I was just fishing, how did I become a Great Old One?

On the palace square of the flat country.

That unprecedented "fractal feast" has lasted for three days and three nights.

The folded tyrant Mandelbrot's massive body was completely crushed into a giant pancake by the "Iron of Truth".

Its weight is simply unbelievable.

This pancake is enough to feed all the poor people in Line City, as well as the hungry nobles in the inner circle, until they are stuffed!

This unique ingredient, derived from mathematical rules, has a taste that is simply a dimensional miracle.

With each bite.

"Click—"

A crisp sound exploded in my mind.

You can clearly feel the countless delicate layers of flaky pastry cracking between your teeth.

That's not an ordinary layer of flour.

They were miniature geometric mazes that had been compressed and flattened.

The previously insane, infinitely nested structure was now physically locked within a two-dimensional plane.

It transformed into a pure, caramelized spatial texture.

……

In the center of the square.

Jiang Li sat cross-legged (the legs were drawn) on a flat white grid floor.

In his hand, he held a shiny black object.

That was the core fragment of the tyrant—the very heart of the Mandelbrot Collection.

The fragment was baked until it was jet black and glossy, with a hint of gold at the edges. It emitted a rich, ink-like fragrance and energy fluctuations that only higher-dimensional beings could perceive.

Jiang Li picked up the shard and took a small bite.

"Glug."

A warm current slid down his drawn esophagus and instantly into his stomach.

The [Gluttony Godhood] within his body emitted a joyful resonance at this moment.

hum-

This is more than just food.

This is a completion of the rules.

As Jiang Li digested the fragment, he was surprised to find that his "body" in this two-dimensional world had undergone a strange change.

He raised his hand (the line) and examined it carefully.

"The image quality... is better?"

Originally, even though it was a "beautiful colored comic style" exclusive to the main character, if you looked closely, you could still see some jagged edges on the pixels.

Since it's a dimensionality reduction, the resolution is limited.

But now.

His lines became incredibly smooth, like the ink strokes of a master in one go.

The color transitions on the body also became more natural and delicate.

Furthermore, his body is surrounded by advanced special effects such as "anti-aliasing" and "real-time ray tracing".

In this world full of rough lines, he is like a walking high-definition 4K display screen, out of place yet dazzling.

……

Beside him.

Odin and Abel were already having a great time eating.

The corners of their mouths (if any) were covered in black ink stains.

Odin's originally simple stick figure body has now become strong and powerful.

The limbs, which were originally like toothpicks, have now been transformed into bold, powerful lines in black font.

The toothpick spear in his hand had evolved to have a cold metallic luster, and its sharp point seemed capable of piercing paper.

"Cool!"

Odin roared, and the bubble text turned into bold black text.

"I feel my strength returning! These biscuits are amazing! They're even more filling than the roast meat from Valhalla!"

the other side.

Abel's black and white silhouette appears even more profound.

He seemed to blend into the surrounding shadows, an extreme darkness that concealed endless killing intent.

As for glutinous rice balls...

This great contributor was already stuffed.

It was lying on the ground, round and plump, like a perfect ball.

A group of children, shaped like triangles and quadrilaterals, were kicking it around.

"Send it to me! Send it to me!"

"That's a sacred ball! Touching it will guarantee a perfect score on your test!"

This is a special way for the residents of the flat country to express their reverence – the "passing of the sacred ball".

Tangyuan wasn't angry at all; on the contrary, she enjoyed the feeling of being "praised" by everyone (physically speaking), and would occasionally let out a "giggle" of laughter.

……

On the high platform.

Stanley—the "irregular polygon" who was once timid and cowardly, living at the bottom of society.

At this moment, it stands at the highest point of the palace.

Facing tens of thousands of graphic subjects below the stage.

It has just been elected by the entire nation as the new leader of the Flat Country, with an extremely prestigious title—"President of the First Republic".

On its polygonal chest hung a gleaming gold "Medal of Freedom," painted by Jiang Li himself.

Stanley took a deep breath (not actually using lungs, just a gesture), and a giant bubble of words slowly rose from above his head, drifting above the square:

My people!

The tyrant is dead!

The era of folding is over!

The audience fell into a deathly silence, which was then followed by a thunderous tremor.

Stanley's words continued to emerge:

Starting today!

[No more special privileges for round shapes!]

[No more polygonal class distinctions!]

All shapes and colors are created equal!

Every line has the right to extend freely!

Even if you are the ugliest, most irregular fragment, you still have the right to draw your own trajectory on this plane!

