I Can Control Resources

Gao Neng looked at the administrator who had questioned him, then glanced at the others around him. His gaze swept over Yutian and Wu Qingjing, and in their eyes, he saw helplessness.

Then he looked at Li Tiannan and Sword Elder. The two of them were much more composed. If he wasn’t mistaken, they must have struck some kind of under-the-table deal.

"Captain Gao, please answer the question!" the administrator said again.

"Right." Gao Neng nodded.

He could already see that this was a trial. Wu Qingjing and Yutian were the chief interrogators, while the surrounding administrators were responsible for the continuous questioning and recording.

Although Li Tiannan and Sword Elder hadn’t spoken or asked any questions, they would likely offer some guiding opinions when it came to the final verdict.

As for Zhang Hongying... she was just an observer.

On the surface, at least.

Gao Neng did have some advantages here. For example, Li Tiannan and Wu Qingjing—those two, at least, would never let him die.

But that advantage only went as far as saving his life.

If things went as expected, a punishment was basically guaranteed.

Solitary confinement!

’That would probably be getting off easy!’

’Worst case, they’ll report me to the Military Department and strip me of my rank.’

Gao Neng was naturally unwilling to accept that.

He needed to find a way to turn the situation around. It was easier said than done, because he had let Gao Xiaomeng go right in front of Sword Elder, Li Tiannan, and the others.

Moreover, when Gao Xiaomeng attacked the South District City Gate, her full power had been exposed—a high-tier Cat King who commanded an army of tens of thousands from the Cat Race.

To say he didn’t know...

Not a soul would believe that!

So, if he wanted to avoid punishment, he needed to meet several conditions. First, he had to twist the truth and frame letting Gao Xiaomeng go as a net positive. Second, he had to shift the blame, making it seem like the incident had nothing to do with him. Third, his story had to be convincing enough for everyone to believe.

But was any of that possible?

’Not a chance!’

Because, aside from Zhang Hongying, there wasn’t a single fool in the room.

Gao Neng wasn’t a fool either.

He didn’t think he possessed some silver tongue that would let him get away with playing the scoundrel and bluffing his way through this trial.

So, he chose a different approach.

He would reframe the narrative!

Of course, the prerequisite for reframing the narrative was that his new story had to be interesting enough to capture everyone’s attention. And most importantly, it had to be of significant benefit to the Alliance!

As for whether they’d believe him...

’That didn’t matter.’

Because there has always been one rule in this world: when the benefits are attractive enough, you have to believe it, whether you want to or not!

"Instructor Zhang, you’ll be in charge of the records," Wu Qingjing said, looking at Zhang Hongying, who was seated beside him.

"Yes, sir!" Zhang Hongying immediately stood up. After a glance at Gao Neng, she sat back down and placed her hands on the laptop keyboard.

"A medium," Gao Neng said.

’His performance would begin with the first mystery!’

It was just like writing a book. The first Chapter had to have a hook good enough to make people read one glance and immediately get hopelessly lost in the plot.

For example, a book like *Gao Neng’s Attack*!

"A medium? What medium?!" As expected, when the Underground City’s administrators, Wu Qingjing, and the others heard Gao Neng’s answer, they were momentarily confused.

The answer was clearly beyond their expectations.

In fact, it wasn’t just them.

Even Li Tiannan and Sword Elder, who were sitting in the back, opened their half-closed eyes at the same time.

’A medium?’

A single word answered the series of questions the Underground City administrator had just asked, and it successfully captured everyone’s attention.

"The medium between me and the magnetic pile," Gao Neng said again.

The moment he said that...

Li Tiannan and Sword Elder nearly shot to their feet.

Because they both knew that Gao Neng could connect with the magnetic pile in Magnetic Mountain.

’The magnetic pile’s medium?’

The power of those four words was far more captivating than Gao Neng saying something like, ’I couldn’t bear to do it, I didn’t have the heart, so I let Gao Xiaomeng go.’

"Captain Gao, please be more specific. You just mentioned a medium, and then the magnetic pile. What exactly do you mean?" The Underground City administrator quickly abandoned his original line of questioning. After all, the information Gao Neng was revealing was far too important to the Alliance.

"Can I get some water?" Gao Neng leaned back in his chair.

"I’ll get you some." A female administrator immediately stood up. Without even asking for permission, she poured a glass of warm water and placed it in front of Gao Neng.

And no one else tried to stop her.

Watching this, Gao Neng knew his first step had been a success. Next, for his second step, he had to make the story sufficiently bizarre.

By "sufficiently bizarre," he meant something people wouldn’t dare to believe.

But just being unbelievable wasn’t enough. The true essence of the phrase "sufficiently bizarre" was that even though the story was strange, you couldn’t find any evidence to refute it, forcing you to keep digging for the truth.

