I Can Control Resources

Li Tiannan and Sword Elder vanished on the spot.

Half an hour later, a large group of Dragon List Geniuses also swarmed in.

The first to arrive were Yi Qinglian, Shaximo, and their group, followed by Lin Ying and other Dragon List Geniuses who had been traveling in teams.

As for the adventurer teams from the Underground City, they were a little slower.

Dozens, even hundreds of people charged in like a mighty flood.

Behind them, Yutian and a dozen or so high-tier experts followed closely. They then gradually split up, each joining a different team.

Soon, fighting broke out in Forbidden Zone 317.

From time to time, Dark Creatures were slain.

Of course, some of the Dragon List Geniuses and members of the Underground City adventurer teams were also injured, but fortunately, there had been no deaths yet.

Meanwhile, Gao Neng and his group gradually reached their first destination.

A pile of rubble.

It wasn’t a very large area, but its value lay in its messiness. Boulders were scattered about haphazardly, making it look like a massive, unmarked graveyard.

Gao Neng quickly spotted the deep ravine.

It was to the right of the rubble pile, and the surrounding ground was covered in green moss. Under normal circumstances, most explorers would go around it.

After all, it would be easy to fall into the ravine.

But Gao Neng walked right toward it.

"Gao Neng, it looks like there’s a ravine up ahead, and the ground is covered in moss. Let’s go around," Fang Tangtang said, ever the cautious one. The moment she saw the terrain, she was ready to take a detour.

"Huh? What did you say?" Gao Neng naturally couldn’t reveal his little scheme, so he used the simplest method: pretending he couldn’t hear her.

"I said, there’s a ravine ahead! Let’s go around!" Fang Tangtang was taken aback. After all, she was less than two meters away from him.

’He can’t hear me from this close?’

’Are you deaf?’

"What? Say that again!" Gao Neng replied loudly.

"I said!! There’s a... DITCH!!!"

"An itch?"

"A ditch! It’s a DITCH!! Watch out!" Seeing that Gao Neng was about to step on the very edge of the ravine, Fang Tangtang couldn’t worry about anything else and lunged forward.

THUD!

Gao Neng was tackled to the ground.

’This is a little frustrating. I only needed to take two more steps forward to fall in, but this girl Fang Tangtang had to go and grab me?’

’What now?’

’I never knew Fang Tangtang was this quick.’

"Gao Neng, Tangtang, are you two okay?" Shen Ning’Er was responsible for watching their backs, so most of her attention had been focused behind them.

Hearing the commotion up ahead, she immediately looked over and naturally saw Fang Tangtang and Gao Neng sprawled on the ground by the edge of the ravine.

"We’re fine, just took a fall." Gao Neng waved his hand dismissively.

In truth, he was suspicious of what Li Tiannan had said yesterday. In fact, he was fifty percent sure that Li Tiannan would probably follow him.

It was just that he wouldn’t be able to detect a Strongest who was tailing him.

So, he decided to just act like he didn’t know.

However, when searching for the attribute materials, he had to be a little "careful"—at least, not too obvious. He had to make it look like he found them by accident.

But this girl Fang Tangtang had to tackle him...

Now, there was no way for it to look accidental.

’Do I have to find another spot and put on a new show?’

Just as he was thinking this, he saw Shen Ning’Er walk up to him and Fang Tangtang, extending a hand to them.

"..." Gao Neng hesitated, his gaze subconsciously shifting to the ravine in front of them. His mind raced, wondering whether he should find a new spot or pretend to slip and fall again.

Slipping again was certainly a good option.

But Li Tiannan wasn’t an idiot.

A Tier Six Mid Stage expert seeing a ravine right in front of him and still slipping in... and then just happening to find a pile of attribute materials inside? That move couldn’t be any more obvious.

’Forget it.’

’To be safe, I’ll find another place for my show.’

Just as Gao Neng was preparing to find a new spot, he saw Shen Ning’Er also looking at the ravine. At the same time, she gave him a meaningful glance.

