I Can Control Resources-Chapter 42: Difficulty Selection: Excellent

"..."

At the age of eight, Gao Neng kicked a stray dog across the street. He thought he could rule the streets from then on. To this day, he still remembered how bright the sun was and how pitifully that stray had yelped.

But who’s to say a stray dog doesn’t have an owner?

So, Gao Neng was wrong, and he ended up paying quite a bit of money.

But no matter what, the memory was a fond one...

「Time flew by.」

In the blink of an eye, Gao Neng was eighteen.

That year, he unexpectedly acquired a system. Moreover, this system very earnestly told him that as long as he completed its missions, he would obtain the strongest abilities.

Gao Neng believed it. And after many twists and turns, he successfully underwent a "baptism." He figured this time, he’d finally be able to reign supreme, right?

But why...

...was this system such a dud?

Gao Neng fell into deep thought.

’Am I not handsome enough?’

No!

His looks were perfect.

Having figured this out, Gao Neng became surprisingly calm. He didn’t want to curse anyone out. He was a man of culture. He felt his current mindset was excellent, like an Immortal who had achieved enlightenment and ascended. He was one with fate, with nature, with his heart; unhurried, unperturbed, without sorrow, without joy; silent, tranquil, and at peace with whatever came his way.

"I choose Normal difficulty. Please give me two hints, thank you!" Gao Neng made his choice immediately, not even waiting for the system to ask.

"Apologies. The host cannot select a Normal difficulty mission at this time," a mechanical voice replied.

"???" Gao Neng was speechless.

"System rule: Missions of the same difficulty cannot be undertaken simultaneously. An uncompleted Normal difficulty mission has been detected on the host. Therefore, you may only choose Excellent or Nightmare."

"I..." Gao Neng felt his self-control was already quite high, but this time, he was really struggling to hold it in.

He inhaled!

He inhaled again!

"BOOM!"

Just then, the entrance exploded with a loud bang.

Rubble flew everywhere.

Gao Neng was right at the edge of the entrance. Amidst the falling rubble, at least three fist-sized rocks smashed into him.

"Huh? So you have an accomplice?" The hook-nosed man’s fists were covered in iron armor. After blasting open the drainage pipe entrance with a single punch, his gaze fell upon Shen Ning’Er and Gao Neng. Then, he saw the knife pressed against Gao Neng’s neck. "Are you two trying to put on... a melodrama?"

"Melodrama my ass!" Gao Neng was fuming. He ignored the knife at his neck and swung the iron shovel right at the hook-nosed man’s face.

"A measly iron shovel, how could it possibly hurt m—"

"BAM!"

A loud crack echoed.

The iron shovel slammed into the hook-nosed man’s face.

The hook-nosed man was stunned.

Gao Neng was also taken aback for a moment.

’It actually hit?!’

’Weren’t Energy Warriors supposed to be super badass?’

Gao Neng didn’t get it, but he soon noticed a patch of black iron energy at the hook-nosed man’s neck, just about to move up to block the attack.

But for some reason, the iron energy was a step too slow.

"You... you controlled my iron energy! How... how is this possi—" Panic filled the hook-nosed man’s eyes, but he couldn’t finish his sentence.

Because another shovel strike smashed into his face.

"BAM!"

The hook-nosed man was sent flying backward.

"Didn’t your mom ever teach you not to talk during a fight?!" Gao Neng couldn’t care less. He needed a place to vent his anger, so before the hook-nosed man could finish, he retracted the shovel and swung it again, clean and crisp.

"CRASH!"

The hook-nosed man crashed into two guards that Gao Neng had been finishing off, his face ashen. His distinctive hooked nose had been flattened by the shovel.

’Kick ’em while they’re down!’

Gao Neng charged forward again, swinging the shovel wildly.

"BAM! BAM! BAM!"

A bloody mess ensued.

"..."

A few workers in the distance were completely dumbfounded.

Even though they were ordinary people, they could tell that this hook-nosed man was an Energy Warrior. And he was just... defeated by a shovel?

