Chapter 440 Prelude to the Cold Wind (Part 2)_1

"Someone betrayed our location to those agents."

Bruce said as he helped Clark to his feet and laid him on the bed. "Just now, Lex and I were attacked. I saved him first, and then came looking for you."

Before Clark could ask, Bruce continued, "He was weaker than you; by the time I got there, he had already been knocked out by the agents."

"Have these agents gone mad?!"

Clark asked incredulously, to which Bruce responded solemnly, "Initially, they probably assumed that we were the ones who killed Benjamin. That's why it isn't odd they're pursuing us."

"But now, obviously, someone has manipulated them. A mastermind who excels at sowing discord has turned the agents into our adversaries, and the situation is beginning to spiral out of control."

"So, they really have gone mad," Clark summarized.

"I..." Clark began, intending to suggest that he could lead them away from here. But Bruce, as though anticipating what Clark was about to say, uttered in a low, serious tone:

"Haven't you noticed? Some force is influencing this manor; everything here is becoming somewhat irregular. I need to figure this out, or else the aberration could affect the entirety of Metropolis."

"I've been meaning to say this," Clark hesitated before unleashing a sigh, "I don't feel well, I felt the same when I first got here."

"Under what circumstances do you experience these feelings?" Bruce asked, frowning.

"I don't know. I've never been sick and my body's always been healthy so I've never experienced such feelings," Clark said, puzzled.

"This only further proves that something's off with what lies beneath this manor," Bruce stroked his chin, "Lex previously told me that his father knew of evidence about secret human experiments conducted by the past few mayors in the manor's basement."

"These human experiments might be linked to radiation, which means there could be a massive radiation source down there."

Clark immediately sat up on the bed, "We have to find this thing! We can't let it affect the residents of Metropolis!"

"For now, those agents are viewing us as enemies and searching for us throughout the manor. They're heavily armed and their numbers are large."

"I fear nothing from them. No matter where I encounter them, I can escape. But you and Lex can't, I can't leave you guys behind. Because of that instigator, they might not hesitate to kill you."

"I... actually only need to rest a bit more." Clark still tried to sit up on the bed, unwilling to be the one to slow them down, but quickly realized that things were going from bad to worse.

His strength was indeed recovering, but once it reached a certain level, the speed of recovery slowed down. His biological limits did too, meaning that his maximum capabilities had been temporarily weakened.

"The first time you felt weak was precisely two hours ago. I guess that the radiation from the manor's basement might be cyclical," Bruce reasoned seriously.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Clark's face turned stern and, having recovered some strength, he got off the bed. He shook his head in solitude, seemingly finding it hard to explain the source of his feeling to Bruce.

Just then, sounds of a series of footsteps were heard from the corridor. It seemed like they were running. Bruce went to the door, looked through a small crack and saw that groups of agents were rushing down from the staircase.

"We need to get out of here, do you still have strength?"

Bruce tore off the bedsheet, twisted it into a rope, and tied it to the bathroom's water pipe.

Clark hesitated for a moment, but the noise outside only got louder. So, when Bruce jumped out of the window and landed on the ground floor's window ledge, Clark walked to the window as well.

Bruce looked up at him as if prompting him silently. However, Clark didn't grab the bedsheet rope. Instead, to Bruce's surprise, he flew out directly.

Although he was still weak, he didn't need much strength to fly out of the window. And dropping only two floors, his landing was smooth. Clark turned to Bruce and said, "Okay, I admit, I do have powers beyond normal."

At that moment, a window above them on the second floor opened. Lex stuck his head out and threw a rope down to them. Bruce caught the rope and with one leap, managed to get to the balcony. He then used the wall to climb up.

Clark, from where he stood, made a gesture. He looked left and right to make sure there was nobody nearby. Then, he took off and flew directly into Lex's room.

Lex looked at Clark, then at Bruce, and said, "…he indeed is the result of your helicopter engine transformation."

Ignoring him, Bruce walked towards the center of the room. He noticed it was filled with old furniture, it looked like a long-abandoned servant's room.

"The only way to get up here is through a secret passage below, which isn't easy to navigate, so it should be safe for now," Lex, leaning on the window frame, looked outside. Agents filled the manor's courtyard.

Clark walked forward and said with urgency, "We need to figure out a plan to find the potential radioactive object. Besides, we have to clear up the misunderstanding with the agents…"

Lex furrowed his brows, a trace of aggression revealing itself in his expression. "Resolve a misunderstanding? I have no misunderstandings with the dead," he said.

