My Computer Leads to an Instance Dungeon-Chapter 133 - 108: It Exploded

More than forty minutes later, in the valley before the Ancient Castle Caverns.

Fang Zhen, Gwendolyn, and Mark had arrived in the monster-infested valley.

They were now deep inside, having moved past the spot where Fang Zhen had set his last ambush, and had reached the entrance to the caverns.

Fang Zhen could now see the monsters' lair.

The entrance to the caverns was at the base of a mountain. It was enormous—forty to fifty meters wide and four to five meters high. Overall, it resembled a slightly agape, black maw, its interior pitch-black, abyssal, and terrifying.

Right now, Fang Zhen was in a twisted forest less than a hundred meters from the cavern entrance.

Behind him, Gwendolyn and Mark, who had both arrived on horseback, were tying their mounts to the gnarled trees.

Fang Zhen's motorcycle was here as well.

After Gwendolyn finished tying up the horses, he took out a vial. He opened it to reveal a pale green powder, which he sprinkled in a circle around the horses and the motorcycle.

Fang Zhen immediately caught a minty scent, similar to a medicinal balm.

Gwendolyn finished sprinkling the powder. Noticing Fang Zhen's gaze, he explained, "This is Alchemy Powder. It has no other use, except that aberrant monsters absolutely loathe its scent. They'll stay far away as long as they can smell it."

Fang Zhen nodded.

"Let's go," Fang Zhen said, holding his Hunting Crossbow.

He was currently equipped with a Hunting Crossbow in hand and a machete at his side. He wore an Anti-Stabbing Suit, the Ruby Three-leaf Clover Pendant hung on his chest, a quiver was slung across his left hip, a high-intensity flashlight was secured to his right, and on his head, he wore a thermal imaging helmet.

Gwendolyn was also geared up. He had donned a set of specially crafted leather armor that seemed to possess alchemical properties, studded with metal barbs. He carried a sixty- to seventy-centimeter-long Single-Edged Sword, a shortbow, and a quiver.

Mark was on support, carrying a backpack filled with Molotov Cocktails and Night Vision Goggles. He held an Anti-Riot Shield in his left hand and a spear in his right. A shortsword hung at his waist. He also carried a bag of alchemical products for Gwendolyn, which contained several crude glass bottles with unknown contents, and had two leather pouches on his right hip.

Notably, the tip of Fang Zhen's spear and his Hunting Arrows had all been specially treated.

He and Gwendolyn had just concocted a large batch of that blood-red medicinal liquid. Gwendolyn had bottled some of it, while the rest was used to coat the Hunting Arrows and both of their primary weapons.

Now, the tip of Fang Zhen's spear was dyed blood-red, as was Gwendolyn's Single-Edged Sword.

'Fang Zhen knew potassium permanganate was a strong oxidizing agent. After a treatment like this, the spearhead would probably corrode before long.'

'But he didn't care.'

'The corrosion wouldn't be instant; it would take a few days at least. The spearhead was replaceable, and he could just order a new one online. There wasn't much difference in performance, so it just meant spending a little more money.'

'Right now, any convenience money could buy was a bargain.'

After securing the horses and parking the motorcycle, the three of them walked toward the cavern entrance together.

At the entrance.

As Fang Zhen approached, he felt an oppressive sensation, as if he were about to be swallowed by a giant beast.

"This cave is huge and well-ventilated. Smoking them out or using fire won't work; we'll have to force our way in," Gwendolyn said. "These old bones haven't seen much action in a long time. I wonder if I can still keep up."

"You're as strong as ever, Master," Fang Zhen said. He casually pulled another high-intensity flashlight from a side pocket of Mark's backpack and handed it to Gwendolyn.

Fang Zhen gave a brief explanation and demonstration, teaching Gwendolyn how to use the high-intensity flashlight.

Gwendolyn was amazed.

"You must be backed by an incredibly powerful Alchemist, perhaps even a Master Alchemist," said Gwendolyn.

"Have you thought of a name for the new secret medicine?" Gwendolyn asked, perhaps trying to ease the pre-battle tension. "This new medicine will make a name for us both. Since you provided the main ingredient, you should have the right to name it."

Fang Zhen thought for a moment. "Let's call it 'Blood Burst'."

"Blood Burst. A bloody explosion. Good, that's very fitting," Gwendolyn said.

After the brief exchange, Gwendolyn seemed much calmer.

"Let's go," Fang Zhen said.

Fang Zhen entered the caverns.

Inside the caverns.

They were inside the mountain now. For some unknown reason, it was semi-hollow, containing a vast space like a great cavern. The terrain inside was complex and winding, and the visibility was poor, with almost no light.

The moment Fang Zhen stepped inside, he felt the temperature drop by two or three degrees. There was a distinct chill, and he could feel a cold breeze, indicating that it was well-ventilated.

"I've gathered some intel. There are two main forks in these caverns, one to the left and one to the right. The rest are just smaller branches. But no one knows which path leads deeper into the caverns and to the Lord's Ancient Castle," Gwendolyn said.

Fang Zhen nodded.

After walking for a while, he saw a relatively open space up ahead.

Gwendolyn switched on his high-intensity flashlight, illuminating the area.

The space had an irregular layout, roughly over two thousand square meters in size, with a fork in the path on both the left and the right.

"Which way do we go?" asked Mark, who was carrying most of the gear.

"You're leading this time. What's the plan?" Gwendolyn asked, looking at Fang Zhen.

"Neither," Fang Zhen said. "We're not familiar with the terrain. Whether we go left or right, we could be flanked by monsters and have our retreat cut off. We're better off making our stand right here."

"This area is large enough. We'll set an ambush and fight here. It's a good chance to test the Secret Medicine Blood Burst."

