Lex Luthor, dressed in a suit, waited there. At that time, he was much younger, still a teenager.
Shiller stepped forward, bent down, staring at Lex, and Lex looked up at him too. His gaze was a bit numb, and he seemed somewhat disoriented, unable to think independently.
Shiller narrowed his eyes as Lionel came forward, asking in a manner of courtesy, "Professor, how is it? Is my son's condition alright?"
Shiller straightened up, pretending to ponder, turned around and began pacing the room.
Lionel's attention was focused on Lex. Thus, he missed Shiller picking up a vase from the side table as he walked behind him.
"This child is unlucky. His mother suffered from postpartum depression after she gave birth to him. I hired many doctors and took painstaking care of her, but in the end, she committed suicide..."
"Although I was heartbroken, I knew I had to hold on for Little Lex. But, what pushed me to the edge was that a few years later, he was diagnosed with autism. He couldn't communicate normally with others and his thinking wasn't normal either..."
"Professor, you don't know how heartbroken I was. At that moment, I almost wanted to follow my wife into death. But, to take care of him, I held on."
"For my son, I must survive…"
Lionel's voice trembled consistently, like a deeply grieved father. As he stood and turned around to see Shiller's reaction, a huge vase appeared in his line of sight.
With a loud bang, Lionel fell to the ground. Shiller dropped the handle of the vase. He did not look at the unconscious Lionel, covered in blood but instead, he headed to Lex's side.
He bent down, patted Lex's head, but Lex had no reaction, staying dazed.
Shiller lifted Lex's eyelid and muttered to himself, "Long-term excessive use of calmatives…"
He touched Lex, and when he reached Lex's calf and knee, Lex instinctively shrank back.
Shiller rolled up Lex's trouser leg, discovering many old scars on it. He instructed Lex to turn around. After lifting his shirt, he discovered scars on his back as well. Clearly, these were not results of accidents, but traces of abuse.
He glanced at Lionel, his expression turning icy cold. After testing Lex's various responses, he let out a sigh, stood quietly thinking for a long time. Finally, he said, patting Lex's back, "…Come with me."
Patting Lex's back, he guided him out of the room, through the dark corridor, back to the room they were in before. Faced with the intense stench of blood, Lex still did not react.
Ignoring the indescribable substance in the center of the room, Shiller crossed the pile of stuff, came to the bedside and took out a small box from his suitcase.
Opening the box, there was a very small test tube inside. Shiller looked at the less than one milliliter fluid remaining in the test tube, gave a deep sigh and murmured, "There was not much to begin with, and now, only so little is left…"
"But, since there's only a little left, it seems that it can't be used for anything else." Shiller said, as if trying to console himself.
He looked up at Lex, at his childlike face and dull eyes, paused for a moment, and then walked over.
He unscrewed the cap of the little test tube. The moment the cap was off, a charming fragrance of wine permeated the room.
He held Lex's chin, had him open his mouth, and then poured the liquid from the test tube into his mouth.
The moment the liquid entered his mouth, Lex made an extremely pained expression.
Shiller then bent down, held him, restraining his struggles. Lex jittered like a dying fish struggling ashore from the sea. After a few minutes, he began to vomit and cough.
When Lex finally stood upright, his eyes started to shine, emitting a slight glow.
Just like a vegetative patient lying in bed for many years suddenly waking up, there was a momentary bewilderment before he stood in place, starting to accept the memories flooding his mind.
Shiller kept his hand on Lex's shoulder, watching his eyes, and then said to him, "I know you're a bit confused right now. I think you should have some memory of your ordeal, but I still need to explain a few things to you."
"Your father should have been abusing you. I don't understand why he gave you calmatives in excess for a long time, to the point where these drugs severely impacted your developmental system and cognitive capabilities."
"However, quite coincidentally, I have a very miraculous thing that can reactivate a person's cognition. Even though if consumed in excess, it could drive someone insane, but with just a small amount, it should just work effectively for your condition."
"Of course, this thing does have some side effects. It may make you become hyperactive in some states, making your thoughts more active, driving you a bit crazy, but still within the range of control."
"Okay, child, listen, I will conduct hypnosis on your father later and make him forget the fact that I knocked him out and treated you."
"Hypnosis is not a panacea. If I had more time, perhaps I could do more. But now, for some reasons, I have to leave immediately."
Shiller looked into Lex's eyes and said, "Remember, act as if nothing has happened. That's the only way to protect yourself. If he drugs you again, find a way to deceive him.
"Also, don't think about revenge before you're absolutely sure. Goodbye."
After speaking, Shiller turned around, closed his suitcase, and prepared to leave, when suddenly a slightly immature voice from behind him said, "Do you know why my father uses drugs to control me?"
Shiller turned around, staring into Lex's eyes and asked in astonishment, "You can speak so soon? You..."
In his line of sight, bathed under the lamp, Lex who was standing amid a scene of carnage, gave him a slightly maniacal smile and said,
"Because I am a genius…"
"A super genius."
Behind him, the snowstorm outside the window continued.
In the midst of the swirling snow, time flew by rapidly. When he looked through the window again, the confrontational atmosphere between Shiller and Benjamin intensified.
And the red-haired boy standing behind Benjamin was slowly raising the vase in his hand towards the person in front of him.