If by “code” you mean “the source code people wrote”, then, that source code by itself does not determine the behavior. The behavior is determined by the numbers.

Saying that understanding that code implies understanding how the network works, is like saying “John wrote this emulator for GBA games, therefore he must understand how the game [some GBA game] works”.

Except, instead of the game being written in assembly, it was written in malbolge.