Chapter 316: The Born Hero

"Hah, hah, hah"

Barry ran down the street.

On both sides of the road, the streetlights were dazzling, and in the shadows of their halos stood a very familiar house—that was his childhood home.

More than ten years had passed, yet the house seemed unchanged; everything before Barry's eyes was so familiar, yet so strange; this feeling of things remaining while people change made his tears flow uncontrollably as he remembered that more than ten years ago, on a night just like this, under streetlights just like these, he had been running just like this.

That was the first time in his life he learned the meaning of "parting."

"Wee-woo—wee-woo—wee-woo—"

The sounds of ambulances and police cars blared in his ears.

"Hah, hah, hah"

He ran until he was gasping for breath; the cold night air rushed from his nostrils into his lungs; feelings of fear, tension, and sorrow pressed upon his nerves; he felt a bit like vomiting, and his legs were also going weak, but he kept running, kept running.

He wanted to run all the way home in one breath, but the house was surrounded by people; police cars flashed their lights, officers blocked off the surrounding residents, and they had pulled up a cordon banner.

Barry darted into the crowd, slipped through the gaps between the police cars, and squeezed through the officers' cordon, but since he was just a child, the officers did not stop him much.

"I didn't do it, I swear to heaven, I didn't do it!"

A middle-aged man with a kind face was being led out of the house by two officers, his hands bound behind his back; although he was earnestly pleading his innocence with every word from his mouth, the officers of the Central City Police Department turned a blind eye—they had seen too many cunning criminals; every one of these criminals initially insisted they were innocent, but when mountainous ironclad evidence revealed the truth, all their excuses seemed so powerless and shameless.

And the mountainous ironclad evidence in the room was that Nora Allen, Barry Allen's mother and Henry Allen's wife, lay on the floor with a knife stuck in her chest, having left the world forever, and there was no one else in the room besides Henry Allen.

After the police ruled out the possibility of suicide, only one suspect remained at the scene—Barry's father, Henry Allen.

Barry looked at the officers around him, feeling somewhat lost and also panicked; he shouted at his father, "Dad, where are they taking you! What about Mom?"

Henry saw little Barry running over and immediately shouted back to him, "Barry, don't go into the house!"

He did not want his son to see his mother's dead body.

When he was being led to the police car, he couldn't help but ask the officers on both sides again and again, "What will happen to my son? He is still so small! He can't be alone—"

Bang!

As the police car door closed, Henry's voice came to an abrupt halt.

Barry, soul-stricken, watched his father being taken away; he subconsciously walked back into the house, wanting to find his mother.

A young detective holding a coffee cup saw Barry and subconsciously reached out his hand, wanting to stop him, "Kid, this isn't a place you should come—"

"Let him in, Roy."

Joe's voice sounded behind Detective Roy, "At least let him see his mother one last time."

"Joe, do you know that child?"

"His name is Barry; he and my daughter are childhood friends."

After saying this, Joe looked up at Barry; his eyes were very complex at that moment; young Barry could not understand them, but what he could understand was that a corpse was lying at Joe's feet, covered by a shroud. Barry trembled as he walked forward; at that moment, his mind was somewhat dazed.

Under that cloth, a hand was revealed; that hand looked very familiar; it had made breakfast for him just this morning.

That was his mother's hand.

When Barry lifted the shroud and saw his mother's remains, immense sorrow and fear almost crushed him.

Barry remembered how he had called out his mother's name again and again at that time, wanting her to open her eyes again, but that was obviously futile.

Fortunately, Joe came over and embraced Barry; otherwise, that panic and emptiness of losing everything would have shattered little Barry.

It was from that day on that Joe gained a son, and Barry gained a father.

When Barry came to his senses, he was no longer in Central City, but standing atop a high-rise building in Star City.

That's right; he had run all the way to another city six hundred miles away in one breath.

"Why have you come to find me, Barry?"

A mature male voice sounded before his eyes; a man dressed in a green hooded outfit like Robin Hood, carrying a bow and arrows on his back, was also standing on the rooftop; he turned his head and looked at the Barry before him, "Just to catch up with an old friend?"

"I... I don't quite know what to do."

Barry asked his good friend, "Look, my whole life I've wanted to prove the existence of certain supernatural things; I don't just want to be a CSI; every time I see a crime happen, I have no ability to stop it with my own hands; this feeling always reminds me of my father; I had no ability to save him, nor the ability to prove his innocence."

"Today was the first time I used this superhuman power; I wanted to do something I originally couldn't do, but I caught Clyde Mardon, and then he got away; I messed it up on my first try, Oliver."

"What if the Doctor is right?" Barry murmured to himself, "What if I was born destined not to be a hero?"

"Well," Oliver shook his head, "Barry, I have seen many people in my life—I should say many people, very, very many people."

"I was originally born with a golden spoon in my mouth, then later walked through hell a few times; I have seen hypocritical rich men, and I have also seen many vicious villains."

"The League of Assassins, government organizations, reclusive immortals... I know this world too well—listen, Barry, in my opinion, if there is anyone in this world who is a 'born hero,' that person can only be you."

Green Arrow replied, "I have seen so many people, yet I have never seen anyone as kind, resilient, brave, and honest as you."

"Barry, you can do many things I cannot; this is not just about your abilities, but about your heart; you have a hero's heart; even without abilities, you would subconsciously help others."

"I am a realist; I have killed many villains and bad guys, so I can only walk in the dark side of this city; but you are different; you carry sunlight within you; you can stand in the sunlight and inspire everyone."

When he said this, Oliver looked directly into Barry's eyes and said seriously, "I am very glad that a good person like you obtained this ability, because in the hands of bad people, it would become one of the most terrible tools for evil."

"Barry Allen, I feel that it was not that lightning bolt that struck you—"

"It chose you."

(End of this chapter)