1899, North of Valentine, The Great Glacier
Johnny Van der Linde hugged his arms, shivering from the cold. An endless, deadly white covered the land.
The man shivering like a dog before him was named Song Wen. After completing the tenth playthrough of the epic masterpiece "Red Dead Redemption 2," he couldn't help but curse, "Damn legendary rats, why can't I skin legendary rats in this game?"
As a result, he choked, his vision went black, and when he woke up, he was in a snowfield. Fortunately, the kindhearted Sadie Adler rescued him, preventing him from dying quickly.
But it was also good news. Song Wen at least knew who he was, where he came from, and what he was supposed to do—the three great questions of life.
After receiving the original Host's memories, he was stunned. The original Host was named Johnny Van der Linde. His father was a native American, and his mother was a British immigrant. Their families disapproved of their marriage, so they eloped, crossed the ocean, and came to this American continent.
Time flew by, and nineteen years passed. The couple raised their only son, Johnny Van der Linde, to adulthood.
One day, the sun was bright, but there was a hint of chill in the air.
The couple received an order from the snowy mountains and decided to bring their autistic son along, as he couldn't live alone.
After preparing various flavors of canned goods, vegetables, and a wide array of seasonings required by the order, they embarked on their journey.
However, fate always seems to enjoy playing tricks. When they were halfway there, they suddenly heard eerie wolf howls from all around.
A pack of hungry wolves surrounded them from all directions, baring their fangs and claws, their eyes glinting fiercely, as if they had found a sumptuous feast.
Facing such danger, the couple showed no signs of backing down.
They tightly gripped their weapons, ready to engage in a thrilling life-and-death struggle with the wolf pack.
Although they shot with all their might, the wolf pack was too numerous and ferocious. Gradually, both of them sustained multiple injuries, their clothes stained with blood.
But thinking of their only son behind them, the couple reignited their fighting spirit.
Soon, they tore open gaps in the encirclement.
Seizing this opportunity, the couple shielded their son behind them, desperately firing at the vicious wolves ahead, just to carve out a path to survival for their child.
The last memory was the parents' relieved smiles; as for what happened afterward, it remained unknown.
After receiving the memories, Song Wen secretly vowed, "Don't worry, Mr. Van der Linde, if I get the chance, I will definitely avenge you and experience the great times of the West for you. From now on, I am you, and you are me."
"Ding! A suitable Host has been found. Do you wish to bind the Strongest Western Entry System?"
"A system? The standard for transmigrators, and I've encountered it too. Quick, bind it immediately! I'll take Micah's rat head to vent my anger!"
"Ding! Binding successful! Issuing the Newbie Gift Pack to the Host!"
"Congratulations to the Host for obtaining a Gold Entry! —Western Cowboy—Click for detailed information."
The system's external appearance was a transparent panel. As Johnny clicked on the panel, the Entry's effects were displayed.
"Gold ☆ Western Cowboy (Level 1)"
"How can you come to the West and not use a revolver? Entry Effect: ① When the Host uses a pistol-type weapon—a revolver—accuracy is slightly increased. ② When the Host shoots while riding a horse, evasion is slightly increased, reducing the chance of being hit by bullets. ③ When the Host uses a pistol-type weapon that is not a revolver, accuracy is slightly decreased."
"Conditions to upgrade to Level 2: Kill 10 people using revolver-type weapons. Current progress: 0/10."
"Level? Click to see." Johnny clicked on the level details again.
"Entry colors, from lowest to highest, are White → Green → Blue → Purple → Gold → Red."
White and Green have only a pitiful Level 1. Blue and Purple can be upgraded to a maximum of Level 3. Gold can be upgraded to a maximum of Level 8, and Red entries can be upgraded to a maximum of Level 10.
"System, how do I obtain entries?"
"Ding! Entries are essentially traits. They can be obtained by increasing affinity with corresponding characters; they can also be obtained from the system."
"Is there any way to advance low-level entries?"
"Please explore advancement methods yourself, Host."
"Holy crab, what kind of bot reply is that! Well, it is a bot."
After another careful look, he found three other functions: System Storage, Main Quests, and Achievements. Unfortunately, they were all grayed out and locked. He then closed the transparent panel.
Johnny looked around and found himself in a small attic on the second floor of a cabin, surrounded by dilapidated clutter, an old dressing table, and some daily necessities.
He got up, intending to go to the dressing table to check his appearance, but as soon as he stood up, he realized something was wrong—he couldn't stand straight. Was this second floor too short?
He lowered his gaze and found that the reality was not as he had thought; he was too tall, at least 195 cm by his estimate. He then bent his back and slowly walked towards the dressing table to look in the mirror—what greeted his eyes was a standard blond, blue-eyed white man, handsome enough to rival famous American heartthrobs, and only a tiny bit less attractive than the esteemed audience reading this.
Johnny sighed softly, "This is terrifying, this physique and appearance leave no room for anyone else to live."
A hoarse voice came from the first floor.
"You're awake, kid. Do you know that bringing your big frame back from outside on a packhorse almost killed my poor horse on the spot?"
The man next to her chuckled and patted the woman's shoulder, saying, "Alright, Sadie, don't scare the kid."
"It's like this, kid. We're the owners of this farm. We couldn't bear to see you freezing to death, so we saved you. But we're not heartless Capitalists; we don't need you to sign that damn indenture.
After your injuries heal, you can help us with some odd jobs. That way, we can save the money we'd pay others for deliveries, which is quite an expense."
Johnny tiptoed down the stairs, afraid of breaking the old antique. Then he said excitedly,
"Thank you, sir and madam, for saving my life. I'd be very happy to do whatever I can to help you. As you can see, I am all alone now, and I am very grateful for your hospitality."
Sadie pointed to the fireplace nearby and said to Johnny, "Cowboy, your clothes are almost dry by the fireplace.
Oh, and there's a carbine repeating rifle next to it. That was the only item you had left when I found you. Get well soon."
Accompanied by Sadie's distinctive voice, the three gradually became acquainted.