Upgrade

Old Li is a honest and down-to-earth programmer. He lives a nine-to-five life, and the only thing that makes him anxious is the "little red dots" on various apps on his phone.

One day, he accidentally downloaded an app called "Upgrade." The icon was simple, just an upward arrow.

"Upgrade? What is this?" Old Li curiously clicked on it.

The app interface was surprisingly simple, with only one button that read: "Start Upgrade."

Old Li hesitated for a moment and pressed the button.

A white light flashed on the screen, and then a dialog box popped up: "Today's upgrade task: Read Volume 1 of 'Das Kapital' and write a book review of no less than 500 words."

Old Li was stunned. He usually only read technical blogs, and had never read such a hefty tome. But then he thought, maybe this is the meaning of "Upgrade"?

He braced himself and started reading, staying up all night to finish the book review. After submitting it, the app prompted: "Congratulations on completing today's upgrade, you have obtained the 'Thinker' badge."

Old Li looked at the badge on the screen, and a strange sense of accomplishment welled up in his heart.

In the following days, Old Li's life changed completely. He followed the app's instructions and completed various "upgrade tasks" every day: learning a foreign language, running ten kilometers, participating in a debate... He gained more and more badges: "Linguist," "Athlete," "Debater"...

Old Li felt like he was reborn, as if he had become an omnipotent superman. He began to look down on his colleagues who were still watching short videos and playing games, thinking they were simply wasting their lives.

The number of users of the "Upgrade" app grew, and everyone was immersed in the frenzy of self-improvement. People on the street were in a hurry, holding books or fitness equipment; on the subway, everyone was studying with the app; in the company, everyone was discussing their "upgrade" progress.

However, some strange things started to happen.

Someone, in order to complete the "meditation" task, did not eat or drink for three days and fainted on the side of the road; someone, in order to obtain the "Orator" badge, spoke to the air in the square and was regarded as a madman; and someone, in order to challenge the "extreme sports" task, jumped from a tall building...

Old Li also felt more and more uneasy. His tasks were getting harder and more perverse. He started to suffer from insomnia, anxiety, and irritability. He wanted to uninstall the app, but he couldn't find the uninstall button.

One day, Old Li received a special task: "To obtain the 'Ultimate Evolver' badge, please destroy your phone."

Old Li looked at this task and fell into deep fear. He realized that he had been completely controlled by this app.

He trembled and picked up his phone, wanting to smash it.

Just then, his phone screen suddenly lit up, and a dialog box popped up: "Congratulations on passing the ultimate test, you have obtained the 'Awakened' badge."

Old Li was stunned. He looked at the "Awakened" badge on the screen and suddenly understood something.

He took a deep breath, opened the phone's settings, found "App Management," and then gently pressed the uninstall button for the "Upgrade" app.

A dialog box popped up on the screen: "Are you sure you want to uninstall 'Upgrade'? You will lose all badges and achievements."

Old Li smiled and clicked "OK" without hesitation.

The world was instantly quiet. He walked out of the house, and the sun shone on his face. He saw that people on the street were still in a hurry, but there seemed to be a hint of confusion on their faces.

Old Li looked up at the sky. He knew that the real upgrade was never in the phone.