I Can Control Resources

The man and cat rushed down.

They crossed mountains and seas... passing the eight-thousand-meter limit.

Gao Neng fully unleashed his Spiritual Power, carefully scouting ahead for any Dark Creatures. To his delight, it was indeed perfectly safe.

However, he still couldn’t be careless.

Danger was bound to arrive; it was only a matter of when.

He didn’t waste a single second.

Upon reaching the first patch fifty meters away, Gao Neng immediately began harvesting.

In a matter of moments, he had harvested over two hundred attribute materials.

Gao Neng let out a breath of relief.

The eight-thousand-meter safe distance Li Tiannan mentioned was really just an approximation. From the looks of it, the area below might not be as terrifying as he had imagined.

At the very least, he should be able to reach twelve thousand meters.

’With that in mind,’ Gao Neng plunged down the cliff face again.

Eight thousand three hundred meters.

Eight thousand five hundred meters...

Eight thousand eight hundred meters.

Nine thousand meters!

...

Gao Neng continued his descent.

Along the way, he harvested two patches of materials.

Each patch was larger than the one before.

By now, he had gathered a total of nearly 1,500 stalks of attribute materials.

Of course, he also encountered a little bit of resistance along the way.

Two Tier Seven Early Stage Dark Creatures tried to ambush him, but before they could, Gao Neng had already struck first, repelling them.

After he passed through their territory, neither of the Dark Creatures gave chase.

Judging from this, it seemed Dark Creatures kept to their own territories unless something sufficiently attractive lured them out.

This was pretty good news for Gao Neng, because what he feared most was Dark Creatures gathering in greater and greater numbers while chasing him.

"Gao Xiaomeng, I thought we were in this together? Those two Dark Creatures tried to ambush me just now, why didn’t you do anything?" Gao Neng asked as he continued to dive down.

"They’re just Tier Seven Early Stage Dark Creatures. They don’t have much intelligence. As long as you can wound them in one move, they’ll instinctively run away. What was there for me to do?" Gao Xiaomeng said with disdain.

"If you don’t help, you don’t get any rewards!" Gao Neng knew what Gao Xiaomeng was thinking, but he really wanted to find out her true strength.

If Gao Xiaomeng never acted, this mystery would be hard to solve.

So, he had to force her hand.

He had to see in advance what kind of methods Gao Xiaomeng had for dealing with high-tier Dark Creatures.

"Hmph!" Gao Xiaomeng raised her head, not answering Gao Neng’s question.

Gao Neng continued his dive.

Soon, another Tier Seven Early Stage Dark Creature appeared, blocking their path.

This time, Gao Neng didn’t rush to act. Instead, he turned his gaze to Gao Xiaomeng. His meaning was clear: ’It’s your time to shine.’

"Just this one?" Gao Xiaomeng lazily toyed with her whiskers.

"Yep, just this one," Gao Neng nodded.

"What a waste of my talent..." Gao Xiaomeng seemed a bit displeased, but she still turned her gaze towards a lizard-like Dark Creature hiding in the darkness not far away.

Then, her gaze gradually sharpened.

A light flickered within them.

And then, Gao Xiaomeng spoke.

"Get lost!"

The Dark Creature let out an unwilling growl, and then, as if struck by lightning, all the Scale Armor on its body stood on end.

Three seconds later.

The Dark Creature fled at top speed.

It fled...

It ran?!

"..." Gao Neng was speechless.

’What the hell!’

’So this is Gao Xiaomeng’s big move?!’

’What was that about?’

A Tier Seven Early Stage Dark Creature was actually scared away by a single sentence from Gao Xiaomeng.

’Are all Dark Creatures this cowardly nowadays?’

Gao Neng had a few choice words he wanted to say but decided to hold his tongue. After all, he was a model youth of the new era, a champion of civility.

However, from the looks of it, Gao Xiaomeng really did have some secrets.

Still, a single Tier Seven Early Stage Dark Creature wasn’t enough to gauge Gao Xiaomeng’s true power. ’If I get the chance...’

Cough, cough!

’Charge!’ Gao Neng shook off the chaotic thoughts in his mind and refocused his Spiritual Power, scouting the few hundred meters ahead of him.

Right now, he and Gao Xiaomeng had already reached the ten-thousand-meter mark.

Another two thousand meters to go.

Then he could complete the Gherkin System’s first mission node.

Twelve thousand meters.

The goal was almost within reach.

He was thrilled.

This bonus mission from the Gherkin System was a real jackpot.

It was like finding free money.

What delighted Gao Neng even more was that he couldn’t find a single Dark Creature in the entire seven or eight hundred meters ahead. It was a rare, clear path.

’So what am I waiting for?’

’Let’s go!’

Gao Neng charged down with Gao Xiaomeng in tow.

...

「At a depth of around three thousand meters in the Demon Abyss.」

A Tier Nine Dark Creature, struck by Sword Elder’s fist, slammed directly into the cliff wall. It continuously spat out puddles of green liquid.

"A few more punches! I refuse to believe you won’t spit it out!" Sword Elder was in a frenzy. He couldn’t kill this Dark Creature directly; he had to beat it until it spat out the Golden Tree Heart.

"Stop wasting your breath!" Li Tiannan charged forward.

Another punch!

BOOM!

The Dark Creature’s eyes were filled with ferocity.

Its four eyes stared fixedly at Sword Elder and Li Tiannan. It wanted to escape, but how could Li Tiannan and Sword Elder possibly give it the chance?

