I Can Control Resources

...

Within a seven-hundred-meter radius, there was no trace of any Dark Creatures.

That was a little strange.

Gao Neng felt a flicker of doubt, but he couldn’t be bothered with it. He had to complete the mission. First things first, he needed to rush to the twelve-thousand-meter mark.

Of course, rushing was one thing, but he still had to be careful.

CRACK!

Just as Gao Neng brought Gao Xiaomeng to around the ten-thousand-five-hundred-meter mark, a faint sound suddenly echoed from behind him.

The sound wasn’t loud.

But it immediately put Gao Neng on high alert.

Almost instinctively, Gao Neng threw himself forward. At the same time, he heard cracking sounds coming from all around him—front, back, left, and right.

"What is that?" Gao Neng’s eyes narrowed. Before he could even see clearly, he felt something jab him hard in the back.

CLANG!

A crisp sound rang out.

It was like metal striking metal, and the force behind it was immense.

Gao Neng had currently fused with five different metallic elements, making his body harder than refined steel. Naturally, his defense wasn’t broken, but the powerful impact still sent him tumbling forward.

And then, he saw them: pair after pair of blood-red eyes.

They were eyes hidden beneath the stone, appearing on the cliff face like vengeful spirits, sending a chill down one’s spine.

Of course, Gao Neng didn’t actually think they were ghosts.

So, he decisively used ’Gimme a Look’ to check the true identity of these blood-red eyes.

...

Name: Dark Stone Spider.

Tier: Tier Seven Early Stage.

Traits: Back is composed of ore, allowing it to fuse with minerals. It can draw on the surrounding mineral environment to enhance itself (Hive-minded).

Strengths: Extremely hard body, can spit acid and spider silk...

Weakness: Slow movement.

...

’Dark Stone Spiders?!’ After reading the description, Gao Neng more or less understood why his Spiritual Power couldn’t detect these things.

’They can fuse with ore?’

’This must be pretty similar to Shen Ning’Er’s materialization fusion, right?’

’So that’s it. There was a reason this area was devoid of Dark Creatures.’

’It’s the Dark Stone Spiders’ hunting ground.’

Gao Neng kept scanning his surroundings, his heart sinking with every glance. The reason was simple: there were nearly twenty Dark Stone Spiders all around him.

And they were all high-tier.

The weakest among them was Tier Seven Early Stage, while the strongest had reached Tier Seven Late Stage.

There was even one... Tier Eight!

If Gao Neng’s guess was correct, this Tier Eight must be the leader of the pack. There was a dark gold marking on its chest.

’What was that old saying again?’

’To catch the bandits, first capture the king!’

’As long as I take down the leader of these Dark Stone Spiders...’

’...the problem will solve itself.’

’But the key issue is...’

’...I can’t take it down!’

"Nearly twenty Tier Sevens and one Tier Eight... Gao Xiaomeng, you got any ideas?" Gao Neng quickly turned his gaze to Gao Xiaomeng.

"Yes."

"What is it?"

"Run!"

"Mm, an excellent idea!" Gao Neng nodded.

Going all out, he could probably handle a few Tier Sevens. But against a Tier Eight, he basically didn’t stand a chance.

What’s more, this Tier Eight was surrounded by nearly twenty Tier Sevens.

So, that whole ’capture the king to catch the bandits’ thing...

...was complete bullshit for him right now.

Running was the only way to go!

SWOOSH!

At that moment, three Dark Stone Spiders had already charged at him.

And as these three spiders rushed forward, at least seven or eight others began spitting acid at Gao Neng’s face.

Besides them, a few more Dark Stone Spiders were chittering their mandibles. If he guessed correctly, they were preparing to use their silk.

’Great coordination!’

’This is the essence of cooperative hunting.’

Without any hesitation, Gao Neng raised his black longsword and took off running.

CLANG!

One Slash struck the Dark Stone Spider blocking his path.

Sparks flew everywhere.

The Dark Stone Spider was forced back by Gao Neng’s slash.

But soon after, a second one pounced in front of him.

Gao Neng struck again.

He forced back another one.

However, at the same time, a glob of acid landed on him, ’burning’ a large hole in his clothes and revealing the silvery-white muscle underneath.

’Such strong acid? If I hadn’t fused with five types of Elemental Energy and added titanium to the mix, that probably would have burned through at least one layer of my skin!’ Gao Neng was slightly alarmed.

He knew he couldn’t keep fighting.

’Fighting a battle I can’t win...’

’...is just a waste of energy.’

Besides, if he really got cornered by these Dark Stone Spiders, he wouldn’t even have a place to run.

"Materialize, Flying Earth Dragon!" Gao Neng already knew from his spiritual sense that Shen Ning’Er and Fang Tangtang were safe, so he immediately materialized the Flying Earth Dragon again.

ROAR!

The Flying Earth Dragon let out a beastly roar.

Then, it snatched Gao Neng and flew into mid-air.

Gao Neng didn’t stand on ceremony.

He directly controlled the Flying Earth Dragon to flee downward.

However, just as it had charged less than fifty meters, the Flying Earth Dragon came to a halt.

It had crashed headfirst into a spiderweb.

