I Can Control Resources-Chapter 39: Ruthless Flower Destroyer

With his mind made up, Gao Neng wasted no more time. He picked up Shen Ning’Er and crept toward the ore pile.

He made it there ten minutes later.

He was still inside the drainage pipe, but the distance to the ore pile had been reduced to fifteen meters. Plus, there was a pipe exit right in front of him.

Simply put, once he was out of the pipe, the ore pile was only fifteen meters away.

Fifteen meters...

It wasn’t a long distance, but it wasn’t short, either.

Coupled with the four guards watching over the ore pile and several workers bustling about, rushing out now would be no different from a death wish.

Wait!

Gao Neng didn’t rush into action. He remembered the system’s hint pointed to 2:00 AM, so there was bound to be an opportunity then.

For now, all he needed to do was conserve his strength and get everything ready.

He took another look at his Attribute Panel.

"Huh?" Gao Neng suddenly noticed a change on his Attribute Panel.

Evolution: 2/5

’When did that change?’

Gao Neng hadn’t noticed it before. ’Was it because I completed a mission? No, that’s not right. I clearly completed three missions: "Sacrifice Shen Ning’Er," a random mission called "Confront," and "Once an Accident, Twice a Coincidence, Thrice a Pattern."’

’Why did it only add 1 evolution point?’

’Do random missions not give evolution points?’

Gao Neng didn’t dwell on it. He figured he’d find out after completing the mission to earn one hundred thousand Alliance Coins. For now, the priority was to recover his stamina.

Time passed quickly...

1:40 AM.

Shen Ning’Er still showed no signs of waking up.

Gao Neng had everything ready, shovel in hand.

The four guards outside were yawning, their vigilance clearly slipping. The workers had also stopped and presumably gone to rest.

"Ah Kai and I are going to rest. You two stay here and watch, got it?"

"Us two again? Brother Dan... we’ve been on watch for nearly a week straight. By all rights, we should be rotated out..."

"You have a problem with that?"

"Wouldn’t dream of it. You and Brother Kai go get some rest, Brother Dan. We’ll be fine watching." The other young man immediately pulled on the one who had spoken up.

"Hmph. Let’s go, Ah Kai."

A moment later, it grew quiet outside.

The two young men slumped, glaring after the two departing middle-aged men. Then they found a place to sit down and each lit a cigarette.

Time continued to tick by.

Ten minutes later, the two young men were yawning again.

Gao Neng continued to observe the two young men with his Spiritual Power. He decided to wait for a final ten minutes, then make his move decisively.

Just then, Shen Ning’Er’s eyelashes twitched. One eye cracked open slightly, and she glanced at Gao Neng squatting beside her, a hint of astonishment on her face.

’Spiritual Power? This complete scrub... is actually emitting Spiritual Power fluctuations? Am I imagining things?’ Shen Ning’Er didn’t move. She closed her eyes again.

In truth, she had been tempted to make a move when Gao Neng broke open the golden sphere.

But after some careful thought, she restrained herself.

She wanted to see what Gao Neng was truly up to.

’Is it really about the magnetic pile?’

Shen Ning’Er wiggled her fingers. Her body was bound, but not too tightly. With a full burst of her strength, she could break free in just three seconds.

But now there was one major problem. Gao Neng had already searched her and taken her high-dimension capsule. Without that energy source, a lot could happen in three seconds...

’This scrub is surprisingly cautious. I’ll wait a bit longer... We’re too close right now. For a three-second escape, I need at least five meters of distance. He must be planning to go out... Yes, I’ll wait for him to leave this exit. Then, whether I charge in after him or wait for him to return, it’ll be a sure thing.’

Shen Ning’Er quickly made up her mind. Just then, she saw Gao Neng stir, prompting her to squeeze her eyes shut again.

’He should be heading out now, right?’

As she was thinking this, she felt a sharp pain on her head.

BONK!

A muffled thud rang out.

