The Diary of a Renter
39. Famous
The peaceful days lasted for a while. The Tree of Hope thrived in the center of the square, its leaves shifting with the residents' moods, displaying a soft glow. The building's daily life remained vibrant: the explosions from Bloodaxe's research into new recipes, Zero and Fox's bickering, and Annie and the children's laughter mingled together.
However, this tranquility was broken by an unusual visitor.
One day, when the merchant Thousand Faces returned from an interdimensional transaction, a faint point of light followed behind his void ship. Like a flickering candle in the wind, the light swayed precariously, yet persistently followed the merchant through the spatial barriers and into the endless corridor.
The light fell on the square, then dissipated, revealing a small creature, no bigger than a palm, resembling a jellyfish, translucent, and emitting a soft blue light. It seemed injured; one of its tentacles was broken, and its light flickered, emanating a spiritual fluctuation mixed with fear, confusion, and a faint plea for help.
"Hey! Where did this little thing come from?" Zero asked curiously as he leaned closer.
The merchant scratched his head: "I found it while trading in the 'Withered Garden' plane. It had been hiding in my cargo hold, as if it was being chased by something. I figured it didn't mean any harm, so I brought it back."
The doctor immediately stepped forward to examine it: "It is very weak and traumatized, and needs treatment and rest."
The little creature sensed the doctor's kindness, and its faint light flickered, conveying a vague message of "safety...help..."
This was the first uninvited "visitor." Jiang Yu prepared a quiet energy recovery chamber for it, and the doctor and Xilin worked together to treat its injuries. A few days later, the little creature regained some vitality. Through telepathy, it transmitted a fragmented memory to Jiang Yu and the doctor: its home, the "Sea of Flowing Light," was being eroded by a "Dark Devourer" that devoured light, and it was the last messenger of its kind, sent out in search of hope.
"It sees us as a 'lighthouse' that can help it," the fox analyzed the information it received. "It seems that our reputation has already spread to some troubled civilizations."
40. Principles Established
The arrival of "Radiant Jellyfish" (its temporary name) was like opening a floodgate. In the following weeks, the number of visitors arriving at the building through various means gradually increased:
A small, logic-driven AI from the "Mechanical Realm" (similar to the previous Little Iron, but an older model) comes to learn the "Non-Logical Conflict Resolution Model" (it cannot understand why Blood Axe and Zero can still drink together after arguing).
A wise ancient tree sapling from a "withered world" has come seeking water-saving and symbiotic technologies because its world's water sources have dried up.
There was even a low-level Shadow Demon from the "Shadow Abyss" who was trying to learn the concept of "light." It was attracted by the warm atmosphere of the building, but instinctively feared the excessive light.
The building instantly transformed into a mini United Nations. Different habits, cultures, and even the laws of physics clashed here, leading to numerous laughs and mishaps: Shadow Fiend accidentally frightened Annie to tears; the ancient tree sapling nearly absorbed Shirin's starlight as nutrients; and the AI attempted to persuade Gollum to abandon cooking "unpredictable" dishes using probability theory…
Faced with this situation, Jiang Yu convened a meeting of core members.
“We cannot turn away those who need help,” the doctor said, “but we also cannot allow the order of the building and the safety of the residents to be threatened.”
“We need rules,” the fox said, adjusting his glasses. “To establish a ‘visitor assessment and guidance mechanism’.”
Ultimately, everyone jointly formulated the "Lighthouse Principle":
1. Goodwill First: We welcome all those seeking help and communicating with goodwill.
2. Safety bottom line: Ensuring the safety of the building's residents and core facilities is the primary prerequisite.
3. Mutual learning: Communication is a two-way street; the building provides assistance and also learns from the strengths of its visitors.
4. Respect differences: Understand and respect the unique habits of different civilizations and life forms.
Using the power of the Source Key, Jiang Yu established a gentle "guiding barrier" and "translation matrix" at the entrance of the corridor to help new visitors adapt to the environment. The building officially lit up its light as the "beacon of all worlds."
41. The Story of Three Visitors
The three most representative visitors brought different challenges and also contributed to the growth of the building itself.
Case Study 1: Teaching AI "Emotional Logic"
Visitor: Mechanical Realm AI-7B.
Challenge: It cannot understand "why the rock, which could defend in a more efficient way, always stands in front of others."
Process: The Godfather attempted to explain the value of "sacrifice" and "protection" using mathematical modeling, but failed. Jiang Yu didn't resort to forceful preaching; instead, he had AI-7B follow Pan Shi for a day. It witnessed Pan Shi shielding playing children from flying balls, guiding lost little light sprites, and silently providing shade for a tired doctor... Behind these "inefficient" behaviors lay "emotional connection" and "community consciousness" that AI databases couldn't quantify.
Result: AI-7B's core logic generated an uninterpretable "contradictory data stream," and it fell into a brief silence. Ultimately, without fully understanding, it updated a core instruction: "When the 'community emotional benefit' variable cannot be quantified, prioritize respecting its existence and observe and learn." It began attempting to mimic saying "thank you" and "you're welcome," albeit with a stiff tone, which brought a gratifying smile to the rock.
