Chapter 294: The Future Arrives

Barry and Iris were strolling outside Star Labs.

Hearing Iris ask about his experiences in Star City, he froze for an imperceptible instant, then quickly hid his expression with a smile—the situation over there was very special; he'd met quite a few people, but not a single one of them could be spoken of, not even to Iris.

How could I possibly answer? he thought. Tell Iris I got to know a world-class female hacker, and a superhero who uses a bow and arrows to protect the city? No, no, I promised them I'd keep their secrets.

So he changed the subject: "Actually, I saw quite a lot in Star City, and it got me thinking about a lot of things—for example, when I left Star City and came back here, I started reflecting on, uh, interpersonal relationships and stuff. You know, I still don't have a girlfriend, and you've never had a boyfriend either."

At this point he was a little nervous, but he still mustered his courage and went on: "And you're my best friend—"

"Of course, you're my best friend too." Iris picked up the conversation with a smile: "Otherwise why would I come here with you to watch Dr. Wells's presentation?"

"No, what I mean is—"

"I know what you mean, Barry."

Barry heard this, turned his head to look at Iris, whose expression was as usual, and couldn't help sighing: "Do you really know?"

"Of course, we grew up in the same home, remember? Barry, we're not siblings, but we're as close as siblings. You might be a little embarrassed to talk to me about your love life—but it's fine, you can tell me anything."

Iris said to Barry with a smile: "I really hope you can meet someone you both like, and find happiness."

Barry had no way to deal with her misunderstanding, and could only laugh awkwardly in agreement: "Yeah, yeah."

Their conversation reached an impasse—at least in Barry's eyes.

But for the time being he didn't plan to keep going, because the star of tonight's presentation had just taken the stage.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Central City, Joe and Detective Coffee Cup were already driving straight to the second farm.

"The first farm had nothing." Detective Coffee Cup sighed: "Hope Allen's test results weren't wrong."

Joe replied: "Don't rush, there are still three farms, let's keep looking."

As they talked, a burst of cheers came through the car radio.

"What station is this?" Joe asked: "Was the radio on when we got in the car?"

"Don't scare me, Joe." Detective Coffee Cup, gripping the steering wheel, rolled his eyes: "Chasing two robbery suspects in the middle of the night is already annoying enough, and we're out in the countryside too."

Joe, hearing this, couldn't say much more, and just warily scanned the surroundings.

On the radio, the cheers quickly fell silent.

"Thank you, everyone." A man's voice rang out, sounding confident, calm, and capable: "My name is Harrison Wells."

Hearing the name, Joe immediately understood: "Oh, I remember this guy. Barry and Iris have been wanting to go to his presentation tonight. He's some kind of physicist, anyway he's a super genius, and Star Labs and the particle accelerator were both built under his lead."

Detective Coffee Cup, hearing this, tossed out a casual compliment: "Impressive."

Outside Star Labs, a crisp suit accentuated Dr. Wells's tall, slender frame. He stood under the spotlight wearing a pair of glasses, looking scholarly, yet radiating a confident, unquestionable presence.

"Tonight will be the starting point of the future era."

"Tonight, my team and I will conduct a high-speed particle collision experiment here, and this experiment will change our understanding of physics as a whole."

"Just think—advances in basic science, upgrades in energy technology, leaps in medicine—after tonight, all of these will rapidly become reality. The future from sci-fi movies will turn from dream to truth, and it will arrive far faster than you can imagine."

At this point, he happened to glance at the cheering media and science enthusiasts below the stage, among them no shortage of academic heavyweights, leaders of cutting-edge science labs, and super geniuses from other scientific fields. Whether top scientists or amateur science lovers, they could all more clearly grasp the value of tonight's experiment, which was why they had gathered from all directions—because this was a great experiment that could change the world, go down in the annals of history, and even be written into textbooks. When the time came, Harrison Wells would become one of the many shining stars in the long river of human history.

But at this very moment, his gaze passed over all of these people and landed on that unremarkable young man, the corner of his mouth curving into an imperceptible smile.

"Tonight, the future arrives."

At this moment, Barry Allen watched Wells on stage with excitement and reverence. As an on-site investigator himself, he naturally worshipped this dashing genius scholar.

Their eyes met for an instant in midair. Harrison, his expression unchanged, withdrew his gaze and continued his speech, while Barry didn't think much of it, only feeling that his idol had just glanced at him, which made him even happier—that's just how fanboys are.

But at this very moment, a figure in the crowd quietly closed in on Iris, and in a single flash, snatched her shoulder bag.

"Hey! My bag! My laptop! My graduation thesis!"

Barry, hearing the scream, immediately turned his head, but could only see the back of a boy clutching Iris's bag as he pushed into the crowd.

"Hey, don't run! Give the bag back!"

On the car radio broadcast, Harrison's speech was still going on, but Joe was in no mood to keep listening.

"Second farm, still nothing." Detective Coffee Cup floored the accelerator: "Shall we head to the next farm?"

Joe nodded.

"Can you understand the stuff that Wells is saying?" Detective Coffee Cup asked: "I can't understand it at all—want to change the station?"

"Forget it." Joe reached over and turned off the radio: "Let's get there fast and finish the check early."

"Alright."

And in the back seat of the car, Ma Ma Zhaodi quietly sighed.

Sigh, sitting in the car is so boring. I finally wanted to listen to the radio, and they turned it off.

"System, I want to run a tactical simulation."

【Please conduct tactical simulation training in a relatively safe and unoccupied environment.】

So he continued to quietly lie flat.

"I wonder if Barry Allen has arrived at Star Labs yet."

But Barry was no longer at Star Labs now—he was at the police station.

"Are you okay? How do you feel?"

Iris looked at Barry with some concern. At this moment, he was tilting his head back, stuffing paper balls up his nosebleed.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Barry sighed: "Sorry, I didn't catch that thief, and he even got a few hits on me."

"It's fine, the cops caught the thief, and nothing major happened to you—that's already great."

(End of chapter)