Greg trembled on the ground, his broken arms hanging uselessly as pain wracked his body. Yet when he lifted his head and saw Clark standing there almost unharmed—aside from some dirt on his clothes—his eyes widened in disbelief.
"You're… still alive?"
Clark ignored the question and turned toward Victor.
"Or we could hand him over to the police," he said carefully.
Victor already understood what Clark was thinking.
"We can't cross that line," Clark added with a serious expression. "We can't do something that would disappoint Mom and Dad."
Victor raised an eyebrow.
"And then what?" he replied calmly. "You want him to tell the police that there are two freak brothers living in this town who both have superhuman abilities?"
Clark froze.
"I…"
He hesitated.
He didn't want to bring trouble to the Kent family. But letting Victor kill Greg like this…
Clark instinctively rejected the idea.
Trying to reason with Greg wasn't realistic either. Even Clark knew that would be naïve.
"So what should we do?" Clark murmured helplessly.
Whoosh!
Suddenly—
Greg, who had been groaning in pain just moments earlier, exploded into motion.
Like a gust of wind, he shot across the road, kicking up dirt and dust as he sprinted toward the forest beyond the roadside slope.
Victor narrowed his eyes.
His powerful vision locked onto Greg instantly.
While Greg ran, Victor noticed something strange.
His arms… had completely healed.
"Insect-level vitality," Victor muttered.
Then he glanced at Clark.
"Clark. Why aren't you chasing him?"
Clark blinked, snapping back to reality.
If Greg escaped and later targeted their parents, the consequences would be disastrous.
This time Clark didn't hold back.
His body burst forward with explosive speed, chasing Greg at nearly the speed of sound. In the blink of an eye he appeared directly in front of Greg and blocked the path to the forest.
"Greg," Clark said firmly, "I can't let you go hurt anyone else."
Greg's attack earlier made sense now.
Clark and Greg had almost no interaction before.
The only real connection between them recently…
Was Lana.
Greg skidded to a stop.
"How are you so fast?" he demanded.
He had nearly reached the forest when Clark suddenly appeared in front of him. The shock made Greg slam on the brakes.
A small stone slipped from Greg's jacket pocket and bounced onto the ground nearby.
Greg turned his head.
Victor was already walking toward them slowly.
Somehow he had closed the distance and now stood about ten meters behind Greg.
Greg's heart sank.
One brother possessed monstrous strength.
The other was faster than a rocket.
For the first time since his mutation, Greg felt genuine regret.
He should never have confronted these two rivals before claiming his ideal mate and producing offspring.
[Regret from Greg +0.13, +0.09…]
"Ugh…"
Suddenly Clark groaned.
The strength drained from his body in an instant.
His knees buckled as he collapsed to the ground.
His gaze locked onto the stone lying a few meters away.
The rock had a dull gray exterior, but faint green crystals glowed inside.
Clark's face turned pale.
"A meteor fragment…"
It looked just like the kryptonite necklace Lana wore.
But the crystal in Lana's necklace was more than ten times larger.
Greg blinked in surprise.
He had assumed that meteor rocks might be connected to his mutation.
But he had never expected the stone to be Clark's weakness.
Greg's eyes flicked toward the rock.
He considered grabbing it and using it against Clark.
But then he remembered Victor standing behind him.
He abandoned the idea instantly.
Instead he turned and ran.
[Fear from Greg +0.22…]
"Pity," Victor said quietly.
He bent down and picked up a small stone from the roadside.
Then he threw it.
Whoosh!
The rock tore through the air with a sharp sonic boom.
The speed and force behind the throw were greater than an anti-materiel sniper round fired from a rifle.
The stone struck Greg's head.
Bang!
Greg had just reached the edge of the forest.
His head exploded like a smashed watermelon.
A violent shockwave burst through the trees, scattering leaves across the forest floor as red and white fragments splattered across the ground.
Clark stared in horror.
"Victor?!"
His voice trembled.
Victor lowered his arm calmly.
"I didn't have much choice."
Greg's emotional energy had already stopped.
He was completely dead.
Victor had initially hoped Greg might possess stronger regeneration.
If that were the case, Greg could have become another useful emotional energy generator.
"I wouldn't have killed him if he had regenerative abilities," Victor said casually.
After all, a living emotional generator was always more valuable than a corpse.
[Madness from Jerome +0.15, Hatred +0.11…]
Victor could only guess what it felt like to regain consciousness after years trapped in darkness as a vegetative patient.
But judging by Jerome's increasingly extreme emotional reactions, it probably wasn't pleasant.
Clark's voice suddenly rose.
"You killed him, Victor!"
His emotions were clearly shaken.
"You could have caught him! Or you could have taken the meteorite away and let me handle it!"
Clark clenched his fists.
If he had been more careful and avoided the kryptonite, he could have stopped Victor.
[Remorse from Clark +16, Anxiety +15, Worry +13…]
Victor looked at him calmly.
"And then what?"
Clark froze again.
"So what if you caught him?" Victor continued. "Do you actually have a better way to deal with someone like that?"
He walked over and picked up the kryptonite fragment before turning back toward the truck.
"When you come up with a better solution," he said casually, "feel free to tell me."
