"Heh."
Lionel scoffed, "The Tianyan Society is also part of the military, Miss Amanda. Although I can't see now, I'm not an old man with Alzheimer's. Believe me, as long as you don't want to abide by the contract, even the most luxurious robe can have a flaw found in it."
"You will never know what kind of place you have stepped into."
Upon hearing this, Amanda frowned slightly, "Mr. Lionel, may I take that as a threat?"
"Not a threat, but a harsh suggestion. You don't understand the rules of the game in this town, so the consequence of not controlling your methods is that you will cause everything to spiral out of control."
Amanda said unhappily, "As long as this place belongs to Kansas, and belongs to the federal government, then I think there's nothing that can't be controlled. Even if there is, we can control it."
"Young people are always so confident."
Lionel stood up, about to say something more, when his eyes suddenly felt hot.
Within his dark vision, it gradually began to feel somewhat blinding.
Unable to bear the sudden blinding light, Lionel closed his eyes.
After he adjusted, he slowly opened his eyes and found that he could see things again!
Although blurry, it was real!
He had regained his sight!
Lionel, seeing the familiar surroundings again, immediately fell into a frenzy of joy.
Having regained his sight after losing it, he felt the preciousness of light for the first time.
Due to his overly excited state, his body trembled slightly.
"Mr. Lionel, are you alright?"
Seeing Lionel's strange behavior, Amanda asked with a frown.
"I…"
Suppressing his inner excitement, Lionel turned to Amanda and looked at her.
"N-nothing, I just thought of something. I'm sorry, our conversation today must end here, Miss Amanda. I need to take care of some things, so please excuse me."
With that, he turned and left the reception room.
Eric Kent had once told him that once Lex was found, he would regain his sight.
Could it be that he really found Lex?
With an excited heart, Lionel walked into the living room and saw a familiar figure sitting on the sofa.
"Lex!"
Seeing his son reappear before him, Lionel called out his son's name.
"My son!"
Before he could reach Lex, Lex stood up and aimed a pistol at him.
"You're disappointed I didn't go to hell, aren't you?"
Lex raised the gun, aimed it at Lionel, and said with a complex expression, "Especially surprised that I suddenly appeared in the castle, aren't you?"
"Lex, put the gun down!"
Lionel took a step back and said with a serious expression, "How could I murder my own flesh and blood? And it was I who sent Eric to find you!"
"No, you're lying."
Lex gripped the pistol tightly, "I know the purpose of your entrusting Eric. You were just testing him. I'm sure now that the entire plane crash was orchestrated by you. You set up the whole scheme and trapped everyone in it."
"You're not right, Lex."
Lionel no longer retreated, looking into Lex's slightly crazed eyes, he said word by word, "We were never enemies, and I would never harm my son."
"Oh really? Then what did you do to Helen?"
"Your fiancée?"
Lionel shook his head, "Why don't you go ask her now? She's doing very well at your mansion."
"She… she's still alive?"
Lex asked, his heart somewhat wavering.
"Yes, she's doing very well, and she even concocted a tragic story, making you a hero in a tragedy."
Lionel said with a sneer, "Only one parachute, and you gave the parachute to her, glorifying a great love story, and you became the acclaimed hero. Such a sacrifice is the pride of all fathers, but I know this is definitely not the truth. Lex, I warned you never to trust her."
"No, no!"
Lex, while aiming the gun at his father, couldn't suppress his furious emotions and overturned the table.
Clang!
Miscellaneous items and scattered things all fell to the ground, making a harsh noise, and papers slowly drifted down from mid-air.
"Don't push your responsibilities onto Helen."
"Lex, think about it!"
Lionel shook his head, looking directly into his son's eyes, "I once used all my strength to save you. I searched the entire hemisphere, I found Eric, and the price I paid was not small. Think about it, if you were to die, what would I gain? And Helen? She could instantly become one of the wealthiest women on the entire Earth."
"Helen doesn't care about money!"
Lex said, somewhat wavering.
"No, she does. Sometimes, desires and ambitions are hidden, especially when you are easily influenced by emotions."
Listening to Lionel's confident words, the usually brilliant Lex also felt hesitation and confusion.
Putting away the pistol, Lex slumped onto the sofa.
"I just saw military personnel leaving. What are they planning to do?"
Lex changed the topic and asked Lionel about Amanda's identity, whom he had just seen.
"People from the Tianyan Society. They've taken an interest in the Kent family."
