Part 9: Fengtian

Fengtian


At the next stage, we only have one place available to us, Fengtian. Eventually, we'll have optional destinations and be able to back-track to previously visited locations.


At this point, the game decides we've goofed off long enough and gets down to the serious business of PLOT. It starts off with the Japanese army arriving at the train that Bacon attacked.

You there. What were they escorting, anyway? A man-eating tiger?

Private Mishima: No ma'am. Alice Elliot. Caucasian female. Approximately 20 years old.

Yes. That's how I recall her as well. However, I don't see a body here of that description. Am I to assume the girl killed all these men?

Private Mishima: I...I never imagined a human being could...kill like this... It's horrible...



Hmph. If soldiers of the Imperial Army can't bring in one little girl, they don't deserve to live. Sigh. I was so looking forward to bringing a worthy souvenir back to Tokyo for Father. What a waste.

Kawashima is a bit of a bitch.







Private Fujii: An elderly peddler says a suspicious-looking man passed her in the aisle!

What kind of man? Someone from the Anti-Japanese Movement, perhaps?

Private Fujii: No, ma'am... It seems he was a Western gentleman.

...

Private Fujii: And there was another man, as well.

Another one, you say?!

Private Fujii: Yes, ma'am. A wiry youth. He seemed to be following the first man...

Private Fujii: Apparently, they both headed off in the direction of the salon car.



Does this mean he had help? A foreign gentleman and a youth... Hmm. A strange combination.

Private Mishima: What are your orders, ma'am?

Take care of the bodies. Have them sent to the Capital. I recall the Major saying his six-year-old granddaughter couldn't wait for Grandpa to come home...

The girl will surely shed tears of joy when she finds out he's returning earlier than expected.

...Okay, she's a lot of a bitch.

Private Mishima: Yes, ma'am!

Place troops in Fengtian and surrounding cities! Heh. We must use this chance to crush all the vile little termites that have infested our Utopia.

Private Fujii: Yes ma'am!




It never seems to occur to these idiots that maybe the girl they kidnapped was kidnapped by someone else. I mean, if she could do something like this, what makes them think she would have allowed herself to be captured in the first place? For shits and giggles?

Now I see why that wizened old demon in Shanghai was so hell-bent. Heh! Beware, old man...

As the hawk in flight snatches its prey away from the wolf on the ground, I mean to have that girl!


Speaking of wizened old demons...




Wait a minute... If he can just pop out of thin air, why'd he let Yuri and Alice get away?



Heh heh, perhaps I'm getting rusty. Have I somehow summoned you here by mistake...?

...It's been 15 years, Roger Bacon!

Why haven't you returned my calls, you...you TRAMP!

Ha ha ha, it HAS been some time, hasn't it? I'm pleased to see you looking so well, O great magician, Master Dehuai, Fallen Ruler of the Nine Heavens, Earth Sage.

I see you are still wearing that pasted-on smile. You have too much time on your hands, you infectious plague. What brings you to Shanghai? Surely not simply to pay me a visit?

...Heh heh. No, say nothing, I already know.

Indeed. I've found myself at a loss in this strange land, and I'm afraid I've made a slight blunder. An unforeseen meddler has entered the game, and my little bird is still outside her cage...

Heh heh heh... How unlike you, to make excuses! You need not apologize for going behind my back and abducting the girl; indeed I suspected you would.

Come now, there's no need to be so severe. I was merely indulging myself in a small divertissement. With your grand ceremony drawing near, you needn't deal with minor trifles. I thought I'd lend a hand.

He's just a regular Boy Scout, he is.



Are you telling me you would have delivered me the girl upon her capture?

Why, of course. The progress of your secret ceremony is of great interest to me, Master Dehuai. If this girl called Alice truly is the key to the ritual, I will do everything within my power to help.



A sly old fox, you are...





It would have stood in the way of the rituals...but that no longer matters. The Spirit Machine of Kuihai Tower is finally operational! I can now focus entirely on finding the girl!

Well, well. I look forward to seeing the great sage himself in action. So then, have you discovered the girl's whereabouts?

Of course. I have eyes everywhere on the continent. Heh... Very well, I'll tell you.

...She's in Fengtian.

Fengtian... Hasn't the Japanese Army set up operations there? Hmm...

I cannot imagine how they caught wind of it, but it seems they lie in wait for the girl as well.

However it happened, it's probably Yuri's fault.

Heh heh. We have nothing to fear from them. The Japanese Army is in disarray, and staffed with morons. They present little threat, save for a bothersome fly named Kawashima that's been snooping about. The girl is already mine. Heh heh heh...

Splendid. I'll be off to Fengtian, then.



Please, don't concern yourself with me. I haven't any intention of getting in your way, good sage. I'd simply like to observe your technique from afar. For future reference, you see. Very well then.





