2026-04-23 03:21:36Ethan POV
Rrip. The sound was louder than a gunshot in the quiet chemistry lab. "Stop! Bryan, stop!" I lunged forward, but two guys from the football team grabbed my arms. They held me tight, their fingers digging into my skin like iron claws. I could only watch. Bryan Montgomery stood over the lab’s waste sink, a smirk on his face. In his hands was my research binder—three years of data, thousands of hours of sweat, and my only hope of paying for my mother’s heart surgery. He gripped the thick stack of papers and tore them again. Rrip. "You know, Ethan," Bryan said, his voice calm and cruel. "I actually did you a favor. This wastewater treatment garbage was never going to work. You’re a charity case, not a scientist." He tossed the shredded remains of my life into the sink. Then, he reached for a bottle of concentrated sulfuric acid. "No! Please!" I kicked and struggled, but the guys just laughed. Bryan poured the acid. I watched as the liquid hissed and smoked, eating away at my formulas, my graphs, and my future. In seconds, the paper turned into a black, bubbling mush. "There," Bryan said, wiping his hands on his expensive jeans. "Now you won't have to stay up all night working. You can spend more time thinking about how a loser like you ever thought he could keep a girl like Chloe." I looked toward the door. Chloe was standing there, holding a designer bag I’d never seen before. She didn't look angry. She didn't look sad. She just looked bored. "Chloe, help me," I gasped. "Tell them to stop." She walked over, but she didn't look at me. She looked at Bryan and tucked her arm into his. "Let’s go, Bryan. The smell of this place is getting on my clothes. And Ethan?" She finally glanced at me, her eyes colder than the acid in the sink. "Stop calling me. I can’t be with someone who has to count pennies just to buy a burger. We’re over." The guys let go of me. I fell to the floor, my knees hitting the hard tile. "Oh, I almost forgot," Bryan said. He reached into his leather wallet and pulled out a crisp $100 bill. He flicked it at me. The bill fluttered through the air and landed in a puddle of distilled water right in front of my face. "That’s for your 'hard work,'" Bryan laughed. "Buy yourself a nice meal. It’s probably more money than your whole family makes in a month." They walked out, their laughter echoing off the walls. I sat there on the cold floor, staring at the black sludge in the sink. My chest felt like it was being crushed. My mother... the surgery... the patent... it was all gone. My phone buzzed. It was a text from the University Dean. “Student Ethan Vance, your scholarship is officially revoked due to a report of lab safety violations filed by the Montgomery Foundation. Please vacate your room by 6 PM today.” He didn't just dump me. He didn't just ruin my research. He was erasing me. I put my head in my hands and let out a choked sob. I had played by the rules. I had worked three jobs. I had studied until my eyes bled. And for what? To be stepped on like an ant by someone who was born with a silver spoon? "I hate this," I whispered into the empty lab. "I hate this world." Ding. A sound like a sharp bell rang inside my skull. The world didn't just go quiet—it stopped. A drop of water falling from the faucet froze in mid-air. [System Loading...10%... 50%... 100%] [Absolute Despair Detected. Soul Frequency Matching...] [Binding Sovereign Scholar System to Host: Ethan Vance.] A blue screen, glowing and sharp, appeared right in front of my eyes. [Welcome, Ethan Vance. You have been a victim for 21 years. That ends now.] [Initial Gift Unlocked: The First Trillion.] [Reward: $10,000,000.00 has been deposited into your personal account.] [Reward: Brain Overclocking Unlocked. Your IQ is now beyond human measurement.] My phone vibrated again. I pulled it out with shaking hands. It wasn't a text. It was a notification from my banking app. “Account Balance: $10,000,008.50.” I stared at the numbers. The eight dollars was for my dinner. The ten million... that was enough to buy the lab. That was enough to buy the whole school. [New Mission: The First Slap.] [Objective: Bryan Montgomery is currently at the Blue Velvet club celebrating your downfall. Go there and show him what real wealth looks like.] [Time Limit: 2 Hours.] [Reward: Master Combat Skills & The Ghost Luxury Car.] I looked at the $100 bill on the wet floor. I picked it up and stood up. My body didn't feel heavy anymore. My mind felt like a supercomputer. I could see the molecular structure of the acid in the sink. I could calculate the exact amount of force needed to break a human jaw. I tucked the $100 bill into my pocket. "Bryan," I said, my voice cold and steady. "I’m coming for my change."