"BEEP!"

"BEEP BEEP..."

The underground factory’s alarms began to blare.

Another squad of figures appeared in the distance. There were at least ten of them, each dressed in strange outfits that set them apart from the factory workers. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

More importantly, another group followed behind this squad.

The size of that group was even more ridiculous. A quick glance revealed a sea of black, at least two hundred people, all wearing matching black suits.

’Does this factory... even have this many people?’ Gao Neng knew his few shovel smacks couldn’t kill the hook-nosed man; he had just caught him off guard.

So, upon seeing reinforcements arrive, he decisively retreated, shovel in hand.

"Looks like this is Wang Ju’s lair. The numbers... aren’t that high," Shen Ning’Er said, either to herself or in response to Gao Neng.

"Not high?" Gao Neng took another serious look. He saw that behind the two hundred men, there seemed to be a dozen more figures. "You call this ’not high’?"

"Mm, you performed well just now. I’ve considered it, and I’ll let you live until dawn." Shen Ning’Er nodded. This time, it was certain she was speaking to Gao Neng.

"’Live until dawn?’" Gao Neng felt like he’d heard that somewhere before. He wanted to just scoff, but he held it in. "Um... they have us outnumbered. Shouldn’t you be calling for backup? For example, call up those Lieutenant subordinates of yours?"

"I tried. The signal’s jammed. The call won’t go through."

"It won’t go through? Doesn’t the Military Department have any special methods? I remember reading about it in books. Satellite positioning, and then... something something?"

"Satellite positioning?" Shen Ning’Er actually gave Gao Neng a serious look this time. "Did those books you read also mention that the number of satellites decreased after the Great Cataclysm, and that satellite resources can only be used under very special circumstances?"

"..." Gao Neng was speechless.

"Enough talk. Go! However, I don’t trust you to watch my back just yet. I’ll give you two choices: one, you charge in first yourself, or two, I kick you in." Shen Ning’Er had no intention of wasting any more words on Gao Neng.

’I go first?’ Gao Neng’s mind raced.

He knew Shen Ning’Er wasn’t joking. If he didn’t go fight now, she would probably kick him straight into the fray.

’In that case...’

’...there’s nothing for it but to play dead.’

"Ah! I’m so scared I’ve fainted!" Gao Neng’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell stiffly to the ground. This wasn’t cowardice; it was a strategic preservation of strength.

Most importantly, he hadn’t even looked at the mission hints yet!

’It’s not too late to go after I read the hints!’

"???" Even Shen Ning’Er, who considered herself to have a 99-point IQ, was momentarily stunned when she saw Gao Neng hit the floor.

And what’s more, she saw the "fainted" Gao Neng conveniently pull out a dozen or so high-dimensional capsules and place them all neatly at her feet.

"Are you two done with your bullshit? I’ll kill you first!" Just then, the hook-nosed man, his face a bloody pulp from Gao Neng’s shovel, scrambled up furiously.

However, the hook-nosed man came fast, but he left even faster. The moment he lunged in front of Gao Neng, he was already taking off.

He was truly flying!

Not just knocked into the air!

Gao Neng only saw Shen Ning’Er dip into a slight crouch, then her right leg shot up in a flying kick.

The hook-nosed man shot straight toward the ceiling.

"BOOM!"

He stuck to it quite snugly.

"Noisy," Shen Ning’Er snorted. She stood on one leg, the other pointing straight up, holding a perfect standing split.

’Her flexibility is amazing! Just one small regret... the psycho-ward uniform is pants, not a skirt.’ Gao Neng was a gentleman. He just thought it was a pity this pose wasn’t done in a skirt. "Alright, I choose Excellent difficulty. Are you ever going to give me the hints, you dud of a system? Are you waiting for me to die?"

"Ding! The host has once again shamelessly chosen Excellent difficulty."

(Go go go, it’s the final week! Let the recommendation tickets explode! Go go go go go!)