My Computer Leads to an Instance Dungeon-Chapter 37: Redstone Town Instance! Friendly or Hostile?
WHOOSH!
A whoosh tore through the air. Fang Zhen saw only a blur, and in the next instant, he heard a steel ball strike the training dummy.
There was a loud THUD.
A steel ball had shot right into the center of the training dummy’s forehead. It was embedded deep, about a centimeter in, making it look as if the dummy had grown a third eye.
Fang Zhen was a little surprised.
’This thing packs a serious punch!’
Fang Zhen hadn’t expected the Dragon Gallbladder Arrow and Bullet Crossbow to be this powerful.
He thought its power at close range would be similar to the titanium alloy slingshot he’d used before.
The steel ball now embedded in the dummy’s forehead proved that the Dragon Gallbladder was much more powerful than the titanium alloy slingshot.
Human muscle could power the titanium alloy slingshot, but it was no match for the mechanical force of a compound bow’s design.
With this kind of power, he could probably blow a goblin’s head open from twenty meters away. The steel ball would penetrate its brain. If he used an 8008 arrow, it would likely pass straight through.
Fang Zhen assessed the Dragon Gallbladder Two-in-One Bow and gave it an extremely high damage rating.
He aimed again, pulling the lever with his left hand to draw the crossbow’s string.
Once it was drawn, Fang Zhen aimed again. Using the 4x scope, he sighted the training dummy’s throat and fired another steel ball.
THUD!
The steel ball embedded itself in the dummy’s throat.
Fang Zhen held the Dragon Gallbladder Two-in-One Bow in his hand, its front pointing downward.
’It seems I really do have a talent for using projectile weapons.’
Fang Zhen reflected.
He was already skilled with a slingshot, and in the Dark Path instance, he’d managed a fatal throat shot the very first time he used a wooden crossbow.
Now, using the Dragon Gallbladder Two-in-One Bow for the first time, he felt a sense of complete control, a confidence that he could hit whatever he aimed at.
This was partly due to the quality of the equipment and the well-calibrated scope, but the bigger factor was likely his strong natural talent for this type of projectile weapon.
’A gift from the heavens.’
He smiled. He was quite happy to discover he had a talent for this.
He then tried loading an 8008 arrow.
In front of the steel ball magazine on the Dragon Gallbladder Two-in-One Bow was a small, pinky-sized lever. Pulling this lever blocked the steel balls in the magazine, preventing them from auto-loading.
At this point, he could place an 8008 arrow into the Crossbow Arrow slot at the front of the string.
The 8008 arrows had to be loaded manually; they couldn’t be fired in rapid succession.
Fang Zhen knew this before he bought it, so he wasn’t bothered by it.
He pulled the metal lever, closing off the steel ball magazine, and placed an 8008 arrow in the Crossbow Arrow slot.
Once it was loaded, Fang Zhen again braced the stock against his right shoulder and aimed at the training dummy’s throat with the optical sight.
After aiming, Fang Zhen pulled the trigger.
BANG!
A sound much louder than before erupted.
The 8008 arrow, with its light green reinforced plastic shaft, shot out, leaving a green, light-like trail as it struck the training dummy’s throat.
The immense kinetic energy actually tore straight through the dummy’s throat, piercing it and shooting clean through the entire neck.
"Huh? It’s that powerful?"
Fang Zhen was startled.
Most of the 8008 arrow had passed through the dummy’s throat, and its tip was even embedded in the wall.
Fang Zhen let out a long breath and, carrying the crossbow, walked over to the corner.
He observed it carefully.
Most of the 8008 arrow was stuck in the training dummy’s throat. About three centimeters of it had exited the back of the dummy’s neck, and the tip was pressed against the wall, having scraped off a piece of plaster. If the wall hadn’t been there, the Crossbow Arrow would have likely passed more than halfway through the dummy’s neck.
"This power..."
Even Fang Zhen was surprised.
He looked at the Dragon Gallbladder Two-in-One Bow in his right hand.
’A real killing machine. It gives me a great sense of security.’
Fang Zhen then tested the Dragon Gallbladder Two-in-One Bow’s rapid-fire capability.
The test results showed that with rapid-fire enabled, Fang Zhen could complete the two actions of drawing the string and firing in less than two seconds, though firing too quickly affected accuracy.
However, Fang Zhen was already very satisfied.
The power of the Dragon Gallbladder Two-in-One Bow had already exceeded his expectations.
’Alright, my gear is pretty much set. I can enter the instance to investigate now.’
「Twenty minutes later.」
Fang Zhen stood in the living room, fully armed.
