Red Dead Redemption: The Great Philanthropist of the West

Listening to the crisp birdsong, the morning sunlight gently and brightly bathed Liu Si's face. Liu Si slowly opened his eyes, and before him stretched a vast lake that seemed to stretch to the horizon. The lake's surface shimmered, a gentle breeze rippling its surface. The colors of the water shifted under the sunlight, changing from a golden yellow to a bright green—a breathtaking sight.

Liu Si groggily got up, walked to the balcony, and saw a bustling dock not far away, with the word 'Blackwater' written on it. He rubbed his eyes hard, looking at the somewhat familiar scene before him.

"Where am I? Wasn't I grinding games at home last night? Is this Blackwater from Red Dead Redemption???"

He slapped his face hard, looked around, and then at his fair skin. Liu Si muttered to himself again, "Could it be that I've transmigrated... transmigrated into a white person's body, into my cousin's world?"

It turns out Liu Si was a shut-in in 2024. He was a typical office worker who clocked in and out at work, played games and read novels after work, and never left the house unless absolutely necessary. During the New Year's holiday, he suddenly remembered an old friend and wanted to wish him a Happy New Year.

He had just opened the Red Dead Redemption game page, and before it even finished loading, everything suddenly went black, and he found himself inexplicably transported to this world.

This world is vast, much larger than what's shown in the game. Towns aren't just a few scattered houses; each one typically has dozens or even hundreds of buildings. Blackwater Town, one of only two towns in the game with paved roads, boasts hundreds of houses in its center—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a small city.

Since I've been fortunate enough to be here, I should focus on living well first. I should visit my old friend Arthur, hoping he can be freed from his cage soon and live a good life with Hosea and Mary. I remember the first time I played this game, seeing my cousin betrayed by Micah while my "beloved" Dutch stood by indifferently, watching the sunrise alone and dying, I was absolutely furious and incredibly sad. It made me lose all interest in playing it for a long time afterward.

Arthur might not have been a good person; after all, regardless of the reasons, he had blood on his hands and deserved to die. But he shouldn't have died like that. He was my friend, a very good friend. He was just too blindly loyal, indecisive, always thinking of others and never of himself.

Liu Si rubbed his temples a few times to clear his mind. He had transmigrated into the body of a white man named Henry Allen, and had absorbed some of the original owner's memories. His identity was that of a young master from a declining viscount family who had immigrated from England thirty years ago.

Although it's called a family, in reality, the family consists of him and his sister Oona Allen, who is still studying at Barnard College in New York State, William Bob, an old butler brought from England, three servants and guards hired from Blackwater, a maid, and William's son Billy Bob.

The old butler had watched the two siblings grow up and considered them family; he was absolutely trustworthy. The servants and maids were also long-time employees who had served them for many years. Old Allen treated the servants very well, never beating or scolding them, and their wages were always higher than those of ordinary workers. These people were also generally trustworthy.

After giving birth to his younger sister, his mother's health remained weak, and she passed away a few years later. His father was recently robbed and murdered by unknown thugs near Thieves Territory in New Austin while on a business trip. This is why Henry rushed back from Princeton University in New Jersey, only to be inexplicably possessed and merged with his predecessor's soul on the very day he arrived.

In this western land where murder and robbery are rampant and a single glare can trigger a shootout, without some skill and ability, you'll easily become a pathetic loser in the West, constantly being hunted down the moment you step outside.

Fortunately, Henry still has some tricks up his sleeve; otherwise, with his current frail physique, he would probably catch up with old Allen in just a few days.

Henry has a legendary backpack, similar to Arthur's in the game. It can hold anything that fits into the backpack pockets, and it has built-in space with no weight limit. Henry is also immune to lethal damage (his stats won't decline as long as his health remains. However, pain is unavoidable; if he's seriously injured and can't recover immediately without timely healing, he'll likely die if his health bar is depleted). He also possesses Arthur's Dead Eye ability (bullet time).

In addition, Henry felt his body was slowly changing. His physique was gradually becoming stronger, and his height had also quietly increased. His original height of 178cm had grown to over 180cm, which would probably take some time to complete the enhancement. Of course, his appetite had also increased considerably.

Henry felt a little better after eating several large steaks and two vegetable salads cooked by the maid, Florina, in the lobby, along with a bottle of fine brandy.

After satisfying his hunger, Henry began to think about his next plans.

First, he needs to quickly find out where he is in the game and what resources he has. All he knows right now is that it's winter of 1898, and there are still about five months until the Van der Linde gang's $150,000 robbery of the ferry in Blackwater.

At this point, Arthur and his men were probably still operating in the area between New Austin and California (i.e., New Mexico). It's unknown whether the fire that destroyed his old diary, as described in Arthur's diary, had occurred. If it had, they would likely be hiding in the wilderness north of West Griezley. In another three or four months, they would travel from Griezley to Blackwater, where they would rob a ferry in April 1899 and fall into Pinkerton's trap.