Her eyes seemed to say, ’Are you trying to fall into the ravine?’

Gao Neng immediately returned the look.

’Yes!’

’I want to fall into the ravine.’

The moment he gave that look, he saw Shen Ning’Er’s foot suddenly slip, forcing her into a perfect split on the ground.

Then, an extremely dramatic cry of alarm rang out.

"Oh no, my foot slipped!" With that cry, Gao Neng watched Shen Ning’Er slide into the ravine like an eel.

"..." Gao Neng was practically dumbfounded.

’Shen Ning’Er’s acting...’

’...is seriously next-level!’

Fang Tangtang was clearly startled as well. Seeing Shen Ning’Er about to fall, a panicked expression appeared in her eyes.

"Sister Ning’Er!" With a loud shout, Fang Tangtang lunged forward again.

More importantly, as she lunged, her foot conveniently hooked Gao Neng’s calf, causing him to lurch forward.

Gao Neng was stunned once again.

Then, he watched as Fang Tangtang fell in right after Shen Ning’Er.

’For real?’

’Did Fang Tangtang figure it out too?’

’That seems unlikely.’

’Must be a coincidence, right?’

While thinking this, Gao Neng didn’t hesitate for a second. Taking advantage of the forward momentum, his feet "slipped" three consecutive times on the ground.

"Ning’Er, Tangtang, I’m coming to save you!" Shouting this, Gao Neng took the opportunity to fall in as well.

And in the distance,

Li Tiannan and Sword Elder happened to witness this exact scene.

First, Shen Ning’Er had "accidentally" fallen into the deep ravine. Then, Fang Tangtang lunged after her, and finally, Gao Neng fell in as well.

"..." Li Tiannan.

"..." Sword Elder.

The two exchanged a look.

Their expressions were extremely complicated.

It was a ravine that should have been impossible to fall into, yet all three of them fell in?

’This has to be an act, right?’

The problem was, the star of this show wasn’t Gao Neng, but Shen Ning’Er. This gave the two of them pause. After all, in their minds, Shen Ning’Er wasn’t the type to do something like this, was she?

’Could it be they really encountered danger?’

’Or maybe there’s some kind of Dark Creature in the ravine that can drag people in?’

"Let’s get closer and take a look!" Li Tiannan gritted his teeth. He naturally wasn’t afraid of being discovered; after all, the power gap between him and Gao Neng was far too great.

"Mm," Sword Elder nodded and immediately moved closer to the ravine.

Just then, a cry of surprise came from the ravine.

"Wow, it’s Mulan Vine! So many Mulan Vines! These are wood-attribute materials!" This voice naturally belonged to Fang Tangtang.

"I can’t believe there are Mulan Vines here! By the way, Ning’Er, do Mulan Vines grow in places like this?" Gao Neng’s voice rang out as well.

"According to records, Mulan Vines grow in dark, damp places. However, Forbidden Zone 317 is almost entirely a damp environment, so I really didn’t expect to find Mulan Vines here."

"Yeah, yeah, Sister Ning’Er is amazing! She can even find so many Mulan Vines just by taking a tumble!" Fang Tangtang was clearly quite excited.

Li Tiannan and Sword Elder were momentarily stunned.

’They found them just like that?!’

’This is a bit... too much of a show, isn’t it?’

More importantly, Li Tiannan and Sword Elder really couldn’t tell if this was real or fake.

If they said it was real...

...the process was a little too smooth.

Three people fall into a ravine and just happen to find a pile of Mulan Vines?

But if they said it was fake...

...the first one to fall in wasn’t Gao Neng, but Shen Ning’Er. That was a bit baffling. After all, the plot wasn’t going as they had expected.

While Li Tiannan and Sword Elder were still in a daze, Gao Neng’s voice came from inside again.

"Whoa, Ning’Er, Tangtang, come look! There are three Mulan Vines here that are different from the others!"

