I'm doing engineering in the instance.

Chapter 36 Philosophical Opposition

My personal space is a little more than last time.

When Xie Chengzhou entered, he noticed the change—not a major one, but rather the feeling that the space had expanded by about 20% in a certain dimension; the ceiling was higher, the side walls were farther away, and the tabletop was wider. He noted this change in his mind, but couldn't find an explanation, so he left it as "to be verified."

He sat down at the table without immediately flipping through the memo.

He sat there for about a minute, doing nothing, just sitting.

There was a shallow mark on the back of his right hand, scratched by the edge of a piece of wood, which had scabbed over. When he placed his hand on the table, the mark was reflected in the light of the tabletop, and its color was slightly darker than the surrounding skin. It didn't hurt, but it was there.

He turned his hand over and glanced at the number on the inside of his wrist: C-0047.

The settlement text below the number has disappeared, leaving only the number itself, thin, light gray, as if it were showing through the skin. It's not a tattoo, not a mark, but something that only appears in this space.

He rolled up his sleeves, opened the memo, and began organizing the data for #003.

He spent about twenty minutes organizing all the information into four parts: records of threatening entity behavior, a list of rules to be confirmed, error analysis, and items to be verified.

The record of the threatening entity's behavior was three pages long, longer than #001 and #002, because the sample size was larger this time. It wasn't just his observation, but the observations of twelve people in different locations, at different times, and under different triggering conditions, most of which came from Wu Ming's notebook.

He wrote two entries in the "Error Analysis" section:

"Mistake 1: No early warning mechanism was established for changes in the surge cycle. Improvement: In all future instances involving periodic physical phenomena, establish a monitoring mechanism for cycle changes before construction/operation begins, collect data at least ten times to confirm cycle stability, and then begin operations that rely on the cycle."

"Mistake 2: Failed to prevent Wang Bo from stepping onto the pier without confirmation. Improvement: Before publishing any rule information, clearly distinguish between 'hypotheses' and 'verified hypotheses,' and simultaneously indicate the verification status upon publication to prevent recipients from unilaterally escalating the confidence level of the information."

He paused after the second point, then added a line: "The fundamental reason for this improvement is that I didn't clearly tell others 'wait for me to say start before proceeding' before the verification was complete. This was my mistake, not Xu Kai's."

He read the line twice.

In his memo, he categorized these three changes under the same item pending verification: "Rank promotion trigger mechanism. Observed changes: personal space expansion (approximately 20%), item capacity expansion (+4 slots), ability profile unlocking. All three changes occur upon first entering the personal space after completing #003. Changes corresponding to other ranks: pending verification."

He mentally considered the two changes—the increased space and the appearance of the prop shelf—and then added the "Tier 1 promotion qualification" to his mind. Three changes, at the same point in time, triggered by the same source.

He added a note to his memo: "Item capacity expansion. Shelves: 5 slots, 1 currently used. Trigger timing: Same as Tier 1 promotion node. Whether it triggers together with space expansion: To be verified."

The "Current Items" slot contained three items: an item basket, a memo jacket, and a calming item with a very unique extended tail that Xie Chengzhou had never seen before in the real world. He mentally compared these three items to the items he had brought from the dungeon.

It wasn't a large one, just one of those wall-mounted racks used on construction sites to store small tools. It had five compartments, each with a label. All five compartments were empty, but the labels had small print. Xie Chengzhou walked over and glanced at them: the first compartment's label read "Current Item," while the labels on the other four compartments were blank.

A shelf has been added next to the frame.

He looked away from the paper and glanced towards the frame.

The memo states: "The organization has begun proactively providing my ability profile. Timing: After clearing #003, at the 1st-tier advancement milestone. Why now? To be verified."

The "Confirmed Items" list contained four items, each followed by parentheses and a brief functional description. Xie Chengzhou glanced through the four items, but didn't write them down on the spot. He folded the paper in half and put it back on the cover.

The left-hand heading is "Confirmed Items," and the right-hand heading is "Items Pending Acceptance." The format is a familiar construction acceptance form: a list on the left and a blank right column. At the bottom is a line of small print: "Constitutive Record. Sample No. C-0047 · Capability File."

He picked up the paper and unfolded it.

He didn't write it. There wasn't this piece of paper when he came in; he was sure of it because he glanced at the frame after he entered. Now there's an extra folded piece of paper next to the frame, placed on the frame cover, just sitting there without anything on top of it.

There was an extra piece of paper next to the box.

That's when he discovered something.

In his memo, he wrote: "Class model. Constitutive classification of samples. 'Level 1 promotion qualification' means currently being in a certain class and having reached the threshold for upward advancement within that class. Specific criteria: To be verified. Items to be verified: promotion trigger mechanism, actual changes corresponding to the class."

He ran the word through his mind. In the first instance's settlement screen, the concept of "class" had been used. He hadn't paid attention to it then, placing it in "Pending Verification." Now, three instances later, the word had reappeared, this time with a specific number attached.

