The center of the dark clouds happened to be near the Flash Museum.
As Yuri approached the city center, the number of pedestrians and vehicles on the road became increasingly scarce.
The power supply within the city seemed to have been completely cut off. All traffic lights had stopped working, and surveillance cameras were shut down.
By the time Yuri was less than three blocks away from the Flash Museum, he couldn't see a single person walking on the road.
Not only were there no people on the streets, but there wasn't a trace of anyone in convenience stores and malls either.
Only empty cars were randomly parked on the road.
It was as if all the residents near the city center had vanished into thin air.
This city, known as the gem of the Midwest, was experiencing such an eerie silence for the first time.
Yuri frowned. He could guess that it was the work of the Blacksmith.
After all, he had known about the Blacksmith's preparations for a grand conspiracy, but he didn't expect the Blacksmith to act so quickly.
And it happened just as Yuri was about to leave Central City.
Yuri couldn't help but wonder if he had been set up by someone.
Suddenly, Yuri caught a glimpse of something in the rearview mirror, and he quickly slammed on the brakes.
About a hundred meters behind the old car was the Cole Cemetery, where many fallen police officers of Keystone City were buried.
What caught Yuri's attention wasn't the cemetery itself, but a suspicious figure.
He only caught a brief glimpse of the figure in the rearview mirror, and it wasn't clear, but it seemed like the person entering the cemetery was carrying something heavy on their shoulders.
Given the current situation in the city, Yuri had to be cautious about it.
With all the residents mysteriously disappearing from the city center, there were two possibilities.
One was that they were all killed, and the other was that they were held captive in a certain location.
The first possibility was unlikely. Yuri had met the Blacksmith, and although his first impression might not be entirely accurate, he didn't believe that the Blacksmith was someone who would engage in senseless killing. She valued money more.
Killing all the people in Central City wouldn't benefit the Blacksmith in any way. So, it was more likely that the Blacksmith had imprisoned everyone.
The likely location of the imprisonment wasn't hard to guess. The second Mirror Master, McCulloch, worked under the Blacksmith. What place could be more suitable for housing a large number of residents than an endless mirror dimension?
Yuri's perception of the Blacksmith might not be correct, but if all the residents in the city center were truly dead, there shouldn't be anyone appearing here.
In short, the person entering the Cole Cemetery at this time definitely wouldn't be an ordinary citizen but one of the Blacksmith's henchmen.
Moreover, they seemed to be carrying some kind of heavy object, possibly a high-powered timed bomb or something similar.
Yuri couldn't let his guard down.
Therefore, Yuri got out of the old car and sneakily went in the cemetery.
Meanwhile, in Keystone City...
Inside a middle-class apartment, Wally's home.
Linda was casually dressed in a shirt and shorts, sitting barefoot on the sofa with a laptop on her lap.
"Wally, we can't let Hartley continue to be imprisoned in Iron Heights. He's been framed," Linda said as she typed on the keyboard. The screen was playing the footage of the Pied Piper killing his parents, and she pointed at the screen with a finger.
"Look here, even though most of it is covered by the hood, you can still see a bit of hair sticking out, it's a braid."
"But we all know that Hartley cut off that braid a long time ago. He should have short hair now. The person in the video is definitely not Hartley,"
"That still can't be used as evidence to exonerate Pied Piper." Wally replied, shaking his head with his back turned to her.
"So, are we just going to do nothing? He's our friend, we have to save him," Linda said, displeased.
"I want to rescue Hartley as much as you do. Believe me, these past few days, I've often wanted to rush into Iron Heights and set him free, especially after the outbreak of the mad virus when I saw him in the prison... But I can't do that," Wally turned around. "The only way to save Pied Piper is to catch the real culprit as soon as possible."
"We have good reasons to suspect that the Mirror Master is the perpetrator. Recently, Jay and Morillo have been investigating McCulloch's whereabouts. I should go and ask them about their progress," Wally suggested.
Linda nodded in agreement. "You better leave quickly."
In a flash of lightning, Wally instantly put on the Flash costume and appeared at the Keystone City Police Department the next second.
Then he realized that the police station was empty, not a single person in sight.
"Hey! Anyone here?" Wally searched the police station while calling out loudly.
"Jay? Morillo?" Wally entered the office of the Metahuman Crime Unit, but no one was there.
*Ring, ring!*
Suddenly, a desk phone on one of the tables started ringing.
Wally's expression turned serious as he picked up the phone.
"Go and look in the mirror..."
Wally's face changed drastically. He knew who the voice belonged to.
Mirror Master.
"McCulloch, what are you doing..." Wally didn't even finish his question before McCulloch interrupted him.
"Look at the glass behind you!"
Instantly, Wally knew what was happening. He immediately turned around and looked at the glass on the door.
There, in the glass, appeared numerous figures wearing police uniforms, all with familiar faces.
Not only the Keystone City Police Department's officers but also the officers from the Central City Police Department were all trapped inside.
"Damn it! McCulloch, where are they now?"
The police officers' figures disappeared from the glass, replaced by McCulloch's figure, seemingly standing in an alley.
"Flash, you are powerless against this. Imprisoning these cops is just the beginning," McCulloch said with a slight smile.
"Listen, my partner, Plunder, is taking care of your friends—Jay and Morillo. If you don't want these cops to meet the same fate, you must come to the location I specify..."
"You've made a serious mistake, McCulloch," Flash's face turned cold as he spoke.
"Is that so? Tell me, you little punk..."
*Bang!*
Wally didn't answer McCulloch but entered his speed state, instantly breaking through the door and running out.
He knew every corner of Twin Cities, so when he saw the background of McCulloch, Wally knew where he was.
The alley behind the Central City Flash Museum!
In less than a second, Wally dashed into the alley, while McCulloch's words as the "little punk" were still lingering.
Then, he smashed a pre-placed full-length mirror.
"What?"
Wally looked at the shattered pieces of the mirror on the ground, feeling a sinking sensation in his heart.
"You've made your stance clear, Flash."
On one of the shards, McCulloch's face appeared.
"Now it's time for the Rogues to take action."
A rumbling sound echoed in the sky. Wally looked up and saw dense storm clouds gathering above him, with countless lightning bolts streaking through the air.
"We have fought against your mentor, the Flash, many times, and far less with you. So, I'm curious to know how much of a gap there is between you and your mentor..."
McCulloch's lips curled up slightly.
"Tell us, are you faster than lightning?"
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A/N: Check out the new story! It's out now.
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