I Can Control Resources

Six simple words.

In a way, saying those six words was the same as saying nothing at all.

But Gao Neng knew that for someone with Shen Ning’Er’s intelligence, it was more than enough.

And just as he’d expected, Shen Ning’Er’s eyes lit up when she heard him. She gave him a thoughtful look, then leaned in close to his ear. "Aren’t you afraid I’ll discover your little secret now that you’ve told me this?"

"What little secret?" Gao Neng retorted.

"Heh." A smile touched Shen Ning’Er’s lips. She didn’t press the matter, instead turning to look behind them. "It sounds like there’s still some activity in the distance."

"Looks like quite a few people are heading for the Underground Swamp," Gao Neng said with a smile of his own.

"Mhm," Shen Ning’Er nodded.

Fang Tangtang was a little lost watching their back-and-forth, but she understood the last part. She immediately planted both hands on her hips.

"They dare try to snatch attribute raw materials from me, Death God Fang Tangtang? I’ll blast them flat with my cannon!"

"Heh." Gao Neng chuckled again but didn’t reply to Fang Tangtang. He knew that out here in the wild, conflict was inevitable.

To put it bluntly, it was just like fighting over loot drops in a video game.

Who’s to say that something is yours just because you found it first? Even among geniuses from the Human Alliance’s Dragon List, when it’s time to compete, you compete.

"Let’s go."

"Alright!"

The three of them and the cat pressed on.

Meanwhile, Li Tiannan and Sword Elder, who were watching from the shadows, frowned.

Far too many people had come to Restricted Area 317 this time. Between the Dragon List Geniuses and the adventure teams from the Underground City, there were easily over a hundred people.

With so many, a lot of things could spiral out of control.

"You old fossil, what’s your take on this?" Li Tiannan asked casually.

"With my eyes, of course. Don’t you have a pair of eyes that can see everything?" Sword Elder shot Li Tiannan a scornful glance.

"And you have a sword that can cut through anything!" Li Tiannan retorted, giving Sword Elder a look of his own. ’This old fox isn’t as simple as he looks,’ he cursed inwardly.

"Hahaha..." Sword Elder chuckled.

And with that, the two of them vanished once more.

...

With Gao Neng’s covert guidance,

Fang Tangtang’s chosen path began heading in the right direction. After more than half an hour, the trio and their cat arrived at a spot one kilometer from the Underground Swamp.

Even at a distance of one kilometer, the air was noticeably more humid than elsewhere. Combined with the biting cold wind, the conditions were far from pleasant.

More importantly, Gao Neng had the faint feeling that a group was tailing them from a distance. They weren’t closing in, but they weren’t falling back, either.

He was certain it wasn’t Yi Qinglian’s group, nor was it Li Tiannan—it was impossible for Gao Neng to sense Li Tiannan’s presence.

As for whether they were Dragon List Geniuses...

...or an adventure team from the Underground City...

He had no way of knowing.

"Are we being followed?" Fang Tangtang stopped, blinking as she stared at the faint figures barely visible behind them.

"Looks like it," Gao Neng nodded. He was, however, a little surprised. He remembered that Fang Tangtang’s Spiritual Power wasn’t particularly strong.

To be blunt, it was actually quite weak.

The people behind them were quite far away. Normally, the chances of Fang Tangtang noticing them should have been low.

But she obviously had.

’Could it be? Did her Spiritual Power have a breakthrough?’

’That makes no sense!’

’I never gave her any methods for cultivating Spiritual Power. So how on earth did she break through?’

"Then let’s hide!" Fang Tangtang, oblivious to Gao Neng’s thoughts, immediately suggested when she heard him confirm her suspicion.

"’Hide?’ Gao Neng’s mind stirred. ’They were actually already near one of the growth sites, but he hadn’t figured out how to lead Fang Tangtang or Shen Ning’Er to it yet.’"

Now, Fang Tangtang was suggesting they hide.

Her suggestion made Gao Neng’s eyes light up. It was an excellent cover, and it would also give them a chance to see who exactly was following them.

It was killing two birds with one stone.

’Why hadn’t I thought of that before?’

"Alright, let’s hide," Gao Neng agreed with a nod.

"Where should we hide? Oh, how about... we hide over there!" Fang Tangtang pointed. In the direction she indicated was a large boulder.

"Hm, not a bad spot," Gao Neng smiled.

He couldn’t help but smile.

’Isn’t this a little too convenient?’

The growth site for the attribute raw materials was only about fifty meters behind that very boulder. They were practically on top of their destination.

"Hahaha, I, Death God Fang Tangtang, have a great eye, don’t I? I really am a genius." Hearing Gao Neng’s approval, Fang Tangtang laughed triumphantly.

"Let’s go, Tangtang," Shen Ning’Er said, having no objections either.

The trio and their cat picked up the pace.

They soon reached the massive boulder.

It was surrounded by a few smaller rocks. Aided by the darkness, it was indeed a perfect hiding spot, provided they extinguished any light sources they had on them.

So, once the trio and the cat were beside the boulder, they effectively vanished from the sight of anyone watching.

The figures following them stopped.

They seemed to hesitate.

After waiting for two or three minutes, the figures began to advance again, cautiously making their way toward the boulder. Three or four minutes later, their forms became clear.

It was an adventure team from the Underground City.

Four of them in total.

They were all between thirty and forty years old and wore nearly identical field combat uniforms, indicating they were likely a regular, established team.

A team like that would have much better coordination.

