Atlas of Heaven and Man

On the first day of August, Chen Chuan arrived at the Wuyi Academy early in the morning, pushing his bicycle into the school gate.

As before, he entered through the side gate, while from time to time a car drove in from outside, heading straight along the main avenue to the steps in front of the auditorium.

Stepping into this school again, the flow of people on the road was even greater than what he had seen that day, after all, only a portion of people came to the academy on the day of application, and they were all local.

In reality, every year, tens of thousands of local and out-of-town students apply to this academy. Many students are admitted to Wuyi through the application points set up by the academy in various counties and towns, accounting for at least half of the admitted students in terms of numbers, and this proportion seems to be increasing every year.

Chen Chuan followed the signs hanging by the roadside, and together with many students, came to the old application building from that day.

This time, at the suggestion of the senior students standing in front of the building, he went directly to the original training ground, and registered and filled out a form here. After the form was submitted, he quickly received a reddish-brown student ID.

He opened it and saw the photo he had submitted last time. The certificate had his temporary student number. With this student ID, he could confidently tell others that he was a student of Wuda.

Even though he hadn't passed the re-examination yet, just having this certificate in hand made him feel very good. At this moment, he heard a cheer and looked back to see a student who had received his certificate shouting excitedly, which he understood.

Because with this student ID, it was equivalent to having one foot on the upward steps. It was hard to say exactly where he could go, but at least, there was already a path under his feet.

According to the booklet given by the academy before, he knew that with this student ID, he could apply to the school for a dormitory room. However, this dormitory was only temporary, currently provided to some students who came from out of town and had no place to stay. After the re-examination, there would be another adjustment based on the re-examination scores.

Originally, because he had agreed with Nian Fuli, he planned to move out directly. But now that his family was not urging him, considering that he might still need to receive training from Yu Gang for the next month, if he lived in the dormitory, the journey would be far, and he would also be subject to the school's management, which would be inconvenient. So he decided to wait and see after the re-examination this month.

What he needed to figure out now was the specific situation of the re-examination.

After he came out of the registration office, he saw a sign on the side wall of the cement staircase, which read "Guidance for Entrance Re-examination". The students who came out were all walking up the stairs, and he followed them to the second floor.

When he got to the top, he saw that the original training ground here had been separated into individual sections by partitions. At this time, a student was leaving his seat with the things he had received, so he walked over and sat down. Sitting opposite him was a gentle-looking senior student wearing glasses, who said to him: "Student, please show your student ID."

Chen Chuan handed over his newly obtained student ID. After the senior student confirmed it, he asked: "Student Chen, may I ask, are you having difficulty paying your tuition?"

Chen Chuan looked at him and asked: "Why do you ask this?"

The senior student explained: "The thing is, every year, many students at Wuyi have difficulty paying their tuition because of their poor family backgrounds, either causing long-term arrears, or having to borrow money or go to underground arenas. In view of this, the academy, led by the student union, has organized a mutual aid association."

He smiled, "As long as both parties sign an agreement, the mutual aid association will provide funding, and the student's owed fees can be repaid after graduation. This will help the students and allow them to study with peace of mind."

Chen Chuan understood. This was actually a funding organization, which was also a characteristic of the Da Shun Republic. By providing funds or other assistance to individuals or groups with potential, they could obtain certain returns.

Although it sounded good on the surface, in most cases, the funded party would only become a tool for the funding party to extract benefits. So, this kind of thing should be avoided if possible. Besides, as long as he passed the re-examination, tuition would not be a problem.

He politely replied: "Thank you, senior, I don't need it for the time being."

The senior student smiled and didn't mention it again. Instead, he looked down and flipped through a stack of kraft paper envelopes, pulled out one, and pushed it in front of him, saying: "Student, this is the information of the senior students you may encounter in this re-examination. You can take a look."

Chen Chuan thanked him, opened the envelope, and pulled out five mimeographed papers. Each paper corresponded to a senior student, with a rough description of their specialties and skills.

But at this moment, he felt that there was something wrong, and raised his head to ask: "Five people?"

The senior student who would eventually face him would only be one person, but now he was given the information of five people. It was impossible for previous candidates to study all five people. Even if the candidates were willing to do so, they would not have the time to do targeted training. Moreover, the information here was too general, and almost no useful information could be seen.

The senior student nodded and said: "Indeed, there are five. The academy will not directly provide the candidates with the real candidates for the confrontation. This requires the candidates to judge for themselves, but…"

He smiled slightly, "If the candidate accepts the funding from the mutual aid association, then the mutual aid association can help analyze which senior student you are most likely to face. We can't guarantee 100% accuracy, but the mutual aid association is full of experienced senior students, and the accuracy rate has always been very high."

Seeing that Chen Chuan didn't speak, he said again in a very sincere tone: "Student, I can understand that you are afraid of giving more if you don't dare to accept funding. But after accepting the funding, the agreement is not so strict on you, and you will not be forced to do anything. Moreover, the mutual aid association provides not only financial assistance, but also various learning suggestions and conveniences. You can experience the benefits of this by joining."

Speaking of this, he smiled again, "However, the re-examination is to select the truly capable students. If you have the confidence and feel that you can pass without relying on the mutual aid association, of course you can choose not to accept it."

Before long, they saw well-dressed young men and women walk up the steps in front of the auditorium, enter through the bright open doors, and head towards them.

One of the students came to Liu Cai and handed him an exquisite hard card, smiling and saying, "Sorry for the trouble, Senior."

Unlike the student ID cards for students who entered through the entrance exam, the student ID cards for those recommended for admission existed in the form of name cards, and the students received them long before entering the school.

Liu Cai busily said, "You're too kind, Junior. No trouble at all."

