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

The Three-Body Universe, outside the Solar System, at the center of the two-dimensional foil attack.

"The encapsulation field... has disappeared."

As an unseen observer (singer) in the void softly chanted an ancient ballad.

The two-dimensional foil, which was originally unremarkable and looked like a small, crystal-clear strip of paper, began to... unfold.

"Buzz——————"

There was no explosion, no fire.

There is only one kind of... absolute fall.

One dimension of three-dimensional space, like a building whose foundation has been removed, collapses with a roar.

In Jiang Li's vision, the space in front of him began to undergo extremely strange changes.

Those three-dimensional stars, meteorites, and even light.

At the instant of contact with the unfolded surface of the two-dimensional foil.

Everything... has become flat.

They lost their thickness.

They were stretched infinitely, transforming into breathtakingly beautiful two-dimensional paintings.

This is a case of dimensional reduction attack.

It doesn't destroy matter, but rather reshapes the rules.

It aims to turn the entire solar system into a sheet of paper with no thickness.

……

"So beautiful..."

Sun Wukong scratched his head, looking at the rapidly expanding "star map".

"This painting skill is even more impressive than that of the painters in Heaven."

"but……"

Wukong looked at his golden cudgel.

"If I, Old Sun, were drawn in too, wouldn't it become... a shadow puppet show?"

……

"shadow play?"

Jiang Li stood at the bow of the Gluttony Ship. Thanks to the protection of the Gluttony Godhead, he was not yet two-dimensionalized.

He stared at the "big mouth" that was frantically devouring three-dimensional space.

shook his head.

"No, Great Sage."

"From a chef's perspective."

"This is not painting."

"This is called...making pancakes."

Jiang Li raised the huge, golden rolling pin in his hand, which was engraved with the Ruyi Jingu Bang mantra.

"Think about it."

"Dough is inherently three-dimensional."

"Press it down with a rolling pin..."

"Doesn't it then become... flat (two-dimensional)?"

"so……"

A glint of light flashed in Jiang Li's eyes.

"The principle of a two-dimensional foil is actually... a cosmic-level rolling pin."

"Since it wants to flatten the world."

"Then I'll..."

"Give it a hand!!"

……

[Cooking Technique: Dimensional Interference - The Golden Rolling Pin Method!]

"Super super super super super!!!"

Sun Wukong understood immediately and let out a loud shout.

The Ruyi Jingu Bang in his hand instantly grew larger.

It is ten thousand feet long and as thick as a mountain range.

Moreover, it is no longer in the form of a stick.

Under Jiang Li's rule, it transformed into a... super rolling pin, thin at both ends, thick in the middle, and with an extremely smooth surface.

"Get out of here!!"

Jiang Li and Sun Wukong joined forces to hold onto the planet-sized rolling pin.

Facing that two-dimensional foil that is expanding wildly...

It rolled hard onto it.

……

"Gurgle————"

The expansion of the two-dimensional foil was originally disordered and chaotic.

It's like a pool of mercury out of control, devouring everything in its path.

but.

The moment the golden cudgel and rolling pin pressed down.

A miracle happened.

"Make it...smooth!!"

Jiang Li roared.

"This piece is too thick! Thin it out!"

"This piece isn't the right shape! Roll it out into a round shape!"

"Trim the scraps!"

……

Collision of dimensional rules.

The two-dimensional foil was bewildered (if it were conscious).

Its rule is "to drop three dimensions into two dimensions".

Jiang Li's rule is to "roll the dough into a sheet".

These two rules... are surprisingly similar.

then.

Guided by the power of gluttony.

That dimensional reduction attack was originally enough to destroy the solar system.

It actually turned into a... large-scale pastry processing site.

The meteorites, light, and dust that were sucked in.

It will no longer become a chaotic picture.

Instead, the perfectly smooth surface of the Golden Cudgel pressed it into sheets of… crystal clear, as thin as cicada wings, radiating the luster of the starry sky… dimensional noodles.

……

"This is... [Two-dimensional foil crystal leather]."

Jiang Li reached out and tore off a large piece of paper (about the size of the moon).

I held it in my hand and shook it.

"Splash, splash."

It has an excellent texture.

It possesses both the absolute smoothness of two-dimensional space and the toughness of three-dimensional matter.

Moreover, it's completely transparent, so you can see the stars sealed inside.

"This leather..."

Jiang Li exclaimed in admiration.

"Used to make... crystal shrimp dumplings."

"They're a perfect match!"

……

Finding fillings.

"The skin is ready."

Jiang Li laid the huge "two-dimensional foil sheet" in space.

He turned to look around.

"Where's the filling?"

"Dumplings without filling are soulless."

His gaze pierced through four light-years of dark void.

It landed on... the Trisolaran fleet.

