FK THIS SYSTEM! F**K WHOEVER MADE THIS SICK NIGHTMARE!
I'LL FKING FIND YOU OUT ONE DAY!!
NO MATTER WHERE YOU HIDE, I'LL FIND YOU, BASTARD! AND WHEN I DO... YOU'LL FKING REGRET IT!
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A Few Days Prior.
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Year: 20XX
The Earth spun as always on its axis.
People were busy in their daily routines, laughing, yawning, living.
Students goofed around in classrooms, clueless about anything outside their comfort zone of youthful ignorance.
And me?
I was lying on a rooftop campsite, far away from the noise of Seoul, absorbing in the starry sky.
"City skies don't give much... but sometimes, if you're lucky, they give enough."
This was just a lazy monologue from a lean, tall, slightly handsome black-haired young man named Hao Yun.
Lying back on a camping chair, noise-canceling earphones into his ears, he looked like he had no plans to return to civilization anytime soon.
Then...
Beep-Beep... Beep-Beep...
His phone vibrated. A message appeared.
Mob:
"Camping again on the roof?? You're so weird, lol."
Hao Yun:
"How did you even find out??"
He sighed, shaking his head.
"It's better than drinking in some cramped room, anyway. At least the stars don't wear two faces like humans."
He leaned back again, his eyes scanning the sky. The constellations slowly sparkled above him, steadily, softly. It worked like a lullaby.
His eyelids grew heavy.
Sleep was pulling him under.
Until...
Flash.
Two sharp balls of light blinked across the sky for less than a second.
He shook awake.
"...That wasn't lightning. And definitely not a plane."
Pulling out his phone, he scrolled through social media.
But found Nothing.
"Weird... could've been satellites, right?"
Rubbing his eyes, he collapsed back onto his chair.
"Whatever it was... It's gone now."
He fell asleep.
But above him, the sky illuminated again.
Two faint lights merged… and took shape.
The Next Morning.
Sunlight advanced to his face. Groggy, half-zombie, Hao Yun packed his tent and descended the stairs of his apartment complex.
"Yaaaawn... It's already morning. Ugh, what a drag... working every day for pieces of printed paper."
Step. Step. Step.
"That paper's what keeps us alive, you know?"
A voice came out from the kitchen.
His mother stood there, moving with practiced precision, chopping vegetables and stirring pans without ever looking down. Her hands had long lost their youthful softness. The years had painted weariness into every motion, but her face… still wore a smile.
Her hair, once deep black, now had streaks of silver tied loosely with a worn rubber band. A few stray strands brushed against her lips, still full, still red.
Her eyes...
Carried the fatigue of someone who'd carried the weight of two lifetimes.
But she never let it show.
Just then...
Tap-tap-tap...
A second set of feet danced across the floor.
It was Joo Na. Hao Yun's younger sister. A ball of energy.
She leapt into the chair beside him with messy, greyish hair flying in all directions, her bedhead completely sabotaging her sleek bob cut.
"Big bro, still half-asleep, huh?" she teased, sticking her tongue out.
Her eyes sparkled with mischief, but also with something else.
It was Respect... towards her brother and mother.
She laughed, a sound as sweet and clear as wind chimes. Then she smeared some rice off her cheek with her sleeve.
"Bet I can beat you at Super Bros today, sleepyhead!"
The apartment felt small, but with her laughter, it became a Castle.
Ring-Ring. Ring-Ring.
Incoming call...
"Why is this guy calling me this early?"
─────── Call Picked Up ───────
Mob: "DUDE! Did you see the news?!"
Hao Yun: "No? What happened?"
Mob: "Don't ask, just LOOK!"
─────── Call Ended ───────
"The hell's wrong with him?"
Still grumbling, Hao Yun tapped open the live news stream.
" LIVE BROADCAST: KOREA INTERNATIONAL NEWS NETWORK "
[BREAKING NEWS: A massive blue screen has appeared in the center of Seoul!]
