Universe Infinite Canteen

Ma Lu looked at Chen Zhengyi, hoping he would stand up for justice, but to his dismay, the Rabbit Head Person also nodded, "When do we start?"

"Hey, are you guys serious?" Ma Lu panicked for real this time. Each of these three was terrifyingly strong; he was no match for any of them alone, let alone all three together—he'd just have to concede defeat.

"Of course, we're... just kidding. But I do feel like you've become more beatable than before," the hardware store owner said.

"I have the same feeling," Mr. Furball agreed, "Thinking about how I work so hard every day, only to see you end up with a new car, makes me so heartbroken I want to pee in your cup."

"Your pee isn't very lethal," Liliem reminded, "Better to spit in it."

"Do all of you hate me this much?" Ma Lu said, speechless.

"Hate isn't the right word. Precisely, it's envy," the Wandering Sorcerer said, "I envy the fact that you run a restaurant with Old Wang and get to eat such delicious food every day."

She paused, then continued, "Envy is a common emotion, but it's quite unusual for so many people to feel envious of you at the same time, for different reasons."

"You mean to say... this is also some kind of special ability, but who would need such a crappy ability?"

Just thinking about all the people he'd meet in the future feeling equally envious of him made Ma Lu shiver. This wasn't a special ability; it was more like a curse.

"Don't worry, let me take a look first. If it's a curse, I should be able to help you get rid of it," the Female Sorceress offered comfortingly.

After forming a spell with her hands in the air for about six or seven seconds, she let out a slight gasp, "There's no curse on you."

"That's even worse, now there's no method to remove it." Ma Lu felt as if his life was crumbling.

He shouldn't have been greedy for those special abilities. So many people get bitten by spiders every year, but how many end up becoming Spider-Man?

"No, you don't understand what I mean. If it isn't a curse, then it probably won't have long-term negative effects. In other words, this should be an ability you can control freely," the Wandering Sorcerer explained, holding back her annoyance.

"Oh? Is that so, then how do I control it?" Ma Lu asked.

"This is my first encounter with such a situation, so you should try controlling it with your thoughts first." Your journey continues with empire

Upon hearing that, Ma Lu immediately concentrated on the thought of pausing, but it had no effect. He quickly recalled his experience of using the Bug Egg.

One needs to clear their mind of all stray thoughts before traveling between planes, so Ma Lu decisively said to Old Wang, "Watch my back for me, don't let them sneak attack."

Then he sat down on the ground, closed his eyes, and entered a state of meditation.

This was something Ma Lu had now become quite proficient at. After a few deep breaths, he cleared his mind of the cluttered thoughts.

As he focused his mind, he could faintly sense the almost imperceptible hostility around him, and at the same time, he could feel himself shining as brightly as the sun.

Realizing this might be the cause of the widespread envy, as Ma Lu wondered if there was any way to dim his brightness, the light emanating from him immediately diminished.

Ma Lu felt as though he had found the trick; this thing was just like a smart lightbulb—it could indeed be adjusted, and the operation was foolproof.

Ma Lu had calmed himself to the point of utter darkness, and all the hostility around him had vanished. After a while, he even heard someone suddenly ask, "Where's Boss Ma?"

"Don't know, oh, he's sitting over there," another voice replied.

Ma Lu opened his eyes and saw the Female Sorceress again, who nodded at him, "It seems you've mastered your new power. I find you much more agreeable now."

"I always feel like this ability is a bit of a white elephant," Ma Lu said, stroking his chin.

If it had been the reverse, making everyone worship or fall in love with him, now that would have been a truly divine trick, a life-cheating level skill. But envy... it was a bit hard to describe.

It seemed like it could only be useful during New Year celebrations or class reunions, and could potentially even provoke public outrage.

But having it was better than not, he guessed.

Besides, neither Chen Zhengyi nor the Valkyrie People, nor the Red Little Demon Sashimi managed to grant him any special abilities. It was unclear if it was a matter of bad luck or racial incompatibility.

In the end, only the hardware store owner and Ma Lu had gotten lucky.

As for the Female Sorceress, after an intense internal struggle, she gave up the chance to taste demon cuisine, and she had a lukewarm interest in special abilities anyway.

The myriad spells of the Wandering Sorcerer clan were enough to keep her busy for a lifetime. Moreover, the powers bestowed by Hell Creatures were related to negative emotions, which the Female Sorceress somewhat resented.

She simply took the garbage bag that Old Wang handed her, which contained the inedible remains of the Red Little Devil, planning to dispose of the waste back in Hell.

The barbecue lasted until almost dawn, after which Yan Wu and the others went to their rooms to sleep, while Ma Lu tidied up briefly, called the two women from next door, and prepared to drive home.

It was the day for another gathering trip.

Ma Lu looked at the accounts for the past week. Despite the many events that had transpired, there was no negative impact on the canteen's earnings; on the contrary, they had reached a new high.

After deducting labor and other costs, as well as various taxes, he netted exactly 600,000.

There was also the 1,200 Star Currency payment from the Female Sorceress, which was more than double Chen Zhengyi's because it involved rare 6-star ingredients, and afterwards, Ma Lu had even thrown in four extra bags of dried sweet potatoes.

Tasting the sweetness of success, Ma Lu planned to target the Singer's Solanum Berry on his next outing. Finding this little item would allow him to take on the order from Love-Struck too.

Love-Struck was planning to propose to her boyfriend during dinner and wanted to hear his true heart's utterance at that moment.

Looking at her WeChat ID, Ma Lu always had an ominous hunch, but a customer's request has to be met all the same. As for the outcome, as long as Love-Struck could still pay, that was none of Ma Lu's business.

Now that Universe Infinite Canteen even supplied beer, if Love-Struck ended up heartbroken, Ma Lu could still trade some Cat Pee Beer for some more Star Currency.

Okay, this approach might be a bit underhanded, but business is business, and a heartbroken customer is still a customer.

Moreover, Yan Wu had let slip some information this time. The item Ma Lu wanted had been located, and if they could agree on a price, the other party would send it over, which gave Ma Lu an even greater sense of urgency.

He dropped He Xiaoqian and Zhen Ye at their respective homes and then went home himself to lie down for a while. Once he had recovered his spirits, he took out the Bug Egg.