Rise of the Zillionaire Star

Chapter 29: Elijah Drax’s Digital Smear (Part 1 – The Virus)

The evening was supposed to be perfect.

Jaylen had been invited to a private industry dinner at The Glasshouse. It was the kind of place where the walls seemed to be carved from pure crystal, and the only thing colder than the champagne was the stare from the celebrity guests who didn’t think you belonged there.

‘Tonight, I belong here.’  he thought in his head. 

He was halfway through a conversation with a Sony A&R rep when his System HUD flickered in his vision. The neon-blue interface bled into an tensed red.

‘ALERT: Reputation Drop Imminent.

Source: Elijah Drax

Threat Level: HIGH

Status: Active smear campaign detected.’

Jaylen’s smile faltered. The name hit him like a bass drop in a funeral dirge.

Elijah Drax was once the awkward tech kid in high school who would build Jaylen’s first website. Now he does a hacker-for-hire job. 

The HUD shifted, displaying a breaking news headline.

“TRENDING NOW!  #JaylenScamsCharity

Screenshots of supposed “bank transfers” from a children’s cancer foundation into Jaylen’s “personal slush fund” were plastered across every major gossip blog. The amounts were outrageous, $250,000 here, $180,000 there, each timestamp designed to coincide with his biggest public appearances.”

Jaylen’s chest tightened. “This is fake,” he muttered under his breath.

“Is everything okay?” asked the Sony representative as she tilted her head.

Before he could answer, his phone vibrated violently in his pocket. He pulled it out, screen after screen of notifications flooded in, both texts, calls and mentions.

The System flashed again, “System Note: Document authenticity = 0%. All data is fabricated. Forgeries originate from one source: Elijah Drax.

Quest Activated: Digital Redemption

Objective 1: Neutralize smear campaign. Time limit: 72 hours.”

He didn’t have 72 hours. In the industry, public opinion could kill a career in 72 minutes.

The Sony rep’s smile stiffened. “I’ll… catch up with you later,” she said, already stepping away.

Jaylen gritted his teeth. “Not tonight, Elijah.”

The attack Escalated The system pinged again. “ALERT: Personal bank account – ACCESS DENIED

ALERT: Credit accounts frozen

ALERT: Mobile data compromised.”

Jaylen swiped on his phone and his banking app refused to open. The waiter arrived with the bill for the table. Jaylen reached for his card, trying to keep his expression neutral. He slid it to the man.

A beat later, the waiter returned, murmuring quietly, “Sir… your payment didn’t go through.”

The heads of the people around turned and conversations faltered.

Jaylen forced a smirk. “Try it again. Must be the card, the network of the machine.” He expressed a calm result. 

The waiter did it again. But it was the same result.

A TikTok micro-influencer at the next table whispered a little too loudly, “That’s the guy trending for scamming cancer kids, right?”

Jaylen’s phone buzzed with a blocked number call. He answered, pressing it to his ear.

“You feel that heat yet?” The voice was oily and smug. Elijah Drax started speaking, “Remember when you told me I wasn’t good enough for your brand? Guess who owns yours now?”

“You forged every file,” Jaylen said through clenched teeth. “You think that will hold up?”

“I don’t need it to hold up, bro,” Elijah chuckled. “I just need it to burn long enough for your sponsors to run. That way, when I offer you a way to fix it for a price you will pay me with everything.”

Jaylen’s jaw flexed. “It is not going to happen.”

“It is happening already. Then enjoy watching your empire crumble,” Elijah said, hanging up the phone.

By the time Jaylen stepped outside, the paparazzi had already been tipped off.

“Jaylen! Did you really steal from sick kids?”

“Are you pulling a Fyre Festival charity scam?”

“Care to comment before the lawsuits hit?”

Flashbulbs exploded in his face. The system interface mapped several camera feeds in real time, showing exactly which gossip sites were already uploading fresh videos.

He walked through the crowd. His every step was hounded by questions and their voices were like jackhammers in his skull. The System’s overlay showed a Reputation Meter and it was plunging.

“Reputation: 52% - 39% - 28%”

His Uber app refused to load. His backup card declined. His driver’s number was “temporarily unavailable.”

He was stranded.

Jaylen walked into an alley. His back pressed against the brick wall as he tried to breathe.

The system pulsed again.

“Secondary Objective Unlocked: Recover control of digital assets.

Suggested Action: Locate Drax’s entry point. Source traced to 5 nodes.”

The system projected a glowing 3D network map with red nodes all dotted throughout the map. The first one pointed to a warehouse district across town.

Since he can't get across to his driver or do anything, he had to take a cab. And he peeled off cash from his emergency roll. The driver’s radio hummed with breaking news, Jaylen Cruz accused in multi-million-dollar charity fraud scandal and the driver kept sneaking glances in the mirror.

Jaylen ignored it, focusing on the system's pulse.

They pulled into a run-down warehouse block. The cabbie gave him a wary look. “You sure this is the spot?” He asked. 

“Yeah. Keep the change.” He said, extending the money to him.

Inside the first warehouse, the stink of rust and dust clung to the air. His sneakers echoed against the cracked concrete.

The system led him to an abandoned server rack which were five blinking towers and still powered. Each screen displayed the same  signature everywhere, DraxWasHere.exe

Jaylen didn’t waste time. He plugged in his System Uplink Drive. It was a device gifted in a previous quest. Lines of glowing code ran across the system interface, tearing through encrypted walls.

“Node 1 Neutralized: 20% network control restored.”

Suddenly, the monitors erupted with static. Drax’s face appeared, half-lit in green from his screen.

“Well, well,” Drax drawled. “The prodigal rapper-turned-charity-thief. You’re faster than I thought.”

“This ends tonight,” Jaylen said.

“Funny,” Drax smirked. “I was about to say the same thing.”

The warehouse lights cut. The hum of the servers died. Heavy footsteps echoed in the dark.

Jaylen’s system flickered into Low Light Mode, highlighting three figures moving in from different angles. They weren’t here to talk.

The first thug attacked. Jaylen ducked, grabbing a rusted metal pipe from the floor. He spun it like a mic in a freestyle battle. He smashed it into the man’s ribs, heard the breath leave him in a sharp gasp.