Evening.
Inside the newspaper clubroom.
"Whew, finally done organizing."
Chloe clapped the dust from her hands, a neatly stacked pile of newspapers at her feet.
The girl turned, winking at Jino with a smile. "And thanks to you, too, big shot~"
"It was nothing," Jino shrugged, holding a newspaper and reading it.
Chloe asked curiously, "What are you looking at?"
Jino flipped the newspaper over so Chloe could see. "The meteor shower that hit this town thirteen years ago. Lana Lang's parents died in that disaster."
"Yeah, but I think she's pretty happy now," Chloe sighed. "Clark even skipped our weekly club cleanup for his goddess."
Right after school, Clark had rushed off to Lana Lang's workplace, which annoyed Chloe a bit. "He's a jerk who prioritizes girls over friends."
The two chatted as they walked out of the academic building.
A night breeze swept by, making Chloe shiver. She frowned, complaining, "It's really cold today."
"Help!"
A piercing scream interrupted their conversation. Jino frowned slightly, his gaze darting towards the source of the sound.
His eyes cut through the thick concrete wall, past several old cars. The young man saw a car engulfed in flames, and he'd just seen the person inside not long ago.
"Principal Guan?"
Jino frowned, breaking the fire glass by the door and grabbing a fire extinguisher. "Let's go help him."
Chloe also picked up a fire extinguisher. "Okay, okay!"
The two rushed to the scene of the fire, the parking lot to the right of the campus academic building.
In the deep darkness of the night, the towering flames shone incredibly brightly.
"Oh my god, there's someone inside!" Chloe's eyes widened. She saw a figure inside the car wailing miserably, constantly hitting the car door, trying to escape.
The girl was a little flustered, gripping the fire extinguisher tightly.
"What should we do?"
Jino strode towards the burning car, pulling out the fire extinguisher pin, his words brief: "Extinguish the fire, save the person."
For ordinary, innocent people, Jino was willing to lend a hand. He wasn't a psychopath who enjoyed watching an innocent life burn to death before his eyes.
Jino raised the nozzle in his hand, aiming it at the scorching flames.
Pffft!
Thick dry powder sprayed onto the flames. With continuous spraying, the previously fierce blaze was brought under control.
He tossed the empty fire extinguisher, and glanced at the scene inside the car.
A minute had passed since he heard the cry for help, and now flames had ignited inside the car as well.
The raging fire had lit up the car's interior, sending up large plumes of black smoke. Many flames had even spread from the seats to Principal Guan, causing secondary ignition from his suit.
"Save me, save me!" Principal Guan's voice was as shrill and terrifying as a ghost's. The flames scorched his skin, and the pain made him desperately beat on the glass, trying to escape.
Jino pulled the car door handle with a cold expression, only to find it wouldn't open.
"The car door won't open."
Making a swift decision, Jino raised his fist:
CRACK!
With one punch, the glass shattered. Jino gently gripped the car door and tugged with a slight pull.
Rip!
The sturdy car door was easily torn open by the immense force. Jino ignored the billowing smoke pouring out of the car, grabbed the wailing burning figure, threw him onto the ground, and then took the fire extinguisher Chloe handed him to put out the flames on the man's body.
As the flames extinguished, a bloody, charred face appeared in Jino's vision.
The man, who previously had thick black hair, now only had a scorched, reddish scalp, looking horrifying and grotesque.
Jino's expression was solemn. He frowned and turned his head away.
"He has extensive burns. Chloe, call for help. We need assistance."
"Huh? Okay!"
Chloe dropped the fire extinguisher and rushed towards the classroom. There was a landline there to contact the fire department and hospital.
"Strange flames." Jino glanced at the car, which was almost burned to a wreck. As if sensing something, his gaze fell on the academic building not far away.
Swish.
The window of the office on the far right of the first floor closed. In that brief moment, Jino also clearly saw the person's appearance: it was Coach Watt from this morning.
An arsonist, then.
Jino narrowed his eyes.
Late at night.
"Vroom, vroom, vroom."
Fire trucks, police cars, and ambulances sped towards the school.
On the other side of the road, a silver Bugatti roared as it headed towards a two-story villa.
Jino gently applied the brakes, and the Bugatti smoothly stopped outside the villa.
"Thank you for taking me home," Chloe said, pushing open the car door and pursing her lips. "Want to come up for a bit? No one's home."
"No, thanks."
Jino also got out of the car and tossed the sports car keys to Chloe. "Could you drive it back to school for me tomorrow?"
Chloe fumbled to catch the keys, looking a bit confused. "Wait, where are you going?"
"To investigate something."
Jino didn't hide it from Chloe. His azure eyes gazed intently towards the school, which was brightly lit.
"I suspect this fire was arson."
He already had a suspect in mind, and knowing Coach Watt's vindictive nature, that guy was likely to go after him or his family. So, he had to go back and keep an eye on Watt.
"What do you mean?"
"Get some rest," Jino said, wasting no more time. He walked away under Chloe's gaze, which was filled with unasked questions, and disappeared into the night.
Inside the campus.
Due to the sudden fire, many fire trucks and police cars were parked within the school grounds.
Several police officers were questioning Watt, tonight's witness, with their notepads.
The cunning fat man squinted his small eyes, feigning complete ignorance.
"I don't know, officer. When the fire broke out, I was in my office watching TV. I'm also very saddened by what happened to Principal Guan."
The two police officers nodded in agreement, expressing regret. "Yes, no one wants to see something like this happen. Principal Guan is truly pitiful."
"With 40% of his body burned, it's uncertain if he'll even pull through. We can only pray to God to protect him."
Watt assumed a listening posture and said with a regretful tone, "Yes, may God protect him."
Because Watt was indeed in his office when the fire occurred, and the police found no evidence of arson in the car, they hastily concluded that the incident was caused by aging wiring in the vehicle.
The fire was thus ruled an issue of car aging. After the police left, Watt returned to his office.
A triumphant smile played on the old fat man's face. He opened his record player and placed the 'Napoleon's March' record on it.
To the soothing yet stirring music, Watt slowly sipped red wine from a glass.
"Next,"
He slowly raised his head, one hand holding the wine glass, the other behind his back, like a triumphant king. His gaze fell upon the town map on his office wall, specifically on the gas station on the east side of town. "It's time for the damned Luthor Family!"
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