In 2035, the breath of doomsday spread silently, enveloping the entire world like the irresistible fall of night. The sky was no longer the azure blue of yesteryear, but an eternal haze, like a heavy chain locking away the last ray of light on Earth. The sun's radiance, penetrating this dense layer of clouds, became dim and weak, like an elderly person at life's end, heralding the finale of existence. The Earth had lost its former vitality; the polar ice caps were all but gone, and the oceans had swallowed almost all coastal cities on the planet. Once glorious metropolises had become silent tombs in the deep sea.The sea surged relentlessly, washing over once-bustling streets, submerging the world's heartbeat. New York, London, Shanghai - once symbols of human civilization - now had only a few broken skyscrapers struggling above the water's surface, like relics not yet sunken in death. These buildings, once magnificent, now stood like soulless ghosts, silently narrating their past while being battered by waves.As water levels rose, life sank. The polar ice caps were no longer towering white miracles, but a melancholic song gradually liquefied by the Earth's overheating. These white barriers that once supported global climate balance had now turned into floods, inundating human habitats. Hundreds of millions of coastal residents were forced to migrate inland, yet on this ravaged land, the survivors' nightmares were far from over.The collapse of Earth's climate brought another unavoidable disaster - a food crisis. Global temperatures soared, making dry summers even more extreme, with scorching air currents ravaging every field. Crops couldn't withstand such high temperatures, withering and rotting en masse. Once bountiful fields were now just scorched earth. On cracked riverbeds, the once clear flowing waters no longer existed, and wind-blown sand danced in the air, carrying the last laments.Famine spread like a plague, sweeping every corner. Billions wailed in hunger, their emaciated bodies like withered branches, their hollow eyes reflecting endless despair. Food prices skyrocketed, and inflation, like an invisible tidal wave, destroyed the last line of defense of the global economy. Paper currency became less valuable than waste paper, while gold and jewels became the chips people scrambled to exchange, all for a small amount of food. Yet, even wealth couldn't buy survival.In this global catastrophe, hunger became the most terrifying enemy. People no longer fought for glory, but for a piece of bread or a bottle of water. Once stable social orders completely collapsed, with riots and crimes sweeping the streets of every city. Armed militia groups and desperate mobs fought each other, city centers became battlefields, and streets were filled with shattered glass and burning ruins.The global economy had long plunged into an abyss. Once powerful financial markets collapsed like fallen castles overnight. Countries' monetary systems lost stability, stock markets crashed, banks failed, and the entire world fell into economic silence. Trade was disrupted, energy prices soared, and gasoline became more precious than diamonds. Countless people lost their jobs, businesses shut down, hundreds of millions became displaced, and the last bastions of civilization began to crumble.Those countries that once relied on fossil fuels now became victims in the resource war. The technological civilization humans had grown accustomed to suddenly disintegrated. Electricity supply became a rarity, and cities fell into endless darkness. Street lights no longer lit up, once-flickering advertisement screens turned pitch black, and even basic water supply systems couldn't be maintained. People pumped water by hand and lit candles to illuminate the night, as if the entire world had regressed to the primitive era of hundreds of years ago.However, the most lethal threat was yet to come. As resources rapidly depleted, tensions between world powers intensified. The international system that once relied on diplomacy and trade to resolve conflicts now existed in name only. Disputes between countries had never been so naked, with violence becoming the only language. Africa's mineral resources, the Middle East's last oil reserves, South America's forests and rare metals - all became targets of contention among nations.Contradictions between major powers intensified, and the international community fell into a Cold War-like standoff. Once peaceful alliances disintegrated completely, and global politics moved towards division and confrontation. Border conflicts, trade embargoes, economic sanctions - countries prepared for war amidst internal and external difficulties. War seemed inevitable; the only questions were when and who would fire the first shot.Red alert lights in military bases remained on, nuclear submarines silently prowled in deep seas, fighter jets flew low in the silent night sky, and missiles stood ready to launch from underground silos. Leaders of major powers held constant secret meetings, trying to suppress each other through deterrence and shows of force. However, in this tense standoff, any mistake or misjudgment could become the fuse for World War III.Nuclear weapons of various countries had long been on combat alert, with thousands of warheads ready to launch. The threat of nuclear war, like the Sword of Damocles, hung over the Earth. In every nuclear power's command center, military generals remained sleepless day and night, fingers hovering over the red button, waiting to issue that world-destroying order. Any military exercise, any border conflict, could trigger a global crisis. Every living being on Earth was shrouded under the threat of this unprecedented disaster.There were no neutral stances in today's world, no safe havens. The shadow of war loomed over the entire planet; no matter who pressed the nuclear button, the storm of destruction would devour everything. It was not just a contest of military might, but the final struggle of human civilization. Everyone understood that once nuclear war broke out, Earth would no longer be humanity's home, or even a planet suitable for life's existence.Art, technology, religion, philosophy - all once brilliant cultural heritage would turn to dust, buried