The Last Sentinel

Ye Feng stared intently at the pi tablet above him. "May I ask what the fourth wall is?"

The advisor said, "Why don't we go report first, and then come back and think about the fourth wall and this reversal formula?"

Ye Feng shook his head. "No, now I can feel it! What is the fourth wall?"

Ye Feng's words, "I'm getting the hang of it," instantly brought a look of joy to Xuan Nu's face.

When they say "I'm getting into the swing of things," the second half of their sentence is often "This problem is solved!"

The Mystic Woman said, "The fourth wall is a term from film art, originally referring to the invisible boundary between the fictional world and the real audience; breaking it means the character 'steps out of the scene' and speaks to the audience."

"In scientific terms, film and television content is like the universe we are currently operating in. Outside the universe, there is a group of creators that we cannot observe, who are like the audience, calmly watching us living on the planet. The barrier between us and them is the fourth wall."

"Some scientists also interpret the fourth wall in a narrow sense as time. Time is an insurmountable wall, and time is also the progress bar that the Creator turns on our universe. If we want to break away from the Creator, we must be able to control the time progress bar ourselves, reverse time, and take back control from the Creator."

The advisor, arms crossed, looked at the stele commemorating the circumference of Pi, and said, "I've heard about the fourth wall a few times, but it's said to be taboo."

"That's right, it's a taboo!" said the Mystic Maiden. "And it's one of the few taboos that cannot be forgiven."

"After all, when an actor suddenly speaks to the audience, breaking this monopoly, the audience won't be angry because both the audience and the actor are human."

"But if an ant breaks the monopoly and speaks to the Creator, the Creator will be angry; this is an act of transgression."

"Those who rebel against the Creator under His watchful eye will be punished."

At this point, Xuan Nu looked at Ye Feng.

Ye Feng sat down in front of the stone tablet, took out a pen, and began to carve formulas on the ground.

In the chat group, a battle of wits among scientific giants is underway.

Master of Machines: Pi! What do you think I took it for! Come, let me use the Primordial Core of the Mechanical Universe to deduce it for you!

The deepest affection in Hongmeng is that the final data is useless; what matters is the formula that was derived and where the vanished one went. This is not a scientific question, but a metaphysical one.

Immortal Mage: Strictly speaking, mages are the combat branch of alchemists, and alchemists are, in essence, mathematicians and scientists. This is my area of ​​expertise. Come on, my God Mage Tower! Consume the Primal Magic Stones of the Universe and begin the deduction! It's just a formula. It only took me thirty-three cosmic years to deduce the law of conservation of all things. How could a mere pi stump me?

Fifteenth-realm martial artist: This is something I'm not good at! There's no other way, calling my little brother @Qingyuan Immortal Emperor.

Qingyuan Immortal Emperor: Big brother, what do you want from me?

Fifteenth-level martial artist: Mathematics! Look at the formula above!

Qingyuan Immortal Emperor: Brother, although cultivators are generally good at math, I'm a sword cultivator, and a sword cultivator of the Mind-Only Martial Path at that. Compared to math, I'm much better at biology. You've got the wrong person! I'll tag you here, @Tiansuanzi! Come out and do some math, or I'll send your entire clan on their way tonight!

Tian Suanzi: You son of a bitch, Qingyuan! Didn't we put our grudges behind us? Yet you still slaughtered my entire clan! Do you even have a conscience?!

Qingyuan Immortal Emperor: Hurry up and calculate! If you can't calculate it, I'll kill your whole family!

Tian Suanzi: A bunch of barbarians, asking for favors with such self-righteousness. Sword cultivators have had the worst reputation for a long time now, and I finally understand why... Stop calculating, stop tagging! Damn it!

People passing by stopped and watched with curiosity as Ye Feng copied equations and formulas all over the ground.

No one spoke loudly; instead, their eyes were filled with astonishment and doubt.

"What is he doing? Calculating pi with his brain?"

"If I remember correctly, the latest calculation of pi was 79.2 trillion digits by the supercomputer. The supercomputer spent a full year and consumed unimaginable resources, but it only reached 79.2 trillion digits and still hasn't figured out the inverse formula."

"Even a genius couldn't possibly surpass an AI, right? Who is this kid?"

"His name seems to be Ye Feng. He's a genius who was just admitted through a special exception. It's said that he's very talented in biomedicine and is the first genius in Luoyang in the past thirty years to be directly admitted without an interview."

"Even for a genius admitted through exceptional means, it's impossible for the human brain to calculate the reversal formula!"

"What is he scribbling about? Is this math?"

