On the second-floor hallway late at night.
The faint sound of water flowed through the pipes.
Jordan Kent, with a head of messy curly hair, carefully wiped dry his recently cleaned "Treasured Artifact." It was the essential puberty relic he needed to use every night.
After diligently applying powder to the artifact and completing its maintenance, Jordan put it away in its box, opening the bathroom door gingerly, afraid of waking the other family members.
However.
As soon as the door opened a crack, he was so startled he nearly activated his Superman bloodline right there.
"Holy crap—!"
Jordan instinctively gasped.
A thin figure stood silently outside the door, hunched over, with a sallow complexion and sunken eyes, looking utterly listless, as if a banshee had drained all the vital essence from his body.
If Jordan hadn't reacted quickly and recognized the person standing outside as his younger brother, he truly would have nearly smashed the "Treasured Artifact" in his hand right into the other person's face.
"Ian?"
Jordan swallowed, still slightly shaken.
Ian slowly lifted his head, his eyes unfocused.
"Um, I need to use the bathroom." His voice was also somewhat weak and listless, as if he might lie down on the floor and restart at any moment.
"What's wrong with you? Are you sick?"
Jordan's expression was strange. While tucking his artifact into his clothes pocket, he sized Ian up and down. He cared about the youngest brother in the family.
"I'm fine, just physically drained."
Ian's tone carried a hint of annoyance. They said one needed to be ruthless, and he had truly been too ruthless. He hadn't expected the [Self-Healing Surge] skill to consume so much physical energy.
It healed the injuries, but it depleted the body's energy reserves. Ian was so hungry he could barely stand straight. How could he not look listless, sallow, and emaciated?
"Uh..."
Jordan clearly misunderstood Ian's meaning.
His expression became elaborate.
It finally settled into an awkward look of "I understand, but I shouldn't understand."
"..."
The atmosphere in the air slightly solidified.
"Uh... then you... wash up first?" Jordan gave a dry laugh, breaking the stifling atmosphere, and stepped out of the bathroom to make space.
"Okay."
Ian shuffled his feet and dragged himself into the bathroom. Just as he was about to close the door, Jordan suddenly reached out and held the door panel, hesitating.
"That... Ian." He carefully chose his words, speaking with difficulty as if it were his first time being a life mentor. "I... I know you might have unlocked the door to certain new worlds."
"But... as a person, especially as a man, you have to learn restraint. If you don't take care of your body now, you'll regret it later!" Jordan's voice was earnest and meaningful.
He truly never expected these words to come out of his own mouth. But there was no helping it, Ian's appearance was too scary. The young brother couldn't imagine how many times his little brother had "come" in his bedroom.
Clearly.
Jordan was judging others by his own standards.
There was a misunderstanding between the two brothers.
"..."
Ian opened his mouth, wanting to explain, but didn't know what to say. In the end, he could only nod in "resignation," forcing a smile before slowly closing the bathroom door.
The sound of running water soon came from inside the bathroom.
It was Ian cleaning the knives he used to "get stronger." However, in the Second Brother Jordan's mind, Ian was probably cleaning a "tool" used to train certain muscles, just like his own.
"What a precocious Ian."
Even a kid like Jordan couldn't help but sigh with emotion. He clutched the artifact hidden in his pocket, planning to return to his room to play a few more games.
However.
Just as he reached the staircase, Jordan ran right into his father, Clark, who was coming up the stairs. The father and son exchanged glances, and the atmosphere grew awkward again.
"Good evening, Jordan."
Clark, still wearing a wrinkled suit, was the first to break the silence.
"Mm."
Jordan nodded stiffly in greeting, then turned sideways to go back to his room. He was probably the child in the entire family with the most strained relationship with Clark.
"Wait."
Clark stopped Jordan.
"Is Ian in the bathroom?"
He looked towards the bathroom, from which sounds were emanating.
Jordan paused his steps and nodded, answering his father's question. As for Jordan's somewhat distant attitude, the current Clark couldn't spare the energy to try and fix it.
"Is anything wrong with him lately?" Clark's main concern now was Ian's mental health. The sight of Ian self-harming in his room while laughing like a maniac truly worried him.
Indeed.
Living too close to Gotham probably meant they were being affected by that dreadful place—Clark couldn't shake the feeling that Ian's behavior was somewhat reminiscent of a Gotham lunatic.
This was completely inconsistent with Ian's usual image as a well-behaved, obedient child who only studied his school books. Given this situation, Clark naturally had to consider the mental illness that Dr. Hannibal had mentioned.
Could Ian... really be in a state of schizophrenia? Thinking of this, Clark's expression grew even more serious. He tried to get some information from Jordan.
However.
"Is anything wrong with Ian?"
Ian's "overindulged" face and the shocking statement about his "body being drained" instantly flashed through Jordan's mind. He hesitated for a moment and finally chose to keep his little brother's "unspeakable secret."
That is, the private matter that couldn't be told to parents.
"What could be wrong with him? His grades are good, teachers love him, girls practically fall into his arms ten times a day, and even the troublemakers who like to fight rely on him to sell the True Exam Questions before tests... I dare say, even Jonathan wasn't as popular as he is in middle school."
Jordan's tone was slightly sour. Was it jealousy? Maybe a little, but it was mostly envy, as he had few friends due to his social anxiety.
"Yes, Ian is practically a model student, very perfect... but he's too perfect, which makes me a little worried." Clark mainly felt that Ian might be stressed out because of this pressure.
However.
To the rebellious Jordan, this sounded like his frequently absent father just looking for trouble.
"When we have flaws, you lecture us, and when we don't have flaws, you're still not satisfied... Hah, parents these days." Jordan rolled his eyes, walked around his "fussbudget" father, and went straight back to his bedroom.
"Bang!"
Jordan slammed the door shut loudly.
It was as if he were venting his inner dissatisfaction with his father.
Clark sighed helplessly, withdrawing his gaze from Jordan. He looked at the tightly closed bathroom door, hesitated for a moment, and then his eyes narrowed slightly.
The next moment.
The superhero's expression suddenly became a mix of shock and uncertainty.
His pupils flashed.
It was as if he had seen something unbelievable.