The sudden scene at the end completely stunned He An. When he came back to his senses, the list of producers at the end of the credits had already appeared on the screen.
However, what was broadcast along with the list of producers was not the exciting scenes in the game, but a news report.
"The President, through the official blog of the White House, issued a eulogy for the death of Jeff Elnor, the current president of the Luxury Group. The full text of the eulogy is as follows:
"'We are shocked to hear of the death of Mr. Jeff Elnor. Mitchell (the President's wife) and I are deeply saddened. Jeff was diligent, self-disciplined, and had a noble character. He was an entrepreneur, a philanthropist, a best-selling author, and a good friend of ours. '
"'He was good at thinking differently and believed that he could work hard to change the world and help others. His charitable foundation has helped tens of thousands of homeless people, and his book 'Struggle and Get Rich' has inspired countless young people to fight for their dreams. '
"'The world has lost a visionary, and he will always be remembered.' Mitchell and I would like to send our thoughts and prayers to Jeff's wife, his family, and all those who loved him. '"
"…"
"It is reported that Mr. Jeff Elnor was brutally murdered by a murderer during a book signing in a bookstore in the Bronx. Tens of thousands of people were agitated and demanded that the law severely punish the murderer."
"At present, the real motive of the murderer is still unknown. The police have not found any grudges between him and Mr. Jeff. The murderer seems to have a mental disorder and refused to answer any questions from the police. He just kept repeating the word 'liar'. We will continue to follow up on the murderer's trial … "
In the final news image, the protagonist's parents, wife, and children were sobbing at the protagonist's funeral.
The rich version of the game was over.
…
He An felt a little dizzy.
Gone?
It's over?
What does this ending mean?
My career has just taken off, and now it's over?
Who is this murderer?
Why did he want to kill me?
Did I choose some wrong options before, so this is the tragic ending?
Somehow, he felt that something was wrong.
He An thought about it carefully. The flow of the entire game seemed to be okay. The transitions between the various scenes were very natural, and the details were very well done. It was very immersive.
The only problem was that this ending was too abrupt. There was no foreshadowing at all!
He An thought for a moment and felt that he might have missed some parts and steps. If he played a second round or the poor version, he might be able to get a different ending.
After all, there were at least dozens of side quests to choose from, and there might be other options that could change one's fate hidden within.
However, He An did not intend to play a second time. This ending had traumatized him greatly.
The game as a whole was done very well. There was nothing to nitpick about from the story, plot, lines, and graphics. The only thing that confused people was the story.
This feeling was like going to a banquet. Good wine and good dishes were served one after another, but the table was flipped after the first bite.
"Is it possible that the poor version has some hidden content related to the rich version?"
He An could not help but have such a thought.
Although the poor version of the introduction was enough to dissuade He An, he still had some wishful thinking.
What if there was something special?
After some consideration, he clicked on the poor version and started the game.
Just like the rich version, the poor version also began with an inner monologue.
…
"I'm very grateful to my father.
"If not for him, I might have gone to Borkin Elementary School, which is one of the worst public elementary schools in the country. Half of the graduates will go to middle schools known as the 'cesspool.' There, more than 40% of the students can't graduate, so it's also known as the 'drop-out factory.'
"There are 2,000 such 'drop-out factories' in the country. They will continuously send idle young people to society.
"In our state, 68% of criminals are high school dropouts. The state government's funding for prisons and students presents a comical reversal of priorities. The money spent on a prisoner every four years is enough for a child to finish K12 in a private school from kindergarten, and there's still US $20,000 left for college.
"In the largest city in the country, there are 70,000 homeless people. Every day on the streets and subway stations, you'll encounter countless beggars, the disabled, the mentally ill, drunkards, and ex-convicts.
"36% of them are children, and the remaining 64% are mostly single mothers and childless single men.
"In this country, you must first have a sum of money, and then you can continue your life in a cheap way."
