I Can Control Resources-Chapter 35: Just to Stay Alive

’You shitty system! You won’t be happy until you get me killed, will you!’ Gao Neng bolted, but the dozen or so iron dogs behind him stuck to him like glue.

No matter where he ran, the iron dogs reacted instantly and kept pace.

’They have a sense of smell?!’

Gao Neng was speechless. ’Energy manifestation can actually give iron dogs a sense of smell. Energy Warriors are so damn cool. I have to become an Energy Warrior.’

’Trying to escape my grasp? Dream on! How could someone like me, an invincible, beautiful girl, be so easy to bully?’ Shen Ning’Er followed closely behind the iron dogs, completely unafraid of losing her quarry.

Gao Neng was miserable.

But he truly had no other options. All he could do was run for his life, using the dense network of openings in the drainage pipes to turn left and right, maintaining the distance between them.

And so it went, one person running, the other chasing...

Time remaining: 25:15...

Time remaining: 15:45...

Time remaining: 8:35...

...

’Less than 6 minutes left?’ Gao Neng watched the time tick away, his lips growing dry. His stamina was holding up, but if time ran out, the nightmare mission would be a failure.

’No!’

’I have to risk it! If you’re gonna die, die fighting!’

’No!’

’I can’t risk it. If I die, I’m really dead!’

The two thoughts collided in Gao Neng’s mind. Impulse urged him to turn back and fight Shen Ning’Er like a man, but reason told him that to turn back was to walk into a dead end.

And then, he discovered...

He really had reached a dead end.

Somehow, the path in front of him had simply vanished.

’Gone?’

’The path is gone?!’

’I’ve run into a dead end? But... how can there be a dead end inside a drainage pipe?!’ Gao Neng didn’t get it. Logically, the primary purpose of a drainage system was to drain water, so it should be a vast, interconnected network that eventually converged at an outlet.

But before him, there was indeed no path.

It seemed to be blocked by something...

’Blocked?’

’What kind of heartless bastard just dumps their trash here!’

AWOOOO!

The iron dogs’ barking grew closer, and soon, they charged. A cold light glinted off their bodies, their eyes locked on Gao Neng.

Cold sweat dripped down Gao Neng’s back.

He brandished the wrench in his hand as he backed away, until his body was pressed against the pile of "trash" blocking his path.

"Running? Why aren’t you running anymore?" Shen Ning’Er appeared in Gao Neng’s line of sight. The golden feathered robe was gone; she was back in her mental hospital patient uniform.

"Nowhere left to run..." Gao Neng said, stating the obvious.

"Oh? Hahaha!" Shen Ning’Er laughed. With a wave of her hand, the dozen or so iron dogs closed in, completely encircling Gao Neng.

"Wait! This isn’t fair! It’s not fair!" Gao Neng shouted.

"How is it not fair?"

"I’m not an Energy Warrior yet. You’re just relying on your energy manifestation, aren’t you? If you have any guts, try fighting me without it! Let’s go hand-to-hand; I might not even lose to you." An idea suddenly struck Gao Neng, and he resorted to goading her.

"Oh? Trying to goad me? Too bad, that doesn’t work on me. I’m simply stronger than you. I can use energy manifestation and you can’t. That means I get to bully you." Shen Ning’Er was completely unmoved.

"..." Gao Neng really wanted to call her shameless.

But he held his tongue. ’After all,’ he thought, ’if the roles were reversed, I wouldn’t fall for such a low-level taunt either. It’s too stupid. Only a complete idiot would fall for that.’

’But if that’s how it is, I’m really out of moves.’

Less than two minutes remained.

’Even if I charged in like a real man right now, with so little time, I wouldn’t have a chance of taking Shen Ning’Er down, would I?’

"Alright, the game of cat and mouse is over. I’ll give you ten more seconds. If you can tell me, in full detail, your purpose for coming here and how you got into my room, then perhaps... Huh? Gao Neng, get over here! Quick, get over here!" Shen Ning’Er had been smiling, but halfway through her sentence, her expression suddenly changed, becoming extremely tense.

’Hmm? Go over there?’ Gao Neng really wanted to say, ’Trying to trick me? Not a chance!’ but he wasn’t a complete fool.

He knew that if Shen Ning’Er really wanted to attack him, she wouldn’t need him to move an inch. The dozen or so iron dogs surrounding him were more than enough.

’Something’s wrong!’

After hesitating for only a second, Gao Neng dove toward Shen Ning’Er.

He moved with incredible decisiveness.

Even so, after taking only five steps, a massive explosion erupted behind him.

BOOM!

The entire underground drainage system trembled.