"boom----!!!"

A deafening cheer erupted from the audience.

Countless words converged, forming a storm of words.

Those irregular figures, once considered the lowest of the low, were moved to tears.

They broke through the guards' obstruction and embraced the once high and mighty regular polygonal nobles.

Baptized by both delicious food and freedom.

The geometric hierarchy of discrimination that has persisted in this world for thousands of years was finally shattered on this day.

……

The end of the banquet.

Jiang Li did not forget the original goal of this adventure.

That legendary bowl of noodles that can grant people endless stamina—【Mobius noodles】.

Although he had already eaten the "causal part" of the noodles in the previous match.

But the container holding the noodles—the Klein bottle—and the noodle recipe that was the prize are still invaluable treasures.

Jiang Li walked up to the transparent display stand.

The Klein bottle, which looked extremely distorted and intersecting with itself, was quietly suspended there.

"This is good stuff."

Jiang Li reached out and put it in his pocket.

This thing is a dead end in the two-dimensional world, but in the three-dimensional world, it's a real wonder.

It has no distinction between "internal" and "external", nor is there a maximum volume limit.

This means it can hold an unlimited amount of soup base!

This "unlimited refill hot pot" is practically tailor-made for Deep Blue Food Stall.

"From now on, if we're making hot pot, we'll use this to hold the soup. Whoever can drink it all up, I'll give them this shop for free."

Jiang Li thought to himself with a smug satisfaction.

Then, he picked up the sheet of formulas next to him, which was covered with complicated formulas.

"System, get to work."

Let's analyze it.

[Ding! Analyzing...]

[Analysis complete.]

[Recipe Name: Möbius Circular Pasta]

[Attribute: Conceptual Noodle (Dimensional Noodle)]

[Effect: The user will receive a temporary "Infinite Stamina" buff.]

[Principle: After noodles enter the stomach, they automatically form a Möbius strip structure, continuously undergoing self-digestion and providing a constant source of bioenergy, until the ring is broken (e.g., during urination or severe vomiting).]

[Note: This is the ultimate compressed ration, essential for long-distance interstellar travel and intense combat. One noodle lasts for ten days!]

"good."

Jiang Li put the recipe away with satisfaction.

"I'll feed Er Gou this from now on, so he won't cry about being hungry every day. His appetite is like a bottomless pit."

……

Everything has settled down.

The moment of parting also arrived.

At the entrance of the palace.

Stanley tugged at Jiang Li's sleeve (the fabric he had drawn) with reluctance.

Black ink tears streamed uncontrollably from its eyes, formed by lines.

Tick, tick.

It fell onto the white ground and bloomed into black flowers.

"Boss..."

Stanley's word bubbles trembled.

Are you really leaving?

"If you stay, I can bestow upon you the title of 'Emperor Emeritus'!"

"You control all the ink in the entire flat country! You can draw whatever you want!"

"All the round nobles will serve as your servants!"

Jiang Li smiled and patted Stanley on the shoulder.

Goodbye, Stanley.

"My journey is to the stars and the sea, not here."

"This place is interesting, but it's too 'peaceful'."

"and……"

Jiang Li blinked and said half-jokingly:

"As a chef, I still prefer thicker pancakes."

"A pancake that's too thin has no texture when you bite into it."

Stanley paused for a moment, then burst into laughter through his tears.

"Boss, you're really a weirdo."

It wiped away its tears, then suddenly seemed to remember something.

It reached into its own bosom (inside the lines) and rummaged around for a long time.

"Um... this is for you."

It pulled out a strange, crumpled ticket with jagged edges.

"I found this while sorting through the tyrant's belongings."

"It doesn't look like something from our world."

"It seems to be a ticket to... another two-dimensional realm."

Jiang Li took the ticket.

This ticket itself is very strange.

It doesn't look like an ordinary piece of paper; it's more like a panel from a four-panel comic strip cut out of a newspaper.

The ticket is not static.

Above it is an exaggerated exploding bubble, inside which is written a line of bold, constantly jumping artistic lettering:

【The Path to the City of Hot-Blooded Comics: Black and White Ink Domain】

There are also some onomatopoeic words next to it: [BOOM!] and [WHOOSH!] .

"A shonen manga?"

Jiang Li raised an eyebrow, a hint of interest flashing in his eyes.

"It sounds...much more interesting than cold, hard geometric shapes."

"System, check the coordinates."

[Ding! Coordinates confirmed.]

[Target: Volume 7, Second Chapter – Comic Dimension.]