"If you're reduced to the point where you need welfare, you won't be able to find a job. Without a job, you won't be able to rent a house. Without a house, you won't be able to do anything. Once you become homeless, it means social death. Even if you're healthy, you won't be able to return to your previous life. You can only live on the streets for the rest of your life.
"I'm very sensitive to these numbers. I don't know if it's a kind of talent or survival instinct.
"Maybe the life of the poor is a series of numbers.
"Many poor people will complain about their parents.
"But no matter what, I'm very grateful to my father.
"He didn't let me become one of them.
"My father always told me that I have to learn from those outstanding people, to change the way the poor think, to work hard, and not to drift with the tide.
"Work hard, and you'll change your life.
"I have no doubt about that."
Unlike the beginning of the rich version, the poor version did not start with a specific event. Instead, it started with many fragmented scenes that depicted the scenes in the protagonist's narration in an abstract way.
Then, it was the protagonist's childhood memories.
"Not long after I was born, my mother had to quit her job to become a full-time housewife because she was the only one who could take care of me.
"Even after I went to kindergarten, the situation didn't change. Kindergarten ended at 1 pm, and leaving a child at home alone was against the child protection law.
"So, if my mother's after-tax salary couldn't satisfy the child protection law, she might as well not work. That would save her money.
"My father worked more than ten hours a day, and I rarely got to see him. But what he did was meaningful. He took me out of Borkin Elementary School and into a better school district. "
"We were lucky to live in a cheap rental house because only those with an income of 20% to 25% could live there. You had to be richer than 75% of the population, and at the same time, you had to be richer than the lowest 20%. That was a very demanding number.
"Hobbies? No, that was a number I couldn't afford. "
Following the protagonist's narration, scenes flashed across the screen.
In the cheap rental house, the protagonist's mother took care of the baby alone. She was so busy that the whole room was a mess.
The protagonist's public school was also a world of difference from the rich version's private school. However, what was even more surprising was the after-school entertainment.
In the rich version, the players' entertainment activities were horseback riding, archery, learning music, and painting. In the poor version, the players' entertainment activities were running and jumping in the yard, riding bicycles, or playing football or baseball.
Although these small games were also very detailed, they became dull when compared to the rich version.
He An wanted the protagonist to learn some hobbies instead of running around the yard every day. However, he soon found that he was short of funds.
He hired a cello teacher at home for 75 US dollars per hour.
Parents took their children to swimming lessons for 20 US dollars per 30 minutes. If it was a more professional class, it would be 200 US dollars per hour.
Gymnastics classes lasted 30 minutes, and five to ten children attended them together. The teacher would lead them to warm up for two minutes at the beginning, and the rest of the time, the parents would accompany the children to play with props and equipment. Each class cost 20 US dollars.
Even these low-quality and expensive classes had to be booked more than two months in advance.
For He An, compared the rich version and the poor version, the most prominent feeling was that it was boring.
Because he had no money, there were only a few options available. Whether it was running around in the yard or riding bicycles, he could clearly see that he was wasting time.
Similarly, the poor version of the characters were also very stereotypical. They had serious obesity problems and were also completely in line with the stereotype.
After childhood came youth. The protagonist studied hard to enter high school and took out loans to go to college. In high school, there were more activities. He could participate in choirs and orchestras, and he could participate in debates.
Although the poor protagonist and the rich protagonist worked about the same, there was a huge difference in the resources that they could obtain.
Whether the protagonist could get into college or not would determine the content of the game in the later stages of work.
If he did not master professional skills, he could only work as a restaurant waiter, cleaner, elderly caregiver, or supermarket tallyman. Even if he worked seven days a week and worked two jobs, he would still go bankrupt.
A colleague accidentally sprained her ankle while cleaning. She did not dare to call an ambulance or even go home to rest. She could only kneel on one foot and continue cleaning. Because she could not lose a day's salary, the team leader only told her to "calm down and rely on work to survive."