Even stranger, he's a Harmonixer, a master of fusion.


Hmm...

I'm afraid so. You yourself have substantial blood connection to the Harmonixer line, do you not? I'd rather not see a repeat of the events of fifteen years ago. Please be wary...

Either this is translated poorly or Bacon just made a pun. It's more of a "blood" as in "blood-feud" than "blood" as in "blood-relation".









Listen well, minions in Fengtian! That fraud of a warlock is headed for your city! Do not be outwitted! I shall be most disappointed should you fail to capture a single heretic girl! I shan't allow anyone to stand in the way of the Demon's Gate Invocation...

Our success or failure depends entirely on that girl, Alice Elliot!!

What the hell? Why are all of Alice's stalkers creepy old men!?




Jeez, Yuri. You've got about 9,000 in cash from killing random monsters, and you guys sleep out on benches instead of getting a hotel room? You cheap bastard.



Even after all that crap that went down, she walked all night. Pretty impressive...for a girl, I mean.

...I think I'll let her sleep a little longer.



Hmph. Y'are pretty cute, I guess, you dumb mutt.




This is getting familiar. No wonder he's in such a bad mood all the time.

Mysterious Voice: .... life .. dec.pt.on... A sma.l be.l .. you...

"Deception". That can't be good.



Grrrr...



...And, wait... Why the voice?!

Ah, well. Yuri wants to let Alice sleep, so we may as well talk to everyone in this area.



Silent Peddler: So I thought up a new service to draw customers. I call it "Pedometer Service".

Hey, do I look like a pervert to you, ya freak!?

Silent Peddler: First of all, let me give you this.

You've received the Pedometer!

Silent Peddler: Wear that when you walk through danger. It'll count your steps. Get enough and win a cool prize!

If one of the characters in your battle party has the Pedometer equipped as an accessory, it counts steps as you walk through areas where there are monsters. The more steps you count, the better the item you can redeem from the Silent Peddler.

Silent Peddler: ...No?

I don't want it? No, no, I'll have it if I can. Are you selling it?

Silent Peddler: I'm sorry, but I don't have any merchandise for sale at the moment.



Scared Sohn: I heard that some awful criminals have escaped and are hiding out her in Fengtian. God have mercy!



Worried Pao: ...? Oh, I guess...you're not Japanese, are you? I've never seen eyes that color before.

You could say she's half right. Yuri's dad was Japanese and his mother was Russian.



That must be an awful lot of bellboys with nothing to do.

Building-loving Man: Just a day's stay there costs... Goodness! A month's salary, for me!

Building-loving Man: Hmm? You...that...



P-Play? Play what?

Lottery Member No. 15: You don't know? It's your first time, eh? Then let me explain. That ticket you have there, it's a Lottery Ticket. When you have a Lottery Ticket...

Lottery Member No. 15: We members of the World Lottery Association let you play for lots of fabulous prizes. But we never tell anyone about the lottery unless they have a Ticket. Basically, the lottery is secret. Don't worry. It's not shady. The chairman is just funny that way.



World Lottery Association? The way the chairman likes it? It all sounds pretty fishy to me.

Lottery Member No. 15: Don't ask me any more than I've already told you. If I tell you anything more about the chairman...

Lottery Member No. 15: It could mean my life... Just kidding. But seriously, it could strain our beautiful friendship.



Lottery Member No. 15: Hah hah hah. They say the proof is in the pudding. Try it once and you'll see what it's all about. Whadda ya say? Wanna play?


And thus begins Yuri's first steps down a long, dark road full of sweat, tears, and desperate pleas to an uncaring deity.

Lottery Member No. 15: All right, here we go, then.


Um, no? Not the Ring, anyway.

Lottery Member No. 15: When the indicator stops on a color that matches a prize, you get that prize.


Ah, there we go.


Piece of cake.



You've received Jade Lariat.

The Jade Lariat is an accessory that increases the hit area on the Judgment Ring slightly. Yuri's getting it until he gets something better. Alice has the Pedometer equipped for now.

Lottery Member No. 15: Oh, just one word of caution. Association members all have different prizes,

Lottery Member No. 15: and there aren't all that many Lottery Tickets out there, either.

Lottery Member No. 15: I urge you to choose carefully whose lottery you'll play. Well, then, good luck!

There are 15 Lottery members scattered throughout the world, and if you want to find and play the last few, you have to have played all the previous ones at least once, win or lose. This is complicated by the fact that while you can go back to some of them later, others are one-shot deals and if you miss the window of time when they're available, you're SOL. That's why it's a good idea to make sure that you always have at least one lottery ticket.

Building-loving Man: You really should try staying at the hotel at least once.

Now that we don't have any tickets, Member 15 goes back to his generic chatter.