"Spit it out!"

"Spit it out, damn you!"

The two of them struck one after another, pounding the Dark Creature until its four eyes looked like they were about to split.

Just then, several figures shot down from above. Leading them was none other than the Vice Governor of the Underground City, Yutian.

Besides him, there were several other high-tier individuals.

"Yutian greets Elder Li and Sword Elder. Why haven’t I seen Gao Neng, Shen Ning’Er, or Fang Tangtang?" Upon landing, Yutian immediately noticed the Tier Nine Dark Creature embedded in the wall getting thrashed.

Despite his surprise, he didn’t ask any questions about the Dark Creature.

Because, although he was the Vice Governor of the Underground City, some matters were still not for him to interfere in. That was the domain of the Strongest.

However, ensuring the safety of Gao Neng, Shen Ning’Er, and the others was part of his duties.

After all, this was the mission given to him by the Federation Government.

"That brat Gao Neng is up ahead collecting... Huh? Is he coming up?" Li Tiannan trailed off, his expression suddenly turning to one of surprise.

Because, according to his judgment...

Gao Neng would very likely dally down there for a while longer.

The reason was, Li Tiannan had never actually calculated the speed at which Gao Neng could gather raw materials.

Of course, these were all minor issues.

The fact that Gao Neng was returning on his own was a relief.

To be honest...

He had been genuinely afraid that Gao Neng would be reluctant to come back up.

"Gao Neng, while you were gone, this master of yours has been worrying about you constantly... Hmm?!" Sword Elder casually teased upon seeing the Flying Earth Dragon.

But he quickly realized there was a problem.

In fact, it wasn’t just him.

Li Tiannan, Yutian, and the others also discovered the problem as the Flying Earth Dragon got closer.

Fang Tangtang had passed out.

Shen Ning’Er had also passed out.

Most importantly, Gao Neng wasn’t there!

"Where’s Gao Neng?!"

"Quick, he must be just below!"

"Something’s happened! Save him!"

Yutian and the several high-tiers were all alarmed.

Immediately, Yutian and the others shot downwards.

Logically speaking, this was the Demon Abyss, so the range of one’s Spiritual Power shouldn’t be too great. And controlling the Flying Earth Dragon required Gao Neng’s Spiritual Power.

The Flying Earth Dragon had now appeared before them.

So, where could Gao Neng be?

He must be nearby!

Yutian and the others charged down and began searching everywhere.

However, they soon returned.

"He’s not here!"

"We’ve searched a two-hundred-meter radius!"

"Not within three hundred meters either!"

"Not even at seven hundred meters!"

"Could his Spiritual Power possibly cover more than a thousand meters? No way!"

After Yutian and the others returned, every one of them was filled with doubt.

At this moment, the Flying Earth Dragon had delivered Shen Ning’Er and Fang Tangtang to Sword Elder, and then it immediately dissolved into a cloud of Elemental Energy.

"It’s gone!"

"He lost control?!"

"Oh no, something really has happened to Gao Neng!"

Yutian and the others were all shocked.

Li Tiannan and Sword Elder shot each other a look. At almost the same instant, a look of horror appeared in both their eyes.

"It’s the power of the Magnetic Mountain!" Sword Elder’s tone was extremely grave.

"That brat was just telling me about average speed multiplied by time equals total distance... Oh no, that brat has probably gone below eight thousand meters!" Li Tiannan was suddenly jolted into realization.

But as this thought flashed through his mind, he was truly shaken.

Because, if Gao Neng was really below eight thousand meters right now, it meant his Spiritual Power could scan a distance of several thousand meters within the Demon Abyss.

What a terrifying thought!

He couldn’t believe it.

But if that wasn’t the reason, why would Gao Neng have knocked out Shen Ning’Er and Fang Tangtang and had the Flying Earth Dragon specially deliver them up here?

"A distance of several thousand meters... can his Spiritual Power really reach that far?" Sword Elder had naturally thought of this question as well, but he also found it impossible to believe.

"Of course he can’t... but if he really can borrow the power of the Magnetic Mountain like we guessed, then nothing is impossible!" Li Tiannan’s expression became extremely grim.

"You think he really went down?" Sword Elder looked at Li Tiannan. After all, when it came to understanding Gao Neng’s personality, Li Tiannan definitely knew him better.

"No, that kid is afraid of death. Under normal circumstances, he definitely wouldn’t risk going down, unless he discovered something special down there..." As Li Tiannan spoke, his fist clenched. "This won’t do. I can’t let that brat die here. Elder Jian, the Golden Tree Heart is up to you for now. I have to go down!"

"Alright, I’ll be right behind you!" Hearing this, Sword Elder naturally understood the severity of the situation and nodded without hesitation.

SWOOSH!

Li Tiannan had already charged down.

In truth, after the battle with the Dark Ghost Vine, he had already overexerted himself. Under normal circumstances, even he would not descend past a depth of ten thousand meters at a time like this.

Because he knew very well...

Once you pass a depth of ten thousand meters...

the Demon Abyss becomes a completely different world.

There were things there that even Spiritual Power could not detect.

’’You brat, you’d better not have really gone down!’’ Li Tiannan was frantic, but he also understood there was a ninety-percent chance Gao Neng had done just that.

And his target was definitely not just nine thousand meters.

(I need to iron out the world-building for the next Chapter. I’ll post it before 6 PM!)