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The Chairman’s Collapse
The Grand Hall was a mess of screaming women and men shouting into their phones. Alexander Valerius, the man who practically owned the city, was sprawled out on the expensive rug. His face was a sickly, bruised shade of purple, and his chest wasn't moving. Dr. Wagner was kneeling next to him, his expensive medical bag open. He was sweating so hard it was dripping onto the Chairman's silk shirt. He looked less like a famous doctor and more like a guy who had just realized he’d lied on his resume. "It’s a heart attack!" Wagner yelled, his voice cracking. "I need a defibrillator! Move back! Give him air!" Bryan was standing right behind the doctor, trying to look helpful but mostly just getting in the way. "Do something, Doctor! Save him! Everyone, stay back! Dr. Wagner has this under control!" Chloe was standing a few feet away, her hand over her mouth. She looked more worried about the Chairman’s wine spilling on her shoes than the fact that he was dying. I pushed through the crow
The Faculty Gala
The Grand Hall of Northwood was glowing. It looked like something out of a movie. Huge spotlights cutting through the night sky, a red carpet that seemed to go on forever, and rows of security guards in black suits standing like statues. This was the one night a year where the real owners of the city came out to play. I pulled the Bugatti into the long line of luxury cars. Ahead of me were Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, and Lamborghinis, but even in this crowd, my car was the center of attention. It looked like a black shadow moving through the lights. People on the sidelines were pointing and whispering, trying to peek through the tinted glass to see which billionaire was inside. I saw them then. Standing near the entrance were Bryan Montgomery and Chloe. Bryan was wearing a white tuxedo that probably cost more than my old apartment. He was standing next to a middle-aged man with a thin mustache and a stethoscope visible in his breast pocket—the "famous doctor" he’d brought to show off.
The First Transformation
The front doors of L’Eclat clicked shut, and the manager, john, personally pulled the heavy velvet curtains across the glass. The bright, judging eyes of the Diamond District were finally cut off. Outside, I was a glitch in their perfect world. In here, I was the owner."Mr. Vance," john said, bowing again. He was still wiping sweat from his forehead with a silk handkerchief. "I can’t apologize enough for what happened. We have the best tailors in the city on standby. Please, if you’ll follow me to the VIP suite."I followed him to the back of the store. This wasn't just a changing room, it was a lounge with leather sofas, a private bar, and mirrors that covered every wall from floor to ceiling. Three men in sharp vests were already waiting with silver measuring tapes draped around their necks.They didn't look at my hoodie with disgust. They had seen the manager’s face, they knew I was the one who signed their paychecks now."Strip that off for me, sir," the lead tailor said softly.
I’ll Buy the Store
Elena was still screaming for security, her face turning a nasty shade of red. She looked like she was about to pop a vein. The other two salesgirls were standing behind her, whispering and pointing at my old sneakers like they were toxic waste. In the back, Silas Thorne didn't even turn around. He just kept adjusting his silver tie in the mirror, looking bored as if a fly was buzzing in the room."Where is security?!" Elena barked, slamming her hand on the marble counter. "I want this trash out of the store right now!"I didn't blink. I didn't even look at her. I just tapped the screen on my phone and hit the call button for the top contact in my list. It picked up on the first ring."Mr. Wang," I said. My voice was low, but in that quiet, frozen store, it sounded like a gunshot.On the other end, the man’s voice sounded like he’d just run a marathon. "Mr. Vance! Yes! I was just about to call you. I heard you were in the Diamond District. Is everything okay? Is the service to your li
The Luxury Boutique
The Diamond District was a place I used to avoid. Even walking on the sidewalk here made me feel like I was trespassing. Everything was too clean, too bright, and smelled like expensive leather and money. I parked the a block away. I didn't want to make too much of a scene yet. I was still wearing my damp hoodie and my old sneakers. I looked like a guy who had just finished a shift at a warehouse, not someone with thirteen million dollars in the bank. I stopped in front of a store called L'Eclat. It was the kind of place where the door stayed locked until a security guard in a suit decided you looked rich enough to enter. Inside, I could see gold-plated racks and crystal chandeliers that probably cost more than my entire tuition. I pushed the door. It was locked. A security guard with a headset looked at me through the glass. He saw my messy hair and my cheap clothes, and he just shook his head. He didn't even come to the door. He just pointed at a sign that said By Appointme
One Against Ten
The first guy reached me with a plastic cafeteria tray, swinging it like an axe. In my head, I could see the path of the tray before it even got close. I didn't even have to try. I just stepped an inch to the left, and the tray whistled past my chest, hitting the empty table with a loud crack. Before he could pull back, I tapped him twice on the ribs. It wasn't a hard punch, but I hit the exact spot that makes your lungs forget how to breathe. He dropped the tray and fell to his knees, gasping for air like a fish out of water. "One," I whispered. Then, three more jumped at me at the same time. One tried to grab my waist, another swung a wild left hook, and the third tried to kick my legs out from under me. I didn't stay still. If I stayed still, they would swarm me. I moved like a ghost. I stepped on the seat of my chair and jumped over the first guy’s head. While I was in the air, I kicked the second guy in the shoulder, spinning him around so he crashed into his own friend
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