Fang Zhen put his thoughts into action immediately. He grabbed the slingshot, filled a leather pouch with a handful of steel balls, and went downstairs to find a place to test it.
He bought a few glass bottles of beer and several cans of Coke at the supermarket downstairs. Carrying his purchases, he found an open space in a nearby park to test the slingshot's power.
After finding a secluded clearing in the woods, Fang Zhen placed the beer bottles and Coke cans on the ground. He took out the slingshot, loaded it with a steel ball, aimed at one of the bottles, and drew back the rubber band.
The band was incredibly strong. Fang Zhen pulled it back with about ninety percent of his strength, took aim, and fired!
"CRACK!"
The steel ball shot out and struck the beer bottle, which instantly shattered, spraying beer everywhere.
"Holy crap!"
Fang Zhen was stunned.
He stared at the slingshot in his hand, utterly amazed.
'They can just sell this thing online? How much kinetic energy does it have? At close range, it's probably even more powerful than a steel-pellet air gun, right?'
'A small animal would be killed instantly by a single hit. How is something this powerful unregulated?'
Back when Fang Zhen was a kid, regulations weren't as strict. He had played with steel-pellet air guns, and their power was about the same as this slingshot—strong enough to take down birds.
After a moment's thought, Fang Zhen took out his phone, quietly opened the Jingmao app, and bought two more of the same titanium alloy slingshot.
He wasn't sure if he'd discovered a regulatory blind spot, or when the authorities might notice this "bug"—or if they were simply too busy to care. 'Whatever the case, I'd better stock up on a few as backup equipment before they catch on.'
After placing the order, Fang Zhen put his phone away.
He hadn't lost his touch; his skill with the slingshot was still as sharp as ever. With a bit more practice, he could definitely use it in real combat.
He'd never expected that a skill from his childhood games could actually come in handy now.
'I guess it's true what they say,' he thought. 'No effort is ever truly wasted.'
Fang Zhen was quite happy about it.
He lined up the remaining beer bottles and Coke cans and practiced his accuracy with the slingshot.
Half an hour passed.
By then, Fang Zhen had completed his testing of the titanium alloy slingshot.
As it turned out, Fang Zhen had a real talent for shooting a slingshot. Even after at least a decade without practice, the moment he picked it up, his aim was still exceptionally precise.
He barely needed to aim; within nine meters, he had perfect accuracy. From nine to about fifteen meters, as long as the target was human-sized, he might not hit a specific spot, but he would never miss the target entirely.
The power of the titanium alloy slingshot also left Fang Zhen very satisfied. Within nine meters, a steel ball could shatter a glass beer bottle and punch straight through a Coke can. The force was astonishing.
He was extremely pleased.
'Alright.' He now had his defensive anti-riot suit and Shield. His main weapon was a bright silver long spear, his sidearm a Nepalese Curved Saber. For luring enemies, he had the titanium alloy slingshot with steel balls, which had more than enough power and range. He had basically covered all his bases.
This gear was formidable. Last time, he'd taken down three goblins by himself wearing just street clothes and carrying a retractable baton. Now, fully armed, handling a dozen or so goblins shouldn't be a problem. 'If I add some tactics and strategy to the mix,' he thought, 'I should be able to clear the Dark Path instance.'
He'd reaped decent rewards just from killing a few mobs. 'I wonder what I'll get for clearing the entire instance?'
Fang Zhen let his imagination wander.
His gut told him that the rewards for completely clearing the Dark Path would surely be worth more than the fifty thousand-plus yuan he'd gotten for selling the Gold Pendant.
Having accomplished his goal, he cleaned up the shattered beer bottles and Coke cans from the corner of the park. He gathered them for recycling, tossed them into a nearby trash can, and returned to his apartment complex.
…
「The next morning.」
Fang Zhen had made all his preparations and was ready to enter the Dark Path instance.
To get himself into peak condition, he had gone to bed early the previous night. This morning, he'd had a proper breakfast. To maintain sufficient stamina and calorie intake, he even ate beef paired with some purple sweet potatoes, all to keep his glycemic index stable and ensure the food would provide long-lasting energy.
He wore an anti-riot suit and helmet. His Anti-Riot Shield was strapped to his back, ready to be unbuckled and equipped in two or three seconds. He held the bright silver long spear in his right hand. The sheathed Nepalese Curved Saber was secured at his left hip, while on his right, a buckle held his slingshot and a pouch containing over a hundred steel balls.
