364 This World (19)
◎Opening Day (II)◎
Before entering the bookstore, Yao Wenlan and Qi Simin really believed the owner's words and thought that this store was no different from ordinary bookstores on the roadside or in shopping malls.
After passing through the star gate, the scene in front of them was neither the usual bookstore nor the hot spring hotel.
The hot spring hotel was full of softness and warmth, while the bookstore had a sense of emptiness and silence.
The huge space, the bookshelves were neatly arranged, the silver-gray floor, the white walls, and the lacquered corridors in the middle of the bookshelves spiraled up and extended infinitely, revealing an indescribable depth.
There were few customers in the store. Cleaning robots were gliding quietly in the corridors. In the corners of the aisles and behind the cash registers stood tall, cold, human-shaped metal statues.
Qi Simin could not help but lean towards Yao Wenlan.
She finally understood why Lu Yao would not allow ordinary human customers to enter this store.
Seeing a normal store everywhere made people shudder inexplicably. It was like the cold future world in a fantasy novel. The flesh and blood of human beings were small and fragile in the vast and boundless universe.
Yao Wenlan was no more relaxed than Qi Simin. After all, she had rich life experience and had seen big scenes. Even if she was worried, she did not show it on her face.
In the past half month, Lu Yao has expanded and renovated the stores on the shopping street to varying degrees.
The structure of the bookstore has been completely changed. According to Lu Yao's original idea, inspired by Borges's poem "God gave me books and night at the same time, which is a wonderful irony" and "I have always secretly imagined that heaven should look like a library" (1), the ordinary bookstore was transformed into an infinite corridor.
The bookshelves that extend endlessly to the sky around the corridor are based on the Jianmu and Xiran of the Floating World Continent. The appearance is directly based on Lu Yao's Wanjie Bookshelf. The whole is an infinitely enlarged version of the Wanjie Bookshelf.
The Infinite Corridor is a collection of the most advanced mechanical technologies in the star domain. It uses rare metals with excellent ductility and toughness to create intelligent stairs that can be freely extended and rotated. The store is also equipped with an artificial intelligence book spirit, which can find the books needed by customers and answer reading questions at any time.
Lu Yao also applied to Jilan to increase the number of volunteers. Now there are six volunteers on duty in the store.
The volunteers are rotated every eight days, and they come from districts one to six.
When the bookstore mission was completed, Guandao officials relaxed many of the rules and regulations for the bookstore, but it did not include the right to screen volunteers in the first and second districts.
In order to open up the volunteer rights of serious criminals in the first and second districts, Lu Yao once met with the warden of Guandao.
No one knows what the store owner and the warden said, but soon after the interview, the approval for the selection of volunteers for the first and second zones was approved.
The bookstore's warehouse was moved to the expanded basement, and the live broadcast area was on the 66th floor of the Infinite Corridor. There was a silver sphere suspended in the air, which was the new live broadcast area. The
virtual reading room was set up by Lu Yao on the 132nd floor of the Infinite Corridor. The virtual scenery around the reading room was reset. The sky was blue, the clouds were white, and the floor of the reading room was a huge cloud. The view was wide, and occasionally birds could be seen flying by.
The virtual reading room has been completely transformed into a study room standing in the clouds. The surrounding scenery changes with the seasons, and sometimes even switches to a mountain, lake, deep forest, or deep sea somewhere in other worlds on the shopping street. Lu
Yao is like an artificial intelligence that suddenly develops self-awareness, and he uses his own power to cover up the traces of divine power left by other gods on the shopping street bit by bit.
The expanded bookstore is brand new and more popular with customers than before. Star netizens who can only see the real scene of the bookstore through live broadcasts are always drooling when they see the infinite corridors and the bookshelves of all worlds.
When Yao Wenlan and Qi Simin entered the store, the reason why the store was quiet was that it was not yet the prisoners' rest time, and the customers were still working in various districts.
Before the three of them approached, the tall human-shaped metal puppets standing silently in the aisles and at the cash registers suddenly moved. The puppets, which were much taller than humans, brought an indescribable pressure when they walked over.
Qi Simin instinctively took a step forward and grabbed Yao Wenlan's hand.
Yao Wenlan also held her daughter's hand tightly in return.
The metal puppets stopped one meter in front of them, and bowed their heads in a neat line.
"Boss, you're back."
Leading the way was the deputy store manager Ya Luan, followed by the robot Yin Hua, and the third row was the volunteer store clerks selected from various districts of Guandao.
