The Speed Force.
The incredibly powerful Speed Force.
At this moment, Lin Li envied Barry greatly. With such speed, he was practically invincible; he couldn't imagine anything that could defeat him.
Of course, in the TV series, The Flash was defeated inexplicably many times, especially by guns or darts. Lin Li just didn't believe it. With that speed, were they joking?
Lin Li licked his ice cream cone, which was delicate and sweet, then quietly listened to Dr. Wells' explanation. Seeing The Flash in person was so exciting.
"That night, when the particle accelerator exploded, it didn't just create a storm. A dimensional barrier broke, releasing unknown energy into our world: antimatter, dark energy, X-elements. We don't know what it was."
"Antimatter? Dark energy? X-elements? That's impossible, those are all theoretical."
Barry said, disagreeing.
"And how much of you is 'theoretical' then?"
Dr. Wells continued, "The unknown energy spread out. We've mapped the scatter pattern across Central City and its surroundings, but we can't be sure what or who was exposed to the radiation. For eight months, we've been looking for other metahumans like you."
"Metahumans!"
Barry asked.
"Yes, metahumans transformed by the unknown energy."
"Have you found any other metahumans like me?"
Barry asked. He felt that such power was truly immense, and if used for evil, ordinary people would be defenseless, just like when he was 11 years old.
He was momentarily distracted, recalling the moment his mother was killed when he was 11.
"Yes, Lin Li, a metahuman from another world who controls lightning."
Dr. Wells said.
Lin Li, who had been slowly enjoying his ice cream, swallowed it in two or three bites.
"Hello, Barry, I can call you that, right? I believe we'll become good friends. My name is Lin Li."
Barry looked at Lin Li suspiciously.
"You… you're the person who suddenly appeared that night? Who are you?"
Lin Li spread his hands helplessly and said with a sad tone, "That night, the particle accelerator exploded. I don't know what happened, but in my world, a bolt of lightning struck a black energy sphere, which turned into a vortex and sucked me in. Then I appeared near you, and after that, we were both struck by lightning and both became metahumans."
After Lin Li finished speaking, his hands crackled, and silver electric arcs flashed on them.
Barry's eyes widened in shock as he looked at Lin Li.
"Oh my god!!! Oh my god!!!! Holy cow, holy cow."
"You're a metahuman, and from another world?"
"There really is a parallel universe in this spacetime! Oh my god, this is too crazy! This will change humanity's understanding of the entire world!"
Barry paced back and forth, his heart filled with uncontrollable excitement and exhilaration. If landing on the moon was humanity's first step into space, then the confirmation of parallel universes would be humanity's hundreds of thousands of steps.
"I don't care about parallel universes or changing humanity's understanding. I just want to go back to my loved one, go back to laugh and bicker with her, go back to live with her, go back to continue my unfinished marriage proposal."
Lin Li said sadly. If he could choose, Lin Li wouldn't want to come here to gain any superpowers; he would choose to return to the real world.
The scene fell silent.
Barry's face showed shame, and he said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I didn't know…"
"I will help you. We will all help you. You will definitely be able to return to your own world."
Barry directly hugged Lin Li to show that he had no intention of hurting him.
The scene was very warm, and everyone looked on with warmth.
"What are you doing?"
Joe walked in and saw Barry and Lin Li hugging, full of questions.
"I'm thanking Barry, Detective West."
Lin Li said with a smile. His super-fast thinking ability gave him extreme analytical skills and strong emotional control, and the sadness that had momentarily surfaced was calmed.
He knew what Joe was there for.
Joe said suspiciously, "You speak English?"
Lin Li said, "Yes, I forgot many things when I woke up last night, but I gradually remembered them later."
Joe's suspicion grew stronger, and he asked continuously, "Why were you in the police station lab the night the accelerator exploded?"
"To thank Barry for saving my life, I was bringing him a gift that night."
"You know Barry?"
"Yes, Barry saved my life a month before the incident. Before the incident, I was a fisherman in a fishing village in the East. While at sea, my boat was accidentally sunk by a storm. I clung to driftwood, barely surviving, drifting on the sea, and was unexpectedly rescued by Barry. I've been living in the suburbs ever since, thanks to Barry. Otherwise, I wouldn't have survived."
Joe didn't believe it at all.
As for Dr. Wells, Cisco, and Caitlin, they stared at Lin Li with wide eyes, as if to say, 'You're so full of it, who would believe such a lie?'
With Joe's many years as a police officer, how could he not sense the absurdity of the situation? He was too lazy to pick apart the numerous flaws in the story. He simply pulled Barry out.
Pulling him to the corner by the door, Joe quietly asked Barry, "What gift did he give you that night?"
This was the wisdom of an old police officer. He didn't even need to pick apart your words. If the gifts they mentioned didn't match up, it wouldn't matter even if you talked about the Statue of Liberty collapsing.
How could Barry know? He stammered, "It… it was a Star Labs shirt. I'd wanted one for a long time, but unfortunately, it was destroyed by the lightning that night." Barry cleverly mentioned a shirt, which at least explained why the item was no longer there. For the rest, he could only wish Lin Li luck, otherwise, this visitor from another world would be sent to the East by Joe on the grounds of being an illegal immigrant.
Joe looked at Barry with his unique fatherly gaze—the kind that says, 'Son, you've done something wrong, I know, but I won't expose you.'
Back in the main control room.
"What gift did you give Barry that night?"
"A shirt, a Star Labs shirt. I knew Barry liked it very much, and I especially wanted to give it to him."
Lin Li smiled, everything was under control.
Could it be true? Joe couldn't help but have this thought, but this Easterner was truly too suspicious. Finally, with no other option, Joe pulled out his trump card.
"I've already applied for a deportation notice. You can be sent home very soon."
Joe said very seriously, feeling that Lin Li was being uncooperative.
The few people present felt a 'thump' in their hearts, their expressions unnatural. It would be ridiculous if a crosser from another world was deported right in front of them.
The others were about to speak, but Lin Li interrupted them.
Lin Li continued to smile, saying, "No need. Barry has already recommended me to join this country through a talent recommendation. Once the assessment notice passes, I can stay here permanently."
"What kind of talent are you?"
"I speak eight languages."
"What! You're not a fisherman?"
"That's a hobby."
"Why don't you have identification?"
"The place was too remote, the country couldn't reach it."
"Then how did you learn eight languages?"
"I learned them after coming here. It took me a month. I'm a genius."
The two exchanged dozens of rapid-fire responses, and Barry noticed the situation was getting a bit out of hand.
He quickly grabbed Joe and said to Lin Li, "Lin Li, let me talk to Joe. It's okay, no problem."
Lin Li smiled and nodded. It wasn't his forehead getting veins, so he didn't care.
"Joe, let's talk…"
With that, Barry pulled Joe out.