Late at night, Lin Mo stayed up in his rental apartment to beat the final level of Sandbox Planet Simulator. But in a fit of rage, he kicked his computer and was struck by a flash of blue electricity. His charred body vanished amid his neighbors’ cries of alarm. When he opened his eyes again, he was in a void created by the “Sandbox Simulation System.” Beyond the door stretched an endless, lifeless desert. This was where his “creation” began, and the only stage on which he could play “god.”
The “Basic Rainfall” he bought for 10 technology points merely dampened some red algae fragments. Then, by “doing things backward” with an energy crystal, he accidentally cultivated Red Crystal Algae, a new species capable of splitting and multiplying. He went from sleeping on a hard light-panel bed to earning a soft mattress for completing the “Build a Pond” quest. He went from being tricked by the System’s “energy-saving mode” to unexpectedly gaining the reputation of an “Apprentice Creator” in a moment of despair. Lin Mo’s path of “creation” is full of humiliation, elation, and dark humor.
He calls the System a rip-off, yet has no choice but to rely on it. He thinks the Red Crystal Algae are ugly, yet depends on them to stave off hunger and survive. While building a pond, he nearly burns the algae, only to witness life’s resilience in the muddy water. When the pond is finally full, when the Red Crystal Algae split under the glow of the crystal cluster to produce their 111th new specimen, and when the “soft mattress” finally eases the ache in his back, this loser, once battered by life, finally feels what it means to take control of his fate in this desert.
Here you’ll find the System’s malicious quests, unexpected gifts of energy crystals, and the absurd surprises of the Red Crystal Algae’s “reverse evolution.” More than anything, you’ll see Lin Mo grow from helplessly raging to gritting his teeth and persevering. When the desert wind