"Tier 1 Promotion Qualification".

On the last page of his memo, he wrote down the list of settlement rewards: "280 Source Coins, Designer Symbol - Third Fragment, Constitutive Information Fragment ×1, 'Fishing Bat Behavior Record' item, RI+33, and—" He paused at the last item: "Tier 1 Promotion Qualification".

Then close the memo.

---

When Xu Kai appeared at the entrance of his personal space, Xie Chengzhou was drinking water.

It's not real water, but a supply in my personal space. It tastes similar to mineral water and has a constant temperature. Xie Chengzhou discovered this thing after settling in #002, but he has never figured out where it came from—it's right there on the table. It's there every time he comes in, and it's always full.

He took a sip and then heard footsteps at the door.

It wasn't very heavy, but it wasn't light either. It was the kind of gait that was deliberately controlled but not completely eliminated. Xie Chengzhou had noticed Xu Kai's walking style on the P3 platform: when he walked on the steel plate, his steps were lighter than anyone else's, but when he walked on the concrete, he didn't control it. He let his feet land normally, as if he knew when he needed to restrain himself and when he didn't.

"Your personal space has a door," Xu Kai said.

Xie Chengzhou put down the cup. "Don't you have any?" he said.

"Yes," Xu Kai said, "but I didn't expect you to have it on."

Xie Chengzhou didn't speak. He went over whether the door was open in his mind: he hadn't closed the door when he came in, so it was open. He hadn't thought about what that meant.

"Come in," he said.

Xu Kai came in and stood across the table without sitting down. His gaze lingered on Xie Chengzhou's memo for a second before settling on Xie Chengzhou. His jacket still had salt stains, just like Xie Chengzhou's, brought from the P3 platform, which hadn't disappeared from his personal space and were still on the cuffs and shoulders.

"I'd like to continue our previous conversation," he said.

"Which one?" Xie Chengzhou said.

"The plan," Xu Kai said, "is not the score, it's the plan itself."

Xie Chengzhou put the cup down. "Say it," he said.

"Your plan," Xu Kai said, "is logically more complete and yields better results, I admit. But your plan has one prerequisite: you have enough time and resources to build a temporary passage. In #003, you have—an abandoned crane, wooden planks, and a forty-minute time window. What if these conditions don't exist?"

"Then let's change the plan," Xie Chengzhou said. "The plan is designed based on the conditions, it's not fixed."

"If the conditions don't allow for any construction plan," Xu Kai said, "if the only options are 'everyone approves' or 'some people approve,' what would you choose?"

Xie Chengzhou went over the question in his mind.

He didn't answer immediately. He moved the cup slightly onto the table, adjusting its position, not because the cup was crooked, but because of the habit of needing to do something with his hand when thinking.

"That depends on what you mean by 'partially'," he said. "If the game's progression system requires everyone to complete it, then 'partially completing it' isn't an option; it's a false premise."

"If the event settlement mechanism allowed partial clearance," Xu Kai said, "and if the explicit rules stated 'at least one person must reach the destination,' what would you choose?"

"That depends on each person's condition and probability of passing," Xie Chengzhou said. "It's not about whose life is more valuable, but about who has a higher probability of passing under the current conditions. Let the person with the higher probability pass, and let the person with the lower probability wait in a safe position. This is the most efficient solution, and also the solution with the least risk."

"But," Xu Kai said, "in probability calculations, injured people, older people, and inexperienced people have a lower probability of passing. Your calculations and my solution will lead to the same conclusion."

"Not necessarily," Xie Chengzhou said. "Old Chen performed better than you expected in this instance, and Wu Ming performed better than his experience predicted. Probability is not determined by a single variable."

"But when you're assessing the situation," Xu Kai said, "you determine whether your initial probability estimate is high or low."

Xie Chengzhou did not answer immediately.

There was a sound of surging waves outside—not real waves, but some kind of background noise in his personal space. He had noticed it in his personal space #002. Sometimes there was a sound, sometimes not, and he couldn't find a pattern.

"Low," he said. "Initial estimates, low."

"So," Xu Kai said, "if we need to make this decision when we enter the market, your calculation results and my plan will be the same under the initial conditions."

"But we didn't make that decision when we entered the site," Xie Chengzhou said. "We had time to observe, time to evaluate, and time to build. Your solution is to treat the initial estimate as the final answer, while my solution is to treat the initial estimate as a starting point and update it through observation and action."

Xu Kai remained silent for about five seconds.

He remained silent, neither looking away nor putting his hands in his pockets—he just stood there, as if going over Xie Chengzhou's words in his mind, as if searching for a rebuttal, but not finding one, or perhaps finding one but not yet figuring out how to say it.

"Your plan," he said, "will take time."

"Yes," Xie Chengzhou said.

