"Two thousand casualties???" Clark really couldn't hold back and exclaimed. No, he lifted the building up right away, how could there be two thousand casualties???
For a moment, Clark genuinely doubted whether he arrived too late, causing fragile humans inside to be flung around like filling during the building's collapse.
But he recalled carefully that, when he lifted the building, the angle of tilt was definitely no more than 15 degrees. It's possible some got injured from suddenly hitting the walls, but this slight tilt only lasted around two seconds, not enough to lead to fatalities, right?
But saying there were two thousand casualties, which could mean 1,999 injured and one dead. This really shows how much studying journalism has messed them up.
Besides, even with two thousand injuries, Clark didn't quite believe it. Not only does he have the super strength to lift a building, but he also has super hearing and super vision. When he flew over to lift the building, the people inside weren't screaming miserably, more like exclaiming in surprise than shrieking in horror.
After all, he was right under the building. From the time he heard the building collapsing to flying over took just two seconds. Many people probably just noticed the floor slowly tilting, then shouted in surprise before being caught. When the building was set down, many hadn't even realized what had happened.
This news is way too exaggerated, Clark couldn't help but think, really shooting off without a clue.
He sat down with water on the sofa, shaking his head. Although he's been a journalist for so long, he's still not accustomed to the media's exaggeration. Making up stuff just for attention is too much.
He switched to a few more channels, finding similar stories. Some said over two thousand; others said over three thousand or injuries in the ten thousands.
The news images were chaotic—photos of ambulances stuck in traffic from who knows where, people crying in interviews, and shop owners vividly describing the disaster's horror.
After watching too much, Clark almost doubted himself. Fortunately, he was there; if he wasn't on the scene, he might have believed it.
Hold on. Clark took out his phone and started checking Luther Group's stock, then sharply breathed in.
Indeed, if the casualties reported in the news were true, this would be the most painful accident of the 21st century, enough to topple a super group.
It's not that public opinion actually matters, but those wanting to replace or dissect the corpse wouldn't miss a golden opportunity like this.
Clark sighed, realizing this was what we call karma. However, he felt it was more like evil meets its match. That damn Luther also fell into Shiller's trap, which means after things settle, he must treat Shiller to a meal.
After finishing his glass of water, Clark checked his phone, ready to call Diana to ask about her side of things. Before he could dial, a call came in.
"Hello, Clark Kent! Where are you?!"
The voice sounded inexplicably familiar, and Clark didn't immediately recognize it. But soon, he heard on the other end, "It's Luther; I'm coming to find you!!"
"Wait, why are you coming to find me?!" Clark got up from the sofa and said, "Stay away, or I'll knock you out!"
"I need to see you right now!!!" Luther roared from the other end, "We need to meet immediately! Right now!!!"
Clark's temper flared too. He said in a low tone to the other side, "Are you insane, Luther?! What kind of relationship do we have? Why do I need to see you? Beat it!"
After saying this, he hung up angrily, tossed the phone onto the sofa, pondered for two seconds standing there, then picked up the phone again, turned it off, and placed it on the table beside him.
It wouldn't take him long to fly to the North Pole; might as well just go find Diana directly. He could personally check the research results and avoid Luther losing his mind over him.
As soon as he decided, Clark flew straight to the North Pole. With his speed, departing at dusk, he would reach the North Pole before dark. After circling the North Pole, he finally found Diana's base.
"My goodness, can't you just make a phone call?" Diana said somewhat helplessly, "You really want to scare the scientists at the other research stations; they thought they'd encountered a Yeti!"
Clark laughed and said, "I may be a bit strong, but I'm not Yeti-level strong, right?"
"Take a look at what you're wearing." Diana tugged at the string on his hoodie.
Clark then remembered leaving in a hurry without wearing a coat. So, the research station personnel saw him in a thin hoodie walking through the snow and knocking on their base door. If they mistook him for a Yeti, it just showed their imagination wasn't rich enough.
Clark shook his head, brushing away the snowflakes, then asked, "How's the research going?"
"Actually, not bad. Being a scientist is quite interesting; if not for a pile of work waiting at the museum, I'd want to stay in the North Pole permanently."
"You'll have the chance someday," Clark mused.
"Oh, PhD, nice to see you." Clark went over and hugged the expert, then said, "I just want to confirm that everything is proceeding smoothly."
"Not bad. I haven't been this focused on research for a long time," said the expert. "I'm comparing the differences between Krypton and Earth's atmospheres, while my assistant is deciphering the radiation detector."
As they spoke, the assistant approached with the radiation detector and said, "Doctor, I've managed to extract some data, but it's incomplete. Can you make out any patterns?"
