Yama Reborn-Chapter 429 - 426 [Who am I?]

Chapter 426 [Who Am I?]

I’ve come to find you.

Upon hearing this, Chen Nuo’s face suddenly calmed.

Electric General seemed genuinely interested as he carefully examined Chen Nuo, his gaze intense.

Chen Nuo exhaled slowly and spoke, "You’re looking for me... Why?"

"Curiosity," Electric General answered frankly. "I am very curious about you."

"Because of Seed? Because I am the Chosen One of Seed, so you want to get something about Seed from me..."

"No, no, no, you’re thinking too simply." Electric General suddenly bent forward, pulled a pipe out of his pocket, put it in his mouth, and then took two steps forward, closing the distance between him and Chen Nuo.

Chen Nuo’s expression remained unchanged, but his heart tightened.

In fact, what made him even more anxious was...

Right before he had jumped up to the rooftop, he had already sent out a tendril of spiritual power to another room to warn Lu Xixi!

But why was there still no sound or movement from Lu Xixi’s side at this moment?

While speaking, Chen Nuo slowly backed up and once again tried to sense the Spiritual Force Tentacle he had extended. Then, Chen Nuo’s face suddenly changed!

"No need to think about it," Electric General said with a leisurely laugh. "Were you planning on calling my Chosen One over so that you could join forces against me? If that were useful, she would have been up here by now."

"What have you done to her? Hypnosis? Or spiritual power control?"

"...Actually, I didn’t do anything to her," Electric General said slowly. "To be precise, it was *you* I did something to.

"If you don’t believe me, I won’t stop you. You can go and wake her up."

Chen Nuo’s heart sank.

He could no longer sense the Spiritual Force Tentacle he had extended.

And after trying to send out a few more, he discovered something that shocked him even more!

Downstairs, Lu Xixi’s bedroom was empty, devoid of anyone!

Chen Nuo took a deep breath and clenched his fists. He covered his entire body with the Mentality Cocoon and fully activated his will, sensing the spatial fluctuations around him, preparing for a major battle at any moment. He asked coldly, "Where have you taken her?"

"No, no, no, I was very clear just now. I didn’t do anything to her.

"You shouldn’t ask me where I took her.

"You should ask me...

"Where I took *you*!"

As he said this, Electric General grinned, showing a row of white teeth.

Chen Nuo felt a jolt in his heart. Suddenly, his spiritual power surged. As countless Spiritual Force Tentacles spread out, a shocking truth struck him!

No one was there!

Downstairs, in his apartment, and even in the apartment across the hall—not only was Lu Xixi gone, but Ou Xiuhua and the children were also missing!

Even the entire residential building!

No, the entire neighborhood!

No! In fact, throughout the entire street, Chen Nuo couldn’t sense the spiritual fluctuations of a single living creature!

On the level of spiritual consciousness, the entire area seemed as silent as death!

There was no one!

Not even the cats and dogs in the nearby neighborhood streets, nor the mice, ants, bedbugs, sparrows, or birds...

All gone!

Chen Nuo rapidly extended his spiritual power, covering more and more streets, but he couldn’t sense the slightest sign of life!

Stars and moon hung in the sky, yet this world was deadly silent!

In an instant, Chen Nuo understood. He exhaled. "Where are we?"

Electric General smiled without responding.

"A dream?" Chen Nuo asked coldly. "A dream you created? Or an illusion brought about by spiritual power?"

"Neither."

Electric General suddenly gestured. The sunshade on the rooftop terrace shattered, and a fragment flew into his hand, which he crushed lightly.

He delicately rubbed the powder between his fingertips. "This place is neither an illusion nor a dream; all the matter here is real."

Real?

Chen Nuo quickly performed an internal check. He found no abnormalities in his control over his body, and there were no irregularities in his Consciousness Space either.

The Tree of Misfortune was still being nurtured within layers of spiritual power; the neighboring Tree of Killing Intent also continued to exist...

Then it wasn’t a dream.

If it were an illusion, the other party wouldn’t be able to create these things out of thin air.

So... a real world?

Then, where were the people?

"At your current level, you should have some understanding. Our evolutionary direction, our goal, is to leap from being three-dimensional life forms toward the four-dimensional.

"Then you should understand that the three-dimensional world is a material world. The four-dimensional world, however, transcends the matter of the three-dimensional world and is linked by a single axis.

"As beings standing at the pinnacle of three-dimensional life, although we haven’t transcended or entered the fourth dimension...

"But, to put it simply, we can generally be considered three-and-a-half-dimensional.

