2025-07-15 00:54:53Jaylen staggered to his feet, his drenched clothes clinging to his body, the alley was silent except for the system’s hum in his ears.
“What… is this?” he muttered. “Your second chance, Jaylen Cruz.” The system's voice was sharper, confident and live. “You may call me Zee. I’m your personal AI assistant. Your path to fame, fortune, and vengeance. Your enemies left you to rot. The world thinks you’re finished. We’re going to prove them all wrong.” Jaylen blinked, stunned. “This is insane. I’m hearing voices now?” He questioned himself, thinking he was already going crazy. “Incorrect. You’re hearing what will make you achieve destiny. Shall we begin your rise?” A holographic screen flickered into view in front of him, floating in midair, “QUEST: FIRST LIGHT. Objective: Create and upload a viral video within 24 hours. Reward: +1 Fame, +100 Z-Credits and full recovery. Penalty: System Termination. Host will return to his previous condition.” Jaylen stared at the screen. His fists clenched as memories of the beatdown rushed back eepecially, Blake’s arrogant smirk, Mia’s cold stare and the way they laughed like he was nothing. He could still hear them. “You’re a joke, Jaylen.” “You’re a parasite.” The words echoed like daggers in his brain. “No,” he whispered. “I don't want this humiliation anymore.” “Good choice,” Zee said. “Let’s go viral.” The voice was mysterious, but Jaylen didn't bother questioning so much since it's an AI that wants to help. Jaylen dragged himself back to his apartment, ignoring the eviction notice still taped to the door. He stepped inside, locked the door, and peeled off his soaked hoodie. The room was still small, still leaking but somehow it didn’t feel suffocating anymore. Not with the system now live. The screen flickered again in front of him, displaying new options, ‘Zillonaire System Menu: Quests. Fame Rank: 0 Talent Stats: Unrated *Z-Credits: 0 (Pending) Inventory: None.’ Zee’s voice returned. “We’ll keep it simple. You need a video that makes noise. Something raw, honest and real. Since you have the talent already, use it.” Jaylen looked around the room. His busted mic still sat in the corner. The cracked laptop still flickered to life with effort. He grabbed his notebook, flipped past the pages until he found the one, Backstabber Blues. It was the freestyle he wrote after Mia started acting cold, before she ever touched Blake. He plugged in the mic. Set the lighting. He hit the record button and started singing with no effects and no filters. It was just him. Jaylen stood in front of the camera, eyes locked on the lens. “I was the joke in every room. The backup plan. She smiled on stage but held another man’s hand. You laughed at my pain…cool. Let’s see if you laugh when I rule. Call me a leech one more time. I’ll show you what it’s like to feed a lion.” His voice deepened as he sang the truth. Every line hit like a punch to the gut. His eyes didn’t blink. His pain became a rhythm. His rage became fuel. The freestyle was barely two minutes. But it felt like a lifetime compressed into rhyme. He hit “upload.” Then, he gave it a title. ‘Title: The Boy You Buried: Watch Him Rise.’ He collapsed back onto the couch with his heart pounding. “What next?” He echoed within himself. “Now,” Zee responded, “We watch the song spread.” Two hours later, Jaylen’s phone suddenly exploded with several buzzes. He blinked at the screen. The video had crossed 100,000 views. Then right in his face, it annex 230,000 and then 510,000. Comments started pouring in, “Who is this??” “Is this the same guy Mia Lennox dissed???” “Yooo... this freestyle goes hard. Pain makes legends.” Then the hashtags, “#JaylenCruzReborn trending now!!” Jaylen stared in disbelief at the comments. And then, the system buzzed. “QUEST COMPLETE: FIRST LIGHT. Reward: +1 Fame Level Unlocked! +100 Z-Credits Added to Wallet. Z-Market Unlocked. Talent Points System Activated.” A second quest popped up instantly, “QUEST: BURN THE MASK. Objective: Rebrand yourself. Change your public image within 48 hours. Reward: +3 Fame, Unlock Z-Scan. Hint: The world doesn’t want the old Jaylen. Show them someone they can’t ignore.” Jaylen sat back, a smirk curling at the edge of his lips for the first time in weeks. He had thought his career was dead, but this was something that brought his courage back. They thought they’d buried him. But they forgot he was a seed. Jaylen hadn’t slept. Not because he was depressed or in thoughts. But because for the first time in forever, he felt moving towards his goals. He sat in the middle of his dim apartment. The light from the holographic system screen bouncing off the cracked walls like a glow. The viral video was still climbing. It’s over 1.2 million views in less than twelve hours. T*****r was in chaos, TikTok edits, Discord threads and reaction videos from people he doesn't know and verified check marks. And the System was just getting warmed up. And Jaylen flashed back to what the system had said earlier. “ZILLONAIRE SYSTEM: QUEST COMPLETE. Reward Claimed: +100 Z-Credits, +1 Fame Level. Z-Market & Talent Tracker Unlocked.” “Zee,” Jaylen said. His voice was husky. “What can we do with a hundred credits?” “Plenty,” Zee replied with a smug. “But let’s spend smart. Fame fades as time goes on. First thing we will buy depends on you.” A deep blue tab opened in the air before him, “Z-MARKET CATEGORY: INFLUENCE TOOLS. Basic Styling Kit: 30 Z-Credits. Narrative Booster (Tier 1):50 Z-Credits. Micro-PR Push: 20 Z-Credits. Bot Clean-up: 25 Z-Credits. Clout Package: 30 Z-Credits.” Jaylen scrolled, absorbing every word. These weren’t just cosmetic. They were more like weapons of revenge to him. “I will go for Stylist and PR push.Let’s go,” he said. “Purchase Confirmed: 110 Z-Credits Spent. Overdraft Activated: -10 Z-Credits Balance” Zee's voice buzzed. “Wait, can I go negative?” he asked. “Welcome to fame’s economy,” Zee replied. “Reputation is credit. Stay hot, you live. Go cold, you die.”
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Chapter 108: The Siege Breaks
The night began with too much silence. Jaylen stood in the back of the dim warehouse where he and his team had regrouped after Lazarus’s collapse. His phone buzzed, then died. Darius cursed, waving his tablet.“There is no service and no Wi-Fi. They shut it all down.”Outside, the city lights dimmed and the billboards flickered blank. The livestream feeds that usually blazed across skyscrapers went black. New York's loudest city on the planet was suddenly muted.“Creed,” Jaylen muttered. His chest tightened. This wasn’t random. Headlines appeared on emergency tickers, government feeds Creed clearly controlled:“JAYLEN DRAKE: CULT LEADER.”“SUSPECTED IN DRUG TRAFFICKING.”“LINKED TO GANG RIOTS.”Jaylen’s face glared across every remaining screen like a mugshot. His words twisted. His verses are cut into soundbites.“Smear campaign in full effect,” Nia hissed, slamming her laptop shut. “He’s making you public enemy number one.”The warehouse doors rattled with the first shouts outside
Chapter 107: Fall of a Legend
The night smelled terribly as the scent of smoke mixed with rain. It was a restless mix that clung to New York’s streets. Jaylen had been scheduled for a small pop-up show, an intimate venue tucked inside a converted warehouse in Brooklyn. After weeks of assassins, riots, and smear campaigns, this was supposed to be something different - something raw and unfiltered. Just him and the people.The stage lights flickered to life as Jaylen grabbed the mic.“Tonight ain’t about sponsors. Ain’t about charts. It’s about us,” he said, voice carrying across the crowded floor. Cheers roared back from the onlookers. It was the kind that shook the rafters.For a moment, it felt like salvation. Then the doors suddenly slammed open.Gasps rolled through the audience. A tall figure staggered into the warehouse. His shoulders were hunched and his face was covered beneath the hood of a leather jacket. When he lifted his head, the crowd froze in shock. It was Lazarus Payne.The man who had once been
Chapter 106: The Crimson Return