……

Panic gripped the Trisolaran fleet.

Four light-years away.

The Trisolaran fleet is retreating at full speed.

Ever since seeing the image of the dog eating the water droplet, the governor has ordered a retreat.

but.

They hadn't run very far.

Then I saw an even more incredible sight.

That two-dimensional foil, capable of destroying everything...

By those two "insects" (Jiang Li and Wukong)...

It was rolled out into a sheet of dough with a stick?!

"Is...is this a god-level civilization?"

The governor's thought processes were trembling.

"That's a dimensional weapon! They're just playing around with it?!"

……

"I've found you."

Just as the consul was still in shock.

A tremendous sound rang out across all channels of the Trisolaran fleet.

"Feed".

"The thousands of spaceships over there."

"Yes, it's you guys."

It looks like... a mantis shrimp.

"Since you're here..."

"Don't leave."

"Perfect..."

"My dumpling wrappers... are missing a filling."

……

[Cooking Skill: Spatial Capture - All in One Go.]

"Ergou! Snort!"

"Woof!!"

Er Gou (now known as Water Drop Dog) opened his mouth wide.

Its current ability to devour has been enhanced by the water droplets, and now it possesses the attribute of strong interaction force.

An irresistible gravitational wave traveled across a distance of four light-years.

They directly locked onto the Trisolaran fleet.

"No!!"

"Dehydrated! Everyone's dehydrated!!"

The consul shouted.

But it was too late.

The entire Trisolaran fleet, along with their mothership and the Trisolarans attempting to dehydrate.

They were all drawn in by an irresistible force.

……

"arrive."

A few seconds later.

Thousands of trimaran warships, like a bunch of shrimps caught on shore, hovered in front of Jiang Li.

"These are the Trisolarans?"

Through the outer shell of the spaceship, Jiang Li could see the dehydrated, fibrous organisms inside.

"Um……"

"After dehydration, it looks a bit like... dried shrimp?"

"Or perhaps...seaweed?"

"Never mind."

Jiang Li waved his hand.

"minced!"

"Tex! Get the shredder on!"

"Okay!"

Tex piloted the Thor mech, his arms now replaced with massive churning blades.

They unleashed a barrage of attacks on the group of Trisolaran warships.

"Click, click, click!"

The Trisolaran fleet... was destroyed.

It has been transformed into a special filling that is a mixture of metal and bio-cellulose.

……

Make dumplings.

"Putting stuffing in!"

Jiang Li placed the enormous "Three-Body Problem filling" onto the "two-dimensional foil crystal skin".

"Add some seasoning!"

"Cybertron engine oil (for freshness enhancement)!"

"Land of Light Plasma Ice Shards (Chewy and Springy)!"

"A seasoned, flavorful brine!"

……

"wrap up!"

Jiang Li, Wukong, and Nezha joined forces.

The huge two-dimensional foil sheet was lifted, folded, and pinched together.

"Make a pleat!"

Jiang Li's technique was extremely skillful.

In the void.

Huge, crystal-clear crystal shrimp dumplings (cosmic version), gleaming with metallic luster and sparkling with the soul light of the Trisolarans...

It's done.

Each one is as big as the moon.

Floating in space, it exudes an alluring... dimensional glow.

……

Steam.

"The dumplings are all wrapped."

"How are we familiar?"

Jiang Li looked at the Gluttony.

"Swann! Light that star engine the Galactus gave us!"

"We're going to use...stellar steam to steam it!"

"Received! Hengxing Boiler... Start!"

"boom----"

A captured star was released by the Gluttony.

Jiang Li placed those giant crystal shrimp dumplings above Hengxing (fixed by a gravitational field).

Using the high temperature of the corona on the surface of a star, perform... remote steaming.

……

The singer's confusion.

Just as Jiang Li was busy steaming dumplings.

In the distant depths of the universe.

On a spaceship shaped like a feather.

A humble, low-level intelligent life form responsible for cleaning up cosmic debris—the Singer.

Humming a song, preparing to clear the next coordinate.

Sudden.

He stopped humming.

The monitor in front of him displayed data about the solar system.

"what?"

The singer's simple mind (though extremely capable of calculation) was slightly confused.

"The two-dimensional foil... has unfolded."

"but……"

"Why didn't the entropy value at that coordinate decrease?"

"instead……"

The singer stared at the "Deliciousness Index" that was jumping wildly on the data panel (What the hell is this parameter?).

"It actually smells...good?"

……

"Is the two-dimensional foil broken?"

The singer scratched his head (if he had one).

"That's impossible."

"That was given to me by the elders... an absolute law weapon."

"I have to...go and take a look."

The singer turned the spaceship around.

Although he was just a cleaner.

But even the cleaners have their curiosity.

……

The consequences of taking paid time off to slack off.

