Eternal Night.

Chapter 936 Reverse Manipulation
Spacetime paradox.

Wu Pifu was no stranger to this. Putting aside philosophical or scientific theories, he had once attempted time travel in order to escape the time paradox and revive people. Although he succeeded, it also made Wu Pifu realize that time travel or escaping the time paradox was an extremely difficult thing, and for him, it was a matter of life and death.

That was just the spacetime paradox in the normal timeline of the dream world. But at this moment, the spacetime paradox that caused Gao Changgong and others to disappear came from the source of pollution, which is extremely terrifying. At least so far, there is no solution.

"I'm weird."

The calculus professor suddenly asked, "Since they chose to search for you through individual disappearances, didn't they know that the spacetime paradox would prevent them from giving you any information? The result would inevitably be a futile effort, unless..."

Wu Pifu immediately stared intently at the calculus professor. He saw that the professor seemed hesitant or unsure, so he said, "Just tell me, don't hold back."

The calculus professor thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Alright, although it sounds unbelievable, I just considered 829,647 possibilities, and this is the closest one..."

"No, you really study advanced mathematics?"

Wu Pifu immediately exclaimed in awe.

The calculus professor looked puzzled, and Wu Pifu immediately waved his hand and said, "No, no, no, forget I said anything, please continue."

The calculus professor pointed at Gao Changgong and the others, saying, "The paradox of time and space lies in the fact that things that never happened appear in the past, which leads to a logical contradiction. However, if things that have already happened in the past are known in the future, this does not lead to a paradox. So this explains..."

“Wait…” Wu Pifu immediately raised his hand.

The calculus professor looked enlightened, because Wu Pifu's expression was so similar to that of many of the clear-eyed students he had taught. He immediately said, "To put it simply, they can't tell you about their future, but they can hear what you say and bring information from the past into the future. This doesn't lead to a spacetime paradox."

Wu Pifu understood.

He cannot know what will happen in the future to change what has already happened, thus creating a logical paradox, but he can bring secrets from the past that have already disappeared into the future.

But here comes the problem...

What secret could he possibly have to tell Gao Changgong and the others?

Wu Pifu once again revealed his clear yet foolish eyes as he looked at Gao Changgong and the others, who in turn looked back at him with a strange gaze carrying immense sorrow.

No, what can you tell just by looking at someone?

What secrets could he possibly have?!

Wu Pifu asked, confused, "No, what secrets could I possibly have? I've told the Unified Human Government everything I know. You should know other secrets too, Gao Changgong. I've completely forgotten. What about Chu Minghao and Liang Min? Even if they're both dead, the mainframe should still have my information stored, right?"

Tears welled up in Gao Changgong and the others' eyes, but they were unable to speak or express any information.

Ultraman, the calculus master, the magical girl—even the thousands of people who had gathered around couldn't possibly know what secret Wu Pifu had. They all looked at Wu Pifu with awe.

Those at this level of strength were among the most powerful even during the peak of their civilization.

At this moment, someone in the crowd said, "But even if they obtained the secrets from the past, they can't take them back. The loss is irreversible."

"That's right. Loss is irreversible. Even with a large amount of real infusion, unless it hasn't been integrated into the source of pollution, it's impossible for it to reappear."

"Furthermore, we must also consider that even if we temporarily escape the source of pollution, we cannot escape the pollution situation itself. Once we escape the pollution situation, we will be reabsorbed by the source of pollution. There is no solution to this."

The people around started talking all at once.

The calculus expert also said to Wu Pifu, "As you all have said, loss is irreversible. Unless you fill the void with a large amount of reality during the loss process and sever the connection with the source of pollution, once you lose, you will only appear in various polluted scenarios like we are now, becoming a fleeting 'NPC' there. Even if they are..."

However, when the old calculus teacher uttered the words "NPC," Gao Changgong and the other four immediately exchanged glances. One of the middle-aged men gave Gao Changgong a frank smile and uttered a silent word, which seemed to be a name. Gao Changgong nodded vigorously at him, and the middle-aged man immediately mouthed something to Wu Pifu and began to speak rapidly.

"The book, the monster man, the preface..."

The first few words were fine, but when he got to the last two words at the beginning of the book, the middle-aged man immediately vanished into thin air.

Wu Pifu lowered his eyes and silently walked to the spot where the man who had turned to ashes had stood. He scooped up a handful of soil from the ground, crushed it into ash with his fingers, and then asked Ultraman, the calculus old man, and the magical girl, "Why was he alright after saying so many words?"

