Standing by the ridge of the field, Rock and Lionel Luthor were engaged in a pleasant conversation about this year’s oat procurement prices.
Anthony stood to the side with a calculator, chiming in now and then with his half-baked market analysis.
“To be honest, Mr.
Rock,” Lionel Luthor adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses, his tone tinged with admiration, “a man as insightful as you is wasted working on a farm.
LuthorCorp has quite a few management projects in agricultural technology.
I wonder if you would be interested…”
“Thank you for your kindness,” Rock interrupted with a smile, his gaze softening as he looked over the golden wheat fields in the distance.
“When I was younger, I might have accepted without a second thought.
But now…”
“I’ve found something far more important than career success.”
Hearing this, Lionel Luthor blinked in surprise, then gave an understanding smile.
“My apologies for being overly presumptuous.”
“Mr.
Anthony,” he signaled to Anthony, “bring the purchase order over.
Mr.
Rock, if you have no objections, we can—”
“Of course.”
Rock reached into his pocket for a pen, but his peripheral vision caught sight of the sky behind Lionel.
Red arcs were streaking across the azure expanse.
“Meteors?”
Rock muttered instinctively, bewildered.
How could there be meteors at this time of day?
Suddenly, his pupils contracted sharply, and his face turned deathly pale.
Without taking a moment to explain, Rock shoved Lionel aside and sprinted toward the cornfield.
The motion was so abrupt that the papers in Anthony’s hands spilled all over the ground.
Lionel stumbled a few steps before regaining his footing.
Just as he was about to demand an explanation, he heard his bodyguards gasp behind him.
“Sir!
Look at that—”
The tycoon turned sharply, following the direction of his guard’s pointing finger.
Across the vault of the sky, a red streak was diving toward the farmland at a staggering speed!
“A meteorite?!”
“Fuck!” His voice cracked.
“Get Lex out of there!
Right now!”
The bodyguards hesitated for a brief second, but their training kicked in as they quickly split into two teams.
One team shielded Lionel as they withdrew to a safe area.
As for the other team…
They merely hovered around the perimeter of the cornfield.
For a few thousand dollars a month, why risk their lives?
He charged through the cornfield, the thick stalks slapping across his face and leaving thin, bloody scratches.
He paid them no mind; his mind was entirely consumed with Dio.
“Star Platinum!”
A purple Stand manifested behind him, knocking down the obstructing cornstalks as fast as his thought willed it.
“Dio!”
His voice echoed across the field.
Yet…
he couldn’t find him.
The field was simply too massive.
Rock’s heart bled with regret—why on earth had he bought such a huge piece of land in the first place?!
He kept searching and searching, until…
The red streak in the sky reached its destination not far from where he stood.
*Boom!*
A deafening explosion resounded in the distance, followed by a familiar tower of fire soaring into the air and a sudden blast of heat against his skin.
His heart practically skipped a beat, and Rock bolted toward the site of the impact like a madman.
When he finally burst out of the cornstalks, the scene before him made the blood run cold in his veins.
A charred crater several meters wide was still spewing thick smoke.
The surrounding stalks had been flattened by the shockwave, leaving a radial swath of destruction.
At the far edge of the crater, a small figure knelt on the ground, cradling something in his arms.
“Lex!”
Rock rushed over, only to see that young Luthor was holding an unconscious Dio.
The boy’s blond hair was caked with dirt, and a striking, ghastly wound ran along his collarbone.
“W-what happened?”
Rock dropped to one knee, frantically checking his son’s injuries with trembling hands.
“Dio…
he saved that guy, and then…”
Following Lex’s trembling finger, Rock saw a bare-chested young man slumped on the ground nearby, his face pale with shock and confusion.
“And then…”
One lens of Lex’s glasses was cracked.
Dust and tear tracks smeared his face, and clumps of his thin blond hair were already beginning to fall out.
He stammered in fear:
“The meteorite fell.”
“I saw a piece flying toward Dio, so I tackled him to the ground, but the stone…”
“The stone still cut him.”
“We’re leaving!” Rock scooped up Dio in his arms while grabbing Lex with his other hand.
“We have to get out of here right now!”
He took only a few strides before he felt something tugging at his shirt.
“T-take me with you…” the young man begged, his legs visibly trembling.
Rock gritted his teeth.
Just as he was about to speak, a harsh engine roar approached quickly.
Three black SUVs crashed through the cornfield.
In the lead vehicle, Lionel’s face was darker than ever.
“Get in!” the tycoon ordered sharply, reaching out to pull his son inside.
Rock climbed into the rear SUV carrying Dio.
Looking out the window—
He saw only a desolate expanse of ruined cornfields.
Under the harsh, pale lights of the hospital hallway, Rock paced back and forth like a trapped beast.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves.
Yet the pervasive stench of disinfectant, mingled with the metallic coldness of surgical instruments, only made the heavy air feel even more suffocating.
“Damn it!”
Rock slammed his fist against the wall, consumed by an anger he had nowhere to vent.
Who could have guessed that eight years after Clark’s arrival, another meteor shower would strike the town?
*Tap, tap, tap—*
Hasty footsteps broke the quiet of the corridor.
Clark was the first to burst into view, his curly hair disheveled from running, his blue eyes filled with panic.
Close behind him was a pale-faced Martha.
Jonathan brought up the rear, the bright smile usually on his face replaced by a grim scowl.
“Oh, God…”
The moment Martha’s eyes caught the glaring red light above the operating room, her knees buckled.
Jonathan caught his wife with practiced quickness, helping her onto a bench before turning to Clark and speaking in a low voice, “Son, take care of your mother.
The air outside is better.”
Clark bit his lip and nodded.
He had a hundred questions to ask, but seeing Uncle Rock’s bloodshot eyes and the sealed doors of the operating room, he simply helped Martha up in silence.
“Mom, let’s go outside for some fresh air, okay?
The garden over there will be better…”
Martha nodded absentmindedly, getting up unsteadily with Clark’s support.
When she passed Rock, the normally gentle yet strong farm woman suddenly grabbed his arm, her fingernails digging deep into his sleeve.
“He’s going to be fine, right?”
Her voice was as faint as a falling feather.
Rock opened his mouth, but his throat was too dry to produce a sound.
In the end, Jonathan gently pried his wife’s fingers away.
“Give Rock some space to breathe, dear.”
“Dio is a tough kid.
Remember when he fell off the second floor of the barn and was back on his feet bouncing around the next day?”
Though he spoke reassuringly, the moment the mother and son’s footsteps faded down the hallway, Jonathan’s expression instantly changed.
“What did the doctors say?” he asked anxiously, his composure cracking just as badly as Martha and Clark’s.