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Chapter 443: Cold Wind Prelude (2)

Soon, the three of them started their actions. It turned out that Joker had the upper hand in the early stages only because he caught them off guard. Even Bruce hadn't expected that his arch-enemy would find them here. So, at the beginning, they were pursued by the Agents, feeling somewhat awkward.

However, this situation only lasted for a very short time. Even though Joker had monitoring equipment that seemed like cheating, he still couldn't withstand the combined efforts of Bruce, Lex, and Clark.

Bruce was both skilled in offense and defense, Lex was incredibly intelligent, and Clark was invulnerable. Although they were all youthful versions, their cooperation made it challenging for the ordinary Agents, armed with powerful weapons, to deal with them.

Soon, the Agents chasing them were overwhelmed and mostly knocked unconscious through the use of monitoring and communication delays.

But getting away from the Agents wasn't their primary objective now. They had a common goal—to investigate the Manor's underground.

Bruce wanted to confront Joker, Clark wanted to find the radiation source that could affect him and possibly Metropolis, while Lex aimed to discover the treasure left behind by Schiller. Although their detailed objectives differed, their main goal was the same—to venture underground.

However, to go underground, they had to find an entrance, which would undoubtedly be on the ground floor, the first floor.

The structure of the entire first floor and the other floors was different. In the center was a banquet hall with two doors on each side that led to the central courtyard. However, there were other buildings on both sides, some of which contained unexplored rooms.

The main building of the mayor's residence was vast, not like a private residence. To fully explore it, the three of them together would likely take an entire day. So, for efficiency's sake, they decided to split up.

This decision was justified as they had already dealt with most of the Agents on other floors. The remaining ordinary Agents on the first floor were just patrolling without receiving specific orders to target anyone. Bruce and Lex had official identities, and Clark was so fast that the Agents might not even see him. Therefore, even if they split up, it wouldn't be too dangerous.

The only issue was that Bruce and Lex couldn't completely trust each other. When making this decision, Bruce said, "You must promise me that if you find the entrance first, you'll inform us instead of going down alone."

"Even if I promise, would you believe me? I don't trust you either," Lex replied, staring at Bruce's face. When two extreme skeptics came together, they distrusted everything the other said or did.

"Come on! Is this the time to talk about this?" Clark interrupted them. "Metropolis's largest building's underground might hold a massive radiation source! If it's fully exposed, the entire city will be in danger!"

The two were about to say something more, but Clark stopped them with a hand gesture. "Don't forget, that maniac is watching us. If we argue here, he'll be thrilled," he said, trying to remind them not to become a spectacle for the Joker's amusement.

Clark wanted to convey the message that they shouldn't be bickering amongst themselves and that they needed to focus on the task at hand. However, unintentionally, his words struck a chord with Bruce. Ever since suspecting that the person might be Joker, Bruce had become hyper-vigilant. The words "maniac" and "laughter" triggered memories of the mad laughter in his mind. He felt his mouth twitching, and he immediately said, "Let's temporarily cooperate and start moving."

Saying this, he turned and walked away, seemingly not wanting to waste even a second more. Lex snorted coldly, watching Bruce's departing figure, and in a low voice said to Clark, "He has a disturbing darkness behind him, and don't forget, he comes from Gotham... Gotham is full of maniacs."

"After hearing that, he left as well," Lex added before leaving himself. Clark was left standing there, scratching his head and shrugging. He didn't fully grasp the implications of Lex's words.

In fact, he wasn't comfortable with this kind of intelligent communication between people and didn't want to overthink the implications in their words. When interacting with Bruce and Lex, Clark always felt a bit inferior and slow-witted.

Now that he was on his own, Clark relaxed a little. He chose a different direction from the other two, passing through the banquet hall and proceeding down the eastern corridor.

Clark thought that the entrance to the underground wouldn't be in the corridor; it must be hidden in one of the rooms. So, he decided to use the exhaustive method and search one room after another.

He pushed open the door of the first room, which turned out to be a very ordinary storage room. As the door hadn't been opened for a long time, dust filled the air when he opened it. Clark waved his hand, walked in, and inspected the room but found nothing.

The following rooms were the same, and Clark couldn't help feeling disappointed. As he ventured further into the dark and silent corridor, he unconsciously slowed down his thinking speed while heightening his senses. It was in this altered state that he suddenly heard a piercing ring coming from a room ahead.

