Under the dim streetlights, Barry paused, stunned, upon hearing Chen Mo's words.
Stunned, he subconsciously touched his heart, which was still aching slightly.
Just now at the Western restaurant, Chen Mo did indeed manage to salvage his family standing in front of Iris.
Even though the wallet was dead on the spot, Barry still acknowledged the life-saving grace.
"Something strange?"
Barry patted his chest and readily agreed, "No problem, leave it to me."
" The Central City Police Department's forensic unit receives bizarre case files from all over the country every day. If anything seems amiss, I'll definitely know immediately."
At this point, Barry paused, his expression suddenly turning serious.
He cautiously took a half-step back, raised a finger, and added seriously, "But let me make this clear first."
"Helping is one thing, but I will absolutely not do anything illegal or disorderly."
"If I find out you're using the Secret Service's name to rob a bank or bomb a building, I'll risk my life to use the Speed Force to handcuff you and bring you back to the station."
After hearing this, Chen Mo rolled his eyes at Barry.
"With your pathetic skills, you dare to worry about this?"
Chen Mo looked Little Red, a newbie brimming with a sense of justice, up and down, his disdain practically overflowing.
"I'm not trying to discourage you, but if I really wanted to do something illegal in this dump, do you think I'd bother dragging a greenhorn like you into it?"
"Am I complaining that the police response time is too slow, and am I planning to carry around a human siren with a built-in red flashing alarm to increase the game's difficulty?"
Barry rolled his eyes, speechless at Chen Mo's string of nonsensical remarks.
Although I was internally screaming, "If you really do something bad, I'll definitely stop you at all costs," upon closer reflection, it did seem to make sense.
If this guy really wanted to demolish the Central City, the urban area probably wouldn't last three minutes. There's no need to waste time arguing with him here.
"Okay, okay, you win."
Barry rubbed his messy hair, completely letting his guard down.
"Let's go. I've been up most of the night and haven't even had a proper dinner. My stomach is really protesting."
"You won't get full at those fancy Western restaurants. I'll take you somewhere you can actually fill your stomach."
Following the dim streetlights, the two strolled across two blocks.
A few minutes later, Barry skillfully pushed open the wooden door of a late-night pub.
The brass bell hanging on the door frame rang out with a clear, melodious sound.
The pub was filled with the aroma of fried onion rings and rich malt, while an old record player in the corner played slow-paced country jazz.
There weren't many customers in the shop at this time, except for two drunk old men snoring in the corner of the bar.
Barry pulled out a high stool, sat down, and snapped his the Snap with practiced ease.
"Boss, two large platters of freshly made extra-large cheese fries, plus two dozen ice-cold dark beer!"
Chen Mo pulled out a chair opposite him and sat down, casually picking up a napkin from the table to wipe the surface.
"So you're finally being generous? When you were swiping your card at the Western restaurant just now, your heart was pounding like a tractor engine."
"Nonsense! One plate of Wagyu beef at that restaurant is worth two hundred plates of fries here!"
Barry grabbed the ice-cold beer that had just been served, bit off the cap, and took a big gulp.
The cool liquor slid down his throat, and the speedster's high-intensity metabolism allowed him to let out a satisfied sigh.
"You have no idea about the hardships faced by a grassroots public servant."
Barry was stuffing piping hot fries into his mouth while he started complaining.
"Every morning at eight o'clock, I have to clock in, analyze the strange-smelling soil and bloodstains, and deal with the sheriff who might lose his temper at any moment."
"I finally made it off work, but then a few crazy thugs suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the Central City, trying to rob a gold vault."
"I don't even know if I'm a superpowered person or just a 24/7 volunteer cleaner in Central City."
Chen Mo slowly munched on his fries. This guy seemed different from the usual Flash.
"This shows that your Central City has a vibrant security environment, healthy citizens, and even villains actively starting businesses."
"You should apply to your mayor for a ' Central City Best Worker Award,' along with a bill for emotional distress."
"Come on, if the mayor were willing to spend the money, the traffic Green Lantern at the intersection would have been fixed long ago."
