Atlas of Heaven and Man

Old Qi sighed and lamented for a while, then his eyes fixed on a certain spot for a moment, and he said, "It's three forty-two, time is getting late, we need to hurry."

He turned around and said, "Chen, young man, your student ID and the admission notice from the main academy, take them out."

Chen Chuan reached into his coat pocket and took out both the student ID and the admission notice.

Old Qi pointed to a nearby pier, "That place is a field interaction node, also called a 'boundary point'. Put on the Yin-Yang Instrument, go up there, and show your credentials there, so that the 'Fu Mother' can confirm your identity."

"Fu Mother?" Chen Chuan asked.

Old Qi explained, "That is the manager of the largest biological field in the central city. It's not a person, it's a biological consciousness that assists in managing public affairs. Don't worry about that now, young man Chen. If you want to know in detail, you can take the time to look after your identity is confirmed. This is not any secret information."

Chen Chuan walked over to one of the piers, put on the bone mask again, and the two bugs crawled down and entered his ear canals again.

Only then did he realize that this thing was not the stone he had imagined, but similar to wood. And what he was touching under his feet was not a smooth surface, but a platform formed by many tiny, densely packed tentacle-like objects, with a slight resilience.

At this moment, he raised his hand and patted the mask twice.

Instantly, those noisy sounds entered his ears again, but this time he no longer looked towards the central city, but towards the pier under his feet. The outer edge of this thing was clearly floating with a rapidly flickering streamer, and standing here, he himself had a tingling, slightly electric feeling.

Old Qi reminded him, "Concentrate, you must concentrate, feel the 'boundary point', let the Yin-Yang Instrument you are wearing be in harmony with you, this old thing is just so troublesome..."

Chen Chuan immediately focused his attention on his feet. As a martial artist, he could easily control his attention. Soon, the surrounding chaotic noises gradually subsided, and the streamer that seemed to be flickering rapidly in front of him also slowly stabilized and formed a beam of light around him.

He looked around, and all the piers on both sides of the road were floating with such a beam of light. They rushed into the sky, like real pillars, supporting something unknown.

At this moment, he heard a gentle and kind female voice: "Welcome to use the '娑婆' public service platform of Jibei Road Central City. Hello, visitor, do you need to confirm your identity?"

Chen Chuan said, "Yes."

"Please wait..."

Chen Chuan thought for a while and tried to ask, "What are the risks and permissions of platform transactions?"

The voice said: "I'm sorry, you are currently using a temporary citizen identity and are not qualified to inquire. You can consult this type of service after you update your identity."

Chen Chuan said, "Thank you, I don't need it for the time being."

"Okay, what other services do you need?"

Chen Chuan looked at Old Qi, "Mr. Qi, I have confirmed my identity, what else do I need to do?"

Old Qi said, "That's it, Fu Mother has confirmed your biological field." Seeing that Chen Chuan was about to come down, he said, "Wait a minute, let's establish a connection first..." As he spoke, he put his finger on his neck and looked at Chen Chuan.

Chen Chuan heard the voice in his ear again: "Citizen Qi Gaozheng is establishing contact with you through this platform, do you allow it?"

"Allow."

"Connection established..."

The next moment, Old Qi's voice rang in his ears:

"Okay, as long as we are within the central city, we can contact each other, but you are using an old model, which can only transmit sound and has no other functions. There are annoying advertisements all day long, and you need to find the 'boundary point' when you need public services.

But that's all the school provides. Advanced Yin-Yang Instruments don't have this trouble. If you have money, you can replace it with a new one.

But the best thing to use is an implant, which can make the field connection closer and the reaction speed much faster. You'll know once you've tried it. How should I put it, it's like your decades of nearsightedness suddenly disappears, yes, that's the feeling. Hey, young man Chen, you can come down from above now."

Chen Chuan walked down from above. At this time, looking at the central city in the distance again, those chaotic and noisy scenes were gone. The light and shadow were neatly bound around each building, and everything seemed orderly, but it was still more colorful than the previous monotonous appearance.

It's like a painting originally based on black and white, dyed with brilliant colors, becoming colorful and rich, but also covering up the dark side.

