Atlas of Heaven and Man

Following Tan Zhi's gesture, Chen Chuan sized it up. He estimated the cruise ship to be nearly three hundred meters long, with twelve decks, and its hull was predominantly blue and white.

In the night sea, the ship's internal lighting and external effect lights converged, reflecting in the seawater, creating a dreamlike atmosphere.

The bow of the ship was relatively thick, and the tip was slightly upturned and retracted, like short, curved horns growing from the nose, which might be the origin of the ship's name.

"The Rhinoceros Horn cruise ship can accommodate three thousand tourists and has more than fifteen hundred service personnel. This time, it will only stay at Jiyang Port for three days, giving us a whole day to play. I heard there are several events today, and participants include our Wuyi Academy's nominal students, but well, you know."

Tan Zhi shrugged as he spoke.

Chen Chuan couldn't help but recall what Teacher Wu had told him. Wuyi's non-enrolled students would participate in various arena and entertainment competitions. It was said that these competitions were very popular among the people of the central city, but he had only been in the central city for a short time and had not seen such competitions.

"After we get on board today, let's just wander around. There's an event tomorrow that you'll definitely be interested in. It's said to be a high-level combat competition featuring fighters at the Third Threshold."

Chen Chuan was a little surprised: "Third Threshold? Combat competition?" Most fighters at the Third Threshold had a certain status, and he had rarely heard of them coming out to fight in combat competitions.

"Not all Third Threshold fighters are willing to sell their lives to companies and the government."

Tan Zhi's tone inadvertently revealed that he seemed to look down on both companies and the government. "Do you know about the Wilderness Faction? This is a branch of combat that is far from the civilized world.

They believe that fighters can only embrace true power by abandoning the advantages brought by civilization, completely immersing themselves in the wilderness, fighting with beasts, competing with their own kind, and using the power of nature to temper themselves.

This group of people does not reject external exchanges and often invites other fighters to their place to practice together or engage in combat confrontations. They also do not refuse invitations from other fighters.

One of the parties in this battle is such a fighter.

The other side is sent by the company and is said to be an expert in implanted bodies with a compatibility of over ninety percent, claiming to have tamed the implanted body."

"Tamed?"

Tan Zhi said: "It's just a gimmick. It's actually the degree of matching between the implanted body and the implanted person. Those with low compatibility often have to take anti-alienation drugs, and the functions they can exert are also few.

But when the numbers increase, there are always a few people who can perfectly match the implanted body. Companies need these people to prove their products to the market, so they are willing to promote this combat.

It's just that the Wilderness Faction insists on not setting foot on the land of the central city, so this time the battle was chosen on a cruise ship. This is a contest between civilization and barbarism, which is very interesting to watch."

Chen Chuan turned his thoughts. If it was really a battle between Third Threshold fighters, then there would indeed be few opportunities to observe it. He said: "Is it tomorrow?"

"Yes, if there are no accidents, it will be tomorrow. The specific time is confidential. Anyway, just wait there when the time comes. It is said that many upper-class figures from the central city will watch this competition."

Oh, there may also be some field over-frequency processing, which can allow people to receive more information in a short time, although it may cause nausea and dizziness afterwards, but it can be overcome with some medicine."

While the two were chatting, they were getting closer and closer to the port. Chen Chuan glanced at the sea, and then saw many ships parked there in the nearby port, but when he saw a certain ship, his gaze paused.

That was also a cruise ship. He had seen this ship on the platform of the Bureau of Handling Affairs before. This was the Gong family's "True Treasure".

Is this ship still here?

He immediately used the Bureau of Handling Affairs platform to inquire, and it showed that the Gong family had not left temporarily because negotiations with the Yuanan Company were still ongoing.

And from the information he had previously come into contact with, the Gong family's original voyage did not include the central city of Jibei Road, but they only came here to rescue personnel trapped at sea. However, now that they have stayed for so long, it seems that the original voyage plan has been cancelled.

At this time, the car drove into a parking lot full of luxury cars. Tan Zhi parked the car here, got out of the car, and then took Chen Chuan to a wharf area. There were speedboats parked here, which were specially used by the Rhinoceros Horn cruise ship to pick up and drop off guests.

After the two got on the speedboat and sat down, the engine made a roar, and the hull drew a curved white line on the sea, and flew towards the cruise ship in the splashing water.

Chen Chuan could see that at this time, it was not just them. Speedboats were departing from the dock from time to time, all heading towards the cruise ship.

