With Lex

The sun sank below the horizon, and moonlight blanketed the earth.

Jino and Clark's conversation ended on a sour note.

Clark insisted that the greater one's abilities, the greater one's responsibilities, and that Metahumans should restrain their powers.

Jino held the opposite view. He would not use his immense strength to harm innocent civilians, but when it came to enemies who threatened him, he would show no mercy in eliminating them.

Outside Smallville, on the road near Luthor Manor, the sports car turned and drove into the estate.

Old Butler had been waiting for some time.

Jino tossed the car keys to Butler for parking and strode into the château.

An ornate chandelier hung in the vast living room. Lex sat in a chair, swirling a wineglass. He raised it for a sip of red wine, then shot Jino a smug look. "Château Lafite. An authentic taste."

"Too bad you're underage and can't drink."

Jino sat in his usual seat. A steaming steak lay on his plate, its surface coated in rosemary sauce that gave off an enticing aroma.

"Not being able to drink red wine doesn't make me angry, Lex. I don't like the stuff at all." Jino shook his head, cut into the steak with his knife and fork, and put a piece into his mouth to savor.

"By the way, there's something I need to tell you. Jeremy woke up."

Lex raised a brow and set down his wineglass. "I was just about to tell you the same thing."

"This morning, Jerome, who was in a VIP ward in Metropolis, suddenly woke up and then vanished instantly. After that, the entire hospital lost power for half a minute."

"Vanished instantly?" Jino frowned. "You mean he gained superpowers like I did?"

Lex rested his chin on his hands and nodded. "I'm afraid so."

"That meteor shower years ago created far too many unknowns and accidents. Including your terrifying ability."

"That's why we came back here, brother." Jino glanced at Lex's bald head. "If we can unravel the mystery of the meteors, maybe your lost hair can grow back."

Lex's face darkened at Jino's mockery. "We agreed not to talk about my hair."

"My mistake, my mistake." Jino smiled and raised his hands in surrender. Whenever his brother got angry, he would act like a little girl and ignore him for days.

Well, from a certain perspective, Lex was a dark, brooding, damaged tsundere boy.

"But Jerome actually gained superpowers." Jino stroked his chin and looked at Lex. "Lex, be careful lately. At school this afternoon, I received a threat from Jerome."

"A threat?" Lex's expression turned grim as he guessed Jerome's intentions. "Because of what happened thirteen years ago? He thinks we stood by and watched him die."

"That's right." Jino nodded, helpless in the face of Jerome's deranged way of thinking.

"Master, perhaps I shouldn't interrupt your dinner." Old Butler Jarvis, dressed in a tailcoat with one hand behind his back, spoke politely. "However, a group of police officers has arrived outside the estate. They intend to question the young master."

At Jarvis's report, Lex could no longer sit still and sprang to his feet.

"Question him?"

He looked at Jino. "What happened? Was your ability exposed?"

At that moment, Lex was already considering whether he needed to hire assassins to silence everyone who knew, ensuring Jino's safety.

Jino shook his head.

"No, it wasn't."

"I broke the bully's arm as quickly as possible. No one noticed, and those cops will only be completely baffled."

Only then did Lex calm down. As family, he knew Jino's strength well, and he knew even better that the world was not ready to welcome Metahumans.

Lex turned to Old Butler. "Butler, tell those officers that we don't have time to cooperate with their investigation."

As the eldest son of the immensely powerful Luthor Family, Lex was not afraid of the consequences of refusing to cooperate with the police.

Old Butler nodded and left. After a while, he returned to report, "As you wished, the officers have left."

In free America, capitalists had considerable influence. The Smallville police did not dare offend LuthorCorp, a local taxpaying enterprise.

And that was the power of capital.

After getting nowhere at Luthor Manor, the officers left in embarrassment. Their police car wound through the roads before arriving at Kent Farm, Clark's home.

Unlike their deferential behavior at the manor, the two local officers went straight to Jonathan's door and pounded harshly on it. "Mr. Jonathan Kent! We're Smallville police. We need your son to cooperate with our investigation."

Inside, the family eating around the wooden table exchanged looks. Martha gazed worriedly at Clark, instinctively thinking that her son had caused some kind of disaster.

Jonathan signaled for his wife to remain calm, then glanced at the somewhat panicked Clark. He got up and opened the door, using his body to block the officers. "Officers, I'm Jonathan Kent. What did Clark do?"

The lead officer took out a small notebook. "Something happened at Smallville High School. The football captain in the same grade as your son suffered an inexplicable broken arm during a fight."

"His arm was shattered beyond repair. He'll never play football again."

"According to witnesses, he had a conflict with the new transfer student, Jino Luthor."

"Your son attempted to stop the conflict and witnessed the entire incident."

The officer tried to exert pressure with an expressionless face. "We want to know what happened."

Listening to the officer's account and thinking of his son's terrifying abilities, Jonathan's face darkened terribly. He mistakenly believed Clark had broken Whitney's arm and crippled him.

After all, only his son possessed such terrifying power.

But years of raising him also made Jonathan believe that Clark was not the kind of person who would do such a thing.

For a moment, Jonathan was conflicted.

"Are you looking for me?"

At that moment, Clark, having heard the commotion, came to Jonathan's side and looked at the officers.

The two officers glanced at Clark.

"That's right, Clark. Do you know how Whitney received his injuries?"

Clark fell silent for a moment and met the two officers' gazes.

And his father Jonathan's suspicious stare. Clark felt hurt at that moment. He had not expected his father to suspect that he had done it.

Then he thought of his conversation with Jino not long ago.

The words Jino had said then—"A wild wolf may think that if it disguises itself as a hunting dog, the pack will accept it, but a wild wolf is still a wild wolf"—shook Clark to his core.

After a moment of silence, Clark made up his mind. He raised his head and stared at the two officers. "Sorry, I didn't know what happened either. Maybe Whitney's arm mysteriously breaking was some kind of paranormal incident."