Barry Awakens

In the morning, Caitlin took Lin Li's urine and stool samples for testing.

Lin Li lay on the hospital bed, using a tablet to study and absorb knowledge. Just moments ago, he had asked Cisco for several sets of textbooks, ranging from basic to advanced, on space, black holes, the human body, and electricity. Cisco had naturally been surprised that Lin Li had learned English so quickly.

He could not place all his hopes on Dr. Wells or Vibe alone. He had to learn some knowledge about space himself and increase his chances of returning home.

"Hey, Blackout, put down the tablet. We need to examine your brain."

Cisco was someone who made friends easily. Just moments ago, he had tirelessly asked Lin Li countless questions about Earth in his reality. Even after Lin Li told him he was annoying, they had become good friends.

"What? Blackout? Me?"

Lin Li pointed at himself, unable to believe that his title in this world would be "Blackout." It felt like he was opposing The Flash, cutting off his electricity...

"No, no, no, Cisco. I refuse to accept such a weird title."

Cisco was unwilling to give up. He had spent an entire night thinking of that name, yet the person it was for did not even acknowledge it. Dissatisfied, he came up with several more names.

"I spent all night thinking of this name. How about Thunderbolt...?"

Lin Li wore an expression that said, Are you fucking kidding me?

Cisco cautiously said, "Lightning?"

"Okay, that one."

Lin Li felt that one worked. He was not worried about stealing Barry's title as The Flash, because he had never planned on going out to become any kind of hero.

Cisco was satisfied. "Great, Lightning. This is so exciting. I can't believe I became friends with someone from another world. This feels amazing."

"Me too."

Lin Li smiled. Before long, he would have even more friends from other worlds.

With Caitlin returning after finishing the urine test, they officially began examining his head. Dr. Wells watched silently from the side, though his eyes flickered when the name "Lightning" was mentioned.

They proceeded through an MRI, a PET scan, a CT scan, an EEG, cranial magnetic resonance imaging, and other tests.

Cisco said in bewilderment, "Why? My friend from another world, you don't have a brain?"

The instrument screen showed a pitch-black shape outlining a head, with none of the normal cerebral grooves and neural patterns visible.

"This isn't normal."

At first, Caitlin thought there was a problem with the equipment. Later, she tested Cisco and found that it worked perfectly, leading them to a tentative conclusion.

People from another world had black heads.

How was that possible? Lin Li rolled his eyes.

"Caitlin, test for energy signals," Dr. Wells suggested. This traveler from another world was quite interesting.

Before long, Caitlin detected something. "Dr. Wells, an energy wavelength has indeed appeared in Lin Li's brain. It's a signal distinct from his own brainwaves."

Dr. Wells narrowed his eyes as he studied the spectrum. He suspected that Lin Li had gained the Speed Force. Part of this spectral wavelength was extremely similar to the Speed Force, and Dr. Wells had conducted very deep research into it.

The Speed Force manifested as lightning and bore some resemblance to electricity. He did not yet dare to confirm that Lin Li possessed it.

In the end, no one discussed why Lin Li's brain was black.

Dr. Wells temporarily set aside that examination.

"Let's examine the rest of his body first..."

Caitlin directly took a needle and gave Lin Li an injection in the arm.

Unconsciously, Lin Li seemed to sense danger. His cells surged and his muscles contracted. Before the needle could enter his vein, its tip bent, unable to pierce him.

This shocked them all once again.

Caitlin changed needles and patted Lin Li's arm.

"Relax. I can't get it in."

Lin Li relaxed his arm. He felt as if he could control the cells inside his body, though the sensation was vague and indistinct.

The needle was inserted into his vein with difficulty. When she drew out his blood, they were shocked yet again.

The blood inside the syringe gleamed like stars, faintly emitting specks of silver light. Silver radiance mixed with the red liquid throughout the entire tube, looking fantastical and beautiful.

"My God..."

They stared at the syringe in shock. No matter how they looked at it, this did not resemble human blood.

When the blood left Lin Li's body, he sensed that the blood in the syringe was restless and desperately wanted to return to its source. The feeling that he could control his cells became extraordinarily real. He suppressed that sensation and conveyed calmness and composure to the cells. The cells in the syringe truly stopped stirring and became quiet. The silver light dimmed considerably, but he still felt an inexplicable connection to them.

I can control the cells in my body. Lin Li realized in alarm.

He did not say any of this. He was already too strange. Being struck by lightning had changed him in ways that were far too strange.

While waiting for the blood test results, they performed an ECG, ultrasound, color Doppler ultrasound, X-rays, infrared fluoroscopy, bone density tests, neurological tests...

It continued until around one in the afternoon.

Suddenly, a blur appeared inside STAR Labs, whipping up a gust of wind and trailing yellow arcs of electricity. Paper documents were blown everywhere.

"What happened to me? I ran incredibly fast, and everyone around me froze."

Barry Allen spread his hands, asking in shock and confusion.

That morning, when Barry woke up, he felt as though the entire world had stopped. Joe was frozen in the act of drinking coffee. Cars outside were suspended in motion, birds hung in the air. It had happened so suddenly. They did not move. Nothing moved, and it terrified him.

Then, just as suddenly, everything began moving again and returned to normal. That frightened him even more.

When he tried to save a Garfield cat falling from a tree, he accidentally ran too fast and crashed into a tree. He was delighted and confused, yet he had gained control over his super speed. It was so incredibly cool, speed beyond everything.

In the end, he ran to STAR Labs to find the reason for his transformation.

"You're a metahuman too? Super speed? Time freezing?"

Cisco asked. He was not surprised that Barry was a metahuman. After all, the same lightning bolt had struck two people, and they already had an even more remarkable visitor from another world here.

Caitlin said seriously, "Based on the limits of the human body, the maximum speed is nine meters per second."

Barry said nothing. He turned into a blur, trailed several yellow arcs of electricity, and vanished before their eyes.

They exchanged glances, all feeling the same astonishment. That speed looked quite fast, beyond what the eye could follow.

Before they had time to discuss it, they felt another blur flash past them, and each of them suddenly had an ice cream cone in hand.

Lin Li had been looking at his tablet, studying everything related to black holes and space. He had spent the entire morning studying while undergoing examinations.

When Barry arrived, Lin Li merely watched him without speaking. Yet within three or four seconds, he found an ice cream cone in his hand. He was a little stunned. He did not know how far away the place selling ice cream was, but it certainly could not have been inside STAR Labs. STAR Labs was quite large; even an ordinary person who knew the route would need seven or eight minutes to walk out, let alone buy an ice cream cone and return.

Therefore, Lin Li was a little dazed. That speed was simply too fast.