Barry was amused and burst into laughter; his gloomy mood dissipated with each beer he drank.
Without the pretentious affectation of a Western restaurant, the two grown men, enjoying fried food and cheap alcohol, found themselves in a much more relaxed atmosphere than before.
After a few rounds of drinks, Barry couldn't stop talking.
Perhaps it was the extremely high level of nerve excitement brought about by the Speed Force, or perhaps it was because he had too many secrets kept to himself, but he began to excitedly share with Chen Mo the strange files sent from various places.
"Actually, if you're talking about strange things, things haven't been peaceful in Metropolis and Gotham lately."
Barry slammed the bottle on the table, lowering his voice as if he were sharing some top-secret urban legend.
"Last month, Gotham sent me a fingerprint comparison request, saying that several hardened criminals at Arkham Asylum had mysteriously died in their cells."
"The manner of each person's death was bizarre; their mouths were forcibly pulled up to their ears. The forensic doctor said they laughed themselves to death in a state of extreme ecstasy."
Chen Mo paused slightly in his grip on the fries.
LOL?
The ever-smiling little bat is quick on the uptake; starting to cultivate followers in Gotham so early?
Chen Mo remained expressionless, took a bite of his fries, and asked casually, "Didn't they investigate that big bat in Gotham?"
"Who knows? Batman is elusive; most people think he's just an urban legend."
Barry shrugged and grabbed another handful of fries, stuffing them into his mouth.
"And then there's Metropolis. A Metropolis ago, a secret military research base was suddenly attacked by an unknown creature, and all the surveillance footage was turned into static due to strong magnetic field interference."
"A reporter from the Central City Citizen went to dig into the inside story, but was detained by the military for three days as soon as he arrived in the Metropolis!"
As Chen Mo listened to Barry's rambling, he quickly pieced together a map of the current world in his mind.
It seems that the DC universe in this timeline is still in its very early, nascent stage.
Clark Kent is probably still doing odd jobs rescuing people and hasn't officially become Superman yet.
Batman, played by Bruce Wayne, is still playing a vigilante in Gotham's nightlife.
As for the Batman Who Laughs, it's estimated that they've already set their sights on those lunatics at Arkham, preparing to use them for a backdoor listing.
This game of chess is getting more and more interesting.
Chen Mo was about to ask for more specific clues about Gotham.
Just then...
The old CRT television hanging in the corner of the tavern wall suddenly emitted an extremely piercing electrical noise.
Sizzle--!
The color screen that was playing sports news suddenly distorted wildly.
A series of mottled black and white snowflakes, accompanied by a high-frequency, piercing buzzing sound, suddenly exploded throughout the tavern.
Barry, who was enjoying his drink, suddenly shuddered and almost spilled the beer on his pants.
The bartender, who was wiping glasses behind the counter, froze, then reached out and patted the metal casing of the television.
"Damn it, this crappy antenna was just repaired yesterday..."
Before he could finish speaking...
The ceiling lights in the tavern suddenly flickered violently a few times, then went out instantly.
More than just pubs.
Looking out the window, the neon signs, streetlights, and even the giant screens on the facades of distant skyscrapers all fell into a deathly darkness in the same instant.
The next moment, all the screens lit up simultaneously.
Amidst the blinding flashes of snowflakes, a line of scarlet code, forcibly translated from countless strange symbols and Earth scripts, ruthlessly locked down all operating signal frequency bands worldwide.
Sizzle--
A cold, authoritative, and emotionless mechanical voice reverberated through billions of electronic devices worldwide in the dead of night.
"Inhabitants of Earth."
You are not alone.
The static on the TV screen suddenly subsided, revealing a cold, rugged face.
General Zod, commander of the Krypton fleet, has traversed endless space and officially issued an ultimatum to all of humanity.
Inside the pub, Barry's fries fell onto the table with a thud, and he stood there dumbfounded.
"Holy crap, aliens?"
The instant those words left his mouth, Barry jolted and looked at Chen Mo!
Holy crap! Aliens!
Chen Mo swallowed the beer in his mouth, a playful smile spreading across his lips.