Old Qi stood there sighing in wistful nostalgia for a moment, then his gaze fixed on a certain point. "It's 3:42 already. It's getting late—we need to hurry."
He turned around and said, "Little Brother Chen, where are your student ID and the admission notice from the Main Academy? Take them out."
Chen Chuan reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved both his student ID and the notice.
Old Qi pointed to a nearby pillar. "That place is a field interaction node, also known as a 'boundary point.' Put on your Yin-Yang Apparatus, step up there, and present your credentials. That will allow 'Fumu' to verify your identity."
"Fumu?" Chen Chuan asked.
Old Qi explained, "It's the administrator of Center City's largest biological field. Not a human, but a bio-conscious entity that assists in managing public services. Don't worry about all that for now. If you want details, Little Brother Chen, you can check it out in your free time after your identity is confirmed. None of it is classified."
Chen Chuan walked over, stepped onto one of the pedestals, and slipped the bone mask on once more. The two insects crawled down again, sliding back into his ear canals.
Only now did he realize the pedestal was not made of stone as he had imagined, but of something resembling wood. What his feet pressed against was not a smooth surface either, but a platform formed of countless tiny, densely packed tentacle-like strands tightly woven together, possessing a slight, resilient give.
He raised a hand and tapped the mask twice.
Instantly, the cacophony of sound flooded his ears once more. This time, however, he did not look toward Center City, but down at the pedestal beneath his feet. A layer of rapidly flickering luminescence drifted along its outer rim, and standing there gave him a faint, numbing prickle, like a mild electric current running through him.
Old Qi called out, "Focus your mind! You have to stay focused. Feel the 'boundary point' and let the Yin-Yang Apparatus synchronize with you. These old models are always such a hassle..."
Chen Chuan shifted his focus straight to his feet. As a martial artist, controlling his attention came easily. Soon, the chaotic noise around him gradually faded, and the stream of light flickering before him settled into a steady glow, forming a column of light around his body.
He glanced around. Identical pillars of light rose from every pedestal lining both sides of the road, shooting high into the sky like physical columns propping up some unknown canopy above.
A gentle, pleasant female voice chimed in his ear: "Welcome to the Jibei Circuit Center City 'Posuo' Public Service Platform. Greetings, visitor. Do you require identity verification?"
"Yes," Chen Chuan replied.
"Please wait a moment..."
After a brief pause, the female voice spoke again: "Name: Chen Chuan. Status: Student of Wuyi College Main Academy. Age: Seventeen. Current Status: Not yet enrolled.
"Pursuant to the Joint Management Agreement of the Center City Government and Associated Corporations, this student is granted temporary citizen status, valid for fifteen days.
"Citizen Chen Chuan, please report to the academy as soon as possible to update your status and obtain long-term residency privileges.
"A depository account under your name has been detected with Wansheng Financial Group. Under the platform's agreement with Wansheng Financial Group, you may authorize the unlocking of unhindered platform transaction privileges. Would you like to unlock?"
Chen Chuan considered this, then asked, "What are the risks and privileges associated with platform transactions?"
"We apologize," the voice replied. "You are currently using a temporary citizen status and lack query clearance. You may inquire about such services after updating your status."
"Thank you, but I don't need it for now," Chen Chuan said.
"Understood. Do you require any other service?"
Chen Chuan turned to Old Qi. "Mr. Qi, my identity has been confirmed. What's next?"
"That's all you need—Fumu has already verified your biological field." Seeing Chen Chuan about to step down, Old Qi added, "Wait a second, let's establish contact first..." With that, he rested a finger against his neck and looked at Chen Chuan.
The voice chimed in Chen Chuan's ear once more: "Citizen Qi Gao is requesting to establish contact with you via this platform. Do you accept?"
"Accept."
"Contact established..."
The next instant, Old Qi's voice sounded directly beside his ear:
"All right. As long as we're within Center City limits, we can reach each other. But you're using an obsolete model—it can only transmit audio, has no other functions, bombards you with annoying ads all day, and needs a 'boundary point' whenever you want public services.
"Still, that's just what the school issues. Advanced Yin-Yang Apparatuses don't have this hassle. If you have money, you can replace it yourself.
"Though implants are still the best. They make the field connection tighter, and the response speed is way faster. You'll understand once you try one. How should I put it... it's like having decades of nearsightedness suddenly cured. Yeah, that's the feeling! Hey, Little Brother Chen, you can step down now."
