Primeton's Poorest Student is Now a Billionaire

Chapter 003 ~ Pay up, Peter

"Look who finally decided to show up," the familiar voice sneered. "I almost thought you were dead or something. You poor shrimps always find new ways to avoid paying up your debts."

The voice belonged to Punch Walker, the notorious school lender who didn’t play about his money, even if it meant death.

"Pu—Punch?..." Peter was startled.

He knew a day would come when Punch would pester him for the money, but he didn’t expect it tonight.

What terrible timing... He had just spent all his earnings on a diamond ring he planned to gift Sophia as a proposal. But Punch didn’t look like he was ready to hear any of that.

"I’ll be quick and snappy with you. You got my money?" Punch asked with a cruel frown.

Peter was short of words. He didn’t know how to respond because, truthfully, he didn’t have it. His words stumbled over each other as he searched for the perfect lie.

"I... I... Uhm..."

"I guess that means no." Punch chimed in curtly.

"it’s not like that, Punch. I’ll get you the money in two weeks," Peter pleaded, though even he didn’t believe his own lie.

"You said that two weeks ago," Punch replied as the other three boys with him began cracking their knuckles menacingly.

"I promise... two weeks. This time I’ll make sure to give you your money and the interest," Peter continued, but the thugs kept circling him.

In an instant, something clicked. He had a diamond ring worth thousands of dollars in his pocket, and could use it to pay off his debt and finally be free from this bloodsucking bastards.

"Alright, I have a diamond ring with me and It’s worth five times what I owe you. I can give it to you... and... and you get to keep all the change." He panicked, struggling to pull the box from his pocket, but strangely, he couldn’t feel it anymore.

Just when he thought it was over, life threw yet another blow at him.

"My ring?" he snapped, trembling. "Where is it?"

He searched deeper and thoroughly on every pocket, including his backpack but he couldn't find it anywhere. His heart began to beat so fast he could hear it pounding in his eardrums.

"I can’t find it anymore. Maybe it fell out on my way here, but believe me, I’m telling the truth." he said frantically.

But Punch looked completely rigid, like he was not having it one bit.

He knew Peter wouldn’t be able to pay back the huge amount he had borrowed, but he lent it anyway.

To him, it wasn’t about the money. He simply loved seeing weaker people suffer. It gave him pleasure.

Here's the twist: Punch was a very loyal friend to Troy. In fact, he was almost one of his puppets.

When Punch had called him to say Peter had come begging for money, they had laughed about it and carefully planned how to humiliate him when he eventually failed to pay up. Peter never knew he had just walked into a trap they had set for him.

Rumors also had it that Punch once stabbed a second-year student some years back, all because the boy couldn’t afford to pay the remaining thousands he owed.

The student had used all his expensive gadgets and everything in his possession to offset the debt, but Punch, in his cruel fashion, collected the properties anyway and still had him beaten.

When the student tried to defend himself, Punch stabbed him in the ribs.

His father was wealthy and a major shareholder in the university, so he got away with no punishment whatsoever.

The school authorities, on the other hand, swept the entire incident under the rug as if it had never happened. They knew that if Punch’s father pulled his shares, the university would suffer greatly.

That was how deadly Punch Walker really was. His name carried fear in every room it entered.

"Peter... Lawson..." Punch drew out the name like someone who had heard plenty of similar stories. "You know I don’t play about my money."

"Please, I promise to pay up once I receive my next salary," Peter continued, his voice cracking.

But what followed next was something he never saw coming. From behind, a sharp thud struck the back of his head. He groaned in pain and staggered to the ground.

One of Punch’s men had hit him hard with a metal baseball bat.

Before he could process what had happened, a heavy stomp landed on his abdomen. It came again and again, spreading fresh pains all over his body. They all jumped on him, beating the living daylights out of him.

Peter screamed in agony for help, but the security men just stood by, watching and pretending not to see anything.

They dared not get involved in Punch’s business. He would simply connive with Troy and make sure they all lost their jobs... something they couldn’t afford, considering they all had families to feed.

"Help!" Peter screamed continuously. "Help me!" But no one came to his rescue.

What a cruel world. The weak are left to die while the strong keep getting stronger. It was at that moment that he realized it was just him and his grandmother against the whole world.

After they had beaten him to their satisfaction, Punch decided to spare him some life because he still needed to collect his money.

But Peter was already half-dead. He was unconscious, swimming in his own blood. He had severe injuries to his head, hands, face, and all over his body.

"Don't kill him, idiot!" Punch slapped one of his gang members who was still stomping on the unresponsive Peter. "Who’s going to pay his debts if he’s dead, huh?"

"Sorry, Boss."

"I’m sorry, Boss," they began apologizing. The last thing they needed was to get on Punch’s nerves.

Though unconscious, Peter could still faintly hear noises in the background as the sound of approaching heels rang out.

Punch walked up to him, squatted to his level, and grabbed him by the hair. Blood dripping like rainfall from his face onto the ground. He sneered as he stared at his closed eyes.

"Now I hope this message is clear enough for you to understand." He paused briefly after a chuckle.

"If I don’t get my money in two days, I’m coming for your head. And this time I won’t stop my boys. I’ll make sure they beat you till you stop breathing." With that, he slammed his head hard against the concrete floor as Peter blacked out completely.

'So this is how I die?'

'Am I really going to die?'

'Who’s going to take care of my grandmother?'

The old woman had sacrificed everything to raise him after his foster parents died in a car accident, and his birth parents he never even met abandoned him.

She was the only person who had ever truly loved him unconditionally. The thought of leaving her alone in this cruel world hurt more than the beating he had just received.

Punch and his men smiled contentedly among themselves as they stomped out of the area before the CCTV cameras were turned back on.