Practicing Guns, Big Shot

After browsing the forums in his rental for a while, Wang Zhifan soon headed out to the shooting range he had visited yesterday to practice shooting.

He trained for the entire day. Other than going out midway to find a restaurant and fill his stomach, he spent all his time at the shooting range firing at all kinds of targets.

This kind of training did not come cheap. When the range closed in the evening and he settled the bill, several thousand yuan was deducted directly from his bank account. For him now, that was a serious investment.

"Practicing with guns is really expensive... but all this effort has paid off somewhat. My marksmanship might still be nothing special, but I definitely won't be as rusty as I was at the start."

After only two days of shooting practice, Wang Zhifan's marksmanship naturally could not have improved to any remarkable level. But expending over a thousand rounds, repeatedly firing live ammunition with both hands at stationary and moving targets from various distances, was enough to greatly improve his feel for shooting.

That day, Wang Zhifan even felt a little fatigued from the prolonged continuous practice. So after returning to his rental, he washed up and fell asleep not long afterward.

Soon, a new day arrived.

Wang Zhifan still got up early that day. He went out and ate two bowls of beef noodles, then returned to his rental to rest up for a while before directly entering today's dungeon.

"Hope some good equipment drops today."

In the midst of his ordinary, boring life, Wang Zhifan had unknowingly come to regard dungeon runs as his greatest pleasure. Even though he understood that dungeon runs carried considerable risks, the positive feedback they gave was simply too strong. He was gradually becoming addicted.

After a brief mental haze, Wang Zhifan found himself in a patch of woods, or perhaps it could be considered a forest.

He wore Wolfhide Armor, an Iron Mountain Sash around his waist, Berserk Bracers on his wrists, Rage Gloves and the Unyielding Ring on his hands, a Fine Tier pistol in his left hand, and the Blade of the Wolf Fiend in his right. The Chapter of Gloom hung around his neck. He was completely armed from head to toe.

Several meters to either side of him stood two wary-looking male teammates.

One wore glasses, a black leather jacket, and carried a revolver. He was probably a Gunner. The other wore a plaid shirt and held a white staff, so he was likely a spellcasting class.

The three exchanged glances, but none of them took the initiative to speak. The other two men's gazes nevertheless drifted toward Wang Zhifan's imposing fully armed appearance, their eyes revealing an emotion that was hard to tell was surprise or envy.

Dungeon Objective: Kill the Silverback Gorilla (Lv4) in the nearby woods.

"This time, the target is actually Lv4... Are either of you two Lv4?"

Wang Zhifan ignored his teammates' curious looks and spoke first.

"I'm Lv2, a Gunner."

The teammate in the black leather jacket, holding the revolver and wearing glasses, quickly answered.

"I'm Lv2 too."

The other teammate, the one in the plaid shirt holding the white staff and likely a Mage, responded next.

"Is that so... Then that's quite a coincidence. I'm Lv2 as well."

Wang Zhifan frowned slightly after hearing them and answered in a calm tone.

"Three Lv2s against a Lv4? This... there hasn't been some mistake, has there? Guys, this isn't the time for jokes!"

The Mage teammate in the plaid shirt's expression changed as soon as Wang Zhifan finished speaking. His eyes rapidly swept over his two teammates' faces, trying to spot any sign that they were joking.

"I really am Lv2."

The bespectacled Gunner in the black leather jacket solemnly reiterated it, then focused his gaze on Wang Zhifan several meters away.

"But looking at all that equipment this big shot is wearing, it's hard to believe he's only Lv2..."

The bespectacled man's meaning was obvious: he believed Wang Zhifan had to be the one lying among the three of them. After all, with Wang Zhifan's entire set of decent-looking gear—armor, ring, bracers, gloves, melee weapon, and ranged weapon all accounted for—it was hard to believe he was only Lv2. Even calling him Lv5 felt a little low.

"Ahem... I think we should drop this topic."

Wang Zhifan immediately coughed twice, stopping his two teammates from continuing their speculation.

He knew that in this situation, it was best not to explain too much. The more he explained, the more problems it would create. Even though they were in a dungeon and did not need to worry much about personal information leaking, he still did not want to attract attention.

"Our current goal is to work together and defeat the enemies in this dungeon. We should hurry up and discuss a plan."

He continued.

"The big shot is right."

The bespectacled man, who had just questioned Wang Zhifan's level, immediately agreed. He even revealed a slightly ingratiating smile as he looked at Wang Zhifan and continued:

"Big shot, my revolver and ammunition are both ordinary grade, but I have plenty of bullets for now, and my marksmanship is Lv2. I can guarantee a ninety percent chance of hitting this dungeon boss within a certain range. But I can't say how much damage I'll deal, since I've never fought an Lv4 monster before. I'm guessing it won't be much."

The bespectacled Gunner explained what role he could play. He would mainly serve as a damage dealer, though he could not guarantee how much damage he would inflict.

"Mm. An Lv4 monster certainly can't be bulletproof. Just fire more shots when the time comes."

Wang Zhifan certainly did not dislike teammates who were willing to communicate properly. After the strange teammates he had encountered in his previous two runs, he had long stopped expecting his teammates to be particularly strong. As long as they did not become a burden, he would thank heaven and earth.

"I can use Lv2 Ice Arrow Technique. It deals physical and frost damage, but it probably won't do much against an Lv4 monster. At most, I can slow its movement speed."

The Mage teammate in the plaid shirt also laid his cards on the table, indicating that his strength would most likely be insufficient against an Lv4 monster.

"About how much can you slow it?"

Wang Zhifan became somewhat interested upon hearing that and immediately asked the plaid-shirted Mage.

"About thirty percent for around twelve seconds. But if that monster has high frost resistance, the effect will be weaker."

The Mage teammate answered without hesitation.

"Fine. With our current lineup, clearing this dungeon should be fairly easy."

Seeing both teammates looking at him, Wang Zhifan immediately made his position clear, giving them a little more confidence.

"First, we'll locate the boss. Then, Mage, you fire an Ice Arrow at it to slow it down. After that, the Gunner and I will fire a round at it. If the boss still isn't dead and charges over, you two retreat first, and I'll deal with it."

The plan Wang Zhifan gave was not particularly sophisticated. It relied on being straightforward and having the main carry take responsibility. Since this dungeon wanted to test him with a higher-level boss and weaker teammates, then he would take it on. He believed that with his current equipment, handling an Lv4 monster would not be a problem.