[Description: This is a world composed of storyboards, halftone screens, speech bubbles, and speed lines.]

[Warning: The laws of physics here follow "cartoon logic."]

[For example: as long as you don't turn around, the explosion behind you won't hurt you; as long as you shout out the name of your attack, your attack power will double; villains are invincible when they transform...]

"That's interesting."

A smile appeared on Jiang Li's lips.

"Following the logic of comics?"

"So, doesn't that mean I, the 'protagonist,' am now on home turf?"

He turned around and shouted to his well-fed companions behind him:

"Ergou! Odin! Abel! Tangyuan!"

"gather!"

"Stop playing around! Time to move on to the next stop!"

All the "papers" quickly returned to their places.

Odin carried a gun, Abel gripped a knife, Er Gou stuck out his tongue, and Tangyuan rolled over.

Jiang Li waved the comic book ticket in his hand.

"This time, let's experience what it's like to be a '2D anime protagonist'!"

……

Jiang Li stuck the comic book ticket into the void.

He raised the Genesis Pen in his hand, its nib gleaming with golden light.

"Open the door!"

He drew a large "entrance" arrow on the ticket.

"Buzz—"

The small comic book ticket suddenly grew larger.

It transformed into a giant, black-and-white comic book panel frame.

The box is no longer blank.

Instead, it is a rotating ink vortex.

The sounds of fighting and explosions could be faintly heard coming from inside.

And those unique, exaggerated sound effects: "Boom!" "Crack!" "Thump!"

"Walk!"

Jiang Li took the lead.

He was like a speck of paint that jumped into a painting frame, leaping into that vortex.

Odin followed closely behind, shouting excitedly:

"A shonen manga? That's my domain! My youth has returned! This time, I'm going to be the second male lead!"

Abel coldly straightened his collar:

"Hopefully we'll find a decent opponent, instead of this geometric shape that only knows how to crash into people."

Tangyuan, clutching half a half-eaten Tyrant Cookie, rolled in with a gurgling sound.

"It's delicious...it's delicious..."

As the last bit of color disappeared into the vortex.

The storyboard frame rapidly shrank, eventually becoming a black dot that disappeared into the sky above the flat country.

Stanley and his people were left alone, gazing at the sky, unable to calm down for a long time.

……

[Transferring: Gaps between storyboards]

This teleportation experience was completely different from the previous dimensional drops.

Previously, it was the pain of being crushed by a road roller.

And this time...

It felt like being "turned" from one page to another by an invisible hand.

All around was pure white.

That's called "gutter".

This refers to the blank areas between panels in a comic book.

There is no time, no space here.

There is only a certain sense of flow regarding "narrative rhythm".

"Hurry up, everyone!"

Jiang Li's voice here transformed into floating bubbles of text, stretched out over time.

"Don't fall into the plot holes!"

Sudden.

A thick black line appeared ahead—that was the border of the new world's storyboard.

The crowd, like a group of ink dots that had crossed the dimensional barrier, crashed hard into the frame.

"Bang!"

A loud bang followed.

Jiang Li felt his body crash heavily to the ground.

No, to be precise, it fell onto the paper.

He suddenly opened his eyes and quickly looked around.

This is a world made entirely of black and white.

The sky was a pale white sheet of paper, and the clouds were like gray halftone dots pasted on.

The ground is depicted as a wasteland with rough lines, and the cracks in the ground are represented by "sawtooth lines".

The distant mountains are represented by large areas of "black paint" to depict shadows.

It has no color.

Even Jiang Li himself, looking down at this moment, was surprised to find:

The vibrant rainbow colors on her body were gone.

Instead, there are detailed black and white line drawings, and gray halftone shadows used to represent texture.

"Where's my color?!"

Wang Ergou looked at himself in horror.

It turned into a black and white husky, looking like a sketch.

"Woof! Why do I look like a funeral portrait?!"

"Stay calm."

Jiang Li stood up and patted the dust (which was also the dust from the drawing) off his clothes.

"This is the world of comics, and black and white is the dominant color."

"If it's colored, it's a color brochure, which is very expensive and usually only available on major holidays."

……

Just then.

A sharp whooshing sound came from afar.

"Whoosh—whoosh—"

At the edge of their line of sight, a group of stick figures with a simple drawing style, looking like random passersby, were running towards Jiang Li and his group in a panic.

The dialog boxes above their heads were full of gibberish and huge exclamation marks.

"Run! That's the 'Ink Demon'!"

"Help! My lines are coming apart!"

