I Can Control Resources

...

The results of the combat assessment were announced, and there weren’t many surprises.

With 73 kills, Gao Neng was firmly in first place on the leaderboard. The second-place student, He Haifan, only had a score of 25, leaving him in the dust by a wide margin.

And with that, the top scorer of this year’s college entrance exams in the Forgotten Land was decided.

Li Qingping was thrilled, his face flushed red.

Xue Jingjing, on the other hand, was staring intently at Gao Neng, because out of those 73 kills, nearly 30 were students from her Girls’ High School.

"Gao Neng is so amazing!"

"He’s so handsome!"

"I love you, Gao Neng!"

Just as she was thinking this, the Girls’ High students behind her started screaming, each one more ecstatic than the next—even more excited than the students from Third High.

Xue Jingjing’s expression immediately turned rather peculiar. The assessment results only announced the number of kills, not who was killed by whom, right?

’So, these students from the Girls’ High really think Chen Bai was the one who eliminated them?’ 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

’This blame...’

’Letting Chen Bai carry it... doesn’t seem so bad.’

Xue Jingjing didn’t expose the truth, and Li Qingping certainly wasn’t going to say anything. The principals of Fourth High and Second High, of course, wouldn’t be bored enough to get involved either. After all, it had nothing to do with them.

As for the others in the know, He Haifan was currently preoccupied with his own worries. Mao Shan considered dropping a hint, but he didn’t want to be the one to stick his neck out, so he only told Lv Guoyuan from Second High about it.

The moment Lv Guoyuan heard this, he jumped to his feet.

He immediately found Li Caicai and vividly recounted everything Mao Shan had told him.

And then...

He got beaten up!

That’s right. He was mobbed by Li Caicai and dozens of other students from the Girls’ High. The reason was simple: trying to slander Gao Neng like that?

Not a chance!

"Beat him to death!"

"Yeah, a scumbag like him deserves to be beaten to death!"

"Lv Guoyuan, seriously, I, Li Caicai, look down on you!"

Led by Li Caicai, Lv Guoyuan’s face was beaten to a pulp. He felt truly wronged.

The other students who knew the truth instantly shut their mouths.

The fury of the Girls’ High students!

’Can’t afford to provoke them, can’t afford to provoke them...’

But why? Gao Neng was clearly the one who eliminated them, so why didn’t anyone believe it? Was it just because he was handsome?

Is Gao Neng handsome?

Yes, he’s exceptionally handsome!

However, Gao Neng wasn’t as excited as one might imagine. He was calm—as calm as the legendary Stabilizing Needle planted deep in the East Sea, completely unperturbed.

’Top scorer?’

’Such a normal outcome. What’s there to be surprised about?’

Right now, he was only interested in money.

Because he was broke.

Fifty thousand Alliance Coins had just slipped through his fingers after a few words. He was fuming. If he weren’t sure he’d lose, he would’ve pinned Shen Ning’Er to the ground and given her a harsh injection.

Just as he was thinking this, he saw Chen Bai running over, holding a pile of cash.

"Whoa, that’s a lot of money!"

"That must be tens of thousands of Alliance Coins!"

"Don’t tell me they’re giving us compensation for emotional distress?"

The students exclaimed.

Chen Bai, however, went straight to Gao Neng and placed fifty thousand Alliance Coins in front of him. "This is a reward from the Military Department for student Gao Neng!"

"A reward?!"

"Fifty thousand Alliance Coins!"

"..."

The students were stunned once again.

"Fifty thousand Alliance Coins?" Gao Neng was starting to understand. ’Shen Ning’Er actually had a change of heart? She gave the fifty thousand Alliance Coins back to me? This is a pleasant surprise.’

Just as he was thinking this, Chen Bai began his announcement.

"These fifty thousand Alliance Coins are being awarded in the form of a special scholarship. From now on, every year in the Forgotten Land, the Military Department will issue rewards to outstanding students!

We hope this encourages all of you to work even harder!

As long as you put in the effort, the Military Department’s rewards will only get bigger, not smaller!"

"That’s awesome!"

The students were moved.

Gao Neng, however, was a little speechless. ’Are they using my achievement to build up the Military Department’s reputation? This isn’t a scholarship, it’s reward money from the report I filed! Language truly is an art—just one little word changes the whole nature of the thing.’

Gao Neng didn’t mind too much, though.

’As long as I get the money!’

As he was thinking, Chen Bai slipped a note into his hand.

"If you need anything, give this number a call. Fifty thousand Alliance Coins for one ’service’!" After saying this, Chen Bai winked at Gao Neng and turned to leave.

"’Service’? Fifty thousand for one time? Wait... Lieutenant Chen, what kind of service?" Gao Neng was a bit baffled. He wanted to ask for clarification, but Chen Bai was already walking away.

