I Can Control Resources

Every person and cat looked up.

A figure emerged from the shimmering light. Countless gazes turned to the silhouette in the sky—holy and radiant, it inspired an urge to bow in worship.

"Who’s there?!" Vice Commander Zhang looked up. The figure that had appeared above him instinctively gave him an intense sense of danger.

The moment the words left his mouth, a bolt of pure white light descended.

Aimed straight for the top of his head.

"Vice Commander, watch out!"

"Get back!" Vice Commander Zhang almost subconsciously raised his hands, forming two palms of Spiritual Power to meet the bolt of white light.

BOOM!

An explosion erupted in mid-air.

The bolt of white light pierced straight through the two Spiritual Power palms, then reared its head in mid-air and let out a resounding dragon’s roar.

"ROAR!"

The dragon’s roar echoed for thousands of miles.

Vice Commander Zhang stood frozen in place, stunned.

Then, the white light slammed down on him, blasting him to the ground so hard he couldn’t even get back up.

"ROAR!"

The white light took the shape of a dragon.

It was clearly a silver-white dragon.

"Meow!" Gao Xiaomeng looked at the white dragon before her, tilted her head back, and let out another meow.

"King!!!"

"King!"

The wildcats cried out in unison and began to attack the humans.

Their claws were incredibly sharp. With almost every swipe, they could penetrate the soldiers’ armor, tearing the steel plates apart with a single strike.

"Go, hurry!" the white dragon said, turning its head to look at Gao Xiaomeng.

"No!!!" A black mist swirled in Gao Xiaomeng’s eyes.

"Go, child..." the white dragon spoke again, its eyes filled with sorrow. White, feathery scales flickered faintly on its body.

"MEOW!!" Gao Xiaomeng once again tilted her head to the sky and let out a cry. After a few more loud meows, she turned and bolted toward the city gate.

"Meow!"

"Meow meow!"

"Meow!"

The wildcats immediately abandoned their attack and frantically chased after Gao Xiaomeng.

"Don’t let these xenos get away! Quick... stop them! Fire! Fire and kill them!" a soldier shouted, stepping forward as he saw the wildcats about to escape.

"ROAR!!!" The white dragon let out another draconic roar. The powerful sound wave spread like a ripple, forcing all the soldiers on the watchtower who were trying to man the heavy weapons to cover their ears.

"A Strongest!!!" Vice Commander Zhang stared at the white dragon, his face deathly pale. He was certain now that this dragon possessed strength far greater than his own.

SWOOSH!

SWOOSH!

Two figures streaked across the sky toward them.

These were also two old men. They both radiated powerful auras and moved at incredible speeds. They arrived almost in the same instant Vice Commander Zhang looked up.

"Elder Qin!"

"Elder Wang!"

Everyone from the Military Department command center bowed.

But the two elders who had landed didn’t spare a glance for the people behind them. Their eyes were fixed on the white dragon.

"You’re... still alive?!" Elder Qin spoke, his voice trembling with emotion.

"Get lost!" the white dragon roared.

"Eighteen years ago, didn’t you already..."

"I said, get lost!" the white dragon bellowed again. At the same time, two snow-white longswords shot out from its mouth.

"Fairy Dragon, don’t!" Elder Wang cried, moving to intervene.

"She won’t hurt me!" Elder Qin declared fearlessly, his eyes locked on the two approaching longswords. His expression was calm, showing no trace of panic.

HISS!

The two longswords finally stopped a foot from Elder Qin’s throat.

Then, another resounding dragon’s roar echoed.

The white dragon soared into the air.

It shot back up into the clouds, leaving behind a single, majestic command.

"Let them go. Otherwise, I will kill you!"

"..."

"..." Vice Commander Zhang and the surrounding soldiers fell silent.

Elder Wang, however, looked at Elder Qin. He didn’t watch the fleeing Cat Race, but instead stared intently at the spot in the sky where the white dragon had vanished.

"Elder Qin, the Fairy Dragon is still alive. Does that mean... he is...?"

"I don’t know!" Elder Qin waved his hand dismissively. He too was watching the figure disappear into the clouds. Only when it was completely gone did he look away.

"Elder Qin, these xenos..."

"Let them go!"

"But, they..."

"I said, let them go!" Elder Qin’s tone turned severe.

"Yes, sir!"

...

...

In a screening room in the Underground City, only two people were present.

Li Tiannan and Sword Elder stared at the frozen image on the screen. They used the remote to rewind a few frames, and the picture once again settled on the white dragon.

"The Fairy Dragon, Bai Feixue!" Sword Elder said, looking at Li Tiannan.

"That’s her, no doubt. Even Elder Qin acknowledged her, so there’s absolutely no mistake!" Li Tiannan nodded, his gaze still fixed on the white dragon on the screen.

"All for a cat?" Sword Elder asked.

"Yes, all for a cat..." Li Tiannan nodded.

Not many people in the Alliance knew what happened eighteen years ago, but he and Sword Elder were among the few who were privy to the events of that time.

The Fairy Dragon, Bai Feixue, had died!