After taking it, he placed the name card into the slot of the transcription machine, and according to the color intensity on the card, he typed out a string of numbers, then shook the handle, and a page of smooth, crisp paper slid out from the opening below.

This paper specified the detailed records of a certain senior student, including height, weight, speed, blood type, heart rate, punching and kicking power, movement habits, limb size, and body proportions, among other detailed and cumbersome information.

Liu Cai picked up the paper, put it into a pre-prepared official document bag printed with the school name, and handed it to the student opposite him with both hands, along with the metal card.

"Thanks, Senior," the young student said with a smile, waving at him before walking into the hall along the aisle.

Liu Cai finished his task, but Shan Xiong on the side, because he was a bit absent-minded today, was a little slow with his hands. The student opposite him was immediately dissatisfied and said to him, "Why are you so slow? Are you even capable?"

Shan Xiong cursed inwardly, wanting to lash out but unable to. These students who were admitted through recommendations all had powerful figures standing behind them. Even if they had just entered the school, they were not people he could afford to offend.

The muscles on his face twitched as he took out the paper and card, hurriedly packed them, and handed them over. The student opposite him still glanced at him with dissatisfaction, snatched the things, and quickly walked inside.

Liu Cai looked at Shan Xiong and reminded him in a low voice, "Keep your temper in check. These influential students are not easy to provoke. Anyway, there are only a few dozen of them. Just bear with it and it'll be over."

Shan Xiong snorted. If he had known that participating in the entrance exam would get him assigned here, he would have refused to participate no matter what. But speaking of which, the brothers outside said they had found that kid. Yesterday, they said they would give him an explanation and told him to wait. How come a whole day has passed without any news? Could it be that they didn't catch that kid? Or were they delayed by something else?

On the other side, after Chen Chuan walked out of the old building, he walked all the way out of the Wu Yi Academy and came to a phone booth across the square. A student was on the phone there, seemingly asking his family for money. He waited for a long time before the student came out, looking dejected as if he hadn't been able to get the money.

After the person left, he walked in, picked up the receiver, took out more than a dozen coins from his satchel, and inserted them one after another. He dialed a number, and soon a sweet female voice came from the other end: "This is the Mi Law Firm. What do you need assistance with?"

Chen Chuan said, "I'm looking for Assistant Lawyer Gao Ming. Yes, I don't have an appointment. I'm his cousin."

"Please wait a moment."

After a while, a lazy voice came from the end of the telephone: "Cousin Chen Chuan? What made you think of calling me?"

"Gao Ming, it's me," Chen Chuan said, "I was admitted to Wu Yi University two months ago. The re-examination is next month."

The person on the other end paused upon hearing this news, but clearly knew he wasn't calling to show off, and his voice became much more serious: "Cousin, go ahead, I'm listening."

Chen Chuan slightly turned his body and said, "There's a student mutual aid society in Wu Yi University that provides funding to students. It seems they can also give advice and screen the re-examination content. I was wondering if I could get some information about the mutual aid society from you."

The voice on the other end said with a smile, "The Mi Law Firm is one of Wu Yi's partners. I can check the files here, and I'm an assistant lawyer. The consultation fee is ten yuan per minute. Cousin, are you sure?"

Chen Chuan said with absolute certainty, "I'm sure."

A "beep" sound came from the other end, and the voice came again: "Billing starts now. According to the firm's files, the Yangzhi City Wu Yi University Mutual Aid Society originated from the student union within the academy and was formed by some influential students taking the lead.

The Mutual Aid Society will provide funded students with assistance in the re-examination and subsequent studies. For talented individuals who perform well, the Mutual Aid Society uses agreements to recruit them, so that they can serve the influential students and their teams or even forces behind them after graduation.

For those who perform very mediocrely, some students who are unwilling to submit, they will transfer the agreement to various companies and senior law firms through the client, who will then take over the handling."

Chen Chuan held the microphone and listened quietly. He didn't ask how they would handle it. Anyway, it was very difficult for an individual to confront these companies and firms. After thinking about it, he asked again, "What is Wu Yi University's attitude?"

The other side said concisely, "Unless it is a particularly valuable student, it is not worth the attention of the upper echelons of the university."

Chen Chuan nodded and asked again, "I remember Wu Da also has funding for students?"

The other end sounded like pages turning. After a while, he said, "Yes, there is, but you need to apply in advance and submit it through the academy's affairs office. It requires at least three school directors to approve it. The review may take a long time. Very few people can apply for it. Anyway, I can't see it in the information here, so that fund only exists in theory."

Chen Chuan said, "I understand. That's all the questions I have."

There was another "beep" sound, and then the voice said, "The consultation is over. The total time is ninety-two seconds, counted as two minutes. The firm charges a consultation fee of twenty yuan, but this is my first consultation business, so I can give you, cousin, a 50% discount."

Chen Chuan said, "Gao Ming, thank you."

He knew that this information couldn't be easily obtained with just this little money.

The voice said with a smile, "Cousin, you didn't say anything in advance when you got into Wu Da? Next time I go back to Yangzhi City, you have to treat me."

Chen Chuan smiled and said, "Definitely next time. By the way, there's one more thing I'd like you to check. We'll talk about it when we meet next time. I won't disturb your work. I'll hang up first." After saying goodbye to the other side, he hung up the phone.

Walking out of the phone booth, he put his hands in his pockets and stood in the empty square. Across from him was the gate of Wu Yi Academy.

At this moment, many people were going in and out there.

Obviously, the funding provided by the Mutual Aid Society required sufficient returns. If he didn't want to be controlled by the Mutual Aid Society, then he needed to rely on his own strength to pass the re-examination.

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