Atlas of Heaven and Man

On the national highway, an off-road vehicle was heading towards Central City.

On both sides of the road were barren wilderness and seemingly endless guardrails, and the unshielded sunlight made the metal parts of the car body sparkle.

Yangzhi City's national highway on the east side led in two directions: one to the eastern Wangyuan Port, and the other, the one they were currently on, led directly to Central City.

There was very little traffic on this road, because people from Central City rarely went outside, and people from outside who wanted to enter would not choose to go this way without formal identification.

Cheng Zitong drove very steadily, with just the right speed. They had set off in the morning, and five hours later, they were approaching the area where Central City was located and arrived at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Central City.

Cheng Zitong slowly stopped the car here and said, "Xiaochuan, once you pass the checkpoint, you'll be in the Central City area. I'll take you here, and someone from the main academy will come to pick you up. Just wait for him there."

Chen Chuan said, "Okay, Teacher."

He got out of the car, took the Xuejun Saber from the back seat, and then took out the suitcase from the trunk. At this time, Cheng Zitong also got out of the car. He looked up and said, "Hey, the sunlight is still so dazzling." As he spoke, he put on his sunglasses.

He walked over and patted Chen Chuan on the shoulder, "Xiaochuan, after you settle down there, don't forget to send a message to your teacher."

Chen Chuan nodded and said, "Teacher, I'm leaving."

Cheng Zitong waved to him and said, "Go ahead."

Chen Chuan bowed to him, then straightened up and walked towards the checkpoint.

When he arrived at the mobile isolation barrier, two station patrolmen came up to check his transit documents. Seeing that everything was complete, they moved the barrier away and let him pass. Only after he walked out from the other end did he hear the sound of the car behind him driving back.

At this time, he raised his head and saw the road in front of him leading straight ahead. Now he could vaguely see Central City at the end.

The gray and uneven city buildings stood on the horizon. Countless tall, jagged buildings stood upright there. The high bridge going to the sea drew an arc like a flying rainbow, gradually disappearing into the sea fog. Compared with Yangzhi, which had been left far behind, it seemed like another world.

Under the vast blue sky, he carried the Xuejun Saber and the suitcase, now facing this world, and the road under his feet was the only line connecting the two.

After watching for a while, he put down the suitcase and looked at his watch. It was two o'clock in the afternoon. According to what Cheng Zitong had told him, the person who was coming to pick him up would probably arrive around two o'clock.

However, the entry and exit procedures for Central City were complicated, and it would be very inconvenient for people without status, so there might be delays. He was told to wait patiently. Anyway, there were telephones, telegraphs, and simple accommodation points next to the checkpoint, which could be used as long as you paid.

He stood there quietly, silently guiding the Furnace Breathing Method. When it was almost three o'clock, the sound of a car came from the road.

He said, "I am Chen Chuan."

"That's good." The man didn't ask Chen Chuan to do anything to verify his identity. He tilted his head back to signal, "Get in the car, sit in the back."

Chen Chuan walked over, came to the back of the car, opened the door and sat in. After closing the door and sitting firmly, he noticed that there was an engraved line from the man's ear to the back of his neck. That was the trace of an implanted body. After glancing at it, he asked, "What should I call you, Teacher?"

"Hey, don't call me Teacher." The man quickly waved his hand, "I'm not a teacher at your Wuyi. Isn't it the New Year? Your Wuyi Academy issued a commission to have me pick up a student. My credit used to be okay, and I've been to Yangzhi a few times, so they let me come... Sit tight."

The man waited for him to put on his seat belt before starting the car, reversing skillfully, turning around, and driving towards Central City.

After driving for a while, he said, "My name is Qi Gao, just call me Lao Qi. I say, classmate, have you brought all your identification documents? The checks in the city are strict, and it's hard to get into the city without them."

Chen Chuan said, "I brought them all." He asked again, "So, it's possible to enter the city without documents?"

"You can enter, but you have to take a detour and take risks. I have to take the risk and so do you. It's better to have less trouble."

Lao Qi looked at the rearview mirror, "Little Brother Chen, is this your first time in Central City, right?"

There was nothing to hide, Chen Chuan said, "Yes, it's my first time here."

Lao Qi smiled, with a slightly mysterious look on his face, "The place ahead is the entry checkpoint. You'll need your documents when you get there, and you'll understand then."

Driving along the road for less than half an hour, the city ahead was getting closer and closer. In some of the closer areas, the silver-gray skyscrapers could already be seen under the blue sky.

