Chapter 809 Wage Earner, Wage Earner's Spirit

After a deep sigh with emotion, Song Ren became very happy again.

Isn't playing games all about the sense of immersion?

Immersing yourself into the protagonist's role, adventuring alongside them?

Clearly, Cloud's looks gave him a strong sense of immersion.

Regardless of what he himself looked like, as long as there was immersion, that was all that mattered.

"But right now, Cloud has just met Barret, hasn't he?"

Song Ren focused his attention on the conversation between Cloud and Barret.

Right from the start, they were planning to blow up the Mako Reactor, and Barret spoke just as aggressively as in the movie!

Watching the interactions between Cloud, Barret, and the Avalanche trio in the game, Song Ren felt a mix of anticipation and curiosity.

Although Barret didn't appear much in the movie, Song Ren knew he was still a member of the protagonist's party.

Similarly, characters like Red XIII, Vincent, Yuffie, and Tifa also intrigued him—how exactly did they cross paths with Cloud?

The game's beginning didn't have anything particularly noteworthy.

It was roughly the usual simple flow of games, briefly outlining the relevant quests.

Cloud, as a mercenary, knew Tifa.

And Tifa was a member of Avalanche, so Barret's group hired Cloud to help them blow up the Mako Reactor.

However, at this point, Barret didn't trust Cloud much.

As for the game's Combat System, it wasn't purely action-based gameplay as Song Ren had initially thought. Instead, it resembled Xenoblade Chronicles, but without automatic attacks. Players needed to control Cloud's attacks and dodges. Additionally, the game featured distinctions between Magic and martial techniques, which players could choose to unleash.

Although it appeared action-oriented, it was fundamentally more rooted in RPG attributes. After trying it out as a Veteran Player, Song Ren instantly reached a conclusion.

Sufficiently skilled operations could compensate for some data gaps, but ultimately, it was data improvement and the strategic arrangement and selection of Skills that mattered most. The game also included attribute counters and similar mechanics.

Of course, if players didn't want to manually operate, the game also offered an auto-battle command. Once selected, it would function similarly to Xenoblade Chronicles.

Having played Xenoblade Chronicles, Song Ren found this Combat System easy to pick up.

Especially since, unlike in Xenoblade Chronicles where only one character could be controlled at a time, with up to three Blades being switchable, here players could freely switch between Cloud and Barret—the two currently playable characters—and their roles were clearly defined.

Ground-based monsters were easier for Cloud to handle, while flying monsters were more efficiently attacked by Barret.

Inside the elevator, Barret once again explained information about Shinra and the Mako Reactors.

These were details not fully elaborated in Advent Children.

Simply put, the Lifestream was being extracted and converted into Mako, becoming a new energy source akin to oil or coal.

But the cost of these new energy sources was a shortened lifespan for the planet and land stripped of nutrients and life energy.

This was why Midgar almost never had green plants. In Advent Children, however, most areas of Midgar were covered in green vegetation.

This was precisely because, at that time, Shinra—or rather, Shinra's Mako Reactors—had all been destroyed, allowing the earth to regain its life energy.

"So the Shinra Company is a massive capitalist conglomerate, on one hand creating societal wealth through Mako and exploiting ordinary people, while on the other hand destroying the planet's environment."

"And Avalanche is a civilian environmental organization, aiming to purify the environment and defeat the big capitalists!"

Based on the content of Advent Children and the information gathered so far, Song Ren briefly summarized.

Additionally, as the game progressed, Song Ren noticed some differences—Cloud's personality currently felt rather cold and distant, somewhat reminiscent of Sephiroth.

Yet in Advent Children, Cloud's initial impression on Song Ren was not like this at all.

To describe it with a feeling: in Advent Children, Cloud initially carried a sense of guilt and lacked confidence.

He doubted his own abilities, which was why Cloud left Tifa and the others. But eventually, encouraged by his companions, Cloud regained his spirit and faced Sephiroth.

But this current Cloud gave Song Ren the impression of being aloof and incredibly awesome.

Especially phrases like "not interested" and "1st Class SOLDIER," which further proved this point.

So the Final Fantasy game's story mainly revolves around the great battle against Sephiroth, and Cloud's gradual personality transformation?

Just like Light turning into Pyra in Xenoblade Chronicles?

Along the way, Song Ren speculated in his mind, but this speculation quickly vanished as the story officially entered the interior of the Mako Reactor.

Because his attention was completely captivated by the spectacular scenes.

Thick Brass Pipes, massive machines operating, continuously extracting the Lifestream from the bottomless depths of the underground world and converting it into Mako.

And a mechanical boss as large as a scorpion.

Fully showcasing the unique mechanical beauty of Steampunk.

No other words could describe it—only "spectacular" would suffice.

Then, the escape sequence following the Mako Reactor explosion gave Song Ren the illusion of playing Uncharted.

Continuous combat, accompanied by the collapsing equipment of the Mako Reactor and the sense of immersion brought by VR perspective of burning flames, was thrilling and exciting.

Following the prearranged path, Cloud and his companions successfully escaped. On the chaotic streets, Song Ren finally encountered another game character—the flower-selling girl Aerith. However, at this point, Cloud's interaction with her was limited to buying a single yellow flower.

Next, Cloud followed Barret and the others on the subway to their secret base—the Seventh Heaven bar in the Slum.