"You...you plan to kill them all?" Clark bulged his eyes, as if he had heard something outrageous. He stuttered, "Isn't...isn't that a bit extreme? Even if...but..."

"Did they hesitate to shoot you? They want to kill me, why can't I kill them?"

Lex reached back, touching the residual blood on his neck from where he'd been wounded by the agents.

He approached Clark, staring into his eyes. "Because of your strength, common people can't harm you. Naturally, you can afford to be magnanimous with them."

"But if it wasn't for Wayne's timely arrival, I surely would have died at their hands. I'm merely seeking revenge."

Clark looked at him, silent. He knew Lex was right, but he still found the idea of killing abhorrent.

Apart from Clark, the other two showed no signs of agitation. They knew that the agents were not a worry, they had plenty of ways to bypass them. The real issue was the "comedian"—the one divulging their unknown information.

Just then, with a loud 'boom', the secret door on the floor blasted open again.

This time, it was not the sound of footsteps that announced their arrival, but the noise of bullets firing. The gunshots from automatic weapons sounded like a storm. Clark, who had his back to the secret door, quickly turned around, extending both hands to stop the barrage of bullets.

Bruce promptly opened the window, "Go!"

Leaping out first, Bruce was quickly followed by Lex. Finally, Clark flew out, right in front of the agents. However, this time there was no balcony below them. They had to jump in a downward angle.

Bruce was the first to leap. He rolled as much as possible on the narrow ledge, but he still hurt his arm. Lex did not dare to jump. He knew his physical power wouldn't be enough. If he couldn't make it, this six-story drop would certainly kill him.

Clark, however, hovered in mid-air, then from below supported Lex's arms, jumping down with him in tow. They both fell headfirst onto the balcony. Once up, Lex's forehead was scraped and Clark gasping for breath.

After his strength was drained, Clark's flying ability had downgraded from a free-spirited flight to more of a gliding motion. Carrying a not-so-light person also exhausted a great deal of his energy.

Without wasting time on idle chatter, they bolted through the balcony door. Unfortunately, the room was already occupied. Bruce quickly moved to knock out the screaming female occupant, then dragged her into the bathroom.

When he emerged, he rolled up his sleeves and saw his elbow was badly swollen as a result of the impact.

"We can't keep going like this. The person monitoring us must be in a surveillance room. He can see everything happening in all the rooms, thus providing detailed real-time location information to the agents,"

"As a result, we will be forever trapped in this relentless chase. Not only do they have handguns, but also automatic weapons. By constantly fleeing, we will always be at a severe disadvantage."

Saying this, Bruce looked around, trying to identify the location of the surveillance equipment. However, in a typical English manor, the intricate patterns on the ceiling, walls and furniture made it challenging to detect the exact location of the cameras.

Yet, the feeling of being watched made Bruce feel like a fishbone was stuck in his throat. At this point, Lex proposed, "We need to test whether there's a delay from the camera to the monitor? Is there a delay before the other person vibrates the agents? Do the agents delay their actions after receiving the message?"

"Once these are combined, it is very likely to afford us a buffer period. We can use these delays to set traps to deal with them."

"I was thinking the same thing." Bruce agreed with the idea, but then he looked at Lex and Clark, "The only problem is, both of you are not in good shape."

Embracing his arm, Bruce stared at Lex, "If we have to test this, we'd at least have to do another couple of rounds. You might not have the stamina to keep running."

"And him..." Bruce then looked at Clark, "Although I predict that the radiation outbreak is likely to occur every two hours, the data is not conclusive. If it occurs halfway through, you'll immediately lose your ability to move."

"But right now, I'm much stronger than both of you." Clark stepped forward confidently, glancing at Lex, "You'll scout ahead, I'll carry him."

"I'm not afraid of bullets, I can fly, I'm much faster than you both and I can sense their location. If I start to weaken, you two just leave. They won't kill me."

"I honestly do not know where you get this ridiculous confidence from,"

Lex said, looking straight at Clark, "Haven't you realized it yet? Those agents are mad, they dare to shoot at anyone."

"I'm not saying they dare not kill me, but rather, they cannot kill me."

At that moment, with a stern look on his face and his voice full of convincing power, Clark said,

"Impact, sharp weapons, bullets, fire, and all the weapons in this world, as long as I do not want to be hurt, nothing can harm me."