The old butler has lived in this area for decades and has a wide network of connections. Tomorrow, I'll have him go and find out if there have been any major cases or fires in northwest New Austin or New Mexico recently.

Regarding assets, all that's known is that there's a small ranch and a large pharmacy that's currently used as both a commercial and residential property; the income and expenditure details are unclear. After all, he's spent most of the past few years focusing on his studies in the East, and even when he comes home for holidays, he usually goes hunting and shooting practice with Ashley, the son of the pub owner across the street. His father and the old butler manage the family businesses.

After sorting all this out, I still need to think about how to find out about my father's murder so I can avenge him. After all, I've transmigrated into someone else's son, and I have to bear the consequences. Judging from the location of the murder, it's most likely either the Howling Wolf Gang or that perverted Skinning Gang. Of course, I can't rule out some scattered bandits who acted on impulse. After all, this is the last crazy era for cowboys, and impromptu robberies and murders are quite common. I can investigate this in detail after things have calmed down. Anyway, several days have passed, and most of the traces have disappeared. There's no rush.

Henry sipped his smooth coffee, pondering how to maximize his profits from the heist, ideally saving Jenny and the Calander brothers. It was a real shame that such a lovely little girl had died. The Calander brothers, of course, were even more desirable; if he could recruit them, that would be ideal. As one of the few formidable fighters in the Van Cleef & Arpels, they were comparable to Arthur Morgan, the West's top marksman. Henry might not be able to defeat Arthur individually, but if the twins teamed up, even Arthur would likely be outmatched.

Ask the maid to call William the butler over so she can find out about the family's assets, the pharmacy's profits, and how much operating capital they have.

A moment later, Butler William strode into the second-floor lobby (the first floor was the shop):

"Young master, you wanted to see me."

"Uncle William, please sit down and talk."

"Here, have a cup of coffee to warm up. Don't overwork yourself; the house still needs you to look after it. We can't do without you." Seeing the old butler's travel-worn appearance, clearly having just returned from a busy day, with snow still on his coat, Henry quickly instructed the maid to bring him another meal.

"It's alright, it's alright. In the past, the master handled everything personally, and I just served as his assistant, running errands. Now that the master has just passed away, there are many things that no one is handling. It will be fine in a few days. Young master, you must cheer up and not be sad. We will make those robbers pay the price."

“Yes, I will, Uncle William. I would like to know how much property our family currently has, what our income and expenditure situation is, and how much working capital we have.” Seeing the maid bring over a steak and a bowl of steaming soup, Henry gestured for the old butler to sit down and eat slowly, talking as he ate.

After taking a few bites of steak and a large gulp of soup, William's butler said, "Currently, the family's fixed assets mainly consist of two properties. One is this large pharmacy, the only legitimate pharmacy in Blackwater Town, covering 150 square meters, three stories high, with a basement of the same size. The other is the small building not far from the south of town where the young master and young lady stay when they return, which includes a small ranch, which is usually managed by Billy (William's son) alone."

"The pharmacy brings in about $1100 a month, and the ranch brings in about $250 a month. As for expenses, the master sends $100 each to the young master and young lady for living expenses every month. In addition, he pays $100 to the police station and the Bureau of Commerce and Markets every month. Then there are wages: the butler's salary is $100 a month, the ranch manager's salary is $70, the pharmacist's salary is $70, the two guards' salary is $120 a month, the maid's salary is $50, and daily expenses are $100." (After researching a lot, I found that in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the United States, the average daily wage for a worker was around $1, while that for a highly skilled worker was about $2.5. Of course, there would be some differences depending on the location and the type of work, but the differences shouldn't be significant. In 1908, a car cost $300-$500. Prices in the game are also very different; a can of food costs $1-$2, a piece of meat costs $5.5, and guns are much more expensive. Given the wages at the time, it's unreasonable that someone couldn't afford a can of food after a day's work. I've tried to find the most reasonable information to share, so please don't take it too seriously. >_<)

At this point, the old butler paused, took another big gulp of soup, and continued, "The total monthly income is about $1350, and the total expenses are $810. Not including the young master and young lady's tuition fees, we can save about $540 each month."

After finishing the remaining pieces of beef, the old butler continued, "Over the years, Master has basically built this pharmacy and ranch from scratch. There isn't much money left; the current available operating funds are only about $1. Originally, there could have been several thousand more dollars, but this time, a large-scale scarlet fever outbreak occurred in Armadillo Town. Master brought a whole cart full of medicine to provide support, but who would have thought that he would be robbed and killed? Not only were the medicines gone, but the cart was also gone, and he was gone too. Truly, those damned bandits."