"Thief! Thief! Help... somebody!"

Li Da Niang's anxious voice grew closer.

Whoosh!

A man like the wind swept past the mouth of the alley.

In his hand was a handbag, and on his head was a black hat. It was the "Three-Sword Style Master" Lin Xian had been waiting for.

Lin Xian walked out of the alley and bumped right into Li Da Niang, who was chasing after him.

Li Da Niang looked anxious and grabbed Lin Xian's arm:

"Y... young man!"

"Got it."

"M... my..."

"No problem."

Lin Xian helped her lean against the wall:

"Li Da Niang, don't panic. Just wait here. San Pang will bring your handbag back to you in a little while."

With that, he activated his parkour skills and disappeared into the winding path with two or three zigzagging leaps...

Li Da Niang opened her mouth, utterly confused:

"I... I haven't said anything yet..."

...

Thump, thump, thump!

Lin Xian leaped horizontally through the narrow, chaotic passageway.

The thief's escape route was exactly the same as it had been the last few days, and in countless cycles of days and nights to come... he would still be running this route, day after day.

Lin Xian could have caught up with him earlier, but he maintained his speed until the thief ran to that familiar dead end, and then he jumped—

"Take this!" "Ah—"

A flying kick sent the thief sprawling to the ground.

Lin Xian groped all over him, taking out a dagger from his chest, waistband, and boots, and throwing them behind him. Then he pulled out the thief's belt to tie him up.

Boom!

Da Lian Mao kicked open the pile of firewood stacked at the alley entrance:

"Dare to steal in my territory!"

He walked out of the alley with three fierce-looking lackeys, the savage flesh on his face twisted into a knot:

"You—"

The baton in his hand was halfway through a swing when Da Lian Mao froze.

The soaring anger seemed to have been doused with a basin of water, and the savage expression and wide-open mouth solidified on his face...

Before his eyes.

A man wearing a black hat had his pants pulled down, his hands tied behind his back with his belt, squirming on the ground like a maggot in humiliation.

And next to him stood a young man who looked as if he had just finished something, with his hands in his pockets, looking over this way, with three cold, gleaming daggers thrown on the ground.

"You..."

Da Lian Mao pointed at the maggot on the ground with the baton he had half-swung, then pointed at Lin Xian:

"You, which of you is the bad guy?"

"Brother Lian, catch."

Lin Xian picked up the handbag from the wall beside him and threw it over.

Thwack.

Da Lian Mao caught it and saw that it was indeed Li Da Niang's bag.

He turned his head and handed it to San Pang:

"San Pang, you take the bag and deliver it to Li Da Niang."

San Pang turned and ran. Da Lian Mao scratched his head and walked over to size up Lin Xian.

"You... you know me?"

"I've heard of your great name."

"What's my name?"

"Da Lian Mao (Big Face Cat)."

"Then why do you call me Brother Lian? Wouldn't a normal person call me Brother Mao?"

"Cat is ideology; face is metaphysics."

"Holy crap!"

Da Lian Mao was dumbstruck and thunderstruck!

He took a step forward and grabbed Lin Xian's hand! He pulled him in front of A Zhuang and Er Zhu Zi, patting Lin Xian on the shoulder and back:

"This kid's all right! Definitely a talent! What do I call you, brother?"

"Lin Xian."

"Come on, Lin Xian, let me introduce you. These two and the one who just left are my three little brothers. This is A Zhuang, this is Er Zhu Zi, and the one who ran off was San Pang."

After Da Lian Mao introduced them one by one, he patted himself on the chest:

"You really have an eye for people! People in the business call me Da Lian Mao. You can just call me Brother Lian in the future!"

"Speaking of which, brother, where are you from? I know everyone in this area; I haven't seen you before."

"I'm a drifter... just wandering around."

Lin Xian followed the previous script.

This should be the fastest route to join Da Lian Mao's gang, the Face Gang.

