"Or maybe Clark is just avoiding the awkward silence. Google Search Read."
Eric gently put down the newspaper in his hand.
"Awkward silence?"
Jonathan looked at Eric with a puzzled expression.
"Wandering around outside at night, waiting until you and Mom are asleep before coming home, to avoid the awkward silence."
Eric wasn't as worried as Jonathan and Martha, and said casually, "Clark feels he shouldn't be punished for having talent."
"Did Clark tell you that?"
His mother, Martha, asked with a slight frown.
"No, he usually doesn't open up to me, especially when he thinks Dad and I are on the same side."
"Alright, awkward silence aside. Eric, go look outside. I don't believe Clark would just wander off without telling us."
Jonathan took Eric's jacket from the hanger and handed it to him.
Eric said no more, put on his jacket, and walked straight into the night.
He used his Super Vision to scan the surroundings.
The flat farmland was sparsely populated and had no obstructions, so Eric's Super Vision could easily see objects miles away.
The Fortress of Solitude secret base, the school, Lana's farm, the bar—everywhere Clark could possibly be was searched.
Still nothing.
Eric's expression grew more serious.
Could something really have gone wrong?
In the cornfield near LuthorCorp's Third Fertilizer Plant, the silence was broken.
"Huff! Huff!"
Heavy breathing mixed with faint groans.
In a clearing in the cornfield, a wooden cross stood upright.
Clark was shirtless, wearing only a pair of shorts, and was firmly tied to the cross.
A striking "S" symbol was painted on his chest with red paint, and his hair was wet with sweat.
Clark, head bowed, was painfully gasping while trying to free his bound hands.
But because of the kryptonite necklace hanging on his chest, his strength was severely suppressed, making it difficult for him to even move.
Let alone break free from his hands tied to the cross.
In a cornfield several miles from Clark, a curly-haired youth who looked like a high school student stood with his hands in his pockets, looking at Clark, who was suffering on the cross, with a complex expression.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind blew, causing the cornstalks in the field to sway violently.
The youth raised his hand to shield his eyes, preventing the stirred-up dust from getting in.
After opening his eyes, he found a stranger standing beside him.
Eric appeared in the strong wind.
Although he currently lacked the ability to fly, he finally found Clark after some time. ׺°"˜`"°º× ׺°"˜`"°º×
Activating Super Speed, he arrived in the cornfield in an instant.
The hurricane brought by his rapid movement caused the surrounding cornstalks to fall over.
"Did you do this?"
Eric looked at Clark, who was tied to the cross in the distance, and asked the curly-haired youth impolitely.
"Me? I couldn't do something like this. It was those guys from the football team."
Although the curly-haired youth was surprised by Eric's imposing manner, he shook his head in denial.
"Before the game, those bastards would choose a Scarecrow, tie him here, and humiliate and torment him!"
It seemed the curly-haired youth was also quite displeased with the football team's actions, and hatred showed in his eyes. "I thought they would stop after what happened, but they got even worse! It turns out evil never disappears, and they never reflect or change!"
Eric listened to the curly-haired youth's words, his eyes narrowing. "It sounds like you were also hung on a cross as a Scarecrow once. What's your name?"
"Jerome."
The curly-haired youth smiled slightly, "Have you heard my name?"
"Mm-hmm, you're the unlucky guy who was tied up here as a Scarecrow three years ago and then disappeared, right?"
Eric had heard that three years ago, an unlucky person was chosen by the football team to be a Scarecrowand tied to a cross, but the next day the "Scarecrow" mysteriously disappeared.
That unlucky person's name seemed to be "Jerome."
Eric, with the above thoughts flashing through his mind, slowly turned around to face Jerome, a red light flashing in his eyes. "Jerome, I think you must have heard my name too."
"Why would I have heard your name?" Jerome asked, somewhat surprised.
"Eric Kent! When you stole the meteor from my locker, you must have seen that name on the locker."
As soon as he finished speaking, Eric's eyes shot out a crimson light.
"Sizzle!"
The Heat Vision, with its super high temperature, though not operating at maximum power due to the Homelander Template, still instantly pierced through Jerome's shoulder.
"Ugh!"
Jerome screamed and was directly blasted away by the impact of the Heat Vision.
Bang!
His body landed heavily in the cornfield, and with undiminished momentum, he slid backward along the ground.
A deep gully was plowed into the ground, and the corn was all knocked down and shattered into pieces.
"Cough, cough"
Lying amidst the flattened cornstalks, Jerome coughed painfully.
Clutching his shoulder, he struggled to stand up.
The next second, Eric stood in front of him.
"Possessing physical abilities beyond ordinary people, and still able to stand up even like this, you must have strengthened your body with kryptonite, right?"
Eric's cold voice entered his ears.
"You!"
Jerome was about to say something else, but Ericpunched him in the stomach.
"Pfft!"
Blood gushed from his mouth.
His stomach felt as if it had been hit by a high-speed train, and for a moment, it felt as if all his internal organs had shifted.
"Surprised? I can smell the kryptonite; it's inside your body. You stole the locker key and took my kryptonite, didn't you?"
From the first moment Eric saw him, he was certain that this guy was the thief who had stolen his kryptonite.
Not only did he smell kryptonite from the other person's body, but the other person's scent was the same as the lingering scent in front of his locker.
"Mm!"
Jerome, with blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, did not answer, his eyes fixed hatefully on Eric.
The next second, a massive energy ball erupted from his body!
Silver-white lightning arcs, like silver snakes, shot straight into the sky!
More lightning, carrying strong high-voltage electricity, surrounded Eric.
"Bastard, die!"
Jerome, with silver light flashing in his eyes, roared, and the crackling lightning instantly surged towards Eric.
The overwhelming, violent lightning caused even the air to tremble slightly.
"Is it the power of lightning?"
What made Jerome collapse was that Eric, surrounded by the lightning ball, stood perfectly still.
Except for his clothes, which were a bit tattered.
Reaching out his hand, Eric lightly clenched it, and the lightning surrounding his body vanished into thin air!