Lionel saw his son put away the pistol and relaxed, "But this town, I won't let anyone touch it."
"Eric saved me."
Lex heard that the military was preparing to investigate the Kent family, and his brows furrowed, "I won't let them harm the Kent family."
"That's exactly what I wanted to say, son. We can cooperate for now."
Lionel walked to Lex's side, bent down, and extended his hand towards Lex, "To deal with our common enemy."
Kent Farm.
Eric looked at the dim sky outside, his brows tightly furrowed.
"Something seems off."
"What?"
Clark was preparing his English essay. After eating the last bite of his pancake, he looked up at Eric.
"The weather? This cloudy weather has lasted for several days now. Although it's winter, this has never happened before."
Clark also found it quite strange.
"Maybe it's due to global climate change?"
Clark said uncertainly, then shook his head.
"It seems there's no direct connection between the two. The temperature increase caused by greenhouse gas emissions would at most only slow down air circulation, preventing smog from being blown away, but the town's weather doesn't look like smog has occurred."
Clark walked to the window, looking at the gloomy and sunless sky as he spoke.
"Martin's youngest daughter was harmed. Have you found any clues?"
Eric turned and asked Clark about Martin's youngest daughter.
"No."
Clark sighed dejectedly, "It seems all clues have completely vanished; there's simply no useful information to be found. Maybe… maybe I should ask Chloe for help, but I don't know if I should involve her."
"Suit yourself."
Eric didn't speak, turning back to continue looking at the gloomy and ominous sky.
"Hey!"
As soon as the two finished their conversation, a red blur flashed in their vision, and Bart stood before them.
Bart, dressed in casual clothes, didn't feel rude or abrupt about his sudden visit. After greeting the two, he said, "Regarding Martin's youngest daughter you were discussing, I found some very important information."
"What?"
"Tess's friend once saw Tess talking to a little boy. The key thing is, no one has ever seen that little boy. He doesn't belong to this town, it's like he suddenly appeared."
"Little boy?"
The wrinkles on Eric's brow showed no sign of easing.
"Yes, like a devil who tempts children to commit great mistakes and then drags them to hell."
Bart's expression became somewhat serious, dropping his usual cheerfulness, and said, "And what devils are best at is tempting hearts."
Eric asked him, "Have you ever been tempted by a devil to commit a mistake?"
"No, never."
Bart immediately denied it, "As long as I'm fast enough, nothing I'd regret can happen."
"Oh, and there's something else happening in town."
Bart then told them about other matters, "Someone in town has gone missing."
"Missing?"
Clark's expression immediately became tense, "Not another child, is it?"
"Not a child, an adult, a retired soldier."
Bart handed Eric the information he had stolen from the police station, "Allen Rickman. It's said he used to work at the Pentagon. After retiring, he returned to town. His family life wasn't smooth. After divorcing his wife, his wife and daughter moved to Pennsylvania, and poor Mr. Allen can only drive to Pennsylvania once every half month to visit his daughter."
Eric took the information Bart handed him and read it carefully.
The Pentagon, huh?
Was he related to Amanda, who had suddenly arrived in Smallville?
Eric already knew Amanda had arrived in town when he went to Luther Manor.
Now connecting the two events made him feel even worse.
After Bart left the farm, Eric went alone to Allen Rickman's house.
The house, located on the outskirts of town, had no neighbors around.
The bare fir forest almost completely surrounded the house.
Under the gloomy sky, the dark, gnarled branches made the entire house almost exude a strange and terrifying aura.
As evening approached, this terrifying and desolate atmosphere, combined with the winter weather, gave an even more eerie feeling.
Eric entered the house, twisted the doorknob, and stepped into the empty living room.
There wasn't much furniture in the living room, and it smelled of damp wood.
The cold of winter seeped out from the room, enveloping Eric's body.
After Eric surveyed Allen Rickman's living room, he walked to the tightly closed window and found a layer of black granular substance on the floor.
The black granular substance, gathered in a puddle, emitted a burnt, sickening smell, as well as a sulfurous odor.
It was somewhat similar to the smell he had encountered in hell.
"Is it the remains of human bodies and souls burning?"
Eric's brows furrowed, and he said somewhat uncertainly.
"You seem to be in a bit of trouble."
A voice sounded from behind Eric.
Eric turned around and saw someone he absolutely could not have expected to see!
"Azrael?"
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