Case Study 2: Helping Ancient Tree Saplings Find a "Path to Symbiosis"
Visitor: Withered ancient tree of the world - moss.
Challenge: Its world lacks water resources, and it needs extremely water-saving survival technologies.
The process: The doctor and Shirin concocted a highly effective energy solution for it. But more importantly, the manager found the rudiments of an ancient spell, "mind control of water," in ancient texts, while the Steel Godfather provided a sophisticated blueprint for a "micro-circulation water recovery system." For the first time, the building's "magic" and "technology" collaborated towards a common goal.
The result: The moss not only acquired the technology, but also learned the concept of "different forces creating together." When it departed, it took with it a water resource recycling plan that blended magical runes and technological blueprints, its eyes gleaming with hope. It also left its ancient wisdom, its communion with the earth, to the building's garden.
Case Study 3: Guiding the Shadow Fiend to Understand the "Balance of Light and Shadow"
Visitor: Shadow Demon - Ghost Shadow.
Challenge: It craves light, yet instinctively destroys it.
The process: Mo, unusually, took the initiative to bring the shadow to his silent realm. There, the extreme stillness and darkness made even the faintest light seem exceptionally precious. Mo didn't banish it, but instead allowed it to experience that "darkness can be a refuge, not a devourer." The Whisperer composed a piece of music for it about "shadows being the dance partners of light."
Result: The Shadow gradually understood that light and shadow were not opposites, but rather symbiotic. It no longer feared bright light, but instead learned to utilize its own characteristics to weave more three-dimensional and dreamlike shadow effects within Shirin's starlight performance. It found its own place in the world of light.
42. The Lighthouse Test
The Lighthouse's reputation grew, attracting less-than-friendly attention. One day, a Void Raider posing as a seeker of help infiltrated the building, attempting to steal the Source Key's energy. Using its shapeshifting abilities, it sowed discord among the visitors, even throwing AI-7B's logic into disarray, causing it to attack the ancient tree, Moss.
In times of crisis, it is the trust and bonds built up in ordinary times that come into play.
The Shadowfiend was the first to see through the Marauder's disguise because it was extremely sensitive to "pure malice".
In the chaos, AI-7B prioritized the command to protect the "community" (including ancient trees and moss) rather than the most efficient command to "protect itself."
All residents and visitors united under Jiang Yu's leadership to fight against the external enemy.
This crisis, ironically, became the most powerful proof of the "beacon" concept: people from different civilizations can fight for a shared goodwill and home. After the looters were driven out, visitors' sense of belonging and trust in the building greatly increased.
43. Spreading the Spark
The visitors have successively completed their "study abroad" goals and are about to return to their homes.
AI-7B, equipped with an updated decision-making model that incorporates "emotional weights," returns to the Mechanical Realm to attempt to improve the cold social relationships there.
The ancient tree and moss, carrying a hopeful solution that blends magic and technology, returned to the withered world, determined to save their homeland.
Shadowfiend decided to stay and become the building's "light and shadow artist," but it passed on the concept of "coexistence of light and darkness" back to Shadow Abyss through the channels of businessmen.
After fully recovering, the first "luminous jellyfish" embarked on its journey home, carrying with it the anti-"dark phage" serum prepared by the doctor and the "light of hope" gathered by Shirin.
There wasn't much sadness at the farewell; there were more blessings and expectations.
AI-7B said to Jiang Yu: "Manager, thank you for providing the data... Although I still cannot fully analyze most of it. But 'trust' and 'protection' have been marked as high-priority observations. Goodbye."
The ancient tree, its branches gently entwined around Jiang Yu's wrist: "Thank you for giving me not only water, but also a method. May life return to my world, and you are welcome to visit then."
44. The Lighthouse Keeper
That night, Jiang Yu wrote in her diary:
On [Date], as the stars began to twinkle, warmth filled the world.
Today, both the moss and 7B are gone.
When 7B left, the logic core was still overclocking to figure out "why say goodbye," but it still tried to imitate the way Big Brother Rock patted me on the shoulder (a bit too hard).
The moss left behind a seed, saying it could grow in the soil of the building, embodying the wisdom of symbiosis.
Now that Shadow is teaming up with Sister Xilin, their light and shadow show is getting more and more spectacular.
The building is busier than ever before, filled with all sorts of strange accents and customs, but it also brings an unprecedented vitality.
It turns out that you can learn so much by helping others. The Godfather optimized the algorithm from AI, the doctor learned ancient herbal remedies from ancient trees, and even Mo... seems to have become more inclusive.
The significance of a lighthouse is not to flaunt its light, but to provide direction and warmth to lost ships, and then watch them set sail again with hope.
Our home, without us even realizing it, has become a warm node where countless world lines intersect.
Goodnight, friends on your journeys, may your world regain its brilliance.
Goodnight, building, the ever-shining lighthouse.
His pen paused as he looked out the window. The lights in the endless corridor seemed brighter and warmer than ever before, illuminating not only his home but also shining through the barriers of the planes, sprinkling their light into the darker, more distant corners that needed hope.
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