Chapter 259 - 258
Mindy Morgan was skeptical, but that wasn’t what she came to talk about today. Her expression turned serious. "There’s a banquet in a couple of days. The attendees are all big shots from various industries. You’re coming with me."
"Mindy, I don’t like those kinds of events. You know that," Joanna Kennedy refused, frowning.
"I know you don’t like it, but a lot of big-name directors will be there this time," Mindy Morgan said. "Don’t you want to be in movies? This is your chance."
Joanna Kennedy was beautiful and had massive popularity. Every TV drama she starred in was a blockbuster hit, and she was drowning in endorsement deals and magazine covers. She was, without a doubt, a top-tier celebrity, but she had yet to land a good movie script.
This also gave plenty of anti-fans a reason to attack Joanna Kennedy, saying her acting couldn’t hold up on the big screen, which was why those major directors wouldn’t cast her.
Of course, Mindy Morgan knew these comments were baseless. The real reason Joanna Kennedy couldn’t get good movie scripts was simply that she was too stubborn and refused to accept the "unspoken rules."
Plenty of rich heirs and powerful figures had sent signals that they wanted to be her sponsor, and some had even pursued her for months. But Joanna Kennedy was like a block of wood, flat-out refusing.
Thinking of this, Mindy Morgan sighed. "Joanna, think about it. This is just how the entertainment industry is. I know you’re talented, but sometimes talent isn’t the most important thing. Resources and connections are what determine how far you can go."
Mindy Morgan pleaded earnestly. Before leaving, she even brought up a semi-famous actress who found a sponsor and landed the lead role in a major IP adaptation the very next day. This sponsor was one of the rich heirs who had previously pursued Joanna Kennedy.
She was alone again in the simply but elegantly decorated house. Joanna Kennedy sighed and collapsed onto the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling.
After a long moment, she slowly reached up and clutched at her chest.
It was as if she’d had a long, long dream—so long that she’d lost all track of time. She couldn’t remember what the dream was about, only that her chest felt completely empty.
It felt like she had lost something incredibly important, and the sorrow was so stifling she could barely breathe.
A message came in on her phone, but she didn’t look. She knew without checking that it was from Mindy Morgan with the time and location of the banquet.
Joanna Kennedy suddenly felt a wave of irritation. As night fell, she drove aimlessly through the streets.
Everything around her was so familiar—it was the city she had lived in for over twenty years—yet she felt an inexplicable sense of strangeness.
Before she knew it, she had driven to the old district. She stopped the car and stared blankly at a dilapidated old alleyway.
The houses had poor soundproofing. Someone was hitting a child, and other neighbors had come out to watch the spectacle. The sound of crying was crystal clear.
DING-A-LING— It was the sound of a bicycle. A boy in a blue and white school uniform rode past her car.
In that instant, Joanna Kennedy’s mind went completely blank. By the time she came to her senses, she was already out of the car. What little reason she had left kept her from chasing after him, and she just stood there, stunned, watching the boy’s figure grow blurrier in the distance.
A dull, throbbing ache bloomed in her chest, forcing her to slowly squat down, as if only by doing so could she ease the endless sorrow.
Her vision gradually blurred. She numbly touched her cheek and felt the wetness on her fingertips.
’Why am I crying...?’
Joanna Kennedy still didn’t understand why she was so sad, but the sadness was already washing over her like a tidal wave.
The sound of a conversation drifted from the alley, getting closer. Joanna Kennedy stood up, and just as she opened her car door, she heard a faint cry.
"Meow... meow..."
A scrawny little kitten stumbled out of the bushes. It had big eyes, and its white fur was streaked with black, making it look utterly pathetic.
*
"You exiled 166 to Jornheim?"
In the void, Liam Valentine asked the man whose back was turned to him.
Simon Lockwood’s fingers, which were tapping on a transparent light screen, paused almost imperceptibly before resuming their normal rhythm. "Is there a problem?" he asked coolly.
In response to the emotionless question, Liam Valentine just smiled. "No problem. Just asking."
"Is there really that much to take care of?" Liam Valentine glanced at Valentine, who was too busy to even look up, then turned to Simon Lockwood. "Want me to help?"
Systems needed to be upgraded and downgraded, and there were countless commands to issue and tasks to hand off. He had been busy for over a week. Without pausing, he replied, "No need."
"Can Valentine handle it all?" Liam Valentine asked casually. "She’s not the sharpest tool in the shed. Don’t let her mess things up."
"I will not!" Valentine finally looked up. She was a simple soul, and she retorted indignantly, "I do everything Master asks me to do perfectly!"
At this thought, Valentine puffed up with pride. "Master even entrusted the Terminal to me!"
The moment the words were out, she realized she had misspoken. She glanced in panic at the cold-faced man, then lowered her head to await her punishment.
The Terminal was the central processor for the pocket dimensions. It controlled countless systems and the operating principles of the worlds, an instrument used by the World Consciousness to correct the rules.
Liam Valentine narrowed his eyes. His gaze fell on the dark gray scarf beside the man’s hand, lingering for several seconds before he spoke. "The Terminal is difficult to control. Valentine isn’t capable enough."
"And you are here," Simon Lockwood’s voice was flat.
Silence. A long silence. Liam Valentine sounded both helpless and confused. "But why?"
"You should know, your human body has sustained severe damage. Going to Jornheim as a human, without a protagonist’s halo... life will be very difficult for you."
"I know."
Simon Lockwood’s tone was calm, his expression unchanging. He looked so cold and heartless, yet the words he spoke were so insane and irrational.
The guardian of the rules, violating the rules for the sake of something as base as human emotion. How laughable.
The air grew still. Even the motes of light floating in the void seemed to have stopped moving.
Liam Valentine was silent for a moment before continuing, "The best I can do is arrange a relatively good identity for you. But your human body can’t be repaired. I hope you’re prepared for that."
After he finished speaking, he strode away as if he couldn’t stand to stay a second longer. Just as he was about to exit the void, he heard the man’s voice. "Thank you."
It was the same familiar, detached voice. Liam Valentine sighed silently and left.
The motes of light in the void resumed their drift. Valentine secretly glanced up and saw that the man, who was usually as cold and robotic as a machine, was staring blankly for once. His eyes were fixed, unblinking, on the dark gray scarf on the desk.
In the end, Joanna Kennedy went to the banquet. It was mainly because Mindy Morgan was so annoying, calling her several times a day with an intensity that suggested she was one step away from tying Joanna up and dragging her there herself.
The moment she got out of the car, she ran into Tina Wade, the actress who played the second female lead in her last drama.
"Joanna, what a coincidence! I was just thinking how boring this banquet was going to be, but thank goodness I ran into you..." Tina Wade said, her sweet face full of pleasant surprise. "After this is over, let me treat you to a meal, Joanna. There’s a fantastic restaurant nearby!"