The roadside no longer had guardrails, replaced by a series of overturned bowl-shaped piers, somewhat like pillar bases without pillars. It seemed like people could walk on them, but their purpose was unclear.

Old Qi said, "Alright, get out of the car." As he spoke, he picked up a box and got out first.

Chen Chuan looked outside. It was still very empty here, with no one else around. This didn't seem like a checkpoint. He also pushed the door open and got out of the car.

Old Qi put the box on the ground and then squatted down to open it. With a click, cold air immediately escaped, and it was full of ice. He reached in and threw a few pieces far away, revealing a sealed bag buried in the middle. He took it out, opened it, took out the contents, and tossed them to Chen Chuan.

Chen Chuan caught it. He found that it was a mask that covered the upper half of his face. This thing seemed to be made of bone, but it felt very light. The eye area seemed to be a layer of lens-like transparent film. On both edges of the mask, there were two small white worms, wriggling slightly, as if they were growing on it.

"Put on the mask," Old Qi said over there.

Chen Chuan pressed the mask to his face, feeling that it easily adhered there. The sides of the mask formed a curved arc above the ears, fitting perfectly there.

After putting this thing on, the strong light outside was blocked. Although only the area around the eyes and cheeks was covered, he felt a sense of isolation from the outside world.

At this moment, the two small worms slowly stretched down and burrowed into the ear canal, but only the front end went in a little, and they also shrunk slightly as if self-adjusting, quickly becoming much more snug.

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At the same moment, he saw very faint signs of virtualization appearing on his second self. It was almost imperceptible if he didn't pay attention. He pondered for a moment and decided not to let his second self transfer this external intrusion.

Just after he chose to do so, his eyes first darkened, then flickered jumpily, and a hissing sound came from his ears.

When he looked up again, the entire city suddenly appeared before him in a different form. On those originally pale, gray buildings, layers of colorful neon lights floated up, as well as swirling and dancing ribbons of light. They leaped, stretched, and extended with the light curtain into the clouds, all the way into the sky!

Various huge figure projections and flickering scenes floated above the dazzling light, from the old era, the new era, the real, the bizarre. They seemed to have been extracted from the time scale and then mixed and confused in a chaotic space.

And his ears became extremely noisy at this moment, filled with languages from various countries and fragmented, chaotic sounds.

Whether it was light and shadow or sound, all of this, everything, poured toward him at once, enveloping him, surrounding him. Each seemed to be trying to grab his attention, but every time they tried to stay, they were washed away by the countless streams of information that followed, fleeting.

"Hey, hey, Little Chen, can you still hear me?"

The voice seemed to come from a distant place, but it was the only coherent and discernible one. Chen Chuan turned his head and saw Old Qi shouting at him, waving one hand in front of him and putting the other hand to his ear, constantly making a gentle patting motion to him.

His action of shrinking his neck, pressing his palm, and closing his eyes was like coaxing a child to sleep, which seemed a little comical, but the meaning conveyed was very clear.

Chen Chuan raised his hand and gently patted his ear twice. The worm in his ear suddenly curled up, and at that moment, the mask darkened again, and everything he had seen before disappeared without a trace. Those massive sounds also disappeared all at once, and the world returned to its original state.

He reached out and slowly took off the mask. The wind from afar blew, carrying some dust, and brushed past his hair. The surroundings were quiet and vast, and the buildings opposite still stood there quietly, as if everything just now was some kind of illusion.

Old Qi stared at him, looking left and right, and his eyes couldn't help but show a hint of surprise: "Little Chen, are you okay? Most people can't stand it the first time they come into contact with this thing, and some people can't help but faint. You're really good. You stared at it for so long and you're still okay?"

Chen Chuan raised the bone mask in his hand and asked, "Old Qi, what is this?"

Old Qi shrugged and said, "The official government calls this 'Boundary Pass.' We usually call it 'Yin-Yang Instrument.' There's also a special name for it..."

A certain light seemed to flash in his eyes, "Oh, this is 'Biological Field Interaction Link Technology.' Other companies have special names for it, anyway, there are many. You should have seen the central city just now, right?"

Chen Chuan nodded.

"Then...welcome to the real world."

Old Qi spread his hands. There was excitement and madness in his expression, and his voice seemed to be mixed with hatred and love. He looked towards the central city and sighed, "What you saw when you came was only the incomplete side that was covered up, and what you saw just now is its complete and true appearance."

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