"Time is a cost," Xu Kai said. "In dungeons, time is the most expensive cost."

"Time is a cost," Xie Chengzhou said, "but the information gained in exchange for time can reduce all other costs."

"Unless," Xu Kai said, "someone dies while you're exchanging time for information."

Xie Chengzhou went over the question in his mind but didn't reply.

Because Xu Kai is right.

Lin Xiao died while they were arguing, Zhang An died while they were arguing, and Wang Bo died before they had established a proper framework of rules. If he had given the order "Wait for me to say 'start' before you act" the very first minute he entered, Wang Bo might not have died.

He picked up the cup, took a sip, and put the cup down.

This isn't an avoidance; he just needs a second.

"What are you thinking about?" Xu Kai asked.

"I think," Xie Chengzhou said, "you're right."

Xu Kai remained silent, waiting for Xie Chengzhou to continue.

"But," Xie Chengzhou said, "the 'right' you mentioned is based on looking back with the outcome already known. In the first minute of entering the field, I didn't have enough data to support any decision. What I could do was build up the data as quickly as possible and then make decisions based on that data. This process has costs, and sometimes those costs are lives, I know."

"You accept this cost," Xu Kai said.

"I don't accept it," Xie Chengzhou said, "but I know it exists. Accepting and knowing are not the same thing."

Xu Kai looked at him and remained silent for a moment.

Then he said something that Xie Chengzhou hadn't expected.

"I died in the last instance," he said.

Xie Chengzhou remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"Three," Xu Kai said. "My plan resulted in three deaths. Then I modified the plan, and fewer people died in later instances. My method is: treat each death as data, update the plan, and reduce the number of deaths in the next instance. What's your name for this?"

Xie Chengzhou went over the question in his mind.

He remembered the moment Old Chen let go, the way Liu Feng stood there with his hands outstretched, Dr. Cao saying, "Your hand is still steady," Lin Xiao stepping on the steel plate after stopping, and Zhang An holding Lin Xiao's wrist with one hand until he landed without letting go.

He recalled Fang Yuan saying, "I'm not talking about vibration, I'm talking about myself."

"I call it," Xie Chengzhou said, "the price."

"The cost," Xu Kai repeated, "is not the data."

"It's data," Xie Chengzhou said, "but it's not just data."

Xu Kai remained silent for about ten seconds.

This silence was different from the previous ones. It wasn't about finding a point of rebuttal; it was the kind of silence where someone had hit the nail on the head but hadn't yet figured out how to respond. He shifted his gaze from Xie Chengzhou, glanced at the memo on the table, and then looked elsewhere.

"What's the difference?" he said.

"The difference," Xie Chengzhou said, "is that when you treat it merely as data, you use it up and then move on. When I treat it as a cost, I use it up, remember it, and then move on."

"What's the use of remembering this?" Xu Kai said.

"I don't know," Xie Chengzhou said, "but I'll remember it."

Xu Kai walked towards the door. "I'm going back first," he said.

"Okay," Xie Chengzhou said.

Xu Kai walked to the door and paused for a moment.

He didn't turn around; he just stood in the doorway, his hand on the doorframe, pausing for about two seconds. Xie Chengzhou watched his retreating figure from his table, waiting for him to speak or leave.

"Your personal space is more spacious than mine," Xu Kai said, "about 20% more."

"I noticed that too," Xie Chengzhou said, "I don't know why."

"It might be because of your clearance record," Xu Kai said. "The architecture is giving you more room to maneuver."

He didn't wait for Xie Chengzhou's reply and walked out.

The footsteps echoed a few steps down the corridor before disappearing.

Xie Chengzhou sat at the table for a while, without immediately flipping through the memo. He went through the conversation in his mind, putting the useful parts into the evaluation framework and leaving the rest aside.

Useful part: Xu Kai lost three people in the previous instance, but he modified the plan, resulting in fewer deaths in later instances. This demonstrates his learning and iterative abilities; his plans are not fixed but updated. This was information Xie Chengzhou hadn't grasped before.

The rest: Xu Kai said, "What's the use of remembering this?"

Xie Chengzhou went through the question in his mind but couldn't find a quantifiable answer.

He opened the memo and added a line to the last page:

"Xu Kai, C-0019. Behavioral logic: efficiency first, data-driven, treating death as data. Three people died in the previous instance, the plan has been revised. Danger level: low (to me). Cooperation value: high. His plan has flaws, but his computing power is real."

He paused after the line “Danger level: Low (for me)”, then added a parenthesis: “(Currently)”.

Then he closed the memo.

He finished the rest of the water in the glass and put it back on the table.

He recalled the detail of Xu Kai standing at the door saying, "Bengo is giving you more space," with his back to him, his hand on the door frame, pausing for two seconds before leaving.

He didn't know what those two seconds meant.

He put it in the "to be verified" folder and then walked toward the bed.

He needs to sleep.