Chapter 1 The Sudden End

That sudden scene at the end completely stunned He An. By the time he came to his senses, the credits were already rolling.

However, instead of showcasing exciting gameplay footage, the credits were accompanied by a news report.

"The President, through the official White House blog, has issued a eulogy for the late Jeff Elno, current CEO of Luxury Group. The full text of the eulogy is as follows:"

"'Mitchell (the First Lady) and I are deeply saddened by the news of Mr. Jeff Elno's passing. Jeff was diligent, disciplined, and possessed noble character. He was an entrepreneur, philanthropist, bestselling author, and a good friend to us.'"

"'He was gifted at thinking about problems in different ways, and believed in his ability to change the world and help others through hard work. His charitable foundation has assisted tens of thousands of homeless people, and his book, *Striving and Succeeding*, has inspired countless young people to fight for their dreams.'"

"'The world has lost a visionary. He will be forever missed. Mitchell and I send our thoughts and prayers to Jeff's wife, his family, and all those who loved him.'"

"..."

"It is reported that Mr. Jeff Elno was brutally murdered by a criminal during a book signing at a bookstore in the Bronx. Tens of thousands of people are outraged, demanding that the law severely punish the perpetrator."

"Currently, the true motive of the perpetrator is unclear. Police have not found any prior conflicts between him and Mr. Elno. The perpetrator appears to have mental issues, refusing to answer any questions from the police, only repeating the word 'liar' incessantly. This station will continue to track the trial of the perpetrator..."

In the final news footage, the protagonist's parents, wife, and children were weeping inconsolably at his funeral.

The rich man's version of the game concluded here.

...

He An was a bit dizzy.

That was it?

It's over?

What does this ending mean?

My career was just taking off, and then I just died?

Who is this murderer?

Why did he kill me?

Did I choose the wrong options earlier, resulting in this tragic ending?

Something feels off.

He An thought about it carefully. The overall flow of the game seemed fine. The transitions between scenes were natural, and the details were well-executed, creating a strong sense of immersion.

It was just this ending that was too abrupt. There was absolutely no foreshadowing!

He An figured that he might have missed some steps or elements. Playing a second playthrough, or the poor man's version, might unlock other endings.

After all, there were at least dozens of side branches to choose from, possibly hiding some other options that could change his fate.

However, He An wasn't planning on playing a second playthrough right away. This ending had left him psychologically scarred.

The game was well-made overall. There was nothing to criticize in terms of the story, plot, dialogue, or visual details. It was just that the story left him completely confused.

It was like going to a banquet where courses of delicious food and fine wine were served one after another, only for someone to flip the table after the first bite.

"Could the poor man's version be hiding some content related to the rich man's version?"

He An couldn't help but wonder.

Although the description of the poor man's version was discouraging enough, He An still harbored some wishful thinking.

What if there was something special?

He considered it for a moment and still clicked on the poor man's version to start the game.

Like the rich man's version, the poor man's version also began with a monologue.

...

"I am grateful to my father."

"If it weren't for him, I might have attended Polkin Elementary School, one of the worst public elementary schools in the country. Half of its graduates would go on to a middle school known as 'the Cesspool,' where over 40% of the students fail to graduate, earning it the name 'Dropout Factory.'"

"There are two thousand such 'Dropout Factories' across the country. They continuously supply society with idle young people."

"In our state, 68% of criminals are high school dropouts. The state government's funding for prisons and students is a ridiculous case of putting the cart before the horse. The money spent on one prisoner every four years is enough for a child to attend private school from kindergarten through 12th grade, with an extra $20,000 left over for college."

"The largest cities in the country have seventy thousand homeless people. Every day, you encounter countless beggars, disabled people, mentally ill people, alcoholics, and ex-convicts on the streets and in subway stations."

"Thirty-six percent of them are children, and the remaining 64% are mostly single mothers and single men without children."

"In this country, you first need a sum of money to keep your life running in a cheap loop."

