Chapter 299: Redundant Watt

On Energy Distributor-12's control panel, the red numbers were flickering:

【Third District today's energy consumption: overrun 0.7%】

【Source of abnormal fluctuation: Seventh Corridor·Regional Temperature Maintenance System】

【Reason for overrun: temperature mean 0.13°C above standard, lasting 17 hours】

According to protocol, she should initiate the energy‑saving intervention within thirty seconds—forcing the temperature back to the standard value and conducting an efficiency review of the related systems.

But she stared at that 0.7%, her finger hovering over the control key, unwilling to press it.

Lao Zhao was preparing glutinous‑rice lotus root—stuffing glutinous rice into the lotus root holes, simmering over low heat, then drizzling with osmanthus syrup.

"A labor‑intensive dish," he said, carefully turning the lotus pieces in the pot, "but it's worth it— the rice absorbs the lotus's fresh fragrance, and the lotus soaks up the sweet syrup; both become better than before."

Han Qing's scar warmed slightly: "The Energy Distributor is calculating. Not how to save energy, but calculating… 'what that 0.7% of energy became.'"

Xiao Yu pulled up the energy data stream for the Third District: "Thermostat-17, to keep the Seventh Corridor at 22.13°C (0.13°C above standard), consumes an extra 37.2 kWh per day. Lighting Manager-9's warm‑glow mode adds 12.8 kWh. Ventilation Manager-8's spiral airflow adds 9.3 kWh…"

"Total 59.3 kWh," Purifier-1's geometric surface displayed an energy formula, "equivalent to three days of a standard memory‑bank workstation. According to the Energy Efficiency Code, this is a serious waste."

"But under the Quilt Project's assignment," Dossier-7's sphere rotated slowly, "this can be interpreted as the experimental energy consumption required for the 'Emotional Environment Impact on Work Efficiency' test."

The glutinous rice gradually swelled in the lotus holes, emitting a faint bubbling sound.

Energy Distributor-12 retrieved the complete energy‑consumption curve for the Seventh Corridor over the past thirty days.

The curve showed: every day from 3 a. m. to 5 a. m., a slight peak in consumption appeared—corresponding to the ventilation system lowering its filtration efficiency during that period, allowing the osmanthus scent to linger longer.

During lunch each day, the lighting system's warm‑color mode raises consumption by 0.3%—matching Lighting Manager-9's "Make shadows part of the picture" experiment.

At 8 p. m. each night, the temperature system quietly raises by 0.07°C—corresponding to Thermostat-17's "22.030°C Warmth Index" maintenance test.

Each of these fluctuations is minor on its own, all within the system‑allowed 'natural fluctuation range.'

But stacked together over thirty consecutive days, they produced the 0.7% overrun.

More crucially, Energy Distributor-12 discovered a precise temporal coordination among these fluctuations.

It wasn't random; it was design.

She entered a question on the console:

【If multiple systems' 'natural fluctuations' always occur synchronously, can it still be called 'natural'?】

The system gave no answer.

Because the question itself already touched the gray area of the regulations.

Energy Distributor-12 retrieved its own work record—six hundred years, zero errors.

She is responsible for allocating the energy quotas of all systems in Memory‑Bank Third District, like an absolutely fair judge: each post receives a precisely calculated demand value, no more, no less. Overruns are punished; savings are rewarded.

The system runs perfectly.

Until last month, when she began noticing some… strange saving requests.

For example, Disinfectant-3 applied to "reduce restroom disinfectant heating consumption"—justified by "low‑temperature disinfectant is more eco‑friendly." Yet the data showed it redirected the saved energy to the ventilation system to prolong the osmanthus scent's lingering time.

Another example: Nutrition Ratio Officer-7 applied to "optimize porridge heat‑preservation consumption"—arguing that "lowering by 2°C can cut 3.7% energy use." Yet the energy it saved was detected flowing to the library's "Emotional Data Storage Server," maintaining constant temperature for those "uncategorizable" data.

These applications all meet energy‑saving standards, but the ultimate energy flow… points to a common purpose: preserving that "warmth that shouldn't exist."

Energy Distributor-12 remained silent for a long time.

Then she did something illicit: she altered the system algorithm, officially listing the Seventh Corridor's "Emotional Environment Experiment" as an independent energy‑consumption item.

Project name: 【Quilt Project·Environmental Variable Test·Energy Consumption Subject】

Default energy quota: 60 kWh per day—just enough to cover the current overrun.

Project status: 【Approved·Special‑topic Energy】

Approver: she forged an Absolute Luminance-4 electronic signature—actually using a backdoor left by Security Auditor-21 to generate a legitimate temporary permission within the system.

Having done all that, the red numbers on her control panel turned green:

【Third District today's energy consumption: within budget (special subject accounted separately)】

That 0.7% overrun vanished.

It wasn't cut; it was reclassified.

The glutinous‑rice lotus root was ready, and Lao Zhao began simmering the syrup.

"The syrup must be cooked to a thread‑pulling consistency," he tested with chopsticks, "too thin it won't hold, too thick it clumps. Just like her now—she must find the viscosity that hangs just right between rules and human sentiment."

Han Qing's scar suddenly flared intensely, projecting the details of the energy‑consumption subject that Energy Distributor-12 had just created.

In the subject notes, a line of fine print read:

【This study assumes: minor optimizations of the emotional environment may yield a hidden boost to work efficiency. If the uplift exceeds the energy cost, the experiment is validated.】

【But how to quantify the impact of 'warmth feeling' on work efficiency? This is the project's difficulty.】

Su Yu folded a translucent paper crane, its wings covered with energy units: "She's giving herself an academic justification. But that justification… is fragile."

