Beiyuan’s feelings were a bit complicated.
In his previous life, as someone too lazy to come up with an ID, every game name he used was just his real name.
Back then, Wanzu had only just started, and the Player’s sense of immersion was nowhere near as strong as it is now.
He treated most of the in-game NPCs as nothing more than paper cutouts, until now— when he became one himself— his mindset finally changed.
So, all those days and nights he spent grinding achievements on the Western Corridor Plains in his last life, what did that mean to Sinsid, who was actually living in that world?
Beiyuan tried putting himself in Sinsid’s place, recalling all the things he’d done. His expression grew deep and serious— he was, probably, a comrade who’d braved life and death together with him…right?
“Roar— meow aow!” The Yan King suddenly let out a roar, snapping Beiyuan out of his thoughts.
Yan King had never forgotten Beiyuan’s instructions to “meow” before leaving, and was working hard to live up to its feline appearance in every way.
Just then, Beiyuan noticed the sound of hooves approaching rapidly through the wind.
Sinsid also caught sight of the galloping horse, and his tense expression eased, the gloom between his brows lifting a little.
He raised his voice slightly and called out, “Lily.”
Lily was a beautiful mare, raised by Sinsid since she was a foal. It was said she was the offspring of a magical beast resembling a horse and an ordinary mare.
Her coat was pure white, but her mane had a tuft of fiery red, her speed was like lightning, and her lifespan far exceeded that of normal animals.
In a flash, the white horse galloped right up to Sinsid. But instead of nuzzling him as usual, she stuck her head into Beiyuan’s arms.
Whinnying, she rubbed her head against Beiyuan’s neck, acting outrageously affectionate.
Beiyuan froze for a moment, then, as if by instinct, stroked her mane.
The Yan King on his shoulder, seeing this, arched its back like a cat whose territory had been invaded, fur bristling— only to be calmed by Beiyuan’s practiced hand just before it could explode.
Right now, he seemed like a winner at life, surrounded by fluff.
“…Lily.” Sinsid’s gaze darkened, a complicated look on his face as he looked at Beiyuan. “She rarely gets this close to anyone.”
Beiyuan didn’t stop his hand, but nodded in agreement. “I’m surprised too.” Even though his body was different, she still recognized him as the one who’d “delivered” her during that quest back then. Maybe this was just the sharp instinct of animals.
After venting her excitement, the mare stood tall on the grass, then began to paw anxiously at the ground, whinnying urgently. She kept tossing her head in a certain direction, as if signaling something.
Sinsid’s expression turned grave, and Beiyuan understood, glancing at him. “Looks like you’ve run into some trouble.”
With Lily leading the way, the two quickly reached the eastern border of the Western Corridor Plains.
Here, the temperature dropped noticeably. A thin layer of frost could be seen on the grass.
Looking further east, the plains gave way to a vast, snowy glacier, with mountains of ice stretching endlessly into the cold mist.
Beiyuan gazed at the whiteness. “That’s the Extreme Frost Valley you mentioned?”
“That’s right.” Sinsid warned, “A pair of giant phoenix birds live in Extreme Frost Valley. The male is called the Wind King, the female the Ice Phoenix. Together, they can summon blizzards over a vast area.”
Hearing this, Beiyuan glanced at the Yan Beast on his shoulder, whose pupils had already shrunk to slits. He seemed amused. “Sounds a lot like the Yan King of Yan Flame Mountain.”
The Yan Beast seemed to understand, and let out a disgruntled “miu.”
A fire-attuned Yan Beast and this bitter cold environment were basically natural enemies, like water and fire.
Right now, the only thing letting the Yan Beast tolerate its discomfort was Beiyuan’s presence so close by, barely suppressing the violent energy roiling inside.
“Yan King?” Yan Flame Mountain was several large maps away from the Western Corridor Plains, so Sinsid had only heard rumors about that fearsome Yan Beast. “If Young Master means the intense territorial instinct, and the savagery toward intruders, then yes, they’re quite alike… Wait, did I say something wrong? Your cat seems to be glaring at me.”
“It’s just your imagination,” Beiyuan said.
Sinsid raised his eyebrows, biting his cigarette as he continued, “But we’re lucky this time. The Ice Phoenix is pregnant, and these days are when she’s about to lay her eggs. The Wind King won’t leave the nest for a second. He won’t let anyone get close, but he won’t stray too far either.”
Beiyuan immediately understood. “So as long as we don’t approach their nest, we’ll be fine.”
Sinsid snapped his fingers. “Exactly. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have taken this job. Facing two monsters head-on? I’m not ready to die yet.”
“But,” Beiyuan paused, his golden eyes flickering. He sensed a constant surge of power in the air, and looked up toward Extreme Frost Valley. “…It seems someone else doesn’t think so.”
The next instant, a piercing bird cry ripped through the air, echoing from deep within Extreme Frost Valley. The sound drew closer in a flash, as if it had crossed miles in the blink of an eye.
No, it wasn’t “as if”— it really had.
