I Can Control Resources

"A welfare mission? You Scam System... you’re a real piece of work, aren’t you?" Gao Neng froze for a moment. ’Triggering a hidden welfare mission just like this... it’s really something else.’

’It’s definitely a trap!’

’There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world, especially not when it comes to missions from the Scam System.’

’There couldn’t possibly be any real ’welfare.’’

’This is absolutely a lure!’

’And it’s even specially marked with ’abundant rewards’ and ’accept with confidence’?’

’Who’d believe that!’

’But... it *is* a welfare mission.’

’According to the definition of a welfare mission, there are no penalties for failure.’

’In other words, even if I accept the mission and don’t complete it, there won’t be any losses.’

’So, how are you planning to screw me over?’

"Host, do you wish to accept?" the mechanical voice rang out again.

’I’ll accept it first and see. If it’s too hard, I just won’t do it!’ After some thought, Gao Neng nodded. "I accept the welfare mission."

"BEEP. Host has accepted the welfare mission."

"Welfare Mission: A Real Man Bravely Challenges 20,000 Meters!"

"Mission Description: Playing it safe is impossible. Not in this lifetime. Treasure lies right before me. I must seize this chance, achieve greatness, and rise to power."

"Mission Objective: Reach 12,000 meters deep in the Demon Abyss to trigger the first reward, a chance to upgrade a special skill. Reach 16,000 meters deep in the Demon Abyss to trigger the second reward, a second chance to upgrade a special skill. Reach 20,000 meters deep in the Demon Abyss to trigger the third reward, a third chance to upgrade a special skill."

"Mission Penalty: None."

"!!!" Gao Neng was floored.

’Holy shit!’

’Three chances to upgrade special skills.’

’What does this mean?’

’It means that as long as I reach a depth of 20,000 meters in the Demon Abyss, I can upgrade three special skills at once. The magnitude of this reward is simply unprecedented.’

’Before, when he completed a mission, he’d get at most one chance to upgrade a skill.’

’But now?’

’It’s giving him three chances directly!’

’Three chances!’

Gao Neng subconsciously opened his Attribute Panel and looked straight at the skills section.

"..."

Special Abilities: 1. Glare At You (Intermediate). 2. Second Magnetic Core (Advanced). 3. Life Element Fusion (Intermediate). 4. Celestial Book Deduction (Intermediate). 5. Source (Epic).

Special Skills: 1. Infinite Energy Infusion.

Evolution: 6/10 (Completion).

"..."

’Three upgrade chances!’

’That means I can upgrade ’Glare At You,’ ’Life Element Fusion,’ and ’Celestial Book Deduction’ all to Advanced at once, right?’

’Wait a minute.’

’Is there another possibility?’

’Upgrading the Second Magnetic Core to ’Epic’?’

Gao Neng swallowed hard.

’This welfare mission from the Scam System is really damn tempting.’

’And it’s exactly what I need most.’

’Most importantly, my Evolution is already at 6/10. As long as I complete this mission, it can reach 7/10, which is a crucial point.’

Because Gao Neng had been intending to upgrade the system again.

After all, he had already successfully completed six missions. If he were to give up now, it would feel... like all his previous efforts had gone to waste.

The Scam System’s second upgrade had given him a 100% success rate attribute.

He had already witnessed its effects.

Weapon forging with a 100% success rate had allowed him to craft a Tier-7 gene weapon in one go. In the future, he could also create countless pills.

’If it weren’t for the second upgrade...’

’I might not have made it this far.’

’So, what attribute will appear with the third system upgrade?’

’I hardly even need to think about it.’

’It will definitely be even more ridiculously powerful than the second upgrade.’

Because Gao Neng knew very well that while the Scam System’s missions were treacherous, the rewards and items it gave were absolutely proportional to the difficulty of the task.

It truly lived up to the old saying.

The greater the risk, the greater the reward.

And the situation before him was just the same...

’The rewards for this welfare mission are absolutely insane.’

’Three chances to upgrade skills.’

’But looking at it from the other side...’

’Since the reward is so high, the risk must be equally high.’

"Twenty thousand meters... Just kill me now!" Gao Neng could already imagine that if he really rushed down there like this, he’d be dead nine times out of ten.

’Should I give up?’

’Or maybe wait until I’m stronger and come back?’

’Like when I’m Tier-9, or... one of the Strongest?’

’But how long would I have to wait to reach that point?’

’A year? Or two?’

’Besides, if I miss this opportunity, it’ll be very difficult to come down into this Demon Abyss again. The Alliance will definitely seal this place off.’

’What should I do?’

’Charge down!’

’Or give up?’

Gao Neng’s mind was in turmoil.

’Reason tells me the Scam System is definitely doing this on purpose.’

’First, it deliberately told me this was a ’welfare’ mission to trick me into accepting it. Then, it threw out a reward I couldn’t possibly refuse to lure me down.’

’Truly sinister intentions!’

’So, giving up is the best choice.’

’But the problem is, I really can’t refuse this reward.’

"Scam System, you’ve gotten smarter!!!" Gao Neng gritted his teeth in frustration. If it weren’t for this welfare mission, he would have absolutely turned around and left right now.

