Taking advantage of the waiting time, Johnny opened the System Panel, and instantly, a bunch of small red dots popped up, making him eager to click them.
[Ding! The Son of Destiny, Arthur Morgan, has been detected. Main Quest Two has been released. Host, please check it as soon as possible.]
[Main Quest Two: Vengeance is a fool's game, and I have never been a smart person. Host, please complete the vengeance.]
[Quest Completion Condition: Kill 20 wolves]
[Completion Reward: Purple Trait—Wolf Clan Nemesis—Click for details]
[Purple ☆ Wolf Clan Nemesis] (Level 1)
[As a Cowboy, the most important thing is swift vengeance. You now have a certain level of strength, and some matters cannot be delayed any longer. Trait Effect: ① Your reaction time will be briefly enhanced when you eat wolf meat. ② Your reaction time will be enhanced when you wear a necklace made from the Wolf King's fangs. ③ You can gift the Wolf fang necklace as Bound Equipment to anyone.]
"Damn, another Aura-type skill," Johnny muttered to himself. It seemed the plan to avenge his parents needed to be moved up.
The reason he had packed his clothes when returning from Beechers Hope this time was to find the location of his parents' death and erect a Cenotaph for them.
(The manifestation of Dead Eye is shooting fast and accurately. Reaction time allows you to shoot fast, and accuracy allows you to shoot accurately.)
Johnny immediately closed Main Quest Two to check Arthur's information, but the Bond Value couldn't be viewed, indicating it hadn't reached the minimum of 75. He could only see all the Traits:
[Red ☆ Dead Eye] (Level 1)
[A skill possessed by every Gunslinger; the only difference is the level. Trait Effect: ① Activating Dead Eye greatly enhances your reaction time and accuracy but consumes your Spirit. ② Consuming alcohol, meat, and tobacco products can restore Spirit.]
[Upgrade Condition: ① Kill three or more enemies ten times while Dead Eye is active. Current progress 0/10. ② Consult a famous Gunslinger once. Current progress 0/1.]
[Acquisition Condition: Bond Value reaches 90]
(It should be noted here that this does not mean Arthur's Dead Eye is only Level 1, but rather that the Host can only view the lowest-level effect of that Trait. The Host cannot see the current level of another person's Trait.)
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[Purple ☆ Western Blabbermouth King] (Level 1)
[As a Gunslinger, your mouth can also be your weapon. Trait Effect: Your insults are more likely to break an opponent's defense.]
[Upgrade Condition: Insult 10 people until their defense breaks. Current progress 0/10.]
[Acquisition Condition: Bond Value reaches 75]
Johnny's mouth twitched. Good heavens, this works too!
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[Purple ☆ Western Ip Man] (Level 1)
[You can still become a Grandmaster in the West. Trait Effect: ① Every time you engage in melee combat, you can maximize the power of every muscle to form a powerful attack. ② Your Electric Cannon has a 100% chance of stunning the target.]
[Upgrade Condition: Stun 20 people with Electric Cannon. Current progress 0/20]
[Acquisition Condition: Bond Value reaches 80]
PS: Electric Cannon refers to attacking the opponent's eyes with a fist or knee to cause intense dizziness.
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[Purple ☆ Western Art Student] (Level 1)
[Although you did not fail, your strength is beyond doubt. Trait Effect: Your hands can depict the images in your mind to the maximum extent.]
[Upgrade Condition: Draw 5 paintings and sell them. Current progress 0/5]
[Acquisition Condition: Bond Value reaches 85]
Johnny exclaimed, "Good heavens!" One person possessing one Top-tier Trait and three Excellent Traits. It seemed he needed to be a hardcore Sycophant to raise the Bond Value. Once he acquired Dead Eye, he could adopt the Wheelchair Build.
PS: Wheelchair Build is a gaming term referring to using a certain playstyle that significantly reduces the original difficulty of the game.
Johnny stared intently at the Virtual Panel in front of him. However, just then, a burst of noise shattered the tranquility.
He raised his head and looked in the direction of the sound, seeing many scattered footsteps echoing across the silent snowy ground in the distance.
Having no choice, Johnny quickly closed the panel, thinking he would find a safe time later to carefully examine the details of the two Magical Item.
His gaze returned to the distance, where he saw a burly man riding a tall, powerful tennessee walker with reddish-brown fur.
The horse had a vigorous gait, its steps crunching the snow. Surrounding the man were over a dozen subordinates who looked somewhat disheveled, struggling to trudge through the deep snow.
This scene couldn't help but remind Johnny of classic scenes from WWII films and TV shows:
An arrogant Japanese Officer rides a tall horse, swaggering ahead, closely followed by a group of miserable, dusty infantrymen struggling desperately to keep up.
These uninvited guests gradually approached along the main road. Five or six of the henchmen swiftly rushed to the Cabin door, peering cautiously through the windows to ascertain the situation inside.
