Chapter 45 First Flight Experience

"In any case, thank you for your generous help, Mr. Luthor."

Lenor shook his head helplessly. "It seems, Patrick, that you still hold some prejudice against me."

"No, I simply believe, Mr. Luthor, that your agricultural fund should help farmers who are in much greater need of it than I am."

Peter looked toward Jonathan, who was repairing the roof in the distance. "Take Jonathan, for instance. He is currently planning to take out a bank loan, and I imagine your agricultural fund could solve his difficulties."

Lenor glanced at Jonathan and said, "Of course, I would also hope to be of assistance to Mr. Kent."

He then pulled out a business card and handed it to Peter. "This is my personal card. If you have any questions, you can call this number."

Peter took the card and nodded. "Thank you, I will."

"Perhaps there is some misunderstanding between us, Patrick."

After handing over the card, Lenor coughed and said, "Previously, due to farm land acquisition, an employee of my company may have had a slight friction with you. I apologize to you; I have already dealt with that employee who acted on his own authority."

He was referring to the time when Luthor Corp wanted to forcibly purchase the farm.

"It doesn't matter."

Peter certainly did not believe this was merely a subordinate acting on his own initiative.

Judging by the old fox's past demeanor, that subordinate had probably acted precisely according to his instructions.

Looking at the other's behavior now, could this old fox be plotting something against him?

Or was he simply coveting the swamp land he had purchased?

He knew the man had previously sent people to the mayor's office to buy the swamp, only to be beaten to the punch by him.

Stowing the card away, Peter pushed the thoughts from his mind and spoke to Lenor with a serious expression:

"The people in town might misunderstand Mr. Luthor, thinking you lack integrity, but I suppose... lacking integrity and committing outright evil are two entirely different things, wouldn't you say?"

Lenor: "......"

Are you praising me or insulting me?

Realizing how insidiously clever Peter was, Lenor offered an awkward smile. "As a businessman, you sometimes find yourself inadvertently at odds with the majority, even if that is not your original intention."

Seeing Martha walking over toward them, he exchanged a few polite words and bade Peter farewell.

Watching Lenor's retreating figure, Martha asked Peter in surprise, "Was that—Lionel Luthor?"

"Uh-huh, this banker from Metropolis wanted to fund the rebuilding of my farm, but I don't need it."

He said to Martha, "By comparison, you folks are the ones who need help."

Hearing Peter's words, Martha felt somewhat touched.

"Thank you, Peter. I don't even know how to thank you."

🇰 "It's fine, Martha, we're family. But—there is one troublesome matter; you'll need to persuade Jonathan."

Peter sighed and said, "He certainly won't be willing to accept help from the Luthor family."

......

"Yes, I don't need his help."

On the drive back, hearing his wife mention that Luthor was willing to provide an agricultural fund, Jonathan shook his head and said, "We can pull through on our own."

Martha sighed helplessly. "You're still just as stubborn, Jonathan."

"Actually, through what happened with Hawry last night, I've come to realize many of my own problems."

Jonathan drove the car forward. "I will correct them as much as possible, but regarding this matter, it's not a question of stubbornness. The Luthor family has always been cunning. If we accept his help, we might lose something far more important in the future."

Martha nodded upon hearing this.

She felt her husband's words made a certain amount of sense.

As the car drove onto a secluded road near the Kent farm, Martha suddenly noticed something.

"Jonathan, stop the car!"

"What?"

Jonathan stopped the car and looked at his wife in confusion.

Martha said nothing, pushed open the car door, and stepped out, walking toward a patch of overgrown weeds.

Jonathan followed his wife over, and upon seeing the skeletal remains of an animal lying on the ground, he froze instantly.

The animal appeared to have been dead for a long time, reduced to bare bones.

The surrounding weeds had turned withered and yellow.

Everything within view presented a desolate and decaying scene.

"Is this a coyote?"

Crouching down, Jonathan briefly examined the animal's skeleton and said with some uncertainty.

"But why did it rot away so quickly?"

Shaking his head, Jonathan said perplexedly, "When we drove past here earlier, we didn't smell any stench of decay."

Martha was equally baffled.

After a moment, she stood up and looked up at the setting sun on the horizon.

The afterglow of the sunset faded, and dim light fell, giving the two of them a faint chill.

......

The next day.

Smallville Elementary School.

Clark was about to stuff his backpack into his locker when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Hi, Clark!"

Hearing Lana's voice, Clark grew so excited that he snapped the locker latch right off.

Holding the broken lock in his hand, he quickly hid it behind his back and used his body to block the locker latch so Lana wouldn't notice anything unusual.

"Hey, Lana."

Clark greeted Lana with a guilty conscience.

"Are you okay, Clark?"

Seeing that Clark's complexion looked somewhat strange, Lana asked with concern.

"I... I'm fine, just a little hot."

Lana nodded, suspecting nothing as she continued to ask, "I heard Uncle Peter's farm suffered a disaster yesterday? Is Uncle Peter alright?"

Clark didn't dare reveal that the farm had been wrecked by himself and Homelander, so he could only vaguely brush it off. "Uh... yeah, my godfather is fine."

"That's good."

Hearing Clark say everything was fine, Lana let out a long sigh of relief.

Muster up his courage, Clark was just about to continue saying more to her when Lana's friends walked over.

"See you later, Clark."

Lana linked arms with her friend and waved goodbye to Clark as she walked away.

"See you later."

Watching Lana's retreating back, Clark muttered softly.

Because he failed to strike up a proper conversation, Clark remained in low spirits by the time school let out in the afternoon.

Homelander didn't notice Clark's downcast mood; he was in quite high spirits.

"Clark, let's race to see who can reach the farm first."

"Next time."

Clark wasn't in the mood.

"Are you scared?"

"Scared of what?"

Homelander provoked, "Scared that you aren't as fast as me."

"I run much faster than you do."

As soon as Homelander accused him of running slowly, Clark's competitive streak flared up instantly. "I run faster than the Flash!"

"Uh-huh, then let's try!"

Hooked by Homelander's clumsy reverse psychology, Clark immediately stepped up to the starting line beside him.

"Ready!"

"Go!"

As Homelander yelled the command to go, the two boys instantly bolted forward like arrows released from a bowstring.

Channeling his grief and frustration into strength, Clark took the lead right from the start.

Moving at speeds far exceeding human limits, the two little monsters turned into two streaks of lightning as they raced down the road.

Seeing himself falling behind, Homelander gritted his teeth and sprinted forward with all his might.

"I will always run faster than you!"

Roaring in anger, Homelander poured every ounce of his strength into a wild sprint.

"Whoosh!"

A blurry afterimage flashed past Clark, and the next moment, to Clark's shock, Homelander's feet left the ground and he shot straight up into the sky.

Watching Homelander "flying" forward in the sky, Clark stopped in his tracks, his face filled with disbelief.

The next second.

"Ah—!!"

Accompanied by a scream, Homelander plummeted straight down from the sky, crashing into the windmill on the farm.

The windmill collapsed from the impact, producing a deafening roar.