Grodd's Abilities

Cooperating with Reverse-Flash had not actually changed anything.

The only difference was that Zhang Tianran had altered his plan. He had temporarily decided not to leave this world and instead intended to make a jump through time.

"Zero, based on the available data, what are my chances of surviving if I tamper with the Speed Force?" Zhang Tianran suddenly asked his artificial intelligence after returning to his private laboratory.

"Based on existing data, the probability of survival is zero. I recommend giving up on the Speed Force..." Zero immediately gave its answer upon hearing Zhang Tianran's question.

"Zero, I came to the same conclusion. Perhaps that is why the Speed Force has always prevented me from entering it." Zhang Tianran sighed.

As a Speedster who had gained the Speed Force through a serum, Zhang Tianran's achievements so far were already quite perfect.

Even the future Flash might not have been able to wield the Speed Force as flexibly as he did.

By all rights, Zhang Tianran should have accepted his fate, lived out his life like a superhero, and then returned to the embrace of the Speed Force.

But unfortunately, dissatisfaction and the desire for more were human instincts. Zhang Tianran did not want to simply accept his fate.

"Barry, it seems you disobeyed me again. Was it because my words were not worth heeding, or was there some other reason?"

By the time Zhang Tianran finally had the time to pay attention to Barry Allen, Barry had already locked Mark Mardon in the cells at S.T.A.R. Labs.

"Dr. Zhang, I know I changed the future. But I saved the entire city. If I hadn't..."

Barry still wanted to defend himself, but Zhang Tianran ignored him completely.

"Barry, no matter what you think you saved, the consequences of changing the timeline will only be more severe than you imagine."

Zhang Tianran shook his head and turned to leave.

Perhaps Barry Allen was a hero in the eyes of others, but in Zhang Tianran's eyes—

He was nothing more than a complete idiot. A kind idiot, perhaps, but far too dangerous to anyone traveling alongside him.

Just as Barry believed everything he had done had been the right choice, events once again developed beyond his expectations.

First, Barry confidently sought out Iris and confessed his love. But Iris, who had not experienced those crises alongside Barry, made the exact opposite choice.

In the end, the embarrassed Barry could only flee in a panic.

For the first time, Barry felt fear and realized the mistake he had made. Unfortunately, there was no way to regret something like this.

Next, Cisco was captured. Left with no choice, he exposed Barry's true identity, putting Barry at a disadvantage.

Barry went to great lengths to resolve the issue of his exposed identity, but in doing so, he allowed metahuman criminals to run rampant through Central City.

Although Barry threatened them not to kill anyone, that was all he could do.

At last, Barry made it through a day that had been extremely painful for him. He seemed to have finally learned his lesson and gained the slightest reverence for time.

But Zhang Tianran knew very well that Barry would not learn his lesson. In the future, he would alter the timeline again and again, making his life harder each time.

So Zhang Tianran did not bother with him at all. If it were not for Barry Allen's connection to the Speed Force, he would have long since...

Forget it. No need to think about such aggravating things.

Zhang Tianran tidied up the desk, picked up something resembling headphones, and put it over his head. The next moment, he transformed into a streak of white lightning and arrived in the sewers.

"Hello, Grodd. How about letting me study your telepathic abilities?" After greeting the gorilla before him, Zhang Tianran casually took out a syringe, a scalpel, an electroencephalogram detector, and a series of other items.

This gorilla named Grodd had been taken from the military by Reverse-Flash.

It possessed telepathic abilities. At first, Grodd curiously watched Zhang Tianran appear just like Reverse-Flash had, but the moment it saw him take out the syringe and scalpel, it let out an angry roar and tried to use its telepathy to control him.

But unfortunately, no matter how hard Grodd tried, it could not sense Zhang Tianran's existence. It was as if there was nothing at all before it.

"Don't worry, I won't torture you. After all, you're Wells's pet. Oh, and your telepathy can't hurt me, but you can use it to speak with me." Zhang Tianran pointed at the headphone-like device on his head.

Grodd could understand human speech. Though it had heard Reverse-Flash's name, its fear of the syringe and scalpel overwhelmed everything else. When it discovered its telepathy was useless, Grodd raised an arm and smashed it down.

A flash of white lightning flickered through Zhang Tianran's eyes. His body did not move, but Grodd's body suddenly froze in place.

Pausing time within a tiny area was quite easy for Zhang Tianran. Back in the past, in order to return to this point in time, he had mastered many abilities related to time.

"Don't worry, I'm only taking a little blood and some cells. I'll give you bananas afterward, but if you refuse, my methods will have to become a little more violent." Zhang Tianran inserted the syringe into Grodd's body and drew some blood.

"Grodd... cannot defeat you. You belong to Father, so Grodd will listen to you... Also, Grodd hates bananas."

Through telepathy, Grodd conveyed its surrender to Zhang Tianran's mind.

Zhang Tianran then released the time freeze around Grodd and attached all sorts of monitoring devices to its body.

"Father? Wells? What a coincidence, I suppose I count as his adopted son too. Still, it seems a little strange for a gorilla to call Wells Father." Zhang Tianran spoke with Grodd as he tested its telepathic abilities.

Grodd did not feel any pain from these actions and gradually relaxed.

"You... are strong. Grodd acknowledges you... Like Grodd, you are superior to humans." Grodd spoke to Zhang Tianran with pride in its voice.

Zhang Tianran burst out laughing upon hearing that, then mocked it.

"Well, it's not that I look down on you. A gorilla might have high intelligence, but surpassing humans? You should read a few more books first and broaden your horizons."

Grodd flew into a rage at Zhang Tianran's words. Its telepathy brimmed with malice as it tried to control Zhang Tianran's mind.

But unfortunately, all it accomplished was providing Zhang Tianran with more data.

"Being all alone must be lonely. Want me to introduce you to a few female gorillas? I remember a place full of gorillas with intelligence similar to yours." Having obtained useful data, Zhang Tianran spoke with satisfaction.

He had been telling the truth, but Grodd believed Zhang Tianran was mocking it. After its repeated attempts to attack proved fruitless, it tore off the monitoring devices on its body and stormed away.

"Grodd... is... superior to humans!"