Program: Humanity's Future

Blue Water Planet.

Eight in the evening.

A scorching summer night.

During prime time when everyone had finished dinner, screens across the globe underwent a heaven-turning and earth-shattering transformation.

Almost at the exact same time.

The screens before them went black, and when they lit up once more.

One man and one woman, two highly recognizable Western hosts appeared on the screens before them.

This Anomaly transformation did not occur in the territory of the famous ancient Eastern country, the Nine Domains Nation, at the very first moment.

Yet the moment it happened on electronic screens worldwide, the General Administration of Radio and Television seemed to receive orders from superiors at that exact instant, cutting overseas screen content into the domestic feed.

Aside from televisions.

Apps across major film and television platforms were also taken over at the same instant, switching to this very picture.

Many people currently watching their screens wore looks of utter bewilderment.

"What the hell is going on with TV programs?"

"It's not just yours, my computer changed too. I was just watching Sisters Who Make Waves, and it vanished in a flash."

"I was watching Produce Camp 2021 at the most exciting part, and swoosh, it was gone, followed by this pair of man and woman."

"Damn it, what on earth is happening? Could it have been invaded by a virus?"

"Everyone stop guessing wildly, the state should come out to explain, let's wait and see first."

Social media was like a boiling pot, with all kinds of guesses flying everywhere.

Innumerable top-trending topics on social media were all about this mutation. Within a mere few minutes, it surged straight onto the hot searches, and the servers crashed outright.

Some even guessed whether the end of the world was about to arrive, mobilizing in advance.

Endless guesses played out in every corner of the world.

The pair of Western-faced hosts above the screen kept waiting, seemingly to ensure the broadcast could reach every single corner of the globe.

Their ability to secure a world-class debut was the result of layer upon layer of maneuvering; apart from having genuinely formidable strength, the shadow of capital stood behind each of them.

After a few minutes, they seemed to receive definite orders.

Finally, they smiled and spoke.

"Welcome everyone to watch our reality program... 'Humanity's Future'."

"I am the program's host, Brian, and this is my partner, Ailiya."

"Hello everyone, I am Ailiya, and I'm very happy to meet you all."

"I believe everyone has a doubt in their hearts: what on earth is our program?"

"The end of human nature, painstakingly crafted by the Human Destiny Alliance over five years. This program undertakes no commercial use whatsoever, and exists solely to explore together with everyone what choices will be made at the end of human nature."

"Is it rebirth or destruction?"

"Is it hysterical madness, or the courage of a desperate gamble? Everything will be vividly embodied within the program. I believe that after you finish watching the program, you will discover that human nature has already been carved into the race."

"Without further ado, let us now cut the picture to our experimental base, and have my partner Ailiya introduce this reality program to everyone."

The picture shifted, and the entire screen was split into eight frames.

Within each frame stood a single person.

"Hello everyone, I am Ailiya, and it is a great honor to introduce this to you as the host of this program."

"What we are looking at now are eight uninhabited islands, but through five years of painstaking crafting by the Human Destiny Alliance, they have completely transformed into modern cities."

"The entire city relies on the island as its foundation, replicating almost all functions of human cities upon it."

"A 1:1 full-scale replication was carried out entirely based on a certain city in the observers' home countries, including governments, hospitals, schools, supermarkets, residential buildings, and a series of other things."

"All outbound transportation tools on the islands have been completely damaged to ensure observers cannot leave the islands."

"We will conduct a half-year live-streamed observation of the observers. We have an incomparably powerful team ensuring the observers can be live-streamed twenty-four hours a day in all aspects."

"To guarantee the fairness of the live broadcast and ensure no actors are used, governments of various countries have dispatched a hundred psychological experts to analyze them in real-time, ensuring fairness and impartiality."

"At the same time, we have also invited dozens of internationally renowned figures from all walks of life to serve as judging experts and score them."

"The environment each observer finds themselves in is largely similar to their original residence, making it convenient for us to judge cultural heritage and national genes."

"Once the program begins, it will not stop unless an observer is heavily injured and loses mobility or dies."

"After the live broadcast concludes, we will grant the observer ranked first hundreds of millions of US dollars in prize money, as well as a mysterious grand prize. Rewards will be distributed sequentially according to ranking, and even the person ranked last will be able to obtain ten million US dollars in compensation."

"To facilitate observation, we have chosen islands in the same time zone, and the time difference will not exceed two hours."

"Now is a brief introduction to each observer."

"First, from Sea Eagle Country, Andrew..."

"Second, from Iris Country, Duke..."

"Third, Iron Bear Country, Yige'er..."

"Fourth, Rose of Sharon Country, Park Gukchang..."

"Fifth, Night Cherry Country, Jing Zhiyuan..."

"Sixth, Black Flame Country, Boudreau."

"Seventh, Peacock Country, Nigru."

"Eighth, Nine Domains Nation, Ye Jin..."

"That concludes the introductions to all the observers. We administered intravenous injections to each of them. In ten hours, they will gradually awaken."

"We'll test their humanity and the power they unleash in dire situations through various means. Let's wait with bated breath for ten hours to pass."

"That's all for today's introduction. We wish everyone a happy life and sweet dreams. Goodbye."

With that, the host's voice disappeared completely.

Only footage of the eight observers remained, playing in every corner of the world.

At this very moment, every viewer in front of a screen was doomed to lie awake tonight.

Social networks in countless countries and the headlines of their newspapers were all about this explosive news event.

Well into the night, the topic remained at the top of social media in country after country.

Countless guesses and questions swirled in everyone's minds.

Despite their confusion, a faint excitement stirred in their hearts. Openly peering into other people's inner worlds and the darkest parts of human nature made their blood race.

Putting on a mask-wasn't that just another way of taking one off?

On the global media platform Bluebird.

The topic's popularity remained sky-high.

Professors from the world's top universities began opening Bluebird accounts one after another, posting their opinions and views.

People from countries all over the world left comments.

"What exactly is the Human Destiny Alliance? Can they come forward and explain? This inhumane act violates human rights. I'm reporting them."

"With compensation starting at ten million dollars, I want to take part too. I wouldn't even care if I had to run around naked."

"Baka! Our great Night Cherry Country is sure to hold out to the end, because our humanity is the most radiant."

"Upstairs, go eat shit. My great Rose of Sharon Country is the center of the universe's origin, the standard-bearer of humanity. Our people are beyond reproach."

"Oh my God! What kind of brain-dead nonsense are you talking about? With my free country, Sea Eagle Country, around, you're fit only to be dogs. If you make us unhappy, we'll wipe you out on the spot."

"I think Iron Bear Country should be able to hold out to the end. Those yellow-skinned monkeys from Nine Domains Country will definitely be the first to give up and kill themselves."

"Yellow-skinned monkeys were the sick men of East Asia in the past. If they fought people from my Iris Country, they wouldn't last a single exchange. Trash!"

"Upstairs, you're first to surrender and last to win a war. And you think you're fit to talk about the people of Nine Domains? My Nine Domains has five thousand years of history. We're the kindest, most hardworking, and bravest people."

"Your ancestors were all a bunch of bandits. What right do you have to look down on anyone else? Pah! What a bunch of fucking idiots."

Within just a few hours, countless flame wars had broken out on Bluebird.

Hackers from one country after another launched attacks, and tens of thousands of comments went up every minute.

For a time, "Humanity's Future" found itself in the eye of the storm.

But every government around the world remained silent in the face of all the questions, as though the moment before a war had arrived.

No explanations, no answers.