Chapter 310: Awakening

When Ma Ma Zhaodi opened the surveillance footage from the Starfall Laboratory on his phone, Barry, Caitlin, and Cisco had already calmed down slightly.

"You're saying that lightning bolt that struck me also gave me eight-pack abs?"

Caitlin explained seriously, "Your cellular state is quite unusual; the abs might be because your cells are self-regulating to repair your body."

Cisco, standing nearby, interjected, "The point is, Allen, you've been unconscious for a long time."

"How long?"

"Nine months." The doctor's voice sounded at the door: "Welcome back, Mr. Allen."

Ten minutes later, in the outer area of the laboratory, the naked Barry put on a Starfall Laboratory T-shirt and followed the doctor to the site of the accident.

Barry looked out; at this very moment, the place was still a ruin.

"Oh my god... what exactly happened that night?"

"That night..." the doctor replied calmly, "the particle accelerator came online as planned. For the first forty-five minutes, I realized my lifelong dream, and then—the accident happened."

"The electrical energy began to run out of control, the ring exploded, and the energy shot straight up into the sky from the burst point, triggering a storm."

Barry suddenly understood: "And then a lightning ball formed and struck me?"

The doctor nodded.

Barry's mood was indescribable; his idol had triggered an experimental accident, indirectly causing his own. Although he hadn't died and his body looked healthy, he had indeed once hovered on the brink of death.

The two continued walking toward the hall, but Barry suddenly reacted: "Then why did I wake up in the Starfall Laboratory?"

"After you fell unconscious, the hospital doctors were helpless with your condition. I heard about your situation and went to find you," the doctor answered. "Although the name Wells hasn't been very popular lately, Detective West and his daughter still agreed to let you come here for treatment."

Upon mentioning Iris, Barry immediately snapped out of his dazed state.

"Iris!"

The doctor clearly saw what Barry was thinking, so he smiled faintly and offered assistance: "She often came to see you."

"She's very talkative," Caitlin chimed in casually.

"And very beautiful," Cisco raised an eyebrow at Barry, looking quite like a gossipy neighbor.

They weren't just blowing smoke this time; Ma Ma Zhaodi agreed in his heart: at least this Iris doesn't have a donut growing on her neck; she is genuinely beautiful.

"Sorry, I have to go." Thinking of Iris, Barry felt an urgent desire to return home: "I've been unconscious for so long—I must hurry home."

"You can't leave."

"Caitlin is right; your body has undergone many strange changes—since you're awake, we can run more tests."

"I'm fine; I feel perfectly normal now. Anyway, thank you all."

Clearly, the current Barry couldn't listen to any of this; he walked briskly and left the Starfall Laboratory directly.

When Barry disappeared from the laboratory cameras, Ma Ma Zhaodi casually turned off the laboratory surveillance.

"I can guess who he's going to see," he thought to himself, but didn't continue watching.

Because a guest had arrived.

"Old Ma, I want ten pastries."

"Danton?" Ma Ma Zhaodi looked at him somewhat surprised: "You look so energetic... did the research succeed?"

"Very soon, Old Ma, I'll succeed very soon; I'm very close."

Danton still looked unkempt at this moment, but his face was full of joy, and he was full of spirit; his demeanor was much, much better than before when he was almost going mad. If he hadn't taken drugs, then it was highly likely that something even more exciting than drugs had happened to him.

"If you're lucky, you might see me in the newspaper later—absolutely groundbreaking research."

"Then I'll wait for the good news from you and Elizabeth."

After handing the bag of pastries to him, Ma Ma Zhaodi couldn't help but ask, "Danton, what exactly is your research about?"

"Ha, you'll know when the time comes." Danton patted his shoulder: "When the time comes, Elizabeth and I will invite you to our home for a recovery celebration party."

But Ma Ma Zhaodi grew even more silent; at this moment, Danton looked exactly like an old general on a stage, his body stuck full of flags.

"Alright," he said, "I hope that moment won't be too far away."

"Of course, my friend, that moment will come very quickly."

"Dumb Cat, what do you think?"

"Boss, what are you saying, meow?"

"I'm asking, do you think I should check on Danton's situation?" he asked, "Although I shouldn't abuse this power yesterday..."

"Has the Boss changed his mind, meow?"

"I can't say; Danton's current situation makes me a bit worried—very worried."

Hearing Ma Ma Zhaodi say this, the eyes in San San Bengzi's car-head form immediately had data streams flashing silently.

"Aaaaaah!"

Before Dumb Cat could respond, a man's scream suddenly came from the streetside; when Ma Ma Zhaodi turned to look, he could only barely see a blurry high-speed light streak crashing into a laundry van at the alley entrance.

Bang!

Soft articles of clothing were blown out of the vehicle by the airflow and shockwave; that light streak seemed to crash right into the pile of packaged clothes inside the cabin—from Ma Ma Zhaodi's perspective, the time from that light streak hitting the car was probably no more than a second.

"Looks like we've entered the main storyline."

Ma Ma Zhaodi saw a laundry van employee, looking confused, pull a young man out of the cabin—that person was none other than Barry Allen.

"To be honest, this ability is indeed quite cool," Ma Ma Zhaodi commented, "Pity that the Method of Force to obtain it is a bit life-draining, so I'd better not try it casually—San San Bengzi, are you there?"

"According to my calculations, Barry Allen's speed just now was three hundred and twenty kilometers per hour—I guess that's what you wanted to ask." San San Bengzi's voice came into the earpiece; her voice actually sounded a bit depressed: "He has already surpassed my speed; I lost."

"I don't really understand why you want to compare with him," Ma Ma Zhaodi shook his head, "He's a Speedster—even taking a step back, Barry can't carry me around every day; Dumb Cat, and a whole van of pastries to go out and set up a stall."

Before Ma Ma Zhaodi could continue speaking, San San Bengzi turned the car head to the side, not habitually bickering with him as usual.

"San San Bengzi, why is your car head so hot, meow?"

"Get down from there!"

"Tsundere machine girl settings are long outdated, San San Bengzi," Ma Ma Zhaodi couldn't help but retort, "Unless you transform into human form, this trick won't make readers feel it's cute."

"I have a name!"

"Oh—Little Fish, has anyone else noticed Barry's anomaly?"

"No, but I just checked his movements. There were unnoticed anomalies at the coffee shop where Barry works and at the Central City Police Department."

"Explain in detail?"

"In the coffee shop, Barry Allen seemed to twist his head and dodge with extreme speed the instant a plate dropped. Inside the police station, a prisoner made a move to snatch a gun, but half a second later, the gun reappeared in the officer's holster."

(End of this chapter)