My Computer Leads to an Instance Dungeon-Chapter 138 - 113: Liquefied Gas Cylinder and Compound Crossbow

Before entering the Ancient Castle Caverns instance, Fang Zhen had already activated the combat partner program. He also had three candidates for combat partners and servants.

Since he was short on manpower, he could simply use his merits to hire a stronger combat partner.

He had looked at the combat partners' stat data. Some of them were very powerful and had a wide array of combat skills.

He currently had 20 merits saved up. Out of the three options, hiring the strongest partner would cost exactly 20 merits per day.

As long as they successfully defeated Madici Weiya within twenty-four hours, it would be worth it.

Moreover, Fang Zhen also had some ideas for targeted equipment upgrades.

"I can find a strong Warrior," Fang Zhen said, "but it will take a day. I need to buy some more alchemical equipment to bring over."

"That's fine. I also have some ideas and will be crafting some alchemical products, which will also take about a day," Gwendolyn said.

Fang Zhen nodded. "Then it's settled. Tomorrow afternoon, I'll bring someone to find you, and then we'll take down Madici Weiya together."

"Good. I hope you can bring a capable Warrior," Gwendolyn said. "It's a pity we're so far from the Royal City, otherwise I could find a few stronger Curse Sealers myself."

"Let's wait until we've investigated the situation further, when it's time to crusade against Ellick," Fang Zhen said.

He guessed that the Curse Seal World would have a second act, maybe even a third, and that it would most likely involve a crusade against Ellick.

There were still many valuable things to be discovered in the Curse Seal World, like new curse seals, alchemical products, and more.

Fang Zhen had found a way to make money. The Curse Sealers needed antibiotics and other medicines from the real world. Moreover, the people of this world would probably have a hard time producing potassium permanganate anytime soon. If they wanted to create the Secret Medicine Blood Burst, they would still have to trade with him. These were all opportunities for him to quickly expand his power and wealth.

He was looking forward to the appearance of the second act. For now, he was just laying the groundwork.

"Then it's a deal. Tomorrow afternoon, before sunset, let's meet directly in the valley," Gwendolyn said. "We'll challenge the aberrations in the Underground Cave together again."

"You have my word."

After Fang Zhen and Gwendolyn made their agreement, the Curse Sealer mounted his horse with his apprentice, Mark, and departed.

After watching Gwendolyn leave, Fang Zhen got on his Jue Ying motorcycle.

He had all his equipment with him. It was time to return to the real world.

'I have a lot to do.'

He straddled the motorcycle, started the engine, and gunned the throttle, speeding toward the Light Gate.

…

Fang Zhen pushed his motorcycle through the Light Gate.

He returned to his living room at home.

He parked the bike, went to his computer room to turn off his peripherals, then stripped off his clothes and quickly took a shower in the bathroom.

After washing up, Fang Zhen dried himself off, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and went out to run some errands.

He had entered the Curse Seal World in the morning. He hadn't actually spent much time in the instance, so it was only three in the afternoon.

Fang Zhen used Gaode Maps to find a nearby liquefied gas supplier.

He hailed a taxi and went straight to his destination.

It was a factory building with pale yellow walls. Above the main entrance was a red banner with five large words written on it: "Observe the rules, ensure safety."

The sale of liquefied gas was more regulated now. Like gas stations, there were designated points of sale.

When Fang Zhen arrived, he saw a man standing outside and went over to greet him.

"Sir, I'd like to buy a gas canister for home use. How do I go about that?" Fang Zhen asked the middle-aged man, who looked to be in his mid-forties.

"How many are you buying, and what size?" the man in work clothes asked, looking up.

"Just one canister, the five-kilogram one," Fang Zhen replied.

"Did you bring your ID?" the man asked.

"Yes."

"Just go over there and fill out a form," the man said, pointing to a service window up ahead.

Fang Zhen thanked him politely and walked toward the window.

He had come here to buy a Liquefied Gas Cylinder.

A Liquefied Gas Cylinder, whether used properly or not, was an inherently dangerous object.

A Liquefied Gas Cylinder explosion was incredibly powerful. The occasional gas canister explosion in a residential building could be strong enough to shatter every window in the entire building and even slightly warp the structure of an old building.

Of course, these things didn't just explode on command.

Certain conditions had to be met for a Liquefied Gas Cylinder to detonate and unleash its bomb-like power.

Under normal circumstances, even if a Liquefied Gas Cylinder caught fire, it would only spew flames rather than exploding outright.

One of the fire department's routine training exercises involved igniting a Liquefied Gas Cylinder and having firefighters practice extinguishing it.

Regardless, a Liquefied Gas Cylinder possessed potential lethality and danger.

After witnessing the defensive power of the Black Armored Fierce Ghosts in the Underground Cave and the oppressive presence of Madici Weiya, Fang Zhen felt he had no choice but to bring in some real high-tech, hardcore solutions.

His first thought was the Liquefied Gas Cylinder.

Fang Zhen went up to the window. A young woman inside understood his request and handed him a form.

He had to fill out a "Gas Cylinder Purchase Registration Form," present his ID, and provide his personal information.

After completing the process, Fang Zhen successfully purchased a five-kilogram Liquefied Gas Cylinder.

The gas supplier had a dedicated delivery service. A truck would deliver it to his residential complex in the evening.

Having taken care of this, Fang Zhen felt a bit more confident.

The ghosts and the boss in the Ancient Castle Caverns were a bit too strong. He was afraid it wouldn't work without some special tactics.

He called a car to head back.

A few minutes later, the ride-share car arrived. Instead of his usual front seat, Fang Zhen got into the back.

