Universe Infinite Canteen

Just before departure, everyone had a brief pre-battle meeting to divide their responsibilities.

Among them, Chen Zhengyi was in charge of scouting. He had never met the Red Little Devil, so he wouldn't alert the latter. Once he confirmed the exact location, he would send a message to the Female Sorceress to proceed with the capture.

Yan Wu would serve as a backup, able to turn the tide when the winds were against them, or drive the last nail into the coffin for the Little Devil when they had the advantage.

After hearing the plan, the hardware store owner turned to Ma Lu, "And you?"

"Me? Of course, I'm here to cheer you all on," Ma Lu said. "Please, I'm just an ordinary human."

Although he had participated in quite a few battles before, that was in other planes. Even if he died there, he would just return early, but in the main plane, Ma Lu didn't have an immortal body; naturally, he would try to survive if he could.

"..."

The Werewolf was speechless, "Could you be any more shameless?" Enjoy new stories from empire

"When you all come back, Old Wang will make another late-night meal to celebrate with you."

"Is it free?" the Wandering Sorcerer perked up.

Even though she was full, the sound of more delicious food brightened her eyes again.

"It's free."

"Great, can I take leftovers home?"

"Hey, don't push your luck, I'll give you at most two more bags of dried sweet potatoes."

"That's fine too." The Female Sorceress was easily satisfied, dried sweet potatoes were tasty after all, and they could replenish magic power.

Chen Zhengyi had no objections from start to finish.

Thus, the three of them got into Yan Wu's white van afterward, with the Wandering Sorcerer kindly helping Ma Lu transfer half of the restaurant's customers outside before they left.

Then, on the vehicle, she snapped her fingers, and all those people regained consciousness.

And the noise returned to Ma Lu's ears once more.

"Eh, how did I get out here?"

"Right, I remember I was standing by the counter just now, how did I get out the door?"

"Where's Angie, where did Angie go?"

"Damn, an hour has passed, I'm done for, I promised to pick up my kid from school, now I'm going to get killed by my wife when I get home!"

"What's going on, did I faint while eating?"

Ma Lu sighed. He knew the Female Sorceress wasn't reliable; she said she'd help settle the patrons in the store, but they were only returned to their drowsy state regardless of the changes in time and place.

Fortunately, Ma Lu had his own way to make amends.

He twisted open his thermos, pouring the remaining water on the Beaver Copper Statue at the cashier.

The next moment, all the arguments and questioning disappeared.

"I forgot what happened in the last hour, oh, it's like this when you get older, I'm 45, almost at the age when these things occur," a middle-aged man lamented.

"That was close just now, the restaurant got so crowded, my classmates were all knocked over, good thing I lost my memory afterward, or the consequences would have been unimaginable."

That was the high school girl from before.

"Wow, the food here is so delicious; it's like time got distorted!" someone else exclaimed afterward.

Some even came to terms with the crowding incident that had almost occurred.

"No help for it, we're all Angie's fans. The moment we hear she's here, it's hard not to get carried away, hahaha."

"So, is Angie really here or not?" a die-hard fan asked persistently from behind.

"She came by in the afternoon, but left quickly," Ma Lu said. "You guys are too late."

"Ah, that's a pity. If she comes again, you must tell me, boss. Here's my number."

"Yeah, yeah, me too. I won't bother her, just watch from outside the door."

The crowd all wanted to leave their numbers with Ma Lu, who couldn't possibly remember so many, so he just agreed noncommittally and added them all to the restaurant's fan group.

To get on Ma Lu's good side, some fans even bought up all the remaining dishes.

When the last customer finished eating, He Xiaoqian prepared to clean up as usual, but Ma Lu stopped her.

"Are you okay?"

"Huh?"

"I saw you getting pushed outside the door earlier."

"Oh, oh, it's nothing; they didn't push hard. I just stumbled a bit. I'm more worried about the people inside, there were so many earlier. Fortunately, everyone was fine in the end."

"As long as you are okay. Don't bother with cleaning tonight, and don't wander around on the streets either. Head home early and lock your door," Ma Lu advised.

He Xiaoqian asked with curiosity, "Is something happening tonight?"

"Shouldn't be anything to worry about."

Ma Lu thought it over. If the Wandering Sorcerer and Yan Wu failed, and the Red Little Devil evolved into the Deep Red Demon, it would affect the entire city's population, and staying at home wouldn't be much use either.

So he added, "Do you have plans for the rest of the evening?"

"No."

"Then come with me."

"Huh? Where to?"

"Let me see," Ma Lu took out his phone and searched for nearby travel and resort areas, "How about a hot spring? You've also had a hard day, let's relax with a nice soak."

"Now? So sudden, but I don't have a swimsuit."

"No worries, we can buy one there," Ma Lu said, "Consider it an employee benefit, we'll expense it to the company."

The more he thought about it, the more he felt the convenience of owning a car. He had already taken an intensive test drive for half a month, driving over twenty different cars, and he had nearly decided on one. He planned to place an order by next week at the latest, but for tonight, he could only rent a car.

Ma Lu rented an l9, first picked up Mr. Furball, who was drunk and woozy, then packed the Valkyrie People from his house into two shoeboxes, and put them in the trunk.

Afterwards, he returned to the restaurant to pick up He Xiaoqian, then thought better of it and also brought along Zhen Ye from upstairs.

He drove for about an hour and a half and finally arrived at a hot spring hotel in the neighboring county.

Ma Lu calculated the distance and felt it should be safe. He parked and decided to wait for news there.

All the way there, He Xiaoqian was very nervous. Her mind was a mess, unsure if this could be considered a date.

At one moment she thought that going out with four people and a cat probably didn't count as a date, but then again, Old Wang and Zhen Ye were both males, with one being an adult and the other quite young, and they were silent during the trip.

Old Wang leaned back in his seat with his eyes closed, appearing to be asleep, while Zhen Ye squatted in the third row, absorbed in playing his Switch, leaving He Xiaoqian and Ma Lu to talk the whole way, like a couple on a trip for two.

And the thought of going to a hot spring later made He Xiaoqian even more flustered.

A hot spring hotel as the venue for a first date seemed too thrilling, hard not to read more into it.

Fortunately, when they arrived, He Xiaoqian realized the place had private baths, where each room came with its own yard to soak in leisurely without worrying about outsiders.

When dividing the rooms, she was paired with Zhen Ye, while Old Wang shared with Ma Lu.