"Boom!"
A massive clap of thunder echoed over Metropolis.
Torrential rain poured down, the fat raindrops adding a chill to the night.
In the downpour, a tall black man stumbled through the rain-soaked night, his cheap leather shoes slapping against the puddles on the concrete.
"Huff, huff." The rain soaked through his clothes, making the man shiver uncontrollably.
He ran towards the tallest building in the steel city.
A flash of lightning briefly illuminated a black marble monument in front of the building.
"LexCorp."
The black man stared intently at the string of English letters, then shifted his gaze to the LexCorp tower.
As a family that was richer than the entire United States, the Luthors' headquarters was located in Metropolis. Lionel was undoubtedly an arrogant and conceited man, who had built the tower to be the tallest building in the entire city, to flaunt the Luthor family's power and wealth.
The tower was dark at the moment. Obviously, even Lionel, known for his unscrupulous nature, hadn't made his employees stay and work overtime in this weather.
The black man ran closer, and he saw a faint light on the first floor of the building. A cleaner, responsible for maintaining the building, was busy with a vacuum cleaner.
He was wearing headphones, obviously enjoying himself, lost in a sea of music.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
The black man seemed to see a savior. He frantically pounded on the glass and shouted, "Will, Will!"
The janitor seemed to hear someone calling his name. Will took off his headphones, and a Black man's voice broke through the noise. Will turned and saw the disheveled, rain-soaked man weakly leaning against the door, constantly pounding on the glass.
"Earl?"
Will dropped his vacuum cleaner and walked towards the Black man, Earl. "What are you doing here?"
Will knew Earl; they used to be colleagues, both working for LexCorp. However, he'd heard that Earl had been injured during a fertilizer transport and had subsequently left the company after receiving a large compensation package from LexCorp.
Earl clutched his chest under his trench coat in pain and said slowly, "I need to see Lionel!"
The Black man, Earl, clenched his fists, his face filled with anger. "I know he's here!"
Will sighed, averting his gaze. "I'm sorry, Earl, you know I can't let you in. I need this job because I have a family and children to support."
Hearing Will's words, the Black man immediately became agitated. He frowned, pounding on the glass to vent his anger. "Will, you should know, they did something to me at that factory in the town!"
"I have an incurable disease!" Earl said, thumping his chest.
Will rolled his eyes. Here we go again, the same old routine from this guy.
He pursed his lips and said, "That's why you were fired, Earl."
"No, you don't understand, my disease is incurable!" Earl clenched his fists, looking at his former colleague pleadingly. "Please, let me in. I have to ask Lionel, I need to go back to that factory to be cured!"
Watching Earl's unreasonable antics, Will sighed, pointed a finger at the black man through the glass. "If you keep this up, I'm calling security!"
"No, please."
Earl's face was filled with helplessness, his hands gripping the iron door handle on the glass, his big eyes full of pleading.
Will shook his head, ignoring the man's pleas, and turned to continue his cleaning work.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz!"
Will hadn't gone far when he heard the noise behind him.
"Earl, I'm warning you." Will turned his head and saw Earl, who had been leaning against the glass door, convulsing violently.
His speed was so fast that he left afterimages in the air, like a flickering movie clip, as his body flashed at an extremely rapid rate.
Will widened his eyes, his face bewildered, and his mouth opened as he muttered, "What the hell is going on?"
In the next instant, it seemed to have reached a certain critical point. The originally flat and sturdy glass, manufactured in the East, also shattered with a loud crash under the extreme vibration frequency.
"Crash!"
The entire pane of glass shattered, turning into countless tiny fragments that rained down like hailstones.
"Oh, God!" Will let out a scream, instinctively covering his face.
"Pa-pa-pa～"
Debris rained down on Will. The next moment, he realized something was holding onto him.
"Earl!?"
Will opened his eyes and stared at Earl, who was embracing his neck.
Before Will could utter a word, the black man holding him started shaking and glitching wildly again.
Under the constant, rapid shaking, Will's neck clearly wasn't made of steel.
"Crack!"
A crisp sound of bone breaking echoed through the hall, mixed with the music.
The two of them fell to the ground.
Earl, who had been violently shaking, returned to normal, staring at his fallen colleague in disbelief.
The other man's eyes were wide open, staring blankly at the ceiling, and crimson blood flowed from his mouth and nose.
"I... I killed him!" Earl trembled, raising his hands and shaking his head frantically. "No, this isn't my fault, I didn't mean to."
He staggered to his feet and waved his arms as he ran out into the rainy night.
"Buzz!"
A frigid current struck the water glass on the table.
Only when the entire glass had frozen into an ice sculpture did Kino extinguish the ice beams from his eyes.
"Phew, some progress."
Kino stood up and stretched. After half a day of experimentation, he could now disperse the energy in his left eye to his right eye, thereby increasing the attack range.
Kino rubbed his sore neck and walked out of the room.
It was now two in the morning. He planned to go to the kitchen to find something to eat.
Kino found some pizza in the kitchen and, carrying a glass of milk, prepared to enjoy a midnight snack back in his room.
Passing Lex's room, Kino glanced inside.
His cheap older brother wasn't asleep either. He was leaning back in a large boss chair, one hand holding the phone, his expression somewhat grim.
"What happened?"
Kino changed his mind and walked into Lex's room, carrying the food.
Lex's room, much like his personality, was neat and efficient.
Except for the table and chairs, which weren't green, everything else was. His bedding and even his bed were green-themed. The desk was covered with business documents and scientific journals.
Kino put the plate on the table, took a sip of milk, and looked at Lex, asking with his eyes what had happened.
"Alright," Lex said into the phone. "I understand."
After saying that, Lex hung up the phone and threw the button phone onto the table with a gloating expression.
Glancing at Kino, Lex picked up a slice of pizza and took a bite, sneering, "A cleaner at the main office died. A lot of media outlets are reporting on it now."
"Cleaner? A crime of passion?" Kino raised an eyebrow in speculation. After all, a cleaner wouldn't have much money, so it was easy to rule out a murder for profit.
Lex sneered, chewing on his pizza. "Who knows? Let Lionel worry about it."
Thanks to the Noon Time Big Shot for the 1666 book coin reward, thank you Big Shot (very loudly)! Extra chapter for the Big Shot on the shelves~
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