I Can Control Resources

"Go to the Forgotten Land to preside over the school’s founding ceremony?" Gao Neng instinctively wanted to agree to it. After all, his participation was indeed necessary.

But for Yutian to be the one to bring this up—and today of all days... something was off.

This was a problem.

After all, Li Tiannan had essentially settled this matter for him already, and the Military Department had even dispatched professional teachers.

So, the timing of the founding ceremony wasn’t particularly urgent.

At least not so urgent that Yutian would need to tell him personally.

Gao Neng looked at Yutian.

In Yutian’s eyes, he saw only calmness and delight. Beyond that, he could see no other expression.

But Gao Neng felt more and more that something was amiss. Usually, after greeting him, Yutian would immediately make a point to chat with Fang Tangtang for a moment or two.

But today, Yutian hadn’t even spared Fang Tangtang a single glance.

"Gao Neng, the plane to the Forgotten Land has been arranged." After speaking, Yutian turned his gaze to the side. "Luna, Major Gao’s safety is entirely in your hands now."

"Hehe, rest assured, Governor." Luna smiled radiantly and walked to Gao Neng’s side. "Major Gao, I’ll be personally accompanying you for the entire trip to the Forgotten Land!"

"Then I must thank you, Auntie. However, before we go to the Forgotten Land, I’d like to take care of a personal matter. Would you be able to accompany me?" Gao Neng asked casually with a smile.

"A personal matter?" Luna’s smile didn’t waver, but her eyes flickered almost imperceptibly toward Yutian, as if asking for his input.

Yutian said nothing.

However, he subtly shifted his eyes twice.

Luna immediately turned back to Gao Neng. "Time is short. If you have a personal matter, I can have Qinglian handle it for you. The plane is waiting. Let’s go to the Forgotten Land first. We’ll be back in three to five days."

"We won’t be back in three to five days," Gao Neng said with another smile.

"Oh? And why not? Isn’t it just a school founding ceremony?" Luna asked, a little confused.

"Have you forgotten, Auntie? I was born in the Forgotten Land. So if I go there, I’ll definitely want to visit my old classmates and teachers. That will take some time. Plus, the personal matter I mentioned is buying gifts. It’s a rare trip back for me; I can’t possibly show up empty-handed..." Gao Neng said, spreading his hands.

"As for gifts, the Forgotten Land..."

"There aren’t any gifts to be bought in the Forgotten Land, as you well know, Auntie. Besides, I promised some of these gifts to my teachers. I have to pick them out myself," Gao Neng continued.

"Is that so..." Luna looked at Yutian again.

Yutian glanced at Luna, then at Gao Neng, and unconsciously tightened his lips. He could clearly see the suspicion dawning on Gao Neng’s face.

"Haha, in that case, just have Luna accompany Major Gao to procure his gifts. Once he’s done shopping, you can arrange the trip to the Forgotten Land!" Yutian quickly broke into a laugh.

"Alright, let’s go, Major Gao. I’ll personally accompany you to buy your gifts. That should settle it, right?" Luna immediately turned to Gao Neng with a smile.

"You’re not worried I might run into some danger in the City of Hope, are you, Auntie?" Gao Neng didn’t agree right away, instead retorting with a faint smile.

"What danger could there... ahem. It’s always best to be cautious. After all, you carry a heavy burden now; we can’t allow for any mistakes. As you know, there are still some spies who have snuck into the City of Hope," Luna started to say, then quickly corrected herself with a cough.

"Alright. In that case, can you protect me from the shadows, Auntie?" Gao Neng smiled.

"From the shadows? Hehe, sure!"

"Then let’s go."

"Alright, let’s go."

With Luna for protection, there was no longer a need for a driver.

Because Luna was the driver.

The three of them sped to the entrance of the Underground City. After passing the inspection, they successfully returned from the Underground City to the City of Hope.

Naturally, the news that Gao Neng had left the Lower City reached Wu Qingjing’s ears almost immediately.

This nearly made Wu Qingjing flip his desk in anger.

However, he also knew that the Gao Neng of today was a far cry from his former self. He didn’t just hold the rank of Major in the Military Department; he also controlled the Alliance’s supply of elixirs. Trying to obstruct him or place him under house arrest as he might have in the past was now impossible.

’I just hope the kid buys his gifts and heads straight for the Forgotten Land!’ Wu Qingjing could only console himself with this thought. After all, as long as Gao Neng remained in the dark, he was reluctant to interfere too much with his normal activities. Doing so would only make Gao Neng more suspicious.

...

After leaving the Underground City, Luna got behind the wheel and drove Gao Neng toward the center of the City of Hope.

Having spent nearly two months in the Underground City, Gao Neng finally saw the sun again. However, the winter sun wasn’t very warm.

And its light wasn’t very dazzling, either.

The SUV passed through the deserted defense zone and arrived at the security checkpoint on the outskirts of the Underground City.

A hovercar from the Celestial King Group was already waiting for them. This time, the driver was Fang Yuan’s number one bodyguard, Uncle Bai.

Gao Neng and Uncle Bai hadn’t interacted many times.

But the fact that Fang Yuan had sent Uncle Bai instead of Guan San showed that he prioritized Gao Neng’s safety even over his own.