As the speedboat they were riding came close to the cruise ship, this sea behemoth almost encompassed the entire field of vision. At this moment, simple elevators were lowered from above, taking the two and other passengers up.

Before long, the two arrived at the open platform on the side of the ship. Security guards and service personnel stood on both sides, fully armed. Tan Zhi directly took out an invitation card and used the contact interface here on the boundary barrier.

After the two sides checked and confirmed that there were no problems, the security personnel also opened the barricade, and the service personnel respectfully bowed to invite them.

The two walked out of the passage of the internal inspection port, stepped on the ascending steps and came to the spacious deck outside. Standing here, facing the bursts of sea breeze, they could see the magnificent sea around them, as well as most of the port behind them, the night sky studded with stars above their heads, and the bright light surrounding them.

Tan Zhi looked back and said: "How is it, does it feel good? The guest rooms have been booked. Let's put down our things first, eat something casually, and then watch some shows."

Chen Chuan said okay.

He and Tan Zhi were led by a waiter through a deck passage into a narrow cabin corridor, and found rooms numbered 1453 and 1454.

Chen Chuan's room was 1453. He walked in. This was a long and narrow cabin, about twenty square meters, with a balcony outside, which could directly overlook the sea and the central city.

He put the luggage bag he was carrying in the closet near the door, pulled the sliding door smoothly, and then went to the washroom opposite the closet to wash his face in front of the mirror, and then walked out.

As for Thunderclap and Snow Sovereign Saber, he still carried them with him. He would not leave these two things.

After waiting for a while, Tan Zhi also came out from inside. He changed into a foreign dress that suited him very well, with a ceremonial sword hanging around his waist. After closing the door, he greeted him and said: "Let's go, let's go eat something first."

The two came out of the cabin and came to the deck outside. After a few steps, they came to the dining area. Under the awning was a long bar, with cheerful and percussive music floating in their ears, and the air was filled with the aroma of wine and desserts. Surrounded by crowds of people, it looked very lively. Walking here, the noisy atmosphere made people's steps lighter.

Two waiters opened the restaurant door for them. After entering the restaurant, a waiter came up, asked for their requirements, and led them past several crystal candle towers to a four-person seat.

Tan Zhi seemed to be contacting someone at this time. After a while, he said: "Ha, they are also on the ship. Let's order what we want to eat first. They will be here soon."

After the two sat down, a menu appeared on the boundary barrier, and the two ordered their own dishes.

First was the appetizer. Tan Zhi ordered a plate of Moi onion soup, shredded Marchigi cheese, fresh scallops with lemon juice, and a plate of fresh salmon slices. For drinks, he ordered a glass of honey milk.

Chen Chuan looked at it and ordered spring rolls, crystal shrimp, mushroom and chicken soup, and a plate of crispy tofu. For drinks, he casually ordered a glass of rock sugar purple potato drink.

At this time, a man and a woman walked towards them. The two were wearing Wuyi school uniforms and carrying two rapiers. Judging from their appearance, the two seemed to be siblings from the same mother. The female student had a more mature temperament, and the male student looked two years younger and looked more lively.

Tan Zhi chuckled and said: "You think they are siblings? Wrong, they are actually good friends, without any male or female feelings. It's just because they are in harmony with each other, so they often train together.

But their two families are somewhat at odds with each other, thinking they are in love. In order to prove that they are not, they simply hid it from their families and fixed their faces to look like siblings from the same mother. But this made their family members, who didn't know the truth, even more angry. We almost laughed to death at the beginning."

Seeing them coming over, Chen Chuan stood up with Tan Zhi. The male student came up and shook hands with Chen Chuan, "Hello, classmate Chen. I heard Tan said about you. I am Pan Xiaode, and she is Qi Huixin. I want to emphasize that we are not siblings."

Chen Chuan said: "Classmate Tan has explained it to me, but after classmate Pan's face-to-face confirmation, my trust in him has increased a little."

Pan Xiaode couldn't help laughing. After greeting, the two sat down and started ordering food.

Qi Huixin didn't seem to like to talk very much and looked very introverted. Pan Xiaode was the one talking all the time. He seemed to be a very active person. The personalities of the two people were obviously different. I don't know how they managed to hit it off.

Pan Xiaode looked at Chen Chuan at this time and said eagerly: "Junior Chen, I heard that you are not a recommended student, but you earned the spot yourself. Why don't we practice after we finish eating?"

...