The Wager

Luthor Manor.

In the dead of night, the castle's lights faintly fell across the mottled brick walls.

The bricks were covered in green moss, while below them, several expressionless gardeners carried black body bags toward the castle's basement.

They were all lifelong employees of LuthorCorp, with high salaries and excellent benefits. Put another way, they could be considered workers holding hereditary "official posts" in the Luthor "dynasty." Their mouths were sealed tight, so there was no need to worry about betrayal.

Inside the castle at that moment.

An ornate old fireplace burned brightly, the logs crackling beneath the flames.

"So, he still died?" Lex leaned over the pool table and gently nudged the cue ball forward.

Crack.

After sinking the last ball, Lex straightened and looked at Jino, who was sprawled carelessly across the sofa, enjoying a maid feeding him little tangerines.

"Mmm." Jino bit into a tangerine, feeling the sweet-and-sour juice burst across his tongue as he said indistinctly, "That guy was too extreme. I don't think keeping him alive would've been a good thing."

Lex shrugged. To someone with his intelligence, there was a difference between a living and dead test subject, but not much of one.

"Fine, but that Clark..." Lex tossed aside his cue, picked up the expensive red wine on the table, took a sip, then spat it out.

"That's right. He's a Metahuman too." Jino shrugged. "His future achievements may reach heights as unimaginable to ordinary people as your intelligence."

"I didn't expect you to rate him so highly." Lex raised an eyebrow. He believed he was the smartest man in the world, without question.

"Because he saved your life, so I gave him some points for that." Jino rolled his eyes.

"Speaking of which..." Lex scratched his bald head. "How do you think I should repay him?"

"Give him an expensive sports car? I remember high school students like that sort of thing."

But Lex seemed troubled as he continued to himself, "I remember Father once discussed buying the Kents' farm when I was little."

"Even when he offered an astronomical price, the Kents refused."

For Lex, money was never a problem. Owing someone a favor, on the other hand, was more unbearable to a proud man like him than death itself. That was why he was eager to repay the life-saving debt he owed.

"I think you can make them accept a gift." Jino chuckled.

Lex frowned slightly, because Jino's expression was far too familiar.

Whenever this little bastard wore that smile, the next thing out of his mouth was always a jab at Lex.

"Want to make a bet?" Jino lightly pressed a hand against the maid's red lips, keeping the orange juice on them. "I can make the Kents accept your gift."

The blonde, blue-eyed maid was also very attentive. She stuck out her little tongue, gazed at Jino with seductive eyes, and licked the orange juice from the corner of her lips.

Lex folded his arms and turned a blind eye to Jino teasing the maid.

His little brother looked like a carefree playboy, but in truth, he only flirted and never crossed the line. He was still a virgin even now.

Lex pondered silently.

He was rather curious whether Jino was telling the truth. He had met Jonathan before. The man was righteous and stubborn, with principles of his own.

Put nicely, he had standards. Put less nicely, he was incredibly stubborn—like a rock in a latrine, both smelly and hard. Yet Jino claimed he could make the Kents accept a gift?

Lex remained skeptical.

"Sure. What are we betting?" Lex sneered, completely unfazed.

"The contact information for all those assassins in your phone." Jino finally revealed his true aim.

"You want to kill someone? If there's anyone you want dead, you can just tell me." Lex frowned. Honestly, he did not want Jino getting too close to the people of the Dark Worlds.

"I'm not killing anyone. I just need to find some people to handle a few things." Jino shook his head without explaining further.

Really, he was just curious whether his brother had the contact information for the DC Universe's famous assassins.

For instance, the League of Assassins—or even the legendary Deathstroke.

Why was he curious?

Because they were all walking points.

As a man born at the finish line in Rome, Jino was no lunatic bent on destroying or conquering the world. The education he had received as an ordinary citizen in China in his previous life also made it impossible for him to become scum. But his determination to grow stronger had never changed.

There was no such thing as strong enough, only stronger. And to become stronger, he needed points provided by the Negative Emotions of powerful people. That was Jino's logic.

After hearing Jino's words, Lex frowned thoughtfully. But after thinking it over, the clever bald man nodded.

"Fine. I believe you can handle these matters. Let's make the bet."

As he spoke, Lex turned his head toward the garage outside the window. "I seem to remember there's a Cadillac in the garage?"

It was a brand-new day. When Jino opened his eyes and woke up on his soft, three-meter-wide bed, the obedient maids had already prepared breakfast.

They brought the steaming food to his bedside. Jino ate a simple breakfast of seagull egg omelet and milk, silently criticizing the Ziben Family's plain and unpretentious lifestyle.

After getting dressed, Jino picked up the Cadillac keys from the table. After saying goodbye to Lex, he drove toward school.

As he passed Kent Farm, Jino happened to see Clark waiting for the school bus.

But Clark seemed to be in a terrible mood. His face was clouded over, as though someone owed him a million dollars.

As the car drew near Clark, Jino heard the system announcement in his mind.

Negative Emotions from Clark Kent +50, +50.

"What's going on?" Jino was startled. Early in the morning, Clark's Negative Emotions were showering the system with points. But remembering that this was teenage Clark Kent, he had some guesses.

There were only three things teenagers cared about: pride, money, and girls.

Any of those three could have been why Clark was in a bad mood.

Seeing Clark's dejected expression, Jino guessed it was probably the last one. Poor innocent Clark might have suffered a romantic setback.

As he thought that, Jino slammed down on the accelerator.

The roar of the red SUV interrupted Clark's thoughts. The previous night, while using his telescope as usual to observe his goddess, Clark had personally witnessed Lana Lang kissing Whitney, whose broken arm was in a cast. It had left Clark in a terrible mood.

"Hey, Clark." Jino lightly tapped the brakes and stopped the large SUV in front of Clark. Raising an eyebrow playfully, he patted the passenger seat. "Waiting for the school bus again?"

Come on, how could he possibly let a walking point machine get away?

The red SUV stopped in front of Clark. Jino killed the engine and pushed open the door.

"This is for you." Jino tossed over the keys in his hand as he walked toward Clark.

"What?" Clark looked utterly confused, instinctively catching the car keys Jino had thrown with his right hand.