At this moment, this city no longer seemed to be a silhouette on the horizon, but the intersection of dreams and reality, the center of heaven and earth.

He finally knew why this place was called the Central City.

Old Qi said to him, "It's amazing, isn't it? That's why few people who come to the central city are willing to leave. It's just that living here without a Yin-Yang Instrument..."

He pointed to the implant behind his ear, "You can't see those things, you can't touch them, and you can't enjoy convenient services. Even buying and selling things is difficult. You can only take a few fixed transportation routes, and you can't conduct convenient account transactions. Even others refuse to communicate with you. Well, it's like being in two different worlds."

Chen Chuan said, "Are there people in the city who don't use this?"

"Yes, there is a group in the city who reject all of this and refuse to enter the real world. We usually call them the Skull Tribe. There is a gang in the city, the Skull Gang, they never use this thing, and some lunatics preach all day long that the Yin-Yang Instrument is a conspiracy of the higher-ups to control everyone and want us to refuse to wear it."

At this time, Old Qi looked at Chen Chuan, and with the mask on, Chen Chuan could clearly see a orange light flashing in one of his eyes.

"Well, what you have now is just a temporary identity certificate, which is only valid for fifteen days. You need to go to the academy to get a student ID from the main academy and update your identity, that's considered a formal citizen."

He turned around and walked towards the car, "Let's go, it's been another twenty minutes, it's already past four o'clock, we better enter the city before dark."

Chen Chuan followed him, but after thinking about it, he allowed the second self to withstand the external invasion and glanced at the central city. Instantly, those rays of light disappeared, but as he released the barrier, they quickly recovered.

He pondered, and returned to the car.

After Lao Qi got into the driver's seat, he didn't forget to remind him, "Brother Chen, I advise you to always carry the Yin-Yang instrument with you. With this thing, you can freely travel in the central city and access various information and services, otherwise you won't be able to move an inch."

After thinking about it, he reminded again, "But if you go back and replace your implant, remember not to casually add contacts with unfamiliar strangers..."

Amidst his rambling reminders, the SUV drove forward for another ten minutes. Suddenly, a sharp buzzing sound rang out, and Lao Qi's face changed. Chen Chuan didn't take off his bone mask, and a blood-red cross-shaped light spot appeared on the road ahead.

"Damn it, road closure for inspection," Lao Qi cursed, slapping the steering wheel. "Which lunatic is causing trouble in the city again?"

He turned his head to Chen Chuan and said, "This inspection might take a few hours, maybe until tonight. I think we might as well take a detour, Brother Chen, what do you think?"

Chen Chuan said, "Mr. Qi, didn't you say there would be trouble?"

"It's better than waiting here like fools. Who knows when they'll lift the blockade? If it's a day or two, are we just going to stay outside like this? We have to think of a way."

Chen Chuan said, "Mr. Qi, you're more familiar with this place than I am, so you decide."

"Okay!"

Lao Qi was also decisive. He turned the steering wheel a few times, and the SUV turned around and rushed down from the avenue, then drove south. However, after moving away from the road, he began to look around vigilantly, no longer as relaxed as he was at the beginning.

After driving for about a quarter of an hour, a sharp sound suddenly rang in their ears, and at the same time, a cold voice came out, "The vehicle ahead, you are required to stop for inspection. Repeat, you are required to stop for inspection."

"Damn it, we ran into a border patrol car," Lao Qi cursed.

Chen Chuan looked back and saw two armed patrol cars with light machine guns mounted on their roofs driving over from both sides.

Lao Qi had no choice but to stop the car, because he knew that if he didn't stop after the third call, the border patrol team would shoot at them without hesitation.

He said helplessly, "Let's get out of the car. We have no choice but to accept the inspection." With that, he pushed open the car door and walked down.

Chen Chuan also got out of the car.

The two cars stopped more than twenty meters behind them, and three patrol soldiers wearing helmets and goggles and thick combat uniforms got out, all holding submachine guns.

On the patrol car, someone was also operating a rifle, aiming at them.

One of the patrol soldiers looked at Chen Chuan, and a light flashed in his goggles, "Temporary citizen Chen Chuan, Wuyi Academy student, no implant."