Frowning, Clark walked over and pushed open the door. Inside, he found an empty guest room, and the ringing came from the telephone on the table. Clark picked up the receiver and said, "Hello..."

"Hello, are you Clark?" the voice from the other end asked.

"Uh, yes, I am. Who is this, and why are you calling me?"

"Are you Clark Kent?"

"Yes, I am. What's the matter?"

"Do you know Lex?" the voice on the other end asked.

"Who are you exactly?" Clark asked warily.

"I'm a resident on the 5th floor and a guest invited to this party. Listen, Clark..." The voice sounded somewhat somber.

"At the same time, I'm an undercover agent from the Central Intelligence Agency. I've encountered some trouble and hope you can help me."

As soon as Clark heard the word "Agent," his brow furrowed. He was about to refuse when the person continued, "I know you might have had some conflicts with other Agents, but we're not on the same side."

"I arrived in Metropolis a while ago and went undercover to investigate unusual activities related to the Luthor Group. We suspect that the recent serial murder case in Metropolis might be linked to the Luthor Group."

"We've made little progress with our investigation, and since Lionel Luthor is hosting this party, I came here to find more clues."

"After a night of investigation, we've gathered evidence that the killer is highly likely to be Lionel Luthor's son, Lex Luthor."

"Normally, he appears as a person with autism to lower others' guards, but in reality, he doesn't have autism. Instead, he's a high-intelligence criminal and an evil genius."

Clark was about to refute, but the person on the other end continued in a rapid pace, "I know you might not believe me, but we have evidence. If you go to the bathroom in the reception room now, you'll see Lionel Luthor's corpse."

"He was killed by his own son, and Lex even dismembered him."

"Now, I hope you can go to that bathroom, take some of Lionel's body parts as evidence, and use them to charge Lex with murder in the future."

"How can this be possible?" Clark said in a highly skeptical tone, "Why would he kill his own father? And dismember him? He's not that kind of person."

Clark indeed didn't believe it. In his brief encounter with Lex, he felt that although the young man was arrogant, he was still genuine. Clark had little understanding of serial killers due to growing up in a small town, but his image of a serial killer was someone with a menacing appearance and a deranged look.

But Lex was slim and had a somewhat boyish face. He seemed like an innocent child, and his actions and words mostly followed normal logic. Clark couldn't imagine him as a serial killer.

Moreover, the person on the phone claimed that Lex killed his own father and dismembered him. Such a cruel act, how could a high school student do that?

"Clark, you need to know that many killers are not easily caught because of their incredibly deceptive disguises, and I'm an expert in this field."

"I've heard your conversation with the Agent in the room. You're a Hero who stands up for ordinary people, and that's why I contacted you within this limited time."

"I've looked into your background. I know you're just a high school student, and you have no obligation or responsibility to undertake such a dangerous task. But, Clark... I'm asking you to help me."

"Of course, if you really feel it's too dangerous, you can choose not to go. I won't force a child onto the battlefield..."

"As far as I know, Lex isn't acting alone. He probably has accomplices, and they might find me soon. My time is running out... Goodbye, Clark."

After hanging up the phone, Clark's face showed a conflicted expression.

His acquaintance with Lex was very brief, and he knew that. Therefore, he couldn't be certain if Lex's acting skills were just that good, fooling him.

The person on the phone sounded normal and made reasonable arguments, causing Clark to hesitate. He wondered if letting Lex roam freely in the Manor might endanger more ordinary people, as the caller claimed.

After hesitating for a while, Clark decided to go upstairs. He thought that following what the person said and taking a look wouldn't hurt, and even if it turned out to be a trap, he should be able to handle it.

Thinking this, he climbed the staircase, crossed the corridor, and arrived at the reception room. The room was a mess, with cold wind blowing in through broken windows. Clark approached the bathroom door, twisted the doorknob, and opened it.

The first thing his keen senses caught was the pungent and nauseating smell of blood. Then, he saw a dismembered corpse with an arm severed, and a discarded saw nearby.

Just as Clark covered his mouth, about to retch, he heard footsteps approaching from outside the reception room.

He turned around and saw Lex entering... with blood on the cuffs of his pants.

Is the show about to begin...?

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