I Can Control Resources

"You discovered them?" Gao Neng laughed. He had indeed snatched the attribute raw materials from right under their noses, but logically speaking, he was the one in the right.

"You think *you* discovered them?!" Yi Qinglian’s face was filled with rage. "We’ve been fighting here for ages! If it weren’t for you, all these attribute raw materials would be ours!"

"Without us, you wouldn’t have gotten a single one!" Gao Neng shot back. "You fought for a long time, sure, but *we* were the ones who actually found the attribute raw materials. What you saw was nothing but an illusion from the Natural Magnetic Zone. Without us, how could you have possibly pinpointed their real location?"

"..." Yi Qinglian.

"..." Shaximo.

It was just as Gao Neng said. What they had found was indeed an illusion. If Gao Neng and his group hadn’t suddenly burst in, who would have ever known the true location of the attribute raw materials?

Unable to find the true location...

All their fighting would have been for naught.

"Cat got your tongue? I led you to the real location of the attribute raw materials, yet I only took my fair share. I even left ten stalks for you to divide amongst yourselves. Even if you took this matter to the Federation Government for arbitration, no one would say that I, Gao Neng, was in the wrong!" Gao Neng said again.

"Hmm... Gao Neng has a point," Zhou Jin said, nodding.

"..." Wei Ya remained silent, but the anger on his face had faded. He now looked thoughtful.

"Sister, why don’t we stay out of this? There are still a few over there..." Yi Qingge suggested, glancing at Yi Qinglian.

"Great Sun Buddha," Shaximo chanted again. His gaze, however, had already shifted to the chaotic crowd nearby, a clear sign he intended to back off.

"Are we... just going to leave it like this? But this is too..." Yi Qinglian started to say, but she struggled and ultimately swallowed her words.

"Sister, just forget it. We..."

"Hahaha, it seems the Dragon List Geniuses are nothing but a bunch of naive children!" A voice suddenly rang out. It belonged to the last of the four high-tier individuals to speak.

Then, the man stepped forward. "Resources in the wilds of the Underground City have always been taken by force. Who made up this ’finders keepers’ rule? I think you so-called chosen ones have been spoiled rotten by the Human Alliance. Don’t you understand what a single evolution-grade plant represents?"

"Why are we wasting our breath on them?" the masked woman chimed in. "As long as they stay out of our way, you think the four of us can’t handle a few mid-tiers?"

"The Federation Government has an explicit rule: resources from the wilds of the Underground City belong to whoever brings them into the city first!"

"Exactly. Since you aren’t going to make a move, then stay out of our way. Scram! The Blood Luo Fruits belong to the four of us!"

The other two nodded in agreement.

The Human Alliance controlled the main hubs of the Underground City, but the struggle for resources in the wilderness had been a major problem from the start. Whenever resources were involved, conflict was inevitable.

Violent clashes between parties were a common occurrence.

And after the fighting, both sides would invariably ask the Human Alliance to mediate and deliver justice.

But how could they?

It was always a case of "he said, she said."

One side would claim they found it first, and the other would say the same.

The resulting conflicts sometimes even caused friction among the higher-ups, since everyone who entered the Underground City had backing from one faction or another.

The truth was, what actually happened out in the wilderness...

...was something only the involved parties truly knew.

How was the Human Alliance supposed to make a ruling?

Eventually, the Human Alliance established a clear rule: resources from the wilderness belong to whoever first brings them into the Underground City.

Of course, there was one prerequisite: no lives were to be lost.

If a death occurred, the winning party was required to pay appropriate compensation.

While this rule didn’t stop the fighting in the wilderness, it at least contained the conflicts to the areas outside the city.

Once inside the Underground City, everyone was civil again.

Thus, the adventuring teams in the Underground City gradually developed an unspoken agreement: as long as no one was killed, out in the wilderness, might made right. The one with the bigger fist got the resources.

As for who found it first or second...

Who cared?

The four high-tier individuals had a perfect understanding. The moment the words were spoken, they had already spread out, surrounding Gao Neng, Shen Ning’Er, and Fang Tangtang.

’Looks like this fight is unavoidable,’ Gao Neng thought as he surveyed the scene. He knew more words were useless. When it was time to fight, you fight.

’Still, four high-tier opponents...’

’The pressure is a little intense.’

Just as he was thinking this, a familiar voice rang out from the distance.

"The authority of the Military Department will not be challenged! Gao Neng, we’re here to help!" The speaker was, of course, none other than Lin Ying, accompanied by Wang Jun and the others.

Lin Ying had only just arrived, but he immediately grasped the situation and jumped into the fray.

"A few more kids have come to play?" The four high-tier opponents exchanged smiles, completely unconcerned. After all, they were all high-tier. What trouble could a few mid-tiers possibly be?

"Shaximo, what do you say?" Wei Ya glanced at Shaximo.

"We of the Dragon List should cooperate. Even if we have our own conflicts, those should be resolved internally. I think we should help them," Zhou Jin spoke up.

"Right. Once we’ve driven off these high-tiers, it won’t be too late to fight for it ourselves," Yi Qingge added, glancing at Yi Qinglian.

