"Eric, thank you for saving me during the fire in the editor's office earlier."
Chloe expressed her gratitude to Eric.
Fresh out of the hospital, she quickly focused her energy back on The Torch.
Although the original editor's office was unusable due to the fire, Chloe managed to secure a storage room with special permission from the school, serving as a temporary office.
The two of them were standing in the temporary office at the moment, and Chloe thanked Eric earnestly.
"You should thank Clark. I didn't do much," Eric responded with a somewhat distant tone.
"Of course, I know. Clark told me that if it weren't for your presence, he wouldn't have been able to arrive in time, and you subdued Coach Watts. In a sense, you also saved me, so... this gratitude isn't entirely baseless," Chloe shrugged, picking up the freshly brewed coffee.
Feeling a bit chilly in the temporary office without a heating system, she rubbed her arms and complained to Eric, "I feel like I'm already mentally elsewhere, ready to leave at any moment. I've never wanted to return to our original office more than now."
She said while glancing at Eric.
Seeing that Eric was focused on the newspaper in front of him, Chloe felt a bit disheartened.
It seemed like no matter what she did, she couldn't capture his attention.
Was Eric even more of a "typical straight guy" than Clark?
After a moment of pondering, she glanced at Eric, who was flipping through the newspaper.
The headline caught her eye - "Moira Adams, CEO of New Fly Energy, Perishes in Slums!"
"I know her," Chloe approached and said, "Although they claim to be a new energy company, the pollution caused by their thermal power generation is no less than that of traditional energy companies. I think compared to Lexo Fertilizer Company, New Fly Energy can hardly be considered environmentally friendly."
Eric ignored Chloe's words and instead focused on the mention of "Star City Queen Enterprises" in the newspaper.
After contemplating for a while, he asked Chloe, "Do you know Oliver Queen?"
"Queen Enterprises?," Chloe shook her head in confusion, "I only know the CEO of Queen Enterprises, Robert Queen. What's the connection between them?"
"Nevermind," Eric set down the newspaper.
He estimated that Green Arrow was still enjoying his playboy lifestyle, and it would take some time before he embarked on his journey of self-redemption on a deserted island.
After finishing reading today's newspaper, Eric continued to browse through the newspapers from the previous few days.
Soon, he found the news about the attempted assassination of Lionel Luthor.
Lionel, Moira, combined with the personnel list obtained from reporter Chris, Eric quickly determined that the deaths of these entrepreneurs were likely related to the so-called "Court of Owls".
According to the personnel list, the next target after Moira, most likely, was—
Lex Luthor!
After staring at the newspaper for a moment in contemplation, Eric put it down and, after thanking Chloe, left the temporary office.
Lex Luthor, huh?
Wish him luck!
But since the Court of Owls has targeted Lex, it's natural for them to send their "talons".
If we follow these "talons," we might just find the Court of Owls' nest.
Exiting the temporary office later in the afternoon, Eric squinted his eyes, making up his mind.
A few minutes later.
"Hey, Eric, I saw Lana."
Clark had just entered the living room and called out to Eric, "Did Lana come for something?"
"I don't think she came to see Clark," Eric replied expressionlessly.
"In fact, I didn't come to see Clark," Lana said somewhat awkwardly to Eric, "I came to see you."
"Me? I don't think we have any connection," Eric put the pizza he had taken out back into the refrigerator, speaking casually, "I even think I have more connection with your aunt than you."
"Phew!" Lana breathed out and said, "I came to apologize to you."
"Apologize?"
"Yes, I showed the manuscript to Aunt Neil without your permission. If you feel offended, I'll apologize to you."
Although she was apologizing, there was an indescribable grievance in her heart.
She didn't know why Eric treated her this way.
Excessive coldness, aloofness, still maintained a stranger's attitude.
She thought that through those texts and drawings, they had established a tacit understanding.
Belonging to friendship, a relationship of shared souls.
"You don't need to."
Eric shook his head, "If I cared, I wouldn't have let you take the manuscript away. No need to apologize. Anything else?"
"Yes."
Looking at Eric's impatient face, Lana fell silent for a few seconds before saying to him, "I want to discuss some issues in 'Cthulhu' with you. There are some things I don't understand, such as the theme you want to convey, 'behind the false peace, is the cruel truth of the world,' but why do you keep hinting not to break the false peace? And in 'Whispers in the Dark,' you mentioned the man going crazy in Gotham, what is his true identity?"
As soon as she mentioned Eric's work "Cthulhu," Lana immediately became excited.
"I can't give you an answer."
Eric shook his head indifferently, "Some things inherently have no answers, nor need to be pursued."
"..."
Lana's enthusiasm was quickly extinguished.
She moved her lips but ultimately didn't say anything.
"I understand."
After standing in place in silence for a moment, Lana said goodbye to Eric.
"Aunt Neil recently asked me to help clean the stable, so I have to go back. Are you going to the party tonight?"
"What party?"
"Didn't Clark tell you? He wants to host a small gathering at home."
After saying that and seeing Eric's unfriendly expression, Lana immediately realized that she had said something wrong and felt a bit embarrassed. "I have to go now. Bye!"
Lana quickly left, leaving Eric standing in place feeling very unhappy.
A few minutes later.
"Hey, Eric, I saw Lana."
Clark had just entered the living room and called out to Eric, "Did Lana come for something?"
"You can go ask her. Clark, are you planning to have a party at home tonight?"
"Party?"
"Just a small gathering, just a few friends, Chloe, Pete, and Lana."
"Oh, and Lex."
He added afterwards.
Hearing that Lex Luthor would attend the party, Eric's brows immediately furrowed.
Are you trying to invite trouble into our house?!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
10 Advance Chapters: patreon.com/ReadingOasis
Make Sure to give a Review!