He took out his phone and contacted Weilong Outdoor on WeChat.

Weilong Outdoor was the merchant who had sold Fang Zhen the repeating crossbow and the Hunting Crossbow.

"I'm getting a little tired of my Cheetah Hunting Crossbow. Do you have any more powerful gear?" Fang Zhen sent a message.

A few seconds later, Weilong Outdoor replied, "Tired of it already? Bro, your tastes are leveling up a little too fast."

"Just tell me if you have anything or not," Fang Zhen messaged back.

"Yes, yes, of course!" Weilong Outdoor replied. "Bro, you're a regular customer, and a reliable one at that. You pay fast and you're no-fuss. I trust you."

"I do have some good stuff here, but it's a bit... legally gray. I don't normally show it to anyone. I only bring it out for regulars like you to have a look."

"See if you're interested in this."

Weilong Outdoor sent an image.

Fang Zhen took one look and his eyes lit up.

The picture from Weilong Outdoor showed an all-black Mechanical Crossbow. It was clearly a compound crossbow design, with pulleys.

This design might reduce its durability somewhat, but it would definitely increase the kinetic energy significantly.

And compared to the Cheetah Hunting Crossbow Fang Zhen was currently using, this crossbow was actually more compact. It was foldable, and its folded length was only forty-five centimeters.

Looking at the specs, this compound crossbow had a draw weight ratio of 5:1. This meant that to achieve a 100-pound draw on the bowstring, Fang Zhen would only need to apply twenty pounds of force.

Its effective range was more than one and a half times that of the Hunting Crossbow, reaching 180 meters. The initial velocity when firing a Hunting Arrow could reach 620 FPS.

'620 FPS... one FPS is 0.3048 meters... which means this compound crossbow's initial velocity can reach...'

Fang Zhen quickly switched to his phone's calculator.

A moment later, the calculator displayed the result.

'An initial velocity of 188.98 m/s. Damn, that's impressive.'

He was quite surprised.

This new compound crossbow's performance specs were roughly one and a half times better than the Cheetah Hunting Crossbow's across the board, and it was also significantly lighter, weighing only two kilograms in total.

He switched back to WeChat.

Weilong Outdoor: "So, what do you think? Not bad, huh?"

"This N2 compound crossbow is the treasure of our shop. It has a built-in winch, uses a Gordon Bowstring, is foldable and detachable, has a simple structure, and recoils without a string stop."

"With this thing, you could even go hunt grizzly bears. Some guys overseas actually use it for bear hunting. They enjoy the thrill of using a cold weapon."

Fang Zhen was very interested in this compound crossbow. As for the "N2" designation, he figured it was just some random name Weilong Outdoor had made up.

"What's the price?" Fang Zhen asked.

Weilong Outdoor: "9,800 for the bare crossbow, comes with three original arrows, the original case, and assembly tools."

"10,800 for the deluxe edition. That includes a windage- and speed-compensating scope, a tactical bipod, a roller arrow rest, ten original arrows, and the original case."

Fang Zhen thought for a moment, then typed his reply, "I need it by tomorrow. Can you get it delivered?"

Weilong Outdoor was typing for a while before replying, "That's asking a lot. There's no way a courier can get it there in one day. Unless I find someone to drive it over, but that's over nine hundred kilometers."

Fang Zhen replied, "I'll add 3,000. That should be enough for round-trip tolls and gas, with an extra 1,000 for the driver to buy a nice carton of cigarettes."

"Plus another 2,000 for a recommendation on some Crossbow Arrows with special effects. I'm mainly looking for armor-piercing, but other effects are fine too. Give me a few extra, I want a variety."

Right now, his priority was dealing with the ghosts and the boss in the Underground Cave.

He was willing to spend extra money on equipment if it could solve this problem.

The Black Armored Fierce Ghost's defense was pretty tough; the Hunting Crossbow was starting to feel inadequate. If this compound crossbow arrived, it should make a difference.

Besides, there were also special-function crossbow arrows for compound crossbows, like armor-piercing ones, but they were usually very expensive, especially the ones from the original manufacturer.

But Fang Zhen didn't care.

A few thousand yuan was pocket change to him now. Solving the problem was what mattered most.

He was more short on time than money.

Weilong Outdoor quickly replied:

"Bro, you're just throwing money at me."

"I'm a man of principle, and I want to tell you..."

"Please, throw some more!"

Fang Zhen chuckled.

After chatting for a while and getting familiar with each other, this WeChat merchant, Weilong Outdoor, was even starting to show a sense of humor and crack jokes.

"Bro, as for those special-function Crossbow Arrows you mentioned, I really do have them. But they're pretty expensive. A regular original Crossbow Arrow sells for a few dozen yuan each. The ones with special effects can be several dozen, some even over a hundred. Then there are some special-purpose bolts that are another one or two times more expensive."

"I'm not trying to rip you off. You can look it up or ask around anywhere, that's the going rate."

"Of course, since you're a regular, I'll give you a discount."

"The difference between special-purpose Crossbow Arrows and regular ones is the arrowhead. I have some in stock. If you really want the N2 compound crossbow, I'll find someone tonight to drive it over with the arrows. If they drive all night, it should get there by tomorrow morning."

"I'll send you an itemized list with all the prices in a bit. My reputation comes first when I do business. You decide if it works for you, okay?"

"OK," Fang Zhen replied.

He didn't actually care how much profit Weilong Outdoor was making.

He didn't have the time or energy to waste on price comparisons for this.

As long as he could take out the Black Armored Fierce Ghost, that was all that mattered.

"Alright. Give me an address, and be there to receive the delivery at 8:30 tomorrow morning," Weilong Outdoor replied.