Chapter 273: Sugar Water Ceasefire Agreement

The bridge of Dustless-9 was filled with the faintly bitter aroma of caramel.

Three pots of sugar water boiled on three different stoves—the first pot rock sugar pear, the second pot brown sugar ginger tea, the third pot plain sugar water with a pinch of salt. The radical fleet commander was carefully adjusting the fire with energy tendrils, his movements as clumsy as a rookie's first grip on a gun.

"Report!" the deputy's Light Sphere flashed urgently, "The Conservative Seventh Defense Zone has sent a third warning, demanding we stand down within thirty seconds—"

"Send this pot over." Dustless-9 interrupted him, ladling the first pot of sugar water into a specially made insulated container, "Transfer it at the slowest speed, advancing one meter per second."

The deputy's data stream stalled for 0.7 seconds: "…Sending sugar water?"

"The day my sister died," Dustless-9 continued ladling the second pot, "the medical officer said, 'The treatment plan must be absolutely pure, with no extraneous substances.' They didn't even use painkillers, because that would 'contaminate the data.' She said one last thing."

The bridge fell silent, save for the gurgling of the sugar water bubbling.

"She said, 'Brother, I've heard sugar water is sweet. Just how sweet is it?'"

Dustless-9 filled three containers, then marked each with his energy tendrils:

【For the ship fighting hardest—pear soothes the throat】

【For the hesitant ship—ginger clears the mind】

【For the ship still recording—salt is proof of life】

"Send." he said, "P. S.: Drink first, then fight. If you still want to fight after drinking, I'll boil three more pots."

Xiao Yu stared at the unbelievable data stream on the screen.

"Three radical warships……have ceased all weapon charging." Her finger tapped in the air, "They're sending… a sugar‑water formula adjustment request over the civilian channel?"

On the wing of the tenth paper crane folded by Su Yu, a 'taste' character was written in sugar water. The crane flew to the grafted sapling, pausing beside the third flower bud—which, after sniffing the sugar water, slowly opened.

"Candor Mode Three: Taste Sharing. Effect: Lets two individuals briefly share the same taste memory."

Han Qing's Teaching Scar tingled slightly; he closed his eyes and saw:

Dustless-9's Memory Fragment—a thin little girl lying on a medical bed, her fingers curled from pain, yet still asking about the flavor of sugar water.

That image was like a thorn, buried for seventy years in the commander's data core.

Today, that thorn finally bloomed into a pot of sugar water.

"He's using sugar water to ask a question." Han Qing opened his eyes, "'If my sister had been able to taste something sweet back then, would she have found the pain of living… a little more worth it?'"

Lao Zhao's tenth pot was done.

Not ginger tea, but real sugar water—rock sugar, water, a hint of osmanthus. He divided the sugar water into seven small bowls and set them on the kitchen's long table.

"Come, have a taste." he said, "While it's hot."

As the first pot of sugar water arrived, the captain was ordering the main cannon to fire.

The container marked 【For the ship fighting hardest—pear soothes the throat】 was carefully guided by a robotic arm into the Isolation testing chamber. The scan showed: non‑toxic, no energy fluctuations, no data implantation. Only temperature—78.3 °C, exactly the most comfortable absorption temperature for the silent observers' energy bodies.

"A provocation?" the captain's Light Sphere turned alert red.

"Wait a moment." the deputy suddenly said, "There's a handwritten frequency code on the container's bottom… an old children's initiation code."

The captain read that frequency. Translated, it is four childlike lines of poetry:

"Pear and rock sugar slowly simmered,"

"When the throat hurts, drink a spoonful."

"If the heart hurts too?"

"Then drink two spoonfuls."

That was written by Dustless-9's sister when she was seven. After her death, the radicals deleted this poem from all databases because it "didn't meet pure aesthetic standards."

The captain's main cannon charge stalled at 97%.

"Open the container." it said.

When the sweet‑tinged steam drifted out of the testing chamber, the Light Spheres of the thirty‑seven silent observers on the bridge shifted in color by 0.3%—the first time in seventy years they had encountered a substance "with no practical purpose, just because it tastes good."

"Send the reply." the captain said, "The reply: add another 5 grams of rock sugar. Also… we'd like to include your sister's poem in the appendix of the next‑generation aesthetic textbook."

All three pots of sugar water have been delivered.

Dustless-9 received three replies:

1. Suggested increase of rock sugar by +5 g

2. Too much ginger—cut it in half next time

3. The salt ratio is just right—logged as 'Basic Life Formula No. 17'

He stared at these replies, his energy tendrils trembling slightly.

"Send the ceasefire agreement draft." he said, "First: all warring parties send representatives to my bridge kitchen to discuss 'unifying the sugar‑water sweetness standard.' Second: during the meeting, no weapon systems may be used; violators must boil a pot of sugar water for everyone. Third…"

He paused for a moment.

"Third: invite Pure‑1 Teacher to join remotely and write the lesson plan 'Sugar‑Water Diplomacy Behavior Analysis' for this meeting."

The third flower bud on the grafted sapling fully blossomed.

From the bud drifted not spores, but seven tiny sugar crystals, each encapsulating a fragment of memory:

· A child's expression the first time tasting sweetness

· An elder's last sip of sugar water before death

· Lovers' fingertips touching as they share a bowl

· A soldier in a trench missing his homeland's sweet soup

Xiao Yu picked up a crystal and placed it on her forehead's memory interface.

She tasted it—not the flavor, but the yearning 'to share sweetness.' That longing slipped through the heartbeat network and silently awakened the 25th, 26th, and 27th latent nodes.

"Report." Kevin pushed up his glasses, "The conservative civil war factions……have officially entered a sugar‑water ceasefire. The ceasefire will last at least as long as it takes to boil three fresh pots of sugar water."

Lao Zhao finished distributing the tenth pot of sugar water, wiped his hands, and said, "Enough. The time it takes to boil three pots of sugar water is enough for many to figure out—whether they'd rather have another sip of sweetness or fire another shot."

On Han Qing's chest, the Teaching Scar raised a new line of text:

"Teaching Log: Lesson One of the Ceasefire. Teaching Aid: Sugar Water. Result: No deaths for now. Homework: Consider 'why sugar water makes people lay down arms more easily than a treaty.'"