The expert frowned and said, "Don't be too impatient; deciphering incomplete data can be difficult. We need to find numerical patterns to..."
"Sorry, may I have a look?" Clark asked, "Not long ago, I discovered I could understand Kryptonian, so maybe I could help."
"God, you could be a huge help," the expert hurried over from the lab bench, removed his goggles, and huddled next to Clark. Clark picked up the printed text and read aloud:
"The star's radiation is 9... uh, something something comparison... hmm... 63..."
The expert looked at Clark with a skeptical eye, and Clark's face turned red immediately. He scratched his cheek, then said, "Sorry, I might not be very good at English."
Beside him, Diana covered her forehead and then said, "You don't understand the technical terms, do you? Why not express it more plainly?"
"Alright. This term means that here and here are being compared..."
"Ratio."
"This term means, if it's high, then it's high..."
"Positive correlation."
"This refers to some tiny object..."
"Particle."
"This should be the code for some element, and this here is also a code for something, without any real meaning..."
"That should be an element."
After spending a lot of effort, Clark finally managed to decode the information as much as possible. Although the expert was a bit helpless, he still patted Clark on the arm and said, "Thank you, you've really been a big help."
Clark wished he could find a hole to crawl into. Why did he recently act like a fool, a country bumpkin in front of everyone?!
Clark couldn't help but start doubting if he was really too stupid and rustic. He was really driving himself to tears with his foolishness.
Diana seemed to see his frustration, patting Clark on the shoulder, then said, "Don't worry, the lifespan of your race should be as long as mine. Calculating from that, you're still just a baby, take it slow."
Clark couldn't help but cover his face; he finally understood why Diana was so patient with him. It turns out in his eyes, he was just a baby who couldn't understand human language and could only cry and fuss. Although a bit annoying, because he's really too young, he can't be blamed harshly.
Then he recalled what the black officer said to him before he entered the dream—"You're still too young."
So that's it? Clark began to wonder, even though he looked like a human adult, was he still just a kid on Krypton?
With that thought, Clark couldn't help but be curious about the average lifespan of his race, at what age they're considered adults, what age they're supposed to have self-care ability, how many years they go to school, and when they can start working.
Clark originally thought he wouldn't care about these things because he grew up on Earth and only considered Earth as his hometown, so whatever happens on Krypton has nothing to do with him.
But now it seems this view is a bit shallow. Every intelligent lifeform has the instinct to trace its roots because only by understanding the normal state of one's race and hometown can one use it to compare to oneself and understand oneself.
At this moment, Clark realized that comparing himself to the humans around him might be a mistake.
Just because he looks like an adult like them, he thought he was also an adult; because he could handle daily work like them, he thought he could work. But in reality, it could be completely different.
He looks like them only because of the different growth cycles; Kryptonians just grow taller first. And he can handle daily work because he has a super brain, with good innate conditions, having the intelligence of a 30-year-old at the age of 5.
But in reality, his mental development may not be as mature as the humans around him, so his emotional control may seem poor, his reasoning ability isn't enough, and he's lacking education and knowledge, ultimately making him appear foolish.
Clark closed his eyes and sighed; the urgent task now is to read more books. He really can't continue being a country bumpkin who can't even speak properly.
"Um, can you lend me your phone for a bit?" Clark asked Diana, "I left my phone at home."
"Sure, but what do you need the phone for?"
"I want to look up the dictionary," Clark said. "I think there should be an English word that accurately describes my current state."
Diana obviously didn't understand but respected that, so he gave the phone to Clark. Clark looked up for a long time, from anthropology to sociology, then psychology, and finally found a very suitable word: "Regression," which refers to a defense mechanism where a person, when under pressure, consciously or unconsciously reverts to an earlier psychological stage (like infancy), exhibiting behaviors such as emotional release akin to tantrums and seeking comfort, which sounds very fitting for him.
This allowed Clark to further understand that anger stems from helplessness, and helplessness is a regressive manifestation.
During infancy, a person has no active abilities, which is "totally helpless." At that time, when they have needs, they can only make noise, i.e., cry, to remind people around them to meet their needs.
And the emotion of anger is actually an inertia of expressing physical discomfort due to helplessness in infancy. Essentially, it's still a reminder to others, "I need help."
In fact, anger is also more common in victims, or to be precise, self-proclaimed victims. People think they're being violated and need help, hence why they express anger to send a distress signal. This is an instinct.
While Clark was delving into psychological knowledge, Diana's phone suddenly rang. When he picked it up, a furious roar from Luther came through: "Clark Kent!!! I know you're there!!!"
But this time, Clark didn't rush to hang up because he had realized that Luther's baseless rage wasn't because he was crazy but because he needed help, specifically from him.