“Have you seen him?”

Lin Xian really felt a little unbelievable.

That was Albert Einstein, the most famous and highest-regarded physicist in the world...

He was a completely different kind of person from CC, an orphan from a welfare home.

Not only on a spiritual and value level, but even on a physical level, there was little chance of the two ever coming into contact.

After all, CC had always lived in the slums of Brooklyn.

Lin Xian had experienced how dirty and chaotic that place was.

He didn't think Einstein would generally go to such a place; it didn't fit his status or logic.

"You've seen Einstein?" Lin Xian asked again.

"Yeah."

CC put the newspaper on the dining table for Lin Xian to see.

Lin Xian looked at the front page of the newspaper.

It was an interview with Einstein, discussing nothing more than the Cold War, the nuclear war crisis, the international situation... In this era of panic, everything seemed inseparable from the "shadow of the Cold War."

"Just believe me, I've really seen him."

CC sat down across from him at the dining table, resting her chin in her hands:

"And it's not just me, many of us kids have seen him. The welfare home grandma even chatted with Einstein and later told us about his past, telling us he was a great scientist... so it must be true, that was Albert Einstein."

"Okay."

Lin Xian put down the newspaper in his hand and accepted the fact.

Since the welfare home grandma said it was Einstein, it must be true:

"Um... logically speaking, a place like the Brooklyn slums is indeed very out of character for Einstein."

"But it's hard to say for sure. Maybe Einstein has friends there, or happened to be there for something. It wouldn't be strange if you happened to meet him that one time."

"No."

CC shook her head, looking puzzled.

She couldn't understand why Lin Xian was so hung up on the fact that she had seen Einstein... It didn't seem like anything worth mentioning:

"[It's not just once, we see him often.]"

?

Lin Xian narrowed his eyes.

Often?

A welfare home girl from the slums had the opportunity to see the illustrious Einstein often?

That was simply a fantasy.

In this era, Einstein's status could only be described as transcendent.

If Lin Xian's knowledge of history was correct... it seemed to be this year that Israel very sincerely invited Einstein to be their president, but Einstein refused.

Was CC’s status one that would allow her to often see a great scientist who would even refuse the presidency?

Lin Xian frowned.

[There must be a problem!]

"How exactly did you see Einstein?"

Lin Xian stood up from his chair and asked seriously:

"Does he come to the welfare home specifically to see you?"

"How could that be..."

CC smiled and explained:

"Grandma's welfare home is located in the suburbs of Brooklyn, which is already quite remote. Usually, very few people come and go. We kids have nothing to do every day, so we often play by the road outside."

"So, as long as someone or a vehicle passes by on the road, we can see them. Einstein passes by the door of the welfare home in a black car about every few months."

"Under normal circumstances, he doesn't get out of the car or stop. But one time, a naughty little boy from the welfare home ran onto the road and was almost hit by Einstein's car. Then Einstein got out of the car, helped the little boy up, and was relieved to find that he was not injured. Then he sent us into the house and chatted with the old grandma."

"I think he's a pretty good person, very kind and gentle. After that incident, every time he passed by the welfare home, as long as he saw us playing outside, he would stop, roll down the car window, and wave to us."

"Actually, when you say often... it's not really that often, I've seen him about seven or eight times in total."

…

Lin Xian listened silently.

He understood roughly.

Einstein and the welfare home, the old grandma, and CC and the other children were not familiar with each other at all.

The reason they interacted was entirely because of a small incident.

And the so-called subsequent meetings were just waving at the children from a rolled-down car window, which didn't count as a real meeting.

"Can you tell me the approximate time?"

He continued to ask:

"Around when did Einstein go to the suburbs of Brooklyn? It doesn't matter if you can't remember the exact time, just give me a rough idea."

CC blinked.

She began to recall:

"The welfare home grandma passed away when I was sixteen, and the welfare home closed at that time. After that, I started living on the streets. I remember that until before grandma died, we still saw Einstein drive past the door."

"The first time I saw Einstein... I really can't remember clearly, it was probably when I was about twelve or thirteen. Anyway, since then, I've seen him pass by the door two or three times a year. I don't know where he's going."

Lin Xian picked up a pencil and a notepad from the coffee table and began to record.

