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 117: The Tenfold Beatdown
The underground rave cathedral of Chicago was an abandoned train station. Its stone pillars were sprayed with fluorescent graffiti. Hundreds packed the floor. Bodies were pressed shoulder to shoulder, while strobes cracked like lightning across the vaulted ceiling.At the center stood the counter of Ten DJs. Each of them perched behind tall rigs of turntables, mixers, and glowing subwoofers. Their consoles glowed all alike as though ten altars had been erected in worship of the chaos.Jaylen stood alone on the central platform. His eyes were fixed, his hand in the mic as sweat already trailed down his face. Around him was one of his crew, Kira, DeShawn and Malik. They watched helplessly from the sidelines. The noise was so thick they could barely hear themselves breathe.The leader of the Council raised a hand and silence fell all at once Then his voice oozed through his vocoder starter rumbling, “Jaylen Cruz. They call you the people’s voice. But tonight, you’re just one man. And
Chapter 116: Vale’s Revenge
The next evening, St. Louis had changed into an open-air crucible. The city council plaza which was normally a space for parades and speeches was flooded with thousands of people. Screens hung down from buildings, drones whirred overhead, broadcasting the event to millions across the Midwest.Two podiums were raised high. On one side stood Jaylen. He was dressed in his streetwear with the mic dangling loose in his grip. On the other stood Tessa Vale. She was immaculate in a cream blazer. Her expression was calm, poised and she looked so untouched.She looked like a senator in training and he looked like a rebel. The contrast was deliberate.As the cameras went live, Tessa stepped forward. Her voice was clear, sharp, and commanding.“St. Louis,” she began, “you deserve better than chaos. Better than flames in the streets, bullets in concerts, and lies packaged as art. Jaylen Drake may rhyme, but I reason. He may rage, but I build. Tonight, I will show you the difference between reckles
Chapter 115: Tessa’s Vow
The echoes of Draco Steele’s warzone performance still hung in Jaylen’s bones. His throat was still sore from the fire and flow. His body was sore from dodging bullets and weaving through the whole trouble. Yet Detroit’s energy had barely cooled when the System pulsed a new alert across his vision. “Warning: Incoming Threat Detected. St. Louis Nexus. Enemy Classification Pending.”Jaylen leaned against the cracked brick backstage. He was still catching his breath. The chants of his name outside were fading into murmurs when a voice cut clean through the noise.“Well, well,” the voice was smooth and deliberate. “The boy who turned bullets into beats.”Jaylen’s eyes narrowed. From the dark stepped a woman in tailored black. Her heels clicked with deliberate rhythm. She carried no weapons, no mic and yet her presence radiated command. Her gaze was sharp, calculating and her lips painted the color of blood.“Tessa Vale,” Jaylen said. The name was sour on his tongue.Her smirk deepened.
Chapter 114: Fire & Flow
The Detroit arena had become a battlefield. The rusted steel mill made some noise as flames moved from the damaged pipes and shattered scaffolds. Gangs roared with their weapons raised up like shotguns, pistols and machetes glowing under red floodlights. Jaylen stood center stage with nothing but his mic. His chest was heaving and sweat streaked with ash.Draco Steele was opposite him with a pistol in his hand. His hand glowing on the mic growling in his fist. Around them, the mob chanted, torn between fear and hunger for spectacle.The System blinked warnings across Jaylen’s vision, “Critical Alert: Firearms Deployed. System Counter Recommended: Trajectory Sync Protocol. Objective: Survive. Dominate. Inspire.”Jaylen exhaled, tasting soot. “Alright, System. If it’s war he wants, let’s make it music.”Draco fired the first shot. The pistol cracked like thunder, sparking concrete inches from Jaylen’s foot. The crowd shrieked but Jaylen didn’t flinch.He brought the mic up. His voice
Chapter 113: Enter Draco Steele
Jaylen thought Chicago was extreme fire. But Detroit was cold, unyielding, and humming with menace. The skyline was jagged with abandoned factories and smoking chimneys.The System pulsed in his vision the moment they crossed the bridge.“Warning: Territory Scan Detected. High threat presence: Draco Steele. Enemy 023 Identified – Draco Steele. Title: The Arms Dealer.”Darius clenched the wheel of the van. His jaw tightened. “Man funds half the gangs out here. Weapons, vehicles, explosives. Hell, rumor says he built his own sound cannons.”Nia muttered, “And are we going into his den?”Jaylen adjusted his mic holster. “If he thinks music is just noise, then I will show him what a problem really sounds like.”The underground concert was nothing like the beautiful halls of Chicago.Detroit’s steel mill ruins had been transformed into a brutalist arena. Floodlights glowed. Flames burned in barrels. Gangs gathered in leather and metal as their weapons strapped openly to their backs. Onst
Chapter 112: Duel of the Voice
The chandeliers swayed above the opera house as Astra Bloom’s voice went across the gilded theater. Billionaires clutched their glasses, hypnotized; Jaylen’s own team swayed with glassy eyes. His knees had already touched the stage and her spell was already dragging him lower.But he wasn’t finished.Astra’s soprano moved higher, like shards of crystal piercing the air.“Jaylen Cruz, kneel to Bloom… your light is fading, your star is doom…” The crowd chanted her name in unison. “Bloom! Bloom! Bloom!”Jaylen gritted his teeth. He clutched the mic. The System blared in his ear,“Warning: Subject Jaylen Cruz mind breach at 92%. Collapse imminent. Activate Emotional Anchor Protocol?”His vision blurred. He saw Astra glide across the stage. Her silver gown shimmered under the brightness. She was elegance personified. She was also the perfect idol weaponized by Creed.Jaylen rasped, “Do it. Anchor me now.”The air blew around him and a surge of code flooded his senses. “Initiating Emotio
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