He looked at Lao Qi again, "Citizen Qi Gao, client, affiliated with Tongxing Entrustment Company, implant: Tuo-style third-generation boundary certificate, endocrine auxiliary regulator, neural interface port, multi-sensory contact point..."

Another patrol soldier pointed his gun at them and said, "Now we suspect that you are related to a case of destroying the company and public property. Please come back with us to assist in the investigation."

Lao Qi cursed, "We just came back to the central city from outside, where did we go to destroy property in the city? Are your brains broken?"

The patrol soldier did not react to his tone, but said, "In terms of time and location, you are suspects, please cooperate."

Lao Qi's face was not very good-looking. He knew the virtues of these border patrolmen. If they really caught the culprit, it would be fine. As citizens, they would be released soon. If they couldn't catch anyone, they would be used as scapegoats. At that time, they would have to spend a lot of money to hire lawyers to fight the lawsuit.

Chen Chuan said at this time, "I don't want to go back with you for investigation."

The patrolmen in front of him raised their guns warily, aiming at him, and the ones behind also moved their guns towards him.

Chen Chuan then held up a card in front of him, and just as he made this movement, he, who was originally seven or eight meters away, suddenly appeared within two meters of these people.

The patrol soldiers' goggles flashed, "Dashun National Unlimited Defense Certificate, B certificate... Target strength assessment: Third Limit..."

The patrol soldiers looked at each other, then put down their guns silently and retreated back to the car, and then drove away, leaving only a large cloud of smoke in the open space.

Chen Chuan calmly watched them leave, put away the Unlimited Defense Certificate, and walked back.

Lao Qi watched him walk back, swallowed, and said, "I said... Brother Chen, what, what did you just show them?" Just now, Chen Chuan suddenly arrived in front, and he didn't even react.

"Just an Unlimited Defense Certificate," Chen Chuan said casually.

"Unlimited Defense Certificate?"

Lao Qi glanced at him. He knew about this certificate. Many students from the Wuyi General Academy had it, but more importantly, it was the inhuman speed that Chen Chuan had just displayed.

This kind of speed, coupled with the Unlimited Defense Certificate, clearly told those patrol soldiers not to do anything out of line, otherwise there was no guarantee how things would develop.

He was just a client and didn't know much about the Wuyi Academy. Before, he couldn't easily associate Chen Chuan with those fighters from the Wuyi Academy, but now he felt that they were probably the same kind of people.

When he returned to the car, the look in his eyes towards Chen Chuan showed awe, and he spoke more carefully, no longer as casual as before.

This time, the vehicle did not encounter any obstacles. On the way, it encountered armed patrol cars twice, but they did not mean to stop them for inspection.

"So many patrol cars, something must have happened..." Lao Qi muttered. The SUV drove through between two confronting buildings and climbed onto an overpass.

At this time, as the golden crow fell to the west, the sky had completely darkened.

As he entered the city, the inside and outside of his bone mask flashed with colorful lights. The light and shadows on the road and protective walls fell on the car body like silk ribbons, colliding and splashing with splashes of light and shadow, and then falling into the ground rubbed by the wheels, quickly merging into the rapidly flowing neon lights.

On both sides of the overpass were skyscrapers rising from the ground, staggered in height. Some were close at hand, as if within reach, and when they passed by, they seemed to be pressing down and collapsing; while others fell at the far end of the line of sight, accompanied by the starlight-like lights on the ground, extending all the way to the end of the distant horizon.

The contrast between the near and far in space made people feel a broad and empty sense of alienation.

An hour later, the vehicle came down from the overpass. At a curved turn, Lao Qi gestured and said, "Look, that's the Wuyi General Academy."

Chen Chuan looked over and saw a skyscraper appearing in front of him. A round moon was floating above it. The building was divided into eight facets. At its high point, you could see flying eaves and upturned corners, rainbow bridges and corridors. Among the ribbons of light and shadow and the surrounding auspicious clouds, there were bright yellow flying lanterns floating outside the building, slowly rising upwards.

Lao Qi glanced at him and said, "It's beautiful, isn't it? You Wuyi people, oh, it's also the official name, call it... Xuan Palace."

...