Recruited by a Villainess System

It was a peaceful, sunny day. 

In a middle-class neighborhood, Hannah Long, a student in her senior year, was standing outside her car, rummaging through her purse for her car key. 

She recently joined a book club, and they have a get together at 1:00 pm today. It was Saturday, so Hannah had nothing occupying her time. 

Finding the key, she hastily drove toward a café in the city.

Her motherland, Eden, as the name implies, was a paradise. 

There were no cases of fraud, robbery, murder, corruption, poverty, and hunger. Everyone has food to eat, a roof to sleep in, and jobs that meet their needs. 

You could even see children as young as six years old going to school by themselves.

Smiles were always plastered on people’s faces.

However, to achieve this, a price must be paid.

The second a child entered the world, a microchip was implanted in them. 

It became the government’s surveillance cameras, giving them access to peer at everyone’s actions—at their lives. The data gathered would be stored and only be seen by government officials.

Contrary to what you would expect, the citizens welcomed this. Before the microchips, chaos ravaged the land. 

There was a time where overpopulation was a worldwide crisis that nearly wiped out humans’ existence. Humans kept reproducing, but the resources were finite. There was only so much land, trees, gold, minerals, oil, and water the earth could provide without being given the chance to recuperate. 

And humanity exhausted all of it in under a century. 

The earth was at its limit.

To feed their people, countries resulted in plundering land, water, and food. International organizations were no more. Treaties were no more. Peace talks were simply words vomited out by a drunk man still intoxicated by humanity’s golden age, forgetting that it could now only be a dream. 

The world descended into an all out war. 

Nuclear bombs after nuclear bombs.

The biosphere was plunged into madness.

The world was bathed in red.

Fifty years. The world war lasted for fifty years, and by then there were no more countries to speak of. No more laws.

Just as the human population reached its peak, it plummeted; the numbers were back to the thousands. 

By this point, all those who survived only knew bloodshed… To take a hold of what you want, you have to literally fight for it. No matter your race or gender, wielding a weapon was the new art to master. It was survival of the fittest.

It was also then when humanity realized that they needed an armistice. Extinction was awaiting them if they wouldn’t stop. 

But for it to happen, civility, morality, and laws needed to return. 

However, how could it? 

All the people have ever known in their lives was war and looting. They needed to find a way to end this. 

Hence, those remaining on earth decided on microchips. A technology that would make it possible to monitor and pinpoint those committing felonies. 

The thousands of people left were hardened warhorses. At this point, the jaded population did not know the meaning of peace and was curious about what life would be under such a premise. 

And so it was implemented. 

The remaining people congregated in one mass of land and established a new country. 

They started embedding microchips behind their ears. The founders named the country Eden.

The name bared their hopes and dreams that humanity would once again prosper.

Humanity’s renaissance.

And this time, it would continue on for eternity… The founders gazed at the billions of stars in the night sky full of anticipation.

A hundred years later.

The earth was rehabilitated, and the human race continued to exist. 

Due to humanity’s fascination for the past, even with the advancement of technology they choose to imitate the setting of the early 21st century. From their clothes, to their phone, and even to the design of their houses, it was a perfect replica in terms of appearance.

Hannah Long opened the door of Titania’s Café. 

She took a quick scan of the place before settling into the table at the corner, away from the windows.

Behind her was a white wall and so was on her right side; no one could covertly come up to her. The table she was currently sitting on only has one chair.

Hannah fetched her phone from her purse and checked the time.

12:57 

Three minutes before the agreed hour. 

The café was warm and cozy with its lights and decoration. It was the perfect ambience students like Hannah flocked into. They could spend hours here working on their projects.

There were four people inside the café, excluding Hannah and the staff. Two were girls and two were boys. The same as her, each of them sat at a table good for one person.

As the clock ticked, Hannah got more fidgety. She couldn’t stop her legs under the stable from shaking.

Her heart rate sped up. She kept tapping her phone, turning it on and off. 

Hannah tapped her phone again and saw the moment 12:59 turned to 1:00. 

Hannah held her breath. 

Right on time, a staff member placed a piece of paper on the table. 

[Please enter the staffroom after the fourth person.]

Fourth…

Hannah looked back to the four people in the store. 

Same as her, the four were also approached by a staff, all handed with a note.

One by one, they stood up and walked toward the door with a sign “Staff Only” glued to it.

Girl 

Boy

Girl

Boy… The fourth person.

It was now Hannah’s turn. This… This is the right thing to do. For my family… for my family. 

She wiped her sweaty hands on her pants and put her phone back in her purse. She straightened her shirt and dusted her pants off. 

She scanned the staff, her eyes repeatedly going over them trying to pick a hint from them. But there was none. The staff kept their head down, working as they normally do as if she was invincible. 

With heavy steps, Hannah entered the room and positioned in front of the mirror.

She could hear her deafening heartbeat ramming into her ribcage. 

At the back of the paper she read, [Knock five times on the mirror.]

Hannah knocked, her fist trembling as she raised it.

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

The wall creaked as it moved. A secret room greeted Hannah. 

Compared to the cozy mood of the café, this room was darkness and mysteriousness intertwined, causing trepidation. 

In the room, the four people from before and a middle-aged woman in the center sat at the round table.

The woman met Hannah’s nervous stance and invited Hannah in with an endearing smile.

