Talented Me! 43

The hacker's face paled. He held onto a nearby tree to stabilize himself. Calming his breathing he said, "No, I don't know."

"Don't?" Avina repeated. "I think you know very well."

"I really don't, lady," his words spoke quickly, nearly slurring. "I don't know what you're up to, or what you want from me, but let me leave. I gotta go."

He turned around ready to continue limping away. He looked as if he was desperately fleeing away from a beast. Fear in his eyes, sweat dripping down, and a pale face - the very face of a man guilty.

"Stop," Avina's voice went low. "I'm not done yet."

Avina walked over to his side. Her strides slow and small, but she reached him in no time. Each footstep on the leaves left a satisfying crunch, but to him, it sounded like a beast gnawing on bones.

He was afraid, very. He couldn't see her face nor what she was doing. All he could hear was her body steadily coming closer. At the touch of his shoulders, he shuddered. He turned his head and met the eyes of a monster.

Avina's soulless eyes stared into his bring upon a sense of dread. Her hair blew against her cheek wisping below her lashes. Her face gradually came closer and she whispered into his ears.

"Do you know Adi and Wilona, mister hacker?"

The last string of his rationality broke. His eyes began to be filled with madness dyed in red and agony. His laptop dropped from his hands as he lifted them up against his hair pulling and tugging the strands from his scalp.

"Yes! I know them! Adi and Wilona!" he cried in a fit of madness. His words repeated in a loop echoing against the trees.

Security followed the noise chasing it down. Footsteps gradually came closer, nearly crossing their paths. His cries were luring in the security.

Avina looked around trying to find someplace to hide. She looked up meeting the vast lush of the trees above her. Grabbing onto a trunk, she climbed the tree and sat on a branch.

She watched as the man cried out with tears streaming his face. He had not realized she wasn't there anymore nor the security heading his way. When security found him, he was still yelling out insanity and words of rage.

They quickly apprehended bringing him down to his knees. Still, he didn't budge in cries of mercy and was weakly sobbing to the dirt. Avina knew that the police would do the rest.

When she came back to the set, the whole group was finished already. They huddled together in a small corner chatting and laughing on whatever topic was at hand. Sandra, who was laughing at Will, noticed she came back.

"Wilona!" Sandra called out. "Where were you?"

She came a little closer to whisper into Avina's ears. "Did you have to take a number 2?"

Avina backed off a bit and said, "No! Of course not. I was just preoccupied with something."

Her voice grew quieter at the end not knowing how to explain. She couldn't say she was hunting a hacker, but she also didn't want to lie and say she was pooping! The difficult choices she had to make…

"It's okay, to be honest," Sandra sighed and patted Avina's shoulders. "It's very understandable. Just go do your commentary first."

Avina barely had a chance to explain herself before Sandra pushed her into the booth. She shooed her inside and very considerately closed the door behind her. Avina stared at the whole scene with her mouth gaped open. She really wasn't pooping!

"Hello," the commentary helper greeted. "I'll be behind that screen over there. I won't hear what you have to say at all so it'll be personal until the airing. Just give me the cue to start and end, and remember, keep it a little short. 5 minutes, okay?"

She explained and walked to the other side. In one quick click, the door was closed and Avina stood in the room alone.

In the middle of the room was a chair. All four sides of the room were black. The doors, the walls, even the carpet! A small camera hole peeked from one side of the wall proving that something was being recorded.

Avina stared at the black wall in front of her. She could not see the helper behind it, but she knew they could see her. It was kind of like a double-sided mirror except black in color.

She sat down and cleared her throat. The memories of the show flooded in. Every single part she loved even if she lost. Every single part was a new experience she could never dream of doing in her own world. Transmigrating allowed her to live a completely different life from her own all at the cost of fulfilling a mission.

"I liked everything about the show. I met Sandra and everyone else. I experienced so many new things that I never dreamed of doing

I never once thought I could be a shining star, but this show has proved that maybe it is possible."

Avina signed that she was done and promptly left the room. Content planted itself on her face allowing a blossoming smile to bloom. She felt good, she really did. The show was over, Adi would soon be gone from the picture, and after the show completely aired, she would be on the road to fame.