Shen Ning’Er’s eyes flew open, just in time to see Gao Neng squatting in front of her, holding a wrench. But her vision quickly blurred again, and her consciousness started to fade.

She was indignant. ’How is this possible?’

’How could I have been discovered?!’

’My acting skills...’

’They’re so good!’

But whether she could accept it or not, Shen Ning’Er was knocked unconscious once again.

Gao Neng, for his part, was rather surprised.

’Why did she suddenly open her eyes? She gave me a scare.’

’Must be a side effect of getting knocked out, right?’

’Yeah, Shen Ning’Er should still be unconscious. That’s right.’

Gao Neng didn’t think much of it. He was ready to make his move. So, before he did, what was the harm in giving Shen Ning’Er an extra knock?

’Always double-tap, just to be sure.’

With Shen Ning’Er taken care of, he could finally relax. He prepared to go knock out the other two drowsy young guards.

But just then, a mechanical voice suddenly rang in his ear.

"Ding! Host has successfully unlocked the ’Cruel Despoiler of Flowers’ achievement. (Possessing the ’Cruel Despoiler of Flowers’ achievement gives the Host a chance to trigger its related bonus missions.)"

"Huh? An achievement... a bonus mission? What’s a bonus mission?"

"Bonus Mission: A very ’bonus-y’ mission. The rewards are plentiful, the time limit is long, and there is no penalty for failure."

’So that’s what a bonus mission is, huh? So how do I trigger one?’ Gao Neng was secretly delighted. ’Now *this* is how a system is supposed to be!’

"CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!" came the mechanical sound.

"..." Gao Neng cursed internally. ’You moron of a system.’

Gao Neng was furious.

However, he suddenly realized something. It seemed that whenever he did something to Shen Ning’Er, he managed to reap handsome rewards. Sacrificing her got him an enhanced hidden talent, and knocking her out again got him the ’Cruel Despoiler of Flowers’ achievement.

’Then if I were to give her an injection...’

’...would I get a ’Night Shift Nurses’ achievement?’

Gao Neng didn’t dwell on the thought, because the clock had just struck two in the morning. It was time to start digging.

...

The two young men were yawning.

Suddenly, they felt a cold draft on the backs of their necks.

THUMP!

THUMP!

Two muffled thuds.

The two young men didn’t even have time to turn around before their heads slumped to the side and they collapsed to the ground.

’I’ve gotten ridiculously strong!’ Gao Neng felt that this Spiritual Power was just too useful. By using it to observe, he had been able to ascertain the two young men’s condition in advance, even from inside the drainage pipe.

The attack was decisive and ruthless.

He was starting to get a little cocky.

However, time was short, so he didn’t dally. He first propped the two young guards’ heads up, then slipped on a set of work clothes the other workers had left behind. After that, he grabbed the shovel and made a beeline for the ore pile.

As soon as he reached the edge of the ore pile...

Gao Neng felt that something was off.

Something was definitely off. The ore pile before him was pitch-black and looked unremarkable, but he could no longer use his Spiritual Power.

It felt as if it were being suppressed by some mysterious force.

Not only that, but he also had the strange sensation of being at the intersection of two different spaces. And yet, before his eyes, there was nothing but the ore pile.

’Is it inside the ore pile?’ Gritting his teeth, Gao Neng thrust the shovel into the pile.

CRUNCH!

Shards of black ore went flying.

Beneath them, it was still black.

"..." Gao Neng dug again.

Another CRUNCH!

I’ll dig!

And again!

And... again!

Gao Neng’s stamina was full, and he went all out. He refused to believe there was nothing in this ore pile. He clearly remembered Tang De saying the Alliance needed 10 of them a month.

’Ten of them! If that’s not ore, what else could it be?’

"Gan Liniang! Who’s there? Digging with so much gusto in the middle of the night?" Just as Gao Neng was furiously digging, shovel after shovel, a disgruntled voice sounded from nearby.

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