As time flew by, Johnny had mostly recovered after more than a week of rest.
During this time, Johnny helped clean his room, the sheepfold, and the filthy stables every day, occasionally going out hunting wild deer with Sadie.
Mainly, it was to express gratitude to Mr. and Mrs. Adler, and another reason was to try and figure out how to increase his bond value.
Finally, persistence paid off. Johnny discovered that discussing with Arthur how to manage a ranch and how to haggle prices could steadily increase his bond with Arthur.
Sadie, on the other hand, was different. Only dangerous tasks like hunting wild prey and transporting supplies with her could increase the bond value by a tiny bit.
And the most frustrating part was that the bond value wouldn't display until it reached 75. He could only know which target's bond value had increased through system prompts.
Johnny slammed the panel shut, his face displeased: "I really can't stand this riddle-man system. It doesn't say how to improve, and it doesn't list all the functions. Am I a child that I have to guess?! (σ;Д)σ Death sentence!"
However, one somewhat user-friendly aspect was being able to see all of a character's entries in advance, and thus know the bond value required for that entry.
This caused Johnny to act like a Fourth Calamity these past few days, leading Sadie to often shake her head and say with a look of horror that the child had gone mad.
Fortunately, after his unremitting efforts, he finally obtained the two blue entries he had been longing for when his bond value reached 80. They were:
Arthur's [Blue ☆ Trade Mastery] (Level 1)
[How could a shrewd Merchant be easily deceived by other Merchants? Entry Effect: ① When you sell goods, you can moderately perceive and know if the other party is undercutting the price. ② When you buy goods, you can haggle multiple times and increase the success rate of haggling.]
[Condition to upgrade to Level 2: Save 50 dollars for yourself through haggling. Current progress: 0/50]
And Sadie's [Blue ☆ Lone Wolf] (Level 1)
[One person can still break through a siege alone: Entry Effect: ① When you act alone, perception and keenness are slightly increased. ② When you face danger alone, strength and stamina are moderately increased.]
[Condition to upgrade to Level 2: Solo kill 10 enemy squads of more than three people or escape 10 pursuits by enemy squads of more than three people. Current progress 0/10]
Note: Book setting ① For NPCs, entries are a reflection of their current state, meaning that having only one entry now does not mean there won't be new entries later. ② For NPCs, entries have no level distinction. For example, Arthur's Blue Trade Mastery might soon break through blue, but after the protagonist copies it, it will still only be Level 1, requiring the protagonist to upgrade it themselves. (Otherwise, if the protagonist copied Arthur's Dead Eye and could instantly become a Western master without doing anything, that would be too ridiculous.)
Getting back to the main topic.
On this day, sunlight bathed the earth, and a gentle breeze blew, bringing a touch of coolness.
Johnny arrived at the ranch early in the morning, pondering his task for the day – transporting a batch of leather and horn products.
Speaking of which, he was truly worried for Mr. and Mrs. Adler. They had only known him for a few days, yet they trusted him with a delivery. Weren't they afraid he'd run off with the money?
Johnny ran back and forth several times, finally loading all the goods onto the wagon.
He carefully arranged each item, ensuring they wouldn't collide or get damaged during transport. The wagon bed was packed full. Johnny stood beside it, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Next, he brought a large tarp, shook it open... Johnny carefully covered the goods with the tarp, making sure every part was tightly concealed. This way, the goods wouldn't be exposed to wind or rain, nor would they attract the attention of passersby.
After the loading was complete, Johnny turned and walked towards the stables.
In the stables, several tall packhorses stood quietly, occasionally flicking their tails.
Johnny immediately spotted the strongest one, walked over, gently patted its neck, and untied its reins.
The horse seemed cooperative and followed Johnny out of the stables.
Johnny quickly hitched the wagon to the horse's back. Then, he picked up his carbine repeating rifle and carefully loaded a few golden bullets.
With the gun on his back, he felt much more at ease. After all, who knew what dangers they might encounter along the way?
Even though his marksmanship might not be great, he felt much more confident with the 'Equalizer for All Beings'.
Everything was ready. Johnny jumped onto the wagon, gave a gentle flick of the reins, and the horse started walking, slowly pulling out of the ranch.
After a long journey, Johnny finally arrived in Blackwater Town.
The bumpy ride had left him aching all over, especially his backside, which felt like it was about to fall apart.
He rubbed his sore waist, slowly dismounted the wagon, and first fed the horse some hay as a reward for its hard journey.
The temperature in Blackwater Town was much higher than in the snowy mountains, and Johnny felt a bit stuffy in his wool coat.
He quickly rummaged through his luggage for a spare light jacket and changed into it, then tied the horse to a hitching post by the roadside.
Johnny stood by the roadside, cautiously observing the situation in town.
There were occasionally a few police officers patrolling the streets, but not many.
Johnny mused that the famous Blackwater Town robbery hadn't happened yet. He had originally thought he might meet Arthur here, but it seemed the time wasn't right.
He learned from Arthur that it was already May, and the Blackwater Town robbery was likely to happen any day now.
Although Johnny felt a bit anxious, he knew that if he rashly approached Arthur and his gang now, it would definitely arouse suspicion.
After all, anyone without a bounty suddenly appearing at this critical juncture would seem suspicious.
What bothered Johnny even more was that he didn't have a single penny in his pocket, not even enough to buy the cheapest revolver.
Although he had two powerful combat entries, the most crucial one, [Western Cowboy], couldn't be activated without a revolver.
Johnny sighed, calculating that after this transport job, he would have to hurry home, get his savings, and buy a revolver.
With that thought, Johnny quickened his pace towards the Hughes' house. He stood at the door, took a deep breath, raised his strong arm, and knocked firmly.
"Thump... thump... thump," the knocking echoed loudly in the quiet street.
Soon, a voice from behind the door said: "Coming! Sir, I didn't expect you so soon." The door slowly opened, and Mr. Hughes stood at the entrance, all smiles.
Johnny didn't say much and immediately started helping to move the goods.
He worked swiftly and steadily, and in no time, all the goods were unloaded and neatly stacked to one side.
After unloading the goods, Johnny wiped his sweat and walked up to Mr. Hughes, his tone calm but with a hint of urgency:
"Mr. Hughes, please check the goods with your wife. Once confirmed, sign the manifest and settle the remaining payment."
Mr. Hughes smiled and nodded: "Of course, sir. You've worked hard, and we won't haggle over the price. Here's the agreed 50 dollars."
With that, he pulled a stack of banknotes from his pocket and handed them directly to Johnny.
Johnny took the banknotes and counted them carefully. Four 10-dollar bills and two 5-dollar bills, exactly 50 dollars.
After confirming the amount, Johnny nodded in satisfaction and carefully tucked the money into his pocket.