Picking Up Some Trash

As elderly Barry Allen ran backward on the Cosmic Treadmill, a powerful surge of energy poured through the Antimatter Cannon.

Under the impact, the elderly Barry gradually vanished. All that remained on the Cosmic Treadmill was a damaged Flash suit...

Zhang Tianran entered Speed Mode and carefully observed the energy. Though the explosion outside moved incredibly slowly in Speed Mode, time was still extremely limited.

"Zero, how much data have you collected?" Zhang Tianran suddenly asked as the aftershock of the explosion was about to reach him.

The moment he arrived, Zhang Tianran had the Speed Force envelop the Time Ship. Accelerated by the Speed Force, Zero began using every capability it had to analyze the objects here.

"An estimated twelve percent. There is insufficient data to make an accurate assessment. But we should leave now. You cannot withstand an explosion of this scale." Zero's voice came slowly, leaving Zhang Tianran somewhat disappointed.

He had not managed to collect anything from either the Cosmic Treadmill or even the Antimatter Wave. This trip had truly been rather unsuccessful.

After casting one reluctant look back, Zhang Tianran vanished from where he stood.

A few minutes later, Zhang Tianran appeared in the area again. Seeing that the explosion had subsided, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

If the timeline had not been about to change again, Zhang Tianran would really have liked to wait a while longer before coming back.

"Zero, prepare the Shrink Ray. We have a lot of things to take away. They are almost all damaged, but they should still be useful." Looking at the ruins around him, Zhang Tianran's expression finally eased somewhat.

Although he had failed to obtain anything particularly valuable, even scrap had its uses. Take the Cosmic Treadmill, for example. Most of it remained intact. Perhaps it could be repaired someday.

To save time, Zhang Tianran not only entered Speed Mode immediately, but also created several Time Remnants. Together, they began clearing up the mess.

Because the timeline had undergone some changes, Zhang Tianran found it somewhat taxing to use Time Remnants, and the situation seemed to be worsening.

Realizing this, Zhang Tianran knew that time was running out. He hurriedly dismantled everything that seemed useful, piled it all together, and had Zero shrink it.

After spending two or three seconds packing everything up, Zhang Tianran prepared to leave.

But... there no longer seemed to be any universe outside. This place also appeared ready to disappear at any moment...

"Is it time?" Zhang Tianran did not feel worried. Since there were no other worlds, he would simply head to the Vanishing Point.

It was said to belong to no time, but in truth, it was merely a relatively stable location within the timeline.

If he really wanted to be precise about it, Zhang Tianran could even travel to the past and return to the point in time where the Time Council existed.

The seven people chosen in the universe had been transported to the Vanishing Point at the final moment before their world was destroyed. They had already spent several months here.

The Flash had been gone for months. Every day, the remaining people searched for a way out, but found nothing.

Until this day, when Luthor used the trash here to make a device and attempted to leave.

Unfortunately, there was nothing outside. Even if the device truly worked, they had nowhere to go.

Well... not exactly. There were plenty of parallel universes, but they definitely did not have the power to reach them now.

A flash of white lightning drew everyone's attention. In this desolate wasteland, any change at all could give people a little hope.

Very soon, Zhang Tianran appeared there. The moment he arrived, he did not exit Speed Mode. Instead, he took the Book of Destiny from Luthor's hand.

"This is quite an interesting thing. It would be wasted in your hands." Zhang Tianran did not choose to read the Book of Destiny after taking it. He simply tossed it into the shrunken ship.

This was quite a difficult technique, because Zhang Tianran had used the Speed Force to open a space leading into the ship.

"Dr. Zhang... how did you appear here? What happened outside?" Kara stared at the scene before her in disbelief.

As a Kryptonian, Kara had actually noticed Zhang Tianran stealing the book. Yet not only did she not stop him, she thought he had done a great job.

No matter who held that book, they would be better than Luthor.

"Hello, everyone. This should be my first meeting with you all. To avoid disrupting the timeline, it would be best if you did not spoil what happens later for me." Zhang Tianran spoke calmly, reminding everyone present first.

"The whole world has disappeared. Does something like a timeline still need to exist?" Luthor asked, but he did not demand the Book of Destiny back.

Because he still had a page in his arms, and this was not the time to care about such things.

Although he put on an indifferent front, Luthor continued staring intently at Zhang Tianran, hoping that the world would return to normal.

"It is fine. Go ahead and tell me. If it affects me too much, I will kill you before the Time Paradox arrives." Zhang Tianran threatened blandly.

"Zhang Tianran, what exactly happened to the world outside?" Sara Lance asked again.

"It has temporarily disappeared, but it is fine. Just wait here for a while longer..." Zhang Tianran stopped beating around the bush and explained directly.

However, hardly anyone believed him. Just as Kara was about to ask something else, yellow lightning flashed through the air again.

Barry Allen appeared with a confused expression, nearly crashing into Zhang Tianran.

"Where am I?" Barry muttered, his body seeming somewhat weak as well.

Kara and the others had no time to continue questioning Zhang Tianran. They hurried over to check on Barry.

"Barry, where have you been all this time? You have been gone for months." After examining Barry and confirming that he was fine, Kara hurriedly asked about what he had experienced.

"What? I was only gone for a few seconds... I wanted to enter the Speed Force, but no matter what I did, I could not find the way. It was as if..." Barry Allen began to explain.

Hearing this, Zhang Tianran felt a sense of shared understanding.

Unlike Barry, who was currently unable to contact the Speed Force, Zhang Tianran had always been shut out by the Speed Force. No matter how hard he tried, he could not enter it.

"Barry has returned. It seems the time is about right. What a coincidence that I came when I did. I thought I would have to stay with you for months." Zhang Tianran spoke meaningfully.