Chapter 136 Pantherman
"Check this out—one million bucks. Take it!" Eric shoved the check into Stella's hand.
He never forgot the folks who had his back and always made sure to pay 'em back.
"One million dollars!" The classmates around them were totally floored. To them, that was a crazy amount of cash! They were all green with envy.
They even thought, "Man, if only I had helped Eric back in high school, I'd be rolling in dough now." But nope, they hadn't.
"One million dollars?" Stella's jaw dropped, her hand covering her mouth. She never thought she'd see that kind of money in her life.
"Eric, this is way too much. I only lent you a grand back then. If you wanna pay me back, just give me the thousand bucks." She waved her hands repeatedly.
"Think of the extra as interest," Eric said, pushing the check back into her hand.
"Even with interest, it's too much. I didn't help you expecting anything in return. I can't take this money; I'd lose respect for myself," Stella insisted, trying to hand the check back.
"Alright." Eric hesitated but finally took it back, knowing she wouldn't budge.
"But hey, if you ever need anything, just holler. I'll never forget what you did for me in high school," he said, all serious.
Stella nodded.
Just then, Aria came running over. She plopped down on Eric's lap and said, all flirty, "Eric, we were buds in high school too. I wouldn't mind that check. How about you give me the million bucks?"
Aria had seen Eric give Stella the check and was super jealous, so she tried to cozy up to him.
"Aria, besides bugging me for homework answers, you didn't do squat for me in high school. Why do you think you deserve a million bucks?" Eric sneered.
Any crush he had on Aria back in the day was long gone after seeing her at this reunion.
"I can keep you company tonight," Aria said, winking at Eric, leaving no room for misinterpretation.
Eric shook his head. "Aria, if I'm not mistaken, you're probably not as pure as you used to be, so I'm not interested. Please get up."
The most disappointing thing for Eric at this reunion was seeing how much Aria had changed. In high school, she was all sweet and innocent. Now, she was just chasing after anyone with money. If Cody hadn't been taken down by Eric, she'd probably be heading to a hotel with him tonight.
Aria turned red with embarrassment and got up.
For the rest of the night, classmates kept coming over to toast Eric, clearly trying to get on his good side. Eric accepted all the toasts but stayed cool and detached.
There were a couple of classmates who had done him small favors in high school. Eric gave each of them a hundred grand as a thank you. They took it without a second thought and thanked him like crazy.
The reunion wrapped up around eleven at night. Everyone left, and since Stella was a bit tipsy, Eric drove her home himself. While she was out of it, Eric slipped the one-million-dollar check into her purse without her noticing.
Meanwhile, at Donald's place, Oliver Clark rushed in.
"Mr. Hall, I've met someone really impressive recently and wanna introduce him to you," he said with a grin.
"Let's see what you got," Donald said, looking intrigued.
Donald’s top muscle, Puma, had been taken down by Eric last time, and he was desperate for a new heavy-hitter and bodyguard.
"Pantherman, get in here!" Oliver hollered at the door.
In walked Pantherman. He was short, about 5'3", with dark skin and a scar that made him look like he meant business.
"Oliver, this is the 'expert' you were talking about?" Donald laughed, almost doubling over.
Pantherman was small and kinda scrawny compared to Puma. Donald totally underestimated him.
"Mr. Hall, you think I'm a joke?" Pantherman rasped.
Then he stomped his foot. With a loud crack, the marble tile under Pantherman's foot shattered! The floor caved in where he stood.
"Whoa." Donald's eyes lit up. He pointed to a bodyguard nearby. "You, go see what he's got!"
This bodyguard was a big, beefy dude.
"Mr. Hall!" The bodyguard looked nervous; he knew he couldn't break marble with a stomp.
"Just do it! Quit whining!" Donald snapped.
The bodyguard nodded and stepped up to Pantherman. With a yell, the bodyguard threw a punch at Pantherman.
Pantherman grinned, showing off his yellow teeth, not even flinching.
This bodyguard wasn't as strong as Puma, but he was still one of Donald's top guys, always by his side for protection. A punch like that would make a regular guy spit blood.
But Pantherman just stood there, still grinning. "That's it? You can't even tickle me," he rasped.
The bodyguard's face turned red. Feeling humiliated, he threw a barrage of punches, but none of them did a thing.
"My turn!" Pantherman suddenly punched the bodyguard in the chest.
The bodyguard flew back, crashing into a sofa. He spat out blood, rolled his eyes, and died. His chest was visibly caved in.
The other bodyguards shuddered. 'Holy crap, this guy's a beast!'
"Nice!" Donald jumped up, clapping his hands. He thought, 'This guy's way better than Puma.'
"Mr. Hall, Pantherman is a legend in the underground fight clubs of Zyphorax. He had to skip town after killing a rich kid in a fight. With Pantherman on our side, taking out Wolfman will be a breeze!" Oliver said.
Donald nodded, grinning. "Pantherman, you're working for me now. I'll pay you three million a year. No, five million!" Donald held up five fingers.
"No! I want ten million!" Pantherman said in broken English.
"Deal!" Donald agreed right away.
With a powerhouse like Pantherman, he was willing to shell out ten million. The main thing was, with Pantherman, he could finally deal with Wolfman!
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