"So... abilities like spatial control and life control are obtained during the evolutionary process. Of course... you’ve already obtained some similar abilities.

"I’ve heard your ability is related to space. Can’t you figure out what this place is?"

Chen Nuo pondered briefly. "An independent three-dimensional space? Created by you? A mirror image?"

"Close, but not a mirror image."

The Electric General seemed in no hurry to act against Chen Nuo; on the contrary, he seemed quite interested and patiently engaged him in conversation:

"We’ve always speculated that the axis of four-dimensional space is Time... but this isn’t Time in the three-dimensional world’s sense. If measured using life as a scale...

"All I did was use you, Mr. Chen Nuo—your person—as the scale. Then, within your dream, I created a nightmare to bring your Negative Emotions to their peak, and I seized that opportunity to pull you in here.

"And this place... well, how should I put it? It’s not quite a mirror.

"You could call it a copy, a simulation, or perhaps an extrapolation.

"In any case, it’s a world formed using you as the coordinate, you as the scale, you as the reference point—an extraction of a part of ’your world.’"

"My... world?"

"Yes. This is still Huaxia, still Jinling, the neighborhood where you live, this very building.

"It’s just that all of this uses you as the coordinate; it’s a world formed from what you’ve perceived, observed, and known throughout your life.

"I simply copied that part over."

"Then... what about life? Are we the only two here?"

"I’m sorry. I’m only three-and-a-half-dimensional; I can’t create a host of identical lives.

"Matter can be copied, but life cannot.

"Life is special, which is also why we consider life to be the fourth axis."

Chen Nuo said nothing, but he had secretly retracted all the Spiritual Force Tentacles he had released.

Whether this Electric General was deceiving him or not, of one thing Chen Nuo was certain: there were indeed no other people here!

Unless Electric General could make half the population of Jinling City vanish in an instant!

Otherwise, just as he said, this was indeed a lifeless, replicated space.

"This isn’t creation; we can’t create a world out of nothing.

"Everything here was replicated by me. I intruded into your consciousness while you were having a nightmare, extracted a corner of it, and then used your own life experiences—your perceptions, cognitions, and understanding of the surrounding world—to copy this world."

My world...

A sudden realization dawned on Chen Nuo.

If I were to die... to the world, it would mean I had died.

But to me, it would mean the world had ended.

A world measured using individual life as its coordinate and scale!

The world perceived by each life is a three-dimensional world.

The perceived worlds of countless lives, when superimposed, require an unseen, untouchable axis to link them together to form the four-dimensional world.

"Out with it. What do you want from me? You can’t have sought me out just to discuss these things," Chen Nuo said, staring at the Electric General and suddenly frowning. "Wearing this shell... it feels quite awkward. You know I knew the original Electric General."

"Hmm, I know a bit, but I’m not clear on the specifics.

"After Body Seizing, it’s impossible to inherit all of the original host’s memories... Besides, I didn’t actually kill him; I just moved his consciousness elsewhere."

As he spoke, the Electric General’s facial muscles and bones began to shift and contort, and his figure started to change.

After a few breaths, the Electric General before him had transformed into a completely different person.

He was now a tall, slender human with brown hair, a pale complexion, handsome features, and well-proportioned limbs.

But it was a face Chen Nuo had never seen before. After glancing at him, Chen Nuo asked, "Is this your true appearance?"

"There’s no such thing as a ’true appearance,’ as you call it."

"Hmm, true enough. You’re a group of non-human entities, aren’t you? Spiritual Life Forms, Seeds. So, this current appearance of yours?"

"It’s a shell I used before this one; I suppose I grew accustomed to it. Since you found the Electric General’s face unsettling, I can speak to you in this form as well."

Chen Nuo shook his head. "Just tell me, what’s your purpose in coming here?"

"I needed to confirm something. After seeing you, I’m practically certain," The Fourth Seed said, his expression turning serious. "Now, I’d like you to answer a question for me. I’m extremely curious about the answer."

"What question?"

"How... did you come to this world?"

Chen Nuo frowned. "What the hell do you mean? Of course I’m human, born from my own mother..."

"No, no, no, no, no..." The Fourth Seed smiled, then stared at Chen Nuo. "Mr. Chen Nuo, there’s no need to feign such an absurd tone with me... Although I haven’t dealt with you personally, I’ve heard a fair bit about you.

"I’m also well aware of your dishonesty and cunning.

"So, you actually know exactly what I’m asking.

"Now, please answer me: how did you come to this world?

"Your life’s calibration point isn’t in this three-dimensional space at all!"