If he wanted to get a low-end service industry job, he could only find a job in big cities. However, the rent in big cities had been pushed up to an almost unaffordable level by the rich. If he could not afford the deposit for a cheaper monthly rent, he could only stay in a high-priced capsule hotel. The longer he stayed, the poorer he became. Once he got sick or entered peak season, the rent would increase, and he would risk going bankrupt or even sleeping on the streets.
If he could find a job through his own hard work and earn about 4,000 US dollars a month, the situation would be slightly better. However, various expenses would still be overwhelming. Monthly fixed expenses accounted for 80% of all income. Taxes and insurance 25%, rent 29%, children's education 26%, car 5%, water and electricity 5%, clothing, food and transportation 10%, and that did not include medical care.
Basically, it was difficult to have 400 US dollars left every month. If an accident happened, he would still go bankrupt and become homeless.
If he could make all the right choices and get a relatively high-paying job, his life would be relatively better. However, various related expenses would also increase in a straight line. Some expenses that he originally did not have to pay had become options that he had to pay.
This was also the point that He An felt was the most outrageous. He could have saved a lot of money, but many expenses were still forcibly deducted by the game. For example:
Buying luxury suits and bags to go to work with dignity;
Spending 2,000 US dollars to bring his child to a marine amusement park for three days on his birthday;
Social expenses, including the community he lived in, his child's extracurricular studies, and so on, were also a large sum of money;
In order to save expenses, he was used to paying with credit cards in installments. As a result, the number of credit card payments each installment was very high. He had no idea where the money went …
These choices seemed to have a certain inevitability. For example, buying luxury suits and bags. The protagonist did not want to buy them at first, but all his colleagues in the company were using them. If he did not have them, he would not fit in with his colleagues and it would be difficult for him to integrate into their circle.
Therefore, the protagonist finally gritted his teeth and bought these things.
At this point, He An seemed to understand the meaning of the protagonist's first sentence.
The life of a poor person was a series of numbers, and these numbers were various expenses.
However, in the end, this number collapsed.
As the protagonist's consumption level increased, the sudden unemployment destroyed everything, and the entire chain quickly collapsed. He lost his income, could not pay back his credit cards, the bank came to take away his house, and the interest on his card debt continued to accumulate …
Therefore, the protagonist's living environment returned to the one when his father was still alive.
In these scenes, the protagonist's voice sounded again.
"My father always told me that I have to learn from those outstanding people, to change the way the poor think, to work hard, and not to drift with the tide.
"Struggle, and you will change your life.
"I've tried, but everything seems to be back to normal. Nothing has changed.
"Is my struggle meaningless? I don't think so. At least, I didn't become one of those homeless people.
"I often think:
"If I didn't lose my job …
"If I had more savings …
"If I could reduce my expenses …
"If … I could make more choices, would I be able to change my fate?"
In the final scene, the protagonist returned home late at night after a day of work and tiptoed to the child's room.
In the darkness, he looked at the sleeping child under the moonlight and covered him with a blanket.
At this moment, the child woke up. He rubbed his eyes with his soft little hands and asked, "Daddy, why do you come home so late every day? Why do you never have time to accompany me?"
He was silent for a moment and touched the child's forehead. "Because mommy doesn't have a job, so daddy has to work hard to earn money."
The child asked again, "Then when can daddy accompany me?"
He said, "When daddy earns enough money."
The child's eyes lit up. "Daddy, when I grow up and earn enough money, you can accompany me every day, right?"
"Then daddy, how can I earn enough money?"
The protagonist was silent for a long time before saying, "Money won't fall from the sky. Only by not being satisfied with the current situation can life change for the better.
"Learn from those outstanding people, change the way the poor think, work hard, and don't drift with the tide.
"Only by working hard can you change your life."
The child's big eyes shone in the moonlight, and he nodded heavily.
The game ended, and the name list of the producers appeared on the screen.
This ending scene showed a young man studying hard. At the same time, a younger voice with a different voice from the protagonist spoke.
"My father always told me that I have to learn from those outstanding people, change the way the poor think, work hard, and don't drift with the tide.
"Struggle, and you will change your life.
"I have no doubt about that.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
