Jed was certain he could get home on time before the rain start but just as he came out on a deserted street, he came upon a scene he’d never imagined to see in his wildest dreams. He’d thought they only ever happen on radios and television. How unfortunate can he be?
“Please, don’t pull the trigger. I will pay you even more than whoever hired you to kill me paid,” A middle-aged man in a now soiled silver tuxedo pleaded on his knees. Five masked hoodlums were surrounding him with guns in their hands.Jedidiah should have taken this moment to flee from there and pretend he didn’t see anything but he panicked for the old man. He brought out an old mobile and called someone.Meanwhile, the old man’s assailants all laughed. “Our loyalty can’t be bought with money. Besides, your son paid us enough to make sure we do a clean job without leaving behind any traces.”One could even feel the painful look of betrayal that spread out on the man’s face like he couldn’t believe his own son had planned his assassination. The call Jed made didn’t go through so he tried again frantically with shaky hands.However, as the phone made the second ring, a loud ‘bang!’ resounded in the silent environment. Jed looked up with a pale face and saw the middle-aged man sprawled on the floor. Blood seeped out of him like water.He shook at this cruelty and tried to make a run for it when suddenly his phone fell and made a loud crashing sound, alerting the assassins.“Who’s there? Get him!”Jedidiah could hear the loud voice and heavy footsteps behind him as he ran. His heart pounded wildly like it was going to rip out of his ribcage.Just as he wanted to take a turn out of the alley, two consecutive gunshots resounded again.“Ow,” Jed whimpered in pain as his steps faltered. One of the bullets had hit him from behind. His shabby shirt turned red with blood as he staggered out.Bang!Bang!And another, they shot at him till he finally halted.Crack!Thunder struck coupled with lightning as a heavy downpour began. Jed struggled to open his eyes as he writhed in pain. The raindrops mixed with tears that poured down his cheeks.From the moment he became knowledgeable of this world, it has been nothing more than pain. He lived a wretched life and now he was going to die miserably.Jed forced a bitter smile on his pale face. How could he be so stupid? If he had left the alley when he had a chance to… Maybe he really did deserve the names he was called at the orphanage, on the streets and in the company.Ping!As Jedidiah’s eyelids slowly closed, he heard a distant cry. It grew louder in his ears and made his painful state even worse.“Ping!” it shrieked again as he slipped out of consciousness.[System activated!][User identified.][Integration process has begun.]These were the last words he heard before he gasped and took his final breath.****Jedidiah panted hard as his eyes flew open. He was lying face-flat in front of a podium with uniformed teenagers surrounding him. Even as he stood up groggily, he felt there was something different about him. His feet; entire body felt heavy.He took a quick glance at the students that were now pointing at him as they laughed. His brows furrowed as he looked around.“A school?” he heaved. Why is he in school? Wasn’t he in the alley?His face lost colors instantly at the recollection and he hurriedly touched his chest that had hurt badly. But strangely, he couldn’t feel anything. Wait… Isn’t he supposed to be dead?“Fatso!” a voice from the crowd broke through his thoughts and he looked up. The next words he heard confused him.“What? Did you also lose your brain from the fall? What made you think you are worthy of having a crush on Jane? She’s the school queen while you are just a… nobody.”The assembly ground of Elites High erupted with laughter following this remark. Jedidiah looked around with a puzzled look. Who is Jane? What is going on and why the hell is he in a school?His eyes suddenly fell upon a boy standing on the podium with a fierce look on his refined facial features. There was a beautiful lady beside him. She should be the one books describe when they mention someone being as pretty as a picture.Together, they gave off the strong oppressive feeling of a power couple. Jedidiah arched his brows. Who are they and why are they staring down at him with a look of contempt?Before his mind burst out with any more questions, he heard that familiar ‘ping!’ sound again and a virtual screen which was visible to only him appeared.