What Was Your Purpose in Coming to Earth?

A Toyota Corolla belching thick smoke, flames darting everywhere inside, charged toward the car Eric was driving like an out-of-control wild horse.

Through the billowing smoke, Eric could even see the driver, his entire body on fire, letting out agonized screams.

Although Eric slammed on the brakes and swerved to evade it, the driver, engulfed in flames and stripped of reason, was crazily accelerating. There was a good chance they would be unable to avoid the collision.

The instant he sent the car into a drift, though it lasted only a flash, Eric's powerful senses made time around him slow to an extraordinary crawl, as if everything had been switched to slow motion.

Amid the piercing screech of tires scraping against the road, Eric pushed open the door and activated his Heat Vision!

"Sizzle!"

The nearly imperceptible Heat Vision, carrying immense energy, instantly struck the tires of the out-of-control Toyota Corolla.

With a thunderous bang, the tires melted by the Heat Vision exploded.

Already burning and now suffering a blowout at high speed, the Corolla finally spun completely out of control and crashed into the roadside guardrail.

With a bang, the guardrail shattered into pieces, and the car came to a complete stop.

In less than a second, Eric had opened the door, activated his Heat Vision, shut the door, and safely drifted the car to the side of the road. He moved so fast that Jonathan had not even seen what had happened.

"Whew!"

Amid the crackling flames, Jonathan gasped nervously for breath.

Before he could even react, Eric's high-speed drift had nearly made his heart stop.

Thankfully, he had fastened his seat belt.

After taking a deep breath, Jonathan glanced at the burning car in the distance, then turned to Eric and asked anxiously, "Are you okay, Eric?"

"I'm fine, Dad."

Eric unfastened his seat belt and answered calmly, glancing at the car that had crashed into the guardrail.

The driver inside had already been completely swallowed by the flames, dead beyond any doubt.

If Eric had not chosen to blow out the other car's tires with his Heat Vision, the man might have had a sliver of hope of surviving.

But—

Sorry. He had no intention of taking even the slightest risk for a stranger.

"There's a fire extinguisher in the trunk. I'll put out the fire, Eric. You call 911."

As he unfastened his seat belt, Jonathan looked toward the burning Toyota and spoke to Eric.

The burning car could still explode, and with flames this large, a fire extinguisher would be little more than a drop in the bucket. Naturally, Eric would not let his father take such a risk.

After stopping his father, he called the fire department and waited for the firefighters to put out the blaze, fulfilling his duty as an ordinary citizen.

After all the commotion, the two did not return to the farm until after eleven that night.

"Jonathan, why are you back so late?"

Martha had not gone to sleep. She had been waiting in the living room for her husband and younger son, and immediately came over when she saw them enter.

"Something happened on the road."

Jonathan took off his coat and sat down on the sofa with a weary expression, telling his wife how they had nearly been hit by an out-of-control car.

"Oh my God!"

Martha covered her mouth in shock. When she imagined what might have happened if Eric had failed to avoid it, her face went pale with fright.

She stood and pulled Eric to her side. After confirming that he was unharmed, she asked her husband, "Did they identify the driver? Was it one of those street racers, or some drunk driver?"

Jonathan hesitated before saying to Martha, "It was Vice Principal Guan from Clark and Eric's school."

"Vice Principal Guan?"

Martha froze when she heard the driver's name.

"Yes, though the police can't be completely certain. The body was burned beyond recognition."

Jonathan spoke in a somewhat heavy tone. "Based on the car model and license plate number, the police have tentatively identified the deceased as Vice Principal Guan."

"That's such sad news. I spoke with Vice Principal Guan before. He was a very good person."

Martha looked saddened.

Vice Principal Guan had only recently transferred to Smallville High School. Though he was of Chinese descent, his teaching and management style had been well received by the school board and the students' parents.

"Though we don't know what happened, I believe the police will uncover the truth."

Jonathan held his wife's hand and comforted her softly.

Meanwhile, Eric, who had been sitting silently on the sofa, fell into deep thought.

From what he had observed, the fire had spread from inside the car outward, which meant it had not been caused by a malfunction in the vehicle itself.

In other words, Vice Principal Guan had been deliberately burned to death?

An arsonist?

And quite possibly an arsonist at Smallville High School?!

Things had suddenly become a little more complicated!

Eric stood and looked out into the pitch-black darkness beyond the window.

The night wind and raindrops battered the glass together as the heavy rain that had been brewing all night finally poured down!

"So, Clark, you're telling me Eric could lift a water-filled school bus from the bottom of a river, but he couldn't drag someone out of a burning car?"

Chloe asked Clark in a deeply skeptical tone.

"Maybe... it was too late?!"

Pete guessed from beside them.

The three stood on campus, discussing last night's "Vice Principal Guan Dies Tragically in Car Accident" incident.

"Mm-hmm. For an alien who shoots lasers from his eyes, I don't believe he'd be hindered by objective circumstances."

Chloe shrugged, unconvinced by Pete's explanation.

"Chloe!"

Clark looked around nervously before lowering his voice. "You promised me you'd keep it secret. You wouldn't tell anyone about me and Eric."

"Of course."

Chloe raised her camera and flashed Clark a playful smile. "Don't forget that I'm also a reporter. I agreed to keep it secret, but only if you tell me whether you and Eric are aliens, and what your purpose in coming to Earth is."

"I wish I could."

Clark said helplessly, "But Chloe, believe me, I don't know any more than you do."

"What a shame. I thought this year's Pulitzer Prize was about to come knocking."

Chloe put on a disappointed expression, making the clueless Clark nervous again.

"Alright, back to the point. If Vice Principal Guan was really deliberately set on fire, then I think I have a prime suspect."

Chloe put aside her teasing mood and said seriously, "Vice Principal Guan had always been at odds with Coach Watt. They even argued over football players cheating on exams. If Coach Watt did it, then everything makes sense."

"I don't think Coach Watt is that kind of person."

Clark frowned. "Chloe, you can't decide he would do something like this just because you've always been biased against him. That's unfair to Coach Watt."

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