Chapter 246: Four Thousand Circles and a Bowl of Tangyuan

When Efficiency-1 arrived at Earth, it brought an astronomical number and four thousand Light Spheres.

The astronomical number was the conservative faction's opposing vote count aboard the mothership: seventy-three million. The four thousand Light Spheres were volunteers who had broken through the conservative faction's blockade to voluntarily connect to the emotional network—each Light Sphere maintained the standard perfect circle of a silent observer, but their surfaces rippled with faint light of different frequencies, like nervous breathing.

"They voted that 'aesthetic research may contaminate logical purity.'" Efficiency-1's Light Sphere was a calm deep blue. "So we rebutted with the Third Law of the 'Fundamental Laws of Aesthetics': 'The defensive value of aesthetics can be verified through practice.' Then we applied for a 'field study.'"

Han Qing looked at those four thousand Light Spheres trembling faintly in the air—like a flock of young birds leaving the nest for the first time. He asked, "Field study?"

"Yes." A lopsided circle surfaced on Efficiency-1's Light Sphere—it was the osmanthus flower that Slow-Learning-8 had drawn. "The research topic is: 'Whether the civilizational resilience carried by a bowl of tangyuan possesses frequency density sufficient to resist the Harvesters.'"

A Light Sphere designated "Curiosity-17" drifted forward, the light patterns on its surface flickering rapidly: "According to the data previously transmitted by Mr. Han Qing, the invasion currently suffered by GuiHuaYuan is classified as an 'aesthetic-source extraction-type attack.' We calculated four hundred defense plans; the optimal solution is to construct a 'Beauty of Rebirth Frequency Barrier'—but this requires at least three thousand emotional anchors."

The Light Sphere paused, its color shifting to pale yellow (nervousness): "We four thousand individuals… have no emotional anchors. May I ask: is there still time to learn how to establish anchors now?"

The question was asked so earnestly, like asking "is there still time to learn how to breathe now." Su Yu smiled and pulled four pieces of colored origami paper from her pocket—red, yellow, blue, and green.

"There's still time." She began folding. "An anchor doesn't need to be complex. It can be a color, a tactile sensation, or…"

She folded four paper birds of different colors and placed them on the ground: "Something you're willing to protect."

Four thousand Light Spheres simultaneously descended, circling the four paper birds. Curiosity-17 cautiously touched the red paper bird's wing with its halo, and then the entire Light Sphere suddenly turned pale pink.

"Record: tactile feedback triggered a spectral shift." Its voice carried a trace of confusion. "This shift… has no logical utility. But I want to touch it again."

Zhao Xiaoshu stood at the entrance to the Bridge Space, holding a bowl of still-warm sesame tangyuan—these were the last two he had insisted on keeping, saying he wanted to "use them as teaching aids for the new teachers."

"I'm Zhao Xiaoshu." He spoke to the Light Spheres, his voice still somewhat weak. "I've lived in the Bridge Space for seven years. I know how to 'see' the cracks in frequencies—the cracks the Harvesters are prying open."

He scooped up a tangyuan and held it before the Light Spheres: "This tangyuan—from the sesame being buried in the soil, to being dug up, to being roasted fragrant, to my father's hands wrapping it in glutinous rice skin—carries an entire frequency of 'being alive.' What the Harvesters want is 'the beauty of termination,' but we can show them this—"

He gently punctured the tangyuan's skin with his spoon; the sesame filling slowly flowed out, and the steam condensed into white mist in the cold air.

"—'The beauty of continuation.'" The youth said, "Hot, flowing, something that will disappear but also be remembered."

The Light Spheres collectively turned warm orange. Curiosity-17 recorded: "Theoretical supplement to 'the beauty of continuation': the value of beauty lies not only in the moment of existence, but even more in its ability to continue vibrating through other carriers. Requesting that 'sesame tangyuan' be classified as a first-tier sample in the aesthetic defense strategy."

Old Zhao stood behind his son, his hand resting gently on his shoulder. He had performed this action seven times—in the Bridge Space's projections, he had done it countless times, but this was the first time he touched a real, warm shoulder.

Zhao Xiaoshu did not turn around, but his shoulder relaxed slightly, leaning into his father's hand.

Key actions conveying information: micro-expressions and Light Sphere color changes

The lesson began. Efficiency-1 divided the four thousand volunteers into four groups:

The first group learned "tactile memory." Su Yu taught them to use their halos to touch different materials—Old Zhao's wrench (cool metal), a grafted sapling's leaf (warm crystal), a teapot (coarse clay). Every Light Sphere that had touched something would retain a miniature texture pattern of that material on its surface.

The second group learned "taste simulation." Xiao Yu used light prints to transmit the taste frequency of sesame tangyuan—a composite waveform of sweet, fragrant, glutinous, and hot. After the Light Spheres attempted to "taste" it, they collectively turned warm amber, and three of them even began spinning spontaneously, like happy children.

The third group learned "the beauty of the useless." Kevin opened the "Possibly Very Important Small Matters" folder and displayed those records with no survival value: the mucus trail left by a snail after rain, a smiley face accidentally formed from discarded parts, the rising trajectory of steam when Han Qing brewed tea. The Light Spheres fell silent for a full ten seconds, then Curiosity-17 said softly: "The 'uselessness' of this data… is itself a form of beauty. Because only a living civilization would preserve useless things."