[Integration process was successful.][I’m Vendetta]These words read out on the screen.Jedidiah frowned at the robotic voice that came out from nowhere. His eyes focused on the screen, he asked, “You saved me?”He seems to have remembered that he heard this voice before losing consciousness. Besides, Vendetta means vengeance in Italian.“Yes. Now we are unified and Vendetta is obligated to this user for the rest of his journey.”Jedidiah paused; what journey? He suddenly remembered that time at work when he had sneakily read a meganovel blog, he had read info about systems like this.He got excited and asked, “Wait, are you one of those thrifty systems that would suddenly gift its user a huge sum of money to spend?”Vendetta seemed speechless because it failed to respond for a while. But to Jed’s obvious disappointment, it said, “No.”Noticing how disappointed Jed looked, it hurriedly explained, “There are different kinds of systems in the world. We have the VIP system, the thrifty system and so many more. I am a vengeance system as my name entails not a make-the-user-rich system.”Jed nodded in understanding. “Then where is this place? Why am I here? What is my new identity? Why do these teenagers harbor so much hatred for me?”“I am one of a kind and only serve one purpose. That is to enable my users to earn their well-deserved revenge. While you were dying, your strong sense of grievance and vengeance triggered my activation. In order to save you, I had your soul transmigrated here, a different part of Philadelphia you never knew existed and into this body which used to belong to one Jedidiah Jetti,” the system narrated. Jed was surprised to find out the original owner of this body bears the same name as him.Before he could ask any questions, Vendetta continued, “System found this body a suitable vessel for you because yours and the original host’s fates are quite similar. Before his demise, Jedidiah used to be an orphan like you after his only parent, his mother, died of a strange mental illness. The boy would have been thrown on the streets if someone had not anonymously recommended him to this prestigious academy, Elites High, earning him an automatic scholarship.”Jed looked at the screen eagerly when
“Huh, who are they?” Jed wondered silently. As he thought of this, two virtual chat boxes appeared on the boys’ heads. One box had Ben Palmer and the other had Eric Smith. Basic info about their bio was shown to Jedidiah. Ben Palmer is a descendant of a prominent militant family in the city while Eric Smith hails from the lineage of wealthy jewelers. They are both roommates to the deceased Jedidiah and used to be his good friends. Once the students saw the teachers, they scooted away from Jed, seemingly afraid to warrant punishment. A teacher with a stern-looking facial appearance stepped out and swept his gaze round the assembly hall. The students recognized him and cowered away fearfully.“What is this I hear about you all bullying a student? Has the standards of this academy dropped this low to the extent of bullying?” the man’s deep monotone resonated. “No, it’s not like that sir,” a student tried to defend their actions but Ben Palmer rushed to Jed. He was the one whose thoug
Jed looked at the teacher and a virtual box containing her essential bio appeared on her head;Name: Mary Henshaw.Status: Married. Profession: Calculus teacher. One Relationship Found: Paternal aunt to Jane Doe.Now he understands. so she was trying to defend her niece from embarrassment. Before anyone could refute, Mary gave the students a cold glare and one after the other, although they didn’t want to and they knew what she was trying to do, they began to speak up in Jane’s defense. Who in the entire school doesn’t know that Jane is her favorite student?“Yes, it is true. We gathered here because Jed invited us to the assembly ground to witness his proposal to Jane.”“I didn’t want to come but he practically begged.”As the students shouted, the teachers came to a conclusion. “Alright… Alright… Everyone is dismissed. Jed will be taken to the principal’s office to be duly punished.” Even Eric and Ben didn’t couldn’t contradict this claim as Jed had indeed broken the rules. Altho