The rooftop glowed under the New York skyline.Glass towers shimmered like crystal blades in the night. Jaylen had just stepped into the afterparty, an intimate celebration thrown by a few loyal sponsors who hadn’t abandoned him after the Senate hearing. Music thumped low, champagne glasses clinked, and laughter briefly drowned out the endless online sager that had been going on.For a moment, he almost allowed himself to breathe.“Bro,” DeShawn nudged him, flashing a grin. “After everything, you deserve this. Just kick back.”Jaylen nodded, though the weight in his chest refused to lift. “Yeah. Maybe for one night.”But the System shattered the illusion.“ALERT: Assassination Protocol Activated. Threat Source: Crimson Bullet. Orders: Kill.Survival Probability: 17%.”Jaylen’s stomach clenched. He’s here.It happened fast. A faint red dot danced across DeShawn’s chest.“DOWN!” Jaylen shouted, diving… and then came a loud noise.CRACK! The shot ripped through the air. DeShawn’s securit
Chapter 105: Liberty on Trial
The Capitol’s marble steps had never felt heavier beneath Jaylen’s shoes. Cameras flashed from every angle, reporters screamed his name, and protesters chanted outside the iron gates. Some raised signs of support with words written in capital letters, “Jaylen Speaks for Us” but many screamed for his exile, holding banners painted with words like “Ban Him Now” and “Cultural Terrorist.”DeShawn muttered as they passed through security. “Man, this ain’t a hearing. This is a damn execution.”Jaylen didn’t answer. His jaw was tight and his hoodie pulled low. Inside, the vast chamber of the Senate echoed with voices and shuffling papers. It wasn’t a courtroom, but it looked and smelled like judgment. Senators filled the semicircle desks. Different cameras were lined behind them. Cassandra Vale stood at the podium like a queen about to seize her throne.And then, the System spoke,“Operation Siege: Phase 3, Exile Protocol.Directive: Secure Narrative or Face National Erasure. Support Networ
Chapter 104: Mob Rule
The air outside the Newark venue was thick, not with anticipation, but with fury. Police sirens wailed in the distance, but they didn’t dare cut through the crowd. Protesters packed the street shoulder to shoulder. Their signs raised high and their voices a rising storm.“BAN JAYLEN Cruz!”“PROTECT OUR CHILDREN!”“CULTURAL POISON!”Red spray paint slashed across Jaylen’s poster on the venue wall, dripping like fresh blood.DeShawn’s face was pale as he stared out the tour bus window. “Jay… they ain’t here for the music. They here for your head.”Jaylen leaned forward, scanning the mob. Anger rolled off them like heat from the road. The chants vibrated through the bus walls in a harsh and unrelenting way. And then the System chimed. Its cold voice cut through the chaos,“ALERT: Public Sentiment Overload Detected.Hostile Crowd Composition: 78% manipulated, 22% volatile organic growth. Risk Level: Critical.”Jaylen’s fists clenched. Helena Crowe’s fingerprints were all over tabloids,
Chapter 103: The Broken Stage
The crowd in Boston pulsed like a living ocean with lights flickering off thousands of raised phones. The air was thick with bass, sweat, and electricity. Jaylen gripped the mic with sweat dripping and adrenaline pounding. “From the ashes I rise, no chain on my breath,They want silence, I give ‘em life instead of death. Boston, are you with me?”The arena roared back in a deafening roar. DeShawn shouted from the side of the stage, “This one, Jay! You ownin’ the East Coast tonight!”Jaylen threw his arms wide and soaked in the sound. For one split second, he believed he had finally gotten his peace out of the chaos.And then the lights went out.The music cut mid-beat. A harsh crack echoed from above. Sparks rained down from the lighting rigs. The stage floor trembled under Jaylen’s boots.“Yo… DeShawn?!” Jaylen shouted into the darkness.The System screamed across his vision,“ALERT: Sabotage Detected. Infrastructure Breach. Warning: Structural Collapse Imminent - 11 Seconds.”The
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