Lu Yao nodded slightly: "Thank you for your hard work. Ya Luan, has the mechanic come over yet?"
Ya Luan shook his head: "Five minutes ago, Shu Ling told me that you were back, and I contacted the mechanic and Prison Guard 0815."
Lu Yao nodded: "I moved up the meeting time. Maybe they haven't finished their work yet, so there's no rush."
Ya Luan and the clerk looked at Lu Yao with sharp eyes and did not move.
Lu Yao leaned over: "These two are customers, you go and do your work, I'll take them around the store. The mechanic and the prison guard will come over later and take them directly to reception room No. 1."
After the clerk stepped back and was a little further away, Qi Simin couldn't wait to ask: "Are these... robots?"
She could only think of this possibility.
Lu Yao pointed at Yin Hua and said, "Only the silver one is a robot."
Qi Simin was shocked: "What are the others?"
Lu Yao: "People."
Yao Wenlan and Qi Simin were both shocked.
People?
How could they be people?
Wearing armor?
Lu Yao led the two people onto the Infinite Corridor, saying calmly: "It's empty."
Qi Simin: "What's empty?"
Lu Yao: "The interior of those steel bodies is empty."
Qi Simin was incredulous: "How is that possible?"
Lu Yao waved to Ya Luan and waited for him to come over: "They have never seen a robot."
Ya Luan understood and skillfully raised his hand to remove the steel skull. There was no flesh or skin at the neck connection, only a metal skeleton as thin as a bamboo pole, and the head was empty.
After showing it to the guests, Ya Luan reattached the head and returned to the work area.
The mechanical technology of the star field has also been updated in a short period of time. Today's electronic computers are much smaller than before and can be installed anywhere inside the mechanical body. The head is no longer the weakness of the robot.
The emergence of books did not stop the development of mechanical technology, and even provided many new research directions for mechanical technology researchers.
Human beings in the star field continue to develop towards the extreme direction of machinery in an unstoppable manner, but some people choose to switch back to their native bodies and no longer use mechanical bodies; more people choose to establish a balance point between mechanical bodies and native bodies.
How to choose depends only on what kind of life you want to live.
Relevant departments in the star field are improving the protection of native humans, native bodies and gene pools.
Some people believe that if machines are the fangs, claws and wings that weak humans show to the world, the native body is the root system of humans.
Without the root system to continuously absorb nutrients, no matter how powerful the mechanical body is, humans will eventually die.
Human growth requires not only material nourishment, but also profound and rich thoughts.
The existence of bookstores is like a restaurant in the ordinary world, which always provides food to nourish the souls of people who are lost and trapped in a small world.
Lu Yao sometimes thinks about the meaning of the existence of shopping streets. He always feels that shopping streets are not indispensable to the world, but just provide one more choice for all living things, extending a new road under their feet.
Qi Simin still didn't believe it: "How could that thing be...human?"
Lu Yao: "Humans in this world choose to evolve towards machinery. They pursue powerful strength and lossless efficiency. In order to keep up with the times, many people choose to abandon their original bodies step by step and replace them with various metal parts, just like these robot shop assistants you see."
Yao Wenlan and Qi Simin slowly digested what they saw and finally understood why Lu Yao chose to see patients in this store.
Qi Simin's mind was greatly shocked. After losing her right eye, she lost too much in just half a year. She couldn't understand that humans in this era actually chose to actively abandon intact organs and would rather become ignorant metal dolls.
Lu Yao: "The mechanical technology in this world has developed to the point where it can completely replace the physical body. For humans in this world, the body is just a container for spiritual consciousness. There is a difference between a machine or a physical body, but it does not affect survival."
Yao Wenlan: "Are the eyes you want to replace Simin the same as those of the robots?"
Lu Yao did not deny it.
Yao Wenlan: "Are there really no side effects? After all, Simin's body is just flesh."
Lu Yao: "In theory, there is no problem. Even in this world, it is quite expensive to replace the entire body with a mechanical body, and it often takes decades or even tens of years. Half-robots are also common outside of Guandao."
Yao Wenlan still found it terrifying: "Do you think there are other options besides this one?"
It sounded like she was afraid of the machine . Lu Yao was not satisfied with the mechanical eye plan, but his face remained calm: "Plan 2 is not difficult either. In fact, this world has already achieved the cultivation of single organs. We can collect tissue from Miss Qi's intact left eye and cultivate a new eyeball, but the cultivated organ has a short lifespan. If you choose plan 2, you will have to replace Miss Qi's eyeball once every one or two years."