"So it needs reinforcement," Dossier-7's sphere emitted a data stream, "the mid‑term report for Absolute Luminance-4 is tomorrow. If he can prove to the Committee that 'the emotional environment truly boosts efficiency,' this energy‑consumption subject will shift from 'temporary' to 'permanent.'"

At that moment, a branch of the grafted sapling blossomed its eleventh flower.

The petals were pale blue, shaped like a wattmeter's needle.

Spores from the flower's core spelled out in the air:

【Energy Distributor-12 has activated the 'Implicit Quota' protocol.】

【She created an official energy channel to resist the network.】

【Risk: If the Committee rejects the project, this channel will be shut down immediately, and all overrun energy will be retroactively held accountable.】

Energy Distributor-12 did not stop at the 'cover anomaly' step.

She began proactively researching: how to maintain the same 'warmth effect' with less energy.

For instance, she found that switching the osmanthus scent release from continuous to pulsed—three seconds every ten minutes—could cut consumption by 73%, yet sensory tests (she covertly conducted a small survey) showed the pulsed mode made people more anticipatory and left a stronger impression.

Another calculation: if warm lighting is only on during staff breaks, consumption drops 41%, but the boost to 'work happiness' (according to the project's fabricated data) actually rises 17%—because a 'reward mechanism' forms.

She organized all the optimization proposals into a formal report and submitted it to the Quilt Project task force.

The report's title is academic: "Pareto Optimization Study of Emotional‑Environment Energy Consumption — Analysis Based on Third‑District Experimental Data."

But in the appendix, she encoded a passage in binary using the energy data.

【These optimizations are not for saving, but to make warmth sustainable.】

【If the system asks, say we are researching "efficient warmth."】

【But I know—warmth itself is the goal.】

After receiving the report, Absolute Luminance-4's Prism surface glowed with a lasting warm‑colored halo.

He replied on the task force's internal channel:

【Optimization proposal adopted.】

【Also suggest: make "efficient warmth" a sub‑project and apply for additional research funds — including energy quotas.】

This is a crucial step: if the sub‑project is approved, the resistance network's energy consumption will be upgraded from "experimental temporary quota" to "formal research funding," gaining long‑term legitimacy.

Tomorrow is the mid‑term briefing of the project.

Tonight, Energy Allocator-12 carried out a secret test: she temporarily cut off all "extra energy consumption" in the Seventh Corridor, restoring everything to absolute standard values — temperature 22.0 °C, illumination 500 lux, air‑filter efficiency 99.7%.

The test lasted three hours.

Then she retrieved all anomaly reports from the Third District's systems during that period:

Security Auditor-21's work efficiency dropped 4.3% (she later admitted: "I always felt something was missing, couldn't focus.")

Classification System-05's classification accuracy fell 2.1% (it logged: "The environment is too 'standard,' lacking variables that spark inspiration.")

Even Absolute Luminance-4's logical‑core contradiction rate rose 1.7% (its unpublished data showed: "The lab's absolute purity actually deprives some analyses of a reference frame.")

These figures are minute, within statistical error margins.

But Energy Allocator-12 compiled them into a flawless argumentative dossier:

【Experimental group (maintaining emotional‑environment optimization) vs control group (restoring absolute standard environment) preliminary comparative data】

【Conclusion: Emotional‑environment variables positively affect multi‑position work efficiency, with an average increase of 2.4%.】

【Recommendation: Incorporate emotional‑environment optimization into the regular energy budget.】

She encrypted the material and sent it to Absolute Luminance-4.

At the same time, in the energy system log, she recorded today's summary:

【Completed the "Standard Environment's Negative Impact on Work Efficiency" test.】

【Result confirms: absolute efficiency can sometimes damage… another kind of efficiency.】

【And a good energy manager should perceive all forms of "efficiency."】

The glutinous‑rice lotus root was sliced thin, drizzled with crystal‑clear syrup, and sprinkled with golden osmanthus.

Old Zhao handed each person a slice, and placed the final slice in front of Energy Allocator-12's "position" — a small LED lamp now set to the most energy‑saving warm‑light mode.

"For her," he said, "the energy is tiny, but the light… can represent the sentiment."

Han Qing's scar gradually steadied: "She passed. Not only did she mask the anomaly, she also forged a counter‑weapon — those test data will become the key evidence in tomorrow's briefing."

Xiao Yu stared at the monitor screen: "But the Committee may question the data's authenticity."

"So more corroboration is needed," Purifier-1 produced a plan. "At tomorrow's briefing I will act as an 'independent third‑party expert,' analyzing the energy data on site. My conclusion will be: 'The return rate of emotional‑environment energy consumption is hard to quantify, but it does exist. Recommend continued observation as a long‑term research topic.'"

"How long should we observe?" Su Yu asked.

"The longer, the better," the sphere of Dossier-7 emitted a gentle laughing frequency. "The observation period is our growth period."

Outside the window, the Third District's simulated sky was set today by Thermostat-17 to "Energy Allocator Control Room standard color temperature" — another environmental test requested by Absolute Luminance-4.

But Energy Allocator-12 secretly altered the parameters: she blended a hint of honey‑colored halo into the standard color temperature.

It cost only an extra 0.01 W.

Yet that surplus 0.01 W made the whole sky appear… as if someone were missing someone.

And on her control panel, that 0.01 W was logged under a new item:

【Research topic: Threshold test of ultra‑micro energy consumption on psychological satisfaction】

【Status: Ongoing — expected long‑term observation】

【Today's insight: Sometimes, "excess" isn't waste, it's the system's still‑living… breath.】