My Computer Leads to an Instance Dungeon-Chapter 68: Armor Piercing

Fang Zhen’s first instinct was to take the Hunting Crossbow out to a deserted patch of woods to test it.

But he couldn’t think of anywhere to go off the top of his head.

Xiahai City wasn’t small, and it was densely populated. There were people everywhere. Even if he went to the outskirts, he’d still frequently run into hikers. It didn’t seem very convenient.

Besides, Fang Zhen lacked a vehicle to transport equipment like the Cheetah Crossbow. While not illegal, it wasn’t something he could just show off in a crowd.

Fang Zhen racked his brain and came up with a compromise.

’If I can’t go outside, I’ll just do a small test at home.’

’Long-range sniping is hard to practice, so I’ll just find some metal and test its armor-piercing capabilities.’

With this idea in mind, Fang Zhen scanned the room, looking for something with a hardness comparable to iron armor to use as a substitute. He wanted to see if the Cheetah Hunting Crossbow could pierce it.

But after looking around, Fang Zhen suddenly realized there really wasn’t anything metal in his home that could serve as a target.

It seemed that the average household didn’t have many solid metal objects.

Fang Zhen searched again, more carefully this time, and finally unearthed two items from the kitchen.

One was the lid for his wok, and the other was a stainless steel steamer pot.

The wok lid was common enough and needed no explanation.

The steamer pot was also a fairly common type. Its overall shape was similar to an earthenware pot used for stews, standing over 30 centimeters tall with an opening over 20 centimeters in diameter. The mouth was relatively narrow, and the body gradually widened toward the bottom.

The entire steamer was made of stainless steel, its surface smooth and shiny silver. The bottom was stained a blackish-yellow from the gas stove’s flame, but the discoloration wasn’t very large.

The body of the pot was completely unadorned, perfectly smooth.

Fang Zhen usually used this stainless steel steamer for making soup, boiling corn, or steaming things like sponge cakes and sweet potatoes. It was very sturdy, and the steel was quite hard.

Fang Zhen really couldn’t find any other metal objects in his house, and he was desperate to test the power of the Cheetah Hunting Crossbow right away.

’You’ll do.’ Fang Zhen didn’t hesitate, taking the stainless steel steamer from the kitchen.

He placed the stainless steel steamer at one end of the living room, then put the iron wok lid behind it to act as a backstop and a secondary target.

Fang Zhen held the Cheetah Hunting Crossbow and loaded it with a 338 Hunting Arrow.

The 338 Hunting Arrow wasn’t shaped like a dart from an 8008 crossbow. Instead, it was a long shaft with fletching and an alloy tip, looking much more like a traditional arrow.

The 338 Hunting Arrow was 33.5 centimeters long with a diameter of 8 millimeters. The tip was made of an alloy and looked extremely hard and sharp.

Fang Zhen studied it for a moment. He had no idea where the "338" in its name came from, but he could tell at a glance that this design would improve both accuracy and penetration.

Holding the Hunting Crossbow, Fang Zhen backed away until he was seven or eight meters from the stainless steel steamer he was using as a target.

’This should be far enough.’

Fang Zhen switched on the large laser sight, and after a slight manual adjustment, the green dot settled on the stainless steel steamer.

He pulled the cocking lever for the crossbow.

The lever required considerable force to pull, feeling much ’stiffer’ than the Dragon Gall Crossbow.

Fang Zhen estimated that if he were firing rapidly with the Cheetah Hunting Crossbow, it would take four to five seconds to complete each shot.

After steadying his hands on the crossbow, Fang Zhen pulled the trigger!

SWOOSH!

The loaded Hunting Arrow flew from the Hunting Crossbow at a speed that almost surpassed what Fang Zhen’s eyes could track, striking the stainless steel steamer in an instant.

A POP sound rang out, accompanied by the clang of metal. The impact of the crossbow arrow sent the stainless steel steamer spinning halfway around, and it wobbled for a moment.