Chen Nuo continued to feign ignorance. "What do you mean?"

The Fourth Seed sighed. "Unwilling to admit it?"

"There’s nothing I’m unwilling to admit. I just don’t know what you’re talking about."

The Fourth Seed didn’t seem angry. Instead, he slowly took a puff from his pipe, exhaling a plume of greenish-blue smoke.

"You’ve seen children, haven’t you?

"Many young children will fantasize about having a friend.

"That’s why parents or other adults often see a child talking to themselves, or perhaps hugging a doll or toy, acting as if it can genuinely communicate with them. They even imagine elaborate scenarios and conversations.

"To adults, it’s merely a child’s fantasy, or perhaps illogical make-believe; there’s no such thing as this imagined, non-existent friend.

"But in the child’s eyes, that friend is real.

"So, what ultimately defines real, and what defines false?"

Chen Nuo thought for a moment. "Obviously, the friend a child imagines is false."

"But the child firmly believes it’s real.

"What we call ’real’ is simply what you perceive and are aware of. What you cannot perceive isn’t real.

"In the adult world, that friend is false.

"But in that child’s world, it’s real."

What one can perceive and cognize is real. What one cannot perceive or cognize is not real...

"So, what I’m very curious about is this: from my perspective... you are false. You shouldn’t exist in this world."

Chen Nuo remained silent.

Then he retorted, "Who says I’m not real?

"I am Chen Nuo, born in this city! My mother, who gave birth to me, lives in the very building beneath our feet..."

"That’s material reality, but not existential reality," The Fourth Seed replied.

"You can see through life?" Chen Nuo’s heart stirred. He countered with the question the Gray Cat had once asked him, "So, what is life? Where does life come from?"

Upon hearing this, The Fourth Seed’s expression unexpectedly turned solemn. He replied earnestly, "I desperately want to know that answer too. That is the ultimate goal of our competition. If you knew the answer, then this conversation today wouldn’t be happening."

After a pause, to Chen Nuo’s surprise, this being added, "However, I do know a few other things. Perhaps not enough to fully answer your question, but... they might offer some direction."

"Such as?"

"Such as, where life originates."

Chen Nuo frowned.

Scientists on Earth had already proposed similar answers: the Big Bang, or, from a chemical perspective, amino acids forming proteins as the fundamental units of life...

But Chen Nuo believed The Fourth Seed wasn’t referring to these concepts.

"We currently believe ourselves to be in a three-dimensional world. So, where are beings from dimensions different from our own?"

"Obviously, two-dimensional life exists in a two-dimensional world, and Four-Dimensional Life exists in a four-dimensional world..."

"Then can we observe their existence?"

"No." Chen Nuo answered crisply.

That was already a fundamental scientific consensus.

Life can only perceive other life within the same dimension; it cannot perceive life from other dimensions.

Even though humans are three-dimensional beings, they couldn’t perceive Four-Dimensional Life, let alone perceive two-dimensional life, which was a dimension lower than their own.

"So, do you believe that higher-dimensional life is necessarily superior to lower-dimensional life?

"For instance, let’s not discuss Four-Dimensional Life for now.

"We ourselves are three-dimensional beings. Does that automatically make us more advanced and powerful than two-dimensional beings?"

"Huh?" Chen Nuo was stunned.

His immediate, subconscious thought was: Of course, they’re more advanced!

Although he wasn’t a scientist or a physicist, he had at least read *The Three-Body Problem* and understood the concept of a dimensional-reduction strike.

But...

"You are three-dimensional beings. Even if human civilization, in the context of the entire three-dimensional cosmos, isn’t the most advanced—there are civilizations far more advanced than yours.

"But, setting aside comparisons with other three-dimensional civilizations, you are still three-dimensional life forms, surely more advanced than two-dimensional life, correct?

"Well then, go ahead and destroy a two-dimensional world, or kill a two-dimensional being for me to see."

Kill a two-dimensional being?

Hell, I can’t even find one!

"You can’t do it, can you? If you can’t even perceive it, how could you destroy or kill it?

"If you can’t perceive the other, how can you demonstrate superiority?"

At this point, The Fourth Seed chuckled, then offered his own answer: "Therefore, higher-dimensional life isn’t necessarily superior to lower-dimensional life... at least, not by the definition of ’superior’ used in the three-dimensional world.

"We can’t even perceive life in a two-dimensional world; how dare we claim to be more advanced than it?"

"Then, your pursuit of evolution towards the four-dimensional... isn’t that meaningless?"