Qi Simin turned her head slowly. Just imagining that scene made her feel physically nauseous.
She silently took back what she said at the hot spring hotel in her heart. The job of a shopkeeper is really not something that ordinary people can do. The psychological quality required is too high.
Yao Wenlan was much calmer than her daughter: "What are the risks?"
Lu Yao shook his head, thought for a moment and said pertinently: "It's more expensive."
Yao Wenlan: "What is option three?"
Lu Yao: "I can also use my ability to repair Miss Qi's eyes. The new eyes will be exactly the same as the original ones."
Yao Wenlan's heart moved slightly: "What are the essential differences between the three options?"
Lu Yao: "There is not much difference, it's just the difference of 10 million, 30 million and 50 million."
Dream Fulfilling System: "You are worthy of it."
Lu Yao pretended not to hear and continued: "However, among the three options, the vision of the mechanical eye is different. It is better than the human eye, can see farther and more clearly, and has image storage function. If you accept optical computers, it is not impossible to build a data analysis program into the eyeball, but it will increase the cost of regular maintenance. "
Yao Wenlan: "That is to say, plan one is actually the most cost-effective." Lu Yao
nodded: "Indeed."
Yao Wenlan looked at Qi Simin: "What do you think?"
Qi Simin was confused and said shyly: "Didn't we make an appointment with the mechanic to have a face-to-face consultation first and then consider it?" Lu Yao was
not surprised at all. She just considered it too comprehensively and threw out three plans in one breath. After weighing it, the customer might still choose plan one.
The Dream Fulfilling System sighed: "Why are you getting more and more talkative recently? What if you are not satisfied with any of the three plans?"
Lu Yao: "Then we can only ask the guests to seek help from others."
There was an airship parked outside the store, and the tall mechanic and 0815 in prison guard uniform got off one after another.
Qi Simin and Yao Wenlan shifted their attention from the two robots to the huge airship behind them. Qi
Simin: "Is that the means of transportation in this world?"
Lu Yao said "hmm".
Yao Wenlan: "Are the staff and guests here all robots?"
Lu Yao: "The working hours are basically like this. Guandao was originally a prison island for high-intelligence and high-spirited robot criminals. But don't worry, the people who come to help today are all official personnel."
The mechanic and 0815 greeted Lu Yao first, and the group walked towards the No. 1 reception room together.
Neither the mechanic nor the jailer took the initiative to talk to Yao Wenlan and Qi Simin. They only communicated with Lu Yao the whole time.
Yao Wenlan sat calmly on the side, but Qi Simin felt a little embarrassed.
Without the owner, she really couldn't have come into contact with such an existence beyond common sense.
The inspection did not take too much time. The handheld instrument scanned Qi Simin's face, and various data appeared on the suspended screen in front of the mechanic.
After a moment, the mechanic tilted his head and looked at Lu Yao: "Do we just need to replace a mechanical electronic eye?"
Lu Yao nodded: "Is her physical condition acceptable?"
The mechanic said nonchalantly: "It's just a change of eye, what's the problem?"
The tone was relaxed, as if the discussion was only about whether to have chicken legs or braised pork for lunch.
Lu Yao: "Get her a few made of different materials to try on and see which one is the most comfortable."
Mechanic: "The mechanical eyes that have been worn cannot be returned."
Lu Yao nodded: "It's okay, I will collect the ones that are not used."
Lu Yao also erased the divine power mark that unified the spatial language inside the store. Yao Wenlan and Qi Simin can still understand the language of the robots because they are wearing mini rulers.
Lu Yao made a batch of new ruler pendants and distributed them to various stores. He would give one to every customer who patronized the store on the opening day.
Yao Wenlan: "How much is an eyeball?"
Lu Yao: "It depends on the material and performance. The universal currency here is different from that there. Are you sure you want to adopt the first option?"
Qi Simin is full of curiosity about the mechanical eyes, but she is not sure whether she can adapt after the replacement.
Yao Wenlan did not hesitate: "Let's try to replace her first. If the eyeball is not selected, I will bear the cost."
Lu Yao's smile became genuine, and his tone rose: "Okay, ma'am."
Yao Wenlan closed her eyelids slightly.
The people of Ji's were right. The owner really loves money, but he is not stingy.
Replacing the eyeball requires a sterile environment. The mechanic carries a simple folding space prop with him, which opens into a single-person sterile room.
It took only about three minutes for Qi Simin to come out of the sterile room.
