I Can Control Resources

...

Before the Great Cataclysm, there was a classic, iconic animated series.

It was called: Ginseng Doll.

Gao Neng had never seen it, but upon seeing the thing that plunged into the deep pit, the name was the first thing that popped into his head.

Of course, according to Li Tiannan’s and Sword Elder’s explanation, this thing was likely the ’Tree Heart’ of the Dark Ghost Vine.

"MEOW!!" Just then, an urgent cry escaped Gao Xiaomeng’s mouth. She immediately leaped forward, giving chase.

"Gao Xiaomeng, come back!" Gao Neng instinctively tried to grab Gao Xiaomeng, so he naturally steered the Flying Earth Dragon down into the pit.

It didn’t take much effort.

He grabbed Gao Xiaomeng in one go.

But the instant he caught her, a powerful sense of exhaustion washed over him.

The aftereffects of connecting to the Magnetic Mountain had arrived!

His head spun and his limbs went weak. He almost tumbled right off the Flying Earth Dragon, so he prepared to head back up to the surface immediately.

However, at that very moment, Gao Xiaomeng’s voice rang out.

"Gao Neng, don’t let it get away! It’s a super boost!"

Clearly, Gao Xiaomeng was anxious.

But Gao Neng couldn’t afford to be anxious. He didn’t mind getting a boost, but the problem was that he had no idea what was inside this deep pit. Besides, his whole body felt weak; he didn’t have the strength to give chase.

"Super boost my ass! I’m out of energy!" Gao Neng retorted.

"This Queen will give you some!" As Gao Xiaomeng spoke, a wave of energy radiated from her body and instantly connected with Gao Neng.

"!!!" Gao Neng was shocked.

’I can’t take this!’

Connecting to the Magnetic Mountain had already left him completely drained. If he remembered correctly, connecting to Gao Xiaomeng had the same effect.

It would also leave him exhausted.

’How could I have any strength left?’

’Gao Xiaomeng is just messing... around...’

Huh?!

’Something’s not right!’

Suddenly, Gao Neng noticed the problem.

Logically, he should be in a state of exhaustion right now. Connecting with Gao Xiaomeng on top of that should have made him even more drained... But in reality, that wasn’t what happened.

When his Spiritual Power connected with Gao Xiaomeng, not only did he not feel exhausted, but he actually felt that the immense Spiritual Power, which was previously beyond his control, had become much more docile.

’What’s going on? Is this the legendary... a negative times a negative equals a positive?! Is that even possible? This doesn’t make any scientific sense!’ Gao Neng didn’t know how to describe what he was feeling.

But the fact was, he could now truly control that vast energy, and it was surging through his body.

However, the strange thing was...

this immense energy didn’t seem to belong to him.

It felt more like it was just passing through his body.

’Wait a minute.’

’Could it be... a balance?’

Gao Neng, with his top-student mindset, quickly reasoned it out.

If he only connected to the Magnetic Mountain, he would become a ’terminal output’ bearing the mountain’s energy. In that case, his energy consumption would naturally be massive.

The same was true for connecting with Gao Xiaomeng.

Gao Xiaomeng was also an ’Energy Body’. After connecting with her, he would become her ’terminal output’, and his energy consumption would likewise accelerate.

But now, while connected to both the Magnetic Mountain and Gao Xiaomeng...

he was no longer a ’terminal output’ but a ’bridge’ connecting two ’Energy Bodies’. As a result, the two energy flows formed a tacit balance.

Thus, with Gao Neng in the middle, he naturally experienced no energy drain.

Not only was there no drain, but he could even benefit from this energy, letting it wash over his body to quickly restore his physical stamina and the energy of his magnetic core.

’Such impressive deductive skills!’ Gao Neng mentally gave himself a thumbs-up. Of course, there was a necessary factor to establishing this balance.

They had to be from the same source!

For instance, only compatible blood types can be transfused together; otherwise, they will just reject each other.

With this, Gao Neng could be almost certain of one thing: the energy inside Gao Xiaomeng was truly the same type as the energy in the Magnetic Mountain.

...

This allowed him to reverse-engineer many other things.

For example, after the Dark Ghost Vine consumed Gao Xiaomeng, it immediately became an evolved species. Did that mean the energy in the Magnetic Mountain was, in fact, ’evolutionary energy’?

Taking the reasoning a step further...

The Underground City was known as the Human Alliance’s source of evolution. Countless magnetic stacks floated above it, making the entire city resemble a giant underground mine.

And the Alien Race Royal City also had crystal ore beneath it.

Were these coincidences?

If not, then there should also be a ’Magnetic Mountain’ beneath the Alien Race Royal City. There was even another possibility—that beneath the Alien Race Royal City, there wasn’t just an ore vein, but also...

other Underground Cities!

Of course, this speculation was a bit too bold.

Gao Neng had no way to verify it now. However, if other Underground Cities really did exist, could this massive pit be a ’passageway’ connecting to them?

