Rise of the Zillionaire Star

Chapter 14: Ricko Flare’s Flame War (Part 2)

Jaylen stared at his cracked phone screen. His eyes flickered under the glow of the streaming counter.

“Cold Crown: 893,000 plays in 3 hours. Underground Charts Rank: #2.”

‘The world isn't ignoring me anymore.’ He breathed out. The system’s interface blinked alive,

“System Alert: Quest “Battle Through Bars” completed.

+6 Talent Points Gained.

Z-Credits: +2,000

Fame Level: 5.8 → 6.0

New Mini-Quest Unlocked: Stage a Freestyle Face-Off [Locked Until Fame Arena Opens]”

Jaylen exhaled, but the war was far from over.

…………..

Ricko Flare’s T*****r feed was flooded with hate comments.

#GhostFlare was trending all over T*****r.

“Dude rapped about street life from a gated community?”

“He said he wrote Fireproof, but that was clearly Beau Cash’s verse.”

Social media dug into Ricko’s old interviews. They revealed the inconsistencies and ghostwriting receipts from former producers.

Jaylen leaned back as his underground producer, Kai laughed.

“You didn’t even need to say his name in your track,” Kai said. “You just reminded everyone why you’re real.”

“I don’t throw lies around,” Jaylen muttered, “I plant the truth. The onlookers are left to decide.”

Meanwhile, Jaylen’s manager's inbox pinged aggressively with notifications after notifications. It was three podcasts, two indie blogs and one brand meeting.

Then another alert hit…. Very hard. It was a news from a popular blog.

“Breaking News: Mogu Music officially halts sponsorship deal with Ricko Flare citing ‘unprofessional conduct.”

Jaylen smirked. ‘First blow landed.’ He exhaled slowly as pressure reduced from his chest.

……..

Flashback

Earlier that week…

The system’s upgrade had provided audio dissection tools, and Jaylen had fed Ricko’s entire song into the algorithm.

He didn't just want to reply. He wanted to cripple Ricko’s image from the inside out.

Each beat from Kai’s underground booth was enveloped with neural rhythm alignment. A system buff that helps people relate with the song better.

Lines from Cold Crown, one of his songs, echoed through the studio:

“He spit scripts from a ghost’s wrist,

I bleed truths on a closed fist,

Can’t stand in my spotlight if yours got twisted.”

It wasn’t just a diss track, it was a complete diagnostic of what's happening.

……….

Ricko became desperate. He eyes had turned after hearing Jaylen's track. Ricko' angirly uploaded an I*******m Live, slurring,

“Ayo… I write my bars, aight? All y’all fake fans...”

But before he could finish, thousands of commenters flooded the stream with lyrics from his songs which was identical to the ghostwriter leaks.

He ended the live angrily. He deleted the diss track, and made his account private.

Jaylen watched from his rooftop studio. The skyline was dark behind him and there was a soft breeze rolling in.

But the system buzzed again and this time, it was colder.

“Emergency Notification!!!

CONFIDENTIAL FILE LEAK. Source: Dr. Isaac Carver.

Jaylen Cruz’s therapist releases documents suggesting multiple breakdowns, narcissistic episodes, and possible addiction to digital praise.”

Jaylen’s heart dropped. “Not now,” he muttered. But the damage had already begun.

Within an hour, major blogs released different news with different headlines,

“EXCLUSIVE: Jaylen Cruz’s Mental Health Collapse Exposed.”

“Therapist Claims Rising Star is ‘Addicted to Validation.’”

Jaylen’s old text messages from when he was at rock bottom were quoted as signs of emotional instability.

The file included audio snippets of him venting about betrayal and loneliness.

It was a session twisted for the people to make them see Jaylen as an hostile person.

There was also a voice clip evidence, “Some nights I wish I would never wake up if it means staying in the dark.”

That voice clip went viral almost immediately after it was released.

Jaylen sat in silence. For a full minute, he didn’t speak. Then, the system buzzed.

“System Notification!!!

Emergency Side Quest Activated. “Reclaim Narrative: Deconstruct the Doctor”

Reward: +3 Talent, Reputation Stabilization, Unlock Future Legal Questline.”

“Let’s ruin him,” Jaylen said under his breath.

Kai looked up. “Dr. Carver? Is that your old therapist?” He asked

“Yeah. He helped when I was down. Guess I paid for trauma and he’s just become a traitor.” Jaylen expressed his disappointment. He wasn't expecting it from Dr Carver.

…….

Jaylen moved ahead by accessing his encrypted mental log that was stored by the Z-System as part of its behavioral synchronization module. Every session with Dr. Carver had been recorded and analyzed for system training purposes.

And now?

“System Option: Extract Contradictory Statements [Y/N]”

Jaylen didn't think twice before he picked, “YES.”

A crisp recording of Dr Carva played in his head, “Jaylen, these emotions are valid. Your reaction to betrayal is healthy. Don’t suppress it.”

Yet in the file leaked, the doctor had said Jaylen “responded with irrational narcissism.”

Jaylen's lips curved with a dark smile. “Let’s light this match.”

…….

Jaylen leaked the real session recordings through a burner social handle and he tagged three key influencers from the mental health community so that they can be the first to see it.

“This is unethical AF.” One person commented under the post.

“Carver broke the cardinal rule, confidentiality.” Another person made a disappointing comment too.

“Jaylen's pain got turned into a PR stunt. How pathetic.” Another comment dropped.

Within six hours the post went live, Dr. Carver was under investigation by the National Psych Board.

The two morning shows Dr Carver had cancelled his guest slots.

Jaylen's reputation meter went up after this. The system buzzed at once, “System Update: Narrative Integrity Restored. +3 Talent Points Earned.”

That night, Jaylen’s dashboard changed.

“Fame Level Up: Level 6 Achieved.

Z-Arena Access: Initial Entry Pending.

New Questline: “Freestyle Face-Off Unlocked.”

The system projected a message into his vision, “Enter the ring not just with truth, but timing. Public opinion is a battlefield. Welcome to the Arena.”

His heart raced slowly.

Jaylen stepped into the backstage of a gritty indie lounge. The crowd cheered through the concrete walls. Jaylen's fans wanted a live performance of Cold Crown.

But just before stepping onto the spotlight, his phone vibrated.

It was a message from a secured and private source. Jaylen blinked in surprise. Quickly, he opened the message.

“You think you’re rising, Jaylen Cruz? Wait until we drag you back to the dirt you belong.”

Jaylen didn’t flinch after reading it. He relaxed backwards. ‘This is definitely from an enemy.’ He muttered through his teeth.

“The world didn't stop me from fighting back. I’ll bury you in the spotlight. I promise.” He took a deep breath.