My Computer Leads to an Instance Dungeon

Tos went in first, followed by Gwendolyn, Karen, Jorent, and then Pat, who was carrying the equipment.

Fang Zhen prepared to go in last.

Suddenly, he felt a slap on his rear.

He immediately frowned and turned his head to look at Red Viper Laura.

'What is this? Sexual harassment, too?'

Laura didn't speak, her expression unchanging. She took a step forward and grabbed Fang Zhen's hand.

Fang Zhen, who had been about to speak, felt something being pressed into his hand.

He looked down and saw a folded piece of papyrus.

After unfolding it, he found a short letter inside.

"Jo, this is your last chance. Night or day, you have to make a choice."

This short line was written on the papyrus.

Fang Zhen raised an eyebrow, looking up and staring into Laura's eyes.

"I found it. I don't know who dropped it or threw it away on purpose. I didn't see anyone, and I don't recognize the handwriting," Laura said, her voice low and calm.

Fang Zhen's brows knitted tightly as he looked at the papyrus again.

'What does this mean?'

'Jo must refer to Jorent.'

'A letter trying to turn him?'

'But that brings up a new question. Who wrote it?'

'Could there be two traitors?'

"Everyone in the Whig Society is a suspect. You, on the other hand, are the least suspicious," Laura said quickly in a low voice. "I can't figure out who the traitor is. You use your head for this one."

With that, Laura slipped through the iron gate.

Fang Zhen stared at the papyrus in his hand.

'If the message in this letter is real, then Jorent is actually less suspicious.'

'At most, he's still wavering.'

'Jorent wouldn't expose himself like this.'

'A few people are actually not very suspicious.'

'Since Laura gave me this letter, she's less suspicious, too.'

'So the person most likely to be the traitor is...'

Fang Zhen took a deep breath, his gaze becoming resolute once more.

Carrying his long spear, he was the last one to enter the iron gate.

Inside the iron gate was a secret, spiraling passage that sloped downward.

Fang Zhen had given Gwendolyn, who was up ahead, a high-intensity flashlight.

Gwendolyn used the flashlight to illuminate the path, while Tos, an expert at avoiding traps and moving stealthily, took the lead.

After ten-odd minutes, the group reached the end of the passage.

A hissing sound and a foul, pungent stench drifted toward them.

A cliff abruptly appeared before them, about six or seven meters wide and five or six meters deep.

Gwendolyn and the others stopped, their expressions grim as they stared at the chasm.

Fang Zhen stepped forward. After a single glance, he couldn't help but press his lips together.

The chasm was a gigantic snake pit.

Countless venomous snakes writhed and coiled together, a dense, teeming mass that covered the bottom of the chasm.

Falling in would mean being devoured by ten thousand snakes. It was a formidable barrier.

There were some rocks on the other side, and farther ahead, they could faintly see light. That seemed to be the exit leading to the Ancient Castle.

Karen's face paled slightly as she looked at the snake pit.

"How do we get across?" Fang Zhen asked.

"Jorent, do you have any poison?" Gwendolyn asked, looking at him.

"I do, but it's useless. The repellents I have are for driving off aberrations. I have poison that can kill snakes, but there are just too many. Killing a few dozen or even a hundred of them would be pointless," Jorent said, shaking his head.

"I'll do it," said Tos, who hadn't spoken until now.

"I'll cross first, then set up a bridge," Tos said.

"We're counting on you," said Gwendolyn.

Tos took out a rope.

Fang Zhen glanced over and saw that the rope had a sharp metal tip, like a grappling hook gun.

Tos swung the rope gun in his hand, his eyes fixed on the rocks across the chasm.

He swung it faster and faster. Suddenly, the metal tip flashed with white light, and Tos threw the rope gun.

Power Mountain Seal!

Fang Zhen recognized the technique.

The rope gun shot across the six-meter gap and embedded itself directly into the rock.

Some kind of mechanism sprang from the sharp metal head, catching in the rock and anchoring it firmly in place.

Tos tugged the rope, testing its strength.

It seemed to hold.

"Pat," Tos said.

Pat, who was carrying the large wooden chest with everyone's support gear, set it down, walked over, and took the rope from Tos.

"Pull it tight, but not too tight. Don't yank it out of the rock," Tos said.

Pat nodded and pulled the rope taut.

With a nimble leap, Tos jumped up and actually landed standing on the rope.

Tos had a small, lithe build and probably weighed less than most women. His body was incredibly flexible and balanced, seemingly defying his age. Like an acrobat with his arms held out for balance, he started walking across the rope to the other side.

Watching him, Fang Zhen felt nervous on his behalf.

Bold and highly skilled, Tos walked the tightrope alone and made it to the other side without a hitch.

Tos jumped off the rope, pulled a black rope from his waist, and tossed it to Fang Zhen and the others on the opposite side.

Gwendolyn caught the rope, while Jorent took the first rope from Pat.

Pat turned back and took two huge iron spikes from the wooden chest.

Pat's weapon was a pair of enormous gauntlets that also functioned as arm shields.

With two strikes from his gauntlets, Pat hammered the huge iron spikes into the rocky ground.

Gwendolyn and Jorent wound the ropes around the iron spikes.

Pat took out several wooden planks from the chest. The planks had metal hooks on the bottom, spaced to match the distance between the two ropes.

Pat threw an iron spike and a hammer to the other side.