"!!!" Gao Neng was genuinely startled. ’The Dark Stone Spiders’ web is completely transparent? Even my Spiritual Power can’t detect it?’

CRACK!

CRACK!

Faint sounds once again came from both sides of the cliff face.

Several more Dark Stone Spiders emerged from the ore-laden walls.

And at that very moment, a series of whooshing sounds came from behind him. He didn’t even need to look... he could guess the spiders were spitting silk.

"Thunder God Domain!" Gao Neng let out a sharp cry. His entire body was bathed in lightning, which collided with the spiderweb, creating arcs of electrical fire.

But to his surprise, the electrical fire couldn’t burn through the strands of silk.

’This is terrifying.’

THWAP!

THWAP!

A few more strands of silk stuck to the Flying Earth Dragon’s body.

Apparently, these Dark Stone Spiders were treating him and his Flying Earth Dragon like a ’fly’ in their web.

"This is less than twelve thousand meters down, and it’s already this terrifying?!" This was the first time Gao Neng had encountered such a perilous situation since reaching Tier Six.

’They can fuse with ore.’

’Their webs can’t be burned even by lightning fire.’

’Their bodies are as hard as iron.’

’Other than moving a bit slowly, as ’Gimme a Look’ had pointed out, these Dark Stone Spiders were practically flawless.’

As Gao Neng was thinking this, a figure shot toward him at high speed.

’The Tier Eight!’

’It’s not giving me any way out, is it?’

’The leader itself is making a move!’

Gritting his teeth, Gao Neng couldn’t care less about damaging public property anymore.

’If I don’t escape...’

’...I’m dead.’

’So, destroying the Demon Abyss...’

’...is the least of my worries.’

"Extract Elemental Energy!" Gao Neng had no other choice. He could only forcibly extract all the ore that was anchoring the web.

BZZZZ!

A wave of energy surged out.

A huge mass of Elemental Energy poured out from the walls of the Demon Abyss, with Gao Neng at its center.

Then, this Elemental Energy rapidly formed a giant ’square’ around Gao Neng’s body. It was the same move he had used against Mu Feifei on the battlefield.

Death Space!

BOOM!

The Tier Eight Dark Stone Spider plunged headfirst into it.

Seeing this, the other Dark Stone Spiders’ eyes widened. Then, one by one, they charged recklessly into the Death Space as if their lives meant nothing.

’I can’t withstand this at all.’ Gao Neng could feel the ore walls inside his Death Space being constantly broken. As more and more Dark Stone Spiders flooded in, his Death Space’s durability was rapidly decreasing.

’Over twenty Tier Sevens!’

’That’s a terrifying amount of power.’

Gao Neng estimated his Death Space could hold for a minute at most.

It couldn’t hold them back.

Fortunately, one minute was more than enough time to escape.

So, Gao Neng didn’t hesitate. Once the spiders rushed into his Death Space, he took Gao Xiaomeng, controlled the Flying Earth Dragon, and took flight once again.

"We’re out!" Cold sweat dripped down Gao Neng’s face.

Eleven thousand meters!

He was still one thousand meters away from the twelve-thousand-meter mark.

Ahead...

...seemed to be another safe zone.

There wasn’t a single thing within a one-thousand-meter radius!

But this time, Gao Neng’s throat felt dry. ’Another area where I can’t detect any danger? You useless System, are you really trying to get me killed?’

Gao Neng looked back.

The Death Space was riddled with holes and on the verge of shattering.

’Is it too late to turn back now?’ Gao Neng quickly analyzed the situation. He guessed that there was a fifty percent chance he’d die if he went back.

’Damn it!’

’Push forward!’

’I’ve come this far. It’s too late to think about turning back.’

’Life or death, it all comes down to this one gamble.’

’If I can successfully upgrade three skills, then when I do turn back... my chances of survival will increase by at least twenty or thirty percent.’

"One thousand meters, one thousand meters... If a god blocks my path, I’ll kill the god. If a buddha blocks my path, I’ll kill the buddha!" Gao Neng gritted his teeth and plunged downward, pushing his speed to the absolute limit.

Eleven thousand, two hundred meters.

Eleven thousand, five hundred meters.

Eleven thousand, seven hundred meters...

...

THUD!

Gao Neng felt as if he had slammed into an invisible wall.

At the same time, a mechanical voice sounded in his ear.

"Congratulations, Host, for completing the first stage of the welfare mission ’A Real Man Dares to Challenge Twenty Thousand Meters.’ You have successfully reached the twelve-thousand-meter mark and have earned one special skill upgrade opportunity."

"Twelve thousand meters?! I made it!" Right now, Gao Neng truly didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

He had actually completed the first stage of the welfare mission.

He had reached twelve thousand meters.

The problem was, he really couldn’t bring himself to smile.

Because, in front of him, at least a dozen skeletons were floating haphazardly in the void around him.

And among them was the skeleton of a Dark Stone Spider.

Hmm...

To be more precise.

It was a Tier Eight Dark Stone Spider.

Because, on the corpse’s chest, there was the same dark gold marking.

’So, this is the... of that Tier Eight Dark Stone Spider from before...’

’...its mom?’