Barry Allen looked at Oliver awkwardly before speaking slowly. "I have a personal matter and would like to ask Mr. Kaius for help."
Hearing this, Oliver smiled faintly. He understood Barry's meaning and stood up.
"Then you two talk," Oliver said, "I'll head back to the company. Kaius, regarding what you asked earlier, I'll take care of it soon."
Oliver nodded slightly, then took an envelope from his jacket and placed it in front of Kaius. "Kaius, this is for you. Please take it."
Kaius briefly glanced at the envelope using his x-ray vision and saw it was a bank card. He couldn't help but think that Oliver was very considerate.
There was no reason not to accept it. For someone like Oliver, from a company like Queen Consolidated, it was likely that amounts over $200,000 could be a standard gift.
Kaius accepted the envelope, and the two exchanged a brief look.
Barry, who had just sat down, didn't notice the exchange. He pursed his lips, as though organizing his thoughts.
"Mr. Kaius, I told you I came here to investigate a case similar to the robbery at Queen Consolidated, but that wasn't the whole truth..."
Barry paused and took a deep breath, gathering his courage before continuing. "When I was eleven, my mother was murdered, and the police arrested my father, sentencing him to life imprisonment. But my father is innocent! He didn't kill her!"
"Although I was just a child, I clearly remember something strange that night. Something like a tornado burst into our house, red and yellow shapes swirling around. I tried to run to my mom, but then... I suddenly found myself twenty blocks away from home."
He paused again, shaking his head. "No one believed me. They thought I was making it up. No one believed in what I saw, just like no one believes that the person who robbed Queen Consolidated is strong enough to open a titanium alloy door with bare hands!"
Diana, who had been listening attentively, reached out and patted Barry's shoulder, encouraging him. She then looked at Kaius. "I understand..."
"No! You don't understand!" Kaius interrupted her hurriedly, recognizing that Diana was about to make an assumption.
Diana, looking a bit hurt, retorted, "You didn't let me finish! How can you say I don't understand?"
"Wait, does Diana know what he's going to say?" Barry's eyes lit up with sudden anticipation.
Kaius sighed, quickly changing the subject. "Diana just wanted to say that the robbery has been solved, and the police in Star City are closing the case."
"Yes, I know. The robber was caught because he was captured by you!" Barry said, speaking with surprising confidence.
He quickly looked around to make sure no one else was paying attention to him, then pulled out the tablet he had been holding.
He opened a surveillance video and hit play. The video showed footage of Kaius and Diana fighting against the Mirakuru-enhanced individuals the night before.
Although the video quality was low, the figures were still clear—especially Diana.
The goddess was unmistakable. Even in low definition, her slim waist and long legs were evident. Her posture alone made her stand out in a unique way.
Kaius felt an overwhelming urge to put on glasses, the same kind Superman might wear as a disguise.
"This woman in the video is Diana, and the man in black tights must be Mr. Kaius!" Barry said, sounding sure of himself.
Why is she "a female police officer" and I'm just "the man in black tights"?
What's that supposed to mean?
Kaius's expression darkened, and he nearly slapped the table in frustration. He held back, instead shouting at Barry, "Come on, then! Let's see what else you've got!"
Barry also sensed Kaius's anger, but he naively thought it was because Kaius didn't want his identity revealed.
"Mr. Kaius, Ms. Diana, don't worry, I will keep your identities confidential," Barry said sincerely. "As I mentioned before, I'm investigating this case—the unbelievable events—and I just want to uncover the truth. I believe the truth of this incredible world exists, and with it, I can find the murderer who killed my mother and restore my father's innocence!"
Diana lowered her head slightly and whispered to Barry, "I have the Lasso of Truth. If you have a suspect, I can interrogate him."
"Is that really possible?" Barry's eyes widened in disbelief. He then asked, clearly confused, "I have so many questions about you... Your abilities, for example. You can smash through steel plates with one punch! Where does that ability come from?"
"This world isn't as simple as you think," Kaius replied. "There are many unknowns—aliens, gods, magic... You'll understand more later." He didn't want to explain further, especially since they weren't in a private setting to discuss superpowers.
But Barry wasn't ready to give up. "Is there a school for superpowers, like Hogwarts? Is there a place where people like you gather? How can I find the phantom I saw as a child? I haven't seen it since. How can I..."
"Barry, calm down!" Kaius could clearly feel how excited Barry was.
It was understandable, though. Anyone who learned about superpowers in this world would be excited. And Barry had been searching for more than ten years to uncover the truth about his mother's murder.
Barry suddenly stood up, speaking with intense emotion. "How can I calm down? I've spent my whole life trying to prove that what I saw that night was real, and I've never been so close to the truth..."
He paused, then glanced at his watch. "Tonight, there's a particle acceleration collision experiment at the cutting-edge technology lab, and there are only ten minutes left. The train to Central City is about to leave. Oh no, how am I going to catch it?"
Kaius pushed Barry, who was getting a bit hysterical, back into his seat. "Barry, I'll look into this 'yellow-red ghost' you mentioned. As for catching the train, don't worry, I'll take you home."
"Thank you, but are you sure? Even if you drive, it takes about seven or eight hours to travel from Star City to Central City and back," Barry said, looking worried.
He was supposed to report to the police station in the afternoon. He had actually come to Star City to ask for sick leave so he could sneak away. His boss knew about this and had specifically ordered him to appear at the station in the afternoon, or he'd be fired.
Diana smiled gently. "Relax, Kaius can fly!"
"Wait... what?" Barry's eyes widened in shock, his mouth dropping open as if trying to fit a large banana inside.
Since the surveillance cameras didn't capture the sky, Barry hadn't known that Kaius could fly.
Now, as he learned this, it felt like a door to another world was slowly opening before him.
"Wow, what other abilities do you have that I don't know about?" Barry asked, his expression filled with excitement.