That was extremely difficult.

Most people could only manage the first part. To achieve the latter part, one had to be truly extraordinary.

Fortunately...

Gao Neng was one of the extraordinary ones.

So, after finishing his water, he spoke again. "What I mean is, Gao Xiaomeng—the Cat King you’re all talking about—is the medium between me and the magnetic pile!"

"What?!"

"You’re saying the Cat King is the medium between you and Magnetic Mountain?"

"How is that possible?"

"Nonsense!"

Just as he expected, the moment Gao Neng’s words left his mouth, the conference room erupted.

The Underground City administrators all broke into discussion. No one believed Gao Neng, because it sounded like something out of a fairy tale.

It was completely impossible.

Wu Qingjing and Yutian also frowned deeply.

’A cat is the medium?’

’And it’s related to the magnetic pile?’

’This is just too ridiculous!’

No one believed him.

But Gao Neng wasn’t anxious at all. The beauty of such a bizarre story was this: ’Whether you believe it is your business; whether I tell it is mine. If you don’t believe me, I won’t continue. Only if you believe me will I go on.’

Let me just ask you all...

’Annoying, isn’t it?’

"Alright, let him continue!" Finally, after three to five minutes of discussion, Yutian couldn’t stand it anymore and spoke in a cold, sharp tone.

"Captain Gao, you claim the Cat King is the medium between you and the magnetic pile. That’s an incredibly far-fetched statement. Can you provide any evidence? Or at least an explanation that we can find credible?" an administrator asked, turning back to Gao Neng after hearing Yutian speak.

"Of course I have evidence," Gao Neng said with a smile.

"Oh? You have evidence?" At this, everyone’s attention was once again drawn to Gao Neng. For such an unbelievable matter, he actually claimed to have proof.

’Could it actually be true?’

’No way!’

Although no one believed it, Gao Neng had spoken with such conviction that they still wanted to know what this so-called evidence was.

"My first piece of evidence is that I am not a natural-born genius." Gao Neng quickly offered a piece of "evidence" backed by facts.

"Not a natural-born genius?!" Everyone frowned, and a few of them instinctively turned their gazes toward Wu Qingjing.

Because the Supreme Council had the clearest records on Gao Neng.

"According to the Federation Council’s investigation of Gao Neng, during elementary school, middle school, and the first two years of high school, he consistently ranked first in his entire school with the best theoretical scores. However, in terms of practical combat ability... he was indeed quite average." Wu Qingjing naturally knew what everyone wanted to know.

"Is that really true?"

"Then when did Captain Gao become a genius? Oh, no, when did he start having his breakthroughs?"

"Although this matter involves Captain Gao’s privacy, because of its great importance, we must ask Captain Gao to disclose it."

Several administrators immediately asked.

"It was after I met Gao Xiaomeng. Didn’t I just say it? Gao Xiaomeng is the medium between me and the magnetic pile!" Gao Neng nodded, then repeated the part about Gao Xiaomeng being his medium.

This wasn’t him being long-winded.

Rather, he needed to repeatedly drill this bizarre concept into the minds of everyone in the conference room. Just like the old saying goes, if three people say there’s a tiger, it becomes true.

The more he said it...

...the more likely the others were to believe it.

"After you met Gao Xiaomeng? Captain Gao, what you’re saying seems impossible to verify. How can you call it evidence?" an administrator asked with a frown.

As administrators of the Underground City, they had presided over far too many trials and encountered countless cunning individuals. Therefore, he could quickly find the holes in Gao Neng’s story.

"No. Since I say it’s evidence, then I naturally have a way to verify it." Gao Neng shook his head. His story was seamless; he wasn’t afraid of it being checked at all.

What he was actually afraid of was...

’...that you *won’t* check!’

"Oh? You have a way to prove it?" The administrators were clearly stunned by his words. For something so bizarre and inexplicable, Gao Neng was actually claiming to have proof?

’Could what he’s saying actually be true...?’

’No way!’

"Correct. I met Gao Xiaomeng a few days before the college entrance exams, at a place called the Dream Toy Factory in the Forgotten Land. At the time, Colonel Shen Ning’Er was on the scene. Moreover, I earned military honors for it, was awarded 1,000 Merit Points, and received a commendation. If you don’t believe me, you can verify all of this in the Military Department’s information database." Gao Neng laid it all out systematically.

Time, place, people.

He had it all!

It was so detailed that one almost had to believe it.

"You’re saying Colonel Shen was on the scene at the time?" The administrators exchanged glances, a look of disbelief in their eyes.

"That’s right. There was even a huge battle," Gao Neng said with a solemn nod.