As the owner of a small private business, I had never been stingy with my employees. Having made a million in profit, I distributed $850,000 to them.

I believed this would win people’s hearts. I never expected it would lead to being reported by my own employees.

"We have received an anonymous tip-off from your company’s employees alleging arbitrary wage deductions and unfair profit distribution. The report further states that company discipline is disorganized and that employees are being compelled to work overtime, constituting a serious violation of labor laws. Immediate corrective action is hereby required, along with a fine of $500,000."

Fine.

Since they were so dissatisfied with my policies, then we would do things by the book—by the rules every other company followed.

I would keep every last cent of this one million in profit.

I immediately called my assistant, Emily Carter, in and instructed her to draft a brand-new set of company rules. Then, I told her to notify everyone that a meeting would be held.

The moment I stepped out of my office, I heard several hushed voices whispering nearby.

"So you really think he’d be generous enough to give us 85% of the profits? Is that even possible?"

"No way. You don’t even need your brain to know that. What kind of boss is that generous? He just exaggerated it for publicity in a bid to make himself look good. And we’re the suckers being used as pawns, don’t you get it?"

"Exactly. All bosses are the same. I don’t believe for a second that he’s that kind-hearted. He says we can come in late or leave early, but don’t we always have to make up the hours anyway?"

"And letting us advance our salaries whenever we want? That’s just to make us dependent on him so we can’t leave."

…

Each sentence, wrapped in so-called analysis, made my heart sink.

I never imagined that, in their eyes, my goodwill was nothing more than a tactic to win people over.

I treated my employees with genuine sincerity, yet it didn’t earn me equal respect or honest returns. Instead, it invited malicious speculation.

Since that was the case, there was no reason for me to continue treating them sincerely. I quietly turned around and went back into my office.

Soon, Emily walked in holding a newly drafted set of company regulations and handed it to me.

"Mr. Marcus Hale, the new company rules are ready."

"Good. Notify everyone that the meeting is starting."

"Alright."

When I arrived at the conference room, it was already buzzing with noise.

Indeed, before this, I had never restricted their freedom to speak. I let them treat this place like their own home. The atmosphere had never been tense or formal.

"Hey, the boss said yesterday he’d split that $850,000 bonus with us. Could today be the day?"

"More money again."

I cleared my throat twice and walked in.

"Today’s meeting is to announce a major decision," I said. "That is… the company has reissued a new set of rules and regulations. From now on, this will be the standard."

I signaled for Emily to distribute the new rules. Everyone received a copy.

Someone read aloud from the paper, "Effective immediately, employees are not allowed to arrive late or leave early. All staff must report to work strictly according to company hours. Any violation will result in a $50 wage deduction. Employees will be evaluated monthly based on performance. The lowest performer each month will be terminated."

"And we can’t advance our salaries anymore?!"

The entire conference room was stunned.

Lena Parker looked up at me. "Mr. Hale, are you joking with us?"

"Yeah, Mr. Hale. Weren’t we supposed to get the profit bonus today?"

"Mr. Hale, you’re hilarious. It’s not April Fool’s Day. Why are you pulling our legs?"

…

They were firmly convinced that I would never change my policies. Before long, the atmosphere grew lively again.

I slammed my hand on the table.

"Quiet! What company allows employees to speak when they want during a meeting?"

The room fell silent for a moment. Someone spoke cautiously, "Wasn’t it always like this before, Mr. Hale?"

"That was before. The rules have changed now. From today onward, everyone will strictly follow the new regulations, just like any other company. No arriving late. No leaving early. As for that $850,000 in profits, I no longer plan to distribute it."

The words had barely fallen when a shocked voice rang out.

"What?!"

Someone immediately stood up. "Mr. Hale, didn’t you say that the 85% profit would be given to us?"

"Yeah, Mr. Hale. The old system was working just fine. Why change it?"

One employee after another stood up in protest.

My gaze swept over each of them. After repeated probing, I already knew that none of them had acted alone. They had banded together as a group to report me.

Now they stood here, playing dumb and asking me why. What a joke.

"Are you the boss, or am I? Any further discussion during this meeting will result in another $50 deduction."

As soon as I said that, they immediately fell silent.

I scoffed and turned to leave. What awaited them next would be even more shocking.

That very day, I had someone install a punch-in machine downstairs in the company lobby.

Early the next morning, Emily reported the number of employees who were late. There were more than half of them.

"Notify them," I said calmly. "Deduct $50 from their wages. And if anyone is late more than ten times in a single month, treat it as a lack of professionalism. Terminate them immediately."

Emily had barely relayed the message downstairs when, not long after, there was a knock on my office door.

More than a dozen people crowded into the room.

"Mr. Hale, we were only half an hour late. Isn’t this a bit too much?"

"Yeah, Mr. Hale. $50 is enough for me to eat for several days."

……

I put down the pen in my hand and looked at them.

"I made the rules very clear yesterday. You chose not to follow them. That has nothing to do with me."

"Th—" They froze, completely speechless.

Over the next few days, they had no choice but to wake up early and rush to catch the bus to work. Because all preferential policies had been canceled, they could no longer leave early, nor make up the time later.

On top of that, there was performance pressure.

For a while, the entire office was filled with complaints and resentment.

"Now there’s performance pressure too. That’s it for me. I haven’t even hit my target this month."

"Do you think he’s doing this on purpose? He talked big before, but never planned to hand out that $850,000 bonus. Maybe he wants to squeeze us out and pocket it himself."

"Could be. I’ve already been late six times. That’s $300 gone. If this keeps up, I’m gonna starve for dinner."

Suddenly, someone snapped, "Just wait. If he's going to make our lives so difficult, then he won’t have it easy either."

…

I turned off the surveillance feed and didn’t watch any further.