When the Singer's spaceship jumps to the edge of the solar system.

He witnessed a scene he would never forget.

Several enormous, transparent spheres containing the remains of the Trisolaran fleet...

It is hovering above a star.

It is being baptized by the stellar storm.

And that two-dimensional foil he threw out...

It became the outer skin of these spheres.

……

"This works?!"

The singer's worldview was shaken.

"Treating dimensional patterns... as... a skin?"

"What level of civilization is this?"

"A marginal world? Or... a god-like civilization?"

Just as the singer was preparing to slip away quietly and go back to write a report saying "Cleanup failed, encountered a pervert."

One hand.

A hand holding chopsticks (two huge pieces of interstellar warship wreckage).

They suddenly appeared above his spaceship.

……

"Since we're already here..."

"Have some dumplings before you go."

Jiang Li's voice, through the power of Gluttony, was directly translated into the singer's language (song).

……

"No... I'm not hungry..."

The singer was about to speed away when he tried to escape.

But those chopsticks... were too fast.

"folder!"

"Click."

The singer's feather spaceship was precisely caught by chopsticks.

It's like having a piece of...cilantro sandwiched between your fingers.

……

"Oh?"

Jiang Li held the spaceship close to his face.

Looking at the trembling, luminous creature inside.

"This is...the singer?"

"She has a rather unique appearance."

"Like a...glowing jellyfish?"

"Perfect."

Jiang Li placed the singer, along with the spaceship, on top of the freshly steamed crystal shrimp dumpling.

"These dumplings..."

"Flaws as embellishments".

"Just think of it as... the caviar on top."

……

Mealtime: The Taste of Dimensions.

"Let's eat!"

Jiang Li greeted everyone.

Giant crystal shrimp dumplings, with thin skin and generous filling.

"Crunch."

Take a bite.

The skin made of two-dimensional foil has an extremely magical texture.

It's crisp on the palate, but chewy on the stomach, it's resilient in three dimensions.

It felt as if the space inside the mouth was being folded and unfolded again.

The Three-Body Problem filling inside.

It's a blend of the smoky aroma of metal and the freshness of dehydrated organisms.

In addition, there is the lubrication of Cybertron engine oil.

"Ugh!!!"

Tex ate with his mouth full of oil (the broth condensed from star steam).

"Boss! This tastes amazing!"

"I feel like I didn't eat dumplings..."

"It's... the very essence of dimensional reduction!"

……

"You should try some too."

Jiang Li said to the singer of "Caviar".

The singer trembled, extended a tentacle from the spaceship, and licked a dumpling skin at its feet.

"!!!"

The singer's body suddenly lit up.

He sensed it.

These dumpling wrappers... contain tamed dimensional rules.

If he can eat it...

He can master... the power to manipulate dimensions at will?

He would no longer be a lowly cleaner?

He can become...an elder?

……

"It smells so good!!"

The singer stopped running away.

He lay on the dumplings and began to frantically slurp them up.

"Delicious! Delicious!"

"I've worked in the cleanup department for tens of thousands of years... and I've never had such good staff meals before!!"

"Waaaaah... I want to switch jobs!!"

……

Epilogue: The gaze of the one who returns to zero.

Just as this absurd "two-dimensional foil dumpling feast" was reaching its climax.

The depths of the universe.

The real terror.

She woke up.

That's not the kind of cleaner a singer does.

That is... the restarter of the universe.

The one who returns to zero.

They are dedicated to restarting the universe from its low-dimensional dead end and returning it to a pastoral era of ten dimensions.

at this time.

The macroscopic consciousness of the Zero-Returner scanned this scene unfolding in the solar system.

[Dimensional rule reversal observed.]

[Entropy reduction was observed.]

[It was observed that... someone ate the weapon.]

……

Analysis: This entity (Jiang Li)... possesses the ability to reshape the rules.

[Conclusion: He may... hold the key to... the restart of the universe?]

【or……】

[Is he himself a...super-massive...energy source?]

[Command: Make contact.]

[Method: Deadline.]

……

"Um?"

Jiang Li, who was eating dumplings, suddenly felt a chill down her spine.

He raised his head.

Look at that seemingly calm, yet actually turbulent starry sky.

"We've finished this appetizer, the two-dimensional foil."

"It seems..."

"The real main course..."

"It's ready to be served."

Jiang Li wiped his mouth.

"I heard..."

"The most powerful weapon in the Three-Body universe is called... the Death Line?"

"A trajectory that reduces the speed of light to zero?"

"Isn't that...?"

Jiang Li remembered a snack she ate when she was a child.

"Jelly sticks?"

"or……"

"Ramen?"

"Swann! Two-Dog!"

"Ready!"

"Next dish..."

"We want to eat...cosmic-level cold noodles!"