"Great Sun Buddha, that’s surprisingly logical! Alright, let’s get ’em!" Shaximo was actually a little frustrated. As the future successor of the Esoteric Sect, he had lost a lot of face recently.

And most of that lost face...

...was somehow related to Gao Neng.

Emotionally, his first instinct was to oppose Gao Neng. But as Yi Qingge said, their conflicts were internal matters.

’Cooperating with this team of adventurers?’

’That was out of the question.’

In that case, it was better to team up for now and deal with these outsiders first.

Besides, Shaximo had his own little scheme: he wanted to prove to Yi Qinglian that he was, in fact, stronger than Gao Neng and Lin Ying.

How could he prove it?

By taking on the same opponents, of course!

"Gao Neng, don’t think for a second we’re helping you! Hmph... After we beat them, if you refuse to hand over the attribute materials, we’ll take them by force all the same! Brother, let’s go!" Yi Qinglian bit her lip. With a flick of her longsword, she surprisingly became the first to charge, aiming straight for the masked woman among the four high-tier opponents.

"..." The expressions of the four high-tier opponents finally shifted.

Gao Neng was equally surprised.

He had thought it more likely that Yi Qinglian would team up with the adventurers, but what happened instead? These guys had actually sided with him at the critical moment.

’They’re going to try and take the attribute materials after this fight is over?’

’These people...’

’...are certainly confident!’

"Ning’Er, let’s go!" Gao Neng didn’t hold back any longer. Even a girl like Yi Qinglian dared to be the first one to charge in. If he chickened out now, wouldn’t that mean letting her outshine him?

’No way that’s happening!’

"Okay," Shen Ning’Er nodded.

The battle between more than a dozen people erupted.

As Shen Ning’Er made her move, she used Energy Manifestation. The moment the Furious Golden Ape appeared, it positioned itself next to Fang Tangtang to protect her.

Fang Tangtang, in turn, used the Furious Golden Ape for cover and decisively opened fire.

As for Yi Qinglian, the first to charge in...

...Gao Neng found her rather interesting.

Yi Qinglian had actually managed to engage the masked woman, and she didn’t fall into a significant disadvantage within the first three exchanges.

Gao Neng recalled that Yi Qinglian was only at Tier Six Mid Stage.

’I didn’t think this girl was so strong.’

But on second thought, it made sense. Yi Qinglian had definitely been unconvinced by her loss to Lin Ying. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be constantly cursing him for his "shameless sneak attack."

Besides...

Yi Qinglian reached Tier Six Mid Stage at eighteen.

Moreover, she was the Saintess of the Bright Sect.

It was impossible to say that her talent was poor.

A suit of silver-white armor covered Yi Qinglian, perfectly outlining her dramatic figure. Most importantly, the armor’s Defense Power was extremely high.

The masked woman attacked several times in succession, yet she failed to break through Yi Qinglian’s defenses.

"Titanium alloy?!" The masked woman’s expression finally changed.

It was not only incredibly hard but also extremely light. Furthermore, it possessed absolute resilience and resistance to all sorts of external factors, such as high temperatures, corrosion, and extreme cold.

In short, the Titanium Metal talent was a legendary metal-type talent!

It was definitely one of the strongest hidden talents.

Combined with the profound martial arts passed down through Yi Qinglian’s family, the fighting techniques she had learned were all top-tier.

As a result, even though Yi Qinglian was only at Tier Six Mid Stage, she could still hold her own against the Tier Seven Early Stage masked woman for a full thirty seconds.

And then, Yi Qingge arrived.

At twenty years old, he was a Tier Six Late Stage and the Punishment Master of the Bright Sect. Yi Qingge’s attack power, combined with Yi Qinglian’s Defense Power, was enough to forcibly push the masked woman back three steps.

"Damn it!" The masked woman gritted her teeth, no longer holding back.

In fact, the other three opponents were having an even worse time. Shaximo, Wei Ya, and Zhou Jin were all Tier Six Late Stage experts.

They were just a hair’s breadth away from Tier Seven.

Furthermore, the three of them were the top three on the Dragon List.

To put it bluntly, in a one-on-one fight, any of them might not necessarily lose to a Tier Seven Early Stage. Now, with the three of them joining forces, they had beaten the forty-five-year-old man to a pulp, sending him rolling across the ground.

Lin Ying’s group was larger.

But among them, only Lin Ying himself was S-rank; Wang Jun and the others were mostly A-rank, so their overall strength was slightly weaker.

Nevertheless, with Lin Ying standing at the forefront, he was able to hold off the fifty-year-old man all by himself.

As for Gao Neng...

He had targeted the one who had been laughing the loudest earlier.

Furthermore, he had unhesitatingly drawn a Tier Seven genetic weapon. With Shen Ning’Er’s powerful support, he was prepared to teach this high-tier opponent a lesson in humility.

"You were the one laughing earlier, weren’t you?" Gao Neng asked, looking at the Eagle-eyed Man before him. A faint smile played on his lips.

"What if I was!"