He had put his Anti-Stabbing Suit back on. A Nepalese Curved Saber hung at his left hip, and in his right hand, he held a long spear fitted with an alloy shaft. He wore an extra belt around his waist, which held a pouch of steel balls and ten 8008 arrows.
On his back, Fang Zhen carried a large backpack containing the Dragon Gallbladder 40-shot Dual-use Bow.
The crossbow’s magazine was fully loaded with a total of 40 steel balls.
Fang Zhen also had a fanny pack at his waist. Inside, besides mineral water and Snickers bars, were three Gold Coins, ten Silver Coins, and a pile of Copper Coins he had obtained from the instance.
There were so many Copper Coins that Fang Zhen had to stuff a few into his pants pockets as well.
When Fang Zhen traded with Chen Baokun, the price for the holy chalice and Holy Plate had exceeded his expectations, so he hadn’t sold the Gold Coins.
He felt they might be useful in the instance. After all, the power of money was a force in any world with a monetary system.
Fang Zhen had also packed a high-intensity flashlight in the side pocket of his backpack.
Fang Zhen had wanted to bring the Anti-Riot Shield, but he was at his maximum carry weight and couldn’t manage it.
’This is a real problem I need to solve. I have plenty of gear, but there’s a limit to what I can carry. Any more would either put me over my weight limit or take up too much space, severely affecting my agility.’
Fang Zhen sighed softly.
’When will I get my hands on one of those legendary spatial storage items? That would make things so much easier.’
He lamented this for a moment, but he knew that spatial storage items would likely only appear in the worlds of elite, hero, or even higher-level instances.
Expecting to find spatial storage in the Nameless World was asking too much of a world at this difficulty level.
He was just sighing about it; he didn’t really take it to heart.
’It doesn’t matter how much gear I can bring. As long as I make the best possible use of what I have, that’s a success.’
After composing himself, Fang Zhen went into the computer room and clicked open the "Dungeon Life" game with his mouse.
He found the instance activation dialog box.
"Activate external device?"
He controlled the cursor and selected ’Yes’.
Immediately, a sound came from the living room as the external device activated.
He turned and went to the living room. The white Light Gate had been activated, a black-hole-like vortex swirling in its center.
He took a deep breath.
"Redstone Town, here I come!"
Fang Zhen, spear in hand and fully geared, stepped into the Light Gate.
...
After a brief moment of dizziness, Fang Zhen’s senses returned.
He found that his surroundings had changed.
The sky was overcast. It wasn’t raining, but there was no sun either. The air was cool, and a breeze felt chilly against his face.
Fang Zhen saw a forest behind him and a slope before him. The slope was quite steep, with few trees, and was over two hundred meters above the flat ground below.
And within his line of sight was a quaint little town.
’I’ve come straight out from the end of the Dark Path. That must be Redstone Town down there, right?’
Fang Zhen took a deep breath and looked down.
The slope was steep, but there was still a path. However, it seemed few people used it, so it hardly looked like a path at all.
Fang Zhen saw that what could only be called a secluded mountain trail led straight down the mountain, so he set off, following the small path down the slope.
After taking a few steps, Fang Zhen didn’t encounter any invisible walls. It seemed the new area was unlocked.
Fang Zhen continued down the path. It was a bit steep, so he constantly adjusted his center of gravity to keep from tipping forward. There were some bushes on the slope growing black raspberries, though he didn’t know if they were edible.
Like this, step by step, Fang Zhen carefully made his way down the slope, taking more than ten minutes.
The entrance to the town was just ahead.
Fang Zhen licked his lips lightly.
He felt a slight nervousness. After all, he was about to interact with strangers in a strange place, with no idea what might happen.
He decided that when he entered the town, he would project the image of a cold, traveling Martial Artist. He couldn’t appear too easygoing.
’Who knows what the people in this town are like? If they’re malicious, a cold and cautious demeanor will allow me to remain in a state where I can advance or retreat. It’ll also expose fewer weaknesses.’
’I shouldn’t act too kind or enthusiastic. It’s best to be a bit cold and pragmatic. That way, I won’t be taken advantage of.’
Fang Zhen had already decided on the persona he was going to adopt.
A strange world, a strange town, strange people—everything was an unknown. There was no harm in assuming the worst of people and being on guard. If he was vigilant and assumed others had bad intentions, only to discover they were actually kind, it would just be a misunderstanding at worst. Fang Zhen wouldn’t lose anything.
But if the town itself was unfriendly and its people malicious, thinking too well of them could lead to being exploited, or in extreme cases, even death.
Fang Zhen would rather be wary of villains first.
With this mindset, Fang Zhen walked into the town.
And at that moment, there were townspeople at the entrance who spotted Fang Zhen!