“You… Didn’t you say you are allergic to veggies? You wouldn’t even share a seat with anyone eating veggies! What are you doing now?” Eric was the first to accuse him. He looked at the huge bowl in front of Jed again. It was vegetarian pasta with a lot of vegetables the latter used to hate.”Where is our friend and what have you done to him?” Ben suddenly asked. “The Jed I know will never taste the smallest spinach even if you threaten to take his games from him.”Jed laughed nervously and scratched his head. “Guys, c’mon, don’t act like this is such a big deal. You always complain that I should try to lose weight and that is what I am trying to do. No more junk food till I look like you guys.”“Since the fall, you have been acting strange. Are you sure we don’t have to visit the infirmary?” Eric was still worried.“I’m fine. Eat up or your meals will get cold,” Jed urged them before facing his meal again.Ben smiled heartily. He doesn’t know what happened to Jed but he knows he defin
“Mr. Jed, your father has asked me to bring you home,” Peter announced the reason for his arrival with a harmonious smile. Jed frowned slightly. Father? That word sounded strange to him. Both in his previous life and this one, he has never had someone to call his father.While he was thinking about this, he heard Peter’s malicious thoughts, ‘How is this dirty, fat, ugly-looking creature fit to be my young master? He must have inherited these terrible facial qualities from whichever slut gave birth to him! Even his grades and behaviors are nothing to write home about! None of his teachers had anything good to say about him. A nameless dumbass like him wanting to ride on the Jetti’s coattails. Hmph! Dream on!’Jed looked up with a cold look and Peter quickly adorned his face with a wide amiable smile. Not even in his wildest dreams would he have thought that Jed actually heard what he was thinking.“Okay,” Jed stood up after giving this short but cold response. The butler bade the prin
Jed looked down at the card. It was a sort of bank card. The butler’s eyes widened because he recognized the bank card. At that moment, he really wanted to say, “Sir, isn’t this too much?”“Take it,” Alan thrusted the card into Jed’s hand when he saw that the juvenile had no intention of accepting it. “This contains $1,000,000 in the bank account I have created for you. It will cover all your expenses for the meantime. Don’t hesitate to ask Peter for more when you are in need.”Jed was stunned. His eyes displayed his awe after hearing the figure the card was containing. Never in his life has he heard or seen such a huge sum of money before. His originally stiff face relaxed and he nodded, “Thank you dad.”Alan felt a sense of accomplishment from the appreciation he heard in Jed’s voice but he sighed regretfully. Then he thought ruefully,’ I can only use this to keep you at bay before I figure out a way to get rid of you. Anna is furious enough about your existence. I can’t risk you co
Slam!Jed was puzzled to see the class bully, Henry in front of him. “Are you deaf? How dare you ignore me?” Henry growled in a voice deeper than that of a teenager’s. “Let him be, Henry. You can see he isn’t in a good mood,” Ben looked annoyed.“Shut up. Who cares? How dare he act high and mighty just because he is now the son of a wealthy family? Note, he is only an illegitimate son so he has no stance in the family,” Henry bellowed and the class laughed. Jed was irked. Why do they keep on calling him an illegitimate son when he’s got a real name?Amidst all these, a soft, flowery voice spoke, “If I didn’t know better, I would say you are jealous. Even if he is an illegitimate son, his status is higher than you who is just the son of a nouveau riche.” The class fell silent at these words. They all looked at the one that spoke. When they saw the pleasantly, beautiful face of the class belle, Liana Adams, they were perplexed. Even Henry blushed and rubbed his nose in embarrassment.
“But…” Eric wanted to protest but Ben pulled him back. He motioned for them to leave. He feels ever since that incident at the school’s assembly ground, Jed has been acting strangely. He seemed… Like a totally different person but they couldn’t question his actions as he had promised to explain to them later.Once his friends had left, Jed crouched in front of the janitor. “Sir, do you need money?” The janitor was surprised at his question.He gave Jed’s poor appearance a look. This lad already looks pitiful enough, how can he be of any assistance?Jed’s lips twitched at Ian’s thoughts. He understood Ian won’t answer truthfully based on how wretched his outward appearance is. So he said,” I was given more than enough pocket money and was thinking I should mail the extra $100,000 with me to a charity fund later. Are you sure you don’t need any money?”The janitor’s eyes gleamed. $100,000? Just the amount he needs. But his eyes dimmed; he couldn’t be so shameless to collect money from