That was a rather terrifying thought.

But it wasn’t entirely impossible.

After all, the Demon Abyss was a massive pit.

This place was also a massive pit.

Was there really no connection between the two?

"Gao Neng, faster! We’re about to catch it! It’s a super boost!" As he was thinking, Gao Xiaomeng’s voice rang out again.

"How much of a boost?" Gao Neng shook his head, not thinking about it any further. If he were to dwell on it, Gao Xiaomeng’s very existence was a huge mystery.

After all, she was a combination of a liquid lifeform and a cat.

So, within the magnetic stacks...

what else was there besides energy?!

There were too many questions.

Gao Neng could only set them aside for now. His gaze sharpened. In the darkness, he could actually see every corner of the deep pit, and he could mobilize his Spiritual Power at will.

’This bridge state...’

’It’s so damn strong!’

"All of the Dark Ghost Vine’s abilities came from this ’Tree Heart’. How much of a boost do you think that is?" Gao Xiaomeng’s eyes shone with a deep blue light.

"Then we definitely can’t let it escape!" Gao Neng nodded, his gaze fixed ahead. He used his powerful Spiritual Power to lock onto the Golden Tree Heart in front of them.

’Run?!’

’Let’s see where you can run!’

SWOOSH!

The Flying Earth Dragon carried Gao Neng and Gao Xiaomeng, diving down together.

The Golden Tree Heart was very fast.

After leaping down, it plummeted with a piercing whistle, occasionally using the pit walls to accelerate further.

The Flying Earth Dragon, under Gao Neng’s command, was equally fast.

One chasing the other, they staged a high-speed, life-or-death pursuit within the pit.

Just then, a loud noise erupted above Gao Neng’s head. A Furious Golden Ape carrying Fang Tangtang came charging down.

"It’s Shen Ning’Er and Fang Tangtang!" Gao Neng’s Spiritual Power was incredibly strong now, allowing him to easily perceive all movement around him.

’They came down too!’

’No, wait.’

’It’s not just the two of them.’

Li Tiannan and Sword Elder were here as well.

Normally, Gao Neng wouldn’t be able to sense Li Tiannan and Sword Elder’s auras, but things weren’t normal right now...

Because Li Tiannan and Sword Elder weren’t concealing their auras.

The two of them were right behind Shen Ning’Er and Fang Tangtang, their speed even faster. In just a moment, they were right behind Gao Neng.

"Where’s the Tree Heart?!" Li Tiannan asked as soon as he was behind Gao Neng.

"Up ahead!" Gao Neng pointed forward.

"Hmm? How far ahead? Don’t chase it if it’s too far!" Hearing Gao Neng, Li Tiannan also subconsciously looked ahead.

"Not far, about three hundred meters ahead."

"Hmm, the magnetic interference in here is dozens of times stronger than outside. My Spiritual Power can only detect things up to about two hundred meters away, so... Wait a minute. You can see it?!" Li Tiannan nodded slightly, but he quickly sensed something was off.

"Of course I can see... it! Yeah right!" Gao Neng’s words almost slipped out, but he caught himself and immediately changed his tune.

"If you can’t see it, how do you know the distance?"

"Master, have you ever heard of a formula? Average speed multiplied by time equals total distance," Gao Neng immediately replied with a piece of scientific knowledge.

Li Tiannan was actually speechless for a moment.

Gao Neng, on the other hand, secretly let out a sigh of relief.

’Holy crap!’

’The magnetic interference here is dozens of times stronger than outside?’

’Why can’t I feel it?’

Gao Neng was a little stunned.

Because he could sense not just three hundred meters, but also five hundred meters, eight hundred meters, fifteen hundred meters, twenty-eight hundred meters...

And with no effort at all.

’It’s truly magical!’

As he kept ’looking’... his expression gradually changed.

Because, at the eight-hundred-meter mark, he saw a Dark Creature as massive as a small hill. The creature was shrouded in darkness, clinging silently to the pit wall like a hunter in ambush.

Furthermore, at the thirteen-hundred-meter mark, there were four more identical Dark Creatures. They looked like lizards, flicking their crimson tongues.

They were all high-rank Dark Creatures.

The farther down he went, the more Dark Creatures there were.

Of course, besides them, there were other things.

For example, he also saw a large patch of Magnetic Crystal Ore at the three-thousand-meter mark, with well over a thousand pieces.

The most terrifying thing was, even farther away...

he saw a patch of plants growing in the dark.

They were all attribute raw materials.

There were at least a hundred of them.

And there was a huge variety: red, green, purple, blue, white, a rainbow of colors...

Farther still...

there were another hundred plants.

Even farther...

there were hundreds more.

And even farther than that...

’Wow, there are at least five or six hundred of them in total. Can you believe it?’

In an instant, Gao Neng’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. ’What is this place? Why does it feel like attribute raw materials and Magnetic Crystal Ore are just being given away for free?’