Starting from scratch, Batman crushed my dream of getting rich

Chapter 302 First meeting
Ma Zhaodi had quite a few guests today.

Not only Denton and Elizabeth, but also many other people on the street were interested in the four kinds of pastries on the cart—although the aroma couldn't waft out through the shop window, the Ding Sheng Gao (a type of sweet rice cake) and Tao Su (a type of shortbread) looked novel and quite beautiful.

However, among the customers attracted to buy pastries, there are quite a few who like ox-tongue pastries and Yunnan ham mooncakes. Basically, after one person has tried them once, these two seemingly unpretentious pastries will gain another fan.

Looking at the money bag that was gradually getting bulging, even Ma Zhaodi couldn't help but smile.

Meanwhile, in the Star Labs, Francisco Ramon had already entered the lobby as usual, ready to continue his work.

"Good morning, Cisco."

"Ah, good morning, Caitlin."

Cisco casually responded to his colleague's greeting and smiled at her.

But his feignedly casual greeting could not mask the deserted state of the laboratory.

So, it's just the two of us today?

"Yes."

Catherine answered quietly, expressionless, "At this time, no one else will come to the Star Labs."

This wasn't due to funding issues or anything like that. In fact, Dr. Wells was still quite wealthy thanks to his past scientific patents and collaborative projects. Even after paying the compensation and fines for this accident, he could still afford the salaries of the entire lab. The main reason many researchers left was because the lab's reputation was ruined.

Since the massive explosion at the particle accelerator, the city government and citizens have been demanding accountability from the public. The Star Labs were classified as a Level 4 hazardous location and ceased operations. For the sake of their future careers, no researcher would willingly remain in a shut-down lab that was also facing public criticism.

Harrison Wells, one of the world's leading scientists, is like an idol on a pedestal. Most of the researchers at Star Labs are his followers, and many are drawn to him by his aura. They believe that following this scientist will guarantee them a bright future.

But Wells failed in the experiment that night. He was no longer an omnipotent idol, no longer a god in the scientific community. On the contrary, he became the object of everyone's condemnation and the person most responsible for this scientific research accident.

After he fell from grace, his followers naturally did not remain there.

Life had to go on. Star Labs had no future. Even though Harrison was still one of the world's top scholars, his infamous reputation made a comeback almost impossible. So, everyone realistically went their separate ways.

Wells seemed completely unconcerned; in his world, he was always indifferent to those without talent—which, of course, might just be why only Francisco and Caitlin remained in the lab. Wells had never paid any attention to the others in the lab, but he treated these two geniuses differently, offering them considerable guidance and encouragement in their academic pursuits.

Cisco is an undisputed genius in physics, mechanics, and computer science, as well as an inventor. Regardless of whether it's a stereotype that engineering students like superheroes and games, he certainly loves them. Classic movies, superhero comics, and games—except for not being a complete geek—Syco basically has all the hobbies of a tech geek, even his personality has a touch of humor.

Caitlin is a bioengineering expert in the lab, and she naturally possesses medical knowledge. Compared to Cisco, her original personality and interests were more in line with the image of a genius scientist in people's eyes—but since her fiancé Ronald Raymond died in the explosion three weeks ago, she has not smiled and has become quiet and indifferent, like a block of ice.

After the lab was shut down, Cisco and Caitlin remained steadfast in Star Labs, where they and Professor Wells were the only three researchers remaining.

“Well, it’s not just the three of us left.” Cisco tried to break the dull and stiff atmosphere in the lab: “After all, the doctor sent someone over yesterday, so if you count it that way, we actually have one more person.”

Caitlin glanced at him, her face still expressionless: "Yes, if we don't consider that he might be in the Star Labs at any time, then we do have one more person." Cisco awkwardly shut his mouth.

“Barry Allen did not die on the night of the explosion, nor did he die inside Star Labs.”

Dr. Wells’ voice suddenly rang out from the doorway. He sat in his wheelchair and calmly responded to Caitlin’s question.

"PhD."

“Caitlyn, Cisco.” Wells completely ignored their slight nervousness and asked directly, “What were the results of Barry Allen’s test?”

“I can’t be entirely sure,” Caitlin replied. “But his body is definitely not like that of a normal person—I mean, he was struck directly by lightning and when he was brought in last night, he had broken ribs from CPR; but now, his test results are no different from a normal person’s, and those fractures have vanished.”

Where is the heartbeat?

"The number of tests exceeded 1,000 last night, but the number of tests this morning was only 120."

The doctor nodded and then looked at Cisco.

“Uh, the situation is as you predicted.” Cisco quickly replied, “I investigated the hospital’s power supply that night, and each intermittent power outage occurred when Barry’s heart stopped beating—the electrocardiogram couldn’t record his heartbeat; his heart was indeed beating too fast, not stopped.”

“In that case,” the doctor nodded, “we probably don’t need to worry about Mr. Allen dying suddenly in the lab. We just need to stabilize his condition and try to wake him up.”

He paused, then said, "As I said, quite strange changes are happening in his body, changes that go against our common sense. We need to understand his situation further—Caitlyn?"

"Ok?"

"Let's test his cells and figure out what exactly happened to him."

"no problem."

"Sisco?"

"Ok?"

“I don’t mean to control your eating habits—but isn’t your breakfast a little too simple?”

"Oh, this?" Cisco looked at the ox-tongue pastry in his hand. "This isn't breakfast; it's a dessert I bought on the way. Would you like a piece?"

Wells shook his head: "Forget it, I have things to take care of, I'll be going now—remember to keep an eye on Mr. Allen."

"no problem."

(End of this chapter)