Joe said, "You'll need to explain this to her. Just don't let her know your other identity. Right now, what we need more is to deal with this Metahuman."
"First, we need to find him. It seems the six people who robbed the gun store were all him."
"I'll go back to the police station and check his relatives and friends."
"Barry, come with me. You need to explain things to Iris."
Joe bid farewell to everyone and left Star Labs with Barry.
"I'll go research Danton Black's blood sample."
"I'll still set up the satellite to see where the gun stores have alarm reactions. Maybe he thinks he doesn't have enough guns."
"I'll talk to Danton Black's boss. Maybe I'll get some leads."
Caitlin, Cisco, and Wells said one after another, planning to get busy with their own tasks.
Lin Li listened to them, bit off the last piece of Leonidas chocolate, and said, "I'll go make my dinner then."
"Sweet and sour pork…"
"Stir-fried vermicelli with three fresh ingredients…"
"Beef stew with potatoes…"
Several voices, in unison, named their favorite foods.
Lin Li refused, "Rejected. My kitchen, my rules."
"Oh… NO…"
The three of them wailed, watching Lin Li leave mercilessly.
That evening, Lin Li made braised pig trotters. They watched in shock as Lin Li gnawed on the pig trotters, their expressions practically saying, "Lin Li, why are you eating… that?"
Because Americans never eat things like pig heads, pig trotters, fish heads, chicken feet, or animal offal, believing them to be dirty.
Lin Li expressed his speechlessness, "Then you all watch me eat it. It's delicious."
The next day, Lin Li, as usual, finished training his various abilities and body, then brought the Lightning War Cycle into the garage workshop for repairs. That was where Cisco had manufactured it, and it had all sorts of tools to help him deal with any problems.
The Lightning War Cycle had already been given to Lin Li by Cisco, so all future maintenance and repairs would need to be handled by Lin Li himself.
Cisco also thoughtfully suggested that Lin Li should get a driver's license.
So today, Lin Li needed to go to the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) to apply for an M1 driver's license. Lin Li was also very shocked by America's strictness in this regard; any vehicle exceeding 15 mph required a driver's license. That speed could even be surpassed by a bicycle!
Therefore, until he got his driver's license, the Lightning War Cycle was temporarily out of commission.
Yesterday's test drive gave him a good experience of its capabilities and flaws. He planned to modify the tires' grip and the braking system.
Before he could start the modifications, Cisco called Lin Li, informing him to come to a meeting to deal with the Metahuman.
Lin Li finally arrived at the control room hall.
Joe, Barry, Wells, Caitlin, and Cisco were all present.
Cisco clapped his hands to begin, "OK, about the Metahuman Danton Black's information."
Lin Li praised, "That's a good name, full of technological flair."
Cisco agreed with Lin Li's praise, "I think so too."
No one else had any objections; the name was perfectly normal.
Cisco continued, "Danton Black is a clinical researcher and geneticist at Stagg Industries."
Barry asked, "A geneticist? Then how did he become a Metahuman? When I fought him, he could replicate himself, creating several copies at once, surrounding and attacking me."
Caitlin added, "Danton Black specializes in therapeutic cloning, forming new organs to replace necrotic old ones. Clearly, I think he was experimenting on himself, and the dark matter wave from the particle accelerator explosion just happened to affect him, causing him to become a Metahuman."
Barry said, "Then why did this guy rob a ceremony? Wouldn't a bank be better? With this ability, he could rob a lot of money."
Joe said, "Not necessarily for money. I checked his network of contacts, and he didn't know many people. His wife, Elizabeth, suffered from coronary artery degeneration and was on the transplant list for seven years. She ultimately didn't get a suitable heart and died five months ago. Furthermore, Danton Black was fired two months before his wife's death and sued his boss, Stagg. Stagg was also present at the ceremony that day, but he left first, and then Danton Black appeared not long after, robbing the belongings of those around him."
Wells pondered, then said, "Joe, are you saying that Danton Black's robbery of valuables was just a smokescreen, and his real target might be Stagg?"
Wells directly calling Joe by his first name made Lin Li's heart stir. In America, you can only call someone by their first name if your relationship is good to a certain extent; otherwise, you can only use their last name.
Wells, have you dispelled Joe's suspicions about you?
Lin Li then observed Barry and found that Barry didn't seem unusual when facing Wells; at the very least, that unnatural expression was gone.
He acted quickly enough. As expected of a speedster, he resolved the safety hazard in just a few days.
No one knew Lin Li was daydreaming. He quietly took out a bag of Cadbury chocolates from his pocket and started eating them.
Wells continued, "Last night, I went to see Stagg. According to him, there has only been a breakthrough in organ cloning research in the past year, which led to him receiving the Regent's Choice Award. However, I don't believe him. You know, Stagg's character among us researchers isn't very good; there are even rumors that he once stole his employees' research."
The Regent's Choice Award is an award in medicine that represents progress. One is awarded each year to the researcher who has made the greatest progress in medicine. This year's recipient, undoubtedly, was Stagg's cell cloning, which achieved huge progress for future organ replacement. If this truly becomes experimental, then organ transplantation and replacement will save countless human lives. Therefore, this award is well-deserved.
The award was well-deserved, but the person was not.
Of course, Lin Li knew the plot: Stagg had purely stolen Danton Black's research results.
Joe picked up on Wells's topic, "You're right. Stagg even has about twenty pending lawsuits."
Cisco interrupted them, summarizing the analysis, "Are you saying that Stagg stole Danton Black's achievements, which possibly led to Danton Black's wife's death, and therefore Danton Black, transformed into a Metahuman, wants to kill Stagg?"
Joe nodded, pointing at Cisco, "It's very possible. We're just suspicious, so we'll need to go find his parents and friends later to learn more about him."
Barry said, "OK, then how do we defeat him? He can replicate himself, and fighting him will just create more of him. This guy can even overwhelm you with sheer numbers."
Everyone fell silent, their gazes unanimously directed at Lin Li.
Lin Li bit into a piece of Cadbury chocolate. This chocolate was good, milky and smooth. Now his mouth was full of the creamy aroma mixed with chocolate flavor.
He said, "This guy isn't afraid of electricity?"
Caitlin replied, "Even if he can replicate himself, it's based on the original's resistance. I think he should be afraid of it."
"Then I'll just electrocute him."