Fang Zhen stared intently at the steamer, a look of astonishment in his eyes.

He saw it clearly—the Hunting Arrow had pierced through the body of the stainless steel steamer and even exited out the back.

’It’s that powerful?’ Fang Zhen couldn’t help but take another look at the Cheetah Hunting Crossbow in his hands.

The power was immense!

Unable to contain his curiosity, Fang Zhen quickly walked over to inspect the stainless steel steamer.

The steel on the front of the steamer was pierced. The crossbow arrow had passed through the empty space inside and broken through the back wall as well, its tip poking out.

Behind the protruding tip was the iron wok lid. The arrow hadn’t pierced it, but the impact had left a dent the size of a fingernail.

After a careful inspection, Fang Zhen confirmed the power of the Cheetah Hunting Crossbow when paired with a Hunting Arrow.

For a moment, Fang Zhen couldn’t suppress his joy. A smile spread across his face as he couldn’t help but caress the Cheetah Hunting Crossbow.

If he were to compare them to women, the Dragon Gall Crossbow would be the petite and lovely girl next door, while the Cheetah Hunting Crossbow was an aloof and frosty, yet undeniably stunning beauty.

Fang Zhen had to admit, he was a bit fickle, always drawn to the new and improved.

The girl next door was certainly nice, but when he could have the ice queen—and using her felt so good, such a perfect match—it was only natural for his head to be turned.

Fang Zhen stroked the body of the Cheetah Hunting Crossbow again and again, his actions a living demonstration of the idiom "to be unable to put something down."

The Cheetah Hunting Crossbow was completely worthy of the title "high-performance hunting crossbow."

High-performance hunting crossbows were generally judged on four metrics: high draw weight, high muzzle velocity, high precision, and high kinetic energy.

A crossbow with a draw weight of 150 pounds (68 kilograms), a muzzle velocity of 300 feet per second (91 m/s), high firing accuracy, and the ability to generate high-penetration kinetic energy could be called a high-performance hunting crossbow.

The Cheetah Hunting Crossbow’s draw weight was 95 kilograms, and its muzzle velocity was 140 m/s. Add in the large laser and optical sights, and then consider its kinetic energy—enough to pierce a stainless steel steamer—and its stats were completely off the charts.

A high-performance hunting crossbow paired with decent hunting arrows and tips had extremely strong armor-piercing capabilities.

’It’s too strong!’

’If it can penetrate two layers of a stainless steel steamer’s body, then piercing the armor of the Iron-Armored Dogmen and dealing them piercing damage shouldn’t be a big problem.’

Fang Zhen knew that stainless steel pots were generally made of 314 steel. Some higher-quality ones even used 316 steel.

When he bought this steamer, he had purposefully bought an expensive, high-quality one, so it was probably made of 316 steel.

The strength of this type of steel was already very high.

If the Cheetah Hunting Crossbow could pierce two layers of 316 steel, then shooting through iron armor forged with medieval-era hand-smelting techniques really wouldn’t be a problem.

Fang Zhen’s current elation and high Spirit weren’t just from the Cheetah Crossbow’s immense power; there was a deeper meaning to it.

While planning his raid on the Dogman Mine, Fang Zhen had already devised a strategy for how to deal with the twin Elite Dogman bosses in Mine Shaft D.

Fang Zhen realized his greatest advantages were his mobility and flexibility. Backed by modern industrial society, he also had an equipment advantage, allowing him to choose his gear to specifically counter his enemies.

Although the Dogmen in Mine Shaft D had many elites and even twin bosses, they had a fatal weakness: their mobility was relatively poor.

In simple terms, they couldn’t outrun Fang Zhen.

Once Fang Zhen confirmed this, a tactic naturally formed in his mind.

After carefully analyzing his own strengths and weaknesses and the weaknesses of the Dogmen in Mine Shaft D, Fang Zhen decided to use a hit-and-run tactic—kiting them.