Universe Infinite Canteen

Ma Lu, on his latest trip out, had essentially completed his collection of fifty common vegetables.

Additionally, he managed to acquire a 7-star Energized Plant mucilaginous okra and two 6-star Energized Plants—the Phantasm Celery and the Unhappy Perilla.

It was quite a fruitful haul.

Moreover, the Energized Plants infected with the ∑139+ virus were also much easier to deal with than before. Not only did they react to thermal weapons, but the energy required to stun them had decreased by thirty percent.

Back in his rental, Ma Lu dumped all the ingredients into his Desktop Farm and after some observation, he realized that the total weight of the Energized Plants in the farm had reached 5800 pounds.

There was now more than enough supply for the restaurants, and unlike the meats he brought back previously, this time the energized plants were divided into several different ecosystems.

For example, the Puppet Lotus Root was life thriving in a lake ecosystem, while the Singer's Solanum Berry was situated in a canyon ecosystem; of course, most of the energized plants still belonged to the forest ecosystem.

At any rate, these Energized Plants wouldn't reach their limit any time soon, at least not in the short term.

And on the vegetable front, unlike the meats, there wasn't a Beast Herding Frog bonus; although Ma Lu did have the recipe for PPCW Growth Liquid in his hands.

But as someone who operated outside of the Grand Alliance, the cost for transporting the ingredients was extraordinarily expensive.

Until Ma Lu could find a way to procure cheap ingredients, the PPCW Growth Liquid would remain unusable.

And speaking of transport costs, Ma Lu's thoughts drifted to that group of interstellar smugglers. Since bumping into Lao Hei at the KTV the other night, the man had vanished without a trace.

Ma Lu didn't know whether he was dead or alive, so he had to start pondering another issue.

If Lao Hei really had kicked the bucket, how would he deal with the ham stored on his balcony and in his Phasic Space?

He'd only just found a way to convert surplus food into Star Currency, and although the buying price wasn't high, it was stable; he could make two to three thousand Star Currency a week.

In a month, that was nearly ten thousand, not a small sum at all.

While he was thinking, Ma Lu's smartphone on the table began to vibrate, displaying an unfamiliar number.

The moment Ma Lu answered, he heard Lao Hei's voice, "Wanda Plaza, B2 parking lot, space 629, bring the stuff over."

After finishing his sentence, he intended to hang up, but Ma Lu directly said, "The private room we last met in, I hid the toaster in the ceiling. You can fetch it yourself if you want, but I can't guarantee it's still there."

"..."

Lao Hei was silent for a few seconds and then said, "You just… left it in the ceiling?"

"There's an old saying on our planet that the most dangerous place is the safest. Besides, after you left last time, I was searched by a Dimensional Pirate.

"If I hadn't been clever, your toaster would have been long gone, and more importantly, my own life would have been in danger. Ten thousand Star Currency isn't worth me taking such a big risk."

Lao Hei responded, "My fault. I was already completely targeted by those guys, had no other choice at the moment, and forgot to ask for your opinion. Anyway, if you don't want to go, I'll find someone else to check the KTV.

"As for the ten thousand Star Currency, whether or not the item is there, I'll transfer it to you later tonight; the matter should be resolved by then."

"Okay."

In theory, Ma Lu could continue to enlist the Wandering Sorcerer to accompany him back to the KTV to retrieve the toaster, although repeatedly troubling the Female Sorcerer like this wasn't quite fair.

But given the importance that Lao Hei and those Planar smugglers placed on that toaster, they might be willing to pay more; at worst, Ma Lu could split the reward with the Wandering Sorcerer.

But the problem was that this would likely provoke the Dimensional Pirates, whom Ma Lu learned from the Female Sorceress were some undying folks.

And the Wandering Sorcerer couldn't possibly stay in this plane to protect him forever, so after weighing his options, Ma Lu decided to give up the idea of making a quick buck. Stay connected via My Virtual Library Empire

After a nap and recovering from the previous battle's mental exhaustion, Ma Lu called Ma Youyou and Old Wang and took them to the restaurant.

Ma Lu, following Old Wang's advice, continued to try integrating the recipes on hand into various themed sets; this week, he planned to introduce the "World Peace Set Meal".

Speaking of which, he had come up with this theme while at Yong Yi's office.

At that time, he was getting dressed, during a moment of Sage Time, and rare was the occasion he spared thoughts for the Multiverse.

Nevertheless, Yong Yi ultimately failed. He had spent centuries, sacrificed billions in experiments, yet couldn't find a cure to heal the universe.

Ma Lu and Old Wang, of course, didn't have the capability to truly bring world peace either.

So strictly speaking, world peace was just a beautiful vision.

The real added effect of this meal set was only to calm people's minds, yet it was limited to two days and did have side effects.

It would keep the phrase "You're right" on the tip of their tongues.

Ma Lu personally witnessed two lovers, previously arguing about whether it was okay to give rides to someone else of the opposite sex, reaching an agreement after their meal.

A Ronaldo and Messi fan who were originally cursing each other's parents shortly reconciled over numerous "You're right" exchanges and returned to joyful drinking.

There was also a young student, crying while doing homework, who reconciled with his math workbook...

No matter the state of the outside world, at least Ma Lu's restaurant was indeed peaceful.

Except, Ma Lu himself was still tirelessly sparring with people online.

Ever since Angie had helped promote it, the fame of the Universe Infinite Canteen had indeed grown, but so had the number of haters.

Some were Angie's die-hard fans who, just because they resented his close relationship with Angie, started tirelessly pestering him on Weibo and TikTok.

Ma Lu's way of hitting back was simple. He scrolled through that person's Weibo, found a post where they wished to snag tickets to the love&five concert,

and flaunted his own four VIP inner field tickets there. It wasn't long before that set the person off cursing loudly.

Ma Lu instantly felt exhilarated. And when the other side played dirty, he wasn't afraid at all; with a grand gesture, he dispatched his own pair of argumentative followers to verbally spar with the adversary.

And all Ma Lu had to do was wait a few hours later to check on the results, assuming the guy could last that long.

Another easy and pleasant day.

The Universe Infinite Canteen sold its last set meal at 7:20 PM.

He Xiaoqian had already hung the "Sold Out" sign early at the entrance, but still, people walked in.

Ma Lu, who was engrossed in studying "Red Ridge", didn't look up and directly said, "Sorry, we're sold out. If you'd like to eat, you might want to come earlier next time."

However, the person opposite said, "It's me."

Only then did Ma Lu's gaze travel past the cash registry to find Lao Hei standing before him, noticeably surprised, "What brings you here? Has the trouble been settled?"