Ultraman spoke first: "The information you already know will not cause a spacetime paradox. The so-called spacetime paradox refers to information that will inevitably change your behavior in the future, but not the information you already know."

Wu Pifu nodded silently, lost in thought. Book, monster... these two words immediately reminded him of what Zhi had said about the entire world being nothing more than a book. As for the monster, that was something only he had experienced and heard the so-called narration.

Those monsters were all good monsters; they had given him a lot of help and had heard his voice more than once, learning information he shouldn't have known.

But what did Gao Changgong and the others mean by sacrificing themselves to say those words?
Moreover, they only chose to do this after hearing the word "NPC".

What are they trying to express? What do they want to gain from him?
Wu Pifu's head started to ache from thinking so much. He immediately turned his attention to Ultraman, the calculus old man, and the magical girl, especially the calculus old man.

A moment later, Ultraman, the old man who was doing advanced mathematics, the magical girl, and even the people around them all fell into deep thought and were stunned.

What does it mean that our world is a book?

What is a monster-like person with a voice-over?
What is an NPC?

When all these things were put together, they were completely bewildered.

The old man who studied advanced mathematics thought the most, but he also thought the fastest. His extraordinary path seemed to be related to his contemplation.

“Before we think about all that,” the calculus professor said to Wu Pifu, “we first need to solve one problem: how will they take back what they’ve obtained from you?”

Everyone around stopped thinking and shook their heads, but some looked at Wu Pifu with a glimmer of hope.

Wu Pifu looked at Gao Changgong and the other three, then looked at the ancient Roman-style building in the distance before saying, "Gao Changgong... you don't need to nod or shake your head, and you don't need to answer. Just listen carefully to what I have to say. Since you mentioned books, it is clear that you came here at the behest of Zhi, or at least he was involved. So he must have a way to help you get back from your state of despair."

"Does this solution still have to fall on me? In other words, do I have a way to bring you back from your state of despair to the normal reality?"

Although it was a question, a flash of inspiration struck Wu Pifu.

He remained silent for a while, then suddenly said to the old calculus professor, "Sir, what would happen if I destroyed the polluted environment we are in now?"

The old calculus expert immediately said, "Then this pollution will be destroyed, we will return to the source of pollution, and then this pollution scenario will disappear from this timeline and this space, and then it will randomly appear in other pollution timelines and spaces... Pollution is immortal and indestructible, what you have cut is only the appearance."

Some knowledgeable people around nodded in agreement.

Wu Pifu smiled and took a breath, saying, "No, what I mean is... to completely eliminate the essence of this pollution situation, so that this pollution situation no longer exists in the past, present, future, and all sources of pollution in terms of time, space, and cause and effect. What if that were the case?"

The old calculus student was stunned, Ultraman was stunned, the magical girl was stunned... and even all the lost intellectual life around them was stunned.

Immediately someone said, "Are you kidding me? This is pollution originating from the source of the pollution; it's not..."

"Pollution can only transform and proliferate; it can never be eliminated!"

"Yes, even our ancestors, who created the source of civilization, could only hide from pollution..."

Ultraman shook his head: "It's impossible. My civilization's ancestor, the God of Ultra, gathered all the light of Ultra and the light of all beings in the three thousand Ultra derivative worlds we protect, yet he couldn't eliminate the pollution that caused our race's downfall, or even resist it. It's impossible..."

The magical girl shook her head in disappointment, while the old calculus master's eyes flashed with endless numbers like a screen being filled with images. After a long while, he finally exhaled and said, "Let's not even talk about whether it's possible or not. Let's assume you can completely annihilate this contaminated situation from its very essence. In my calculations, there is indeed a very high probability that you can sever the cause and effect. Not only can your people return to their original timeline, but they can also regain hope of returning by relying on the power of truth. All of us here may also be able to find a glimmer of hope from our despair in our own timeline. But the premise is that you can do this!"

Wu Pifu nodded, certain he could do it, because he had just tried it out, considering the current state of pollution and the gladiatorial arena building as his target...

It can be anchored!

This pollution situation must be eliminated!

That leaves only one last question...

“Book, Monster Man, Preface… what exactly do these words mean? What do Gao Changgong and the others hope to get from me? Or rather, what do they want me to know from the Monster Man?” Wu Pifu asked.

The group looked at each other again, and this time even the calculus professor was speechless.

Unexpectedly, the magical girl suddenly said, "Since none of us know, why don't you ask the monster man?"

"Ask them, what exactly is the meaning of the preface?"

(End of this chapter)