I Can Control Resources

But if Gao Xiaomeng really is that liquid lifeform...

Then how did it know I hit it with a wrench and a hammer at the Dream Toy Factory?

’Nip any crisis in the bud? Gao Xiaomeng is unconscious right now. Is this the perfect chance to turn it into soup?’ Gao Neng’s fist clenched and unclenched, over and over...

After agonizing over it for five minutes.

He ultimately decided to wait and see.

The main reason was that when Gao Xiaomeng had turned into a "magnetic pile" just now, it had felt a bit odd. That sensation was somewhat different from a genuine "magnetic pile."

A genuine magnetic pile possessed a powerful "devouring" force. When he’d borrowed its power, he had been completely unable to control it. It felt like being held in an unshakeable grip, as if he could be pulled into another world at any moment.

But the sensation from Gao Xiaomeng just now hadn’t been like that at all.

Although Gao Xiaomeng also had a power similar to a magnetic pile, that power had instead formed a cycle with Gao Neng.

’So, *this* is a true fusion?’ Gao Neng’s expression turned odd at the thought. ’Did I just fuse with a cat?’

Er...

Regardless, this power within Gao Xiaomeng was worth investigating.

Gao Neng didn’t dwell on it. He could already hear a commotion in the distance. Someone was coming. A lot of someones, by the sound of it, and they were moving quickly.

"You all should go. I’ll take care of Gao Xiaomeng," Gao Neng called out to the surrounding stray cats.

"MEOW MEOW MEOW..."

"..."

The stray cats stared at Gao Neng, their expressions baffled.

"Er, I’ll take care of your Xiaomeng Queen!" Gao Neng said, freezing for a second. He then remembered the title Gao Xiaomeng had used for herself.

"MEOW!"

The stray cats understood this time.

In a flash, they all scattered and were gone.

Just then, several figures appeared in the distance. They looked somewhat familiar. The person in the lead was the very same student from the girls’ high school who had escaped earlier.

"Gao Neng is over there!"

"Major Shen, Principal Xue, I’ve found Gao Neng!"

"Hmm?! Where is he?"

In no time, Gao Neng was surrounded by a crowd.

’Looks like the student from the girls’ high school contacted the school after she escaped,’ Gao Neng thought.

The moment Shen Ning’Er saw Gao Neng, a flicker of urgency crossed her eyes. But upon seeing the pointed-eared woman on the ground, she quickly concealed it.

"Are you alright?" Shen Ning’Er asked, her tone level.

"I’m fine. I ran into a non-human on the way and took care of it," Gao Neng said with a smile, offering no further explanation.

"A non-human... a Dark Elf..." Shen Ning’Er seemed to want to say something, but ultimately held her tongue. She simply waved a hand at Lieutenant Chen, who was standing behind her. "Lieutenant Chen, please secure the Dark Elf and have the body sent to the research institute."

"Yes, ma’am!" Lieutenant Chen nodded.

The others only started to approach then.

"Gao Neng, thank you for saving my four students," Xue Jingjing, the principal of the girls’ high school, said immediately, nodding at him.

She was a woman in her thirties, wearing light makeup. While not stunningly beautiful, she carried herself with the grace of a mature woman.

"Four?" Gao Neng asked, surprised.

"Yeah, Sister Lingling didn’t die. She’s seriously injured, but she’s alive. And Li Lanlan only has minor injuries," the student from the girls’ high school quickly explained.

"Oh, I see. That’s great..." Gao Neng nodded, not saying anything else.

"Gao Neng, you did very well. What happened to Jin Lingling isn’t your fault. After all, you encountered a Dark Elf. Even a typical Energy Warrior would be no match for her. It’s just a shame she probably won’t be able to continue with the college entrance exams... By the way, how exactly did you kill her?" Xue Jingjing glanced at the pointed-eared woman on the ground, who couldn’t be any more dead, and felt a chill run down her spine.

"Well..."

"Haha, I was just asking. My apologies, that was presumptuous of me. Everyone has their secrets; I shouldn’t have pried. Anyway, I’m just glad you’re okay." Xue Jingjing smiled and didn’t press the matter.

"..." Gao Neng remained silent.

...

It was ten o’clock at night when Gao Neng returned home.

As always, Xu Zilan had left dinner out for him.

Gao Neng didn’t tell Xu Zilan about killing the Dark Elf. He only mentioned his results from the preparatory test, not wanting her to worry.

Upon hearing Gao Neng’s talent test results, Xu Zilan’s expression changed visibly. Finally, she began to cry softly.

Gao Neng rarely saw Xu Zilan cry...

But he could tell they were tears of joy.

’Mom, don’t worry. I’ll definitely get stronger. I’ll be able to protect you. You’ve raised me for eighteen years, and I’ll never let any harm come to you!’ Gao Neng vowed this silently. He now felt an overwhelming urgency to become stronger and leave the Forgotten Land.

City of Hope!

Military University!

’I have to get in!’

’The Forgotten Land is too dangerous. If there’s one Dark Elf, there could easily be a second. They’re already targeting me. They want to kill me...’

’I’ll only be safe once I get to the City of Hope!’

’But there’s still one problem. The trial period for the Eye of Deprivation is over. If I don’t pay the renewal fee, the skill will be temporarily disabled.’