"Don't come any closer!!!"

And behind them.

Chasing after a gigantic monster made of extremely chaotic and scrambled lines.

The monster had no fixed shape.

It's like an overturned ink bottle, frantically smearing and devouring everything around it.

Wherever it passed, the fine lines on the ground were erased, turning into a pale nothingness.

【Ink Demon: An Unfinished Draft】

This is a collection of resentment from discarded drafts in the world of comics.

It is filled with jealousy and a destructive urge towards the finished manuscript.

"roar----!!!"

The Ink Demon let out a roar.

But this roar was not a sound wave.

Instead, a huge, spiked, exploding dialog box spewed out of its mouth.

The dialog box contained a large, bold, artistic font:

【ROAR!!!】

This materialized dialogue box, like a boulder, hurtled down on the fleeing crowd with a whooshing sound.

"Be careful!"

Jiang Li's eyes sharpened.

Although he had just arrived in this world and hadn't quite figured things out yet, he wasn't used to watching "Ink" run wild in front of him.

"Odin! Stop that word!"

"Leave it to me!"

Odin roared.

His current appearance is that of a meticulously crafted old man in black and white comics, with clearly defined muscle lines all over his body and several hard-edged shadow lines on his face.

The toothpick spear in his hand instantly transformed into a pitch-black spear covered in shadows.

"Whoosh—"

Odin leaped high into the air.

His movements created a series of exaggerated speed lines (automatically generated in the background).

"Ultimate Move - Gungnir - Thrust!"

"when!!!"

A loud bang.

The spear pierced fiercely into the huge lettering 【ROAR!!!】.

It actually produced a sound like metal clashing.

Sparks flew everywhere (the dots and sparks drawn).

In this world, sound effects text... is actually a physical entity!

And its hardness is astonishing!

"Get out of my way!"

Odin strained his arms, his muscles bulging.

The huge onomatopoeia was knocked away by his gun and crashed heavily onto the mountain next to him.

"Boom!"

They smashed a white gap into that blackened mountain.

"What the hell?"

Odin landed, and the impact caused a series of small "thump thump thump" sounds to appear at his feet.

"These characters are so heavy? Harder than stone?"

……

The Ink Demon became even angrier when it saw its attack blocked.

Its scruffy body suddenly swelled up.

Countless messy lines stretched out like tentacles, trying to turn this group of suddenly appearing, finely drawn characters into a black mess.

"It seems... the monsters here prefer 'graffiti'."

Jiang Li drew the Genesis Pen.

In this black and white world, his fountain pen was simply a magic pen.

"Since this is a comic book world, then we have to follow the rules of comic books."

Jiang Li's lips curled up slightly.

"System, activate [Scene Cutting Mode]."

He didn't rush in and attack directly.

Instead, he quickly drew a square frame around the area where the Ink Demon was located with a pen.

[Storyboard Blocked].

"Buzz—"

The space around the Ink Demon was suddenly locked by four thick black borders.

It found itself trapped in a separate "cell".

No matter how hard it crashes, it can't break through the black line that represents the "edge of the screen".

"It's trapped!"

Abel (a cold-blooded killer in black and white comics) pulled out his blood-stained knife.

"Boss, what do we do now? Paint it white?"

"No rush."

Jiang Li walked to the storyboard and looked at the Ink Demon inside, who was in a state of impotent rage.

His eyes changed.

It became like looking at ingredients at a farmers' market.

"This blob of ink... looks quite fresh."

"Moreover, it has a very thick texture and is shiny black."

"Like... sesame paste? Or perhaps squid ink?"

Jiang Li turned her head and looked at the passerby who had been rescued.

"Hey buddy, can I ask you for directions?"

"Are there any cities nearby? Or... are there any places that sell paper?"

The passerby (whose name is only a few strokes) pointed tremblingly into the distance.

"Over there... there's a [Serialized City]."

"But...you absolutely mustn't go..."

"That area is being taken over by the [Discontinuation Group]..."

"Anyone with a meticulous art style who enters will be forced to 'go on hiatus' (be killed)..."

"The discontinuation team?"

Jiang Li's eyes lit up.

"It sounds like a place with lots of drafts (ingredients)."

He glanced back at the ink demon trapped in the cubicle, looking like a jar of food waiting to be processed.

A big wave:

"Ergou, carry this grid."

"Let's go to that city where the serialization takes place."

"By the way, let's investigate whether the ink from this comic book world... can be used to make a [Bursting Black Gold Lava Bun]."