Falsifying history is good business

Chapter 367: The Wild God in the Wilderness

When Lin Youcai heard Matthews' name, he woke up from his dream. Not only did he encounter the plot of the movie "Fatal Pleasure", but he also encountered the protagonists of "Red Dead Redemption".

These three caravans are actually the mobile bases of the Van der Linde gang; it seems that the gang’s population and property have not reached their later heyday, and are even smaller than the team that fled into the snow-capped mountains after encountering setbacks in 1899 in the game.

Lin You looked at the two people who came on flying horses. Although it was seven or eight years since the main storyline, he could indeed recognize the familiar faces in his memory. These two may also be the most recognizable members of the Van der Linde gang; one is the protagonist that players are most familiar with and have spent the longest time with, and the other is a person who dresses himself up like a sophisticated upper-class person whenever possible.

On the contrary, Matthews - Hosea Matthews - and Susan both looked a little like those in the crowd; one looked like a country teacher, and the other looked like a housekeeper or an experienced female foreman, both of them ordinary people who were hired and worked for others.

Regardless of whether it was real or not, at least there wasn't much fault with their appearance; no wonder Lin You didn't recognize their identities for a moment.

By the way, the young man John who sat next to Hosea and was scolded to be timid, isn't he John Marston, the protagonist of the end of the second generation and the main plot of the first generation? Without the scars scratched by the wolf's claws on his face, and without the chattering wife and introverted son around him, this young face is so immature that it is difficult to recognize him even if you know his identity.

When the two horses came closer, Dutch first shouted "Hosea", and then he realized that there was an uninvited guest, Lin You, beside the caravan; he immediately pulled the reins and put on a fake smile on his face.

"Looks like you made some new friends along the way, old buddy?"

"Ah, this is Bryce, a college student who came to the West to study ecology." Hosea used his newly learned professional terms as if to embarrass his old friend, and finally said, "We had a very pleasant chat just now."

The last sentence was a hint to Dutch that he had already seen through this guy's background and had not found anything suspicious for the time being. This little trick obviously could not be hidden from the Ophiuchus Saint who was proficient in psychology, but Lin You deliberately pretended not to understand and responded to Dutch van der Linde with the same fake smile.

"Bryce de Forest." Lin You followed Hosea's words and introduced his full name. The "de" in the name is like the "von" in the German name, which means that he is of noble origin.

It's just that the Van der Linde gang is a bunch of American bumpkins, and the only two who have some knowledge in this area are Trelawney and Strauss; one of them is not in the gang, and the other is sitting in the car behind and didn't hear it, and those who heard it basically didn't feel anything.

"Dutch van der Linde, this is Arthur." Dutch was very polite, just like he would be when facing anyone who did not show hostility. Arthur behind him raised his hand to press down the brim of his hat, a very cowboy-like greeting.

Lin You's gaze lingered on Arthur for a moment; not because of his memory of the game, but because he saw Arthur's unique destiny from another perspective.

The "sapling of destiny" deep in the writer's soul was swaying, and the unpredictable force of destiny echoed each other, allowing Lin You to see at a glance the destiny line of Arthur Morgan that was growing stronger every moment.

The line of destiny extends from under Arthur's feet like the roots of a plant. The main trunk goes deep into the earth, but there is a branch that stretches into the depths of the distant wilderness. At the other end of this branch, a familiar figure wearing a top hat flashes in the writer's eyes, bows slightly, and then disappears.

The strange vision did not move Lin You in the slightest; the writer was no longer the same as before, and would not be startled by the slightest disturbance. Even while seeing the strange vision, he was still talking clearly to the Van der Linde gang.

"Mr. Matthews suggested that I bypass the small town ahead so that it would be safer. What do you think, Mr. Van der Linde? You just came back from a small town. Is it really not suitable for someone like me?"