The whole getup weighed around twenty-two pounds. Fortunately, the weight was well-distributed, so it didn't feel too burdensome.
He also wore a fanny pack around his waist containing a small bottle of mineral water, a few Snickers bars, some antibiotics, painkillers, and a roll of hemostatic bandages for logistical support.
Fang Zhen inspected his full loadout and nodded in satisfaction.
He walked into his computer room, opened the "Dungeon Life" game system, and reactivated the Dark Path instance.
"The selected instance has been reactivated."
"Instance Name: Dark Path.
World Setting: Unknown
Instance Difficulty: Easy
External Equipment Status: Operational.
The instance portal is open. Please enter!"
A burst of white light flared in Fang Zhen's living room.
Fang Zhen stepped out of the room and picked up the long spear he had placed by the doorway.
A white Light Gate appeared in the living room. At its center, a black vortex slowly swirled.
"Alright! Last time, I went in with nothing and no preparation, and I still killed three goblins. Now, I'm fully prepared. Bring it on! I'm going to clear this entire instance!"
Fang Zhen took a deep breath and stepped into the Light Gate.
After a brief, slight dizzy spell, Fang Zhen's vision returned.
The surrounding environment was a forest under a dim, sunless sky. The air was cool, and an occasional forest breeze brought a chill to his exposed skin. A narrow, dark path led deep into the woods. The forest was quiet, making the occasional bird call or flutter of wings sound exceptionally clear.
It seemed to have rained recently. The ground was damp but not muddy, and the air carried the fresh scent of vegetation and rain-soaked earth, which was surprisingly pleasant.
Fang Zhen scanned his surroundings, confirming he was in the exact same spot as last time. Nothing had changed.
'It seems the Light Gate's entry point for this instance is fixed,' he noted.
He mentally filed away this piece of information.
He straightened his posture, feeling his body was in excellent condition. His limbs felt powerful, his stamina was high, and his mind was sharp and clear.
Fang Zhen was very satisfied with his current state.
Holding his spear, he followed the quiet forest path, retracing his route from the previous visit.
This time, Fang Zhen felt he was moving much faster and with greater ease than on his first visit.
It's a common experience for many people: the first time you visit an unfamiliar place, the journey always feels incredibly long and slow. A trip that takes only an hour or two can feel like an eternity.
But on the return trip, or during a second visit, the mood is much lighter. The distance seems shorter, almost trivial.
This is because the unfamiliarity of the initial journey stretches one's psychological perception of time. Once you're familiar with it, it feels much closer.
That was exactly how Fang Zhen felt now.
The last time he came, while exploring the path, he hadn't actually walked very far, but it had felt like a very long time.
Now, however, Fang Zhen was familiar with the route. In less than ten minutes, he reached the spot where he had seen the wrecked carriage.
The wreckage of the carriage was still there. The surrounding footprints had been washed away by the rain, leaving only the broken frame and no new clues.
After confirming his position, Fang Zhen headed in a specific direction.
Last time, he had found a corpse just ahead of this spot.
Fang Zhen walked for a short while and, sure enough, saw the body again.
But he hadn't been here for three days, and the corpse had already begun to rot and bloat.
Fang Zhen shook his head.
'This world really is real,' he thought. 'I have to be extremely careful.'
'Those goblins are just bandits. I shouldn't feel bad about being ruthless with them later.'
Fang Zhen skirted around the corpse and headed toward the spot where he had fought the three goblins.
Soon, he arrived at the scene of the fight.
The goblin bodies were no longer on the ground.
He guessed their companions must have carried them away.
Fang Zhen recalled the direction from which he'd heard goblin shouts as he was leaving last time.
After a moment of thought, he looked to his front right. 'That's the direction, no doubt about it.'
Having confirmed the direction, he gripped his spear and started walking.
After walking for three to five minutes, he felt something cool on his face. He looked up; it had started raining again.
The rain was very light, more of a mist. It wasn't falling in drops but as a fine, cool powder, like dust. It wasn't oppressively humid; on the contrary, it was quite refreshing.
The cool, misty rain made Fang Zhen feel even better as he continued to press forward.
After another five minutes, Fang Zhen suddenly froze.
He stood behind a large tree, peering out from the side at something about twenty meters to his front left.
"Heh... got you," Fang Zhen chuckled under his breath.
Twenty meters ahead, nestled under an earthen mound, was a crude shelter made of branches, leaves, and strips of linen cloth.
Inside, six or seven goblins were sprawled about, apparently asleep.