From the start of school until now, several months had passed, and winter had arrived. The daily temperature in Smallville was around three degrees below zero. People in all kinds of winter clothes strolled along the clean, tidy streets, filling them with laughter and cheerful chatter.
Dilos had long since changed out of the clothes he'd worn when he left the nursing home. He wore black leather boots, dark blue fitted jeans, a brown crew-neck shirt, and a black hooded leather jacket.
He walked along the street, expressionless, watching the steady stream of people pass by. Some nearby whispered about him and pointed. Others tried to approach him and strike up a conversation, but before they could reach him, Dilos had already moved away.
Some took pictures of him on their phones and posted them online, boasting that they'd seen a bestselling novelist. Others, driven by their own spiteful motives, posted photos and badmouthed him.
Then came the same old argument between fans and haters.
Dilos knew nothing about any of it, and even if he had, he wouldn't have cared. He was still thinking about everything Cassandra had told him.
Could he change the course of other people's futures? Dilos thought that made sense. Under normal circumstances, he shouldn't have existed in this world. So from the moment he appeared, his personality and abilities were bound to change the course of other people's futures.
As for Dilos's own future, no one could see it. That meant it was unclear whether it would turn out well or badly.
The irony was that he'd always wanted to steer clear of talk about the future and fate. Dilos worried that if everything about him had already been decided, he'd be no different from a chess piece in someone else's hands.
Yet when this master of prophecy told him she couldn't see his future, he felt a vague sense of disappointment and loss. He wanted a few hints about what lay ahead, too, so he could change himself and breeze through life as if he were cheating.
"Honestly, I must be feeling way too insecure lately if I'm thinking of relying on things like that." Dilos gave his head an amused scratch and scoffed at himself.
"No matter what, strength is what matters most. When you're not strong enough, you feel uneasy. And in the face of absolute power, no matter how dangerous the future is, it's nothing!"
As Dilos thought this, the stony expression he'd worn for hours finally turned into a smile. His face radiated confidence and anticipation for the future.
Feeling a surge of exhilaration, Dilos thought everything around him looked brighter for some reason. He glanced at the fans nearby—mostly women—who pretended to sip tea or admire the scenery while sneaking looks at him from the corners of their eyes. Amused, he hummed a tune with a gentle, cheerful lilt, then quickly left, taking a winding route to shake off the fans who seemed to enjoy following him.
The next morning, at the Sullivan home.
Chloe looked at Dilos, who seemed to be in high spirits, and couldn't help smiling.
"Did something good happen? I remember you seemed pretty unhappy yesterday. Now you're so cheerful—don't tell me you have a girlfriend?" Chloe teased, a glint of mischief in her eyes.
"No, I've just made some new plans for the future." Dilos shook his head and smiled at Chloe. "Also, I asked Lex for a favor yesterday. He got me a part-time position as an assistant to Dr. Curtis Connors, the biologist."
"Curtis Connors?" Chloe's eyes widened. "You mean the giant of genetic engineering? The man who worked at Osborn Corp for years and developed the Bone Healing Serum with Norman Osborn, then recently resigned for reasons no one knows?"
Dilos grinned. "That's right!"
"Congratulations!" Chloe was happy for him, too. She knew very well that her cousin had wanted to intern at Osborn Corp because he hoped to learn from Dr. Curtis Connors. But after Connors resigned recently and took a professorship at Metropolis University in New York, Osborn Corp's high school internship program had lost its appeal for Dilos.
As for becoming Dr. Curtis Connors's assistant, that would have been impossible unless Dilos skipped ahead to college. But if Dr. Curtis Connors offered him a position, that was another matter.
"By the way, why are you collecting all this?" Dilos suddenly noticed the stack of clippings in Chloe's hand. He glanced at it and saw that they were all about the case of a young pianist who had murdered people decades ago.
"Uh..." Chloe froze for a moment. Under Dilos's knife-sharp gaze, she looked a little uneasy. "Uh, it's just for a school paper..."
Dilos immediately called her out. "Chloe, I don't even need to use my abilities to tell. Just based on your facial microexpressions, I can see you're definitely lying."
Chloe looked even more awkward. Dilos stepped closer and stared straight at her. "Did Clark find another bizarre case, and now you need to look up information for him?"
Chloe pressed her lips together but said nothing. That was enough to tell Dilos the answer.
Dilos looked at his cousin and rubbed his forehead, exasperated. How had that blockhead Clark managed to win the heart of his sweet little cousin?
He was sure Chloe had spent more time with Clark than any other girl had, yet that idiot was always interested in Lana, whom he'd spent far less time with.
"What is it this time?" Dilos's voice gave nothing away, but he felt his temple twitching. Before he knew it, anger was rising in his chest.
Knowing Clark, that idiot had probably stumbled onto another "evil" incident and needed Chloe to dig up information so he could "fight for justice."
"I'm sure I've told you not to get involved in things like this. You have no way to protect yourself." Dilos's voice grew angry. "You remember how you nearly got burned to death by that maniac with superpowers last time, don't you?"
Feeling the terrifying authority that had suddenly radiated from her cousin, Chloe hunched her shoulders and looked at Dilos timidly. "I know, but..."
"But Clark asked you to?" Dilos interrupted. Chloe guiltily turned her head aside, then seemed to gather her courage. Bracing herself against Dilos's sharp gaze, she said:
"I know what you're going to say. I'm just curious, that's all. You know, yesterday at the nursing home, an old man under Lana's care disappeared near the little lake. They searched everywhere but couldn't find him. Then that night, there was a murder. The victim was strangled with a piano wire and had his face covered. This is today's newspaper."
As she spoke, Chloe handed Dilos a newspaper and laid several clippings in front of him. "The missing old man was named Harry Falk. He murdered someone decades ago, using the same method. This clipping shows what he looked like when he was young."
"And most importantly, this!" Chloe's voice rose as she pointed excitedly at the young man in the photo. "Clark, Pete, Lana, and I saw this man at a restaurant yesterday. Do you know what that means?"
"So your brilliant mind concluded that Harry Falk might have used some kind of youth-restoring drug to regain his youth, then gone on a murder spree?"
As Dilos spoke, Chloe gave him a look that said, "That's right! Now hurry up and praise my high IQ."
Dilos narrowed his eyes ominously. Chloe noticed and gave a bitter smile, then hung her head miserably and fell silent.
"You're really curious about this strange case, aren't you?"
"Huh?" Chloe was puzzled. She looked up at her cousin and saw that his somber expression had somehow turned into a sunny smile.
His smile looked so warm and bright, yet Chloe felt her heart thumping nervously.
"Since you're so curious..." Dilos's tone had softened, and he deliberately paused. Chloe's heart leaped, and she pricked up her ears to listen.
Is my luck finally changing? Is Dilos going to let me get involved in this case?
Chloe was secretly thrilled, since it would mean another chance to see Clark. But before she could enjoy the thought, she felt a sharp pain in her ear. Dilos pinched it and delivered a verdict that left her thoroughly crestfallen.
"You can stay home and gather information for me. I'll handle this. If you find anything new, let me know by phone. Once the case is solved, I'll write you a twenty-word report on it. And I'll also have a long talk with you about how trustworthy your last promise was! And about you and Clark!!"
Before you continue