Clark slowly regained his strength once the kryptonite radiation faded.
He stared at Greg's headless corpse with a conflicted expression.
Victor had already driven the truck back onto the road by the time Clark returned.
Clark's hands were still covered in dirt.
"What did you do?" Victor asked.
"I buried Greg deep in the forest."
Victor chuckled.
"Legally speaking, that means you destroyed evidence of a murder."
He glanced sideways.
"You'd be considered an accomplice."
Clark lifted his head.
"That's fine," he said firmly.
"But you're my only brother."
Victor paused briefly.
Then he shook his head.
"If you said that without looking like a counselor at a juvenile detention center trying to reform a repeat offender…"
"Maybe I'd feel touched for two seconds."
…
Victor had never intended to deal with Greg personally.
But Greg had come looking for Clark—and tried to kill Victor in the process.
The reason was obvious.
Lana.
Just like insects competing for mates, Greg had instinctively tried to eliminate rival males.
Victor sighed slightly.
Greg had possessed regenerative abilities.
But unfortunately his healing wasn't strong enough to survive decapitation.
So Victor had been forced to eliminate him completely.
It was a little disappointing.
Meanwhile Clark drove silently.
After the incident with Jerome, Clark's worries about Victor had gradually faded.
But now that Victor had killed Greg…
Clark's concern immediately returned.
And it was stronger than before.
[Concern from Clark +19, +20…]
Victor leaned back in the passenger seat and watched the countryside pass by outside the window.
After the truck disappeared down the road—
A giant white wolf slowly stepped out of the forest.
Its snow-white fur gleamed like satin beneath the sunlight.
The wolf stared toward the direction the truck had gone, its intelligent eyes filled with faint curiosity.
…
On the drive back, Clark secretly repaired the scratches on the truck's roof.
Using his super breath, he dried the paint quickly so their parents wouldn't notice the damage.
Clark also decided not to tell Jonathan and Martha what had happened.
He didn't want them worrying.
Victor had resolved the situation quickly.
Less than an hour after leaving the market, the truck returned with another load of fruit.
Lex Luthor was still there.
He stood beside Jonathan and Martha, chatting casually under the pretense of asking about the fruit and vegetable business in Smallville.
Martha seemed open to the conversation.
If the Luthor company ever became a produce buyer for the town's farms, it would benefit many local residents.
Jonathan, however, remained noticeably distant.
Victor nodded toward Pete and Chloe, who were helping watch the stall.
"Hey."
The fruit stand wasn't busy, and the two of them were mostly just passing time.
Clark stepped forward and smiled.
"Lex, are my fruits really that attractive to you?"
Lex studied Clark's slightly troubled expression.
Then he glanced briefly at Victor, who looked as relaxed as if he had just returned from a casual outing.
Lex turned back to Clark.
"What happened, Clark?" he asked gently.
"You look like something's bothering you."
Clark's eyes flickered nervously.
"It's nothing."
Lex's smile deepened slightly.
"When I was younger, I was a bit of a troublemaker," he said lightly.
"So I spent a lot of time being sent to psychological counseling."
His eyes sparkled.
"That means I learned a little bit about reading people."
He leaned forward slightly.
"Clark, if you ever need someone to talk to—"
Jonathan stepped forward immediately and placed a hand on Clark's shoulder.
"Mr. Luthor," he said firmly.
"My son has the kind of small troubles every teenager experiences."
He gave Lex a polite but unmistakable refusal.
"He can handle them himself. We won't trouble you with psychological counseling."
Jonathan paused briefly before adding,
"And if someone was regularly sent to counseling… that probably means they were doing more than just being 'a little naughty,' wouldn't you say?"
Victor watched quietly.
Jonathan probably believed Clark was still worried about the strange floating incident from that morning.
He simply didn't want Lex prying any further.
Lex's smile remained perfectly polite.
"I was only trying to—"
Suddenly several uniformed police officers pushed through the crowd.
They held up badges and arrest warrants as the surrounding townspeople quickly stepped aside, forming a wide circle around them.
"Mr. Lex Luthor," one officer announced.
"We are with the Smallville Police Department."
"It is suspected that you were involved in a bank robbery earlier today."
"Please come with us to assist in the investigation."
Lex blinked.
"Robbery?"
The officer continued.
"Several witnesses saw you rob the Smallville Community Bank about thirty minutes ago."
"You stole approximately one hundred thousand dollars."
"You were reportedly shot twice by the bank's security guard but still managed to escape."
The crowd erupted into shocked murmurs.
Lex stared at the officer in disbelief.
"You think I robbed a small-town bank," he said slowly.
"Risking getting shot…"
"Just to steal a hundred thousand dollars?"
He laughed incredulously.
"Officer, one of my factories donates more than that every year to the schools, police department, and fire services in this town."
Jonathan and Martha exchanged uneasy glances.
Robbing a bank?
The surrounding townspeople looked equally confused.
The name Lex Luthor was well known.
If anything, people would expect him to buy the bank—not rob it.
Lex's gaze shifted quietly toward Clark and Victor.
"I've been here for the past hour," he said calmly.
"Mr. Kent and his family can confirm that."
Every police officer turned to look at Jonathan.
Jonathan opened his mouth.
"I…"
....
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