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

Zhang Wei felt like he was having a bizarre and fantastical dream.

One second he was basking in the glory of reaching level 10 and finally being able to equip the "Beginner Longsword +1".

The next second, the world outside the window transformed from a desolate, post-apocalyptic wasteland into a primitive landscape painting with saturated colors that he had only ever seen in 4K scenic films.

That colossal tree of light, seemingly connecting heaven and earth, left his mind completely blank.

He only snapped back to reality when the announcement from "Ark Community" popped up on his phone.

He's not crazy, nor is he dreaming.

It seems like...the entire city has been relocated?

"God Realm WIFI?" Zhang Wei looked at the words in the notification and subconsciously clicked on his WIFI list.

A "Ark-WIFI-God" with full signal strength, which I had never seen before, appeared at the top of the list, without any lock icon that required a password.

'

He tentatively clicked the link.

Instant connection.

A speed test webpage popped up on his mobile browser, and the numbers on it were skyrocketing at a dizzying speed.

"Holy crap..."

Zhang Wei hadn't recovered from the shock of the internet speed. He glanced at his game character panel as usual, and then froze again.

His health and mana, the two bars that had been half-depleted in the battle, were rapidly recovering at a visible speed.

Not only that, his character's avatar now has a golden buff that he has never seen before.

[The World Tree's Blessing: While in the 'Gaia' plane, you will receive a continuous buff that slowly increases all attributes, increases health and mana regeneration speed by 500%, and increases experience gain efficiency by 100%.]

Zhang Wei blinked hard to make sure he hadn't misread the "+500%".

This means that from now on, as long as he stands still, his health and mana will recover faster than if he uses potions!

He is not an isolated case.

At this moment, all the players who were "cut" into this new world discovered the amazing changes in themselves.

After a few seconds of silence, the official player forum for "Ark" was instantly flooded with a tsunami of posts.

[Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! I can't stress this enough! Have we all ascended to immortality?!]

[My God! Look at your stats downstairs! I was stuck at a bottleneck for half a month, and just after going outside for some fresh air, I broke through!]

[+1 to the comment above! I just learned the 'Fireball' spell, and now the fireballs I create are as big as basketballs! Plus, the mana cost is halved!]

[What's so surprising? My grandma, an ordinary person, got so excited that she took a few extra steps, and her decades-old leg pain suddenly disappeared!]

[You're all talking nonsense! Look at the sky! Look at that tree! I feel like my experience bar is going up on its own whenever I meditate in front of it! This is like everyone's cheating!]

The entire city, with its more than three million survivors, was plunged into a sea of ​​jubilation after the initial shock and bewilderment.

On this day, countless players who were stuck at a bottleneck collectively broke through.

Countless ordinary people with pre-existing ailments felt lighter and more relaxed than ever before.

This is no longer a simple move.

This is a complete transformation.

While everyone else was ecstatic about their own transformation, Dr. Chen and his research team were frantically operating various sophisticated instruments in a makeshift open space.

"Incredible! Absolutely incredible!" Dr. Chen, adjusting his glasses, stared at the rows of wildly fluctuating data on the screen, his face flushed with excitement. "The concentration of energy particles in the air is 3.7 times that of the outside world, and their activity is extremely high, allowing for easy absorption by the human body! This is no longer 'revitalization of spiritual energy,' this is 'primordial infusion'! It's as if we've been directly immersed in the life essence of the entire world!"

He pointed to the energy model of the World Tree on the screen, his voice trembling.

"I understand now. The sir didn't simply move us over. He migrated us, this group of 'programs,' directly from an old, virus-ridden server to a super server with top-of-the-line hardware and unlimited bandwidth! Here, everyone's 'operating efficiency' has increased a hundredfold! This is a collective 'epiphany'!"

……

Meanwhile, on Earth, at the original site of City A.

The atmosphere at the edge of that abruptly appearing primeval forest, radiating a faint golden light, was terrifyingly oppressive.

Xiao Xue, the guild leader of the "Oracle" guild, stared ahead with a livid face.

An invisible barrier blocked their path, and they could not penetrate it no matter what method they used.

Just minutes ago, they were mocking those who were holed up in City A, saying they were just waiting to die. But now, they've become the clowns locked out.

A guild member in charge of communications ran over, his face pale.

"Guild Master... we've made contact. One of our brothers in the city... he just sent a message saying he's leveled up..."

"What's the big deal about getting promoted?" Xiao Xue said impatiently.

"But...but he said he just stood there, facing a glowing tree, meditated for five minutes, and...and he leveled up..."

Xiao Xue's pupils suddenly contracted.

Beside her, Ye Tian, ​​who claimed to be a reborn person, was struck dumb, muttering to himself, "Impossible... This isn't right... This isn't how it's written in the script... How could they all be cheating..."

Everything he painstakingly planned turned into a joke in the face of others' reality of "leveling up with every breath".

Jealousy, resentment, anger, fear... all sorts of emotions fermented in the hearts of all the players who were "left behind".

They were acutely aware that an insurmountable chasm had formed between themselves and those who had "ascended."

……

On the beach in the Gaia plane.

Fatty Wang finally arrived, carrying a thermal box full of ingredients.

The flames on the barbecue grill rose again.

Lu Yuan comfortably lay back in the recliner, picked up a game controller, and prepared to continue the game he had interrupted.

"Strange, why can't I connect to the server?" He pressed a few buttons but found that the controller was unresponsive.

"Sir," Xiaoya's figure appeared, "the energy radiation from the World Tree is slightly interfering with all low-frequency wireless signals within a radius of 10,000 kilometers."

"What a hassle."

Lu Yuan frowned, then casually waved his hand at the beach and villa where he was.

It's like setting permissions for a folder.

"Alright, I've added a signal jammer here, it should be fine now."

He picked up the controller again and was pleased to see the connection success indicator light illuminate.

As for the new world that was celebrating its collective upgrade, and the old world that was consumed by jealousy and madness because it had been left behind, he paid them no heed.

After all, isn't leveling up NPCs and players in a game the most basic operation a GM can perform?