I Can Control Resources

"Yes, the future belongs to them," Sword Elder nodded.

"But they are, after all, still too young. We old fossils need to hold the last post for them." After speaking, Li Tiannan glanced at the screen again.

"Hahaha, then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!"

"Let’s go!"

...

「North District.」

The only mountainous region in the City of Hope.

It was a natural barrier. Once winter arrived, the ground routes were essentially sealed off, and only sleds could glide across the ice.

This year, winter had come earlier than usual and lasted longer.

Two or three months had passed since the start of winter. The ground in the North District was long since covered by a thick layer of snow, with solid ice underneath.

The North District once had a population of nearly ninety million.

But now...

Everyone who could leave had already left.

Those who remained were either the old or the very young.

They couldn’t fight, as the alien races were inherently stronger than humans. They could only gather around the North District’s airfield, craning their necks to watch the sky.

The roads on the ground were completely frozen over.

Before them lay a patch of open ground that had just been cleared.

The snow was falling too heavily.

No sooner was the open space cleared of snow than it was covered again, preventing any planes from landing. People had to be sent out constantly to clear it, over and over again.

"Grandma, why haven’t the planes come to get us yet?" a little girl of five or six, her face red from the biting cold, looked up at an old woman whose head was covered in white hair and wrinkles.

"They’re coming soon, very soon... The Alliance won’t abandon us. They’ll definitely come get us, they have to..." The old woman shielded the falling snowflakes with her hand, trying to keep them off the little girl’s face. Yet, she never once brushed away the white snow piling up on her own head.

"I’m so hungry, Grandma..."

"Grandma will go find you something to eat. My child, you have to hold on. Grandma will go find food for you right now!" The old woman struggled to stand, but her legs were numb.

She had been waiting here for two days and two nights.

Her food reserves had run out a day ago. She was well aware of the Alliance’s intentions, yet she still clung to a final sliver of hope.

"Please, save my granddaughter! She’s so hungry, just a bite of food!"

"Save my granddaughter, I’m begging you."

"Save my granddaughter..."

The old woman repeated her quiet plea over and over.

Around the old woman, women and children lifted their heads. They looked at the old woman and the child, their eyes filled with despair and bitterness.

They wanted to help.

But they could barely fend for themselves.

THUD.

Half of a flatbread, frozen as hard as a rock, fell to the ground.

It caught the attention of those nearby.

Everyone instinctively began to crawl toward that half of the bread.

But soon, a woman holding a six-month-old baby in her arms picked up the bread. She wiped it on her clothes, then held it out to the old woman.

"Here, let the child eat," the woman said, her voice soft.

The crawling civilians stopped. Their expressions were full of inner conflict, but for some reason, not a single one of them tried to snatch it away.

"Here, take it," the woman said again.

"Thank you, thank you!" The old woman tried to stand up, but her feet were so frozen she had almost lost all feeling. The moment she got to her feet, she collapsed back onto the ground.

But she didn’t wait for anyone to help her up. Instead, she continued to crawl slowly toward the woman, inch by inch, moving closer to that half piece of bread.

"Ma’am." Just then, a soldier in a black military uniform walked over. He lifted the old woman from the ground with both hands and pulled a military-issue compressed ration from his pocket. "Ma’am, let the child eat this. That piece of bread... it’s inedible now."

"No, I can’t, son. You still have to protect us, you still have to fight. If you give your food to us, what will you do? You’re still so young... You can’t all die here..." The old woman shook her head forcefully, trying her best to push the soldier away.

In the distance, two rows of soldiers stood on either side of the airfield amidst the wind and snow.

A faint rumbling sound echoed from the sky.

"The planes are here!"

"The planes are here!"

"Everyone, get ready... Get ready to board!"

The civilians in the snow snapped their heads up. They looked to the sky, their eyes filled with excitement. They struggled to their feet and began to surge toward the landing area.

"Everyone, don’t rush! The planes haven’t landed yet! Wait for them to land, then board one by one! Don’t crowd... Everybody, form a line!" the soldiers shouted, trying to maintain order.

But the civilians could no longer be bothered with that.

They kept pushing toward the tarmac, forcing the people at the front closer and closer until the crowd had almost completely covered it.

"Back up!"

"Back up!"

"If you do this, the planes can’t land! No one will be able to leave!"

BANG!

A gunshot rang out.

The surging crowd stopped.

A non-commissioned officer in a black military uniform scanned the surroundings with a sharp gaze. "Everyone, back up! We don’t have time to waste! If anyone dares to step forward, I won’t be so polite—"

SMACK!

A slap struck the NCO across the face.

The NCO froze, then stood stock-still.

