Clark's body reacted faster than his mind; he went directly ahead and picked up Rafanas's corpse, flying straight to the atrium on the second floor, and rushed into the nearest room.
Clark wasn't foolish; he knew he had undoubtedly been tricked. Rafanas died right in front of him, with no witnesses around, which couldn't possibly be a coincidence. This wouldn't be the end of a conspiracy, but rather the beginning of a series of conspiracies.
Don't ask him why he knows, just know it's the Curse of the Pharaoh at work.
According to his usual way, he should believe what wasn't done is simply not done, the truth would definitely come to light, and his wrongful conviction would be redressed. So, he should remain still.
However, Clark was no longer a novice; he was fully aware that the ever-watchful military and politicians, as well as Lex Luther, who was always targeting him, were the kind to make trouble even without any justification. Everyone attending today's banquet was adept at lying brazenly and insincerely shifting allegiances.
Those schemers deliberately planned a trap, ensuring that whether the truth is uncovered or not, he wouldn't escape. He had no choice.
Even if he could find evidence, even if the matter could eventually be investigated clearly, their intention might simply be to keep him occupied while they do something else. Or perhaps, the process of gathering evidence itself benefits some aspect of their conspiracy, or unveiling the truth might only complicate things further.
Anyway, with these people calculating at every turn, every seemingly viable option might be a trap, including the current choice to hide the corpse.
Yet, Clark made this choice gambling that the one who set up this trap doesn't know the full extent of his superpower. Ever since being caught once, Clark had been reserved in showcasing abilities beyond super strength; this might be his trump card for turning the tables.
Clark took a deep breath, exhaled white fog from his mouth and nose, and instantly the room's temperature dropped sharply. A frigid breath enveloped the corpse, freezing it completely, all the way through.
In this extreme cold, Clark didn't intensify his efforts but started to lightly inhale. What he exhaled was a piercing cold mist that can lower the temperature of an area significantly. However, the truly deadly aspect was the heat absorption he was performing at that moment, bringing the object's temperature infinitely close to absolute zero.
Although it hasn't reached true absolute zero, at this temperature, molecules begin to undergo quantum phase transitions, driven by quantum fluctuations, resulting in state changes.
Part of Rafanas's body undergoes quantum fluctuation during which molecules disperse, turning from solid to gas, while another portion of particles disappears from the observable world, transitioning to an unobservable state.
As screams from downstairs echoed through the door, Rafanas's corpse vanished into thin air, and the room's temperature returned to normal, leaving only some water stains on the walls due to the temperature change.
With time too tight, Clark didn't have the chance to return and deal with the bloodstains on the first-floor floor, but the blood alone can't prove anything. No witnesses also mean no one can confirm he visited the reception area.
As for why he didn't fly away immediately upon discovering the corpse, it's because someone saw him when he sneaked in, even the camera at the entrance might have caught him. If everyone is cleared of murder suspicion, leaving only his escape, then he'd definitely bear the blame.
Clark always assumes the group harbors the worst intent. If they had premeditated, they would surely have prepared exculpatory evidence for him. If he doesn't confront them and chooses to escape, it would become even harder to explain later.
Quickly, chaos ensued below; everyone was wondering whose blood this was. They gathered in the banquet hall's center and began checking people.
Rafanas's status was moderate, somewhat influential as a local figure. Considering he arrived quite early, having chatted with many, his disappearance naturally instigated a search. Lex Luther also made an appearance, sending people to scour throughout the first-floor corners, finding nothing, and then began searching the second floor.
When Clark was discovered, he intentionally acted surprised. As he was brought to the first floor, he meticulously observed everyone's expressions, concluding: either these people are exceptionally good actors, not giving away anything, or most of them genuinely weren't aware of today's setup, displaying surprise rather than "just as expected" expressions.
"Aren't you going to explain yourself?" Lex looked at Clark, "I don't recall inviting you."
"Indeed, the banquet didn't invite me," Clark rolled his eyes and said.
A burst of discussion erupted below; everyone was smart enough to understand the implication. "The banquet didn't invite him" essentially meant Luther privately invited him.
Lex glared wide-eyed at him. Clark carefully observed his facial expression; he didn't seem like he was acting either. Could it be he's not the mastermind?
Considering this possibility, Clark whispered, "What are you plotting now? Didn't you instruct me to wait for you on the second floor?"
Of course, with everyone gathered so closely, whispering had no effect. Everyone heard. Lex's face instantly darkened, his eyes rolled as if contemplating something.
"Where's Rafanas?" he asked Clark.
"Who's Rafanas?" Clark queried. Anyway, his press release was in his mind, never written, so who could say he was there to interview Rafanas? His editor wouldn't sell him out.