’Is he crazy?!’

’You’re the one who needs a ’service’!’

’Does he really think that just because I’m a high school student, I don’t know anything?’

Gao Neng cursed under his breath, then folded the note with the phone number and tucked it away. After all, Chen Bai had gone out of his way to deliver it; he couldn’t just disrespect the guy’s gesture completely.

...

After the combat assessment results were announced, the Military Department began to organize the students’ departure.

「Outside the military base.」

Night had gradually fallen.

As usual, the bus stopped at Third High School.

By the time Gao Neng got home, it was already past eleven at night. As always, Xu Zilan was dozing off, slumped over the table.

What was different from usual was the silver cat next to her.

Gao Xiaomeng had been dozing with her eyes half-closed, but she opened them slightly when she saw Gao Neng enter, then went right back to sleep.

"Mom, I’m home." Gao Neng ignored the sleeping Gao Xiaomeng. He was curious about her, but with Xu Zilan present, he naturally wouldn’t ask.

’But Gao Xiaomeng has been sleeping for several days now. Is she still not fully awake?’

"You must be hungry. Go ahead and eat." Xu Zilan nodded, then took the dishes from the table into the kitchen.

"Mom, aren’t you going to ask about my exam results?"

"The combat assessment was never your strong suit. It’s okay if you didn’t do well. I won’t blame you," Xu Zilan replied casually.

"But, Mom... I did great! I got a perfect score on the theory portion—full marks in all four subjects! And I had 73 kills in the combat assessment. I’m this year’s top scorer for the Forgotten Land’s college entrance exam! Really, Mom... we’ll be able to leave this place soon!" Gao Neng shouted at the figure shrouded in cooking fumes.

"..." The figure in the kitchen seemed to tremble for a moment. There was no reply, but the sound of her stir-frying seemed to quicken imperceptibly.

Gao Neng understood Xu Zilan’s astonishment.

He didn’t say anything more, turning his gaze to Gao Xiaomeng instead.

"Gao Xiaomeng, is there something you forgot to tell me?"

"Meow..." Gao Xiaomeng opened her eyes again. Her two deep blue eyes glanced at Gao Neng, and then, with a WHOOSH, she leaped out the window.

"Where are you going?" Gao Neng wanted to give chase, but Gao Xiaomeng was too fast. After jumping out the window, she vanished into the dark of the night.

"Huh? Where’s Gao Xiaomeng? She was just here a moment ago." Xu Zilan seemed to have composed herself. When she came out with the reheated food, she noticed Gao Xiaomeng was gone.

"She went out. Probably to play, I guess," was all Gao Neng could say.

"That can’t be right. While you were away these past two days, Gao Xiaomeng stayed with me the whole time. Did you bully her?" Xu Zilan chided.

"How could I bully her... she’s... Never mind. Mom, you haven’t eaten either, have you?"

"I’ve already eaten. You go ahead. I’m going to bed."

"Okay." Gao Neng didn’t press the issue. This had become a habit; after all, Xu Zilan had to wake up extremely early every day. Without enough sleep, it would be difficult for her to get through her workday.

But just as Xu Zilan pushed her bedroom door open and was about to step inside, she suddenly stopped.

"Little Neng, I bought some baijiu. It’s in the cabinet. It’s my way of congratulating you. You can have a little. Also... I’m really, really happy!"

"Mom..."

"Mm, I’m going to sleep now." After saying that, Xu Zilan closed the door.

"There’s even alcohol? That’s right... I’m about to be a university student! A student at the Alliance Military University! This is great, I can drink now!" Gao Neng smiled, ran to the cabinet, and opened it.

Sure enough, there was half a bottle of baijiu inside.

It wasn’t a particularly expensive brand, but Gao Neng was genuinely happy. Because Xu Zilan had prepared it for him in advance, and that was more than enough.

He opened the bottle.

Then he found a cup to drink from.

Gao Neng took a small sip. It burned a little, and he quickly ate a bite of food to chase it.

"So this is what alcohol tastes like?" As Gao Neng continued to drink, he made a silent vow. As soon as he submitted his university application and the acceptance letters came out, he would go to the City of Hope and rent an apartment.

He had to leave the Forgotten Land!

He had to get out of this place. It was too dangerous!

Gao Neng spent about forty minutes on his meal. After he finished eating and took a shower, he finally lay down on his bed.

’Oh, right. I’ve already completed the third mission. Next up is the fourth one!’ Gao Neng thought as he opened his mission panel.

"Ultimate Mission 4/5: The Man Who Controls the Overall Situation (Complete ’The Man Who Controls the Overall Situation’ and you will have a 100% chance to receive one Middle-Level Treasure Chest)."

(Let’s gooo, keep those recommendation tickets coming!)