Once Hannah was seated, the woman said, “Our book club is now in session.”

~~~

“Cut!” shouted Vince.

Irene was in a daze as she heard him shout. It took a second for her to pull out of character and shook Hannah’s mindset away from hers.

She blinked a few times before she raised her head and nodded towards her co-stars, who were standing up from.

They smiled back at her. 

It was the afternoon after the fiasco from earlier. 

After Lilian left for the hotel, assisted by Maine, Irene was surrounded by makeup artists, who were prepping her face, and costume designers, who were managing her outfit.

It was her time to shoot next.

Once she entered the set, she could feel the tight nerves of the crew. Obviously, what transpired with Lilian hadn’t completely dissipated yet. 

The crew was on tiptoe, not daring to make mistakes that would further infuriate Vince. 

Irene wasn’t interested in what was happening in the least. Once it was her turn to shoot, a divided attention was improbable. Moreover, she was still uneasy regarding Lilian, hence the more she desired to end all of this quickly. 

Following Irene, another woman stepped on the set, Barbara Wolfe, an established name in the industry. 

Barbara played the role of the middle-aged woman from the scene previously. Her eyes held a mature charm.  

Barbara put her arms on Irene’s shoulders, not minding Irene’s leave-me-alone stance. She stared ahead at the bustling crew, and said to Irene, “Break a leg.”

Irene and Barbara had acted in a couple of movies in the past; they could already be called familiar with each other’s attitude. 

“Break a leg.” Irene was aloof.

The crew noticed them and released a huge sigh of relief. If it’s these two, Vince’s temper will surely subside.

They couldn’t wait for the scene to be filmed so that Vince could lighten his glowering eyes.

Vince checked the set. Seeing that all the actors were there, he called, “Get ready!”

Like a flock of sheep with a herding dog on their tail, the crew immediately scampered and went to their respective places, prepared to film. 

Barbara smirked as she picked up his voice and patted Irene’s shoulders twice before stepping forward. 

Irene was a step behind her. 

Under the numerous lenses and bright lights, Irene breathed.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Irene briefly shut her eyes. 

The sounds of clicking, whispers, and machines were tuned out. It was only her.

No noise. All black.

Her eyelids fluttered open, gone was Irene, and what met the world was Hannah Long. 

Back to the present.

The scene was filmed successfully, just like what the crew envisioned. They peered at the man sitting behind the camera.

His previously slanted eyebrows now turned back to normal. Vince’s eyes even housed a tinged of joy!

As expected of Irene and Barbara. The crew gave the two of them a huge thumbs up in their minds. 

Barbara approached Irene and commended, “As great as always.”

“You too.” 

Barbara’s eyes curved, and she tilted her head slightly to the right as though portraying an innocent teenage female lead in a school romance. With some work done, she could undoubtedly deceive unsuspecting people to believe that she was still in her teens.  

Barbara admired this youngster; she was born to act. 

Irene’s coldness didn’t deter her. Barbara wouldn’t be where she was if she easily got dissuaded. 

This time, Alex came over and handed Irene a towel to wipe off her sweat. In passing, he greeted Barbara. “Damn, Barbara. You look fine as hell.”

Barbara cracked up. “Be careful. Sugar causes cavities.” She gladly welcomed Alex’s entrance.

“A small price to pay in exchange for your smile.” Alex beamed; his social network has lots of big fishes. 

“You’re the one who should be deprived of sweets instead of Irene. You’re consuming too much,” Barbara playfully replied.

Alex feign agitated. “But it’s my only skill. I’ll be depressed if one day Irene cuts ties with me if I’m no longer useful.” 

“You don’t have to worry about that. You’re totally capable of going into acting. I’ll take you under my wing, and I’ll even brave storms for you.” Barbara looked up and placed her finger on her chin as if already planning Alex’s trajectory as an actor. 

Irene became a bystander beside these two, perfectly comfortable with being ignored; she still had to do a few more scenes before she could take off.   

Due to how smoothly the shoot went, another scene followed. 

The crew didn’t want to ruin Vince’s good mood and hastily moved and continued working. 

It wasn’t until the evening when Vince released Irene and the rest. The shot in the afternoon went so well that he even forgot Lilian’s disaster.

Vince warmly set the crew free.

Finished for the day, Irene was in a hurry to go back to the hotel. Alex noticed this, and he knew the reason. Vince… hah 

This was really testing Alex’s decision-making skills. 

Nonetheless, Alex assisted Irene as she sped walked toward her room like a true nanny. 

Before leaving, Alex reminded Irene, “Don’t forget to eat. I already called room service. They’ll deliver it to Lilian’s room.” 

Irene halted. 

To think that he would notice… She gave him the brightest smile she could muster; her eyes glittered like the rising sun. So caring, ah. And also so cute, hehe. “I’ll eat to my heart’s content.” 

Alex was pleased with what he heard and ruffled her hair before leaving—his eyes held the most tender warmth that could thaw a block of ice. 

Irene, who was now left to her own devices with Alex gone, proceeded to move. Irene first changed into comfortable clothes before heading to Lilian. That girl better be alright. 

She didn’t think much about Lilian when was filming since it would only hinder her work. A clear mind was what she needed to enter the zone of acting. 

Now that she was free, she could dedicate her thoughts to Lilian. 

She wanted to check on Lilian one more time to put herself at ease.

When she went over, what welcomed Irene was a freshen up face and silky sleepwear; the image of a child ready for bed. Great! Thank God she isn’t hung up on it. 

In a pleasant mood, Irene said, “Let me help you run over the scene from earlier.”