[Authorities say they do not know its origin. But people are assuming it's part of a movie shoot.]
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"A screen... floating in the air? For a movie?"
Curious, Hao Yun ran back up to the rooftop. There, clear as day, was a massive glowing blue screen suspended in the air like a giant billboard of the gods.
"What the hell…? This isn't just a prank?"
Still, he shook his head.
"Meh. I'm not into sci-fi movies anyway. Probably just another marketing stunt."
He sighed and returned inside, back into the trap of everyday life.
Just like everyone else.
Most people ignored the news. Some even filmed the screen and uploaded it as clickbait content.
But behind closed doors, government officials were panicking.
The screen wasn't authorized. It wasn't a hologram. It wasn't even traceable by military radar.
What exactly is it...?
The question haunted them.
For the next 100 hours, it remained unsolved.
Four days passed.
Hao Yun's life went on. Work. Home. Repeat.
Today was his day off, and yet...
"Go buy some groceries," his mom said, putting the list into his hand.
"Seriously...? It's my day off..."
He grumbled all the way to the supermarket.
"That damn screen's still up? It's been four days! Is it even doing anything?"
And then...
[ Kzzzk…kzzzk…KZKZK █ █ █ ]
A strange, static noise buzzed in the air. Everyone in the area paused.
"What the...?"
[ Kzzzk…kzzzk…KZKZK █ █ █ ]
The giant screen flickered. Glitched. Something was happening.
▂▃▄▅▆▇█▇▆▅▄▃▂
▓▓▓ SYSTEM SCANNING... ▓▓▓
█▓▒░ Basic Scan: Done ░▒▓█
█▓▒░ Area Scan: Done ░▒▓█
Commencing Final Checkup...
███████▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
And then...
"Wait, what?"
█▓ The Civilization Advancing System is Activating... ▓█
Loading...
███████▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
People stopped recording. Their phones froze. The air itself felt heavier.
Then came the announcement:
▇▆▅▄▃▂▂▃▄▅▆▇
SYSTEM ONLINE
[Congratulations, residents of this remote planet.]
[You have been chosen by the Civilization Advancing System.]
[From now on, complete tasks assigned to you and advance civilization at 100x speed.]
[There are no options. You can't choose. Just obey.]
[There will be two kinds of tasks:]
Nation-based Tasks
Individual Tasks
[Rewards will be given for task completion.]
[WARNING: Failure to complete a task will result in penalties.]
[New tasks will be listed shortly.]
▇▆▅▄▃▂▂▃▄▅▆▇▇▆▅▄▃▂▂▃▄▅▆▇▇▆▅▄▃▂▂▃▄▅▆▇
"Whoa... this has gotta be some next-level AR game."
Hao Yun felt the excitement. If this turns out to be a game, I'm all in.
[KRZZZT █ █ █]
Suddenly, a small screen materialized in front of him.
It looked like a mini version of the giant screen, but this one was just for him.
▂▃▄▅▆▇█▓▒░ SYSTEM ░▒▓█▇▆▅▄▃▂
NEW TASKS LOADING...
███████▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
[Welcome, Host.]
[This is your personal version of the Civilization Advancing System.]
"...Okay, this really doesn't feel like a prank anymore."
He looked around. But no one else was reacting.
"Wait, where's everyone else's screen?"
"Don't tell me I'm the chosen one. The protagonist of this world?"
[Host, please stop flattering yourself.]
[Individual panels are visible only to their Host. This is to protect privacy.]
"Tch. And here I was feeling special…"
Still, Hao Yun waited.
Waited for his first task.
One hour passed.
Two.
Three.
Nothing changed.
"Come on already..."
Suddenly, he shook.
"Crap! The groceries!!"
Putting his phone into his pocket, Hao Yun dashed to the market, completely unaware...
That his life had already started to change.
Forever...
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