When the game shut down, I took my skills with me.

Lu Yuan's figure appeared before the huge rift that tore the sky apart.

He felt as if he were standing before a magnificent yet terrifying waterfall, composed entirely of shimmering "0"s and "1"s, cascading down upon the earth with overwhelming force.

Any matter touched by this torrent of data was instantly rewritten. Mountains and rivers turned into pixels, and forests like neon lights sprang up in the desert. The laws of physics completely failed here, turning it into a chaotic carnival.

Below, countless panicked humans were watching.

They looked up at the tiny, dust-like figure suspended in front of the rift.

That's their manager.

After the initial shock and fear, a strange sense of calm welled up in Qin Shiyue and the others.

This was not a disaster they could comprehend, but a malfunction they could not even imagine.

Since it's a malfunction, it should be handled by the administrator.

Their task was simply to watch quietly.

Looking at the magnificent yet chaotic scene before him, Lu Yuan's face showed extreme impatience.

"What a hassle."

He said something in a low voice.

"It seems it's time for a complete system reinstall."

After he finished speaking, he did not summon a control panel as he had done before.

He simply extended his right hand, pointing his index finger lightly at the source of the data waterfall, which was the core of the rift in the sky.

There were no spectacular sound and light effects.

The whole world felt like it had been unplugged.

It went dark.

It is not the darkness of night, but a pure, absolute "nothingness" in which even the concepts of light and space disappear.

Eight suns went out.

The newly launched "constant temperature core" in Antarctica has stopped operating.

All UI interfaces, attribute panels, and skill bars on the retinas of all players disappeared.

On the ground, the monsters that were chasing humans froze in place, then, like poor-quality 3D models, decomposed into the most basic data particles and vanished without a trace.

A player, cornered by a three-headed hellhound, closed his eyes in despair. But the expected bite didn't come. He opened his eyes in confusion, only to find the world empty; the three vicious hounds that had devoured their prey were now just a few dying embers.

In the "Ark" command center, all screens were completely black.

Qin Shiyue and the others found themselves losing all sensation in their bodies. They could not see, hear, or even think. It was as if their entire "existence" had been temporarily suspended.

Time has lost its meaning.

It could be a moment, or it could be ten thousand years.

In this deathly silence and nothingness, a new light shone.

The source of that light was Lu Yuan.

He floated in the center of nothingness, and before him, an interface that was simpler and more ancient than ever before unfolded.

It wasn't a graphical interface, but a pure command-line terminal with only a blinking cursor.

【C:\\>_】

Lu Yuan's fingers tapped in the void, and the appearance of each character caused the entire empty space to tremble.

【C:\\>format world】

[WARNING: This operation will erase all data in the "Gaia" dimension, including but not limited to world laws, biological information, and historical records. Confirm? (Y/N)]

Lu Yuan typed "Y" without hesitation.

[Formatting begins...1%...15%...58%...99%...]

Formatting complete.

[C:\\>install「New_Era_v1.0.exe」/config:user_friendly】

[New Era System Installation Begins...]

[Deploying fundamental physical laws...]

[The energy cycle system is being restructured...]

[We are optimizing the player progression path...]

[Loading the World Administrators' Final Agreement...]

Installation complete.

The system is about to restart. We wish you a pleasant experience in the "New Era".

Lu Yuan glanced at the last line of the message, yawned, and casually closed the command-line terminal.

The next second, light returned.

Qin Shiyue took a deep breath and realized he was back in the command center. Everyone was still in the same positions they were in before the world "powered out."

He immediately rushed to the panoramic sunroof.

The sky was a clear azure blue, with only a gentle sun hanging above it.

The land, which had been ravaged by the deluge of data, has returned to its original state, as if the disaster had never happened.

Everything seemed so normal, so normal it felt unreal.

Just then, a brand new system announcement, glowing with a soft white light, appeared in the minds of all the survivors around the world.

The voice was no longer cold and mechanical, but gentle and clear.

[Global Announcement: Welcome to the "New Era"]

[Global Announcement: The Beta testing phase of "Gods and Demons Era" has ended. Due to numerous bugs and extreme instability in the old system, the administrator has reinstalled and upgraded the world.]

[Global Announcement: Under the new system, the acquisition of all extraordinary powers will be more fair, stable, and secure. Level and power will no longer be the sole criteria; actions such as "knowledge," "creation," and "protection" will also be recognized and rewarded by the system.]

[Global Announcement: The old "monsters" have been eliminated. New "trials" will open in designated areas, providing a path to growth for all those who aspire to evolve.]

[Global Announcement: We wish you all the best in finding your own path in the new world.]

The series of announcements left everyone stunned.

Beta testing phase?

Reinstallation and upgrade?

An ordinary survivor struggling to survive looks at a gentle interface that suddenly pops up in front of him.

[It has been detected that you successfully built and maintained a small water purification system during a past disaster, saving 35 lives. Your "knowledge" and "protective" actions have been recognized by the system.]

Congratulations! You have learned the rare Life Skill – "Heart of the Source".

A player who had just been fighting a bloody battle found that his previously tattered equipment had been completely replaced. His skill bar was cleared, but soon, based on his past combat style, several more powerful and more logical new skills were automatically generated.

Xiao Xue, the guild leader of "Sword of Oracles," looked out the window at the world that had returned to order, then glanced at the new system notification in her mind, a complex look flashing in her eyes.

In her view, this was no longer an apocalypse that could be conquered by ambition and means, but had truly become a "game" with rules and order.

There is only one person who makes the rules.

In the command center, Qin Shiyue remained silent for a long time.

All his wisdom and strategies seem so laughable in the face of the "one-click world reinstallation" behavior.

He finally gave up trying to understand and speculate.

"Pass the word down." He waved his hand wearily. "From today onward, our focus will be singular."

"Study the rules of the new system, and then lead everyone to live well."

Inside the villa.

Lu Yuan reappeared on the sofa in the living room and sank into it.

This re-installation of the world consumed a lot of his essence, and he felt a long-lost fatigue.

Fatty Wang quickly handed over a new can of iced cola.

Lu Yuan took a big gulp and recovered.

He glanced out the window.

The world was peaceful, but everyone was idle and looked bewildered.

"If you're too free, you'll easily bother me."

Lu Yuan muttered to himself as he lazily brought up the GM panel.

He entered "city construction" in the task template.

The reward is set to "automatic system evaluation".

Then click on [Global Release].

After doing all that, he curled up on the sofa and closed his eyes.

"Finally, some peace and quiet."