As the cold wave approached, both of them moved at once. Sinsid immediately shielded the restless white mare behind him, while Beiyuan held down the “cat,” whose eyes glowed red.
The next moment, two figures burst out of Extreme Frost Valley, one chasing the other. The pursuer was the Wind King they’d just been talking about.
As the massive, phoenix-like bird swooped in, the thin frost on the plains thickened into snow and ice. The air went from mild spring to brutal winter in an instant.
The “cat” on Beiyuan’s shoulder exhaled a puff of white mist, and the air around him quickly warmed again.
Beiyuan reached out and closed his hand, melting the tiny ice crystals in the air into water that dampened his fingertips.
“Isn’t that the Ghost Spider Lady?” Sinsid recognized the fleeing figure being pursued by the Wind King.
The giant, beautiful bird spread its crystalline blue wings.
With a shrill cry, countless ice spikes rained down on the woman ahead— Ghost Spider Lady immediately tore off her human disguise, revealing her true form: upper body of a beautiful woman, lower body of a spider.
She darted through the barrage of ice, retching up a cocoon of spider silk. From the cocoon, countless rice-sized Spider Monsters crawled out.
Growing rapidly in the wind, they became as large as adult men in seconds, swarming everywhere.
Compared to the other legendary beings present, Lily was just an ordinary horse. Her hooves stamped the ground in panic, and her whinny was full of terror and distress.
So, with Sinsid’s silent permission, Lily nudged both of them with her head and then ran off into the depths of the Western Corridor Plains, fleeing far from the clash of titans.
For an ordinary creature like her, facing monsters like the Wind King and Ghost Spider Lady, panic was to be expected.
In fact, the courage she’d shown bringing Beiyuan and Sinsid here was already remarkable.
“I remember Ghost Spider Lady is your nemesis?” Beiyuan’s gaze lingered on the female monster before turning to Sinsid.
Wanzu World’s public intel: the Cowboys, led by Sinsid, fought against the most dangerous and widespread Spider Monsters on the Western Corridor Plains, whose leader was the Ghost Spider Lady.
Simply put, the Ghost Spider Lady was the Plains’ biggest Boss.
“Life’s tough, Young Master.” Sinsid replied. In the Western Corridor Plains, to survive, you had to fight for space with the most threatening monsters. He shrugged helplessly. “Normally, I never treat a lady rudely.”
Beiyuan glanced at the fleeing, eight-legged woman in the distance and said knowingly, “You sure have a broad taste.”
Sinsid: “……” No, he didn’t know what Beiyuan was thinking, but it definitely wasn’t like that!
The Cowboy pulled down his hat to hide his twitching mouth, forcing the topic back on track. “We can’t let them keep fighting like this. What on earth did that crazy spider woman do this time? How did she get on the Wind King’s bad side?!”
After all, Ghost Spider Lady was the Plains’ Boss and had almost no reason to leave. There was no logical connection between her and the Extreme Frost Valley next door.
“I just saw her carrying an egg.” Beiyuan’s sharp eyesight came in handy as he peered through the falling snow and locked onto a single point. “If I’m not mistaken, that’s probably the Wind King and Ice Phoenix’s newborn.”
Sinsid’s eyes widened instantly. “W-what?!”
No wonder the Wind King was going berserk. After decades, they finally had a child, only for it to be stolen the moment it was born— no wonder he’d gone mad.
The Wind King’s cries grew more anguished, and Sinsid frowned deeply.
“Should we help?” Beiyuan looked up at him, golden eyes shining.
The plains were now entirely sealed in ice, and the frost kept spreading. It wouldn’t be long before the Wind King’s rage froze the entire Western Corridor Plains.
Meanwhile, the Ghost Spider Lady was using Spider Monsters to shield her escape.
These monsters were poisonous and skilled at parasitism. Thankfully, since they were near Extreme Frost Valley, there weren’t any Players around for now, sparing the chaos that parasitism would bring.
Still, their venom was troublesome, corroding the ground, ice, and grass alike, making it hard to tell what was destroying what.
But in the end, it would be the land that suffered.
At this critical moment, Sinsid spoke rapidly, “I figured anyone confident enough to make that kind of sword isn’t simple. I admit, when I first took this quest, my motives weren’t pure.”
“I know.” Beiyuan’s expression was calm. “So?”
Sinsid looked a bit surprised. “So, the initiative in all this has always been in your hands. I have no right to refuse; it’s your choice.”
“Then,” Beiyuan lifted his chin slightly, sunlight illuminating his eyes as if that light existed just to fall here. He said, “I choose yes.”
Sinsid laughed. “Impressive. I wasn’t half as bold at your age!”
Beiyuan just narrowed his eyes. “I counted— she released 1,800 Spider Monsters. I’ll take 1,000, you take 800.”
“…Wait, you counted? When?!” Sinsid couldn’t tell if he was joking, but now wasn’t the time to argue. He clicked his tongue. “Either way, I’m her old nemesis. I should take more. Really, you just need to hold off a portion.”
