Chapter 907: The Trigger Method
Hearing that there was also a perfect ending, the players all got excited.
Although some people had said things like "one of them was bound to die," "the ending is reasonable," or "a happy reunion isn't necessary" after seeing the previous endings, once they learned about the perfect ending, the players immediately became interested.
Since there was already a video, the authenticity of this ending didn't need to be questioned. The only issue was: how exactly was this ending triggered?
After completing the game, players could freely choose any chapter to replay. Many players, unwilling to give up, tried the final chapter again, only to find that Vincent would still shoot himself at the end—there was no option to aim for the shoulder!
The original poster answered everyone's questions: "Clear all the mini-games and trigger all the interactive scenes, and this ending will appear!"
The players were stunned. What the hell? That actually works?
Clear all the mini-games?
Trigger all the interactive scenes?
What kind of concept was that?
How many mini-games were there in "Escape from Heaven"? Basically countless. In every scene, Leo and Vincent had various things to play with. For example, near the slums where Leo lived, the two could throw darts, play baseball, toss horseshoes at the farm, mess around with a wheelchair at the hospital, play video games in the hangar...
Basically, every scene had a ton of mini-games. Many players, eager to speed through the story, ignored them entirely. And now these mini-games actually affected the ending?
As for the interactive scenes, there were even more. For instance, in the slums near Leo's house, the two would encounter a woman holding a baseball bat who claimed her husband was cheating. A bit further on, they'd see an RV and hear sounds not suitable for children coming from inside. If they knocked, they'd find the cheating husband inside. Then, informing the woman with the baseball bat would trigger a scene of catching the adulterers in the act...
Also in the slums near Leo's house, there was a seesaw. If the two sat on it facing each other, it would trigger a conversation.
Leo: "What the hell are we doing?"
Vincent: "I don't know. You sat down first."
Leo: "No, I didn't."
Vincent: "You did sit down first."
Leo: "Really... This is awkward."
There were many more interactive scenes like this, giving off a "we've locked eyes, we're the ones" vibe. Some were funny, some were silly and cute, some were emotional...
The players were shocked. Completing all the mini-games and all the interactive scenes—how much time would that take? They had no idea what that poster had gone through...
So, many players who wanted to achieve the perfect ending called up their good buddies again and started the game from scratch. This time, they weren't in a hurry to push through the story. Instead, they carefully played through every mini-game and interactive scene.
After truly completing all the interactive scenes, the players roughly understood why Chen Mo had arranged such an ending.
Was the ending where Leo dies or Vincent dies really reasonable?
Actually, if you thought about it carefully, it wasn't.
Vincent, as a well-trained police officer, could disassemble a gun with ease and had quick reflexes. He and Leo had been through life-and-death situations together and survived the hail of bullets on the Mexican island. Yet, in front of the plane, when he pointed his gun at Leo, Leo managed to take it from him? Was that reasonable?
Leo hijacked Vincent's police car to escape. He got the car, he got the gun. If he really wanted to kill Vincent, he could have just shot him dead. Why drive with one hand while pointing the gun at Vincent, giving him a chance to grab it, causing both of them to crash into the river?
Think about it: the two of them seemed to be holding back. Otherwise, two people with such agile skills, sharp shooting, and evenly matched combat abilities wouldn't have had to fight until the very last moment to determine the winner.
Why was that? Obviously, they both hesitated.
When Vincent pointed his gun at Leo, facing Leo's decisive move to take it, he hesitated for a split second and didn't shoot Leo dead.
And when Leo hijacked Vincent and drove off, he didn't immediately think to kill him, giving Vincent the chance to grab the gun.
Clearly, these two still had feelings for each other. Before pulling the trigger, they hesitated and couldn't bear it many times. But their differing stances and the anger from betrayal drove them step by step down a dead-end road, toward a final outcome where one had to die.
But what if the players had completed all the mini-games and interactive scenes?
In the bits and pieces of their escape, Vincent and Leo experienced so much. Sometimes they acted like childish idiots, playing games together, arguing red-faced over who had a higher score, even arm-wrestling for five minutes at a construction site. Other times, they cooperated seamlessly, like at the farm when they played a duet, perfectly in sync.
If the players hadn't triggered so many scenes during the escape, perhaps Vincent and Leo's bond wouldn't have been deep enough, and at the final moment, they could only kill each other.
But what if they had gone through all these shared experiences?
When only one bullet remained, would Leo remember the time they played on the seesaw together?
Would Vincent recall the scene of them playing video games together?
The memories of everything they had been through gave them a chance to hesitate. They found that they truly couldn't point their guns at each other's chests. So, at the critical moment, they chose to fire the bullet into each other's right shoulder.
And then the other understood. They were in sync, knowing that continuing to fight was pointless. All grudges and grievances were settled, and they went their separate ways.
Vincent had fulfilled his duty as a police officer; he had done his best. And Leo, because of his bond with Vincent, let go of his hatred.
At the end of the story, Leo changed his name, went far away, and began his endless life on the run. Vincent, after this experience, understood the importance of family, quit his job as a police officer, and returned home to live well with his wife and daughter.
Two people with completely different personalities and life experiences, who would never have crossed paths, changed each other subtly through the bits and pieces of this long journey.
...
After understanding the deeper meaning of this ending, the players all said that the story was simply amazing!
Of course, saying it was as amazing as "The Last of Us" might be an exaggeration. After all, this game was made by Chen Mo in less than a month. It was specifically designed for the two-player mode and wasn't created with the level of a triple-A title in mind.
But this story, like "The Last of Us," still gave people an indescribable sense of emotion.