A VPN creates an encrypted tunnel between your IP address (your computer actually if the VPN client software is on your computer) and the location of the VPN server. For example, I use a VPN that has over 35 cities and countries with multiple exit nodes (and different IP addresses) in each of those cities and countries. What the outside world sees when using a VPN is the VPN exit node IP address and the outside world should not in any way see your IP address if the VPN server and the VPN client on your computer are configured properly. What makes this even more useful is that the exit node can be used by multiple users (many 10s or possibly 100s of users) at any one time. If you use a VPN provider that does no logging (it is a matter of trust regarding the specific VPN as some do log) then there would be no audit trail back to your IP address.
If you want an relatively easy to understand explanation of VPNs and how they work then this is the best video on the subject of VPNs that I've seen even though it is a few years old. It is quite long but the first 10 minutes provide a basic description of how VPNs work. If you watch the video the VPN server that he mentions should be thought as the cities where you connect to with your VPN service and the client either being a program on your computer or on your router if it has VPN capabilities. If you are a newby to VPNs I'd not recommend the router method because all your house traffic would go through the VPN and changing to a different VPN server requires mucking with your router itself and also some services like Netflix may balk because of the VPN and not work. Having the client software on your PC, tablet or cell phone allow for you to change to a different VPN server location relatively easily.
As an example, I live in Tigard, OR. The VPN service I use has a server in Seattle. When I start my VPN program the path between my computer and the Seattle server is encrypted. Many of the exit nodes on the Seattle server have IP addresses with assigned geolocation addresses of being in the Dallas, TX area. So when someone checks my IP address they would see a Dallas area address. You can check the IP address that the rest of the world can see with tools like this:
https://www.whatismyip.com/
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