Chapter 39: Reason and Instinct

"Godfather, were my mom and dad kidnapped?"

Clark stood up, looking at Peter in distress.

"Dad, who did this?"

Azu's small face tightened as well.

"I don't know."

Peter tucked the letter away, his brow furrowing slightly. The message had informed him that Jonathan and Martha were being held captive, and ordered him to bring Clark and Azu to a designated location before 11:00 PM. Was it the black man Jonathan had mentioned yesterday?

As he pondered, he looked up and saw Clark's unease and confusion. Peter reached out and stroked his hair. "Don't worry, Godfather will bring Mom and Dad back."

"I..." Clark's eyes welled up with tears instantly. "Godfather."

"You trust your Godfather, don't you? Clark, look into my eyes. Do you trust me?" Peter crouched down, holding his hands.

"Ye... yes, I trust you, Godfather." Calmed by Peter's reassurance, Clark soon regained his composure.

"Good. Godfather promises to bring them back before 11:00, but you must stay on the farm with Azu." Peter smoothed Clark's messy collar. "You are the older brother; take care of Azu. Can you do that?"

He certainly wouldn't bring the boys along. Even though he was confident he could ensure their safety regardless of what traps the opponent had set, he preferred to keep them away from such bloody scenes.

"I can, but Godfather, I want to go with you." Clark's eyes showed a firm resolve. "I can help you, and I can punish the bad guys who kidnapped Mom and Dad."

"Me too, Dad." Azu also volunteered, stepping forward. "Dad, I can help you deal with them, and I can protect you."

"Dad can protect himself. Do you two have no faith in your father?"

Azu's expression was conflicted. "But... Dad..." He believed in Peter, but he also feared his father might end up like Uncle Jonathan—tied up by villains. The internal struggle left him unable to explain.

After comforting them both, Peter grabbed his coat, headed out to the courtyard, started the car, and drove away. The sky began to weep, rain pattering against the windshield. The wipers swayed back and forth, and the soft, crunching sound of tires rolling through wet gravel filled his ears. Ten minutes later, Peter pulled the car onto the gravel shoulder and killed the engine.

The meeting point mentioned was this abandoned factory. Peter stepped out of the car and walked onto a wide, dusty road. Soon, a row of chain-link fences appeared. The fence and a large gate blocked anyone from entering. The top of the fence was clumsily topped with coils of rusted barbed wire.

Signs were stuck into the ground or tied to the fence. They were made of plywood or scrap metal, and the painted messages were still wet, the letters inconsistent in size—some large, some small.

[NO HUNTING!]
[1. GOD IS WATCHING YOU]
[GOD KNOWS WHO IS LYING]
[IS THERE LIFE AFTER DEATH? TRESPASSERS WILL BE FOUND]
[STOP HERE! OR FACE SEVERE PUNISHMENT]
[CLIMBING THIS FENCE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED]

Looking at the text on the signs, Peter shook his head slightly. God is watching him? He gave the gate a casual push; it flew back several meters with a loud boom, crashing heavily to the ground.

"God is dead. Now, Superman is born."

Walking into the abandoned factory, Peter saw a figure standing on an elevated platform.

"Peter Patrick?" Hori turned around, looking at Peter, who had arrived alone, with surprise. "You don't seem to have followed our agreement to bring Clark and Azu."

Peter didn't speak. He studied Hori's face, his brow furrowing. Although it was his first time seeing this man, he felt a strange sense of familiarity.

"What do you want? I think I alone am enough to satisfy you," Peter said, taking a step forward.

"No." Hori shook his head. "Neither you nor the Kents are what I want. Clark and John are. Since you didn't do as I said, I can only say... it’s a pity."

Peter let out a cold laugh. "I look forward to seeing how you express that 'pity'."

...

Meanwhile, at the Patrick Farm.

Azu put on his shoes and coat, preparing to go support his father. As he pushed the door open to the courtyard, he was blocked by Clark, who was coming downstairs.

"John, you cannot leave the farm." Clark grabbed Azu's arm. "Godfather told us to stay here."

"Dad needs our help, otherwise he might get kidnapped too. We can't just stay here!" Azu said, his voice brimming with agitation. "He needs us. Right now, Dad is like someone on a school bus about to fall into a river; I have to save him!"

"Godfather doesn't need you to save him, and he isn't in a school bus. He told us to trust him." Clark, though initially wanting to rush to his parents' aid, had calmed down and chose to trust his godfather. "Don't you trust him?"

"No, that's not what this is about, Clark! Dad said that sometimes, in the moment a crisis occurs, most people act on deep-seated instincts. I'm just following mine." Azu bit his lip, wiping the rain from his face. "You're wrong, Clark."

Clark's hair was soaked by the rain, but his expression was firm. "Godfather told me to look after you. I won't let you leave. I believe in him. You don't, John—you're the one who's wrong."

"You idiot! Why don't you understand? Everything is your fault!" Azu's blood surged, his face turning red. "If you hadn't insisted on pushing that school bus up, your parents wouldn't have been kidnapped. This is what Dad calls 'the price'!"

Clark was stunned, frozen in place. "What?!"

"I said this is the price, Clark! You idiot, do you get it now?"

Clark's face flushed with anger. "It's not a price! What did you want me to do? Just watch them all die?"

"What do other people's deaths have to do with us?"

"Godfather said human life is precious!"

"That's other people's lives!"

"Life doesn't distinguish between you and me! They are all equally heavy!"

"So you're willing to let your mom and dad die for a bus full of strangers?"

"Shut up, John!"

"You shut up!"

Azu, losing his composure, pushed Clark away.

"Bang!"

With his super-strength, the push sent Clark flying dozens of meters. With a deafening crash, Clark's body smashed through the barn wall and slammed onto the ground.