Chapter 902: Mr. Cat

The atmosphere grew utterly solemn as they confronted the situation.

"Could it be that we were simply transported to another end of the universe?" someone suggested. He no longer believed they had entered a high-dimensional, hidden world of an advanced civilization, but rather that they were still in the vast external universe.

"I don't know," replied the Thirteenth Prince, "but I don't believe the beings of the Cosmic Garden would play tricks on or deceive insignificant disciples like us. We should first assume this is a high-dimensional world."

He also noted that this universe had a lifespan of 13.7 billion years, which differed slightly but noticeably from that of the greater universe.

"So, let's assume this entire universe is fake," Princess Naxia began to analyze. "Could it be that the star systems only exist when we observe them?" She continued, "According to quantum observation theory—when we don't observe the moon, the moon doesn't exist. While this might sound extreme, the moon is also composed of indeterminate particles. It only collapses into observable particles when we observe it."

"Quantum indeterminacy?" the Thirteenth Prince murmured, taking a deep breath. He was, of course, well-versed in quantum mechanics, his field of study being incredibly mature. "That's very possible! If not observed, it doesn't exist. In fact, our virtual online game worlds are designed similarly; a virtual plane can be even vaster than our planetary plane..."

Naturally, they couldn't constantly maintain the entire vast map of their online games. It's like playing sandbox games such as GTA V or Skyrim: a section of the map only "loads" when people observe it. If no one is in a particular area, that part of the map becomes blurred or marginalized. This allows them to load extremely vast maps.

"If that's the case, it makes sense," Naxia analyzed. "Given the extremely sparse distribution of life in the universe, 98% of the universe wouldn't need to be loaded. While the computational burden would still be immense, it would be manageable!"

"In fact, the computational load might be even less than we imagine," the Thirteenth Prince added, "because each multiverse could share the same stellar map template, only requiring individual loading of the life environments within each multiverse."

How clever they were! Despite being from a 'rural' background, upon entering this 'city' and observing carefully, they could discern certain clues. Yet, they also sensed the immense terror within it. Goosebumps covered their bodies; it was truly horrifying.

"However, even if the computational load issue is resolved, the degree of realism is simply unimaginable." The Thirteenth Prince looked at the others, continuously checking his instruments, and stated, "This level of realism... I can't imagine what kind of great, forbidden being could have understood the data, rules, and parameters of the entire greater universe to such an extent to stabilize it at this level!"

Indeed. Only they truly understood the horror of it. All their cultivation techniques, their physical bodies, and their various pieces of equipment should not have existed in this universe, yet upon their arrival, everything functioned perfectly.

This implied that this place perfectly matched everything in the real universe! Moreover, every cultivation method and piece of equipment from the real universe could function flawlessly here.

This was, in fact, the terrifying power of Medusa. Only she could perfectly manipulate the reality data of the entire crystal wall system universe, without a single falsehood. From the first to the eighth order, which represents the limit of understanding the entire material universe, she had traversed every path 129,600 times. Through such comprehensive study, she had grasped its essence to an almost instinctive degree, allowing her to create the realism of this world. No one else could achieve this; only she could.

"If it's this real, what's the difference from the true universe?" Mansha only now realized this, giving a wry smile. "Who can distinguish between real and fake? This is already another universe in some sense, isn't it!?"

"Yes, perhaps that's one way to understand it." The Thirteenth Prince's face was filled with horror as he quietly said, "Compared to the real universe, there's almost no difference! It just adds the concept of a parallel universe... But are there countless parallel universes beyond our own? Even we don't know."

Their faces were utterly filled with shock. Indeed, even a Ninth-Order Daoist who transcends cosmic laws merely distorts those laws. But is the universe unique? What lies beyond the universe? Is it another parallel universe, or a void, nothing at all? Their civilization hadn't reached a level high enough to comprehend this.

"Perhaps even our main universe adheres to the quantum mechanics found in games," Princess Naxia said with a bitter smile. "The map only collapses into existence when observed. Maybe the main universe we've always lived in is also a simulation."

"Yes, Schrödinger's Cat," Mansha chimed in, referencing a theory from their internal system. She described the cat experiment, which others also found to be an interesting illustration.

"The reality of the world?"

At that moment, a handsome scholar in white robes appeared nearby. "You come from other parallel universes," he said, "and your knowledge is truly eye-opening."

Naxia and the others looked at the newcomer with immediate horror, their divine senses involuntarily projecting fearful thoughts: "How long... have you been here?"

The scholar in white showed a hint of surprise, then uttered something even more terrifying: "Gentlemen, it's not about how long I've been here. I was here from the start; you simply couldn't observe me. You are the newcomers to this plain... I made a sound, and only then did you perceive me... Hmm..."

"What do you mean we only saw you when you made a sound?" someone nearby retorted angrily, feeling the scholar was deliberately insulting them. If he hadn't intentionally hidden, how could so many divine beings fail to detect him?

"I genuinely wasn't hiding on purpose," the scholar in white said, looking distressed. "But perhaps it's hard for you to understand, making it seem intentional." He pondered for a moment, then suddenly clapped his hands and laughed brightly. "Ah! You just said that the moon is made of indeterminate particles and only collapses into a definite state when observed, just like Schrödinger's Cat... I made a sound, and only then did I collapse into an observable state for you. Do you understand?"

Everyone felt an inexplicable chill. There was a feeling that seemed both right and wrong...

"Oh, by the way, I unexpectedly like that Schrödinger's Cat experiment," the scholar in white continued. "You can think of me as that cat... You can call me... Mr. Cat."

Cat??

Everyone's hair stood on end. How bizarre, how utterly bizarre was this world?!

Meanwhile, within the system, Pan Xuexian's entire being exploded; her nerves were completely shattered. "Holy cow! I knew it wasn't simple! Renimansga, knowing the Creator God and having access to secrets of this level, clearly isn't some backwoods bumpkin! This place might very well be the center of the universe! It's... even more terrifying than we imagined!" Looking at the figure before her, she felt an inexplicable urge to flee. "What the hell is going on with this civilization?" "Is this civilization playing with quantum mechanics?" "Run! There's no telling if you can win or lose against a Quantum Dad!"

The entire network erupted in shock. They had thought their mechanical pillar gods were the strongest, but they never imagined that the Renimansga Cosmic Garden contained such terrifying multiverses!

At this moment, the scholar in white continued to smile. "However, the theories of the world you gentlemen are discussing, quantum observation... are very interesting. Would you care to discuss them with me?"