CC was about twelve or thirteen around 1945; she was sixteen around 1948.

In other words.

[Between 1945 and 1948, Einstein appeared in the suburbs of Brooklyn seven or eight times, passing by the door of the welfare home where CC was, driving to a certain place.]

Everyone knew.

Einstein's main area of activity was in Princeton.

He worked at Princeton University, lived there, and spent the rest of his life there; he even died in Princeton, and his brain was stolen by the Princeton Hospital autopsy doctor.

Theoretically speaking.

If there was no special reason, Einstein had no reason to come to the suburbs of Brooklyn so regularly, frequently, and purposefully.

So...

What was the reason?

As he pondered, he paced over to the map of New York hanging on the wall, looking at the radial arrangement of the city layout:

"Brooklyn... suburbs... here."

He pointed to a spot on the map and turned to ask CC:

"Is your welfare home in this place?"

"No, it's in this place."

CC also got up and walked over, standing on tiptoe and pointing to a spot on the map:

"We did see Einstein here, but we don't know exactly where he was driving to... Anyway, it should be a long distance from our welfare home."

"Because we usually watched the car disappear from view before going back to play, and by then he had already driven very far."

"Okay."

Lin Xian nodded, silently noting the location.

Although it wasn't very valuable;

CC also said that Einstein was just passing by, and his real destination was very far away;

But overall, this clue was very important.

Einstein must be secretly doing something!

Could this matter be related to the Genius Club, the Millennium Pile, the White Light of Extinction, and a series of other mysteries?

He had to investigate it carefully later.

As for today.

Sharpening the axe doesn't delay the work of chopping wood.

He still had to fulfill his promise to CC and take her around Manhattan.

He smiled and lowered his head:

"Are you full?"

"Yeah, yeah."

CC wiped her mouth with a napkin:

"I'm already done."

"Then let's go."

Lin Xian turned his head, overlooking the sunlit Manhattan from the floor-to-ceiling windows, equally dazzling and magnificent:

"From today onwards, you are the... Manhattan girl at the center of the world!"

…

The two took the elevator downstairs, got into a car prepared by the hotel, and headed to a nearby large shopping mall.

Here, Lin Xian bought CC a set of clothes that really suited the season and her daily style.

Perhaps down jackets weren't popular yet in this era.

The shopping mall sold thick woolen coats and cashmere winter clothes.

But he should do as the Romans do. In the end, a hat, scarf, coat, thermal pants, and boots were all bought, and CC, the Brooklyn girl, was completely transformed, beautiful and trendy, like a teenage model.

Just…

"You like white a little too much, don't you?"

Lin Xian was a little dumbfounded.

If he and the sales assistant hadn't stopped her, CC might have chosen a set of white clothes from head to toe... She didn't care about color matching at all, she just liked white.

If she really wore all white, others would think Lin Xian had brought a snow woman.

Fortunately, CC was very receptive to advice. In the end, she didn't choose a white beret and boots, and the overall look was more coordinated.

"It's warmer to wear these kinds of clothes."

Walking out of the shopping mall.

CC smiled happily, opened her arms, and turned around in the cold wind, not afraid at all:

"I've never worn such warm clothes... It's really incredible, these clothes are obviously much thinner than cotton clothes, but they're warmer and more windproof. It must be the material."

"No wonder I saw those wealthy women wearing so little before. I thought they were just doing it for beauty, but I didn't expect it was because they really weren't cold!"

"This is also a kind of technology."

Lin Xian straightened her beret. Her long, loose, dark-brown hair went well with the beret. The shopping mall sales assistant really had an eye for style:

"Then, let's continue shopping. There are so many new things nearby."

After that.

Lin Xian took CC and started the country bumpkin-entering-the-city mode.

CC was curious about everything.

Lin Xian was the same... After all, this era was like entering an old film reel for Lin Xian, full of historical atmosphere everywhere. He was even more curious than CC.

The two went to museums, watched performances, and bought some things full of the spirit of the times.

At noon.

Naturally, they went to the hamburger shop that CC had been longing for.

Fries, hamburgers, hot dogs, and fried chicken were all ordered.

