A videogame designer at the Chinese company NetEase was sacked after being diagnosed with an untreatable heart condition. The company blamed their performance and refused to pay severance. As the worker explained: “I have experienced persecution, machination, surveillance, framing, threats, and even being pressured to leave the office by security guards … whether I worked overtime past midnight for several weeks in a row, or worked 996 for an extended period of time, I was never late the next day.” Following online protests that targeted the company, NetEase admitted that its treatment of the worker was “facile”, “brutal”, and “merciless” and promised to pay the worker.