Chen Chuan stepped off the pedestal. Looking toward Center City again, the chaotic, overlapping mess of imagery was gone. The light and shadow were now neatly constrained around each building, making everything appear orderly, yet far more dazzling and vibrant than the drab cityscape he had seen before.
It was like a monochrome painting splashed with brilliant color, rich and radiant, yet quietly concealing every dark corner beneath.
At this moment, the city was no longer just a silhouette on the horizon, but an intersection where dreams met reality, the very center of heaven and earth.
He finally understood why it was called Center City.
Old Qi said, "Incredible, isn't it? That's why hardly anyone who comes to Center City ever wants to leave. Only, living here without a Yin-Yang Apparatus..."
He tapped the implant behind his ear. "...You can't see or touch any of it. You can't enjoy convenient services, buying and selling things becomes a chore, you can only travel along a few fixed routes, you can't make smooth account transactions, and people will even refuse to talk to you. Yeah, it's like living in two completely different worlds."
"Are there people in the city who don't use it?" Chen Chuan asked.
"Sure. There's a group in the city that rejects all of this, refusing to enter the real world. We usually call them the Skeleton Clan. There's a gang in town called the Skeleton Gang—they never touch this stuff. And there are some lunatics preaching day in and day out that the Yin-Yang Apparatus is a conspiracy by the higher-ups to control everyone, urging us to refuse to wear it."
Old Qi glanced over at Chen Chuan. Through the mask, Chen Chuan could clearly see an orange glint flicker across one of Old Qi's eyes.
"Well, you only have temporary citizen credentials right now, valid for fifteen days. You'll need to go to the academy and get a student card from the Main Academy to update your identity. Only then will you be an official citizen."
He turned and walked toward the vehicle. "Let's go. We've wasted another twenty-odd minutes; it's past four already. Better get into the city before dark."
Chen Chuan followed thoughtfully, lost in contemplation as he returned to the vehicle.
After sliding into the driver's seat, Old Qi did not forget to offer another reminder: "Little Brother Chen, I advise you to keep your Yin-Yang Apparatus on at all times. With it, you can move freely in Center City and access all kinds of information and services. Without it, you can barely take a step."
After a moment's thought, he added, "Though if you switch to an implant later, remember not to add contacts with strangers casually..."
Amid his rambling advice, the off-road vehicle drove forward for another ten minutes. Suddenly, a shrill drone rang out, and Old Qi's expression changed. Chen Chuan had not removed his bone mask, and across the road ahead of them, a patch of crisscrossing blood-red light spots appeared.
"Damn it, a road closure and checkpoint," Old Qi cursed, smacking the steering wheel. "Which lunatic is causing trouble in the city this time?"
He looked back at Chen Chuan. "This inspection could take hours, maybe till nightfall. I say we take a detour. Little Brother Chen, what do you think?"
"Mr. Qi, didn't you say that would cause trouble?" Chen Chuan asked.
"Better than waiting around like fools! Who knows when they'll lift the lockdown? If it takes a day or two, are we supposed to just camp out here? We have to find a way."
Chen Chuan said, "Mr. Qi, you know this place better than I do. You make the call."
"All right!"
Decisive as ever, Old Qi yanked the wheel, turning the vehicle sharply off the main boulevard and heading south. Once off the highway, however, he began scanning their surroundings with heightened vigilance, the relaxed demeanor from earlier entirely gone.
After driving for about a quarter of an hour, a sharp alarm suddenly blared in their ears, accompanied by a cold voice: "Vehicle ahead, you are required to halt for inspection. Repeat, halt for inspection."
"Fuck. Border patrol," Old Qi cursed.
Chen Chuan looked back to see two armed patrol vehicles mounted with light machine guns closing in from either flank.
Old Qi had no choice but to pull over, knowing full well what would happen if he didn't. Resigned, he said, "Get out. We have to comply." With that, he pushed open the door and stepped down.
Chen Chuan followed him out of the vehicle.
The two patrol vehicles came to a halt roughly twenty meters behind them. Three patrol soldiers dismounted, clad in heavy combat fatigues, helmets, and visors, submachine guns raised. Up on the vehicles, gunners kept rifles trained on them.
One of the soldiers looked at Chen Chuan, a faint glow flickering across his visor. "Temporary citizen Chen Chuan. Wuyi student. No implants."
