I Can Control Resources

...

Military Training Base.

The three students who had been "killed" by Gao Neng were standing at the exit.

The scene was incredibly awkward.

Finally, the short, stout student from Fourth High couldn’t hold back any longer. "You’re a student from the Girls’ High?! You said you were Gao Neng! Why are you... a girl?"

"Hmph!" The girl from the Girls’ High lifted her chin, flicked her hand, and stormed off.

Then, only the short, stout student and a bearded young man were left, staring at each other, sparks flying in their eyes.

Meanwhile, in another sealed room.

Information on the three eliminated students was displayed on a screen.

In addition, a little yellow duck was leisurely strolling by a creek on the screen. The only difference was that it had a number "3" floating above its head.

"Those three... talk about unlucky! To think they’d impersonate Gao Neng right in front of him..." The principal of Fourth High shook his head, a little speechless.

"Aren’t others impersonating him all over the place? They just haven’t run into the real one yet." Xue Jingjing felt a pang of frustration. After all, the exam had just begun, and one of her students was already out.

Still, getting killed for impersonating Gao Neng...

There wasn’t really much she could say about that.

"Hehe..." Li Qingping chuckled, humming a little tune. He casually held up three fingers and waved them in front of First High’s principal, He Lin. "That’s three!"

First High’s principal, He Lin, said nothing.

But his face flushed slightly red. Gao Neng had already taken first place in the theory exam. If he also took first in the practical assessment, this year’s top scorer in the Forgotten Land’s college entrance exam would really go to Third High.

"Huh? Everyone, look! What is Gao Neng doing?" the principal of Fourth High exclaimed.

"Is he... beating up a duck?" Xue Jingjing stared at the screen, where Gao Neng was throwing punches amidst a flock of ducks. For a moment, she couldn’t believe her eyes.

But the fact was...

Gao Neng really was wailing on a wild duck!

And around him, a full twenty wild ducks were squawking chaotically.

The most shocking part was, after he finished beating up the duck, Gao Neng actually started running into the creek to catch fish. And then, he really caught one.

"He’s started feeding the ducks!"

"He’s feeding the one he beat up first... and the duck is actually eating it! Look, all the other ducks are swarming over..."

"He’s not trying to become the... Duck King, is he?!"

The principals all looked at each other, horrified expressions on their faces.

Because they really did see that flock of ducks start to follow Gao Neng around the creek, and they all seemed to regard him with a mixture of fear and reverence.

...

「In the Virtual Battlefield.」

Gao Neng looked at the twenty ducks in front of him, feeling very pleased.

’What is the best disguise?’

’It’s not about hiding well. It’s about being able to stand right in front of your enemy without them noticing you—because you’re surrounded by a flock of ducks.’

Gao Neng had done it.

First, he pretended to be an ordinary duck and infiltrated the flock by the creek. After identifying their Duck King, he made his move without hesitation.

He pinned down the Duck King and gave it a thorough beating.

When he had beaten it enough, he gave the Duck King half a fish as compensation. Finally, he distributed the rest of the fish to buy the loyalty of a troop of duck soldiers.

Now, he was the new Duck King of these twenty ducks.

’As expected of black technology developed from the magnetic pile. Even the ducks in here have higher IQs than normal ones!’ Gao Neng had actually had a bold theory when he attempted this.

He thought of Gao Xiaomeng. Since her intelligence had been enhanced after coming into contact with something from the magnetic pile, could the lifeforms in the "Virtual Battlefield"—also developed from the magnetic pile—possess the same trait?

The results proved that his guess was likely correct.

These twenty ducks truly possessed some intelligence. While they were no match for Gao Xiaomeng, their IQs were definitely much higher than the blockheaded ducks of the outside world.

’What exactly is inside the magnetic pile? A civilization? Or a whole world?’ Gao Neng didn’t dwell on it. The question was too big, and he wasn’t qualified to investigate it yet.

The problem at hand was...

Get stronger first!

And to get stronger, he had to be ruthless with the flowers!

And whip the dragon!

"QUACK QUACK QUACK!" Gao Neng turned and squawked a few times at the little duck team standing behind him.

"QUACK QUACK QUACK!"

"QUACK QUACK..."

The little duck team responded immediately.

’Their learning ability really is strong!’ Gao Neng wasted no more time and strode toward the Tyrannosaurus Rex in the distance. His goal was to whip the dragon, so naturally, he had to prove a few things first.

When Gao Neng walked, the ducks walked.

When Gao Neng stopped, the ducks stopped.

When Gao Neng flapped his wings, the ducks flapped their wings.

What a good flock of ducks.

Soon, under Gao Neng’s leadership, the small duck squad arrived within ten meters of the Tyrannosaurus Rex, which quickly noticed Gao Neng’s presence.

That’s right!

Gao Neng had no intention of hiding at all.

He led his duck squad and appeared openly before the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

"QUACK QUACK QUACK!" Gao Neng vocalized.

The other ducks quacked along.

The Tyrannosaurus Rex blinked, looking at the flock of ducks before it as if deep in thought. Then, it took a step and stomped down hard.

"QUACK QUACK QUACK!"

Three ducks were crushed into paste.

The other ducks and Gao Neng frantically flapped their wings and fled backward.

The Tyrannosaurus Rex had no intention of chasing them. It let Gao Neng and the ducks leave, then continued on in another direction, letting out a roar.

’Looks like these Examiners can’t recognize us on sight!’ Gao Neng had his answer. Although the Examiners could transform into a Tyrannosaurus Rex, their other settings were likely the same as the students’.

The Examiners also needed to use detection and judgment to find the candidates.

That seemed reasonable enough.

Otherwise, if they could really see through a candidate’s disguise with a single glance, it wouldn’t be training—it would be a massacre.

Gao Neng guessed this was probably a training assessment for the Examiners from the Military Department as well. However, compared to the other candidates, these Examiners were far more vigilant.

’They won’t even let a flock of ducks go!’

’Damn it!’

’I’ll remember what you look like. You crushed three of my duck soldiers. I’ll have to add a few extra lashes to your whipping to settle this score!’ Gao Neng mentally took note.

Well then, time to get started for real.

The Examiners were too vigilant right now, so there weren’t any good opportunities. His targets were the students from the Girls’ High. That was what he most wanted to do at this stage.

Gao Neng’s Spiritual Power spread out rapidly.

In just a moment, he discovered several active Girls’ High students nearby.

’The one on the left has good prep school and theory scores. She should have a chance to get into the Military University, so I’ll spare her life for now. The two on the right... their theory and prep scores are average. They’ll do!’ Gao Neng had a mission to complete, but he wasn’t about to ruin someone’s future over it.

He still had to take them out, of course.

It was just a matter of timing.

He would let the stronger Girls’ High students accumulate some points first. Later on, when their scores were high enough, he would go take them down. This wouldn’t affect his mission.

Having confirmed his targets, Gao Neng crept toward the two Girls’ High students on the right.

One of them was quite close.

She was hiding in a patch of tall grass, disguised as a red-furred fox.

When Gao Neng led his duck squad to the edge of the grass, the fox remained completely still, clearly planning to lie low and play it safe in the early stages.

"QUACK QUACK!" Gao Neng squawked twice, then pounced.

"Ah... no! Let go of me... you beast! Ah... it hurts... it hurts, it hurts, it hurts... so painful..." the fox shrieked, struggling for her life.