I Can Control Resources

"..." Gao Neng almost coughed up blood. Last time, during the prep school exam, he’d been forced to call the Examiner an idiot in front of everyone. He’d put up with that.

This time, it was going too far!

’No more cursing, just straight to fighting?’

’And it was a damn whipping?! Should I drip a few drops of wax on Chen Bai’s body? Maybe rub a kitchen knife on his face for good measure?’

Gao Neng was genuinely baffled this time.

’He could never beat someone with Lieutenant Chen Bai’s strength. And even if he could, what then? If he really attacked Chen Bai, couldn’t Chen Bai just have him finished off after the combat assessment was over?’

’Most importantly, Chen Bai seemed to be in charge of this combat assessment. If he took the guy down, who was going to give him first place?’

"The theory portion is worth 30% of your grade, while the combat assessment is worth 70%. If you didn’t do well on theory, you’ll have to go all out in combat. Now, prepare for the combat assessment!" Chen Bai, completely oblivious to any personal threat, announced after the scores were posted, punctuating his command with a wave of his hand.

A few Examiners in black military uniforms immediately began clearing the area. They opened a side door of the cafeteria and led the students into the combat assessment zone.

Gao Neng naturally hurried to follow.

But the look he gave Chen Bai was a little complicated.

’How am I going to do this?’

He considered pretending to make small talk with Chen Bai to feel him out.

"Lieutenant Chen, what’s your combat strength usually like in a real fight? Could you tell us a bit about it?" Gao Neng found an opening and sidled up next to Chen Bai.

"Chatting with Examiners is prohibited until the combat assessment is over." Chen Bai gave Gao Neng a casual glance and strode away.

"..." Gao Neng was speechless.

’Pretty cautious, huh?’

...

Soon, under Chen Bai’s guidance, Gao Neng and the other students entered a sealed room. With black walls on all four sides, it looked like a prison.

"This is the site for the combat assessment?"

"There’s not even an arena... How are we supposed to fight?"

"Is it an escape room game?"

The students all looked bewildered.

"Stop guessing. The event for this combat assessment is... Battlefield Survival!" Chen Bai announced, standing at the front of the room to explain the rules.

"Battlefield survival?" the students repeated blankly.

"Through this door is the location for the assessment." Chen Bai pointed to a closed alloy door behind him and continued, "After you enter the Virtual Battlefield, you’ll be randomly assigned to one of ten different zones. What’s more, your appearance will change—you’ll be turned from humans into animals!"

"Turned into animals?" Now the students were even more confused.

"That’s right. The Virtual Battlefield contains many different species of animals. Some are native to the environment, while others are your fellow candidates. Your mission is to find the students disguised as animals and kill them. You’ll earn one point for every kill."

"Oh, I see." The students seemed to understand, but they were still puzzled. "Lieutenant Chen, why do we have to be turned into animals?"

"This is to test your camouflage and reconnaissance skills. Just like on a real battlefield, you can only survive if you know how to disguise yourself. You will never know who your opponents are, how strong they are, or where they’re hiding. Therefore, you must also possess sharp reconnaissance abilities to find opponents weaker than yourself. If your intelligence is faulty... well, congratulations, you’ll be killed by your target!"

"If we get killed, do we really die?"

"You won’t die, per se... but it will be very painful. Twice as painful as normal, in fact. Also, your strength, speed, and other abilities will be identical to your real-world stats. Finally, your score for this assessment is based on your kill count. In other words, if you just hide the whole time and don’t kill any opponents, you’ll be eliminated in the end!" Chen Bai explained.

"..." This time, the students understood perfectly.

They couldn’t just turtle.

Because even if they managed to survive until the very end by hiding, they’d still get a score of zero.

"The assessment will last for a day and a half," Chen Bai added. "Here’s a tip: remember to find food once you’re inside. Otherwise, you’ll probably starve to death."

"Liar! Didn’t you say there’d be whole roasted lamb? I didn’t eat at all!" Fatty from Third High stood up, his face a mask of indignation.

"You actually believed that?" Chen Bai sneered.

"I... I..." Fatty’s face flushed crimson.

"There really is a whole roasted lamb, but it’s reserved for the final victors. The top ten get to eat. As for the rest of you... you can enjoy watching them. One last thing: you won’t have a compass inside, but you will get an audio cue. This cue only gives a general direction. If you can’t find a way to navigate, you might just get struck by lightning and die."

"..." None of the students said another word. They were already strategizing: how could they kill the most opponents and still be the last one standing?

Gao Neng could pretty much guess what the other students were thinking.

’It all came down to one thing: teaming up!’

It was the simplest and most effective solution.

After all, if a team could actually survive to the end, they would have accumulated a good number of kills, meaning their final scores wouldn’t be too bad.

The only problem was...

The starting locations were random.

It was impossible to form teams in advance; they would have to find allies after entering the battlefield. That made establishing trust the biggest problem of all.

After all, an exam like this could determine your entire future!

Most importantly, with everyone’s appearance altered, their true natures would be laid bare. No one would know who their teammates really were. It was just like chatting online—you never knew if you were talking to a cute girl or some gross old guy picking his feet.

Someone could be shouting, "Hey, girl, let’s team up!" and then smash you over the head the second you turned your back. That was entirely possible, wasn’t it?

’Besides, Chen Bai must have anticipated the teaming-up strategy. It probably won’t be that easy, will it?’

"Time’s up! The combat assessment officially begins now!" Chen Bai announced after a glance at the time. As he spoke, the alloy door behind him slid open.

Gao Neng glanced inside.

The space beyond the alloy door was pitch-black, like an abyssal portal connecting to some other dimension.

’Must be some black-ops tech developed from that ’magnetic pile’ again,’ Gao Neng thought. He didn’t dwell on it, as the students had already begun filing in.

He took a step inside.

In the darkness, Gao Neng felt an unknown force cling to him, enveloping his entire body.

He took another step.

And his vision was suddenly flooded with light.

A small stream flowed at his feet, its water so clear he could see fish darting about.

Behind and all around him stretched a dense forest of towering trees. The sun shone brightly, and a refreshing breeze rustled through the leaves.

Looking at his surroundings, Gao Neng thought he was starting to understand what Chen Bai meant about needing to find his direction.

’A jungle?!’

’How the hell was he supposed to find his way around here?’

’Wait a second!’

’Let’s see what I turned into first.’

Gao Neng walked to the edge of the stream to look at his reflection and immediately wanted to start cursing.

A duck!

He, Gao Neng, had become a little yellow duckling!

’Is this supposed to make me into the Kung Fu Duck or something?’

Just as he was having this thought, the water in the stream before him suddenly roiled, and a black crocodile covered in thick Scale Armor lunged out.

"I’m Gao Neng! I’m Gao Neng from Third High! Anyone want to team up? Speak now if you do! I’m only taking five people, not looking for more!" the crocodile shouted the moment it emerged.

Gao Neng was taken aback.

’That’s a valid strategy?’

As he was thinking, a zebra suddenly leaped from the forest with a SWOOSH. Rearing up on its hind legs, it neighed, "Who the hell dares to impersonate me? I’m the real Gao Neng!"

"..." Gao Neng was speechless.