But now that it was here, it was like Shen Ning’Er had already stripped naked. How could he possibly not go for it at a time like this?

"Thank you for the compliment, Host. I also took great pains to ensure you’d fall for the trap," the mechanical voice responded at this moment.

"..." Gao Neng was speechless.

’This thing has no bottom line at all.’

’It’s not even trying to hide it. It’s telling me straight up, ’I’m screwing you over, what about it? If you don’t want to accept, I don’t mind.’’

’I really want to start cursing.’

"Gao Neng, we’ve reached 8,000 meters. Let’s go back up." Just then, the Furious Giant Ape that Shen Ning’Er had fused with arrived, carrying Fang Tangtang.

"Ning’Er, can I ask you two questions?" Gao Neng looked at Shen Ning’Er.

"Mm, go ahead."

"First question. Let’s say there’s a place up ahead where attribute materials grow, with over two hundred of them. You can confirm there are no Dark Creatures around, meaning there’s no danger. However, Li Tiannan and Sword Elder specifically instructed you to absolutely not go below 8,000 meters. What would you choose to do?"

"You’re sure there’s no danger?"

"Yes."

"I wouldn’t go down," Shen Ning’Er replied after a moment of thought.

"Why not? If it were me, I’d definitely go!" Fang Tangtang immediately interjected after hearing the exchange between Shen Ning’Er and Gao Neng.

"I wasn’t asking you," Gao Neng shot Fang Tangtang a look.

’With Fang Tangtang, did I even need to ask?’

’Of course she’d go down.’

However, the fact that Shen Ning’Er said she wouldn’t go down even when there was no danger was somewhat unexpected for Gao Neng.

’But that line of thinking...’

’...actually aligns with my own initial decision.’

"Alright, second question. If you were certain that at 20,000 meters deep there was a treasure that could let you be ’reborn’—and by ’reborn,’ I mean becoming incredibly strong in an instant—and all the other conditions were the same as before, would you go down, Ning’Er?" Gao Neng asked again.

"I would!" Fang Tangtang immediately answered first.

"Shut it!" Gao Neng shot Fang Tangtang a glare.

"Twenty thousand meters, a treasure that lets you be reborn, becoming incredibly strong... Hmm, so you mean, if I go down, it’s either death or becoming extremely powerful, right?" Shen Ning’Er pondered again for a moment.

"Mm," Gao Neng nodded.

"Then I would go down," Shen Ning’Er said very seriously.

"Why? Before, when there was no danger, you wouldn’t go down. Why would you go down this time, to 20,000 meters, knowing you might die?" Gao Neng was a little confused.

"Because the returns are different," Shen Ning’Er explained. "For two hundred attribute materials, if I disobey the advice of two of the Strongest and act on my own, the return isn’t proportional to the price I’d pay. But if it’s an opportunity to become extremely powerful, that’s another matter entirely."

"How is it different?"

"Simply put, ’When a general is in the field, he need not follow all his lord’s commands,’" Shen Ning’Er replied.

"’When a general is in the field, he need not follow all his lord’s commands?’" Gao Neng’s eyes narrowed slightly as he mulled over the phrase. In an instant, he understood what Shen Ning’Er meant.

Shen Ning’Er had directly transformed his hypothetical questions into two different battlefield scenarios.

In the first scenario, the commander orders you to retreat. You know that if you don’t, you can slay five hundred enemies and earn a small merit.

But the price is disobeying a direct order on the battlefield.

In this situation, Shen Ning’Er’s choice is to retreat.

Because she feels that compared to slaying five hundred enemies, the commander’s order is more important.

The second scenario, however, is different.

The commander still orders you to retreat, but you know that if you don’t, you can turn the tide of the entire battle, perhaps even securing ultimate victory in the war with a single move.

In that case, Shen Ning’Er’s choice is to advance!

Even if it means disobeying the commander’s order, she would still advance.

This was the meaning behind what Shen Ning’Er called, "When a general is in the field, he need not follow all his lord’s commands."

In fact, after thinking through the meaning of Shen Ning’Er’s words, Gao Neng had already made his choice.

’Three chances to upgrade special skills.’

’It’s just too tempting.’

’If I give up this chance, it’s unknown if I’ll ever get a reward like this again. And most importantly, there are countless treasures in the Demon Abyss.’

’At just 8,000 meters, I’ve already obtained over a thousand attribute raw materials and several hundred pieces of Magnetic Crystal Ore.’

’Twenty thousand meters...’

’What’s down there?!’

’It definitely won’t be as simple as just attribute raw materials and Magnetic Crystal Ore.’

Gao Neng even had a guess that the 20,000-meter mark specifically designated by the Scam System might be related to the true secret of the Demon Abyss.

"Son of a bitch... I’m doing it!" Gao Neng’s jaw tightened, and his grip on his black longsword instantly firmed. His gaze once again stared straight ahead.

’To hell with 20,000 meters!’

’What danger could there be?’

’I’m risking it all.’

’A welfare mission, right?’

’Three upgrade chances, right?’

’Then bring it on!’

Just as the ancient saying goes: if you want to succeed, don’t be a coward—just get in there and do it!