"If the secret medicine is effective, we press on. If not, we retreat."

"Sounds good," Gwendolyn readily agreed.

"Mark, set the bait," Fang Zhen said.

Mark nodded, walked over to the spot Gwendolyn was illuminating with his flashlight, and took the two skins from his waist. He opened them to reveal they were filled with goat's blood.

Copying Fang Zhen's method from last time, Mark poured out the contents of one entire skin onto the ground. He then used his shortsword to slice open the top of the other skin and propped it up against a rock. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Once he had done all this, Mark quickly ran back to their position.

"Master, turn off the flashlight. I have a way to see the Abnormal Ghosts," Fang Zhen said, pulling down the left eyepiece of his thermal imager. "I'll tell you when to turn the light on. The Abnormal Ghosts are disoriented by bright light; shining it in their eyes can stun them."

Gwendolyn complied, switching off the flashlight.

Fang Zhen was positioned over fifty meters from the goat's blood bait.

The cavern plunged back into darkness. The three of them waited in silent anticipation.

In less than two minutes, there was a response from within the cavern.

Through his thermal imager, Fang Zhen saw four humanoid shapes—Abnormal Ghosts—scuttling rapidly toward them from the depths of the left-hand tunnel.

The Abnormal Ghosts moved with incredible agility, even skittering along the cavern walls like spiders for short distances before dropping back to the floor.

Fang Zhen remained silent, instead tapping the shoulder of Gwendolyn, who was to his right.

Gwendolyn understood the signal immediately.

Though he couldn't see, Gwendolyn was clearly a battle-hardened veteran. His eyes were closed and his ears twitched, as if he were listening for something. His left hand hovered over the switch of the flashlight at his waist, while his right held his shortbow.

Soon, the four Abnormal Ghosts charged into the designated ambush zone.

Their bestial instincts took over. They didn't question why a pouch of goat's blood would suddenly appear in the caverns; unable to resist the temptation, they sped up and rushed toward the source of the scent.

All four Abnormal Ghosts rushed over. Upon seeing the skin of blood, they began to fight and snarl at one another.

Fang Zhen raised his Hunting Crossbow.

Suddenly, he frowned.

Fang Zhen saw two more Abnormal Ghosts emerge from the left-hand tunnel, also moving rapidly in their direction.

'Six of them?'

'He felt the pressure mount.'

'However, he wasn't fighting alone.'

'Gwendolyn was clearly a seasoned warrior, far more capable than Mark. He could take a lot of the pressure off.'

'Besides, the Crossbow Arrows were also coated in Blood Burst.'

'The Blood Burst had already solidified, forming a thin, blood-red film on the tips of the Crossbow Arrows.'

'If Blood Burst really worked, then the two of them might just be able to take down six Abnormal Ghosts.'

Fang Zhen quickly activated Steady Shot, Precise Intuition, and Combat Focus.

Once he entered the state, he aimed the Hunting Crossbow at the largest and most ferocious-looking of the Abnormal Ghosts.

After a moment of aiming, he pulled the trigger.

The Hunting Arrow shot forth.

At a distance of fifty meters, the Hunting Crossbow's trajectory was flat. In less than half a second, the Crossbow Arrow struck the Abnormal Ghost's neck.

Fang Zhen had aimed the arrow for the cervical spine, but his shot was off by a few centimeters, piercing through the side of the neck instead.

'It's off,' he thought.

The Abnormal Ghost, its neck pierced, still had tremendous vitality. Instead of dying, the injury only provoked its ferocity. It reared up its upper body and let out a roar, as if searching for its attacker.

However, a second later...

The Abnormal Ghost's neck suddenly expanded, swelling like a balloon. It ballooned until it was wider than its shoulders, completely out of proportion, as if it had been forcibly inflated.

The Abnormal Ghost's face twisted in what looked like astonishment.

Less than half a second later.

BOOM!

The Abnormal Ghost's swollen neck simply exploded.

Only half of its head remained, which was sent flying over ten meters away. Its neck was completely obliterated. The blast took half of its upper chest with it, leaving a headless, half-caved-in torso to collapse to the ground.

'It explodes like *that*?' Fang Zhen's Spirit soared.

This was only the beginning.

Just as the first Abnormal Ghost exploded, three of the others that had been fighting over the goat's blood suddenly had their stomachs begin to swell, almost in unison.

In just a second or two, the three Abnormal Ghosts' bellies swelled as if they could hold a small calf, making them look just like the starving ghosts mentioned in Buddhist sutras.

BOOM!

BOOM! BOOM!

The three Abnormal Ghosts exploded violently.

The explosions were incredibly violent. Though there were no flames, the three Abnormal Ghosts were blown to bits. Flesh and severed limbs flew everywhere as they were torn to pieces, reduced to gory fragments. The force of the blasts even sent surrounding rocks flying.

"By the Light..." Gwendolyn couldn't help but breathe in awe.

Even without seeing, Gwendolyn had heard the explosions and could imagine their ferocity.

A glint appeared in Fang Zhen's eyes.

'The three Abnormal Ghosts exploded—a blood explosion—because the goat's blood in the skin was mixed with the Secret Medicine Blood Burst.'

'When he had been concocting the Secret Medicine Blood Burst, he'd noticed that it looked and even smelled almost exactly like real blood.'

'So he had mixed some of the Blood Burst into the skin of goat's blood Mark had prepared.'

'The Secret Medicine Blood Burst hadn't reacted with the goat's blood at all, mixing in seamlessly.'

'These three Abnormal Ghosts that had just exploded had all managed to drink the blood laced with the secret medicine, turning themselves into three giant firecrackers as a result.'

"Lights!" Fang Zhen shouted.