Chapter 319: Run, Barry, Run!

"If the wind speed continues to increase, that thing will turn into an F5-level tornado. Barry, hurry and stop him!"

"F5-level?"

Barry raised his head and looked at the terrifying tornado that already connected the sky to the earth. At this moment, the clouds over the outskirts of Central City were all being stirred up by it, like a giant funnel or whirlpool, or perhaps some gargantuan creature opening its maw in the clouds, swallowing everything on the ground like a whale.

Gravel, dust, pebbles, wooden planks, sheet metal, and even street lamps and small cars—every object along the path began to move toward the center of the storm. Although the immense wind force had not yet fully unleashed its destructive power, it was certain that in a few minutes, once it reached Central City, it would tear everything apart with irresistible force, throwing everything high into the sky before smashing it into powder. Even buildings made of reinforced concrete would be no different from wooden sheds in front of it.

As a CSI, Barry naturally knew what an F5-level tornado meant—the tornado disaster scale only has six levels, from F0 to F5. F5 is the limit of the rating, not the limit of Clyde.

In 1925, the United States once had a massive wedge-shaped tornado that swept through three states, known as the Tri-State. It lasted only three and a half hours, traveled three hundred and fifty-two kilometers, crossed southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois, and northern Indiana. In those short three and a half hours, a full six hundred and ninety-five people were killed or injured.

And the speed of the Tri-State tornado was only two hundred and twenty-three miles per hour.

Broken walls and ruins, wailing everywhere. Hearing that the tornado summoned by Clyde had reached a speed of two hundred and was still increasing, Barry could already imagine the tragic state of Central City in a few minutes. He shouted to Cisco: "He is heading straight for Central City. How am I supposed to stop him!"

Hearing Barry's question, Cisco and Caitlin looked at each other. The crisis had come too suddenly, and before today, they were just two scientists doing research—they had finally steeled themselves, thinking they were only going to help Barry deal with a dangerous robber behind Dr. Wells's back, but they never expected to have to solve a tornado capable of destroying the entire Central City.

After a dozen seconds of silence in the earpiece, Barry suddenly understood that Caitlin and Cisco probably couldn't think of a way for the moment. He gritted his teeth and looked at the terrifying tornado with its gradually increasing wind force, and a thought suddenly occurred to him.

"What if I just dissipate the tornado?"

Caitlin shook her head: "A tornado is a natural disaster; you can only avoid it, not fight it. How are you going to dissipate it?"

"I can run around its base in the opposite direction, creating another high-speed airflow to counter the tornado's airflow and weaken it until it dissipates."

The tech-geek Cisco immediately calculated the conditions required for Barry's plan: "You would have to run against the base of the tornado at a speed of seven hundred miles per hour to counter it, but if you do that—"

"If you do that, your body won't be able to withstand such ultra-high speed." Caitlin continued: "Barry, you are flesh and blood; you will die."

Barry listened to Caitlin's voice, stunned for a moment, then subconsciously turned his head to look at Central City behind him.

A beautiful, bright moon was hanging in the distant night sky at this moment. Under the silvery-white moonlight lay the city he was familiar with.

Buildings stood on that land, some skyscrapers, some low street lamps. They did not realize that a storm capable of destroying the city was about to take shape, and they still flickered with little dots of light.

Every dot of light was a home; they were intertwined and linked, like a starry sky, forming a long, glowing galaxy on the horizon.

The lights in the buildings were workers working overtime; the lights on the road were commuters driving home; the lights in the small houses were housewives cooking dinner in the kitchen; the lights in the hospital were doctors saving lives; perhaps there were even snack vendors under the street lamps preparing to close up shop.

And Barry knew that even S. T. A. R. Labs was glowing with a bit of light at this moment.

That was Cisco and Caitlin, and the Doctor, who wanted to help him save this city.

There was no turning back now, Barry thought to himself, and he turned his head to take a deep look at Joe beside him. "I'll bring you some snacks tomorrow, Joe," he thought to himself. "If my luck is good enough."

He hesitated no longer and dashed forward.

Joe grabbed the car he had driven over in the storm, trying to stabilize himself, his eyes fixed on the mysterious red figure on the field.

For some reason, that figure always gave him a rather familiar, intimate feeling.

Joe saw him turn into a streak of gold and red light, beginning to sprint around the tornado. He saw an airflow form around his body, and he saw the momentum of the tornado begin to weaken. Clearly, this super-powered individual was confronting Clyde; he must be an ally.

But he also saw an air cannon erupt from within the tornado, knocking that figure flying.

"No, he's too powerful..."

Barry's voice was low as he struggled to get back up. He said into the earpiece: "I can't—"

"You can do it, Barry."

A calm voice suddenly rang out in the earpiece, the tone level, steady, without the slightest feeling of panic, as if the topic being discussed was not a major event related to the survival of a city, but what to have for dinner tonight.

"Dr. Wells?!"

Cisco and Caitlin widened their eyes, looking at the suddenly appearing Doctor—it was clear that it was basically impossible for them to hide any secrets from the Doctor.

"You are right, Barry. The experimental accident I caused, I should be responsible for all of this. People have been hurt because of me, and people have died because of me."

When he said this, Dr. Wells was somewhat agitated; his tone became increasingly hurried, and his voice began to grow louder.

"From the first moment I saw you, I knew that your experiences were all caused by my own hand, and this chaos started because of me—and you, Barry, you can set things right, make up for my mistakes, and you can save me."

"You can do all of this, Barry."

He shouted that sentence to Barry: "Now, run, Barry—run!"

The Doctor's voice rang in Barry's ears like a great bell. At this moment, he denied what he had said, denied his conclusion about Barry Allen, and acknowledged his potential—at this moment, some kind of predestined fate was activated. A bolt of lightning streaked past, spanning fate and several centuries, connecting destiny and time-space into a straight line.

The moment he was acknowledged by "Wells," the shackles in Barry's heart shattered with a roar. The Doctor's shout to him became the only sound in his world at this moment. It not only emerged in the earpiece, but seemed to erupt from every cell in his body.

It came from the Speed Force.

"Run, Barry, run!"

(End of chapter)