"Sour Bitch!"
Jonathan said while, tightly clutching his left thumb and wincing in pain.
Eric, who was flipping through a newspaper in the living room, heard his father's voice and immediately set the paper down, rushing to his side.
In the barn, Jonathan, holding his bleeding finger, helplessly said to Eric, "There was an owl hiding in the grain pile and pecked my finger when I wasn't paying attention."
"An owl?" Eric was surprised to hear about such a thing in the barn.
"We have quite a few mice in the barn, and it's not uncommon for owls that prey on mice to show up here occasionally," Jonathan explained to Eric.
Although Jonathan explained it as an accident, he couldn't escape Martha's scolding.
"If you had worn gloves, you wouldn't have been pecked by the owl," Martha chastised.
"I don't think it was about gloves," Jonathan said while bandaging his finger. "No matter how thick the gloves are, owls with sharp beaks can still pierce through. But the appearance of the owl isn't necessarily a bad thing. At least, most of the mice and bats in the barn have disappeared."
"You always have your reasons, Jonathan," Martha said, turning back to him after finishing cleaning the sink in the kitchen.
"There's always a reason in nature, right? Eric," Jonathan winked at Eric.
Eric smiled but didn't say anything.
"Sometimes your father can be quite eloquent, Eric," Martha remarked as she finished cleaning the sink and walked out of the kitchen. "I moved from the metropolis to Smallville not for its dazzling glamour, but because someone told me: we may never earn big money or travel the world, but he'll love me for a lifetime. Faced with such sweet words, I forgot to refuse."
"Oh," Jonathan sighed mockingly. "Looks like someone is missing the glamour of the metropolis."
"Yeah, sometimes," Martha agreed.
Listening to his parents' banter, Eric couldn't help but smile.
"By the way, hasn't Clark come back yet?" Martha suddenly mentioned their eldest son.
"He's practicing football at school," Jonathan shrugged helplessly. "I now believe he's deliberately staying with the team to avoid facing me in embarrassment."
"Don't say that, Jonathan," Martha reassured him, holding his hand. "Clark will understand your intentions."
"I hope so," Jonathan sighed in resignation.
After dinner, Eric finally saw movement from the journalist he had been monitoring with his super vision.
Eric, waiting for his prey to move, stood up and stretched lazily.
Phew! The curtains at the window seemed to flutter in the wind.
The next moment, he vanished from where he stood.
Journalist K, also known as Chris, emerged from Lex Luthor's residence and drove back to his own abode.
The car jostled on the uneven road, dim lights intermittently illuminating his calm face.
After half an hour of driving, the car stopped at a secluded villa on the outskirts of Smallville.
Chris got out of the car and entered the dark and heavy old villa.
Creak! Creak! Creak! His footsteps echoed in the corridor, sounding particularly clear in the silent night.
On the dismal corridor walls hung several paintings.
The first one depicted an owl perched on a branch outside the window, its eyes emitting eerie red light as it gazed into the room.
The middle one portrayed the classic scene of "Aaron's sons offering strange fire" from the New Testament.
The last one in the corridor was a simple depiction of a black owl mask adorned with ancient patterns.
"Creak!"
Pushing open the door, Chris entered the room.
Setting down his briefcase, he retrieved a mask similar to the one depicted in the corridor paintings from a cabinet and put it on.
Then he opened his notebook and connected the projection device.
The remote connection instantly appeared on the wall.
The other end of the connection was a small council chamber filled with sophistication.
The walls of the council chamber were decorated with colored glass and several paintings reflecting religious and knightly styles.
The seats in the council chamber were arranged in a scattered but orderly manner, all black, and several men and women wearing black suits and owl masks exuding an aristocratic demeanor sat on them.
"Chris," the person sitting in the main seat in the council chamber, dressed in a black robe and wearing a black owl mask, asked Chris on the remote video call, "You were tasked with monitoring Lex Luthor of the Luthor family. Are you now convening all council members because you have important information to provide?"
The voice of the robed figure was deep and magnetic, exuding an aura of inviolability.
"Yes, Mr. President, I have gained Lex Luthor's trust," Chris replied.
"Good! We are rooted in the metropolis, standing behind every wall and lurking in every shadow. A mere whisper from us would make the metropolis tremble, and even a falling leaf would require our permission. In the golden age, we stood at the pinnacle of the metropolis! We are also the masters of this city, but..."
The tone of the President changed as he continued, "The rise of the Luthor Corporation has cut off the council's path and placed it in opposition to us. Little do they know, our first blood is the beginning of everything! Only destruction awaits the Luthor family!"
After the President made his declaration of war against the Luthor family, Chris continued his report, "Lex Luthor had previously tasked me with investigating the Smallville High School dance case, but a few days ago, he suddenly instructed me to investigate two high school students."
"High school students?" the President asked.
"Yes, Mr. President, and it seems he is very wary of these two high school students, even harboring a sense of fear towards them."
The robed figure on the remote video call fell silent for a moment before asking, "An entity that makes Lex Luthor fearful? Didn't you previously explain to us that Lex is calm and intelligent to the point of being filled with reason? Such a person also has something to fear?!"
"Although it sounds unbelievable, it's true," Chris respectfully replied.
"Tell me the names of those two students."
"Yes, sir. They are from Smallville." Chris's words were cut off before he could finish, as the remote connection suddenly interrupted.
The projection device was also shut down in an instant.
"Interesting! A council of owls, huh?"
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