He then looked at Old Qi. "Citizen Qi Gao. Commissioner, affiliated with Tongxing Commission Company. Implants: Camel Mark III boundary credential, endocrine auxiliary regulator, external neural port, multisensory contact points..."
Another patrol soldier shifted his gun toward them. "You are currently suspected of involvement in a case of destruction of corporate and public property. Please accompany us to assist in the investigation."
Old Qi cursed, "We just fucking came back to Center City from outside! How the hell could we have destroyed property in the city? Have you lost your damn minds?"
The soldier remained entirely unbothered by his tone. "Based on time and location, you are suspects. Please cooperate."
Old Qi's expression darkened. He knew the nature of these border patrolmen all too well. If they caught the actual culprit, great—as citizens, they would be released immediately. But if no culprit was found, they would be used as scapegoats to take the fall, leaving them to spend a fortune hiring a solicitor to fight it in court.
Chen Chuan spoke up: "I don't wish to go with you for an investigation."
The patrolmen in front raised their muzzles warily, locking onto him, while the gunners on the vehicles adjusted their aim in his direction.
Chen Chuan held up a card before him. The instant he made that motion, having stood seven or eight meters away only a heartbeat before, he abruptly appeared within two meters of them.
The patrol soldiers' visors flickered: "Great Shun National Unlimited Defense License, Grade B certificate... Target combat rating:—"
The soldiers exchanged glances. Without a word, they lowered their weapons, retreated into their vehicles, and drove off, leaving behind only a swirling cloud of dust in the clearing.
Chen Chuan calmly watched them depart, put away the unlimited defense license, and walked back.
Old Qi swallowed hard as he watched him approach. "I say... Little Brother Chen, what... what did you just show them?" Chen Chuan had crossed the distance in a split second; he hadn't even had time to react.
"Just an unlimited defense license," Chen Chuan said offhandedly.
"An unlimited defense license?"
Old Qi looked at him. He knew of the license—many students from the Wuyi Main Academy carried one. But far more important was the inhuman speed Chen Chuan had just displayed.
That kind of speed paired with an unlimited defense license sent a crystal-clear warning to the patrolmen not to cross any lines, lest they face consequences no one could guarantee.
He was merely a commissioner and knew little about Wuyi's affairs. Earlier, he had struggled to connect Chen Chuan with the martial artists of the academy, but now he realized they were cut from the very same cloth.
Once they were back in the vehicle, the gaze he turned on Chen Chuan carried a subtle reverence, and his speech grew far more cautious, stripped of its earlier casual air.
Their drive faced no further obstacles. Along the way, they spotted armed patrol vehicles twice more, but neither showed any intention of stopping them for an inspection.
"So many patrol cars. Something big definitely happened..." Old Qi muttered under his breath as the off-road vehicle threaded between two opposing skyscrapers and ascended an elevated viaduct.
By then, as the golden crow sank in the west, the sky had darkened completely.
As they entered the city proper, vibrant, kaleidoscopic lights shimmered inside and outside Chen Chuan's bone mask. The light and shadow along the roads and barrier walls cascaded across the car like silk ribbons, crashing against the chassis and spraying glowing droplets of light, before dropping onto the asphalt beneath the tires and swiftly dissolving into the fast-flowing neon currents.
Flanking the viaduct were towering skyscrapers of varying heights that shot straight from the ground. Some rose so close they felt within arm's reach, seeming to loom and topple over as the car rushed past; others stretched far into the distance, running alongside starry clusters of ground lights all the way to the horizon.
The stark contrast between near and far evoked a vast, dizzying sense of detachment deep within.
An hour later, the vehicle descended from the viaduct. Making a sweeping turn along a curved ramp, Old Qi gestured ahead. "Look. That's the Wuyi Main Academy."
Chen Chuan looked up to see a skyscraper emerging before him, a full moon hovering directly above its peak. The tower rose with eight faceted sides. High above, upturned eaves, flying corners, rainbow bridges, and circling corridors came into view. Amid drifting ribbons of light and encircling auspicious clouds, bright yellow floating lanterns drifted along the building's exterior, rising slowly into the night sky.
Old Qi glanced at him and said, "Beautiful, isn't it? You Wuyi folks—well, it's also the official designation—call it... the Xuan Palace."
Chapter 231