I Can Control Resources

Most importantly, he could see for miles even while underground!

It was the absolute perfect skill for stealing treasures and assassinating targets. Bar none!

"So this is the power of an Epic-level ability?!" Gao Neng had expected his second magnetic core to be extremely powerful after upgrading it to Epic.

But he had never imagined it would be *this* powerful.

’If I’d known it would be this strong...’

’I should have upgraded this skill sooner.’

Gao Neng felt a pang of regret.

But at the same time, a powerful sense of anticipation washed over him.

’The Four Symbols ability is so powerful.’

’So, what about my other skills?’

’Take Life Element Fusion, for example. That’s an ability that directly boosts my combat power. If I upgrade it to Epic, what would happen?’

’It’d have to be a Transformer!’

’Right?!’

’And what about "Glare At You," my most powerful observation skill? It’s only at the Intermediate level right now. What would happen when it gets to Advanced, and then to Epic?’

’X-ray vision that strips people’s clothes off?’

’Right?!’

"I’m seriously super-freaking-strong now!" Gao Neng’s excitement surged, and the frustration that had been weighing on his heart vanished in an instant.

It was just like they said: cheating is a momentary bliss, but cheating forever is eternal bliss.

’I have to do way more quests in the future!’

’Wait!’

’That’s not right!’

’I can’t be thinking like that.’

’Do quests? No way I’m doing quests. I’m this strong already, what’s the point?’

SWISH!

Just then, another vine lashed out.

It struck Gao Neng square in the back, slamming him against the icy surface of the cliff.

’Great. That snapped me out of it!’

"Ptooey!" Gao Neng spat. Now it was time to resolve his current predicament, but how to do so was still a problem.

Now that he possessed four magnetic cores, the first thing Gao Neng did was to continuously... pop pills.

Without any hesitation, he pulled out a large handful of Energy Pills and tipped them into his mouth like he was pouring out a bag of beans.

"Crunchy and delicious!" Gao Neng smacked his lips a few times. As he waited for his four magnetic cores to fill with energy, his mind raced, trying to figure out how to use his new abilities to break the stalemate.

The Illusion Realm had already been broken by Gao Xiaomeng.

The Cyan Dragon attribute seemed useless for now, but in reality, Gao Neng felt it was the only thing that could get him out of this situation.

’Create an illusion!’

’That’s the Cyan Dragon attribute’s real trump card.’

"Illusion Creation!" Gao Neng first targeted the Devourer. He casually created an illusion for it of himself and Gao Xiaomeng dying.

The Devourer had no consciousness.

But it had instincts.

What Gao Neng showed the Devourer was meant to appeal to its *instinct*.

He wanted the Devourer to instinctively believe that it had already drained all the energy from him and Gao Xiaomeng. If so, it would naturally leave on its own.

The moment the illusion appeared, Gao Neng felt the Devourer tremble noticeably.

Then, the gray mist that had been tightly latched onto him and Gao Xiaomeng began to slowly detach, as if in a state of satisfaction.

"’It worked!’" Gao Neng was overjoyed.

Solving the massive problem of the Devourer not only confirmed the ability of his Cyan Dragon attribute, but also made him understand its true power.

This illusion-creation attribute was, indeed, super-freaking-strong!

So, what should he do next?

As Gao Neng watched the satisfied Devourer depart, a new thought suddenly popped into his head. ’Letting this thing go just like that... seems like I’d be letting it off too easy, right?’

’Mmm, I’ll make it absorb something else!’

’Get back here and deal with these vines!’ Not giving the Devourer a chance to leave, Gao Neng immediately created a new illusion for it.

The content of the illusion was simple.

The vines before it all transformed into Dark Ants.

The instant the illusion appeared, the Devourer’s body trembled once more. Then, it slowly ’looked’ at the ice vines on the cliff face.

It seemed a little hesitant.

For some reason, it didn’t immediately float over.