"Director Gao, please get in." Uncle Bai opened the door and spoke respectfully to Gao Neng.

"Alright. Since Uncle Bai is here to pick me up, you can go into the shadows now, Auntie." Gao Neng wasn’t surprised by the title Uncle Bai used. After formally partnering with the Celestial King Group, he had indeed become a shareholder.

The Celestial King Group and its entire board of directors had been unanimous on that point.

"Little Gao Neng, are you abandoning your dear auntie just like that?" Luna watched Gao Neng get out of the car, the corners of her mouth twitching upward as she put on a pained expression.

"An auntie is an auntie for life..." Fang Tangtang muttered blandly in response to Luna’s words, her lips twisting into a pout.

"Hahaha, looks like the little lady is displeased. Very well, I’ll protect you from the shadows, then." Luna chuckled and waved at Gao Neng and Fang Tangtang.

"Thank you, Auntie." Gao Neng expressed his thanks, slipped into the hovercar, and casually pulled up a ’Campaign Route Map’.

It clearly marked Shen Ning’Er’s route after she had left the Underground City.

Her first destination was the nearest ancient sect.

The Daoist Sect, one of the nine great ancient sects.

The Daoist Sect was considered one of the most powerful sects before the Great Cataclysm. However, during the era of peace, the sect suffered from rather severe internal divisions.

But after the Great Cataclysm, the various branches of the Daoist Sect reunited, forming the great ancient sect it is today.

’Challenging the Daoist Sect right off the bat... How bold!’ Gao Neng was a little speechless at Shen Ning’Er’s choice after seeing her route.

She clearly hadn’t considered the strength of the sects at all, and was simply choosing her targets based on proximity.

’The Daoist Sect!’

It was one of the top-ranked of the nine great sects.

Moreover, the Daoist Sect was one of the few ancient sects in the entire Alliance that actually possessed a Strongest.

"I heard Sister Ning’Er is challenging the eldest son of the Daoist Sect Leader. His talent is supposedly average, but since he’s the firstborn son, they had high hopes for him when he was born. But because he never managed to break through to the high tiers, he was gradually sidelined," Fang Tangtang said, immediately showing off her talent as the ’little princess of intel’.

’Stuck at the Tier Six Late Stage for seventeen years? That’s quite a while...’ Gao Neng mused with a smile as he glanced at the profile Fang Tangtang handed him.

A person like that might not have the strongest aptitude.

But their combat strength would be anything but weak. They could even be more troublesome than many geniuses, because when they can’t break through, they’re forced to find other ways to increase their killing power.

"Are we going to fight him first?" Fang Tangtang asked, her expression full of anticipation.

"Yeah. But I’m guessing that nine times out of ten, the Sect Leader’s son won’t fight me seriously." Gao Neng glanced out the hovercar’s window and sighed to himself.

"Even if he wanted to, his Sect Leader wouldn’t allow it, right?"

"Exactly. That’s why I need to prepare something. The Sect Leader’s son hasn’t had a breakthrough in seventeen years. His desire for Attribute Elixirs is probably stronger than anyone’s."

"You’re planning to bet an Attribute Elixir with him?"

"One? No, I’m planning on using a hundred. That’ll be exciting enough." Gao Neng shook his head. ’How could a man of my status possibly bet just a single elixir?’

’That would be far too beneath me!’

"A hundred?! Holy crap... he’d go insane! What if you lose? Wouldn’t you be taking a massive loss?" Fang Tangtang was stunned.

"Lose?" Gao Neng shot Fang Tangtang a disdainful glance. "Do you have any idea what my real strength is?"

"Tch... what ’real strength’? Don’t tell me you can take down a Tier Seven with a single slash? I don’t believe you!" Fang Tangtang retorted with equal disdain, then added, "If anyone’s taking down a Tier Seven in one hit, it’s me, Death God Fang Tangtang! Except I don’t slash, I blast. One shot, one Tier Seven!"

"So you think your ’one shot, one Tier Seven’ is that impressive?" Gao Neng asked, looking quietly at Fang Tangtang.

"Of course! Don’t tell me you can take down a Tier Eight in a single slash?" Fang Tangtang puffed out her chest, looking as smug as could be.

"Take down a Tier Eight in a single slash? No, no, no... That’s too easy," Gao Neng said, shaking his head again.

"What?! Taking down a Tier Eight in a single slash is too easy? Then what is your real strength?" Fang Tangtang looked at him in utter disbelief.

"What if I told you I could slaughter an entire city by myself? Would you believe me?" A corner of Gao Neng’s mouth quirked up.

"Slaughter an entire city by yourself? What kind of city?" Fang Tangtang blinked.

"I couldn’t take down an Alien Race Royal City, but wiping out a secondary city or something like that is still possible," Gao Neng said after a moment’s thought, deciding it was better to be a little more modest.

"Hahaha..." Fang Tangtang burst out laughing. "You’re full of it! You haven’t even reached the high tiers, yet you’re talking about slaughtering a whole city by yourself. If you can do that, then couldn’t I, Death God Fang Tangtang, take out a Tier Nine with a single shot?"