Chapter 36: Barry Allen

Barry Allen glanced awkwardly at Oliver and spoke slowly, "I have a personal matter and I need to ask Mr. Li Ya for help."

Oliver smiled slightly upon hearing this, understanding Barry's intention. He stood up and said, "You go ahead and talk. I'll head back to the company first. Li Ya, you asked me something earlier, and I'll take care of it soon."

Oliver bowed slightly, then took an envelope from his pocket and placed it in front of Li Ya, saying, "Li Ya, this is for you. Please take it."

Li Ya glanced inside the envelope with a discerning eye and found a bank card. He couldn't help but appreciate Oliver's thoughtfulness. There was no reason to refuse such a generous gift. For a big company like Queen Industries, $200,000 would be a drop in the bucket.

Li Ya accepted the envelope, and the two exchanged a look.

Barry, who had just sat down, hadn't paid attention to the exchange. He pursed his lips as if organizing his thoughts.

"Mr. Li Ya, I mentioned earlier that I came here to investigate a case similar to the burglary at Quinn Enterprise, but I lied..."

Barry paused and took a deep breath, gathering his courage to speak. "When I was eleven, my mother was murdered, and the police arrested my father. They sentenced him to life imprisonment. But my father is innocent! He's not a murderer."

"Even though I was young, I vividly remember something rushing into our house that night, like a tornado. There were red and yellow streaks, and I tried to reach my mother, but suddenly, I found myself twenty blocks away from home."

"But nobody believed me. Nobody believed there were any streaks of light. Just like nobody believes me when I say the person behind the robberies at Queen Industries can open a titanium alloy door with their bare hands."

Diana listened to Barry's narrative, reaching out to pat his shoulder, as if encouraging him. Then she looked at Li Ya and said, "I understand..."

"No! You don't understand!" Li Ya quickly interrupted Diana, recognizing the mischievous glint in her eyes. He knew Diana was about to stir up trouble.

Diana looked aggrieved. "You haven't let me finish! Why do you say I don't understand?"

Wait, does Diana know what he's about to say? Barry's eyes sparked with anticipation.

Li Ya sighed and swiftly changed the subject. "Diana was about to say that they caught the robber, and the police in Xingcheng are closing the case."

"Yes, I know. The thief was caught because of you!" Barry exclaimed in amazement. He looked around to make sure no one was paying attention before pulling out a tablet computer he had been holding.

He played a surveillance video that showed Li Ya and Diana fighting off some people the previous night.

Though the video wasn't high definition, it was still clear enough.

Especially Diana.

She was truly a goddess. Even in low-definition footage, her slim waist and long legs were unmistakable. She had a unique charm.

Li Ya felt like he should be wearing glasses, like Superman's disguise glasses.

"This policewoman is Diana, and the man in black tights must be Mr. Li Ya!" Barry said confidently.

"Why do you describe Diana as a policewoman and describe me as 'the man in black tights'?" Li Ya's expression turned gloomy in an instant. He resisted the urge to slap the table and chair and shouted at Barry, "Come on, let's settle this!"

Barry sensed Li Ya's anger but naively thought he didn't want to be exposed.

"Mr. Li Ya, Ms. Diana, don't worry. I'll keep your identities secret. As I mentioned before, I'm investigating these cases because I want to uncover the truth behind these unbelievable events. The truth exists in this world. I want to find the murderer who killed my mother and prove my father's innocence," Barry said sincerely.

Diana lowered her head slightly and whispered to Barry, "I have a lasso of truth. If you have a suspect, I can interrogate them."

"Is that really possible?" Barry's eyes widened, and his face showed disbelief. Then he asked with great confusion, "I have so many questions for you. How do your abilities work? How can you punch through a steel plate? Where does your power come from?"

"This world is not as simple as it seems. There are many unknown beings, aliens, gods, magic... You'll understand more later!" Li Ya didn't go into further detail. After all, this wasn't the right place to discuss superpowers.

But Barry wasn't ready to give up. "Is there a school for superpowers like Hogwarts or a gathering place? How can I find the red and yellow streak I saw as a child? I haven't seen it since then. How can I..."

"Barry, calm down!" Li Ya could feel Barry's excitement.

It was understandable. Anyone who learned about the existence of superpowers in this world would be excited, especially considering Barry had spent more than ten years searching for the truth behind his mother's murder.

Barry suddenly stood up, his excitement evident. "How can you be calm? I've spent my whole life trying to prove that what I saw that night was real. I've never been this close to the truth..."

He glanced at his watch subconsciously. "There's a particle acceleration collision experiment at the cutting-edge technology laboratory tonight, and there are only ten minutes left before the train to Central City departs. How can I catch it?"

Li Ya gently pushed the somewhat hysterical Barry back into his seat. "Barry, I'll make sure to pay attention to your red and yellow streak. Don't worry about catching the train. I'll take you home."

"Thank you, but are you sure? Even if you drive, it'll take about seven or eight hours to travel between Star City and Central City," Barry expressed his concerns.

He had planned to report to the police station in the afternoon. In fact, he had come to Xingcheng without permission. His boss already knew about it and specifically instructed him to show up at the police station in the afternoon, or else he would face the consequences.

Diana spoke softly, "Don't worry. Li Ya can fly!"

"Yes..." Barry's eyes widened suddenly, his face displaying an expression of disbelief. His mouth opened wide enough to fit a large banana.

After all, there was no footage of Li Ya flying in the surveillance video. Barry had no idea that she could fly.

Now he knew, and it felt like the door to another world was slowly opening.

"Wow, what other abilities do you have that I don't know?" Barry's expression was filled with excitement.