Stellar Apocalypse

December 30th, 2012, outskirts of K City, Jiangnan Province, Huaxia

“So swollen, so painful...” Liang Jing slowly regained consciousness, his head throbbing as if it might split from the agony.

“Wasn’t I reinstalling the game client?” he recalled, bored, wiping the ancient tofu-like monitor screen. He seemed to have been shocked by static, then everything went black. He remembered nothing after that. He reached for a glass of purified water, hoping to clear his head.

“It’s over!” he exclaimed in alarm. The computer monitor, the tower, even the speakers—whether plastic or metal—had all become piles of black, blocky debris. When he picked up a piece, it crumbled into a cloud of ash and dust.

Liang Jing stood frozen, his mind blank. What had happened? Even a fire couldn’t have destroyed everything so thoroughly—not even the metal parts had survived. What kind of temperature could reduce metal to ashes? And he had been in close contact with the screen the whole time!

His expression changed. He hurriedly checked himself, stripping down anxiously. A sigh of relief escaped him: everything was intact and healthy, his precious “treasure” unharmed.

After a thorough inspection, he found only some dry, dirty marks on his skin—flaking into powder at his touch—and lingering discomfort in his head. Otherwise, nothing seemed amiss.

This was far too strange and terrifying. It wasn’t just about the money lost—a mere 500 RMB for the junk computer. What kind of force could completely carbonize and destroy all the metals inside? What on earth had h