Earth Online: The Formatting Crisis

Xiao Chen, a high school senior, discovers a bug in the world.

The colors in his elementary school graduation photo keep changing, and his classmate Pan Bowen has been completely erased.

By chance, he gains permission to edit the data of everything in the world. He thinks he's on his way to the top, but the campus beauty who sits beside him warns him: “You're cheating. Be careful, or you'll get permanently banned.”

When she reveals the truth, Xiao Chen finally understands: Earth is merely an “edge server” created on a whim, while human thought has already reached the threshold of “awakening.”

At that moment, a line of icy text appears on the screen, counting down:

[Civilization formatting program initiated. Time remaining: 30 days.]