Situation 1

When Dilos woke up, he found himself in a room done in warm shades of pink and blue.

He immediately felt stiff all over, and terribly itchy. His eyes instinctively drifted downward, and he helplessly realized he had become a "mummy." One arm and both legs were encased in thick casts, while his other arm, though not in a cast, was wrapped tightly in layers of bandages.

"Am I in a hospital?" Dilos glanced around at the equipment: a room decorated in warm colors, with an electronic monitor nearby to check his heartbeat.

What made him a little happy, though, was that he wasn't handcuffed. That meant the police hadn't given him trouble over the corpse beside him—the one that would have needed to be censored. He wasn't sure if that was really the reason, but he knew he wouldn't be in any trouble for now.

His eyes landed on the figure sitting in the chair beside him, and the sharpness in his gaze softened. Chloe sat with her arms folded, her head bowed as she slept.

Looking at her pale, haggard face, Dilos felt a warmth in his heart, along with a pang of concern.

Dilos had just started to move his hands and feet when, to his surprise, his whole body erupted in pain, as if ants were gnawing at him. He couldn't help crying out.

Though the sound was faint, it startled Chloe awake. She looked terrified, as if she'd seen something horrifying in a nightmare. She opened her mouth and took deep, rapid breaths, as if she'd suffocate if she didn't. After a while, she finally lifted her head, and her swollen, red eyes met Dilos's.

"Thank goodness, Dilos, you're awake!" Chloe hurried over and sat on the edge of the bed, looking at him with delight. "You were unconscious for three days. When I saw you, I thought you were dead..."

As she spoke, Chloe's voice began to choke up, making Dilos's heart ache.

He instinctively reached out to stroke Chloe's head, even though it made him hurt terribly.

"Come on, I'm fine now, aren't I?"

It took quite a while for Chloe to calm down.

"Dad nearly went out of his mind with worry. If Lex hadn't assured him over and over that you were okay, he would've quit his job to take care of you. But Lex gave Dad a month off, and he and I have been taking turns keeping watch here these past few days. He should be out getting takeout right now."

Dilos fell silent at that. Then, after a moment, he realized Chloe had kept mentioning Lex. Could it be...

He wondered about it, recalling the scene before he'd passed out, then asked, "Was it Lex who brought me here?"

Chloe nodded, then added, "Clark was there too."

"What about Jeremy?"

Chloe froze. Her expression turned uneasy, and it was a while before she answered. "Jeremy died. The police suspected you'd killed him and wanted to handcuff you. But Lex stopped them. He also got several lawyers to prove Jeremy was a Mutant. He'd intended to use his powers to kill someone, but his abilities spiraled out of control and killed him instead."

"Then Clark gave a statement on your behalf too. Considering the earlier incident where Jeremy attacked those three people, you were cleared of all charges and recognized as the victim. Jeremy's parents will also have to compensate you for your medical bills and other losses. So just focus on recovering."

Noticing the unease on Chloe's face, Dilos could more or less guess why. It probably had something to do with Jeremy's parents, since they were still alive.

There was something else, too... Dilos felt for Chloe's pulse and spoke softly.

The next second, Chloe started in shock, then lowered her head and fell silent. Seeing this, Dilos sighed. Chloe had always been very perceptive; how could she not have noticed something was off about what happened? So he said, "Your guess is right. I killed Jeremy."

Chloe's hand tightened, but she said nothing. Dilos continued, "Jeremy had completely lost his mind. He attacked me, and he attacked Clark too..."

He told Chloe what had happened afterward, piece by piece. He left out the fact that Clark had superpowers, though, and cut out certain details from the account.

"So even if time turned back and it all happened again, I'd still kill him. I'm no saint. I don't want to be killed out of nowhere by some lunatic. If..."

"I know." Chloe stopped him before he could continue, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Dilos. I just... I just can't come to terms with it. sobs If I hadn't been so nosy and looked up Jeremy's records, you wouldn't have gone to see Clark, and Jeremy wouldn't have attacked you... Then none of this would've happened. Your legs wouldn't have..."

Dilos knew his own condition better than anyone. Both his arms and legs had fractures of varying severity, though his legs were worse. Judging by modern medical standards, he'd end up disabled. But with the help of Tiger-Leopard Thunder Sound and the regulation of the vital energy in his body, these fractures were nothing to worry about. If all went well, he'd be back on his feet and running around in less than a month—and even stronger than before!

"This isn't your fault, Chloe. Besides, I practice Guoshu. Fractures this bad are nothing." Dilos tugged at the corners of his mouth, trying to give her a gentle smile. But his face hurt too, and the smile only made him look worse.

To his surprise, Chloe cut him off. "Dilos, just rest and recover for now. Lex said he'd find the best doctors in the country and get you back on your feet..."

No matter how much Dilos tried to explain, Chloe didn't believe he could heal his legs on his own. She thought he was saying it to comfort her and ease her guilt, so she firmly insisted that he get some rest, then went to contact Lex.

Dilos could only watch Chloe leave with a helpless look. In the end, he had no choice but to use Tiger-Leopard Thunder Sound to treat himself in secret.

But when he used Tiger-Leopard Thunder Sound, he decided he'd be better off going home to use it. Besides the excruciating pain all over his body, it made a muffled rumbling sound, like thunder, and the bed beneath him shook violently.

He'd better keep a low profile in the hospital. If he made too much noise, he might attract S.H.I.E.L.D. or someone like that. People who flaunted their abilities had already been taken down long ago. Even Superman wasn't that brazen. So keeping a low profile, pretending to be weak while hiding your strength, and quietly leveling up—that was the way to go!