"System, how do I renew the Eye of Deprivation?" Gao Neng only had this one skill, and after a moment’s thought, he decided he shouldn’t let it go to waste. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"100 Alliance Coins per day," the mechanical voice replied.

"That expensive? Why don’t you just rob people?!"

"You could also choose not to renew. If you don’t, the skill will disappear completely."

"Harsh. What if I renew for a longer period? Like, for a month? How much would that be?" Gao Neng asked, gritting his teeth.

"3,000 Alliance Coins."

"No discount for thirty days? Fine, I’ll renew for five."

"Apologies. The minimum renewal period is thirty days."

"..." Gao Neng was silent. He remained silent. Then, he found he couldn’t take it anymore. "You piece of crap system, you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?"

"Host has been detected using the insult ’piece of crap.’ Renewal period increased to forty days."

"..." Gao Neng said nothing more.

He chose to renew.

Soon, the number ’40 days’ appeared next to the Eye of Deprivation. At the same time, he noticed that the 9,000 Alliance Coins Xu Zilan had given back to him was now 4,000 short.

"Piece of crap, piece of crap, piece of crap, piece of crap, piece of crap, piece of crap, piece of crap, piece of crap, piece of crap, piece of crap, piece of crap, piece of crap, piece of crap, piece of crap..." Gao Neng immediately cursed non-stop for a full five minutes.

"..." The system remained silent.

...

「Two days later.」

Date: June 6th.

Early in the morning, during the self-study period, Li Qingping personally made a school-wide broadcast commending Gao Neng for killing a Dark Elf. He also awarded Gao Neng one thousand Alliance Coins.

After receiving the one thousand Alliance Coins, Gao Neng immediately had Li Qingping contact Lieutenant Chen from the Military Department. Lieutenant Chen was silent for five seconds before ultimately applying for a five-thousand-Alliance-Coin bonus from the Military Department on his behalf.

In total, he had received six thousand Alliance Coins.

Gao Neng pocketed five thousand of the Alliance Coins and gave the remaining one thousand to Principal Xue Jingjing of the girls’ high school, asking her to pass it on to Jin Lingling. Then, he said seriously, "I’m going to do something big in the future. I hope you won’t be angry, Principal Xue!"

Xue Jingjing looked completely baffled.

She didn’t quite understand what he meant, but she was pleased by his act of kindness. She then went on to publicize Gao Neng’s heroic deeds throughout the girls’ high school once more.

Overnight, Gao Neng’s popularity at the girls’ high school soared once again.

Then...

In a flash, another day went by.

Date: June 7th.

Gao Xiaomeng was still in a coma, but the college entrance exams had officially begun. They would last for two days, with half a day dedicated to theory and a day and a half to practical combat.

people.

That was the total number of participants from the Forgotten Land taking the college entrance exam.

As expected, the theory exam was held at First High School. The practical exam, however, would take place at the military training base on the outskirts of the city.

Early in the morning, members of the Military Department and the Public Security Bureau had formed an iron-tight cordon around First High School.

"Gao Neng, I heard you killed a Dark Elf? That’s incredible! Can I get a picture with you?"

"I want a picture too!"

"Me too, me too..."

The moment Gao Neng appeared, he was swarmed by students from the girls’ high school.

A few students from First High were mixed in with the crowd as well. As for Second High and Fourth High... no one from those schools seemed to want a picture with him.

BRRRING!

The bell to enter the examination hall rang.

Li Qingping nodded at Gao Neng. "Gao Neng, you have to give it your all this time. Do your best on the exam!"

"Principal Li, do you really want to be the chairman of the Supervisory Committee?" Gao Neng didn’t head in immediately. Instead, his eyes darted to Li Qingping’s breast pocket.

"..." Li Qingping was momentarily confused as to why Gao Neng had suddenly brought that up again. But he subconsciously followed Gao Neng’s gaze downward. His old face flushed slightly. "This pen... It’s been with me for three years, through thick and thin... Fine, it’s yours. May it bring you great results on your exam!"

"Thank you, Principal Li! I’ll be sure to do my best!" Gao Neng nodded, accepting the Alloy Steel Pen from Li Qingping with a brilliant smile.

He also took another glance at his quest log.

"Ultimate Mission 2/5: I Am the Overlord."

"Mission Description: A true overlord doesn’t just dominate their own small turf; they dominate the entire Alliance. From the moment you pick up your pen, idioms like ’words that blossom into flowers’ or ’a Midas touch’ are insufficient to describe your dominance. You are the king of the examination hall. No one can challenge your authority!"

"Completion Condition: Dominate the Human Alliance in the theory exam. Become the top scorer in the theory portion of the college entrance exam for the entire Alliance, not just for the Forgotten Land."

’The conditions are clear enough. It’s just that line in the description: "You are the king of the examination hall. No one can challenge your authority!" It seems a little strange. Is someone actually going to try and fight me in the exam hall? No way, right...?’ Gao Neng read it over carefully one more time before deciding not to dwell on it.

’Yeah, what kind of trouble could possibly pop up? The security here is so tight, and I’ve been studying for three days straight. It’s just getting first place on the theory exam...’

So easy!