Chapter 3

The elevator doors opened.

Basement level three.

The air was thick with the smell of rotting paper and mold.

A hundred sealed cardboard boxes were stacked all the way to the ceiling.

I dragged the broken plastic stool over.

Placed the ancient laptop on the dusty wooden table.

I had to press the power button three times before the screen finally flickered to life.

I pulled my personal backup phone from my pocket.

And opened a hidden monitoring page.

A red progress bar was ticking up.

It was a server-level monitoring probe I had custom-coded myself.

The RAM usage was skyrocketing.

85%.

88%.

I laughed quietly.

Ten years ago, when the company was just a startup.

We couldn't even afford a proper server room.

I pulled thirty consecutive all-nighters to write every single line of our core database.

Three years ago, when we hit a massive cyberattack from offshore hackers.

I was the one who saved the company by putting the entire database under physical air-gap security.

To prevent internal leaks of our core data.

Every day at exactly 2:00 PM.

My unique, physical security key USB had to be plugged directly into the motherboard to run manual cache clearance and diagnostics.

It was now 2:10 PM.

Without my USB key plugged in.

The cached data would pile up infinitely.

Within twenty minutes, the entire system would freeze.

Footsteps echoed in the corridor.

Kyle and Chloe walked in.

Chloe pinched her nose dramatically.

"Ugh, Kyle, it smells awful down here."

"A moldy dungeon like this is the perfect place for an old fossil."

Kyle, looking sharp in his Armani suit, kicked the nearest cardboard box.

Yellowed files spilled all over the floor.

"Marcus, stop daydreaming!"

"I want ten of these boxes typed into the system before you leave today."

"For every typo, I'm docking fifty dollars from your pay."

"If you don't finish, I'll mark it as job abandonment, and you can kiss your severance goodbye."

I looked at the files scattered across the floor.

"Mr. Vance, these files are past their ten-year legal retention limit."

"They're literally useless scrap paper."

"Making me type these is pure harassment."

Kyle laughed out loud.

He pulled out his latest iPhone and opened TikTok, starting a live recording.

He shoved the camera right in my face.

"Hey guys, today we're cleaning up the workplace."

"This old timer is making six figures a year but just slacks off all day."

"Time to teach him what actual hard work looks like!"

Chloe chimed in with her high-pitched voice.

"Kyle is so cool!"

"Gen Z bosses don't put up with lazy corporate freeloaders."

"Did you really think the company couldn't run without you old folks?"

I leaned away from the lens and looked Kyle straight in the eye.

"Is this TikTok video really necessary, Mr. Vance?"

"I'm a founding shareholder. You don't have the right to film me without my consent."

Kyle put his phone away, his face twisting in disgust.

"Shareholder?"

"Those stock options haven't vested yet."

"I'm going to make your life hell until you quit."

"That three million dollars of yours is going to buy me a limited-edition Ferrari."

"My dad is the Chairman. I own this place. What I say goes!"

Chloe stepped forward, holding an iced Americano.

As she walked past my desk.

She deliberately tilted her wrist.

The dark brown coffee splashed all over the files I had just opened.

The paper soaked instantly, turning the ink into a blurry mess.

Chloe gasped dramatically, covering her mouth.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!"

"My hand slipped."

"Mr. Director, some of those words are hard to read now. You'll have to look extra closely."

"If you make a mistake typing them, that's on you."

I looked at the mess on the desk.

I didn't get angry.

There was no point in getting mad at two idiots who were about to ruin their own lives.

I pulled out a tissue and slowly wiped the coffee off my hands.

"Whatever makes you happy, Mr. Vance."

"But as your former Tech Director, let me give you one last warning."

"It is currently 2:15 PM."

"The RAM usage on the main server has probably crossed 90%."

"In less than ten minutes, the entire system is going to freeze."

Kyle paused for a second.

Then he laughed.

"Keep trying to scare me, Marcus."

"With modern AI, I can fix any issue with a single click."

"I already had Leo take over your duties."

"He's an Ivy League grad."

"We pay him three thousand a month, and he can do your job with his eyes closed."

Just as the words left his mouth.

Frantic footsteps echoed down the stairwell.

Toby rushed into the basement, drenched in sweat and gasping for air.

"Mr. Vance! Marcus! We have a massive problem!"

"The payment gateway on the user end is completely frozen!"

"Customer service is getting slammed with thousands of complaints!"

Kyle's expression changed, but he tried to play it cool.

"What's the big deal?!"

"If it's lagging, just restart it!"

"Why are you bothering me with something so stupid?"

Toby slapped his own forehead in frustration.

"We can't restart it!"

"Leo tried to force-clear the system cache."

"But the system demanded the physical security key."

"It triggered the core security firewall."

"Now the entire system is in a deadlock state!"