The Sky Cleared, the Rain Stopped, and Coach Watt Rose to His Feet

Evening.

Inside the newspaper clubroom.

"Phew, finally got everything sorted."

Chloe dusted off her hands. Neatly stacked newspapers lay at her feet.

The girl turned around and winked at Jino with a smile. "Thanks for the help, big shot~"

"Just lending a hand." Jino shrugged as he read a newspaper.

Chloe asked curiously, "What are you looking at?"

Jino turned the paper over so Chloe could see it too. "That meteor shower that hit the town thirteen years ago. Lana's parents died in that disaster."

"Yeah, but I think she's pretty happy now." Chloe sighed. "For his goddess, Clark even skipped the club's weekly cleaning duty."

Right after school, Clark had run off to the place where Lana worked, which left Chloe somewhat annoyed. "That bastard puts girls before friends."

The two chatted as they walked out of the school building.

A gust of night wind swept over them, making Chloe shiver. She frowned and complained, "It's really cold out."

"Help!"

A piercing scream interrupted their conversation. Jino frowned slightly and looked toward the sound.

His gaze passed through the thick concrete wall and several old cars. The boy saw a car engulfed in flames—and he had met the person inside not long ago.

"Principal Guan?"

Frowning, Jino smashed the glass case by the entrance and took out a fire extinguisher. "Let's save him."

Chloe grabbed an extinguisher as well. "O-okay!"

The two hurried to the scene of the fire, the parking lot to the right of the school building.

Against the deep night, the flames rising into the sky were dazzlingly bright.

"Oh my God, there's someone inside!" Chloe's eyes widened. She saw a figure in the car screaming miserably and repeatedly slamming into the door in an attempt to escape.

The girl panicked slightly and tightened her grip on the extinguisher.

"What do we do?"

Jino strode toward the burning car, pulling the extinguisher pin as he spoke curtly. "Put out the fire. Save him."

Jino was willing to help ordinary innocent people. He wasn't some psychopath who enjoyed watching an innocent life burn to death right before his eyes.

Jino raised the nozzle in his hand and aimed it at the blazing flames.

"Pshhh!"

Thick dry powder sprayed over the flames. Under the continuous barrage, the fierce fire was brought under control.

He tossed aside the empty extinguisher.

Then he looked inside the car.

A minute had passed since they heard the cries for help, and by now the interior had caught fire as well.

The flames had ignited the interior trim, sending up billowing black smoke. Some had even spread along the seats to Principal Guan's body, using his suit to ignite again.

"Save me, save me!" Principal Guan's voice was as miserable as a wailing ghost. Flames scorched his skin, and the pain made him keep pounding on the window as he tried to escape.

With a cold expression, Jino grabbed the door handle, only to find that it would not open.

Making his decision at once, Jino raised his fist.

Bang!

With one punch, he shattered the window. Jino lightly hooked his fingers around the car door and gave it a slight pull.

Crack!

The sturdy door was easily torn open by brute force. Ignoring the thick smoke pouring out of the car, Jino grabbed the wailing Fire Man and threw him onto the ground. He then took the extinguisher Chloe handed him and put out the flames on the man's body.

As the flames died out, a bloody, mangled face entered Jino's view.

The man, who had once had a head of jet-black hair, now had only a charred, reddened scalp left. He looked terrifying and grotesque.

Jino's expression turned grave. Frowning, he turned his head away.

"His skin has been severely burned. Chloe, go make a call. We need help."

"Huh? Okay!"

Chloe dropped the extinguisher and hurried toward the classrooms, where there was a landline she could use to contact the fire department and hospital.

"Strange flames." Jino glanced at the car, which had nearly burned into a wreck, then seemed to sense something and looked toward the one-story school building nearby.

Swish.

The sliding window of the far-right office on the first floor closed. In that brief instant, Jino clearly saw the person inside.

It was Coach Watt from that morning.

"An arsonist."

Jino narrowed his eyes.

Late at night.

"Bzzzz."

Fire trucks, police cars, and ambulances howled as they raced toward the school.

On the other side of the road, a silver-white Bugatti roared toward a two-story villa.

Jino lightly tapped the brakes, and the Bugatti came to a gentle stop outside the villa.

"Thanks for taking me home." Chloe pushed open the car door and thanked him with pursed lips. "Would you like to come up and sit for a while? No one's home."

"No."

Jino got out as well and tossed the sports car keys to Chloe. "Drive it back to school for me tomorrow."

Chloe caught the keys in a fluster, looking puzzled. "Wait, where are you going?"

"To investigate something."

Jino did not hide it from Chloe. His azure eyes gazed darkly toward the school, where the lights still blazed.

"I suspect this fire was deliberate."

He already had a suspect in mind. Given Coach Watt's vindictive nature, that guy would very likely make a move against him or his family, so he had to go back and keep an eye on Watt.

"What do you mean?"

"Get some rest early." Jino did not waste any more time. Under Chloe's hesitant gaze, he turned and left, vanishing into the night.

Inside the school.

Because of the sudden fire, quite a few fire trucks and police cars were parked on campus.

Several police officers were holding notepads as they questioned Watt, tonight's witness.

The crafty fat man narrowed his small eyes and put on an expression of complete ignorance.

"I don't know, officer. When the fire broke out, I was watching TV in my office. I'm deeply saddened by what happened to Principal Guan."

The two officers nodded in agreement and regret. "Yes, no one wants to see something like this. Principal Guan is truly pitiful."

"Forty percent of his skin was burned. Whether he can pull through is still unknown. All we can do is pray that God watches over him."

Watt beside them assumed a listening posture and said regretfully, "Yes. May God watch over him."

Since Watt really had been in his office when the fire broke out, and the police had found no signs of arson in the car, they hastily ruled that the fire had been caused by aging wiring inside the vehicle.

The fire was thus closed as a case of vehicle deterioration. After the police left, Watt returned to his office as well.

A smug smile hung on the old fat man's face. He turned on his record player and placed the record of "Napoleon March" onto it.

As soothing yet stirring music filled the room, Watt slowly sipped red wine from a glass.

"Next..."

He slowly raised his head, holding the wineglass in one hand with the other behind his back like a victorious king. His gaze turned to the town map on his office wall and settled on the gas station east of town. "It's time for that damned Luthor Family!"