Lex Luthor

Dilos estimated the time it would take for Clark to recover. To avoid arousing Clark's suspicion, he turned back, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Alright, I think you've heard enough for now. Go back and give it some real thought." After patting Clark's shoulder, Dilos prepared to leave; after all, he had already achieved his goal.

Screeeeeech!

Just as he finished speaking, Dilos saw Clark's pupils contract sharply, as if he had seen something terrifying. Almost at the same moment, he heard the piercing sound of tires screeching against the pavement. A sense of crisis surged within him, stimulating his brain frantically, as if he were about to die at any second. As the sound grew closer, that feeling of impending death intensified.

There was no time to think. Dilos forced his muscles and bones to move at their absolute maximum speed. He raised his hand and pressed it against Clark's chest, attempting to shove him away. Clark tried to do the same, but because Dilos was right beside him, Clark was naturally unable to use his abilities due to the blue kryptonite Dilos carried.

Dilos's muscles vibrated violently. He reached Clark's shoulder first and shoved him six or seven meters away! Then, using the counter-force of that movement, he leaped upward, snapping his waist muscles to gain height. The combination of these forces launched him four or five meters into the air.

A moment later, Dilos felt a gust of wind pass beneath him. The next instant, the object carrying that wind smashed through the bridge railing at high speed and plunged into the lake.

Dilos flipped and landed steadily in a tiger-style stance. His first instinct was to look at Clark, whom he had shoved away. To his surprise, the future Mr. Superman seemed to have lost his abilities temporarily due to the blue kryptonite, causing him to pass out the moment he hit the ground.

"Ugh..." Realizing he had accidentally sabotaged Clark, Dilos rubbed his forehead in frustration. He looked down at the lake, just in time to see the tail of the car disappearing beneath the surface.

"Tsk." Dilos clicked his tongue in annoyance. He felt a flicker of anger; no one would be in a good mood after nearly being hit by a car. If he hadn't spent years practicing martial arts, giving him the reflexes to react and dodge, he would have been a goner!

"Damn it. If I don't squeeze some 'emotional distress' money out of you, I'll write my name backward." Dilos curled his lip, quickly stashed the syringe from his sleeve into a pre-prepared box in his backpack, dropped the bag, and dove into the lake.

Once in the water, Dilos engaged his muscles, using a fish-like swimming technique to descend rapidly. He reached the bottom of the eight-meter-deep lake in just one second.

Looking at the silver Porsche, now battered and mangled from the impact, Dilos immediately locked eyes with the driver, who had already lost consciousness.

The car was severely damaged, and the door and roof around the driver's seat were badly deformed. Trying to pry the door open would take too much time and energy. Dilos struck out with his palms, creating lines in the water as he slammed them into the shattered windshield, smashing it completely.

He unbuckled the man's seatbelt, pulled him out through the window, and kicked his legs to swim back to the surface.

As soon as they reached the shore, he pressed his hand against the man's back. He channeled his internal an-jin (dark energy), sending a burst of force into the man's body.

Blech!

With that, the man's eyes snapped open. The water was expelled from his lungs, and his stopped breathing returned to normal.

The man was a bald Caucasian, looking to be about twenty-three or twenty-four. He lay on the bank, gasping for air as if he couldn't get enough oxygen. After a long while, he turned his head to look at Dilos.

"You... you," the man stared at Dilos, unable to collect his thoughts. With a pained expression, he finally managed to say, "You jumped so high."

Dilos's mouth twitched at the comment. He retorted irritably, "If I hadn't jumped that high, I would've been killed by you!"

"Uh..." The man's expression stiffened, and he gave an awkward smile. "I'm terribly sorry. I was in a rush to avoid a log lying across the road, and the car went out of control."

He then straightened up, reached out a hand toward Dilos, and offered a friendly smile. "I'm Lex. Lex Luthor. Thank you for saving my life."

"Lex Luthor?" Dilos muttered. He felt a sense of unease, a nagging feeling that he had forgotten something. Only then did he take a closer look at the man.

Handsome features, twenty-three or twenty-four years old, roughly 1.85 meters tall, wearing an expensive suit and leather shoes, sporting fingerless black gloves, and, of course, completely bald.

Bald, named Lex Luthor, and apparently wealthy...

It was only then that Dilos finally realized who was standing in front of him.

Holy crap, isn't this Superman's number one arch-nemesis, the scumbag Lex Luthor?! If I'd known, I wouldn't have saved him! Dilos was horrified, but his face remained impassive. He reached out and shook the man's hand.

"I'm Dilos. Dilos Sullivan. Are you the Lex Luthor from LuthorCorp?"

Even though he was certain of the man's identity, the social pleasantries were still necessary.

Lex smiled upon hearing this, appearing quite satisfied with the question.

"That's right. I think even if there are people with the same name in this world, there won't be a second Lex Luthor who is also bald." Lex joked wittily.

"Fair enough." Dilos shrugged. "But buddy, you need to drive slower next time. That stunt nearly scared me to death."

Dilos's tone was neither servile nor overbearing, as if he didn't care at all about the man's status. Lex gave an awkward smile and said nothing more.

All of this was witnessed by Clark, who was not far away. He had regained consciousness just as Dilos dove into the lake to save the man. Not long after, he saw Dilos bring Lex to the shore. He instinctively used his super-speed to run to the bank, but for some reason, he didn't approach the two of them.

He simply looked at Dilos with a complex expression, wondering in confusion:

Why did I pass out from just a shove like that?

A significant amount of time had passed. The police had arrived, and Chloe, who had been notified, scanned the area with red-rimmed eyes until she spotted the soaking-wet Dilos. A surge of anger rushed to her head, and she instinctively shouted:

"Who was the lunatic driving that car?!"