’Is it because it’s too cold? So it doesn’t want to stay here? Hmm... Then I’ll just make the temperature a little warmer!’ Gao Neng immediately guessed the problem and added another layer to the illusion, tricking the Devourer into thinking this was a suitable environment for it to survive.

Sure enough, once this illusion was in place, the Devourer immediately grew excited and pounced on the ice vines growing on the cliff without any hesitation.

SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!

The ice vines were entangled by the Devourer.

They began to flail and slap at themselves, just as Gao Xiaomeng had done.

But once the Devourer latched on, it would never let go. Furthermore, the Devourer was immune to physical and Spiritual Power attacks. No matter how much the vines flailed, it had only one thought... Absorb!

"I’m a genius! Gao Xiaomeng, see that? This is how a true expert handles things!" Gao Neng grinned. It was a classic case of the fisherman profiting while the snipe and the clam fought.

Now the original illusion was broken, and the ice vines were tied up by the Devourer.

This was the perfect opportunity to press onward.

Moreover, Gao Neng now had another huge advantage: he could hide his aura.

Could he be any more OP?!

"Ding! The Host has used Illusion Creation a total of three times. Each use deducts two million Alliance Coins. Total deduction: Six million." The mechanical voice rang out at this moment.

"???" said Gao Neng.

’It didn’t say that in the ability description?!’

’You didn’t say you were going to charge me!’

’Fuck, you dumbass system, you’re pulling this crap again, aren’t you?!’

"Alright, this ability is actually quite useful. Two million Alliance Coins per use is a real bargain. But... why was it three times? I clearly only created two illusions," Gao Neng asked amiably, not waiting for the dumbass system to ask if he wanted to downgrade the ability again.

"Because the Host added a supplement after the second illusion," said the mechanical voice.

"The temperature supplement counts too?"

"..." The system didn’t speak this time, but its meaning was clear. ’I’m such a fair and impartial entity. Did you really think I’d miscalculate?’

Without getting another reply from the system, Gao Neng could only give it the middle finger and curse, "Gan Liniang!"

"Black Tortoise Attribute Ability: Hide Aura." Gao Neng began to fly downward.

"Using Hide Aura: Consumes 100,000 Alliance Coins per minute, per person." The mechanical voice sounded again.

"I’m used to it. I’m calm. What does ’per person’ mean? Does it mean I can not only hide myself, but also help others hide?" Gao Neng asked as he flew.

"Correct," said the mechanical voice.

"How is the price calculated?"

"Try it and see."

"Hmph. A very dumbass answer." Gao Neng nodded. He wasn’t going to argue, because he didn’t need the dumbass system’s response. He just tried it out on Gao Xiaomeng directly.

"Consuming 200,000 Alliance Coins per minute / 1 person, 1 cat." The mechanical reminder sounded promptly.

"Whoa, the dumbass system grew a conscience? I thought it would multiply the cost by ten, making it a million Alliance Coins per minute. It only doubled it? That’s practically a bargain!" Gao Neng was pleasantly surprised.

"If the Host makes this request, the system can satisfy it."

"I praise your newfound conscience, but trying to screw me over right after? That’s not cool. We won’t be friends if you keep that up." Gao Neng chuckled and started to accelerate.

"..." The dumbass system didn’t answer right away.

Gao Neng didn’t care.

His goal was ahead. He was now at a depth of over 17,000 meters, with only a final sprint of a little over 2,000 meters to reach the 20,000-meter mark. He decided to go take a look.

As for the attribute raw materials along the way, he naturally wasn’t going to pass them up.

"In view of the Host using the word ’friends’ just now, the system will offer a friendly tip: Please use violent methods to achieve true cooperation with Gao Xiaomeng. Because her true ability is the key to whether the Host can survive!" The mechanical voice suddenly rang out again just as Gao Neng was preparing to charge down in one go.

"!!!!" Gao Neng came to an abrupt halt.

’A friendly tip?!’

’Violent methods?!’

’Gao Xiaomeng’s... true ability?!’

’Holy shit, this dumbass system is so sinister! It’s only giving me a "friendly tip" now?!’