You dare set us up? You’re destroying company property!” I raised my hand and pried his fingers loose one by one. “You were the ones who crossed the line first.” Richard’s expression shifted unpredictably. He suddenly waved for the guards to leave and forced a smile onto his face. “Ethan, let’s talk this out. Why destroy both sides?” “$897,500 really is too much. The finance department would never approve that payment.” “How about this? I’ll pay you $100,000 out of my own pocket. Disable the self-destruct program.” “I’ll personally sign your employment certificate and give you the highest possible evaluation. How does that sound?”Looking at his utterly fake face, I felt my stomach churn. “Richard, do you really think low-level employees are all idiots?” “$100,000 for a bidding system capable of generating tens of millions in profit?” “Are you trying to get rid of me with pocket change?” Megan loudly backed him up from the side. “You still think $100,000 isn’t enough? Don’t push your luck!” “How many years would it take you to save $100,000 in cash working outside?” “Learn to be grateful!” I pointed at the layoff notice soaked with coffee. “Be grateful?” “My base salary hasn’t increased by a single cent in three years! The performance bonuses you promised are always delayed!” “At last year’s company banquet, the executives received Porsches and Rolex watches.” “I received two cases of cheap milk that were about to expire!” “And you call that being grateful?” Richard finally dropped all pretense. He slammed his cigar onto the floor and pointed at me as he cursed. “So what!” “The company is mine! I make the rules!” “You useless employees are nothing but screws in the company machine.” “When they rust, we throw them away. When they refuse to obey, we replace them! Without you, there will be plenty of fresh college graduates lining up to do your job tomorrow!” “You think you’re irreplaceable? You really think you’re somebody?” He advanced on me coldly. “Let me tell you something. You could report me to the labor department and scream until your throat breaks. It still wouldn’t matter!” “Arbitration requires evidence. A lawsuit through the first and second trials would take at least a year or two!” “I can afford the best legal team in the city. I can drag you to death in court!” “You can’t even afford next month’s rent. What resources do you have to fight me?” Every word struck like a knife. It was cruel and cold, but it was also painfully true. That was exactly what gave countless unscrupulous bosses the confidence to exploit their employees without fear. Ordinary people couldn’t afford the time or financial cost of defending their rights. But I wasn’t an ordinary person without a plan. More precisely, I had spent three full months preparing for this day and planning my counterattack. I looked at the furious Richard, the greedy Kevin, and the sharp-tongued Megan. Then I suddenly laughed. Kevin frowned and took a step back. “What are you laughing at? Did the pressure finally drive you insane?” I unzipped the backpack I had brought with me. From the very bottom, I pulled out a document stamped with a bright red seal. It was an official Computer Software Copyright Registration Certificate issued by the national copyright office. I slammed the certificate onto the desk. It landed directly on top of the layoff notice. “Richard, open your eyes and take a good look at what this is.” Richard suspiciously lowered his head and glanced at it. After only one look, his face turned deathly pale. The muscles in his face began twitching uncontrollably. Megan leaned over to look, and once she read the words, even her voice began to tremble. “Software name… Cloud Intelligent Data Processing System V1.0.” “Copyright owner… Ethan Carter.” “How could it be registered under your name?! You forged this!” Megan screamed. I calmly retrieved the certificate and placed it back in my bag. “Weren’t you just insisting that weekend training was my personal study time?” “Didn’t you say it was all voluntary learning and had nothing to do with the company?” “If it was the result of personal study completed during my personal time…” “I wrote the code on my own computer during my own free time.” “Then applying for a personal software copyright is completely legal and justified.” Kevin began jumping around like an ant on a hot pan. “That’s bullshit! It was the company’s research and development project!” “You used your position to create it! It belongs to the company as a work made for hire!” I took out the recording device and tossed it twice in my hand. “But Richard just admitted on the recording that it wasn’t overtime or work done as part of my position.” “It was the ‘executive practical training’ he generously provided me as an employee.” “And in these three years, the company never issued a formal project approval notice or assignment letter for this system.” “To avoid paying that pitiful amount of overtime, you didn’t even follow the most basic project procedures.” “Legally speaking, this system has absolutely nothing to do with Blackwood Group.” Richard’s body suddenly swayed. He gripped the edge of the desk with both hands and barely managed to keep from falling. “What… what exactly do you want?” Richard’s voice was completely hoarse. I raised one finger. “First, I’m formally notifying you that I quit.” “Second, I’ve already sold the exclusive commercial rights to this system.” Kevin began shouting. “Sold it? Who did you sell it to?”