Gao Neng was currently hidden at the base of the rock. Since they weren’t too far away, he could already make out their faces.

Without a moment’s hesitation,

he used his ’Scrutinize’ skill.

Information on all four of them quickly appeared before his eyes.

One Tier Seven Mid Stage, one Tier Seven Early Stage, and two Tier Six Late Stage. This was an incredibly powerful adventure team from the Underground City.

To think there were two high-tier experts in one group.

Gao Neng quickly flashed some hand signals at Shen Ning’Er. He held up his hands, signaling two sevens, then two sixes.

Shen Ning’Er glanced at his signals and gave him an "OK" sign back.

Fang Tangtang, however, just blinked at the two of them, her expression clearly saying, ’I don’t get it. Can you do a few more for me?’

Of course, Gao Neng wasn’t about to repeat the number signals for her. Instead, he made a gesture for ’get the cannon ready.’

That one, Fang Tangtang understood.

She immediately set up her No. 4 Electromagnetic Cannon.

Meanwhile, the four-person adventure team was drawing closer. However, as they were about to round the boulder, all four of them clearly hesitated.

It was obvious they were being extremely cautious.

After exchanging a glance, one of the four stepped forward.

"Is that Gao Neng and Colonel Shen’s team?" The one who spoke was one of the Tier Six Late Stage members, while the two Tier Sevens remained in the back.

... Gao Neng, of course, wasn’t going to answer.

Shen Ning’Er, however, frowned slightly and quickly flashed a ’something’s wrong’ sign to Gao Neng.

Gao Neng was from the Forgotten Land.

As such, he had a keen sense for danger.

Besides, he knew that in any serious negotiation, the one to step forward and speak would be the team leader, at the very least.

Failing that, it should have been the Tier Seven Early Stage expert.

But instead, they sent out a Tier Six Late Stage member.

This was clearly a probe.

Gao Neng didn’t think they intended to rob and murder them, but he was certain they would try to get a piece of the action if his group found any attribute materials.

"Hello, we mean no harm," the man said when Gao Neng’s group remained silent. "The Alliance sent us to secretly protect you Dragon List Geniuses. We happened to spot you, so we’ve been following along. Please don’t misunderstand."

"Hmph, trying to fool me, Death God Fang Tangtang? Not so easy! Gao Neng, should I give him a blast?" Fang Tangtang whispered to Gao Neng.

"No need, at least not for now." Gao Neng knew what they were after, but their motive was actually quite common. He wasn’t some naive saint, but he wasn’t a bloodthirsty maniac either.

So, he decided to resolve this in the simplest way possible.

With a flicker of his will,

the Tier Seven Genetic Weapon appeared directly in front of the man.

The distance was within the range of his magnetic field control, so Gao Neng could deploy the Tier Seven Genetic Weapon there directly.

"Huh?!" The man was clearly startled by the sudden appearance of Gao Neng before him.

"Go away," the Tier Seven Genetic Weapon said flatly.

"Gao Neng, don’t misunderstand. We just..."

"Get lost!" the Tier Seven Genetic Weapon repeated.

... The man froze. A vicious glint flashed in his eyes, but in the end, he turned to look back at the Tier Seven Mid Stage expert behind him.

The Tier Seven Mid Stage expert frowned, then gave a slight nod.

"Hahaha, well, if you feel you don’t need our protection, we’ll be on our way." The man chuckled, then immediately turned and rejoined his team.

Then, the team of four detoured around the boulder where Gao Neng’s group was hiding and continued on toward the Underground Swamp.

No conflict had broken out.

But Gao Neng could already sense the smell of gunpowder in the air—an aura of conflict that grew thicker the closer they got to the Underground Swamp.

On the path of the strong, if you don’t advance, you fall behind.

Gao Neng and his friends might have the prestigious title of Dragon List Genius, but that halo of glory could easily inspire jealousy in others. No one truly believed they were inferior.

Fateful encounters could sometimes create miracles.

This was especially true for high-tier experts, whose need for attribute materials was even more urgent than Gao Neng’s group.

Therefore, when it came to competing for resources, Gao Neng guessed that while the other team might not kill them, they wouldn’t hesitate to beat them down and leave them in the dust.

After all, the Underground City...

...wasn’t the exclusive domain of Dragon List Geniuses.

The Underground City belonged to the Human Alliance. Anyone who could enter it was an elite of the Human Alliance in their own right, and they needed resources just as much as anyone else.

The Federation Government was willing to provide resources for the Dragon List Geniuses.

But to expect everyone to hand over their own precious, hard-earned resources was simply impossible.

Resources were something one always had to fight for.

BOOM!

Just then, a massive explosion echoed from the distance.

It came from the direction of the Underground Swamp.

... Gao Neng frowned. Judging by the direction of the sound, it seemed to have come from the third growth area he had been planning to visit.

Of course, there was another growth area not far from his current position.

But that one only had ten plants.

Added to the twenty-odd plants he’d already acquired, that would barely bring his total to over thirty. He’d still be about twenty short of the fifty Li Tiannan had told him to get.

He wasn’t worried about the evolved specimens.

Even ten plants would be enough for that.

But being short on attribute raw materials...

...was going to be a problem.

Unless he circled all the way back to the other areas.

Gao Neng’s fists tightened. He knew his previous two successes had made him overlook one crucial fact: when enough people were searching, even the most hidden locations could be discovered.

’Sigh, looks like this Underground Swamp... isn’t big enough after all! Damn it all!’