Cisco drove Lin Li over in the research vehicle, while Caitlin observed Barry's physical condition from the control room, and all of them maintained communication.
As a consultant for Star Labs, and as Cisco said, a bane to supervillains, plus having seen the TV series, Lin Li was more than capable of directing them in battle.
He picked up The Flash's earpiece and put it directly on his ear. It was the communicator from Barry's suit. Cisco had made six of them, so everyone had one.
Lin Li said to Barry, "Barry, you need to be careful. Don't confront Marden head-on like last time."
At this moment, the car stopped due to a red light.
Lin Li, feeling utterly exasperated, said to Cisco, "What's the situation? You're still stopping?"
Cisco pointed to the busy road and said, "Hey, I can't help it, okay? It's rush hour now, peak traffic. It's already good that it's not completely jammed."
Lin Li and Cisco waited helplessly for the red light. The supervillain bane was waiting for a red light.
"Lin Li, what should I do?"
Barry's anxious voice came through. He was almost at his destination.
"Barry, once you reach the destination, see if you have a chance to rescue the hostage first. Regardless of whether you succeed or not, run, don't stop."
"Weather Wizard's air pressure blades are very fast, but they're not faster than your speed. Watch his movements, and you can easily avoid them."
"No matter what, Barry, you need to be extremely vigilant. Don't relax, don't underestimate him, always pay attention to his movements. Run, Barry, run, run, run…"
South of the city, near the hunter's cabin.
Eddie lay on the ground, covered in vomited blood. He was unconscious, groaning in pain subconsciously.
Just now, he had been dropped by Marden from a height of thirteen or fourteen meters. He hadn't died instantly but suffered multiple fractures all over his body, groaning in pain, unable to move, and occasionally vomiting fresh blood.
Joe stayed by Eddie's side, his expression sorrowful. Eddie's injury made him feel guilty. If it weren't for his carelessness, if he had brought Lin Li, Eddie wouldn't be like this. If he hadn't brought Eddie, none of this would have happened. His negligence, his lack of seriousness, led to the current consequences, filling him with regret.
"Marden, I beg you, Eddie needs medical attention. Let me call an ambulance to treat him first. You can do whatever you want with me."
Joe cried out in sorrow and pain. He didn't know how long Eddie could last. He didn't dare to move Eddie in his current state. Watching Eddie's every convulsion was like a harsh blow to his own body, causing him immense pain.
Marden reveled in Joe's pleas.
This was the right of a god, to dictate the life and death of mortals.
He looked at Joe with disdain, raised his hand, closed his eyes greedily, deeply enjoying the pleas of a mortal.
He felt an unparalleled pleasure.
This pleasure of dominance.
However, when he opened his eyes and saw only the remaining half of his arm.
His face twisted into a ferocious grimace.
"When that guy gets here, you, and the one lying on the ground, will all be buried with him. You should enjoy this moment, every extra second you can breathe, because soon, you will all be shredded into minced meat by me."
Marden said with hatred and distortion.
But what he waited for was not that hateful lightning man.
The lightning man was waiting for a red light…
Red arcs, red phantoms arrived first, The Flash.
Barry arrived at the scene and, seeing that Joe was still safe, breathed a sigh of relief. Then he saw Eddie lying on the ground, vomiting blood and severely injured, which made his kind heart clench.
He whispered into the communicator, "Lin Li, Joe is safe, Eddie is seriously injured. What should I do?"
"It's you, the red clown."
Marden laughed. This red-suited clown, whom he had almost killed, dared to show up again?
"Has that guy not arrived yet? You ran ahead to die first?"
"Last time, because of that guy, I couldn't kill you."
"This time, I want to see if that guy can arrive in time when you're on the verge of death."
Marden sneered coldly. In his right palm, a swirling mass of mist condensed, more concentrated and powerful than last time, radiating pressure from his palm.
The severe injury from last time left a slight shadow on Barry, and a hint of fear tightened his heart.
Lin Li's voice came through Barry's communicator, guiding him.
"Barry, provoke Marden into attacking you. Whatever method you use, lure Marden away from Joe and Eddie. Marden's attack methods can easily injure them. Whether by cursing or by 'kindly' asking about his family, just get him further away."
As soon as Lin Li finished speaking.
Barry feigned a relaxed tone and said, "Hey, one-armed man, it seems you couldn't kill me last time because you couldn't get it up anymore?"
Marden was extremely sensitive about being one-armed; it was a disgrace. Every time he remembered the loss of that arm, a flame of anger would rise within him, burning him.
He was angry at his fear of Lin Li back then.
He was angry at his god-like dignity being trampled.
He was angry at his incomplete body.
He was angry that The Flash, as insignificant as an ant, dared to speak to him like this.
"What are you? A weak piece of trash, a defeated opponent. Without him, you would die a miserable death."
The mist in Marden's hand surged, and he made a slashing motion towards Barry.
Three compressed blades burst from his hand, flying towards Barry.
Barry, following Lin Li's advice, remained vigilant, his eyes never leaving Marden.
Therefore, as soon as Marden raised his hand and the compressed blades emerged, Barry's Speed Force activated, and the compressed blades slowed down. He ran and dodged them.
As long as he remained vigilant, he wouldn't fall for such a trick again.
Barry transformed into a yellow arc of electricity, dodging and running towards the opposite side of Joe.
Successfully dodging a compressed blade once greatly boosted Barry's confidence. He called out again, "Hey, Marden, being one-armed isn't fun, is it? How do you eat?"
Barry once again made a mocking face.
This again stung Marden's proud, god-like heart; eating with one hand was indeed troublesome.
Marden's rage surged, and he walked towards The Flash.
"Do you think running your mouth can change your fate?"
Marden flicked his hand, sending out several more compressed blades.
Barry turned into a phantom and evaded them.
The compressed blades directly severed the trees behind Barry, and several birch trees were cut and fell diagonally.
Barry saw it and felt his scalp tingle a bit. These compressed blades were much more powerful than last time; he estimated he couldn't withstand even one hit.
Several times in a row, Marden's air pressure blades were dodged by Barry, causing a continuous line of birch trees to be cut down and fall to the ground.
'Whoosh…'
The trees tilted and fell.
Barry called out, "Lin Li, Marden has been lured several hundred meters away by me. How do I defeat him?"
Lin Li stroked his chin and calculated, "Barry, a person's reaction time is roughly 0.15 - 0.4 seconds. At 320 kilometers per hour, you can run 90 meters in one second. Within ten or twenty meters, I think you could even circle around and punch him in the back before he even has time to react."
"That's a really good idea. I think I can do it."