Prologue

“I am ruined.” I muttered in despair as I looked at the letter of dismissal in front of me.

My company is in dire financial strait due to  a pandemic spreading across the world. As such, every employee's wage  was halved. Not only that, a year after the pandemic the company began  firing its employees because of the deep debt it is in now. All of the  rich investors ran and the company is now facing bankruptcy

"Yokoda Shuichi…" My boss called me. "sorry,  but the company will no longer hire freelancers like you. I hope you  understand." He said. This bitch. I have already worked here for over 3  years and am still considered a freelancer?

“Yes…”

“We also can’t give you severance payment either.”

“Yes…”

“And you also have to forfeit the wage you  earned this month. You may work until the next week or you may go now.  You are not obliged to do anything.. I am sorry for this. The company is  currently in a witch hunt to find people to fire. Your mistake in the  previous accounting book should not cause any impact but they wanted to  find any fault to reduce their expenditure as much as possible. “

“Yes…” I am just a freelance worker. Even if I  protest, it would be of no use. I need to hire lawyers which cost money  which defeat the purpose only for a week of salary. This world’s  system, it is always pressing the weak.

"Hey Yokoda! A seminar is going on. You need  to attend!” My coworker said. I walked toward the seminar hall like a  zombie. This company rented a floor in the middle of a luxurious  twintower building. I just need to go up 2 floors to reach the seminar  hall. Since I am too lazy I still took an elevator there.

“We can become the head and not the tail! If  you want to be prosperous in the future, You need to start taking the  lead! Don’t follow the trend! We need to be the trend! Asked your  friends and family and you will lead our company into brighter future! “  The gorgeous influencer tried to scam us into some kind of pyramid  marketing. The company wasn’t like this 2 years ago. But ever since they  tried to pander to investors, it adopted a vicious marketing scheme.

I didn’t listen to a single thing these  bitches said. I just stare in a daze like others. I am not the only one  fired in this. I can see several people wore the same despair faces on  their face.

BLAR!!

A loud explosive sound was heard below me.  Tremors shook the building for an instance until a faint smell of smoke  permeated my nose.

“Terrorists have hit this building with a plane!” Some security guard screamed.

“Run to the roof! We need to call some  helicopter to evacuate!” Panic and chaos ensues as the building started  to get hot. As more and more people ran to the roof, the seminar hall  started to get deserted only until I was the only one left.

I have no desire to save my life. If I die,  my debt will die with me. At least that will spare my parents from  suffering. My name is Yokoda Shuichi 25 years old. Even when death came  near, I feel happy. I will be freed from my student loan, I will be  freed from my nagging parent.

Tears started to flow from me as I have  achieved nothing in these 25 years of life. Ordinary grade, ordinary  college, and ordinary company. No girlfriend nor female friend either.

I keep gazing into the ceiling as smoke  started to fill out the room. Smiles crept up on me as my end was near.  The luxurious building cracked as the sudden temperature change damaged  the pillars. At that moment, I laughed.

“Hahaha!!” So this building is only luxurious on the outside. But on the inside, this building was like my company. Like me.

I coughed from the smoke and as the crack spread from the pillar to the wall, my vision blacked out.

Author Note:

Please visit my RoyalRoad page for a better reading experience.