Her right eye was replaced with a simulated mechanical electronic eye. The eye shape and pupil color are no different from the left eye, and it looks no different from a normal eye.
Mechanical eyes actually have exaggerated styles, but Qi Simin's request is to strive to be no different from the original eyes, and the material and appearance selected are the closest to the human eye.
Qi Simin raised her head, looked around, raised her hand to cover her left eye, and only used her mechanical right eye to see.
This eyeball does have vision, and it can see very clearly.
She turned and walked to the window, looking out, the clouds in the distance, the bionic birds, and the tiny insects in the lawn can all be captured.
Yao Wenlan came over: "How is it?"
Qi Simin turned around, tears flowing from her left eye: "Mom, I can see, I really can see!!!"
Yao Wenlan: "Are you feeling uncomfortable?"
Qi Simin blinked hard, raised her hand and rubbed it gently: "No, there is no foreign body feeling at all."
Yao Wenlan: "Really?"
Qi Simin rubbed it again: "Really not."
Yao Wenlan and Qi Simin stood at the window and talked for a few words before turning around and walking towards Lu Yao again.
Yao Wenlan: "Don't mechanical eyeballs need to be replaced regularly?"
The mechanic said: "If there is no need for combat, theoretically the service life of current mechanical eyeballs can reach 60 years. However, the eyeballs need to be cleaned regularly, and mechanical eyeballs do not shed tears, so we have developed artificial tears. When you need to clean the eyeballs on weekdays, you can drip them directly onto the surface."
Yao Wenlan nodded: "Okay, I understand."
Yao Wenlan looked at Lu Yao again: "Shopkeeper, my daughter is temporarily I want to accept option one and use mechanical eyes. I agree, and I also want to keep options two and three that you proposed."
Lu Yao: "What do you mean?"
Yao Wenlan: "We accept all three options. If one day in the future, she is not willing to continue using mechanical prosthetic eyes, I hope you are willing to help her replace them with human eyes."
The Dream-Fulfilling System couldn't help but exclaimed: "Wow, is this how rich people play?"
Lu Yao tilted his head to look at 0815.
0815 understood and stepped forward and said, "I have discussed the matter you asked me to ask with the relevant biological researchers on the capital planet. Miss Qi was injured less than a year ago, and it is expected that the eye cultivation surgery will be completed within a year. If it is delayed for too long, the risk of re-implanting a new eye will be greatly increased, and the wound will need to be expanded again. The relevant researchers do not recommend it."
Lu Yao looked at Yao Wenlan: "Options 2 and 3 have the same goal. If you insist on keeping it, you might as well choose Option 3. However, I can only keep Option 3 for you for five years."
Yao Wenlan was silent for a long time, and then spoke: "Can your ability really heal my daughter?"
Lu Yao waved to the mechanic not far away: "Lend me the testing equipment."
The mechanic handed it over without thinking much.
Lu Yao threw it on the ground casually, and the high-precision testing equipment instantly broke into pieces.
The mechanic was startled and looked at Lu Yao in disbelief. It took him a long while to react. He screamed and squatted on the ground, complaining: "Too much!!!"
Lu Yao stood up and
drew a formation in the air. Silver light flowed along his thin white fingertips, spreading into a weird and complex pattern. The light array fell on the floor, and the shattered fragments seemed to be pulled by an invisible object and gathered towards the center.
But after a moment, the scattered instrument fragments gathered together, returned to their positions one by one, and gradually recovered.
Lu Yao took the instrument that had been restored to its original state and handed it to the mechanic: "Sorry, I scared you."
The mechanic hugged the precious instrument that he had lost and found, pointed it at Lu Yao, turned on the switch, and slowly breathed a sigh of relief after collecting data: "Fortunately, it still works."
Lu Yao stared at the mechanic: "You are not taking the opportunity to collect my data?"
The mechanic turned his head away from her: "No, I just tried to see if the instrument is really repaired."
0815 raised her hands to cover her eyes, feeling embarrassed.
Since Lu Yao suddenly aged and suddenly regained her youth, researchers and mechanics on and off the island who knew the news were all full of enthusiasm for her.
If it weren't for the store owner's terrifying martial arts value, I'm afraid she would have been caught and taken to the laboratory for thorough research.
Lu Yao half-lifted his eyelids and said in a light tone: "I'll give you the data as an apology for smashing your equipment just now."
The mechanic was overjoyed: "Can I take a little more of your blood? Not too much, one tube... no, half a tube will do."
