On another street in the small town, Jonathan was driving his pickup truck through the streets.
Clark sat in the passenger seat, resting his chin on his hand against the car window, looking out at the streets filled with Christmas cheer.
The two were planning to go to the store to buy a Christmas tree.
The Christmas tree from last Christmas was broken, and there were no suitable fir trees on Kent Farm, so they decided to buy a European silver fir for their Christmas tree.
"Sorry, Dad."
After watching the street view for a while, Clark apologized to his father.
"I must have worried you and Mom a lot before."
"We are all family, so there's no need to say so much, Clark. You just need to know that your mom and I, and Eric, we are always here to support you."
Driving the car along the somewhat crowded street, Jonathan said to his eldest son, "I'm glad everything is back on track. Clark, perhaps some setbacks will help you understand your life. I cannot influence you, and Jor-El, your Krypton biological father, also cannot influence your destiny."
"I know, Dad."
A warm current flowed through Clark's heart as he softly replied to his father.
After driving to the store, as soon as Clark entered, he spotted an acquaintance inside.
Chloe was picking out items in front of a store shelf. Clark walked up to her in a few steps and greeted her.
"Hey, Chloe."
Chloe, with her short blonde hair, heard the voice and turned to face Clark, "It's a bit strange to see you here. Decided not to be a Thug Gang anymore, Clark?"
"Hmm, not anymore. Actually, Chloe, I came to apologize to you."
Clark said sincerely.
"Oh, that's truly surprising. Clark, when I'm with you, I never know if you're going to accuse me or apologize to me."
Chloe turned her head away, picking out items and speaking nonchalantly.
Her attitude towards Clark was noticeably colder than before.
"You helped a lot, Chloe. You knew my location in Metropolis, but you never told anyone."
"Because we're friends, aren't we?"
Chloe put down the Christmas card she was choosing, turned to look directly into Clark's eyes, "Because we're friends, we keep secrets, and we worry about you. But that doesn't mean we don't get hurt, nor does it mean we'll pretend nothing happened after being hurt."
"I'm sorry, I… I've been hurting the people around me, I know. But this time I won't run away. I will take responsibility for the mistakes I've made."
Clark apologized earnestly to her.
"I hope so."
Chloe took her items to the counter, "Oh, by the way."
As she reached the counter, she suddenly remembered something and turned to Clark, "You should go see Lana. After all, she's the woman you care about most, isn't she?"
After saying that, she turned to pay, leaving Clark stunned in place.
Taking a deep breath, Clark felt even worse!
A few minutes later, the father and son put the fir tree into the car's trunk.
After getting in the car, Jonathan started the engine and drove forward along the street.
After passing through the more crowded streets and leaving the town center, Jonathan drove the car on a country road.
Clark was somewhat dazed, recalling what Chloe had just said to him.
Suddenly, something unexpected happened!
Bang!
The car window shattered.
A metal arrowhead pierced the air, shattering the car window glass like a sharp cone, then continued its momentum towards the seat next to Clark.
Clark, snapping out of his daze, immediately reached out and grabbed the rushing arrow.
The metal arrow, with its powerful kinetic energy and immense lethality, was firmly held by him!
Jonathan, startled by the ambush, immediately slammed on the brakes.
The car skidded on the ground after the brakes were applied, making a sharp, piercing noise.
After stopping the car, Jonathan saw the arrow with its tail slightly trembling in Clark's hand and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Clark, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Dad."
"This is an arrow! Why would someone shoot this at us?"
Jonathan frowned, and after recovering from the intense emotions of their narrow escape, he asked Clark.
"I don't know."
Clark said, holding the arrow in his hand, looking a bit bewildered.
"The arrowhead is a Teflon-coated titanium alloy blade, capable of easily cutting through skin and bone. The shaft is a special polymer, stronger than ordinary carbon fiber…"
At Kent Farm, Eric held the arrow in his hand, his sharp eyes emitting a cold gaze.
"Why would someone ambush Clark and me? I don't remember us provoking anyone."
Jonathan looked at the arrow in front of him, saying with some confusion, "And to use such a relatively backward cold weapon for a sneak attack, wouldn't a gun be better?"