"If you fall to the point where you need to receive welfare, then receiving welfare prevents you from finding a job. Without a job, you can't rent a house. Without a house, you can't do anything. Once you become homeless, it means social death. Even if you are healthy and have all your limbs, it's impossible to return to your previous life. You can only wander the streets for the rest of your days."

"I am sensitive to these numbers. I don't know if it's a talent or a survival instinct."

"Perhaps a poor person's life is just a series of numbers."

"Many poor people complain about their parents."

"But regardless, I am grateful to my father."

"He didn't let me become one of these people."

"My father always told me that I should learn from those who are excellent, change my poor-person thinking, work hard, and not follow the crowd."

"Striving will change your life."

"I firmly believe in this."

Unlike the opening of the rich man's version, the opening of the poor man's version wasn't a specific event, but many fragmented scenes that abstractly depicted the images in the protagonist's narration.

Next came the protagonist's childhood memories.

"Shortly after I was born, my mother had to quit her job to become a full-time housewife, because only she could take care of me."

"This situation didn't change even after I started kindergarten, because kindergarten ends at 1 p.m., and leaving a child alone at home would violate child protection laws."

"So, if my mother's after-tax salary couldn't afford a kindergarten or tutoring program to comply with child protection laws, it would be cheaper for her not to work."

"My father worked more than ten hours a day, and I rarely saw him. But his sacrifices were meaningful. He took me away from Polkin Elementary School and brought me to a better school district."

"We lived in subsidized housing, which was a stroke of luck, because only those in the 20-25% income bracket could qualify. You had to be poorer than 75% of the people, while also being richer than the bottom 20%. It's a very harsh range."

"Hobbies? No, that was a number I couldn't afford."

Accompanied by the protagonist's narration, a series of shots flashed across the screen.

In the subsidized housing, the protagonist's mother was taking care of the baby alone, overwhelmed and frazzled. The whole room was a mess.

The protagonist's public school was also vastly different from the private school in the rich man's version. But what was even more surprising was the extracurricular activities.

In the rich man's version, the player's recreational activities were horseback riding, archery, and learning music and painting. In the poor man's version, the player's recreational activities were running around in the yard, riding a bicycle, or playing soccer and baseball.

Although these mini-games were also well-made, they became bland in comparison to the rich man's version.

He An wanted the protagonist to learn some hobbies, instead of running around in the yard every day, but he soon realized that he was strapped for cash.

Having a teacher come to the house to teach cello costs $75 per hour.

Parents taking their child to swimming lessons costs $20 per 30 minutes. A more professional course costs $200 per hour.

Gymnastics class is 30 minutes long, with 5-10 children in a class. The teacher leads a 2-minute warm-up, and the rest of the time, the parents play with the children using the equipment, costing $20 per class.

Even these low-quality, not-so-cheap courses need to be booked more than 2 months in advance.

For He An, the most prominent feeling in the poor man's version compared to the rich man's version was boredom.

Because he didn't have money, there were only a few options to choose from. Whether it was running around in the yard or riding a bicycle, he could clearly sense that he was wasting time.

Similarly, the characters in the poor man's version were also very stereotypical, with serious obesity problems, completely conforming to stereotypes.

After childhood came adolescence. The protagonist worked hard to get into high school and took out loans to go to college. In high school, there were more activities. He could join the choir and orchestra, and participate in debates.

Although the poor protagonist worked almost as hard as the rich protagonist, the resources he could obtain were vastly different.

Whether or not he could get into college would determine the content of the game in the later working phase.

If he didn't have any professional skills, he could only work as a restaurant server, cleaner, elderly caregiver, or supermarket stocker. Even working seven days a week, holding two jobs, he would still go bankrupt.

A colleague accidentally sprained her ankle while cleaning and didn't dare to call an ambulance, or even go home to rest. She could only kneel on one foot and continue cleaning because she couldn't afford to lose a day's pay. The team leader just told her to "calm down and push through it by working."

