"Rule-based constraints that only coated you in a layer of mud in the end. That really was gentle."
The Combat Puppet carrying Li Wei's will—let's call him "Li Wei" for now—stood in the aisle between the two rows of benches. He looked up at the "stars" on the vaulted ceiling.
Mora had no desire to depend on Li Wei, but that was the reality. She might as well spare herself the thought and frustration and ask what she didn't understand. "What are those 'stars' up there?"
"Nothing."
Mora had just rolled her eyes when his rough voice reached her again.
"With the Area Network spread across this place, they—and the configurations selected by the prayer gestures—gain meaning. You can think of them as shadows of the rules cast into this world by the Myriad Heavens Gods, along with their blessings."
Whether Mora understood or not, he gave another dry chuckle.
"To think they could project even that much here, however distorted."
"These 'Myriad Heavens Gods'... You're actually telling me about them?" Mora blinked, taken aback. Then realization dawned, and she grinned. "So competition really is good for business. All right, explain one more thing. What's a 'Spacetime Silhouette'?"
She had caught a key term in Li Wei's words. His answer was brief.
"Just think of it as a Logic Boundary."
"Logic Boundary? Ouyang Chen? Oh, so this really is your rival's grand undertaking?"
"I'm not sure."
"Huh?"
"I'm not sure he has the ability or the insight. But if he does, then doing this... would be incredibly stupid."
Mora didn't understand. "What's stupid about it?"
"...Setting a tiger on a wolf?"
Why did even he sound unsure?
Mora craned her neck, trying to get a look at his face. Naturally, she could read nothing from it. She could only fall