I Can Control Resources

"A panoramic map!"

Gao Neng was ecstatic at the thought. After all, possessing a second magnetic core gave him an astounding, almost photographic memory.

Before, the flood of images in his mind had given him a headache.

But now, after he sorted through them with the codex, the images were being reorganized and filed away one by one.

It felt as if he were saving a series of video files.

He could access them anytime he wished.

As for whether having a panoramic map would make exploring the wilds too easy, or whether people would accuse him of cheating—that wasn’t something Gao Neng cared about.

’What’s wrong with a hack I earned with my own skills?’

As they say: Cheating is fun for a moment, but always cheating...

...is fun all the time.

Gao Neng had no desire to rush into a cave of unknown depth like a headless chicken, only to find who-knows-what at the end.

Now *that* would truly suck.

’First, you figure out how deep it goes.’

’Then you go and find out what’s really there.’

’How awesome is that!’

Besides, taking a step back, did having a panoramic map mean there were no dangers? The perils of the Underground City’s wilds were more than just skin-deep.

Take the underground river he’d seen, for example.

He could only see that something was moving about in it, but he had no idea what that something moving about actually was.

Of course, with the panoramic map, anything he did would be twice as effective with half the effort.

’It would be impossible not to soar!’

Just as he was lost in thought, the "thing" he had knocked over suddenly sprang up and swung a tiny fist right at his face.

"WHOOSH!" The punch carried a gust of wind!

"Hm? Who dares try to assassinate Us?!" Gao Neng instinctively took a step back, simultaneously preparing to sweep his foot toward his opponent’s crotch.

But just as his foot was about to connect...

His foot stopped.

Because he heard another furious shout.

"You stinky Gao Neng! You damned Gao Neng! I, Death God Fang Tangtang, was nice enough to come get you, and you dare attack me?!" As Fang Tangtang spoke, her tiny fist punched nothing but air.

"..." Gao Neng was speechless for a moment.

’No wonder I barely felt the impact.’

’So it was Fang Tangtang.’

’If she hadn’t yelled, I would’ve thought I’d run into a plastic board. It was a little soft, sure, but there was absolutely no give to it.’

He didn’t give it much thought.

Gao Neng sidestepped, circling around behind Fang Tangtang. Then, he raised his hand and brought it down on her butt.

"SMACK!"

The sound was crisp and loud.

"Are you a cat or something? You don’t make a sound when you walk."

"Meow!" Gao Xiaomeng, who was in fact a cat, let out a cry at that very moment. Then, with a flying leap, she pounced onto Gao Neng’s shoulder.

"Ah! I, Death God Fang Tangtang, will fight you to the death! Not only did you bully me, but you stole my Gao Xiaomeng the second you got here!" Fang Tangtang fumed.

"Alright, alright, stop messing around. I have a bold plan!" Gao Neng immediately stopped Fang Tangtang, casually stroking Gao Xiaomeng as he did.

Her fur was soft and smooth to the touch.

It felt great!

"Meeow..." Gao Xiaomeng tilted her head back and scratched at her whiskers with her paws. She didn’t seem to be refusing, but her attitude was as haughty as ever.

"What plan? How bold is it?" The moment Fang Tangtang heard there was a plan, she stopped making a fuss.

"Very bold! By the way, where’s Ning’Er?"

"Sister Ning’Er is in her room! Oh, right, it was Sister Ning’Er who sent me to get you. She said you should go find her in her room when you have a minute." Fang Tangtang finally remembered what she was there for.

"Is that so? Where is Ning’Er staying?"

"Next door to you!"

"Oh, that’s nice. What about you?"

"I’m next door to you, too!"

"..." said Gao Neng.

"Aren’t you happy? I saved this spot for you on purpose. The three of us are living right next to each other," Fang Tangtang said, tilting her little head up proudly.

"I’m very happy, indeed." Gao Neng nodded, while adding silently in his head, ’I’d be even happier if you weren’t next door!’

Of course, there was another thought in his mind that he didn’t dare dwell on.

...

Gao Neng first returned to his room.

Housing in the Underground City was actually extremely scarce. It was said that a single night’s stay here could cost several thousand, or even tens of thousands, of Alliance Coins.

After all, the energy concentration in the Underground City was ten times that of the surface.

None of this concerned Gao Neng, however. His accommodation was a small, independent courtyard house. The two-story building had a living room on the first floor and a bedroom and bathroom on the second, with a small garden outside.

It was a small building constructed entirely from ore; one could only imagine the cost.

Gao Neng and the others had agreed to meet in Shen Ning’Er’s room in half an hour, so after quickly tidying up, he headed out.

Just as Fang Tangtang had said, Shen Ning’Er’s room was next door to his, on the right.

The two rooms were less than ten meters apart.

Fang Tangtang’s was on the left.

As for Lin Ying, she was staying a bit farther away, about two hundred meters or so, but that was still considered close compared to where the others were.

Gao Neng rang Shen Ning’Er’s doorbell.

The door opened.

Shen Ning’Er was dressed in a tight-fitting workout outfit, her hair tied back. Her face and body were covered in a fine sheen of sweat.

She was clearly in the middle of a physical training session.

This didn’t surprise Gao Neng. Shen Ning’Er had always taken her physical conditioning very seriously; it had practically become a habit for her.

If she hadn’t, her scores on the various tests would never have been so high.