"Perhaps this is just a warning from them, not an attempt to kill."
Eric placed the arrow on the table, saying casually.
"Actually, Dad, Eric…"
Clark, who had been standing silently by, said with some uncertainty, "When I was in Metropolis, I once took on a commissioned task and got involved with a gang."
"What gang?"
Jonathan asked his eldest son with confusion.
"The Thug Gang, a criminal organization rooted in Metropolis. I encountered them the first time I robbed a bank. Later, their boss found me and wanted me to murder someone. Because the target wasn't in Metropolis but in another city, I took their money but didn't go to assassinate the target."
Clark said with confusion, "I remember not revealing my identity to them. I don't know how they tracked me down."
"Regardless, they've targeted us, Clark. You and Eric must be careful."
Although Jonathan was also very worried, he quickly controlled his emotions and began to comfort Eric and Clark.
He had no intention of blaming Clark.
"If it's that kind of gang, this is just a warning. Next, there will likely be other methods."
Eric's eyes showed a cold glint, "They might even pay us a visit soon."
"So…"
Suppressing his murderous intent, Eric looked at his father, "For safety reasons, Dad, I suggest you and Mom leave the farm and hide for a while."
"It's fine."
Jonathan glanced at the arrow, "I'll send Martha to your grandma's house for a while. Although we won't be able to celebrate Christmas this year, celebrating Christmas at grandma's house is also a good experience."
"If Mother goes to grandma's house alone, she will definitely be very worried."
Eric offered a different opinion, "Mother is pregnant, and her emotions are a bit unstable. I think Mother will only feel at ease if you, Dad, accompany her to grandma's house."
Listening to Eric's words, Jonathan was silent for a moment, then looked up at Eric, "If that's the case, you and Clark will have your first Christmas without us."
After night fell, Eric put away the arrow, preparing to go to Metropolis to meet this so-called "Thug Gang."
For any existence that might cause harm to himself or his family, he generally adhered to the idea of nipping it in the bud and eradicating evil completely.
Just as he was tidying up and about to leave, there was a sudden knock on the door.
Eric stood up and opened the door, looking at Clark standing outside.
"It's so late, Clark. Don't tell me you suddenly want to have a heart-to-heart with me."
"No, not a heart-to-heart. I think it's something more important than that."
After Clark entered, he closed the door.
"Eric, you're planning to go find the 'Thug Gang' people, aren't you?"
Clark asked Eric directly.
"Why do you say that?"
Eric walked to the desk and sat down, asking casually, "Do I seem like such an impulsive person in your eyes?"
"Didn't you often use the phrase 'prepare for a rainy day' before? I think facing such a threat, you are very likely to act on your own."
A serious expression flashed in Clark's eyes, "This is the mess I made, and I want to solve it myself."
"Solve it? How will you solve it?"
Eric asked him with interest.
He really couldn't think of any other means his elder brother could use besides "violence."
Would he use violence to defeat or even kill all of them?
"Find their criminal evidence, then hand it over to the police, and let them be finished!"
Clark said righteously.
"You're still so naive, Clark. Sometimes, I even think you might have wiser thoughts when you wear your red kryptonite ring."
Eric shook his head speechlessly, "Crime and corruption are conjoined flowers that grow together. Relying on the police to maintain order and solve citizen problems in a city like Metropolis is less reliable than hoping for aliens to suddenly arrive tomorrow."
Saying that, Eric picked up the black arrow shaft and paused for a moment before continuing:
"I checked online, and the composite material of this arrow shaft has a patent, owned by Saditris Company, which means 'archer' in Latin. And Saditris Company's headquarters are in Star City. Connecting this with you being hired by the gang to kill a guy from Star City, and investigating the basic information of this gang, we can basically conclude that this so-called 'Thug Gang' is just a subordinate organization of a large corporate group in Star City."
After rattling off the information he had investigated, Eric saw Clark's thoughtful expression and continued, "I even thought of a certain archer from Star City."
"Archer?"
Clark's face showed a puzzled expression, "Like Robin Hood, an archer who acts as a hero?"
"Something like that."
"Then he must be very weak."
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