0815 stepped forward and held the mechanic's neck, dragging him out: "Boss, I'll take him back first. You continue to be busy, and call me anytime if you need me."
The noisy robot left, and the room became quiet.
Lu Yao turned back to look at the guest and patiently explained: "One of my abilities is to reunite the broken mirror. It can be understood that I am not using my ability to repair Miss Qi's eyes, but to restore the eye she lost."
Qi Simin blinked repeatedly, still digesting the scene she just saw.
She finally understood why the clerk of the hot spring hotel was so angry not long ago.
Ji Feirong's voice repeatedly appeared in Yao Wenlan's mind: For hundreds of years, the Ji family has served such an existence. Such
an existence.
No wonder the Ji family has been prosperous no matter how the times change.
Such a monster...
No, we should be thankful that such an existence no longer only favors the Ji family...
Twenty-five years ago, Yao Wenlan was also an innocent little girl who believed in true love and miracles.
Unfortunately, fate did not favor her for long. When she was twenty years old, her parents died in a plane accident, leaving behind a huge family property.
In order to protect the family property, she had kowtowed and been pushed into the mud.
Marriage is a stopgap measure, but Qi Simin, the piece of flesh that fell from her body, is the last star in her lonely life.
The accident of her daughter was like a heavy hammer, shattering the last bit of happiness of Yao Wenlan.
A woman in her forties, her eyes were full of icy thorns and her heart was full of fatigue.
She saw the carefree little people in the hot spring hotel, and she didn't think they were cute, but scary.
The beautiful and innocent existence will only be plundered.
However, on this day, without any preparation, Yao Wenlan saw a miracle that came for her.
The gentle and non-aggressive young woman could make her wish come true with a wave of her hand.
Yao Wenlan took a slow breath and looked at Lu Yao calmly: "I accept your proposal and keep plan three."
Lu Yao took out the various contracts and confidentiality agreements he had prepared: "Please sign."
Yao Wenlan did not sign immediately. After reading it carefully, she whispered: "Shopkeeper, I think the price is a bit inappropriate."
Dream-fulfilling system: "Oh no!"
Lu Yao smiled: "What do you think is inappropriate?"
Yao Wenlan: "Such a detailed, perfect and effective I am very satisfied with the plan. Plan three will be kept for five years, which consumes manpower and material resources. I think this price is not too..."
Lu Yao thought to himself, "No, no, no", but asked, "Then how much do you think is more appropriate?"
Yao Wenlan thought for a while and said calmly, "Let's do this, just add a zero."
The Dream-Fulfilling System carefully counted how much it would be if a zero was added. After counting, she just wanted to swear, but when she opened her mouth, she lost her temper: "..."
Even Lu Yao was speechless.
Qi Simin was surprisingly calm. After thinking about it, she understood her mother's plan.
Anyway, it was her father's money. If she didn't spend it, she would have to give it to Qi Siyun. It would be better to offer more to the monster shop owner in front of her.
Because the first eyeball Qi Simin installed was unexpectedly suitable, she didn't replace it with another one.
The treatment, which was thought to take a long time, actually took less than an hour.
Lu Yao led them out of the reception room, just in time for Guan Dao's break.
The tall robots shuttled through the infinite corridors, which were much more lively than when they came, but they were also lifeless, with an indescribable coldness.
The prisoners saw Yao Wenlan and Qi Simin like hyenas that found their prey, and then saw the owner and quietly collected their thoughts.
Yao Wenlan and Qi Simin clearly felt Lu Yao's intimidation of the criminals.
Not until they stepped out of the bookstore safely and the strange gazes behind them finally disappeared, Qi Simin slowly exhaled.
Lu Yao kindly reminded: "Boss Ji is at the Furry Shop. Go in and tell him your name. The staff will show you the way."
Suddenly, a man ran out of a shop across the street, yelling like a madman.
Lu Yao turned his head and saw a young man he had never seen before.
[Author's Note]
Note (1): The poem is from Borges's "Poems on Gifts of God".
*
The long-lost irresponsible drama:
In the evening, Boss Ji, Boss Yao and Miss Qi took a hot spring bath together.
Boss Yao: "It turns out that spending money makes you feel good."
Boss Ji: "How much did you spend?"
Boss Yao: "Not much, 600 million."
Boss Ji: "...what did you buy?"
As far as she knew, a yearly package in the shopping street would not cost 600 million.
Mr. Yao: "Offer tribute to the owner."
Mr. Ji: "..."
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