Striving to Become Faster

"Barry, the energy produced by the cells in your body is greater than ever before. In other words, you've become stronger." Zhang Tianran took the tablet Caitlin handed him and showed Barry his cell samples.

The earlier battle had long since ended. Barry had even made a trip to the Central City Police Department, then returned to help Zhang Tianran and Caitlin conduct another blood sample analysis.

In that battle, Steel Man was killed by Farooq. Farooq, meanwhile, was burst apart by Barry after he reactivated the Speed Force.

Being burst apart by the Speed Force was quite an achievement in itself.

"Getting stronger is a good thing, but it came at the cost of two lives tonight." Barry's emotions were complicated.

He had watched two lives vanish before his eyes, especially since one of them had been his high school classmate. Even though that person had often bullied him back then...

"So, you need to become stronger. Strong enough to stop every crime, fast enough to protect everyone. Since you've chosen this path, don't regret it." Zhang Tianran patted Barry on the shoulder, then removed his device from Barry's chest.

The detector had been hastily made, yet its quality was surprisingly good. Even when Barry ran at high speed, the thing hadn't fallen off.

"Next, Cisco and I will upgrade S.T.A.R. Labs' defenses. As for you... work on becoming faster." Zhang Tianran walked out with the detector in hand.

Barry looked at his blood report on the tablet, but his mind suddenly recalled the documents Zhang Tianran had given him before.

Although Wells had secretly tossed them onto the floor, Barry had found them under the bed after searching for a few seconds with Super Speed.

Becoming faster became Barry's motivation for the first time.

Filled with excitement, Barry opened the first page:

"Barry, your Super Speed comes from the lightning within your body. I named it the Speed Force. You must understand the nature of the Speed Force, but you need to know that it is the Speed Force that grants you speed..."

"With the Speed Force, there are many things you can do. But first, you need to understand that your speed actually operates in two modes: accelerated thinking and accelerated movement."

"When you feel like your body has slowed down, that is accelerated thinking. When you find that running at high speed makes it difficult to control your distance, that is accelerated movement."

"The first thing you need to do is find a certain balance between these two modes..."

"..."

The training plan Zhang Tianran had given Barry described in great detail the process by which he had once mastered the Speed Force, without a shred of falsehood.

If Barry followed Zhang Tianran's instructions, he would be able to easily master all the abilities he was originally meant to possess in the future.

However, Zhang Tianran didn't believe Barry could reach that level.

Because Barry had almost no sense of urgency right now. The speed granted by the Speed Force had already given him ample confidence.

And that was indeed the case. Zhang Tianran's manuscript helped Barry greatly, but Barry currently couldn't understand skills like Molecular Vibration or generating lightning at all.

As for the time travel and other things at the end of the manuscript, Barry directly ignored them. He only remembered the parts at the beginning that taught him to control Super Speed and Super Thinking.

While Barry read through the training plan, Zhang Tianran was in his own laboratory, carefully examining Barry's physical report.

The device he had made earlier had already recorded the detailed process of the Speed Force being born within Barry's body, without missing anything.

But this record wasn't particularly important. The process by which the Speed Force was born within Barry was no different from Zhang Tianran's own, or even from the process by which other Metahumans used their abilities.

At its core, what was special was the Speed Force.

Not the Speedsters. If it were simply Speedsters, there were already three of them in S.T.A.R. Labs, and there would be even more in the future. But Barry Allen alone was the most special. No wonder Reverse-Flash had his eyes on him.

"Things not going well?" Wells' voice sounded behind Zhang Tianran, but he didn't seem worried in the slightest.

In fact, Zhang Tianran had noticed the moment Reverse-Flash appeared. His vigilance was nowhere near as lax as Barry's.

"I've told you many times: knock before coming in. If there's a next time, I'll set up a particle defense grid." Zhang Tianran was somewhat displeased.

"I told you, the existence of the Speed Force far exceeds the boundaries of conventional science. With these things, you won't be able to discover anything at all." Wells glanced disdainfully at the items on Zhang Tianran's desk before reminding him.

To this Speedster professor from the twenty-fifth century, the little gadgets Zhang Tianran had made were extremely primitive and not worth his notice.

"If you have something to say, say it quickly. You're not qualified to lecture me right now." Zhang Tianran was displeased. After becoming a Speedster, he had rapidly gained control over his abilities, but that was all.

Zhang Tianran had now grasped some techniques for using the Speed Force, but he lacked experience fighting Speedsters and couldn't enter the Speed Force itself.

"I need your help obtaining Superluminal Particles!" Wells stated his purpose.

"No!"

Hearing that answer, Wells couldn't help frowning. He continued, "As payment, I can increase your speed."

"The Superluminal Particle Generator? I don't need that thing, so save it. I won't help you unless you tell me everything." Zhang Tianran answered without hesitation.

The Superluminal Particle Generator could indeed increase his speed, but speed wasn't what Zhang Tianran needed right now.

"If that's the case, I'll do it myself. As for what you want to know... it's not that I won't tell you. It's just that some things can only be understood through personal experience." Wells didn't press him any further.

After Wells left, Zhang Tianran pulled up S.T.A.R. Labs' renovation plans and sent them to Cisco, then continued writing code for artificial intelligence.

As for Barry's test report? Zhang Tianran had long since thrown it into the trash. Barry Allen was crucial to exploring the Speed Force, but ordinary technology was useless.

A reply from Cisco came in on the computer, saying that he would begin improving S.T.A.R. Labs' defense system tomorrow.

After sending Cisco another message, Zhang Tianran got up and went to the cells at S.T.A.R. Labs. The bodies of Steel Man and Farooq were still there.

After extracting some substances he needed from the corpses, Zhang Tianran returned to his laboratory and began working through the night.

Ever since becoming a Speedster, Zhang Tianran actually hadn't had a proper rest in a long time.

Inside the Time Vault, Wells was reviewing surveillance footage of Zhang Tianran. When he saw Zhang Tianran collect Farooq's blood as well, a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Pulling a ring from his pocket, Wells immediately transformed into Reverse-Flash.

The next moment, alarms blared at Mercury Labs. After Wells killed several security guards, he found the Superluminal Particles.

But... for some reason, Wells didn't take them immediately.