"Commander Shen, I..."

"Who told you to fire your weapon?" The man’s gaze fell upon the NCO. His cap was worn perfectly straight, and a general’s star of the Alliance gleamed on his shoulder.

He was Shen Fei.

Alliance Major General, commander of the Second Army.

But now, he had only a single regiment behind him, a force of two thousand men.

Every one of these men was an elite soldier, forged on the battlefield.

And now, they were the last line of defense here.

They hadn’t gone to the North District City Gate, because it had long been reduced to rubble. That was why he had resolutely come here.

Because only by holding this position could they guarantee the safe evacuation of the last civilian.

"Our guns are to be aimed only at the alien races, never at our own people!" Shen Fei’s gaze swept across the area. Behind him, rows of uniformed soldiers stood solemnly.

"I’m sorry..." The NCO lowered his head.

"There are other ways to maintain order. Because you are a soldier of the Alliance!" After speaking, Shen Fei turned and walked away.

"Yes, sir!" The NCO’s head snapped back up.

The snow... continued to fall.

The roar of engines grew louder as several planes descended. The civilians, who had just retreated a short distance, surged forward again, creating a cacophony of noise.

They pushed and shoved, crying and shouting.

Shen Fei watched it all, an unconcealable desolation in his eyes.

’He understood that in the face of life and death, it was already remarkable that these civilians had maintained this much composure. At least, no one had started looting yet.’

’But he also understood that a riot... was only a matter of time.’

’Once the Alien Race Alliance Army broke through the defensive line and charged the airfield, these civilians would become uncontrollable. All he could do then was fight the Alien Race Alliance Army to the death.’

’Two thousand soldiers against an Alien Race Alliance Army of two hundred thousand?’

"Dad..." Shen Fei tilted his head back.

Just then, three soldiers hurried down from one of the planes, carrying a high-tech holographic projection device.

"Commander Shen, a top-priority order from the Military Department!"

"Hm?" Shen Fei was a little surprised. He remembered that when he left the Eastern District Battlefield, his father, Shen Changsheng, had told him that his previous order was the last one.

But surprised or not, his professionalism made him quickly straighten up and return the three soldiers’ salutes with a standard military one of his own.

"Major General Shen Fei, Commander of the Second Corps, requesting orders!"

"Commander Shen, you are ordered to immediately lead your troops to the North District City Gate. You must hold back the Alien Race Alliance Army and not allow them to take a single step into the North District!" the soldier quickly relayed the order.

"To the North District City Gate? But it’s..."

"These are Commander Qin’s orders!"

"Yes, understood. I’ll go right now..."

"Commander Shen, there is also a holographic recording. Commander Qin said that after you watch it, you will truly understand." After speaking, the soldier activated the projector in his hands.

WHOOSH!

A projection appeared directly in the sky.

It was a semi-transparent, three-dimensional hologram.

But on it, two figures were clearly visible: one was Gao Neng, and the other was Fang Tangtang.

The two of them stood on the back of a Flying Earth Dragon. Around them were other figures shrouded in black cloaks—a dense crowd of more than a hundred.

Such a scene immediately captivated all the civilians.

All eyes turned to watch.

In the projection, Gao Neng looked down from above.

"I want to tell them—tell all the alien races and all my comrades in the Human Alliance—that I, Gao Neng, will absolutely not cower behind the city walls anymore!"

"..."

"We will rescue the twenty million civilians in the North District!"

"..."

"We humans will not abandon our own people!"

"..."

"Humanity’s powerful should not hide behind city walls! Humanity’s powerful should not use the blood of civilians to buy time! That is not what a true battle is!"

"And that is not what true decision-makers and leaders do!"

"Only when the strong charge ahead will others follow from behind! I, Gao Neng, don’t consider myself one of the strong, but I am willing to charge at the very front on the Northern District Battlefield!"

"Because I firmly believe..."

"Humanity will surely rise!!!"

"..."

"Humanity, rise!!"

"Humanity, rise!!"

"..."

The successive shouts echoed over the airfield.

The civilians who had been scrambling to get on the planes were stunned. They stared blankly at the scene, their bodies beginning to tremble uncontrollably.

Shen Fei was also stunned.

But his hands clenched into fists, tighter and tighter.

His gaze was fixed on the massive projection floating overhead. He watched the two figures fly further and further away, their shouts still echoing.

"Gao Neng, you son of a bitch! You goddamn bastard, you have no idea how long I’ve been waiting! You goddamn... finally... you’ve finally... come!!" By the end, Shen Fei’s voice was almost a roar.

The wind and snow fell relentlessly.

But a single, glistening tear slid from the corner of the Alliance Major General’s eye.