Chapter 1821

As the words fell, Lin An stiffened on the spot.

How could he not hear it? Overseer No. 77 completely denied his understanding of power!

Like a worm... pretty much the same!?

How is this possible!? Lin An stared at the Overseer in disbelief, asking himself that even if he had become a Fourth Stage for too short a time, he didn't know much.

Yet his understanding came from his own realizations, from what he had truly experienced!

Even the Silver Star‑level Omnisphere operates under this theory!

If it's all wrong, what is he? A monkey wielding a rifle as a fire stick?

Without paying attention to Lin An's emotions at the moment, Overseer No. 77, after expressing the pity in his eyes, spoke directly:

"The essence of rules is indeed the operating logic of the world's foundation, but Lin An. On what basis do you think you can comprehend it? On what basis do you think you can still create and control rules?"

"Just like an NPC in a video game, on what basis do you think you can see and understand the code running inside the program?"

"Any rule! Even the simplest! The most basic rule! Its essence is composed of things you cannot comprehend! Such things not only constitute the rule itself, but also constitute you!"

"Unless you can step outside the rules to see him with your own eyes, observe it from a higher dimension! But if you could do that, what would you need to understand it for?"

As he spoke, a fleeting hint of helplessness flashed in the Overseer's silver‑blue eyes.

He instantly extended his tentacle toward Lin An, locking it firmly in place.

"Lin An! Look at the ground! Look at the shadow on the ground! Tell me what you see!"

A cold snort!

At this moment, Overseer No. 77, as if revealing the truth of the world to Lin An, issued his command in an extremely cold tone.

Lin An instinctively lowered his gaze and instantly saw a stick‑shaped shadow cast on the ground—the silhouette left after Overseer No. 77 straightened his tentacle.

"A shadow? The outward appearance cast by the tentacle blocking light?"

Lin An answered instinctively; though he didn't understand why the Overseer had suddenly become so solemn, he could feel that the other was about to convey something extremely important.

Before Lin An could ponder whether his answer was insufficiently comprehensive,

In an instant, the Overseer's huge eyes locked onto him, each word delivered with a pause.

"No."

"Not a shadow, but a two‑dimensional structure."

"The so‑called shadow is merely the manifestation of a three‑dimensional object on a two‑dimensional plane."

As he spoke, Overseer No. 77 abruptly contracted his tentacle into a "cone" shape—base round, tip pointed—and the shadow it cast simultaneously changed into a circle.

It seemed to notice Lin An's confusion, yet he had no idea what it was trying to convey.

At this moment, the Overseer's silver‑blue pupils held no disappointment, only a deep sense of helplessness.

It's perfectly normal that Lin An couldn't grasp it; concerning the world, or dimensions, or a truth he himself couldn't articulate, this piece of information can barely be contacted by entities of Seventh Stage or higher.

Getting Lin An to understand this now is truly a bridge too far.

"Lin An, think it over carefully, retrace that logic step by step."

"When a three‑dimensional thing appears in two dimensions it becomes a shadow, a plane. What exactly does that signify..."

His tone eased slightly.

Hearing Overseer No. 77 reiterate his words, Lin An felt his heart tighten as he struggled to grasp what it meant.

(Three dimensions? Two dimensions? My understanding of the rules must be wrong, because we can't possibly see the rules?)

(Don't believe any theory; you can only treat it as a tool...)

(Reverse engineer... reverse engineer what? Reverse engineer the world's essence, reverse engineer the truth of the rules?)

Under Overseer No. 77's patient guidance, Lin An's thoughts raced, his eyes instantly losing focus as he incessantly processed all the information the super‑powerful being gave him.

Under intense mental strain, one conjecture after another was rejected by Lin An; the frantically mobilized cells and neurons seemed to burn at this moment, to the point that the veins on his forehead were about to burst.

What is it? What does it mean? Not telling me directly—is it to make me understand better?

Can't see clearly... immersed in it...

Two‑dimensional... three‑dimensional... cone...

Circle!?

After a long silence, Lin An's vision suddenly began flashing repeatedly the same image.

That was the scene where Overseer No. 77's tentacle, simulated as a cone, appeared as a circle on the ground.

Like a sudden epiphany, like a blessing to the heart, in an instant Lin An's whole body jolted and he immediately realized what Overseer No. 77 was trying to tell him!

Unbelievable! Unbelievable!

What seemed a simple, unremarkable circular shadow now, in Lin An's eyes, resembled the darkness that devours the world, swallowing his entire field of vision!

If saying that a three‑dimensional cone projected onto two dimensions yields a circle, that circle is erroneous.

Then let's reverse‑engineer it this way!

Everything in the three‑dimensional world is a projection from the four‑dimensional world; what they see is naturally erroneous, merely a facet!

Thus we reverse‑engineer!

Damn it!

This world is fake!?

All the rule information given by the system is false!?

"We are merely the product of a four‑dimensional projection into three dimensions!? We cannot see our true selves!?"

"The operation of the rules is fundamentally not what I see!?"

Lin An stared, dazed and shocked, at the electricity flickering at his fingertips, at the electromagnetic rules he knew so well.

For the first time, he actually felt so unfamiliar, like a trap.

If he continued to firmly believe in his understanding of the rules and kept going down that path, in the end it would naturally lead to a dead end!

Just like a building whose foundation is laid wrong, even if forcibly erected, at the moment it is completed it will collapse with a boom, leaving no place to bury oneself!

"That's right."

The tentacles retracted, Overseer No. 77 spoke softly, a fleeting hint of sorrow flickering unseen in the depths of their eyes.

"Lin An, the world is not false; we simply cannot comprehend it."

"Two-dimensional beings can never understand three-dimensional ones, and we three-dimensional beings naturally cannot comprehend the true rules beyond infinite dimensions."

"Just like us in the shadows...."

"How can we see the true light?"