"Of course, it’s meaningful... but I won’t discuss that with you right now," The Fourth Seed continued. "So, if we aren’t superior to two-dimensional life, then Four-Dimensional Life might not necessarily be superior to us either.

"And in truth, life itself is equal.

"Because... essentially, we are all the same."

"The same? What do you mean?"

Damn it, has this Seed actually come up with some concept like ’all beings are equal’?

"What I mean by ’the same’ is... in reality, life isn’t divided by dimensions. Rather... all life—whether we previously conceived of it as two-dimensional life, three-dimensional life, or Four-Dimensional Life...

"That’s all incorrect!

"All life exists in a single dimension!"

"I... don’t understand."

The Fourth Seed looked at Chen Nuo and said slowly, "...Haven’t you humans created an interesting thing called online games, correct?

"You play a game, controlling a character within it.

"You imbue this game character with all its actions, dialogue, behaviors, mannerisms, objectives, and motivations...

"Let me ask you: is this game world two-dimensional or three-dimensional?"

"Uh? Two-dimensional?" Chen Nuo answered, uncertain.

"To be precise, it’s a pseudo-two-dimensional world created by three-dimensional life. It’s infinitely close to a true two-dimensional world, but it isn’t one.

"However, let’s tentatively treat this online game world as a two-dimensional world. This would mean the game characters you control are essentially two-dimensional life within this two-dimensional world...

"But, I ask you... is it truly two-dimensional life?"

Chen Nuo’s heart skipped a beat!

The Fourth Seed continued, "It appears to meet many criteria for two-dimensional life in a two-dimensional world. But ultimately, all its actions, behaviors, motives, and purposes originate from you—and you are a three-dimensional being!

"Quite interesting, isn’t it? A supposed two-dimensional being actually originates from a three-dimensional one.

"So you see, it’s rather intriguing.

"A pseudo-two-dimensional being isn’t truly two-dimensional. While existing in that two-dimensional space, everything about it comes from you! It’s controlled by you!

"So then... for you, existing in three dimensions, from whom does everything about you originate, and by what are you controlled?

"This is what I meant by the source of life!"

Chen Nuo took a deep breath. "You mean there’s no such thing as ’two-dimensional life,’ ’three-dimensional life,’ or ’Four-Dimensional Life’ in the way we think? That the essence of life is the same? We are just..."

"Our consciousness is projected into the three-dimensional world, so we only perceive three dimensions.

"But in reality, we are simultaneously one-dimensional, two-dimensional, three-dimensional, four-dimensional, five-dimensional... and so on.

"However, because our consciousness is projected into three dimensions, we can only perceive three dimensions.

"We can simulate two dimensions or one dimension through imagination...

"But we cannot simulate a dimension higher than our own, such as the fourth dimension.

"Regarding spatial dimensions, higher dimensions are naturally more advanced.

"However, life itself possesses no such hierarchy of higher or lower dimensions."

At this point, The Fourth Seed said, "So, your assumption that we Mothers or Seeds are three-dimensional life forms wanting to evolve into Four-Dimensional Life is, in fact, inaccurate.

"To be precise, we *are* life, but currently, we can only project ourselves into the first, second, and third dimensions. We haven’t yet perceived the fourth dimension.

"We simply want to enter four-dimensional space, to be able to perceive it, master it, and thereby achieve a greater advancement!

"That is the precise definition of evolution we seek."

Life itself has no dimensions.

Only the perceived world has dimensions!

It’s like a person: if you’re in M Country, you’re a person from M Country; if you’re in Huaxia, you’re one of the Chinese people; if you’re born into an indigenous African tribe, you’re a member of that African tribe.

But essentially, all are human, all are primates. From the fundamental essence of life, there’s no hierarchy of higher or lower.

So, to be precise...

These Seeds or Mothers... they don’t want to evolve.

Rather...

Rather, hell, they want to *migrate*?

Migrate from a lower-dimensional space to a higher-dimensional one?

Holy crap!

Chen Nuo sank into deep thought.

And The Fourth Seed said in a gentle voice, "This is also why I want to know where you come from.

"Because, from my observations, your life’s calibration point isn’t here. This world doesn’t have your life’s calibration point.

"In other words, you’re an outsider.

"I don’t know what kind of power enables you to do such a thing.

"Nor do I know if perhaps you yourself have already transcended certain rules, reaching the state we’ve always been pursuing.

"But...

"In any case, Chen Nuo, your existence proves that the hypothesis we’ve long pursued is not mere conjecture!

"You are a living example standing right before me!

"So..."

Chen Nuo smiled bitterly to himself. So, I’m an immigrant?

No, more accurately...

A stowaway?