Starting from scratch, Batman crushed my dream of getting rich

Chapter 390 When the Flash suffers, it's often not his teammates who feel the worst.
Barry was a little confused when he heard Ma Zhaodi's answer.

"What do you mean by 'sleeping until the year after next'?" he couldn't help but ask. "I thought your wine's name, 'Thousand-Day Drunk,' was just an exaggerated advertising rhetoric. Turns out, the name describes the product's actual effects? Will it really make you sleep for a full thousand days? Does that mean it'll be in the hospital on IV drips to stay alive for three whole years?"

"How novel! When have I ever lied to anyone about my own products? Do you understand the value of the phrase 'honest and fair dealing'?"

Ma Zhaodi replied, "And to be precise, it's not three years, it's two years and nine months. He doesn't need IV fluids to stay alive. A person who has been drinking 'Thousand Days' Drunk' won't be hungry or thirsty, at most he'll die of old age in bed—I'm actually quite looking forward to Snart sending him to the hospital to stay alive. I feel that the cost of living in the hospital for three years will have a major impact on his criminal proceeds. He can take half of the proceeds from a year's robbery to pay for medical expenses."

That's really vicious.

As the two were talking, a car drove up from the street.

"Barry! Old Ma!"

Cisco got out of the car, looking anxious. "Barry, how are you? How are you feeling? Are you badly hurt? Hey! Who are you?! Why are you dressed like a serial killer?"

Ma Zhaodi then removed his pale, ghostly mask: "You're right, Cisco. Don't say it again."

“I’m fine, Cisco, I’m fine.” Barry reassured him, “Calm down, I’m just not running fast right now. I need to go back to the lab for a checkup, okay?”

"Okay, okay, I'm glad you're okay."

Upon seeing that the man in black beside him was Old Ma, and hearing that Barry wasn't seriously injured, Cisco first breathed a sigh of relief, but then frowned again: "Was your speed drained by 'Blackvision'? When I was driving, I only heard Ma Zhaodi driving to ram that guy, and then I immediately rushed here—wait, where's Blackvision?"

"What black vision?"

"It's Kahlil Gibran. I nicknamed him Black Vision."

Barry and Ma Zhaodi exchanged a helpless glance. They were already somewhat used to Cisco's habit of giving nicknames to superpowered criminals.

"Kahlil Gibran was knocked down by Ma Zhaodi... uh, knocked down and fell asleep. We were going to take him back to the lab, but Snart came and forcibly took him away."

"What about Snart?" Cisco looked completely bewildered. "And what does 'bumped into someone asleep' mean?"

“Let’s exchange intelligence when you get back,” Dr. Wells’ voice came through the phone. “Barry, your job is to be a crime scene evidence analyst. Use the tools in the Cisco car to collect samples from the scene, such as Gibran’s blood, body tissue, and hair. We need to analyze his abilities carefully.”

"Uh, Doctor, what about the damage caused at the scene?"

“There’s nothing we can do,” Wells said coldly. “We saved all the substation employees today, prevented casualties, and fought off a superhuman criminal. We’ve done everything we could, even at your expense.”

"Moreover, all the substation employees present saw The Flash. If Star Labs were to compensate the substation for its losses without a reason, even a fool like Erling would be able to guess the connection between The Flash and the lab."

"All right."

Sensing that Dr. Wells seemed to be in a bad mood, Barry and Cisco didn't dare to say anything more. Barry used the toolkit in the car to complete the evidence collection at the scene, and the three of them got into the car and returned to the laboratory.

Meanwhile, in the Starry Sky Laboratory, Wells had a gloomy face. He waited until the three of them returned, even though it was already late at night, he was determined to stay up all night to wait for Barry's test results.

"So, what were the test results?"

“Do we even need to see the results?” Cisco sighed as he watched Barry sprint on his custom-made treadmill, his speed clearly displayed on the monitor. “Even without looking at his speed stats, just by looking at how Barry runs, you should know he’s running at a normal human speed right now.”

"Then let's look at the data."

“The data shows that you’re running slower than a normal person.” “But that’s impossible.” Caitlin reacted even more strongly than Cisco. As a medical professional, she knew better how absurd this was: “Your DNA was reconstructed by the Big Bang of the particle accelerator, which is why you can run at this speed. Gibran absolutely has no ability to turn your DNA back to normal.”

“Yes, he just drained my energy, turning me back into an ordinary person,” Barry sighed. “In any case, I’ve definitely lost my speed now.”

Dr. Wells, who was standing nearby, remained silent until Barry got off the treadmill, at which point he suddenly asked, "Ma Zhaodi, are you sure Gibran won't wake up within three years?"

"Midtown people don't lie to Midtown people."

Wells wasn't in the mood to criticize Ma Zhaodi's words. He simply turned to Barry and said calmly, "We'll get your speed back, Barry, I promise you."

"Thank you, Professor Wells."

“Caitlyn, Cisco, take Barry for the next, more detailed tests.”

"Okay, professor—where are you going?"

"I need some peace and quiet. Don't come looking for me."

Ignoring the bewildered looks on the faces of the crowd, Wells drove his wheelchair away from the room alone.

Seeing this, Caitlin, Barry, and Cisco could only continue with the remaining tests as usual, while Ma Zhaodi removed his mask and robe, wrapping them up in a ball.

"I have to go back now. I'm not sure when that 'hide-and-seek' will wake up, so it's best not to let her run out onto the streets of the city center again."

"You just used the nickname Caitlin gave you like that?" Cisco said, dissatisfied. "That name isn't cool at all. Her ability is teleportation."

Caitlin retorted, "So what? Shauna Beetz is a young girl, isn't it nice to have a cute nickname?"

Ma Zhaodi chuckled awkwardly. He didn't really want to get involved in the nickname war between Cisco and Caitlin, so he quietly headed towards the door. Just as he was about to leave, Barry suddenly called out, "Old Ma."

"Huh? What's wrong?"

“Thank you,” Barry said earnestly. “You saved my life.”

"Oh, that's nothing."

Ma Zhaodi waved his hand and left the Star Lab, while Sanbengzi and Daimao appeared silently on the street.

"Three-wheeled vehicle, how's Bates doing?"

"She's still asleep inside, her vital signs are stable, and she won't wake up anytime soon."

"That's great! Have Snart and Mick tracked them down yet?"

"We've tracked them down; their location isn't exactly close to here."

"We have to go, no matter how far."

(End of this chapter)