Thanks to effective communication between the Gotham Police Department and major media outlets, news of the Joker Gang's attempted heist at Gotham National Bank didn't spread far. The public only knew it as a failed crime that was quickly thwarted.
Of course, to those with sharper eyes, this incident was merely the overture to a grand and tumultuous opera. The gangsters entrenched in Gotham's harbor would never sit idly by. Like bloodthirsty crocodiles lurking in murky swamps, they were biding their time, ready to strike back with even greater ferocity.
Liang's injuries weren't severe. Showing a slightly faster recovery rate than the average person, he was soon discharged from the hospital and returned to his mundane routine.
With his left arm still in a cast, Liang had to settle for handling the cash register at the Red Armadillo Mexican Restaurant. Fortunately, managing the till one-handed wasn't too difficult.
By day, he worked part-time at the restaurant; by evening, he borrowed books from the Gotham Public Library. After about a month, he finally had his cast removed at the hospital—a cast adorned with hearts and floral signatures drawn by Christina and the others with neon markers.
During this time, Liang also took the initiative to inquire about Gotham's top public high school. With near-perfect scores on all the entrance exams, he successfully became a student.
At the moment, the balding math teacher stood at the podium, droning on while his brown knitted sweater bore a trace of white chalk dust. Beneath his comically oversized glasses, his eyes squinted into slits.
The lesson was dry and monotonous, and his lifeless tone only added to its soporific effect. Most of the students below were already mentally checked out, passing notes or planning their post-school meetups.
Liang, however, was the exception. With a pencil propping up his chin, he listened intently as the balding teacher veered away from the basics and delved into more complex topics—like the Yang-Mills theory and the Navier-Stokes equations, some of the world's most challenging mathematical problems.
Having studied thunder magic in his previous life, with its reliance on talismans and seals to command lightning, Liang found modern physics to be a revelation. Concepts like electrons, ions, electromotive force, electrostriction, hysteresis loops, polarization, and dipole moments opened up an entirely new world.
Mathematics, the cornerstone of modern science, became a subject Liang was determined to master. Without it, he wouldn't have bothered becoming a high school student at all.
The bell abruptly rang, snapping the teacher out of his reverie. Looking at the densely packed formulas on the blackboard and the daydreaming students below, he sighed, erased the board, and left the classroom with his notes.
The teacher, Durand Jones, was rumored to have once been a physics professor at a prestigious university. His inability to navigate academic politics had offended powerful figures, leading to his exile from the academic world and his current position teaching high school students.
As Liang mulled over this in his mind, he sensed footsteps approaching from behind. Without turning, he lazily said, "Miss Christina, if you have something to say, please get to the point. My time is valuable."
Christina, who happened to be his classmate, skipped up to his desk, stuck out her tongue, and leaned over. "Liang, we're having a party this weekend. It's at a cottage near the woods west of Somerset. Mike's uncle has a pool there. We can drink beer, dance, and have fun. Are you coming?"
Rubbing his temples, Liang set aside the Nature magazine he'd been reading. "Thanks for the invitation, but you know I don't like crowds. Besides, I've got things to do."
American high school students were notoriously energetic and fearless. Even if they encountered a bear in the woods, they'd likely laugh and record a video for social media before worrying about their safety. Liang considered spending time with such people a waste of brainpower. He'd rather read two more books.
Predicting his response, Christina sighed in resignation. Meanwhile, a group of tall and handsome boys nearby couldn't hide their smiles.
Football and basketball players, their chiseled physiques practically screamed "hormonal overload." Christina's presence always turned heads, and they were thrilled that the annoying Chinese kid had the good sense to decline.
The boys exchanged high-fives and, after feigning concern for Liang, turned to discuss how best to flaunt their toned bodies at the upcoming party.
Such high school drama was irrelevant to Liang. After school, he rode his bike to pick up Elizabeth and Isabella from their elementary school, then headed to his shift at the Red Armadillo.
Late at night, after helping Domingo unload supplies from a truck, Liang donned a hood to conceal his face and slipped into Gotham's shadowy corners.
He was heading to another "part-time job."
Gotham, a sprawling city of over eight million, was also a den of crime—a festering swamp of sin. The number of people who met untimely deaths each year could form a line around Gotham Harbor.
Naturally, the city was teeming with wandering souls and restless spirits. During a recent visit to Wayne Tower, standing at its summit, Liang's spiritual sense revealed countless dim, greenish phantoms aimlessly scattered across the city.
Invisible to ordinary people, these spirits would typically dissipate over time unless influenced by external forces. Sometimes, however, geographical features or the circumstances of their deaths would tether them stubbornly to a specific location.
To the living, these lingering spirits manifested as inexplicable creaks in the night, blurred anomalies in photographs, or ghostly silhouettes behind curtains.
In more severe cases, their jealousy of the living or hunger for flesh would drive them to haunt, harm, or even attack innocent people.
Liang's "part-time job" involved exorcising these spirits. In exchange for payment, he not only banished these entities but also absorbed their dark energy to forge and refine magical artifacts.