The rest of the henchmen clustered tightly around the man who appeared to be the Small leader, nervously looking around and occasionally craning their necks to look forward.
Arthur solemnly patted Johnny's broad shoulder and said earnestly:
"Mr. Van der Linde, pull yourself together and prepare for battle. Remember, don't kill the guy on the horse; leave him for me."
Johnny nodded with a determined look, signaling to Arthur that he understood the assignment.
He gripped the two gleaming lemat revolvers tightly in his hands, his fingers resting on the triggers, ready to fire a fatal blow at any moment.
At the same time, he didn't forget to instruct Arthur: "Mr. Morgan, as soon as we hear Sadie's gunshot, we move immediately."
No sooner had he finished speaking than "Bang! Bang!" two crisp and loud gunshots suddenly pierced the air. The poor unlucky fellow at the door was instantly riddled with two Shotgun blasts, his body collapsing onto the ground like a ragdoll.
However, before Johnny could pull the trigger, a rapid succession of gunshots followed. In the blink of an eye, six more unlucky fellows nearby screamed and fell to the ground. Immediately afterward, Arthur's sound of skillfully reloading bullets was heard.
(From a normal person's perspective, Dead Eye looks like this: six shots are fired in the blink of an eye.)
Faced with such a rare, guaranteed victory, Johnny knew this was a perfect opportunity to quickly level up his Traits.
He squinted slightly, aimed at one of them, and pulled the trigger repeatedly without hesitation. With each gunshot, enemies were hit and fell.
Finally, before Arthur successfully broke the limbs of the unlucky rider, Johnny, relying on the power of the Gold Trait [Western Cowboy], managed to snatch 4 kills.
While Arthur went to tie up the mounted Small leader, Johnny loudly called out to Mr. and Mrs. Adler, telling them the fight was over.
The couple walked out of the Cabin like survivors of a disaster, sighing in relief as they looked at the mess on the ground.
Arthur's face was beaming with a warm smile. He waved his broad hand toward Johnny and Arthur and loudly said, "Come inside!" Just like that, Johnny and Arthur were invited into the house by Arthur.
However, as soon as he entered the door, Arthur frowned. He suddenly thought of the ODriscoll Gang Small leader whose arms and legs were broken, and he worriedly said to Arthur:
"If this fellow is left outside, he might take the opportunity to escape; but if we keep him in here, the blood flowing from him will certainly stain the floor!"
Sadie, standing nearby, heard this, waved her hand dismissively, and replied with a smile, "Don't worry, Mr. Morgan, it won't be a big problem."
Seeing this, Arthur no longer hesitated and quickly stepped forward. He simply dragged the unlucky fellow into the Cabin with one hand, like dragging a dead dog. Along the way, the Small leader kept whimpering but dared not resist in the slightest.
Finally inside the house, Arthur threw him onto the floor. Then, he stretched his wrist, clenched his fist, and glared fiercely at the trembling man before him.
Immediately afterward, with a muffled "thud," Arthur's fist slammed into the unlucky fellow's face like a sledgehammer. With that punch, the Small leader instantly saw stars, and blood streamed from his nose and mouth.
But before he could recover, Arthur's second punch struck like a violent storm... After a round of "friendly" exchange, the Small leader, who had been stubborn moments before, couldn't take it anymore. Like spilling beans from a bamboo tube, he confessed everything truthfully.
It turned out that their boss—the Van der Linde Gang's sworn enemy, Colm ODriscoll—was planning to organize a Train Robbery targeting Cornwall in the Old Mining Area.
And these subordinates of his were so bored that they ran out to wander around, seeing if they could find some Side work to do.
Johnny was uninterested in this information he already knew. He asked the three of them if such an intense gunfight in this location might attract other members of the ODriscoll Gang. Upon hearing this, Sadie also frowned, showing signs of tension.
Finally, Arthur suggested that Mr. and Mrs. Adler and Johnny should go with him to the Pear Knife Village Camp to live temporarily, pending further decisions by his Leader, Dutch.
Mr. and Mrs. Adler and Johnny all agreed. Sadie then suggested that she and Arthur should pack up first, while Arthur went inside to eat something. Johnny was asked to clean up the battlefield and bury the bodies together.
A moment later, Arthur stepped out and fell into contemplation as he watched Johnny's method of cleanup. He saw Johnny stripping everything off the bodies except for their Underclothes, gathering them together, and covering them with snow.
(Because they would be used later to attract the attention of wolves, they couldn't be buried directly in a pit.)
It should be known that the handguns used by low-level Gang members usually wouldn't sell for $1.5 on the market. Yet, Johnny treated them like treasures, sorting and grouping them. He wouldn't even glance at those ragged clothes, but the other party tirelessly stripped them all off.
Sensing Arthur's surprised gaze, Johnny responded with a smile: "The thing I, Johnny, hate most in life is waste. I often eat every last grain of rice in my bowl."