Dissatisfied Fumi: The soldiers are scary, though... Who do they think we are, anyway?!



Unemployed Lon: This is becoming an amazing city. Architects and engineers from the world over are on a building spree.



Wakey, wakey!





...Oh, you're up? You okay? You were sweating like crazy...have a nightmare or somethin'?

It was terrible. I was in a dark room...maybe a hospital, and there was a woman, all alone, crying...

She...she was staring at me. And then, that man! The one from the train...Bacon...appeared.

What happened to the woman?

I don't know. It got dark all of a sudden. I couldn't see...

Hah! Don't let it get to ya. It's just a dream, right? And that old guy, what's his name...?

Bacon, right. If he shows up again...well, I'll make him wish he didn't!!

Tee-hee.


Now that Alice is feeling better, the only place to go is this area off to the left.


Before going down the street, there's a chest in the alley to the upper right of the screen.






Sure, random guy muttering to himself! I'll just go right into this building sitting on a narrow, deserted street!


Hello, what's this?





We blow up those cars, and the Japanese Army'll be stuck here for at least two months! Hah! I can see the look on that idiot Kawashima's face now... Not that I know what she looks like.

Person on Radio: Malkovich, why is a pro like you always letting your personal feelings get involved? Our objective is to track the movements of the Japanese Army, not cause unwanted trouble...

Person on Radio: Speaking of unwanted trouble, you didn't set any unnecessary bombs this time...right?




I like her already.

What else could I do?! There are plenty of innocent people working in that depot, too, you know! And...and they all have these cute little lunchboxes! Anyway, all I did was set a little one outside. See? It'll go "pop" BEFORE the big one, everyone'll come running out to see what it was, then, KA-BOOM!!

Person on Radio: ...

Person on Radio: ..."Be a doctor like your cousin Mark," mother said. But, oh no, that wasn't glamorous enough for me...



Ah, ah ha ha! D-don't get into one of those moods on me! Look, I'd better finish up my work here.




Oh, lord...



Female Shopkeeper: Oh, a Guild Card, eh? It's that card you're holding with the crow and snake design on it. It's called a Guild Card. With it, stores everywhere will allow you to try to get a discount or a price raise. There are many kinds of Guild Cards. The one you have is a Snake Card.


10% discount is easy to get. The areas are large and the indicator moves slowly. I picked up the Knuckle Blade and Leather Vest for Yuri and the Shooting Star Tome and Leather Skirt for Alice. I also picked up a couple more Pure Leaves, some Angel Feathers, Phoenix Tails, and a Rosewood Bracelet for Alice (enemies in the next area can cause Paralysis, which the bracelet prevents).


We don't really have anything else to do here, except possibly get our weapons adjusted by Meiyuan. I was running low on cash, so I didn't.

Let's go.

Fengtian Radio, Japanese Army Broadcast: Kshh... Ksshhhh... This is an emergency broadcast from Fengtian Radio.



Fengtian Radio, Japanese Army Broadcast: ...Army soldiers aboard the Changchun-Fengtian train today have disappeared into Fengtian. The ringleader is a thin Caucasian female. All suspicious persons are to be reported to HQ immediately.


Oh, come on, who could possibly look at Alice and think that she murdered a train full of trained soldiers?



Female Shopkeeper: Honey! Dear, help!!

N-no! There's been a mistake!










Well, damn. If it wasn't for bad luck, Yuri'd have no luck at all.





H-hey now... What's with the big boom alla sudden...

Whoa! Lady, I can see your...

Good, you're alive. Thank God the bomb I designed to SAVE people didn't end up killing them! Anyway, I hope you got a good look, sonny boy. Just think of it as my apology.



I'm...I'm all right.

I think Yuri's head absorbed most of the force of the explosion.





Private Takeuchi: They're the people from the radio!!

Private Ogawa: Call for reinforcements!! H-hurry, we gotta inform the Captain!



Hee hee! So they're after you, too, are they?!

Us?! We're not bomb-toting terrorists, ya hear? Jeez, lady, my ears are still ringing!

Don't worry, that'll clear up. Now then, I've got to get out of here before they come back, but...

What are you going to do? I can't baby-sit, but you can come with me if you want. Okay, I'm going on ahead. See ya!


Well, that was weird.



Yuri, did you hear that radio broadcast?

Yeah. Sounds like they've blamed you for the attack on the train last night.

Me...?!

Don't worry. I'm your accomplice, after all. Wait a sec, we can't stand around chatting! Let's move! Looks like we can get out through here, like that woman did.

Not that I'm trying to follow her or anything!

...


First though, there's a ticket hidden in the rubble against the wall.


Down the hatch!

Next time on Shadow Hearts: obligatory sewer level!



Fengtian on Vimeo

NPC Scorecard