Near Death

Suddenly, a violent wind surged into the sky, spinning wildly. The white mist covering the entire street was swept up, forming a tornado.

"Go to hell...!"

Clyde Mardon, blood at the corners of his mouth, screamed in terror. He had just been flung hundreds of meters away, crashing to the ground with severe internal injuries. He was terrified—the lightning had grazed him moments ago, nearly killing him. He didn't understand the principle, but he knew Lin Li stood above him like a god, casually capable of annihilating him, and that panicked him.

The shock Lin Li had just delivered was overwhelming. Clyde was terrified. Lin Li seemed more like a god than he did—a merciless thunder god, standing between heaven and earth, lightning coiling, a single finger pointing out to destroy him. That image had scared him, left a shadow in his heart, and deep, abiding fear. His courage had been electrocuted out of him by Lin Li—it was intellectual domination, no contest. Now, he only wanted to flee.

So he directly controlled all the airflow and mist in the street, forming a tornado aimed straight at Lin Li, then turned and ran.

The street became clear, and chaotic.

The tornado's eye swept toward Lin Li, churning up countless shards of glass, withered yellow leaves, dirt, and trash—all mixed into the vortex.

Electricity crackled in Lin Li's right hand. He swept his left hand from his right shoulder down to his palm, and a bolt of lightning as thick as an arm, sharp and hissing, appeared in his left hand, forming a jagged spear of lightning.

The lightning spear gleamed with silver light. As soon as it appeared, the air itself seemed to warp.

Lin Li thrust his right hand forward, and the lightning spear spun toward the tornado's eye.

The opposing rotational forces canceled out, and the spear plunged into the eye.

The lightning spear met no resistance. The tornado, vast and imposing, whipping up countless glass shards, leaves, dirt, trash boxes, and even bending nearby trees, had none of its expected power.

At the tornado's eye, the lightning spear shot straight through, piercing and neutralizing the nearly twenty-meter-long vortex in an instant.

Only glass shards, leaves, and trash were left flying and falling everywhere.

The lightning spear didn't vanish after piercing the tornado. It drove straight toward the fleeing Clyde Mardon.

It didn't stop until it severed Clyde Mardon's left arm, then plunged into the ground and disappeared.

A stench of burnt meat reached his nose from his left hand. Losing balance as he ran, he crashed to the ground.

The high-frequency lightning spear generated instantaneous heat. When it severed Clyde Mardon's arm, it instantly cauterized and sealed the wound—not a single drop of blood dripped out.

Clyde Mardon suddenly fell to the ground, dazed. Only when a searing pain shot through his left arm did he stare in disbelief at the severed limb, the agony racing to his brain.

"No..."

He wailed, begging in terror. The pain transmitted to his brain, and he felt horror, fear—his life was in this man's hands now.

"No... don't do this, spare me, please, spare me!"

Clyde Mardon wept, wailing as he crawled backward across the ground. His face showed sheer terror—his courage shattered, fear to the extreme. He didn't want to die, didn't want to die. He begged, pleaded.

That man was like a demon, wreathed in lightning, face twisted, eyes gleaming silver—a terrifying demon from hell.

Lin Li remained unmoved. Silver veins pulsed across his face, his silver-lit eyes coldly fixed on Clyde Mardon.

Anyone who hurts Barry, anyone who destroys my hope, must be destroyed. For my return home, for my love—you! All! Deserve! Death!

Lin Li raised his right hand again, lightning gathering heavily in his palm. He would form another lightning spear and shoot Clyde Mardon dead on the spot.

Clyde Mardon was already 160 meters away—too far for a lightning ray. Otherwise, he could have killed him with the simplest discharge. But forming the lightning spear took only a second; it didn't matter.

Suddenly.

The Speed Force in Lin Li's mind stirred restlessly.

This cluster of Speed Force only stirred when Barry's life was in danger—the day he woke up.

Now, it churned, urgent, radiating a very ominous feeling to Lin Li.

"Lin Li, Barry's lost too much blood..."

Cisco shouted in alarm.

Lin Li instantly dismissed the lightning spear. Barry's safety was more important than anything—not a single second could be wasted.

He dropped that terrifying combat mode, retaining only Super-Speed Thinking, and swiftly returned to Barry's side.

Barry was already in shock, convulsing unconsciously.

The broken ribs in his chest, due to the involuntary spasms, were nearly piercing his internal organs.

The Speed Force in Lin Li's mind churned rapidly, fading.

Lin Li's heart sank.

According to reality, the Speed Force was created by Barry. The moment Barry was struck by lightning, the Speed Force was born. Only when Barry was alive and running would the Speed Force become more active and grow.

Now, the Speed Force in his mind was steadily draining—a true sign that Barry's life was hanging by a thread, and the Speed Force was about to vanish.

Barry cannot die!

Lin Li controlled a small amount of electricity with his hand. He would use it to stimulate Barry's cells to divide and restore more hematopoietic function.

As Lin Li's hand neared Barry's ribs, the Speed Force, impatient, flowed out through his fingers.

He entered a state of super-speed. Everything around him seemed to freeze.

This was the Speed Force state—the mode it activated. Super-Speed Thinking, seeing the world as if everything had stopped.

Incredibly powerful—far stronger than Lin Li's Super-Speed Thinking. So powerful it made the world feel utterly still.

Lin Li didn't dwell on it. He sensed the Speed Force would soon lose its effect and needed to use the time it granted him.

He directly grabbed the broken ribs and set them back in place. The Speed Force, as if conscious, seeped in, activating osteoblasts and accelerating the calcification of new bone matrix.

After connecting the ribs, Lin Li placed his hand over Barry's chest. The Speed Force seeped in again, this time activating the hematopoietic stem cells in Barry's body, causing his cells to divide and supply blood to keep him alive.

This was a method of overdrawing the body. It was hard to say how many years it might shorten Barry's life, but it was better than dying now.

In just two or three seconds, it felt like over ten minutes.

The Speed Force in Lin Li's mind dissipated rapidly, like dying embers, leaving only a faint spark, on the verge of extinguishing.