"Are you a biology major? That's such an amateurish thing to say. Don't tell anyone I know you when you go out!"

"What do you mean? Can you even understand his haphazard drawings?"

From the crowd, a young man with prematurely gray hair said, "Have you heard of Descartes? Coordinates replace thinking, establishing systems to connect the brain! Third-rate mathematicians use calculators, second-rate mathematicians write formulas, and first-rate mathematicians build coordinate systems and create models. Numbers are one-dimensional representations, formulas are two-dimensional representations, while coordinate models are three-dimensional representations. Any super mathematical genius must learn a superhuman logic to forcibly establish systems!"

"I'm afraid you won't understand, so let me give you an example. When an ordinary person is scratching their head over a geometry problem and can't come up with a solution, and their spatial imagination is about to run dry, a mathematical genius will write down a line: 'Using point A as the origin, AB as the X-axis, AD as the Y-axis, and AP as the Z-axis, establish a spatial rectangular coordinate system. The solution is here.' This is called forcibly establishing a coordinate system."

"Mathematical system construction is also known as mathematical kidnapping, which forcibly hijacks subjective imagination with objective laws. On this basis, Newton built a highway for calculus by using mathematical system construction, and Lagrange deciphered the laws of celestial motion by using mathematical system construction. Even the space navigation we use now is an expansion of mathematical system construction."

The person asking the question was slightly unconvinced, but when he looked up, he saw a golden nameplate hanging on the chest of the young man with prematurely gray hair, which read "Divine Capital A0S1".

The questioner immediately fell silent, lowered their head, and withdrew from the crowd.

The young man with premature gray hair stared intently at Ye Feng, who was forcibly establishing a system and labeling objective data in a very rough and even crude manner.

The young man kept saying, "The more reckless the approach to establishing a department, the more powerful the result! It's been a long time since we've seen such a rude mathematician in Shen Du. Hijacking mathematics, hijacking truth, forcibly establishing a department—truly impressive! No wonder he's a specially recruited genius. Compared to someone like me, a student from the youth genius camp with formal training, he's obviously ridiculously strong! My teacher wasn't lying; there are always people more capable than you!"

More and more people gathered to watch: thirty, one hundred, two hundred, three hundred.

The more people there were, the quieter it became. There wasn't a single fool among them; they were all geniuses.

Since they are geniuses, they all understand one principle.

Pretending to be knowledgeable in science is divided into different disciplines.

Biochemistry is a field where it's easier to show off, because there are genuine lucky break opportunities and clever tricks. In biology and chemistry, one person often gets lucky and can create a new material or component.

Mathematics is the hardest subject to show off in, because it is the strictest yet kindest father to all geniuses, and the touchstone for all geniuses. No one can play tricks on mathematics. Mathematics is either you know it or you don't. It is the most valuable subject, bar none.

Ye Feng's challenge with pi is a mathematical problem that the general public knows but is helpless to solve. This courage to challenge the most powerful BOSS, regardless of whether he succeeds or not, has at least proven that he is a genius among geniuses, much better than many guys who shrink back at the sight of pi. Whether Ye Feng succeeds or not, he deserves applause.

"What's going on!"

A middle-aged man studying a long robe rushed over. "Mystic Maiden, weren't you going to pick someone up? Follow the procedures! What are you doing here!"

Upon seeing the man, Xuan Nu quickly saluted and said, "Reporting, sir, Ye Feng says he might be able to solve the inverse formula."

The officer paused, staring at Ye Feng. "No way, he just arrived, hasn't even touched any equipment, no supercomputer, no engine, no AI assistant, and he's already jumping right into action?"

Xuan Nu recounted the events.

The middle-aged officer's crow's feet smoothed out, and he smiled broadly. "They say mathematicians are the last warriors on the front lines of individual heroism, able to contend with the very essence of the universe with just a pen and paper. Now it seems that's true. Have the logistics team send a small squad to keep an eye on Ye Feng. Everyone else, disperse!"

Xuan Nu nodded, "Yes! Everyone else, dismissed!"

The onlookers reluctantly left the square, and a five-person logistics team appeared at the dock at the edge of the square in a medical spaceship.

On the dock, a gentle breeze blew. A solitary old man paced along the edge of the dock. His old camel's eyes swept over Ye Feng, who was lying on the ground calculating. A hint of bitterness appeared on his withered old face. He muttered to himself, "What if I figure it out? What if I don't? Even if I do figure out the inverse formula and break the fourth wall, once you get over the fourth wall, you'll find a much larger wilderness. Without an anchored coordinate star map, breaking through the fourth wall is meaningless."