Lex and Bruce both gravitated towards the youth, but neither of them ventured to assist him. Instead, they observed his condition, given that his appearance and manner of entry were suspiciously uncanny.
"Excuse me, could you help me up? I feel slightly unwell," the young man coughed twice, then said.
Bruce didn't move, but instead queried him, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
"My name is Clark, Clark Kent. As I said, I'm a student from Metropolitan University. I saw smoke coming out of the building from my dorm room, so I decided to come and try to put out the fire."
Clark sighed, then continued, "I just started university this year. My university ID is in my pocket. You can take a look. I'm not lying."
Bruce walked over, rummaging through his pockets, locating the student ID that read, "Clark Kent, First-year student, Communication Studies, Metropolitan University."
He left the ID in his own pocket, then walked towards Clark and helped him stand. He supported Clark, leaving the chaotic living room behind and moving towards the guest room.
Clark lay down on the bed, resting for a while, seeming to be feeling better. He removed the gas mask he wore, revealing his handsome face, no less elegant than Bruce's.
He gasped a couple of times, then patted his chest, saying, "Damn, why did I...?"
Just then, there was a knock at the guest bedroom door. Lex, standing by the door, opened it to find Shiller standing outside.
Bruce's attention shifted back to the patterns on the bedsheet, while Lex engrossed himself in the anatomy of the doorknob. Upon seeing another individual in the room, Shiller paused, then turned to Bruce, saying "...this isn't because of your helicopter engine, is it?"
Clark, having regained some strength, sat up on the bed and said, "Hello, I'm Clark. Thank you for saving me."
Shiller squinted his eyes, surveyed Clark, and asked, "Are you a high school or a university student?"
"I just started university this year, at Metropolitan University. It's not far from here, that's why I ran over when I saw the smoke."
"How did you get here?" Shiller asked.
Bruce, too, turned towards Clark, clearly curious about this question. Shiller glanced at the snowy weather outside, and then mentioned, "If my calculations are correct, the snow accumulation right now is far beyond the capacity a vehicle can handle."
"I walked over."
"I've taught at Metropolitan University before. Though it's close to here, it's at least a 20-minute walk. From when the fire started to when it began smoking, not even three minutes have transpired..."
"I run pretty fast. I'm the cross-country champion in our department," Clark tried to explain.
It was clear that everyone in the room, apart from Clark, didn't believe his story. Just as Bruce was about to probe him further, Shiller interjected, "You look a bit pale, are you okay?"
"I just... suddenly feel a bit unwell," Clark frowned and said, "Maybe I ran too hard earlier."
As if a thought suddenly occurred to him, he turned to Shiller and said, "You're a Professor at Metropolitan University? I..."
"It's an emergency, right?" Shiller replied to Clark's unfinished sentence. Relieved, Clark responded, "Thank you for understanding. I know the school asked us to stay indoors..."
"No matter how you got here, it's clear you're stranded just like us."
"Or..." Shiller looked at Clark's eyes and said, "You can demonstrate to us how to run from the mayor's mansion to Metropolitan University in less than three minutes."
Clark shook his head just like a bobblehead and said, "No, I'm a bit tired."
Shiller turned to Lex and Bruce, saying, "I'd like to chat with him about recent events at Metropolitan University. If you two have nothing else to do, you may go rest."
Lex looked like he had something else to say, but Shiller simply turned back around. After hesitating for a bit, Lex left the room. Bruce followed him out into the dim hallway, where Bruce turned to him and said, "You seem to know something, don't you?"
"About what?" Lex didn't directly respond to his question.
"The so-called treasure, your father, the conspiracy from two years ago, and that professor..."
"Oh, you guys are here," Selina appeared at the staircase. She glanced towards the chaotic living room opposite them, then shook her head, saying, "You two really did a number on this place. You actually managed to blow it up."
Having said that, she looked Lex over and asked, "Are you really a citizen of Metropolis? Even in Gotham, your destructive power is rare."
Lex didn't seem to want to engage with Selina. He stopped and looked at Bruce, saying, "I admit you're a genius, but compared to me, you fall short. Your so-called perfect helicopter engine is just mediocre."
"I can tell you, I do know a lot of information." Lex crossed his arms and looked into Bruce's eyes, "My father has been seeking a treasure, and during the past couple of years, his efforts haven't been in vain."
"Today's banquet was initially part of his scheme. He invited all the high-profile people from the East Coast here, partly to eliminate those who hinder him and partly to stir up chaos to confuse people, before reaping benefits from the turmoil."
Bruce squinted, gazing at Lex, "Are you saying the treasure is here?"
"Exactly." Lex gave a definitive answer, then he started pacing in front of Bruce, speaking as he walked,
"The Mayor's Mansion is the oldest estate in Metropolis. It was built by the first wave of European immigrants here. But after they left the city, this place became the residence and office for successive mayors."
"Everyone knows that unlike Gotham, Metropolis is a city with a strong mayor system. The mayor holds significant power here. The mayor before White was highly regarded, and under his management, Metropolis flourished."
"Some say he could've been a strong presidential candidate. But he mysteriously disappeared after he stepped down as mayor. Still, this mayor left behind a lot of rumors, including one that my father heard."
"He heard that this mayor was conducting secret radiation experiments and had found a way to modify the human body and brain, capable of turning the human race into physically strong, long-lived, wisdom-filled mutants."
Lex glanced at Bruce, then continued, "I know this sounds like a fool's speculation. But he actually discovered some evidence proving secret experiments were conducted underground at the Mayor's Mansion"
"He thirsted for extraordinary wisdom all the time and thus kept investigating this matter until he had bought all the buildings around the Mayor's Mansion. He planned this incident to secretly investigate the mansion's underground secrets."
Lex stopped pacing and turned to Bruce, "Metropolis affairs should be handled by the people of Metropolis. Regardless of what the mayor is doing underground, it's none of your business. Go back to your Gotham."
"You know what I'm really interested in, what exactly happened in that plot two years ago? And also, this professor…"
"At that time, I was indeed in the Mayor's Mansion, but I didn't leave the room the entire time. I don't know what happened in the mansion."
"Then…"
"I won't say anything about that professor."
Lex crossed his fingers and made an 'X' sign in front of his mouth. He then dropped his hands, turned around, and left with a sly grin on his face.
Once he had left, Selina moved in closer and walked shoulder to shoulder with Bruce. After they returned to their room, Bruce sat down on the bed with a weary expression on his face. He rarely showed this kind of expression in front of others, but Selina was used to it.
"You seem a bit unhappy?" Selina sat next to him and turned to look at his face, "Are you that curious about the Professor's story?"
Bruce pursed his lips and responded, "If I can't identify his origins, I can't turn a blind eye to his dangerous powers."
"You don't trust him? But as far as I can see, he seems to trust you."
"Where did you see that?"
"Didn't you notice? The moment Lex attacked you, he chose to stand by your side."
Bruce shook his head, "I just don't trust these dangerous powers. If one day these powers become uncontrollable, I need to have a countermeasure…"
"Alright, then let's talk about that treasure. I like treasure hunts, how about you?" Selina said to Bruce with a smile.
"Lex told me there are secrets underground at the Mayor's Mansion. It might just be a trick to have me scout it out."
"True, but…"
Selina deliberately let her words hang, which made Bruce turn to look at her. Then, Selina extended one hand, flicked her index finger, and a key appeared at her fingertips.
"What if I managed to pickpocket a key from him?"