She should have died eighteen years ago.

But now, the Fairy Dragon had appeared at the South District City Gate. What did this mean?

’It means that for the past eighteen years, the Fairy Dragon has been hiding in the City of Hope, or rather, hiding somewhere within the Human Alliance, never showing herself.’

’A Strongest, wanting to hide within the Alliance.’

’No one would ever be able to find her.’

’And since the Fairy Dragon chose to hide, it meant the incident eighteen years ago must have caused her unforgivable psychological trauma.’

’But now, the Fairy Dragon had appeared.’

’All for a single mutated cat...’

Sword Elder looked at Li Tiannan.

Li Tiannan looked back at him.

"This is getting more and more complicated. Should we... get our story straight beforehand?" Li Tiannan’s gaze shifted to the door leading to the adjacent room.

"And how do you propose we do that?" Sword Elder’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"We can’t just let this mess that brat caused slide. There has to be a punishment, it’s just that..." Li Tiannan trailed off.

"Heh, don’t play these games with me! If you want me to get our story straight, just state your terms. You really think I can’t see through your little schemes?" Sword Elder sneered.

"Fine, I won’t beat around the bush. Ten pieces of gold-attribute Magnetic Crystal Ore, plus twenty stalks of gold-attribute mid-tier raw materials!" Li Tiannan said, gritting his teeth.

"Elder Li has become quite straightforward!" Sword Elder nodded, then also glanced at the door to the next room. "You’re planning to squeeze this back out of Gao Neng, aren’t you?"

"Where I get it from is none of your business!" Li Tiannan said noncommittally.

"Fine. Then let’s go hear how that brat Gao Neng explains himself!" Sword Elder said nothing more and stood up.

"I just hope that brat can be... a little more honest," Li Tiannan sighed, finally following Sword Elder through the door into the next room.

...

「In a spacious conference room.」

At this moment, only ten people were present.

Li Tiannan and Sword Elder were not at the head of the table. Instead, they sat in the observer seats behind the main seat, both with their eyes slightly closed.

And the person at the head of the table was none other than Wu Qingjing.

Besides him, seated in descending order, were the Underground City Governor Yutian and a few other high-ranking administrators from the Underground City.

In the last seat sat Zhang Hongying.

"Governor Yun, please have someone bring Gao Neng in," Wu Qingjing said to Yutian beside him, but only after seeking permission from Li Tiannan and Sword Elder with a glance.

"Chairman, Gao Neng is already waiting at the door." Yutian nodded. In a formal meeting like this, he also switched from his usual way of addressing Wu Qingjing.

"Mm, then let him in."

"Let Gao Neng in."

CREAK!

The conference room door opened.

Gao Neng walked in, dressed in a black military uniform with the three stars and one bar of a Captain on his shoulder. His expression was remarkably calm.

"Captain Gao, have a seat," Wu Qingjing said, pointing to the chair opposite him.

"Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, Governor Yun." Gao Neng sat down obediently and casually straightened his collar.

"Alright, I’ll skip the pleasantries. Just watch the video," Wu Qingjing said, clapping his hands. The lights in the conference room dimmed.

An image then appeared on the white wall.

It was the South District City Gate.

Soon, beeping alarms blared, followed by the battle between the soldiers and the cats. It ended with the Fairy Dragon, Bai Feixue, disappearing into the clouds.

The entire sequence lasted just over ten minutes.

The video soon ended.

The lights in the conference room came back on.

Wu Qingjing looked at Gao Neng. He was about to speak but noticed Gao Neng’s lips were trembling slightly, a sign that his jaw was clenched tight.

"Captain Gao, would you care to... explain?" Wu Qingjing had a vague feeling that something was off with Gao Neng’s emotional state, but he still asked the question as protocol demanded.

"..." Gao Neng didn’t speak, but his fists were clenched tightly. His mind was still replaying the image of Gao Xiaomeng crying out.

’Those cats didn’t attack the humans!’

’Even while under constant attack from the Allied Army, they were only focused on escaping. Until... the humans began to wantonly slaughter them with heavy weapons.’

’Why did things turn out this way?’

What Gao Neng hadn’t expected was that Gao Xiaomeng had managed to gather ten to twenty thousand cats in the City of Hope, and that those cats had truly evolved into the Cat Race.

’Was I wrong?’

’Should I not have asked about Gao Xiaomeng’s secret?’

’If I hadn’t asked...’

’...would today’s events not have happened?’

Gao Neng quickly shook his head. He knew that even if this hadn’t happened today, it would have inevitably happened someday in the future.

"Captain Gao, please answer the Chairman’s question. What exactly is your relationship with that Cat King? Why did you let her go? Also, when did you find out she was the Cat King? Do you have any connection to the Cat Race in the City of Hope? And most importantly, what are the origins of this Cat King?" an administrator from the Underground City asked, frowning when Gao Neng remained silent.

(A recommendation for a friend’s new book: "I Devoured a Billion of Myself" by Pay-to-Win Life. If you’re interested, please check it out or add it to your library!)