Chapter 437: Metropolis Suspicion (Twenty-One)

Chapter 437: Metropolis Suspicion (Twenty-One)

"Wait, this doesn't seem to have anything to do with superpowers," Clark suddenly realized and continued:

"Isn't this just another interpretation of 'considering the consequences before taking action'?"

"Yeah, but I think your parents must have told you countless times to 'consider the consequences before taking action.' Did you really take it to heart?"

Clark's mouth twitched, and a complex expression appeared on his face, clearly recalling some unpleasant experiences. He sighed deeply and said, "Yeah, my parents emphasized that to me so many times, but I... I just felt like they didn't understand me at all. I thought they were unwilling to see things from my perspective, didn't know how much I sacrificed, didn't know how sad I was. I felt so wronged that I even ran away from home because of it."

"But, it seems like this kind of decision is really up to me. Based on the gains, I decide if it's worth paying such a price, and based on the price, I evaluate the gains. It doesn't really have much to do with superpowers... so what was I agonizing over before?"

"What do you think superpowers are? Are they your core personality?"

"Of course not. I am me; I am Clark."

"Or, this explanation might satisfy you: Your personality is formed by factors such as education and environment, while superpowers are just one of the tools you possess."

"That makes sense," Clark replied uncertainly.

"Then, what sets it apart from other tools? Your father fell in love and got married, raised you, interacted with the neighborhood, and lived in harmony with them. Do any of these things have a direct relationship with the pitchfork he often uses for farm work?"

Before Clark could answer, Schiller said, "Maybe there's some relationship. Without that pitchfork, he might not be able to work, provide for the family, but that tool certainly couldn't decide whether he should propose to your mother, right?"

Clark suddenly laughed, seeming to remember some amusing anecdotes between his parents. After a while, he sighed and looked at Schiller with great sincerity, saying, "Thank you, Professor. Talking about all this and hearing your advice makes me feel much better."

With that off his chest, Clark seemed to relax all of a sudden. He lay down on the bed, resting his head on the soft pillow, hands on his chest, and said, "Oh, no one knows how miserable I've been lately."

He covered his eyes with his arm and continued, "Wherever I go, I worry about running into people from the track team. I'm afraid the members of the team will badmouth me to my roommates. I worry about dropping out of a race and disappointing the coach. I always feel like I'm a cheating scoundrel..."

"These are all very normal. Anyone at your age would have similar worries about interpersonal relationships, life trajectory, and so on. It's a stage of personality formation."

As if suddenly remembering someone, Schiller said, "Even people with much more mature personalities would experience similar feelings during this period."

Clark seemed to figure out whom Schiller was referring to. He glanced at the door and then asked, "Are you talking about those two guys from earlier? Who are they exactly? Why do I feel like they're dangerous?"

"It's hard to explain now. Once you spend some time with them, you'll know that these two will undoubtedly play important roles in your future life."

"Really? Do you mean I'll become friends with them?"

"In a way, yes. They will be the ones who understand you the most, and you will understand them the most."

"Really?!" Clark sat up from the bed again, looking puzzled as he gazed at Schiller. "Don't tell me you have the power of prophecy, Professor. Both of them seem strange to me."

"Of course not, and it's not for sure either. At the moment, it seems that their relationship will be stronger."

"Relationship... really? But I feel..."

Clark hesitated, then lowered his voice and said to Schiller, "First, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I have a special ability. I can sense what's happening outside walls."

"I overheard them talking about a treasure and something secret in the underground of Mayor Manor..."

"Wait, a mysterious liquid? What was it?"

"I don't know." Lionel shook his head. He said, "All I remember is that there was a moment of intense pain. I saw many crazy hallucinations, some of which still appear in my dreams until now, but they've become increasingly faint with time, and now they're almost gone."

"Can you describe what the liquid looked like?"

"At that time, you took out a test tube, the smallest size. There was some liquid at the bottom, but I couldn't see the color clearly. However, when you opened the cap, I could smell a very strong alcohol scent."

Schiller's brow furrowed deeper. He had to repeatedly confirm with Lex, but Lex's description only consisted of a few sentences: indistinct color, alcohol scent, and inducing crazy hallucinations...

"Wine?" Schiller murmured under his breath, his tone filled with confusion. "How could I have had wine before? Isn't that in the underground of Gotham Church... have I been to Gotham before?"

"I know you don't trust me, and even if you put aside your unfounded bias, no one would believe me if I went up to a stranger like this and said you used to know me..."

"No." Unexpectedly, Lex denied this. Schiller explained, "What you just described is evidence."

Schiller felt that it was unlikely that Lex had come into contact with the Dionysian factor and concocted such a lie. To randomly make up a lie that perfectly matched the attributes of the Dionysian factor would be even less likely...

Furthermore, if that was the reason, then Lex's previous attacks on Benjamin and Bruce would be understandable, so what he said was highly likely to be true.

"Okay, but since you've lost your memory, I feel it's necessary to tell you..."

"As far as I know, you left in a hurry, but it seems you left something behind."

"I don't know if it's related to the treasure in the underground of Manor, but I managed to give the key to Bruce. He will scout ahead for us."

"How do you know he'll scout ahead instead of just taking the treasure?"

Lex shook his head and said, "It's not that simple. That treasure is not like the coins piled up in a mythical story; it's very likely to be dangerous."

"Besides, I don't care whether he takes that thing or not; I just want to help you get back what you left behind."

Lex sighed and said, "Lionel would want that treasure because he heard it could enhance a person's intelligence, but obviously..."

"Enhance intelligence? I don't need that."

"Is it possible that I don't really want to get back what I left behind?" Schiller sat on the bed and sighed.

"It seems like you don't really care about losing your memory?" Lex asked, very puzzled. "You don't want to know what happened?"

"You know what I want to do right now?"

"...What?" Lex suddenly had a bad feeling. He felt a chill down his back, so he silently took a step back.

Then, he heard Schiller's slightly weary and indifferent voice say, "Right now, I just want to sleep."

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