The Toyota Corolla, thick smoke billowing from its interior and flames leaping everywhere, charged towards Eric's car like an out-of-control wild horse. Google search for more.
Inside the smoke-filled car, Eric even saw the driver, engulfed in flames and wailing.
Although Eric slammed on the brakes to swerve, under the crazed acceleration of the driver, who was consumed by fire and had lost all reason, it was highly likely that his car wouldn't be able to avoid the collision.
The moment he maneuvered the car into a drift, though it was merely a flash of lightning, under Eric's extraordinary sensory perception, the surrounding time slowed down dramatically, everything as if put into slow motion.
Amidst the screeching friction of the car tires against the ground, Eric pushed open the car door, and Heat Vision activated!
"Sizzle!"
The nearly imperceptible yet immensely powerful Heat Vision instantly struck the tire of the out-of-control Toyota Corolla.
With a loud bang, the tire, melted by the Heat Vision, exploded.
The burning Corolla, already traveling at high speed, suffered a blowout, completely losing control and swerving towards the roadside guardrail.
With a loud "bang," the guardrail was shattered into pieces, and the car's engine completely died.
In less than a second, Eric completed the actions of opening the car door, activating Heat Vision, closing the door, and safely drifting the car to the roadside, so fast that Jonathan didn't even see what had happened.
"Phew!"
Amidst the crackling sound of the flames, Jonathan gasped for air nervously.
He hadn't even reacted just now, and Eric's extreme drift had nearly made his heart stop.
Fortunately, he had fastened his seatbelt.
Jonathan took a deep breath, glanced at the burning car not far away, then turned to Eric and asked nervously, "Are you alright, Eric?"
"I'm fine, Dad."
Eric unbuckled his seatbelt, speaking calmly, while glancing at the car that had crashed into the guardrail.
The driver inside had been completely consumed by the flames, dead beyond any doubt.
If he hadn't chosen to use Heat Vision to blow out the other car's tire just now, the other party might have had a slim chance of survival.
However, he was sorry, but he had no intention of taking any risks for a stranger.
"There's a fire extinguisher in the car's trunk, I'll go put out the fire, Eric, you call 911."
Unbuckling his seatbelt, Jonathan looked at the burning Toyota while speaking to Eric.
The burning car still carried the risk of explosion, and with such a large fire, a fire extinguisher would be utterly useless. Eric, of course, wouldn't let his father take that risk.
After stopping his father's actions, he called the fire department and waited for the firefighters to extinguish the blaze, fulfilling his duty as an ordinary citizen.
After a lot of trouble, it wasn't until after eleven at night that the two returned to the farm.
"Jonathan, why are you back so late?"
Martha hadn't slept; she had been waiting in the living room for her husband and youngest son. As soon as she saw them enter, she immediately went to greet them.
"Something happened on the way."
Jonathan took off his coat and sat on the sofa, looking a bit tired, and told his wife about almost being hit by an out-of-control car earlier.
"Oh my goodness!"
Martha gasped, covering her mouth, her face turning pale at the thought of the consequences if Eric hadn't managed to dodge it.
She stood up and pulled Eric close, confirming he was safe, then asked her husband, "Have they identified the driver? Was it those delinquents, or a drunk driver?"
Jonathan hesitated for a moment, then told Martha, "It was Vice Principal Guan from Clark and Eric's school."
"Vice Principal Guan?"
Martha was stunned when she heard her husband say the driver's name.
"Yes, but the police aren't entirely sure, as the body was somewhat unrecognizable after being burned."
Jonathan said with a slightly heavy tone, "Based on the car model and license plate number, the police have tentatively identified the deceased as Principal Guan."
"That's truly sad news. I've spoken with Principal Guan; he was a very good person."
Martha was a little sad.
Vice Principal Guan was a teacher recently transferred to Smallville High School. Although he was Chinese-American, his teaching and management style were highly favored by the board and the students' parents.
"Although I don't know what happened, I believe the police will surely investigate and find out the truth of the matter."
Jonathan held his wife's hand, comforting her softly.
On the other side, Eric, who had been sitting silently on the sofa, was lost in thought.
Based on what he had observed, the flames were burning from the inside of the car outwards, indicating that the fire was not caused by a malfunction of the car itself.
In other words, Vice Principal Guan was killed by arson?
An arsonist?
And very likely an arsonist located at Smallville High School?!
Things might have just gotten a little more complicated!
Eric stood up and looked out at the dark window.
Night wind and raindrops beat against the window together; the heavy rain that had been brewing all night finally poured down from the sky!
"So, Clark, you're telling me Eric can lift a water-filled school bus from the bottom of a river, but he couldn't drag a person out of a burning car?"
Chloe asked Clark with a very skeptical tone.
"Maybe it was too late?!"
Pete, standing nearby, guessed.
The three of them were standing on campus, discussing last night's "unfortunate death of Principal Guan in a car accident."
"Uh-huh, for an alien whose eyes can shoot lasers, I don't believe he'd be hindered by objective factors."
Chloe shrugged, indicating her disagreement with Pete's explanation.
"Chloe!"
Clark glanced left and right, nervously lowering his voice, and said to Chloe, "You promised me you'd keep it a secret, that you wouldn't talk about me and Eric."
"Of course."
Chloe raised her camera, giving Clark a mischievous smile, "Don't forget I also have a journalist's identity. Although I promised to keep it a secret, the premise is that you must confess to me whether you and Eric are aliens, and what your purpose is for coming to Earth."
"I wish I could,"
Clark said helplessly, "But Chloe, believe me, I don't know any more than you do."
"That's truly a shame. I thought this year's Pulitzer Prize would be beckoning to me."
Chloe feigned disappointment, making the bewildered Clark nervous again.
"Alright, back to the main topic. If Principal Guan was indeed deliberately set on fire, I think I have a prime suspect."
Chloe put away her joking mood from earlier with Clark and said with a serious expression, "Principal Guan always had conflicts with Coach Watt. They even argued once about the football team members cheating on exams. If Coach Watt did it, then it would make sense."
"I don't think Coach Watt is that kind of person."
Clark frowned, "Chloe, you can't just assume he would do something like that because you've always had a prejudice against Coach Watt. That's unfair to Coach Watt."