To get a job in low-end service industries, you had to find work in big cities, but rent in big cities had been driven up to almost unaffordable levels by the rich. Unable to afford the deposit for cheaper apartments, you could only stay in expensive, daily-rate capsule hotels, getting poorer and poorer. Once you got sick or the rent went up during peak season, you risked bankruptcy or even homelessness.

If you found a job through your hard work, earning around $4,000 a month, the situation would be slightly better, but various expenses would still be overwhelming. Fixed monthly expenses would account for 80% of all income: 25% for taxes and insurance, 29% for rent, 26% for children's education, 5% for a car, 5% for utilities, and 10% for food, clothing, and transportation, not including medical expenses.

Basically, it was hard to save $400 each month. Any accident could still lead to bankruptcy and homelessness.

If you made all the right choices and landed a relatively high-paying job, life would be relatively comfortable, but various related expenses would also increase exponentially. Some expenses that were originally unnecessary became mandatory.

And this was the most outrageous thing for He An. Even though he could save a lot of money, many expenses were still forcibly deducted by the game, such as:

Buying luxury suits and bags to look presentable at work.

Spending $2,000 to take his child to a seaside park for three days on his birthday.

Social expenses, including the neighborhood he lived in and his child's extracurricular activities, were also a large sum of money.

To save money, he got used to paying with credit card installments, so the monthly payments were very high, and he didn't know where all the money was actually going...

And these choices seemed to have a certain inevitability. For example, buying luxury suits and bags. The protagonist originally didn't want to buy them, but all his colleagues were using them, and if he didn't have them, he would be out of place and unable to fit into their circle.

So, the protagonist eventually gritted his teeth and bought these things.

At this point, He An seemed to understand what the protagonist meant by his initial statement.

A poor person's life is just a series of numbers, and that number is all kinds of expenses.

However, in the end, this number still collapsed.

As the protagonist's spending level increased, a sudden job loss destroyed everything. The entire chain quickly collapsed: loss of income, inability to pay credit card bills, the bank coming to take the house, credit card debt accumulating interest...

Thus, the protagonist's living environment returned to the way it was when his father was young.

In a series of scenes, the protagonist's voice sounded again.

"My father always told me that I should learn from those who are excellent, change my poor-person thinking, work hard, and not follow the crowd."

"Striving will change your life."

"I worked hard, but everything seemed to go back to the way it was, and nothing changed."

"Was my striving meaningless? I don't think so. At least I didn't become one of those homeless people."

"I often think:"

"If I hadn't lost my job..."

"If I had more savings..."

"If I could have fewer expenses..."

"If... if I could have made a few more right choices, could I have changed my fate?"

The last scene was of the protagonist returning home late at night after finishing a day's work, and quietly coming to his child's room.

In the darkness, he used the moonlight to look at his sleeping child and tucked him in.

Just then, the child woke up, rubbed his eyes with his soft little hands, and asked, "Dad, why do you come home so late every day? You never have time to play with me?"

He was silent for a while, then touched the child's forehead and said, "Because Mom doesn't work, and Dad has to work hard to make money."

The child said again, "When will Dad be able to play with me?"

He said, "When Dad makes enough money."

The child's eyes sparkled: "Dad, when I grow up and make enough money, you can play with me every day, right?"

"Then Dad, how can I make enough money?"

The protagonist was silent for a long time, and then said, "Money doesn't fall from the sky. Only by not being satisfied with the status quo can life get better."

"Learn from those who are excellent, change your poor-person thinking, work hard, and don't follow the crowd."

"Hard work will change your life."

The child's big eyes shone brightly in the moonlight, and he nodded heavily.

The game ended, and the credits appeared on the screen.

This time, the ending scene was of a young man burying his head in his studies. At the same time, another younger narration, different from the protagonist's voice, sounded.

"My father always told me that I should learn from those who are excellent, change my poor-person thinking, work hard, and not follow the crowd."

"Striving will change your life."

"I firmly believe in this."