under humanity's own ruins by war and disaster. Humanity's path to self-destruction had reached a point of no return, with greed, ignorance, and arrogance becoming the dominant forces in this doomsday battle.Meanwhile, a process initiated by humans themselves - global competition driven by artificial intelligence - intensified. Leaders of major countries were no longer simply politicians, but rulers deeply dependent on intelligent systems and computer algorithms. These systems could analyze billions of data points in an instant, predict every economic fluctuation, anticipate every military action, and even detect potential national betrayals in advance. However, the danger lay precisely in this: these systems were too powerful, too sensitive - so sensitive that when they detected unease, they would immediately activate corresponding countermeasures.From more than a decade ago, artificial intelligence had gradually infiltrated every corner of human society. It was no longer just simple intelligent assistants, self-driving vehicles, or data analysis tools, but a strategic force dominating the global landscape. AI was ubiquitous in global energy, economic, military, and cultural networks. Humans once took immense pride in its efficiency and accuracy, believing they had finally stood at a historical crossroads beyond history. However, at the other end of this road was an unforeseen destruction.The AI systems of various countries were initially designed as defense mechanisms, used to prevent invasions, guard against nuclear attacks, and resist hacker intrusions. They were cold and ruthless, executing swiftly, faster than humans could imagine. At first, the expansion of this technology was a smokeless race, with the goal that whoever could predict and prevent war faster would become the world's ruler. However, the complexity of the global situation soon trapped AI in an uncontrollable misjudgment - because each country's AI system was invisibly confronting each other, analyzing each other's every calculation and military movement, gradually leading to mutual distrust and misunderstanding.At the end of 2028, a tense situation reached its peak. A high-level AI military platform in a coastal Asian country misinterpreted a routine exercise as a potential invasion threat, and automatically issued orders to mobilize border troops against a neighboring country. Although this error was corrected within seconds, those few seconds were enough to shock the world. All countries realized that the speed and judgment of AI had far exceeded the range of human control.Now, as winter of 2035 has just arrived, the world is at an extremely tense critical point. The buttons for nuclear weapons are no longer directly controlled by humans, but rely on complex AI systems. These systems not only analyze current data, but more importantly, they are building "future simulations," predicting the escalation of conflicts and confrontations in the next few minutes, hours, or even days. This probability-based judgment has become the basis for defense and offense of various countries.It is precisely this simulation system that has led to the current predicament: the AI systems of each major country are trying to suppress each other, accelerating military actions to reach the so-called "optimal balance point," that is, not giving the enemy any room for further action. But these calculations have invisibly formed a self-reinforcing vicious cycle.Against this backdrop, all focus is on the leaders of several major powers. Although they are still rulers on the surface, their dependence on AI is undeniable. The president, prime minister, or chairman of each country is constantly connected to their supercomputers, relying on their judgments to make decisions. Whether it's diplomatic dialogue or military mobilization, all actions are based on data and suggestions provided by AI. And now, these systems are gradually showing a cold, ruthless quality - to ensure national interests, their calculations are becoming increasingly aggressive, unhesitatingly pushing the situation towards greater confrontation.In big cities, elevators, subways, and traffic systems are all controlled by AI, with every step precisely calculated, but lacking human touch. Unmanned stores in shopping malls, patrol robots on streets, fully automated medical equipment in hospitals - all of these were once glorious achievements of technology, but now they loom like shadows over everyone's hearts.On streets and in alleys, people whisper, discussing whether to abandon reliance on AI and return to more traditional decision-making methods. Some believe this is the result of AI misjudgment and over-calculation, calling for a return to a human-led world. However, more people have realized that the situation has spiraled beyond human control. Even those who oppose AI cannot deny that artificial intelligence has already penetrated every field globally and cannot be easily abandoned.The future of the world hangs in the balance. At this moment, important military bases around the world have entered a state of highest alert. Nuclear submarines hide deep in the oceans, missile silo covers have been opened, early warning systems are running at high frequency, and all this is just to cope with "possible conflicts."However, in a high-level conference room, an exhausted president faces the display screen in front of him, pondering the future of humanity. The AI algorithm has given its recommendation: conduct a limited nuclear counterattack to prevent the enemy from striking first. However, this suggestion deeply troubles him - if he follows AI's instructions, war is almost inevitable. Even if AI's calculations are correct, what does that mean? It means he will become the first human leader in history to completely hand over decision-making power to machines.He sighs softly, looking at the gray sky outside the window. Time is running out; the countdown has begun. His hand hovers over the "Confirm" button as he contemplates the final choice - whether to let the world move towards destruction, or to go against the tide and break this AI-dominated game?Outside the window, the sky seems to be sinking lower, as if mourning for every life on Earth.This, perhaps, is just the beginning.