As he spoke, he drew his beloved Silver Star from his waist. Powered by a special crystal, as long as there was enough energy, it could fire endlessly— a unique rarity in the world.
But a hand reached out and snatched the short/gun from him first.
Beiyuan took Silver Star and said, perfectly naturally, “I don’t have a good weapon right now, so I’ll borrow this.”
Sinsid was stunned by the boy’s familiar grip on the gun, taking a moment to reply, “Silver Star isn’t like ordinary firearms, it—”
“I know.”
In the blink of an eye, Beiyuan flicked off the safety, loaded a round, aimed at the nearest monster, and shot it in the head.
The whole process was as smooth as flowing water— so fast that no one could react.
…And so familiar it was almost unnerving.
“How long do you need to kill 800 spiders now?” Beiyuan suddenly asked.
“…10 seconds.” By now, Sinsid’s gaze had changed completely.
Deep in his eyes, it was like a vast sea, the boy’s shooting posture reflected clearly, and the surging waves threatened to overturn everything inside.
Sinsid’s speed might defy logic in the real world, but here, nothing was impossible. After all, this was a world of Wanzu, where even Annihilation Star Level beings existed.
“Oh? Twice as fast as before. You’ve already set a new record. I doubt there’s a faster gunman in this world than you.” Beiyuan seemed oblivious to Sinsid’s change, but his words revealed knowledge no stranger should have.
Beiyuan slipped naturally into another identity, but Sinsid couldn’t act so nonchalant.
…No, of course not. Sinsid felt like a man stranded atop a volcano, battered by hardship. He’d always known there was someone faster than him— first a rival, then a goal he chased.
Together, they’d braved countless dangers, risking life and death.
But that person never called himself a gunman. He always said, “Didn’t you say I handle a gun like I handle any weapon? Knife, spear, sword, halberd— it’s all the same. Someone like me doesn’t deserve to be called a gunman, right?”
Sinsid never agreed with that self-denial, and they’d argued about it more than once…until one day, that person suddenly vanished, disappearing from his life for twenty years.
He’d searched for him for twenty years.
His throat felt blocked, and he swallowed hard. Sinsid opened his mouth, but all those years of smoking seemed to catch up with him at once, leaving him mute.
He hurriedly pressed down his hat brim.
Just then, the golden-haired, golden-eyed boy turned to look at him.
The Wind King’s furious cries almost drowned out the boy’s voice, and the Yan King glared up at the giant bird battling Ghost Spider Lady in the sky, itching to leap into the fight.
The boy’s lips curled in a calm, familiar arc as he asked, “So, how long do you think I’ll need to take out those thousand spiders?”
Another phrase, so familiar, fell like a final lock, dispelling all disbelief, doubt, and struggle.
Sinsid’s eyes widened. In that instant, he was back twenty years ago. Back when he was young and proud, the best marksman on the Western Corridor Plains.
He’d never left those plains, but was sure no one in the world could surpass him.
And for a time, it was true. Challengers came from all over, only to be defeated—until a young man named “Beiyuan” appeared.
At their first duel, that man had asked, “My goal is to kill a thousand Spider Monsters. How long do you think it’ll take me?”
Sinsid easily recalled the young man’s answer, realizing he’d long engraved that memory into his bones.
The Cowboy’s fingers trembled on the brim of his hat— the world’s top gunman, almost unable to control his own hands, like a joke.
Of course, Beiyuan remembered what he’d said back then. So, the two spoke at the same time—
Beiyuan: “The time it takes you to fire your first shot and turn to look at me.”
Sinsid’s lips parted: “The time it takes me to fire my first shot and turn to look at you.”
Time seemed to freeze for a second.
Then, Beiyuan suddenly pointed behind Sinsid and smiled. “Now, Sinsid, turn around.”
The man couldn’t think of anything, only followed the boy’s words and slowly turned.
He was sure that before he turned, he could still hear the rustling of monsters behind him.
But by the time he’d turned all the way, without ever seeing the boy move, all sound had ceased.
And what appeared before him was a field of Spider Monster corpses—half of them, dead.
…He’d gotten stronger, without a doubt.
Sinsid lowered his eyes to look at the boy.
Beiyuan assumed Sinsid still couldn’t believe his old friend had suddenly returned in a new form, and tilted his head helplessly. “Still not sure it’s me?”
But he didn’t know that the man’s gaze lingered on Beiyuan’s new appearance. “…So, becoming like this was the price for this power?”
At that moment, Sinsid almost forgot about the Wind King and Ghost Spider Lady still locked in battle behind him. His chest felt sore and heavy, making it hard to breathe.
Beiyuan saw Sinsid’s hand loosen its grip on his cigarette, letting his favorite smoke fall to the filthy ground, and felt a sense of foreboding.
Why hadn’t this guy changed his habit of overthinking in twenty years?
To keep the conversation from going further, Beiyuan quickly shoved the short/gun back into Sinsid’s hand.
“I’ll leave the rest to you. We agreed— I’ll wait only 10 seconds,” the boy looked up at him, paused, and called out, “Uncle.”