A few days later, I received another call from the Labor Department. They had reported me again; this time, it was over policy issues.

I smiled and submitted our company regulations, along with the daily punch-in surveillance footage.

"After the previous warning, our company made immediate adjustments," I said evenly. "Our policies are now no different from other companies. Performance-based evaluations and punctual clock-ins.

"Wages are calculated strictly according to fixed standards: base salary plus performance."

After confirming everything was in order, they ended the call.

The employees who had been waiting for me to be punished were now outside, whispering excitedly among themselves.

"Hey, do you think he’s about to get chewed out badly?"

"Serves him right for docking our wages. If he doesn’t get fined, he’ll think we’re easy targets."

"Exactly. And he even swallowed our $850,000 bonus. I was counting on that money to pay my mortgage."

Amid the chorus of agreement, Daniel Moore spoke up cautiously, "But don’t you think reporting him behind his back was kind of unethical? Putting that aside, the new rules are no different from those of a normal company. And honestly, the old policies were really good too; it was so convenient for all of us. Why did you still report him?"

The moment those words fell, he was immediately attacked from all sides. They cursed him, calling him my lapdog.

Disheartened, he said nothing more and turned back to his workstation.

The others continued talking until I suddenly walked out.

Under their stunned gazes, I stopped in front of them.

"Looks like everyone is pretty unhappy with me."

The moment the words left my mouth, all conversation stopped. Eyes widened. Chairs scraped back as people stood up one after another.

"Mr. Hale, when did you get here?"

"Yeah, Mr. Hale…"

They forced smiles and crowded forward.

Did they really think I was deaf?

I immediately played the surveillance footage, which showed them openly criticizing me.

Everyone froze.

I hadn’t expected that the people who usually flattered me the most were the ones cursing me the loudest. Meanwhile, the one who spoke the least was not only quietly doing his job all along, but also the only one who had stood up for me.

"Mr. Hale, we were just joking around, and…"

"You’re terminated."

My gaze landed on Ryan Cole, the one who had led the insults.

"W–What…?" He looked as if he couldn’t believe it.

I ignored him and walked over to the man still working quietly at his desk.

"Daniel, come with me for a moment," I instructed.

I promoted Daniel to Business Manager, replacing Ryan.

The moment Ryan found out, he stormed straight into my office.

"Mr. Hale, what gives you the right to give my position to Daniel? Just because I said a few extra things? Weren’t you the one who said we are encouraged to have open table discussions?"

I looked at him coldly. "That was before. If you want to stay, then stay. If you don’t, get out."

There was no need for mercy with people like him.

"What right do you have to fire me?" he roared.

"Because I’m the boss."

As soon as the words fell, he slammed his fist down on the desk and ran out. That very day, he submitted his resignation.

Early the next morning, I was exposed online.

Emily rushed over and sent me the post. I opened it and saw the title staring back at me:

"All About What It’s Like to Meet a Freak Boss—Misery!"

In the video, Ryan not only attacked everything I had done, but he deliberately smeared my reputation, exaggerating and distorting the truth.

"Who understands this pain? I worked at a company for nearly five years, breaking my back for them. In the end, the company made tens of millions in profit, and the $850,000 bonus they promised us just vanished. And on top of that, that idiot boss used every dirty trick to squeeze us out.

"I was forced into a dead end and had no choice but to resign."

On screen, Ryan cried with snot and tears streaming down his face, pouring out his so-called suffering. It instantly stirred sympathy from other working-class viewers.

Comments flooded in.

"This streamer has it so rough. What kind of company is that? Name it so we can avoid it."

"Fellow worker here. Totally relatable. These evil capitalists, what do they take us for? Slaves?"

"Don’t worry, streamer. Companies like that will collapse soon enough."

……

Within a short time, tens of thousands of comments poured into the post. It went viral.

Because of Ryan’s exposure, Halecrest Solutions was immediately hit by public backlash. The stock price plunged. Our reputation took a heavy blow.

Meanwhile, Ryan was thriving. He happily started livestreaming full-time, officially becoming a streamer. The video brought him a massive wave of followers, and he quickly moved on to selling products.

"Mr. Hale, we’ve tried contacting Ryan. He’s not answering any calls," Emily said. "He said you have to call him personally."

My patience was already wearing thin. I directly instructed Emily to file a lawsuit against him.

Not long after, Ryan received the court summons. He immediately went live again, crying dramatically at the camera.

"Fam, maybe everyone should stop talking about my former boss and company in the comments. Otherwise, they’ll send lawyers after me. I’m so scared. Come arrest me already."

As he spoke, his expression shifted into something utterly infuriating. He wore a smug, taunting grin.

The live chat exploded.

"That’s how you deal with him. Let him know what it’s like to make workers suffer."

"Exactly. Do they really think we working-class people are easy to bully?"

"Streamer, don’t be afraid. You already quit. What can he do to you now?"

As the videos continued to explode in popularity, and with Ryan fanning the flames every single day, Halecrest Solutions was pushed straight into the eye of the storm.

The internet was filled with posts attacking Halecrest Solutions. Some people even squatted outside the office building, hurling insults at us in person.

I called Ryan.

After quite a while, the call finally connected. His lazy voice drawled, "Hello."

The fake flattery from before was completely gone.

"Delete the posts. Take down the trending topics. Come forward and clarify the truth. Otherwise, you will regret it."

Ryan laughed dismissively on the other end. "Regret it? Mr. Hale, I’m a big internet celebrity now. If I want to destroy your company, it’s just a few sentences away. Shouldn’t you be the one regretting this?

"How about this? You come find me, kneel down, and bow to apologize. Then I’ll go back. Oh, and I want three times my original salary. After all, I’m a big influencer now."

"Unbelievable!"