Once he infiltrated the organization and gained Da Lian Mao's trust, the next step would be to beg him to take him to see Cat Dad and ask about the truth of the cosmic constant.

"Hmm..."

Da Lian Mao stroked his chin and thought, the look in his eyes toward Lin Xian filled with a mutual appreciation.

As if making a big, unfilial decision in his heart, Da Lian Mao looked pained, bit his lip tightly, and looked at A Zhuang and Er Zhu Zi:

"I want to let this kid join our gang. What do you two think?"

"Absolutely not, boss!"

A Zhuang shouted:

"You can't just trust him because he's read a few books, gone to school, and has some culture! Cultured people are the most unreliable! Their bellies are full of bad ideas!"

"That's right!" Er Zhu Zi looked at Lin Xian with disdain:

"This kid is fair-skinned and tender-fleshed, looks like a girl. He obviously has bad intentions. If this kid joins the gang... I wouldn't trust him around your wife!"

Two votes against.

Da Lian Mao looked at San Pang, who was running back quickly:

"San Pang, what do you think?"

San Pang shook his head wisely:

"I don't think it'll work."

Da Lian Mao sighed, slightly disappointed, and grabbed Lin Xian's hand:

"Brother, I'm sorry. I thought you were a kindred spirit and wanted to take you as a gang member. But... our gang is very particular about democracy. I can't help you."

He rummaged through his pockets, took out a few banknotes, and handed them to Lin Xian:

"You helped us catch a thief today, so accept this as a token of our appreciation, and continue to wander. If you ever can't make it, come find me. I can always spare a bowl of rice."

"Don't do that, Brother Lian."

Lin Xian was speechless. How could he have been rejected?

Where was the script wrong?

Why was the direction completely wrong?

He pointed to the thief squirming like a maggot on the ground:

"Since I can subdue the thief on my own, it means I'm very capable, Brother Lian. I'm very skilled and can definitely serve the gang. If you don't believe me, I'll do a couple of flips for you."

Lin Xian grabbed a brick seam with one hand, jumped up with great force, did two somersaults in the air, and jumped directly to the second floor.

"Holy crap!" Da Lian Mao exclaimed, "Good skill!"

"Boss, how did he fly up there!"

Thump.

Lin Xian landed safely, patted the dust off his hands, and looked at Da Lian Mao with a smile:

"How about it, Brother Lian? My skills are pretty good, right?"

Da Lian Mao nodded affirmatively and looked at A Zhuang.

A Zhuang reversed his previous attitude and gave Lin Xian a thumbs up:

"Boss, I think this kid's skills are really good. Isn't his ability to climb walls exactly what we need right now? What we lack is a talent for climbing walls!"

Er Zhu Zi's face was livid:

"I disagree! Someone like him who climbs over other people's walls and backyards at every turn is either stealing things or stealing people! Our Face Gang cannot accept such morally corrupt people!"

One in favor, one against.

Da Lian Mao looked at San Pang:

"San Pang, what do you think?"

San Pang nodded wisely:

"I think it's okay."

"Okay! Then it's settled!"

Da Lian Mao clapped his hands, laughed heartily, and put his arm around Lin Xian's neck:

"Brother, from today on, you're one of us in the Face Gang! To be honest... I felt like we were destined from the first moment I saw you! What our gang needs most right now is someone with your talent for climbing walls!"

"Sorry, brother, I misunderstood you just now. As compensation..."

"Tell me, what is your wish? What do you want? As long as I can do it, I'll grant it all!"

Sure enough, Da Lian Mao was generous. Lin Xian liked dealing with people like this.

"Brother Lian, your father is an elementary school math teacher, right?"

"That's right."

"Is he researching an ancient book called *Introduction to the Cosmic Constant*?"

"Oh, you even know that?"

Lin Xian smiled and nodded:

"Actually, I came to admire your father. You can let me do whatever you want in the future. Right now, I only have one wish..."

"Can you take me to see your father right now? I have some math questions I'd like to ask him."