Tos wrapped the rope around his arm, picked up the iron spike and hammer that had been thrown over, and used the Power Mountain Seal to drive the spike into the ground. Then he secured the rope to it.

Their movements were fluid and practiced; it was clear this wasn't their first time.

Gwendolyn was the first to get on the simple rope bridge. She took the hooked planks from Pat and began laying them down as she walked.

By the time the planks ran out, Gwendolyn had already reached the other side.

After her, Karen, Laura, and Jorent crossed the makeshift bridge one by one.

"You go first. I'm too heavy," Pat said to Fang Zhen.

Fang Zhen nodded and stepped onto the simple plank bridge.

It swayed precariously. With no handrails and a teeming mass of tangled venomous snakes below, walking on it was quite the thrilling experience.

Fang Zhen glanced down once, then forced himself to look away. Just seeing the snake pit gave him goosebumps.

'Don't be scared. If I really fall, I'll just activate the Gang Zan Seal. It'll be gross, but I won't die,' he thought.

He gritted his teeth and walked toward the other side.

Fortunately, perhaps because of all the recent fighting, his mental fortitude and physical condition had both improved. Though it was a bit hairy, he made it across without incident.

Finally, it was Pat's turn.

Pat was visibly nervous.

Pat first threw the half-empty wooden chest across with all his might, which Gwendolyn caught. Then, with a clear grimace, he stepped onto the makeshift plank bridge.

Pat wobbled, but he was relatively stable. He made his way across and was less than two meters from the other side.

Suddenly, perhaps because of Pat's weight, the rope on Fang Zhen's side snapped loose from the iron spike! It couldn't hold!

Pat was horrified. With a look of shock on his face, he plunged toward the snake pit below.

"Pat!" Gwendolyn and Karen shouted at the same time.

Suddenly, a silver gleam shot down like a bolt of white lightning.

Fang Zhen reacted in a flash, thrusting his long spear straight down. Its tip landed right beside Pat.

"Grab it!" he yelled.

Pat instinctively grabbed the spearhead.

Fang Zhen immediately felt Pat's immense weight and the force of his fall. Pat's muscles were incredibly dense; he had to weigh at least one hundred and ten kilograms.

A white light flashed on the long spear.

Power Mountain Seal!

Fang Zhen activated the Power Mountain Seal and forcibly lifted Pat. Swinging him in a semi-circular arc through the air, he flung the big man over to their side.

Pat held on to the spear tip for dear life, not letting go even as his hands started to bleed.

Fang Zhen swung his long spear and tossed Pat to safety.

Only then did Pat let go, his momentum causing him to roll twice on the ground.

Pat's constitution was truly impressive. A normal person would have likely broken bones from a fall like that, but after rolling twice, he smoothly got back to his feet. Though he was covered in dust, he seemed to be fine.

"Damn! I almost fell into the snake pit," Pat said loudly, venting the terror he felt from his near-death experience.

Pat knew how to use the Gang Zan Seal, but it had a time limit and wouldn't last long. If he had really fallen into the snake pit and wasn't rescued before the seal wore off, he would have been a goner—and died one of the worst possible deaths.

Pat looked at Fang Zhen, his eyes filled with gratitude. "I owe you one."

"I owe you my life."

Fang Zhen gave a slight nod.

Gwendolyn took out an Alchemy Healing Potion. Pat took it, applied it to his hands, and the wounds from grabbing the spear blade healed quickly.

"As long as you're all right."

"Let's go. The Ancient Castle is just ahead," Gwendolyn said.

The group nodded, and Pat, having composed himself, continued forward with them.

Fang Zhen walked at the rear.

Before leaving the snake pit behind, he squatted down and examined the rope that had snapped loose.

After a moment, he stood up and continued toward the Ancient Castle.

Soon, they reached the end of the path.

At the end of the passage was a round exit blocked by an iron grate. They could see light from the outside; they had reached the grounds of the Ancient Castle.

"Apply the Blood Burst Secret Medicine," Gwendolyn said.

Gwendolyn was the most senior member of the Whig Society and the most respected, making her the de facto leader of the team.

Everyone tensed up. Gwendolyn took out the Blood Burst Secret Medicine, which had been prepared as a paste, and they all coated their weapons with it in turn.

"The Count's Iron Armor Soldiers might not be affected by the Blood Burst Secret Medicine. They are creatures somewhere between aberrations and humans—not fully aberrations, but closer to human," Gwendolyn explained.

As she spoke, Gwendolyn's gaze turned to Fang Zhen.

"Fang Zhen, if the Blood Burst Secret Medicine has no effect on the Iron Armor Soldiers, then we'll have to rely on you."

"Once we're through here, we'll be in the castle's aberration menagerie. It's where Ellick keeps the aberrations he uses for his experiments. Beyond that is the plaza in front of the castle's main entrance, where there will be a large contingent of the Count's Iron Armor Soldiers," Gwendolyn said.

Karen stared at Fang Zhen for a moment and said, "If you can't kill all the Iron Armor Soldiers within fifteen breaths, we'll have to retreat. We won't have much chance of winning, and the 'sacrificed' townspeople might die because of it."

"Are you sure you can do what you claimed?"

"Karen, don't put more pressure on Fang Zhen," Gwendolyn said in a low voice.

"It's fine," Fang Zhen said with a confident smile.

He thrust his long spear into Karen's hands. As she stared in surprise, he drew the Desert Viper Handgun from his waist.

"Hold my weapon for a second."

"It's time to show you some real skill."