"Huh? They really are different!" Fang Tangtang said in surprise.

"This seems to be... Purple Magnolia Vine, the evolved version of Mulan Vine. I can’t believe there are three evolved specimens here?" Shen Ning’Er was also very surprised.

"..." Li Tiannan.

"..." Sword Elder.

’You’ve got to be kidding me.’

If this was really luck, wasn’t it a bit too good?

The two looked at each other, their eyes filled with complex emotions. In their hearts, they both vaguely felt that there was definitely something strange about this.

But where was the proof?

For the moment, they had none.

This was rather awkward.

The two exchanged a glance, nodded slightly, and chose to leave.

Not long after, a golden hook extended out from the ravine. Then, Gao Neng, Shen Ning’Er, and Fang Tangtang climbed out, returning with a full load.

On this trip, they had harvested a total of 20 Mulan Vines and three evolved specimens.

It was a rich haul.

However, Gao Neng saw something unusual in Shen Ning’Er’s eyes. He had a vague feeling that she must have noticed something.

Of course, this was actually to be expected.

For three days in a row, Gao Neng had "coincidentally" found attribute materials. Moreover, wherever there were attribute materials, there was always an evolved specimen.

No matter how good Gao Neng’s acting was...

...this kind of luck would inevitably make people suspicious.

However, Shen Ning’Er didn’t call him out on it, so Gao Neng naturally continued his act. Anyway, the plan was simple: deny it to the death.

"Gao Neng, where are we going next?" Fang Tangtang now truly saw Gao Neng as their ’guide’. As for anything else, she didn’t give it much thought.

As long as Gao Neng could find attribute materials, that was enough.

Why should she care how he found them?

On this point, Fang Tangtang’s way of thinking was different from most people. She was very open-minded and didn’t care at all, simply assuming Gao Neng had a halo of luck above his head.

That being the case, the matter was very simple.

Just follow Gao Neng.

"I don’t know either. Why don’t you decide? Left or right, it’s your call. You can lead the way this time." Gao Neng observed their surroundings and didn’t see Li Tiannan, but he had a strong feeling that the man had been there.

"Huh? I’m leading the way?" Fang Tangtang was a bit baffled.

"That’s right, you!" Gao Neng nodded.

"But I don’t know how to look for them! How can I lead the way?"

"It’s fine, I have faith in you."

"Alright then. I think... the scenery on the right looks a little better!" Fang Tangtang looked at the path ahead and finally pointed to her right.

"The right?" Gao Neng thought for a moment. The path to the right led close to the Underground Swamp. If it were up to him, he would have preferred the two growth locations on the left. However, there were also two on the right, which was why Gao Neng had the confidence to let Fang Tangtang choose—because there were materials in both directions.

’Those two spots on the right...’

’They aren’t deep inside the Underground Swamp, so there shouldn’t be any danger, right?’

’Besides, there’s still a fifty percent chance Li Tiannan is following us.’

’Logically speaking, it should be very safe.’

"Okay, we’ll go right then!" Gao Neng figured that if he was going to put on an act, he had to make it convincing, so he didn’t hesitate for too long.

"Hahaha, let’s go then! This time, I, Death God Fang Tangtang, will lead the way!" Hearing Gao Neng actually agree, Fang Tangtang immediately became even more excited.

"Meow!" Gao Xiaomeng also cried out. She poked her head out of the backpack, her deep blue eyes looking to the right with a similarly joyful expression.

With a decision made, the three of them and one cat continued onward.

Just after they left, Li Tiannan and Sword Elder reappeared where Gao Neng’s group had just been standing. Sword Elder immediately leaped down into the ravine.

But soon, he jumped back up again.

"There’s evolutionary energy, but it’s not very dense. The probability of an evolved specimen appearing is only five in ten thousand. For three to appear at the same time, the odds are at least one in a hundred thousand!" Sword Elder said after he came back up.