CC's eyes lit up, as if she had arrived in heaven. Lin Xian felt like his throat was on fire... Ever since he traveled to Brooklyn in 1952, he had been eating things that caused internal heat.

It could only be said that there were indeed differences in race and eating habits.

CC had been eating like this for the past few days, and there didn't seem to be anything wrong. But Lin Xian, on the other hand, was almost defeated by this high-calorie diet.

But...

Since CC liked it, he should let her be.

This was probably also a kind of "revenge eating."

Because she couldn't eat these things before and had fantasized about them for many years, so now she was eating like crazy. It was the same with her liking to wear white clothes. She had been unable to fulfill her wish since she was a child, so now she couldn't wait to wear all white.

Thinking of this.

Lin Xian felt even more softhearted and picked up the menu:

"Or... should we order another pizza?"

"Yes, yes!"

The little glutton CC nodded quickly:

"I've been wanting to try it for a long time!"

In the evening.

It was steak, cheese, and barbecue again.

Okay, let's eat. Lin Xian crossed his knife and fork and had already given up on treatment. As long as CC was happy, he would satisfy her.

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content.

The two strolled through the streets of Manhattan again.

This time, the lights and neon lights were no longer far away, no longer on the other side, but surrounded them, allowing them to be in the midst of Manhattan's prosperity and feel an unusual warmth.

"Huh? A movie theater?"

Lin Xian stopped on the sidewalk, seeing two movie posters pasted on the wall.

One was the action movie *Savage Frontier*, and the other was the animated movie *Alice in Wonderland*.

Since there were movie posters here, it meant there must be a movie theater nearby, and these two movies were currently showing.

Lin Xian had of course heard of *Alice in Wonderland*, the Disney animation released in 1952, and had even seen it. It was indeed a global hit, highly praised.

He looked at the poster for *Alice in Wonderland*—

In the huge picture, the blonde girl Alice was sitting at a tea table drinking tea, surrounded by all kinds of cute animals.

There was Mr. Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat, a buck-toothed mouse, and an old man wearing a top hat.

The style was fresh and it was obvious at a glance that it was a happy-ending family animation. The Disney company of this era was the undisputed light of animation, not yet so abstract.

Although, because of the times.

The 1952 version of *Alice in Wonderland* did look a little rough to Lin Xian, but it was indeed the world's first version of *Alice in Wonderland*.

In the decades that followed, this masterpiece was remade countless times by various countries, and it could be considered a world-class masterpiece.

Then he looked at the other poster—

*Savage Frontier*

Looking at the movie title, Lin Xian could guess from the English that this should be a formulaic movie with action, combat, and elements of love.

"Savage Frontier?"

He scratched his head, not really understanding.

He thought it might just be an ordinary place name, but there were really a lot of felled trees on the poster...

It couldn't be that this movie was like *Boonie Bears*, a story of revenge because of cutting down trees, right?

It seemed that this movie wasn't very famous, it hadn't continued to be remembered by people decades later, but had been buried in the dust of history.

So, Lin Xian hadn't even heard of this movie, let alone seen it.

"I don't know if it's good or not."

He glanced at the cast list below, looking at the name of the lead actor...

[Starring: Kirk Douglas]

Oh, oh, oh.

Lin Xian suddenly understood.

So it was an early work of this big star!

Kirk Douglas was quite famous in American film history. Excellent works such as *Lust for Life*, *Paths of Glory*, and *Spartacus* were all starred by him.

Kirk Douglas performed throughout his life and won countless awards. He had won the Academy Award for Best Actor early on; in his later years, he won the Berlin International Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award and the Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement... Lin Xian, who liked to watch movies, was naturally no stranger to this famous actor.

"*Savage Frontier*."

Re-examining this movie poster, Lin Xian seemed to have put on a masterpiece filter.

So.

Turning to look at CC:

"CC, have you seen a movie before?"

"Of course not."

CC spread her hands:

"How could I be qualified to watch a movie? I don't even have the chance to watch TV, let alone movies."

Lin Xian smiled and pointed to the two movie posters on the wall:

"Generally speaking, the end of a day's outing is often watching a movie. Since you haven't seen a movie before, why not make up for the regret?"

"These two movies... which one do you want to watch?"