Dutch said solemnly: "Hosea's advice is correct. I sincerely advise you not to go to the town. The situation there is very bad, especially for a lone traveler like you. The town is full of foreign gunmen, bandits, and bounty hunters who come for huge rewards. At least half of the people here have wanted warrants on their backs."

Lin You blinked and thought to himself: When Dutch talked about wanted criminals, did he include the people from their Van der Linde gang?
"Thank you for your advice. It seems I'd better leave early." Lin You patted his mount, which had several large backpacks on its butt. "Although these plant specimens and animal photos are not worth much, I'm afraid those gunmen don't know this."

John couldn't stand the loneliness. He didn't dare to interrupt Dutch, so he turned to Arthur and asked, "How is the gunfight in town going? Are there any experts? Have you signed up, Arthur?"

"There are indeed experts. For example, the mayor is a great gunman." Although Arthur still looks young, his weird attributes are already full. "Just now, I saw him shoot his own son to death with his own eyes and win the competition. Even if you are his other son, I don't recommend you to participate in the competition; you will get your head blown off."

This answer caused many people to exclaim. Even in the wild West, a father shooting his son himself was a sensational tragedy; what was particularly incredible was that the man did it just to win a game.

Lin You suddenly realized that the character played by "Little Leo" had just been killed. It seemed that the plot of the movie was coming to an end, and the finale would be in the next two days at the latest. The writer was thinking about it and decided to take this opportunity to separate from the Van der Linde gang.

"It's unbelievable. I've never heard of such a terrible thing, and there are such terrible people." Lin You shook his head, as if he was an ignorant young man who had just graduated from school and had not experienced the beatings of society. "I'm sorry, I think I need to follow your advice and bypass the town ahead. Let's say goodbye here. I hope I can get to the next town before dark. See you guys if there's a chance."

The young man said goodbye to the people he had just met one by one and rode away.

"Did you scare him on purpose, Arthur? Look at the way he ran away." John danced in his seat, looking as if he was gloating.

"Why would I scare a stranger? I want to scare you, John!" Arthur said coldly, "You'd better not think about participating in the competition; there are at least three people in that town who can easily kill you. Those are just the people I saw with my own eyes. There may be more I haven't seen yet."

"Hey, don't underestimate me!" John's face flushed, angry and unwilling, "Then... there are 120,000 US dollars, 120,000!"

"We all know there's a lot of money there, but you can't win the competition." Hosea suppressed the young man's impatience with just a look. "But who says you have to participate in the competition to get the $120,000?"

Dutch, Arthur, and Hosea looked at each other and understood each other.

"We've got work to do, guys," the leader of the Van der Linde gang shouted, full of energy and confidence.

On the other hand, Lin You hurriedly said goodbye to the Van der Linde gang, but did not rush to the next town as he said. Instead, when he turned the corner and reached a place where no one could see him, he turned his horse's head and ran into the depths of the wilderness following the branch line of destiny that had branched out under Arthur's feet.

The four hooves galloped like thunder, but strangely, there was no dust under the hooves, as if the horse was not stepping on the ground when running, but flying through the void. Not long after, a figure wearing a top hat appeared in front of the horse.

"Long time no see, writer." The other party greeted politely.

"It's been a long time indeed, Mr. Accountant." Lin You jumped off his horse and exchanged greetings with the other party. "Are you used to living in the Big World?"

"Maybe it's okay..." The number one mysterious figure in the Red Dead Redemption story seemed a little distressed, "I mean, if the timeline is not imprisoned and I don't have to count the days every day, maybe it will feel better."

Lin You burst out laughing.

Outsiders cannot enter the time restricted area, and people inside cannot leave. The true gods living in their own divine realms are fine. If there is nothing to do, they don’t have to go to this hundred-year timeline to play; even if they really need to enter this time period, they can just wait patiently for the Supreme Gods to clean up the "Sand of Time".

