The Demon Dilos

Lex did not agree to Dilos's proposal immediately, but Dilos knew he was tempted. The seed of the idea had been planted in his mind, waiting only to take root and sprout.

However, Lex was not one of those hot-headed fools who acted without thinking. He was a mature, witty young man with a sharp business mind. Maintaining his composure, he indicated to Dilos that he would observe from the shadows and provide assistance where appropriate.

"If you can prove your worth, I will support you fully. If you cannot, then I will treat today as if it never happened."

Those were Lex's exact words, and they defined his stance.

Although the process had not been smooth, Dilos knew this was the best possible outcome for the time being.

He couldn't help but recall yesterday, when he stopped that young girl and saw the undisguised look in the eyes of the surrounding crowd. A heavy feeling settled in Dilos's heart.

He had witnessed these people spewing insults without hesitation, calling her a "damn mutant," a "filthy mutant," and a "disgusting, terrifying monster."

Dilos, who had originally intended to send the girl straight to jail, hesitated, then made a quick decision. Without further delay, he unleashed his enhanced mental abilities, piercing directly into the glowing mental clusters of the onlookers! He tore out a small thread of substance from each and destroyed it.

These threads were the memories of the crowd; by crushing them with his mental energy, he could force these people to lose parts of their memory. This was a mental technique Dilos had discovered during his recovery period.

To be honest, Dilos's mental power was not strong enough to do this directly. But when he channeled his internal energy into his mind, his mental abilities were briefly amplified several times over, allowing him to perform such a feat.

However, Dilos preferred not to use this trick, as the cost was that his mental and physical strength would remain weak and lethargic for three days. Long-term use would cause permanent damage to his body.

Still, he had no time to hesitate. After handing his car keys to Chloe and telling her to go home first, he hoisted the unconscious girl over his shoulder and took her to the police station.

As for the onlookers, Dilos's actions had only erased their memories of the last few minutes. The impact on them was minimal; at most, they would feel mentally dazed for a few minutes while their memories were being wiped.

Once the police reviewed the street surveillance and received the report from the bank, they naturally detained the girl. The advantage was that with the police handling it directly, the news would not spread as quickly.

During this interval, Dilos called Lex, who was attending a meeting at the fertilizer plant, to explain the situation and plead for the girl. As far as Dilos knew, the local police were more or less under the control of the Luthor family. Before things escalated, finding the right person to handle it was the best course of action.

Dilos felt very comfortable leaving the cleanup to Lex; if Lex couldn't handle it, then no one else in this town could help him.

In an abandoned factory in Smallville, the girl, now released without charges, was brought here by Dilos.

Looking at the girl before him, Dilos felt a sense of irony. If he remembered correctly, it seemed that all the recent super-powered criminals originated from Smallville High, whether they were students or coaches.

That's right, this girl was Tina Greer, a student at Smallville High, the same age as Dilos.

Dilos watched Tina, whose face was filled with wariness and hatred, and offered a harmless smile. "Don't be nervous. I don't have any malicious intent."

Tina scoffed, "No malicious intent? Then why did you capture me? And bring me to a place like this? What exactly do you want?"

"No, no, no~" Dilos shook his finger, his smile deepening. "First of all, you impersonated my friend to rob a bank. Not only that, but you used his face to threaten the manager with an M500 revolver and stole one hundred thousand dollars from his account. You wanted my friend to pay for what you did, and that won't do. Although the matter is resolved, it still caused harm to him and the people involved."

"So what?" Tina said with disdain. "He's a rich man, one of the 'bloodsuckers' of Luthor Corp. Taking his money..."

"Is normal?" Dilos interrupted her loudly, finishing her thought. His expression turned mocking. "Miss Tina Greer, you don't seem to realize your situation. Do you remember how the police caught you? Do you need me to remind you how you were released?"

Listening to his words and feeling the coldness inadvertently leaking from his tone, Tina suddenly felt afraid. Only now did she remember that it was this very person who had knocked her out with a single blow. Even if it was a sneak attack, there was no denying this man was formidable. And he actually had the means to get her released without charges...

"Do you know? The people out there are going crazy wanting to catch a 'mutant' like you." Dilos's voice sounded calm, yet it carried an inexplicable, chilling pressure.

"I was right there. The onlookers were screaming, demanding to kill you, you little monster~"

As if picturing the scene, the look in Tina's eyes flickered. Thinking of her impulsiveness and the potential consequences of her failure, cold sweat began to break out on her back.

But Dilos wasn't finished. He suddenly flashed a harmless smile, one that looked terrifying to Tina.

"Tina, you are special. Really, I'm not lying to you, you are truly special. Your ability is so intriguing, especially to someone like me who is particularly interested in biological genetics..."

With every step Dilos took, Tina retreated. She felt a chill creeping up her spine, freezing her body and making her increasingly terrified. She considered running.

But would Dilos let her run? He feigned an adjustment of his glasses, and with a deliberate aim, the lenses focused on the iron door behind Tina, firing a powerful electromagnetic pulse at full capacity.

With a loud pop, Tina jumped in shock; she felt as if her heart had stopped for a split second. She lunged forward, instinctively looking back. She then discovered that the iron door behind her had suddenly erupted into two balls of fire, which quickly engulfed the entire door.

Before she could react, she felt a wave of scorching heat at her feet. She screamed and instinctively tried to back away, but tripped and fell to the ground.

Noticing the two waist-high flames that had suddenly appeared at her feet, and Dilos standing behind them, even a dull mind like Tina's realized who had caused this. She sat slumped on the ground, scrambling backward, her eyes filled with terror and tears.

"Please, don't kill me." The fear of death forced Tina to compromise. She kept backing away until she could go no further, blocked by the flames, while Dilos pressed in on her.

Faced with this dire situation, Tina's voice was laced with a fearful sob. "Please don't kill me. As long as you don't kill me, I'll do whatever you want..."

Seeing that the time was right, Dilos stopped pressing her. He offered a harmless smile.

"No problem, Miss Tina. You see, as long as you are willing to cooperate and talk, we can resolve things amicably."

Tina didn't speak, only looking at Dilos timidly with her red, swollen eyes. The latter continued:

"As I said before, you are special, Tina. So I need you to do a few things, including letting me draw a vial of your blood to study its mysteries." Dilos's smile was radiant. "But please rest assured, you won't go unrewarded for this. I heard your family is a bit short on money. In return, I will pay you a certain amount."

"Also..." Dilos mused slightly. "I hope this remains a secret between the two of us. I don't want to hear any strange rumors, unless you want to see for yourself if you can survive in the flames..."