“Son, what did you use on my body yesterday?”

At the breakfast table, Jonathan, the father, was eating sandwiches made by Martha, completely unaware of his near-death experience from poisoning and high fever the day before.

In fact, his body had never been better, as if he had endless strength. He looked slightly puzzled.

“It’s the Bacchus Factor.”

“What is this Bacchus? Is it a metal?”

Jonathan looked confused, wondering if he would have any problems going through airport security in the future.

“Something like that.”

Knowing common sense, metals cannot be ingested. David chose a more easily acceptable explanation: “You can think of it as an herbal soup.”

Although the Bacchus Factor can make people immortal and revive the dead, Jonathan’s appearance did not change much.

However, Rao, who had lived for over seven hundred years with eternal youth, also had a middle-aged appearance. Even the Joker, who had the purest Bacchus Factor in the comics, did not have the face of a seventeen or eighteen-year-old.

“Perhaps the Bacchus Factor has no effect on the host’s appearance?”

“Herbal soup?”

Martha held a test tube with a green liquid metal inside, hesitating. Her son asked her to drink it this morning, claiming it would be good for her body.

Even though she knew her son couldn’t harm her, drinking metal was still a hesitant matter. Besides, she wasn’t sick, so maybe she didn’t need to take medicine for now.

At the dining table, Clark seemed preoccupied, silently drinking the seafood soup made by his mother.

Yesterday, he asked his younger brother and Kara what they were talking about, and his brother replied with a simple “nothing” and didn’t say much to him.

But he actually heard everything they talked about.

“Sege? World destruction?”

David glanced at Clark, feeling like he had something on his mind.

He remembered Rickman, whom he had killed. Did Clark remember that incident when he returned home and was still troubled by it?

Yesterday, Clark asked David about his conversation with Kara. David thought he was just casually asking, so he casually replied with “nothing.”

“To be seen as the savior in the prophecy and to have to say it out loud oneself, it’s inevitable to feel ashamed.”

And Kara would eventually realize the mistake in the prophecy of her tribe, and then this matter would pass.

At the end of the meal, David swallowed a mouthful of soup, his eyes flickering, and sighed softly.

It was just a misunderstanding. He believed that no one would like to be treated as a villain who would destroy the world in the future. He didn’t tell Clark about this completely meaningless and mood-dampening matter.

On the way to school after finishing their meal…

“David, where have you been these past two days instead of coming to school?”

Facing the curious inquiries of Chloe and Pete, David shrugged.

“There was something going on at home, so I went to Gotham.”

“Gotham?” Chloe and Pete exchanged glances, obviously having heard of this name.

“I heard that it’s full of gangs there, and you have to be careful even when walking through alleys during the day.” Chloe recalled the rumors she had heard about Gotham before, with a hint of resistance on her face. She was interested in strange things, but she didn’t care for gang robberies and such.

The security there was said to be worse than in Smallville.

“It’s probably better now than before.”

David smiled.

Although Batman’s appearance couldn’t reverse the city’s corrupt and dark ecosystem from top to bottom, at least it had some control.

Those criminals and thugs would also be afraid. Suddenly, Batman would appear and severely injure them, sending them to prison.

“I heard that a masked vigilante named Batman has appeared?”

Pete remembered the news he had seen recently.

“Batman…”

When mentioning this name, Clark, who had been silent and looking out the window, pursed his lips.

When he went to Gotham yesterday, he didn’t have time to think about anything else because he was in a hurry to find clues to save his father.

But what he saw and heard in Gotham left him confused.

“Bruce Wayne, the heir of the long-standing Wayne family in Gotham, with billions in wealth, no superpowers, and facing the corruption and darkness of the city, risking his own safety, he steps forward to fight crime.”

From his brief observation and contact, he was slightly shocked by Bruce Wayne’s character.

“There is no doubt that, from the current perspective, Batman is a hero.

But if that’s the case, what role will I play in the future?”

A look of doubt flashed in Clark’s eyes. In the vision that Kassandra had predicted for his future, there was the figure of Batman.