The most pitiful ones are the weak gods like the accountant in "Red Dead Redemption"; they have no gods of their own and can only live in the big world. These gods were originally free and well, just like the "loose immortals" in the Eastern mythology system, usually unrestrained and unmanaged; but suddenly they were trapped in the timeline, and there was no one to ask for help, so they could only live day by day as time passed.

"How many gods are there like you?" Lin You asked.

"A lot, especially in North America," the accounting master replied. "As you know, the history of the United States is only so long. Many of the 'wild gods' that have emerged from strange stories in the United States are most active during the time period covered by the time restricted zone."

"Wild God?" The sudden new word left the writer confused.

"They are gods that do not belong to any religion or classical mythology, but are simply derived from various strange stories. We call ourselves 'wild gods' - yes, I also belong to the ranks of 'wild gods'."

The accountant struggled to explain;
"Although many weird stories borrow from the Bible and mythology, there are also a small number of stories... well, how should I put it, they have a high degree of originality. This is also the characteristic of American culture. In such a hodgepodge, there will be some novel things."

Lin You suddenly realized: "I understand what you mean; you said that there are many 'wild gods' like you who are trapped in the time restricted area?"

"Indeed, there are quite a few!" The accountant said with a wry smile, "After all, in the real dimension, the 19th century was the peak of the large-scale spread of various strange legends. Many "wild gods" were born in this era; so naturally, everyone likes this time period the most."

"Does it feel like home?" Lin You asked with a smile.

"Yes, that's the feeling." The accountant nodded repeatedly. "In fact, we often travel on the timeline, but every time we have enough fun and are tired, we will eventually return to the time when we were born; it has become a habit."

"As a result, once the time restricted zone was formed, you were trapped inside."

"That's right..." The accountant shrugged helplessly, shook his head and sighed.

"It's indeed sympathetic. To be honest, I was commissioned by several supreme gods to deal with the chaos caused by the time restricted area." Lin You pondered, "Perhaps you can help me do something?"

"Help you? I've heard a rumor that this time restricted zone is the result of a fight between several great gods? I don't want to get involved in that kind of dispute. To me, the true gods of the great gods are too powerful, and I can't contend with them." The accountant hesitated, with a look of resistance on his face.

"Don't be so hasty to refuse. Think about it, if it helps to break the blockade of the time forbidden zone as soon as possible, it will be of great benefit to you, right?" Lin You's words were full of temptation. "You don't need to do anything dangerous, and you don't even need to meet the true God. You just need to help me pay attention to the changes in the fate of certain people, and notify me in time if there are any problems."

"What do you mean?" The accountant was puzzled, but He did not reject it immediately, which gave the writer hope.

"You like to observe the fate of mankind, don't you?"

"Yes, didn't you know that a long time ago?"

"So in addition to the story world you live in, can you see the changes in the fate of other characters in the story? I mean, besides Arthur Morgan and John Marston."

"Of course. The fate of every mortal in the world can become a show for me to appreciate - but I can only observe and appreciate it. I don't have the ability to change it." The accountant answered casually at first, and then, as if he remembered something, he quickly emphasized and added.

"I just want you to observe." Lin You said happily, "Since it's observation, if the fate of the observed object has a slight deviation from the original, you can also detect it in time, right?"

"Maybe, I can...right?"

"That's right. I just need you - it's better to get your 'Wild God' friends involved - to observe those characters on a large scale, especially the fates of those related to the magic world; and then pay attention to those characters whose fates have changed abnormally. No matter how small the change in fate is, you must record it and notify me as soon as possible."

Lin You's joy was beyond words. Even if he was a real god, the process of creating the "unknown" would inevitably change the fate of related characters; for the writer, the change of fate was the most direct clue.

In the past, there was a shortage of manpower, and the writer alone could not take care of so many possible clues; but now, don’t we have a group of ready-made “wild gods” to help?
Although due to their origins, most of these "wild gods" can only operate in North America, they can greatly share Lin You's work pressure.

(End of this chapter)