A few hundred meters away, the Mortgage Tavern.
[ Gill's Cuisine ] yawned as he walked out of the room and greeted [ Western Sharpshooter ] and [ Aluode ], who also looked tired.
Because of the time difference, they log on at this time every day, which is also the peak business hours for places like bars after nightfall.
Of course, also due to the time difference, most of the patrons at the Mortgage Tavern are players from regions that are always online at night.
"Are there a few more barrels of wine ready to be opened? I need to taste them first."
[ Western Sharpshooter ] habitually asked his two companions, while casting expectant glances at the oak barrels in the corner of the tavern's hall.
Microorganisms have not yet been discovered in the World of Disorder, and effects such as putrefaction and fermentation are achieved by imperceptible Psionic Energy.
Therefore, there is no rigorous logic to the production of "wine" here. As more and more edible plants are discovered, the brewing recipes in the World of Disorder have become more and more diverse, and the resulting products, which are hard to call "wine," have increasingly varied flavors.
This Soul Returner has recently become obsessed with tavern simulation management and heavy drinking, and his body has become noticeably wider than before.
This was also the first time he realized that bodies in World of Disorder could gain weight and store extra fat as backup energy.
However, the tavern was noticeably less crowded than before tonight, and while the regulars were coming in, we also saw a few unfamiliar faces.
After serving plenty of drinks, the three Soul Returner, now lost in thought, stood behind the bar and overheard the conversation of several customers.
After listening for a while, [ Western Sharpshooter ] felt that something was increasingly wrong.
He lightly tapped the bar and looked at his regular customers:
"Hey buddy, what are you guys talking about? What escort, what Graycast Corridor, what Grand Foundry Master?"
The three people around the small round table immediately turned to look at [ Western Sharpshooter ]:
"Ah, you..."
He saw confusion in [ Western Sharpshooter ]'s eyes, and also noticed that [ Aluode ] and [ Gill's Cuisine ] had equally blank expressions.
"None of you three knew?"
"What do you know?"
"A new temporary escort mission was posted a few minutes ago... Oh, you might have been online during those few minutes and didn't see it. Just tap the little red dot to see it."
The player gave a couple of pointers, then became engrossed in the new flavor of the drink.
After a brief moment of shock, the three of them opened the notification bar in the corner of their field of vision and quickly found the mission announcement posted by Ed.
"Is this Graycast Corridor belonging to that faction that primarily uses machinery?"
[ The Western Sharpshooter ] suddenly asked.
[ Gill's Cuisine ] nodded and said:
"Yes, some of the mechanical blueprints we have here were brought by merchants from over there."
[ Western Sharpshooter ] continued to ask:
Are there guns in that Graycast Corridor?
"I don't think so. I remember saying before that they have crossbows and repeating crossbows, but it seems they don't really have guns—this world can't produce gunpowder, so the kind of thing you want probably can't be made."
[ The Western Sharpshooter ] sighed and said:
"That's a shame. Do you know why I haven't been dressing up as a cowboy lately?"
"Isn't it because drinking heavily is so enjoyable?"
"No, no, no, well, okay, part of it is because drinking heavily is really fun, but another reason is that I can't find a suitable alternative firearm."
[ Western Sharpshooter ] made a gesture of turning his gun and pulling the trigger, saying:
"The previous plant-based crossbows and balsam flowers felt really weird to me. A cowboy can't be without a revolver, like, what did you say before? That similar character in your country's works..."
"Oh, you mean a chivalrous knight-errant?"
"Yes, just like a knight-errant cannot be without a sword."
What you said makes a lot of sense; I really can't find any fault with it.
"So Gill, are you sure there aren't any guns in the Graycast Corridor?"
"I'm not sure, I've just never heard of it."
"If I give them the blueprints, could they make something similar for me?"
"Big Fool Chun, what are you doing?"
"I want a revolver! I dream about it!"
[ Western Sharpshooter ] took a big gulp of not-too-strong liquor:
"No, I can't keep going down this low!"
His eyes gradually hardened from the haze of drunkenness:
"Bodyguard missions are an essential part of being a cowboy. I can't keep going down this low life; I have to participate in this mission!"
As he spoke, he looked at the two of them with a determined gaze, as if he were waiting for something.
[ Gill's Cuisine ] and [ Aluode ] looked at each other, not knowing what [ Western Sharpshooter ] meant.
The three of them held their breath for a few seconds before [ Western Sharpshooter ] couldn't help but ask in confusion:
Aren't you going?
"Oh, so you were inviting us?"
The two of them suddenly realized:
You should have said so earlier.
[ Gill's Cuisine ] nodded happily:
"I'll go."
[ Aluode ] was also eager to try:
"Then I'll go too."
"Alright, the tavern is about to close, let's set off shortly!"
After the three men had served their acquaintances a good drink and then locked the door, they split up to prepare their weapons and equipment.
Although it had been neglected for a while, among all the Soul Returner, [ Gill's Cuisine ] and [ Western Sharpshooter ] can both be considered veterans.
[ Aluode ] has even become an adjective.
The three quickly gathered in the tavern's main hall. [ Aluode ], who followed the Animal Compatibility system, was fully armed, with a row of syringes strapped to his waist.
[ Gill's Cuisine ], which follows a plant-based system, includes many plant-related plugins.
The two looked at the [ Western Sharpshooter ] and were immediately stunned by his appearance.
The player, who always identified as a cowboy, with sharp, cool features and a touch of handsomeness, had completely changed his appearance.
He made no attempt to hide the weight he had gained recently; his hair was disheveled, and his unkempt beard hung down to his chest.
But what's most eye-catching is the round oak barrel that's tucked under the other person's thick arm.
Along with [ Western Sharpshooter ]'s breathing, the sound of liquid flowing and splashing came from the barrel.
"Not a buddy..."
[ Gill's Cuisine ] Covering face with hands:
"For the first time, I've wanted this game to add a name-changing feature, even if it costs money!"
[ Aluode ] poked the fat on [ Western Sharpshooter ]'s belly and made a tsk-tsk sound of surprise.
There are many fat people in the real world, but you can rarely see fat people in World of Disorder.
The locals, of course, are an exception; people who can't even afford to eat are unlikely to be fat.
While the Soul Returner could eat and drink a lot, their daily exercise was also terrifying. So this was the first time [ Aluode ] had seen such fat people in the World of Disorder, and he immediately became somewhat interested in the form of fat storage in this world.
In the [ Western Sharpshooter ]'s fleshy iron fist, the three quickly left the tavern to customize their own personal Hoofed Beast.