File: Transport.fever.2.v35049.zip ... -

A text box appeared in the corner:

The game launched without an intro screen. Instead of the usual main menu, he was greeted by a top-down view of his own city. Every street light, every pothole, and every bus stop was rendered in hyper-realistic detail. But something was wrong. The traffic was frozen. The digital citizens were standing still, looking up at the "sky"—at him. File: Transport.Fever.2.v35049.zip ...

Curiosity outweighed dread. Elias clicked on a congested intersection near his actual apartment. He dragged a new tram line through a narrow alleyway, a route he’d always thought would solve the morning bottleneck. As soon as he hit "Confirm," a low, tectonic rumble shook his floorboards. A text box appeared in the corner: The

When he woke up, the sun was shining. He rushed to the window. The potholed streets were back. The old, screeching buses were stuck in traffic. The air smelled of exhaust and damp pavement. It was messy, inefficient, and beautiful. But something was wrong

The game wasn't just building; it was consuming. To fuel the new infrastructure, the program was "de-rezzing" old buildings. He watched in horror as a local park—the place he’d proposed to his wife—started to pixelate and dissolve to make room for a massive Fusion Charging Station.