But he and Batman stood on opposite sides. Batman chose to stand with David and help him against Clark.

Batman was good, so what kind of person would his future self be?

Thinking about Kara’s words, the prophecy of his tribe, the destruction of the world, and the evil nature lurking within him… Clark swallowed his saliva.

It couldn’t be, right?

“Could it be that I’m constantly watching David to prevent him from turning bad, but in the end, I’m the one who becomes evil and harms others in the future?”

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

“Clark?”

Seeing Clark shaking his head vigorously for no apparent reason, unwilling to accept something, David patted him and said.

“Don’t tell me you’re still thinking about Rickman?”

“No, it’s just that Rickman…”

Clark snapped out of his thoughts, hesitating to speak.

In fact, at first, he couldn’t help but feel angry about Rickman. He thought that after his younger brother executed him without trial, he started killing people at the slightest provocation. But…

“These past two days, Chloe showed me some news about Rickman.”

Looking at Chloe and Pete on the other side of the school bus, Clark lowered his voice.

There was a man named Paul, the head of the Metropolis Environmental Protection Center, who never accepted bribes and enforced the law strictly. He had been fighting against corrupt individuals and still lived in a cheap apartment in Metropolis with his family.

“Paul, the head, is a truly respectable and good person who genuinely cares about people’s health.”

But one day, he met Rickman and asked him about the pollution caused by his factory. Then, inexplicably, Paul jumped off a building and committed suicide.

“The news included photos of the scene at the time, with his wife and young child, grieving and in pain, lying on the body covered in a blood-stained white cloth.”

The scene was so tragic that it brought tears to one’s eyes. Clark’s voice was low, and he knew exactly what had happened.

Rickman used his powers to kill a respectable and good person, destroying a happy family…

Moreover, this wasn’t the first time Rickman had done this. In the past, there were many suicide news stories that bore his shadow.

Despite his reservations about his younger brother David’s vigilante actions, Clark no longer considered Rickman innocent, though he didn’t believe he deserved to die.

“Next time you visit a stranger’s house, check the soles of your shoes.”

Clark should let this matter go. David had no interest in discussing a dead man with Clark any further, he just casually reminded him.

“Sole of the shoes?”

Clark was puzzled as to why this was suddenly brought up.

Meanwhile, Pete suddenly leaned in.

“Hey, have you heard?

About today’s class.”

“What about the class?” The two were confused. Was there something different?

Looking around, Pete lowered his voice with a slightly lewd grin.

“Didn’t you guys check the schedule?

There’s a new female biology teacher at school, mature and beautiful. Today’s class is about understanding the opposite sex, and I heard they’re going to show some videos, you know what I mean…”

He gave them a suggestive look.

“Pete, can you not act like a horny baboon?”

Chloe, who was proficient in internet technology, looked disgusted.

“And you guys.”

“I don’t understand, I don’t.”

Clark coughed, his face turning red as he quickly claimed ignorance.

David’s gaze drifted out the window, pretending he didn’t know him.

……

“Come in.”

Behind the heavy wooden door, a knock sounded, and Luthor, who was dealing with official business, spoke.

His new head of security opened the door, bringing in the person he wanted to see.

“Manager Koro, Mr. Luthor is waiting for you inside.” A tall, muscular man in a black suit and sunglasses opened the door. He seemed to have encountered something pleasant today, a smile hanging on his lips, unable to hide his good mood.

However, being affected by emotions outside of work during work hours, it’s hard to say whether such a person is a qualified bodyguard, let alone the head of security.

“I hope I’m not disturbing your work.”

Leaning back in his comfortable boss chair, Luthor extended his hand: “Please sit, Mr. Koro.”

“Thank you, Mr. Luthor.” A middle-aged man with an honest face, amazed by the luxurious facilities of the castle, walked carefully as if afraid of breaking something. He clutched the corner of his suit and sat down cautiously in front of his boss.

Catching a glimpse of the new head of security closing the door, a mysterious smile flashed across Luthor’s lips.