’Gunpowder?! That pile of "trash" I was leaning against... was gunpowder?!’ How could Gao Neng not guess what had happened? But he had only taken five steps. How could he possibly escape an explosion from a mountain of gunpowder?

"Hurry up! Faster!" Shen Ning’Er yelled. From her vantage point, she could clearly see a massive fireball surging toward them from behind Gao Neng.

Her eyes were wide, her face completely devoid of its earlier mockery. Even she had never imagined that such a massive quantity of gunpowder would be stored in the factory’s underground drainage system.

If the iron dogs’ extremely sensitive noses hadn’t detected the scent of gunpowder, prompting her to crush the high-dimensional capsule she had just sealed, she likely would have died as well!

A golden liquid gushed from the high-dimensional capsule.

However, unlike when she dealt with the slovenly old man and the cool, mature woman, it didn’t immediately envelop her body to form the golden feathered robe. Instead, it surged continuously toward Gao Neng.

’No way... Are all young girls this vicious? She wants to kill me right before she dies?’ Gao Neng was stunned for a moment as he watched the golden liquid swirl toward him.

But he quickly realized something was wrong.

The golden liquid wasn’t harming him. Instead, it enveloped his body, forming a suit of Golden Battle Armor that completely protected him from head to toe.

’Shen Ning’Er is saving me?’

Gao Neng was a little surprised and even slightly moved. Then, he felt a powerful, irresistible force slam into his back.

The shockwave from the explosion had arrived!

The force of the impact sent his body flying.

"Golden Sphere!!!" Shen Ning’Er let out a sharp cry. The remaining golden energy that hadn’t covered Gao Neng instantly solidified into a giant sphere, enveloping the space around them and shielding them from the omnidirectional shockwave.

THUD!

Gao Neng’s body successfully slammed into Shen Ning’Er.

Tackled!

Yes, he had tackled Shen Ning’Er again.

However, the notification sound for mission completion did not ring out.

Less than a minute remained.

"You attacked a Major again! Gao Neng, you are so dead this time! You have two seconds left of the ten I gave you. If you don’t state your purpose right now, I’ll throw you out and let the gunpowder blow you to bits!" Shen Ning’Er’s expression was icy as she grabbed Gao Neng with both hands and began to shove him out of the golden sphere.

Gao Neng was speechless.

’What is this?’

’A complete 180? You were the one who just saved me. You wouldn’t go that far, would you? There’s a real explosion happening out there. She wouldn’t actually throw me out, would she?’

’No way!’

Gao Neng refused to believe it.

Just as he was thinking this, he felt his body being pushed up and through the golden sphere. His back was actually pushed outside of it, and he could even feel the searing force of the shockwave.

Holy shit!

Shen Ning’Er wasn’t kidding!

"Are you going to talk or not?! You have one second left! If you don’t, you can try being a good person in your next life! And don’t you dare disbelieve me. I only saved you because I want to know the truth. Besides, I never joke with strangers!" Shen Ning’Er’s gaze turned cold, and she gave him another hard shove forward.

In that instant, a million thoughts raced through Gao Neng’s mind.

’Women are fickle creatures.’

’Their hearts are as deep and unfathomable as the ocean...’

’And as for this woman, Shen Ning’Er... while she might not be completely evil, you’d be dead wrong to think of her as some kind-hearted, charitable soul.’

’Just as Shen Ning’Er said, she only saved me to find out the truth!’

’If that’s the case, then don’t blame me for being ruthless.’

SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK! Gao Neng suddenly let out a few sharp, piercing squeals. He didn’t want to die; he still had a bright future ahead of him. To paraphrase Shen Ning’Er...

’I’m taking you down just to survive!’

"Huh?! You’re really..." Shen Ning’Er’s expression changed. She was all too familiar with that sound. It was the same one she had heard in her dream—a squeal so sharp it made one’s heart race with panic.

"Do it!" At this point, Gao Neng couldn’t care about anything else. In the split second that Shen Ning’Er was stunned, he tightened his grip on the wrench and, with every ounce of strength he possessed, swung it hard.

THWACK!

Shen Ning’Er’s gaze froze. Disbelief and indignation flashed across her face, but in the end, her eyes slowly fluttered shut.

THUMP!

Shen Ning’Er’s hands went limp.

Gao Neng once again successfully pinned her beneath him.

Mmm...

A familiar feeling.

"Ding! Congratulations, Host, you have successfully completed the Nightmare-level mission: Third Time’s the Charm!"

(This was a long Chapter, wasn’t it! I really went all out to make it a satisfying read for everyone. Please send some recommendation tickets my way! Can we break a record today and get over a thousand?)