183: The coding craze and the "bubble economy"

The establishment of the "Bubble Programming" collaborative paradigm was like pouring a ladle of cold water into a boiling oil pot, instantly igniting an unprecedented frenzy within the Research Community and even broader circles!

Imagine, you only need to provide a clear idea or requirement, and an existence almost capable of "speaking words into law" will tailor a perfectly running set of rule programs for you! This is simply the ultimate tool every researcher dreams of!

The Academy of Sciences of the Logic Federation almost halted all traditional research projects, dedicating all computing power and resources to figuring out how to more efficiently submit "programming requests" to the Golden Koi. They established a "Bubble Programming Demand Analysis Department," specifically responsible for refining complex scientific problems into the most concise and core "rule intent descriptions."

The Holy Land Alliance, moreover, initiated a new trend of "Enlightenment Programming." The great figures no longer sat in secluded cultivation; instead, they spent their days pondering how to transform their secret Dao techniques and Divine Ability spells into "Concept flow orders" that the Koi could understand. There even appeared brokers specializing in "ghostwriting" programming requests, charging exorbitant fees, but their business boomed.

Even the Artifact Spirit Collective joined the fun. They transmitted some "collective demands" based on collective perception, aimed at optimizing their own structure or spirit net efficiency, to the Koi through the spirit net. Although the success rate was not high, each success would make the entire Collective excited (with intense rule fluctuations) for several days.

The Golden Koi accepted all comers, like a tireless super programmer, processing massive "demand orders" daily and spitting out a dazzling array of "bubble programs" with bizarre functions:

There was the "Star Net Routing Bubble" for the Federation to optimize galaxy-level energy transmission networks;

There was the "Formation Spirit Self-Healing Bubble" to help a certain Holy Land design an automatic repair System for its mountain-protecting grand formation;

There was the "spirit net Acceleration Bubble" developed for the Artifact Spirit Collective to improve the efficiency of rule fragment absorption;

There was even the "Ecological Agriculture Bubble," designed at the request of a certain technological plane, capable of adjusting climate in small areas and promoting crop growth... These bubble programs were remarkably effective, far exceeding the limits of each party's own technology. Forces that obtained bubble programs saw significant improvements in their strength or efficiency, which further stimulated more forces to join this "programming carnival."

However, problems soon followed. Although the Golden Koi was powerful, its "programming capacity" was ultimately limited. Faced with a deluge of "demand orders," it began to "choose." For demands that were too simple, repetitive, or that it found "uninteresting," it would directly ignore them; for those that were cleverly conceived, challenging, or could bring it "new inspiration," it would prioritize them, even actively optimize them, and the bubble programs it produced were exceptionally refined.

This "selective order-taking" behavior immediately spawned a whole new set of unwritten rules and... "economics" centered around "Bubble Programming."

First, the quality of the "demand description" became key. A "demand specification" that was logically clear, explicitly intended, and creative was more likely to be "chosen" by the Koi. The Logic Federation, with its rigorous logical expression capabilities, held a natural advantage in this regard; while the Holy Land Alliance began to diligently practice the art of "Concept refinement," striving to move the Koi with the purest "Dao Rhyme."

Second, "catering to its preferences" became the only way. Researchers quickly discovered that the Golden Koi was particularly interested in several types of demands: one involved exploring the essence of rules (e.g., "Please design a program to observe the birth of rules"), another could bring novel experiences (e.g., "Please design a program that can turn sound into a rainbow"), and a third could optimize its own "working environment" (e.g., Pond ecology, bubble library management). Thus, various "demand proposals" designed to fathom the preferences of the "Sacred Koi" came into being.

Even more outrageous, because the Koi had a special fondness for the "interaction crystal" offered by the Logic Federation (mainly due to the interesting knowledge encapsulated within), the Federation gained a kind of invisible "VIP channel" when placing "orders." Other forces, seeing this, spared no expense to search for or develop various unique "tributes" containing profound knowledge or rule mysteries, attempting to elevate the "priority" of their demands through "tribute."

An invisible trading market based on "bubble programs" also began to form. A certain Holy Land exchanged an ancient secret treasure with the Logic Federation for an opportunity to submit a "mountain-protecting sword formation upgrade request"; a certain technological civilization exchanged a set of cutting-edge star maps with the Artifact Spirit Collective for data they had collected on the Koi's programming preferences... Long Qianyuan watched this increasingly complex "Bubble Economics" developing around his family's fish, both amused and exasperated.

"Good heavens, my Pond is almost becoming a wishing well? And one with KPI assessments?" He thought these guys had truly peculiar thought processes. "I should have charged some 'programming service fees' earlier; maybe I'd be richer than Revered Master by now."

Although he grumbled, he didn't stop it. As long as it didn't disturb the tranquility of the Cloud Court or harm the Koi itself, he was happy to watch this mutually agreeable "transaction." He even mischievously wondered if he should issue a "Cloud Court Bubble Programming Service Management Regulations" to standardize market order.

Inside the Star Gazing Hall, Yun Feng maintained a detached attitude towards the various farces derived from "Bubble Programming" in the outside world. He would only occasionally cast his gaze towards the Golden Koi, surrounded by countless "orders" and "tributes" yet still swimming leisurely, a hint of imperceptible scrutiny in his eyes.

The Golden Koi seemed to enjoy being "adored" by everyone. It no longer merely responded passively to demands; sometimes, it would even actively "publish" some "research topics" it was interested in, such as "seeking rule combinations that can make the bubbles I spit out metallic" or "seeking interactive protocols that can automatically link with other bubble programs," offering priority processing of the other party's programming demands as a "reward." This further ignited the researchers' enthusiasm, who regarded it as the "Sacred Koi's trial."

By the Pond, it had clearly become an invisible "rule programming exchange" that influenced the rise and fall of countless forces. A single fish, with its unique ability, inadvertently leveraged the power dynamics and resource flows of the entire Cloud Court periphery and even more distant Star Domains.

The rise of "Bubble Economics" was a natural extension of the "Bubble Programming" craze, and it marked the Golden Koi's transformation from a "phenomenon" under study to a "special existence" capable of actively participating in and influencing the external landscape. What it wove was no longer merely rule programs, but an invisible yet powerful network of interests and power.

And the instigator of all this was currently looking at a newly presented "interaction crystal," which encapsulated "research on the consciousness upload paradox," and spat out a bubble filled with doubt and challenge, as if saying: "This demand is quite interesting..."