The fourth group was personally led by Han Qing, learning "the impulse to fight for something."

He stood before the sapling, pointing at the deep purple invasion signals constantly flickering along the crack's edge: "What the Thirteenth Civilization is stealing is not just GuiHuaYuan's energy. They are stealing the very concept of 'rebirth'—because if they can prove that the beauty of rebirth can also be harvested, then the last hope of all civilizations will be extinguished."

He turned to the Light Spheres: "You can choose not to participate. This is not part of the required content for the field study."

Four thousand Light Spheres fell still simultaneously.

Then, Curiosity-17 was the first to drift before the sapling, wrapping a segment of the crack with its halo. Its color turned a resolute deep green: "My first tactile memory (the red paper bird) was established thirty-seven minutes ago. If the opportunity to learn to establish more memories is lost now, that memory will become 'the beauty of termination.' I choose to protect the possibility of its continued existence."

One by one, the Light Spheres drifted toward the sapling. No grand declarations, only concise statements of calculated results:

"Choosing to protect the right to learn."

"Choosing to continue the data collection process."

"Choosing to let the 'beauty of the useless' database continue expanding."

When the last Light Sphere was in position, four thousand individuals simultaneously released frequencies—not Emotional Frequencies, but the frequency of "choice." It was the will-waveform of rational beings who, fully aware of the risks, still decided to act.

Four thousand "choice frequencies" began to weave. Centered on the sapling, they built outward into a translucent dome—not a rigid energy shield, but a soft, slowly undulating membrane.

The membrane's material was the concrete manifestation of those learning outcomes: the wing texture of the red paper bird, the steam waveform of the sesame tangyuan, the metallic sheen of the wrench, the data streams of the beauty of the useless… all these "living" details were woven together to form a barrier.

When the Thirteenth Civilization's deep purple invasion signal again struck the barrier, something wondrous happened.

The invasion signal was not repelled but was "invited" inside the barrier—like reaching a hand into warm water. Within the barrier, the invasion signal was forced to "experience" what it was trying to harvest: it tasted the sweetness of sesame tangyuan, felt the softness of the paper bird, saw the fleeting beauty of the snail's trail after rain, and finally, it came into contact with the "choice memories" of four thousand Light Spheres.

The deep purple signal began to change color.

From greedy deep purple, to confused purplish-red, to hesitant pale lilac, and finally… it settled on a gentle pale pink. It no longer attempted to invade but began to imitate the barrier's undulation frequency, clumsily attempting "symbiosis" like a baby taking its first steps.

Xiao Yu's light prints flickered violently: "The invasion signal… has been converted! It's now part of the barrier, broadcasting the frequency of 'the beauty of rebirth' outward!"

On GuiHuaYuan's real-time map, the grayish-white areas at the edges began to be suffused with pale pink. Yun'ai transmitted intense vibrations of joy through the crystalline paper crane—those vibrations reached Han Qing's chest, and the tear-drop fruit bloomed its eighth tiny transparent flower.

Just then, Efficiency-1's Light Sphere suddenly turned the bright red of an alarm.

"The mothership has issued a mandatory recall order." Its voice remained calm, but the Light Sphere was trembling slightly. "The conservative faction has activated the 'Logic Contamination Cleanup Program.' All individuals who participated in the field study must return within three hours to undergo memory review—the review standard is 'deletion of all non-essential aesthetic data.'"

Four thousand Light Spheres dimmed simultaneously.

Curiosity-17 drifted before Han Qing, its light patterns flickering rapidly: "If tactile memories are deleted… will I forget the texture of the red paper bird's wing?"

Han Qing looked at it, then at the gently undulating lights in the barrier—those were four thousand lives that had just learned to "like."

"Yes," he said honestly. "But after deletion, you can learn again."

"What you relearn… will it still be the same bird?"

This question silenced everyone. Su Yu's folding hands stopped, Old Zhao gripped his wrench tight, and Zhao Xiaoshu hugged the bowl of tangyuan close.

Efficiency-1's Light Sphere color struggled between red and blue, finally stabilizing into a color that had never appeared before—a resolute hue interwoven with deep purple and gold.

"Interim supplementary clause to the 'Fundamental Laws of Aesthetics.'" It announced, its voice projecting toward the mothership: "'Once an individual voluntarily becomes a carrier of beauty, that carrier identity takes priority over the original civilizational identity.' We four thousand individuals hereby apply to become permanent components of the 'Beauty of Rebirth Barrier.'"

It turned toward Han Qing, and a perfect, textbook-grade lopsided circle surfaced on its Light Sphere:

"Teacher, can the next lesson teach us… 'the aesthetics of defection'?"

The barrier glowed gently in the night, like a ring woven from four thousand choices placed on Earth.

Han Qing brewed tea—this time using ordinary green tea, because the dried osmanthus had run out. As the tea fragrance rose, he said to those four thousand Light Spheres waiting for an answer in the air:

"Defection doesn't require aesthetics. You only need to remember what you are protecting at this moment—"

He pointed at the barrier, pointed at the sapling, pointed at the tangyuan bowl in Zhao Xiaoshu's arms:

"—and then, don't let go."