And the bar's owner was Tifa, Cloud's childhood friend.

"Tifa! This is absolutely awesome!"

Compared to the yet-to-be-revealed role of the flower girl, who only appeared briefly in photos and Cloud's memories in Advent Children—at that time, not even her name was known—Tifa's appearance clearly excited Song Ren more.

Her black shoulder-length hair, combined with her visible abs and black skirt, made Ah Wei, already buried in the grave, die once again.

"Damn it! Negative reviews! Why in Detroit: Become Human can players make the character go prone, but in Final Fantasy, apart from specific level interactions, you can't even crouch normally!"

Song Ren, harboring some less-than-pure intentions and wanting to peek from a special angle, expressed great disappointment.

The following storyline wasn't particularly dramatic but entered a very平淡 narrative phase.

At this point, Tifa wanted to ask Cloud to help Avalanche and used the all-too-common trope of nostalgic memories.

"If Cloud really becomes a great hero like Sephiroth, will you come save me when I'm in danger?"

Facing this heartwarming memory trigger, Cloud then displayed an unusually 'hard' side.

"Sorry, I'm not a hero, nor am I famous... So I'm afraid I can't keep that promise."

This damn iron will.

Cloud, if you keep acting like this, you'll end up without a girlfriend!

Hearing Cloud's words right in front of him, Song Ren was practically desperate inside.

It felt just like playing a Galgame.

The protagonist's direction was completely different from the imagined route!

Clearly, Tifa hadn't expected Cloud to respond this way at all.

At this moment, Barret appeared, but the payment he offered Cloud was significantly reduced.

Here, Chen Xu had made a slight improvement compared to the original version—at least the tuition fee for the little girl Marlene had to be retained. After all, education must never be compromised, no matter how poor one is.

Tifa then asked Cloud to understand the situation, saying they'd have money soon after replacing the air filters for the Slum merchants, and invited Cloud to come collect payments with her.

"Come on, just think of it as protecting me."

Leaning on the bar counter, Tifa used a coquettish tone to say.

Hearing Tifa's coquettish voice in front of him, Song Ren couldn't help but sigh just like Cloud. Who could possibly resist Tifa's coquetry?

In fact, Song Ren purely felt that this scene was just Mr. Chen's way of showcasing the lethality of Tifa's coquetry.

With a sigh, Song Ren wandered through the Slum with Tifa, experiencing a completely different style.

"Indeed, it's the Slum! The art style here is completely different from Midgar's Upper Plate earlier!"

Stepping out from Seventh Heaven, following closely behind Tifa.

During the daytime, Song Ren could observe the surrounding environment more carefully.

Just as the name of this map suggested: Slum.

Judging from the environment, it was truly run-down.

Previously, after destroying the Mako Reactor and escaping from Shinra's facility.

The surrounding city at least looked somewhat Modern Era in style.

Not magnificent and beautiful, but at least orderly, with clean and tidy streets.

But the Slum was entirely different.

Stray cats and dogs everywhere, houses built from plastic sheets, various small bungalows, and fences enclosing them.

It felt as if it were straight out of a wasteland world.

Under Tifa's guidance, the Cloud played by Song Ren gained a more comprehensive understanding of this Slum.

Along the way, he also learned some knowledge related to game operations. Of course, some residents were friendly toward Cloud, while others were hostile.

To improve relations with the local residents, one had to grind Renown.

Similarly, the simplest way to grind Renown was to help local residents solve some troubles.

This way, not only could one receive some rewards, but one's reputation in the area could also be greatly improved.

Inside the warehouse, he once again encountered Jessie and the Avalanche trio.

As for side quests, they followed the standard RPG game flow, so Song Ren wasn't particularly surprised.

Helping a little girl in Sand Park search everywhere for her good friend: Palicos.

For this, Cloud, carrying his Great Sword, needed to search all over the Slum's interconnected pathways for Meow Meow.

He also needed to help the grocery store owner deal with mutated Twitch.

And deal with some mutated beasts on the outskirts of the Slum that threatened local residents.

Additionally, there was helping a researcher—though a Shinra member, dedicated to opposing Shinra—collect information on various monsters.

And helping the warehouse owner drive away various mutants inside the warehouse.

"This isn't a Shinra warrior or mercenary—it's just a wage earner!"

"Wage earner, wage earner's spirit—even a protagonist like Cloud can't escape working odd jobs!"

After completing two side quests and gaining levels, receiving payment from the employers, Song Ren suddenly had an epiphany.

The current main quest and side quests all highlighted one point:

Right now, Cloud was no savior-of-the-world Hero.

He was just an emotionless working machine.

Previously, he worked for the Shinra Company.

Now, he worked for the Slum residents, and for the Avalanche team.

But thinking about it carefully, wasn't the protagonist in every game essentially a wage earner?

Geralt of Rivia, while searching for his adopted daughter, had to accept various commissions to make a living.

Arthur Morgan spent his entire life working for Dutch, not only getting sick from the job but also losing himself when the company went bankrupt. And if the company had truly gone under, that would've been one thing, but the company had already transferred its assets beforehand.

But then again, in Advent Children, Tifa runs a delivery company, clearly funded by Cloud.

Where did this money come from? From working odd jobs!

So, is the path to starting your own business first having to work as an employee?

(End of Chapter)<>