"No, previously when Rafanas went to the restroom, I saw someone following behind him," said a woman. "It was probably a tall man."
Clark's heart sank. Although Rafanas was not the center of attention, the banquet hall was not large, and the likelihood of someone glimpsing him as he followed was high. Fortunately, he was always stationed at the hallway entrance leading to the restroom, and when he followed, the banquet hall could only see his back.
Lex looked at Clark suspiciously.
"Don't you know me by now? I don't kill people," Clark said again.
"That's not necessarily true," Lex said sinisterly. "Not long ago, you stirred up a big deal; who moved Capitol Hill to Metropolis?"
Clark took a deep breath; he already knew this was coming. Previously, he had made it clear that he didn't like politicians, and being able to move Capitol Hill entirely suggested that murdering someone could also be perceived.
The trouble is, this Rafanas happened to be the director of the city management bureau, and previously he had written articles criticizing the situation of Metropolis City's governance. It was easily interpreted as secretly murdering the culprit because of dissatisfaction with those politicians' good deeds.
"Anyway, it wasn't me," Clark insisted. "Besides, with no body found, how do you know he's dead? Maybe he just tripped there and made an early exit."
"You're really an illiterate," Lex said. "Bloodstains can determine the posture he landed in; he couldn't possibly still be alive."
Clark's heart sank even further. This proved the person who dumped the body was very professional, not only managing to kill Rafanas in the brief time he went to the banquet hall to observe but also making him fall at just the right angle for the bloodstains to declare him dead. This could keep attention from other possibilities, focusing solely on capturing the perpetrator.
"Then why don't you call the police, what are you waiting for?" Clark seemed confident.
"Of course I'm looking for the body," Lex said coldly. "Among everyone present, only you have the ability to hide a body so quickly."
"That's not necessarily true, aren't there also Martians?"
The sentence was like a storm freezing over the sea surface; in an instant, the entire banquet hall was silent. Everyone glanced at each other, and a sense of fear began to spread among the crowd.
"Are you saying the perpetrator is a Martian?" someone asked. "Are they hiding among us?"
Clark didn't answer. Lex stared at him intently. Soon, security personnel reported back: every floor, one, two, and three, had been searched thoroughly, with no body found; even the backyard was searched thoroughly, the turf was peeled back, and still, there was no trace.
Then the police and agents entered. They searched very carefully, frisking everyone, and checking shoe sizes, footprints, and fingerprints. The entire estate was searched inside and out, almost to the point of turning the place upside down.
As for footprints, there was no breakthrough. Even though there was no one in the reception area where Clark and Rafanas were before the banquet began, before the event began, many staff had certainly come and gone to prepare things needed for the banquet. That place had already been trodden over several times, leaving too many chaotic footprints on the floor to extract any useful clues.
They weren't drinking water or eating while talking, so naturally, there were no cups or food residues. Although Rafanas was somewhat overweight, considering it was winter outside, and despite the fact that there's heating inside the estate, he wouldn't sweat much, making sweat traces untraceable.
There were surveillance cameras, one at the front door and one at the back. The banquet hall and reception area did not have any. The front camera did catch Clark sneaking in, but he said he had an appointment with Luther, which barely counted as a reason.
This was unprovable anyway; Clark claimed there was an appointment, Luther said there wasn't. Even without text or call records for validation, they could say it was agreed upon beforehand. Without a third party present, it's unclear whether there was or wasn't an appointment. Drawing inference from motive, both possibilities existed. After all, the two of them had some previous grudges; arranging to meet for a talk was normal, and staying dead to each other was also normal, making it impossible to judge clearly.
The police had also confirmed that, apart from Clark, who snuck in, all attendees had invitations, and within the start and end time limits, no one arrived late or left early.
This made Clark realize that the perpetrator must be among them. It could be a guest or a staff member. With such quick action, Clark suspected the other party might also be a superpower user.
After all, Rafanas fell from the second floor. Whether the deed was done from the first or second floor, they had to drag a big living person to the second floor. Either, like himself, carrying the body and flying upwards, reaching within seconds; or using the east side staircase, which would be quite far. To make a quick round without leaving any traces, the opponent must possess incredible strength.
Who could it be? Clark looked around and suddenly spotted Shiller, who was talking to Lex Luther.
Great, it must be him. Clark immediately locked onto the target.
Clark had long heard of Shiller's great reputation in Battleworld, where someone once proposed the famous "Shiller's First Theorem": if Shiller is spotted within the area of your incident, then 100% it has something to do with him, and 90% he is the behind-the-scenes manipulator. This "area" is defined as the entire cosmos.
Clark walked over quickly, not worried about making a mistake. Because there was also "Shiller's Second Theorem": even if it had absolutely nothing to do with Shiller, if you blame him, he will definitely be able to handle it.