"Are you done?" Sandra asked.

Avina nodded and smiled. "Done."

"Well, we were discussing where we were going to eat," Sandra explained. She pointed to Will. "This man lost the bet so he's paying."

Will rolled his eyes. "I didn't lose. The show isn't about winning in the first place."

"But we won the modeling theme, and you said you'd pay," Sandra retorted. "Don't tell lies, young man. Your juniors are here."

Will sighed and yielded to the strong, independent woman, Sandra. If he could beat her in her magical sense of words, then he would have for the last 100th time. Unfortunate to say, but he hasn't. It was just food and wouldn't hurt him to treat everyone.

The entire group decided to go to Will's go-to spot. It was fancy, delicious, and most of all, had a live chef that did beautiful fire cooking techniques with ingredients flying in the air and landing straight on their plate.

"See? Didn't I tell you? Will knows the best places," Sandra leaned over and whispered into her ears.

Avina had to agree. This was the most fun she had eating. Especially because shrimp kept landing on her plate every time she was done eating them. So the entire time, Avina was just stuffing shrimp into her mouth.

Her phone rang as she was picking up another shrimp. She wiped her hands and told Sandra she would be right back. Outside, she picked up the call.

"I saw your email," Graham said. "Tell me what happened."

Avina told the entire story from the beginning. Of course, she left out how she found out and her great tree escape. But it still provided enough context for Graham to understand.

"I understand," Graham hummed. "I'll take care of this for you. Focus on school for now and after it ends, we can talk about a contract."

"Cont-" Avina barely got the word out before Graham hung up on her.

On the other side, Graham was smiling contently. He was sure she would be happy to know she was going to be a star.

Avina glared at her phone. If only he got rid of his habit of hanging up! You don't need to look cool in front of me!

But this is good, very good. Her mission target was on her side, her task was about to be completed, and the world was nearly done. Plus, she could sit back and relax while Graham did all the heavy lifting.

Graham did do all the heavy lifting. From investigating to compiling evidence and finally accusing, he did it all. And might Avina add, well, he did it well.

The next few weeks flew like a breeze. The hacker, who was taken, was investigated. Turns out he was being threatened with his daughter's medical care. When Graham arrived with evidence, they knew that the person who threatened the man was Adi!

Following the evidence even further, the police found other hideous deeds done. Not only did Adi do something bad, but so did her entire family. Her father did various tax evasions, bribery, and blackmail. Her mother was slightly better, but her credit score was terrible.

Adi and her mother were safe from a trial, but her father was different. Under indisputable evidence, he was sentenced to jail for 5 years. In the 5 years that flew by, Adi and her mother did not have a single easy day.

Both of them could not hold the fort allowing money to slip through their fingers each passing second. Servants that used to take care of their every need soon quit pursuing different households. So quickly, their environment deteriorated until they lived like paupers.

In the 5 years Avina was watching their misfortunes, Wilona's fame grew unbounded. Her channel grew each day starting with just tens of subscribers to thousands! More shows began to request her to go on their shows, and she even appeared in a few movies.

Of course, Avina did not forget Wilona was still a student. Regardless of her schedule, she still studied and did her homework diligently. At her graduation, she was the valedictorian.

When Avina got the system notice that her mission was completed, Avina chose to stay in the world. She loved each part of the world -her friends, family, and being a star. If she could stay for just a minute longer, she would and she did.

She went on bigger shows, bigger roles, and lived a bigger life. She changed the life of her family buying them a new house -a bigger one- and making sure they could relax. Derrick finally received his college education and her parents didn't have to work until very late anymore.

The money Avina saved in her purse, she gave them it all back to them and thanked them. No matter what, it was because they supported her that she was able to continue the path of stardom.

When the system notification came again, Avina knew she couldn't reject it again.

'Accept,' Avina said.

[Congratulations for the completion of mission world: I Am a Star rank F]

The screen continued on showing her grade and awards.

Mission World: I Am a Star

Mission Grade: A

Award: 1 skill, 2 skill points, 5 merit points, system store unlocked