Chapter 115: Reconnaissance

The zombie monsters were no match for the rigorously trained combat squad; the team mowed through them like cutting vegetables, advancing deep into the dungeon.

Stepping over the trail of zombie corpses, the squad arrived at the dungeon. It was a cramped 5x5 space, with a purplish-black cage sitting in the center—a monster spawner.

"The Sealing Technique!"

After dispatching the few zombies that had just spawned, Mo Fangyuan immediately began the righteous task of sealing this evil device. A monster spawner endlessly generates a single type of creature; the best way to stop it is to alter the surrounding area to absolute brightness, using the power of light to suppress the spawner's evil essence. This is the principle of the Sealing Technique.

"Pop! Pop! Pop!"

By placing five torches—on the front, back, left, right, and top of the spawner—the simplest and most practical sealing method was complete. If one wanted to be more elaborate, they could replace the surrounding blocks with glowstone, lava, or redstone lamps to produce intense illumination. For those with obsessive-compulsive tendencies or a passion for architecture, one could even add decorations to enhance its aesthetic appeal.

"Your Majesty, shall we not destroy it?"

"Destroy it? Certainly not. This thing can produce infinite value and offers endless opportunities for exploitation. It will be of great use in the future..."

Because monsters here were not ethereal like in the game—they were physical entities that piled up—the monster-grinder designs from his past life were no longer suitable. Until he found a way to handle the accumulation of monster corpses, Mo Fangyuan had no intention of building grinders or modifying the spawners; the risk of them getting out of control was too high, and the Block Kingdom could not afford that. As for this particular spawner, Mo Fangyuan had already decided on a solution: fill the entire dungeon with solid blocks. This physical seal would prevent the spawner from generating any more creatures.

"Your Majesty, there are two chests here."

The torchlight bleached the four walls, revealing two wooden chests hidden in the darkness. To this day, no one could provide a definitive answer as to why man-made structures like dungeons existed in natural caves, or why there would be chests inside them. The most widely accepted theory was that these underground ruins were created by a white-eyed deity to fulfill some unknown secret. Mo Fangyuan, however, believed these structures were likely remnants of a previous civilization.

"Thump, thump, thump!"

Habitually, he knocked on the chest. It responded to Mo Fangyuan’s call with the deep, resonant sound unique to wood.

"Click!"

Rotten flesh, bones, a few gold nuggets, and an unidentified green music disc. These were the only items remaining in the chest. After collecting them, Mo Fangyuan moved to the second chest on the right side of the wall.

"Click!"

Rotten flesh, bones, iron ingots, iron horse armor, and a saddle. In the original game, horse armor could not be crafted; the most common way to obtain it was by scavenging ruins or treasure chests. The Block Kingdom needed a vast supply of horse armor and saddles to equip its cavalry. While the crafting recipe for saddles existed within the Kingdom’s system, the one for horse armor did not.

If they did not obtain the recipe soon, it would become a major problem when the Kingdom eventually formed its cavalry.

"Fine, let’s finish filling this dungeon with cobblestone."

Fiddling with the iron horse armor in his hands, Mo Fangyuan spoke to the squad. The mission was to sweep the monsters from this cave system as quickly as possible and explore the area, so he would not waste too much time here.

"Mazi, didn't I tell you? Following His Majesty the King means we're safe!"

"Brother, those monsters were in huge piles just now; they almost scared me to death!"

"Hahaha, you’ll get used to it. It’s no big deal."

There were two special warriors in the Night Watch troop who were biological brothers. The older brother, Dama, had awakened his combat class a year prior, and his younger brother, Mazi, had awakened the following year. The two worked in perfect sync, a fact that had caused quite a stir in the early days of the Block Kingdom. They were even referred to as the "Hero Brothers" by Mo Fangyuan’s late father.

"Spread out into squad formations!"

Just as Mazi was about to continue, Mo Fangyuan cut him off to issue orders for dispersed exploration to maximize efficiency. The Night Watch divided into six squads to explore the six tunnels in the cave. Mo Fangyuan led one team toward the largest tunnel.

Much like the caves in the game, this tunnel led straight down into the depths. If they were lucky, it might lead to a deeper cave biome.

"Step! Step! Step!"

With a torch held high in his left hand and a diamond axe gripped tightly in his right, he braced himself against the crushing pressure of the earth. In this manner, Mo Fangyuan reached the end of the tunnel. It was a mundane stone wall, and as it turned out, a useless one—it connected to no ruins and held no surprises. Mo Fangyuan’s luck did not seem as good as he had hoped.

Refusing to accept this, he had his squad members feel around the walls, searching for any hidden side passages. It was all in vain; the tunnel was indeed a dead end.

"Return to the assembly point!"

Seeing this, Mo Fangyuan did not delay and returned empty-handed. Back at the platform connecting to the mineshaft, he found two other Night Watch squads who had also discovered only dead ends.

"What is the situation on your end? Any minerals found? Any abnormalities?"

"Your Majesty, we only found exposed coal, iron, copper, and gold ore. No abnormalities." The captains of the second and fifth squads answered truthfully.

"Then rest in place and stay alert!"

As he issued the command, Mo Fangyuan could only hope the remaining squads would find something.

"Captain, why do I feel like something isn't right here?" a soldier from the first squad asked, trembling as he adjusted his tilted iron helmet.

Previously, they had fought in the fields, where lighting facilities provided a clear view and teammates were always nearby to support them. He had even heard that the Research Department was going to send a powerful Iron Golem to their unit soon—it was just a safe environment. Now, this hot, claustrophobic atmosphere made it hard for the young soldier to adapt.

"What 'abnormalities'? I think you're just a coward!" an older veteran holding a crossbow mocked him with disdain.

"You’re a ranged attacker, of course you're not afraid! But I’m melee; all the damage hits me!" The young soldier bristled, waving the torch in his left hand as he tried to defend himself.

"Stop!"

"There’s something ahead!"

The captain of the first squad raised a hand to signal a halt. The young soldier and the veteran instantly shifted into combat mode.

"Thump! Thump!"

The warriors of the first squad felt their hair stand on end as they heard the strange, rhythmic thumping.

"Xiao Liu, return to the assembly point and inform His Majesty the King that there is an anomaly here. The rest of you, follow me to investigate!"

The captain made a swift decision, sending the fastest runner to notify the main force while his own team acted as scouts to probe the situation.

"Thump! Thump!"

As the squad advanced, the strange sound grew more distinct.

"Captain, there’s light!"

"I see it!"

The light in the darkness was so conspicuous that it filled everyone with a sense of foreboding.

"Should we still proceed? I once had a friend who said that seeing light underground usually means disaster is about to strike..."

"For real?"

"Who is this friend of yours? I’ve never heard of such a thing."

"That friend... was myself..."

"You can shut up now..."

The squad held a brief meeting and ultimately decided that, for the sake of His Majesty, they would press on to investigate.