Universe Infinite Canteen
Chapter 757 - 757: Reservation

The female doctor's words reignited hope in Ma Lu's heart. If this so-called Skulder was just a collective hallucination of the Ares people, it meant that the supposed apocalypse of the Multiverse didn't exist.

But during his brief exchange with Ivan VI, Ma Lu felt that this emperor of the Ares people seemed quite normal, just a bit too thorough in his ways.

Plus, causing an entire race to experience a collective hallucination is an incredibly strange phenomenon in and of itself.

There had never been a similar precedent in the entire history of the Multiverse, so Ma Lu was also unsure whether what Ivan VI had said was true or false.

After returning to Earth, he first went to find the hardware store owner, because the deadline for their negotiation to jointly purchase the self-repairing memory titanium alloy was closing in, and Ma Lu had to give Yan Wu a formal response by tonight.

"You're not planning to join in?"

The hardware store owner was a bit surprised at Ma Lu's response, but didn't say much, just nodded, "Then I'll find someone else to fill in that two million Star Currency gap."

"I would actually advise you not to speculate either," said Ma Lu.

"Why?"

"Because just over a dozen hours ago, I went out to gather ingredients and ran into Ivan VI. Those Ares people didn't seem like they were going to counterattack and go back."

"You met Ivan VI?" The Werewolf Boss was genuinely startled, "Where?"

"Uh, at The Grand Alliance's Prison 444."

"Why would you end up in prison while gathering ingredients?"

"That's a long story, and it's not the point. The point is Ivan VI has completely given up, resigned himself to fate. He's like a salted fish that has lost all its dreams, with only resignation on his mind."

"That doesn't fit with what I know about those Ares people. They are brave and resilient and wouldn't surrender to the Council so easily," Yan Wu shook his head.

"In fact, it wasn't the Council who made them surrender."

"Then what was it?"

"Skulder."

"Skulder?"

"I have two explanations here. One explanation uses a series of parallelisms to illustrate how Skulder would destroy all intelligent life in the Multiverse, and the other explanation is that it's a collective hallucination of the Ares people. Honestly, I don't know which one is the truth.

"But no matter which explanation it is, it's clear those Ares people won't be starting a war with The Grand Alliance anymore."

"But according to what you're saying, that thing called Skulder would attack The Grand Alliance, wouldn't it? So, there would still be a war."

"Hmm, that's true... But if Skulder is really as formidable as Ivan VI says, do you think the price of self-repairing memory titanium alloy would rise? Most importantly, would you even be able to get hold of that money?"

After Werewolf Boss finished speaking, he also realized, "The Multiverse hasn't seen a large-scale war in a long time, and the strongest military force in The Grand Alliance currently are those Ares people. If even they can't withstand Skulder, then nobody else could.

"Damn, according to this, it's indeed possible that The Grand Alliance might really be finished," Yan Wu said, stroking his chin's stubble.

"Do you have a way?"

"What way?"

"To save the Multiverse."

"You're giving me too much credit. I'm just a hardware store owner who also sells some smuggled second-hand goods," Yan Wu said, "How about you?"

"Me?"

"Do you have a way?"

"I don't know what I can do—I'm just a restaurant owner," Ma Lu spread his hands, "a plain and simple millionaire.

He paused, then added, "But maybe we can ask around—for example, the City Manager; they have a mysterious organization behind them, don't they? And the Wandering Sorcerer—she's the toughest person I've met. And I can also ask those folks at Hakimi Network Technology Co., Ltd.; they seem to be quite morally upright and powerful."

"I can also go and look for my regular customers," said Yan Wu, looking serious.

Both of them knew deep down that these people were unlikely to be of much help; otherwise, they would not have come to Earth in the first place.

But in the face of a crisis, people always tend to find something to do.

Besides seeking help everywhere, Ma Lu also asked Lao Hei to step up efforts to trace the whereabouts of the Warp Pulse Engine and the energy core.

Although if the Multiverse really is doomed, it's futile to run anywhere, having a spaceship at least allows for an escape—to live another day is to gain another day.

Of course, the best outcome would be that the Ares people all suffered a collective hallucination.

Ma Lu had been shivering in fear for five days, and he even fixed the useless TV set that he bought from Yan Wu, which could play political news from the entire Multiverse. He watched it every day but noticed nothing unusual.

Just when he was about to heave a sigh of relief and contemplate what ingredients to go fishing for next time, a Pigeon flew straight into the restaurant from the front door and perched on the counter.

It was the peak lunch hour, and many diners in the restaurant witnessed this miraculous scene.

"Tonight at 6 o'clock, I need to borrow your restaurant," the voice of the City Manager echoed in Ma Lu's mind.

"Eh... Sure, you can borrow it, but do you need us all to leave?"

"No," replied the Pigeon, "you and the kitchen staff stay," it paused and then glanced at Ma Youyou, "she can stay too. I need to use your place to host a few distinguished guests. I can offer 50,000 Star Currency for the venue hire, and double the meal cost, but I have one requirement—the best dishes must be served."

"Generous offer..." Ma Lu said, "But our best dishes aren't cheap."

"How expensive could they be?"

"299,999 Star Currency per person, so double would be 599,998."

The Pigeon, which should normally be expressionless, visibly changed its complexion at the number and twitched.

"Have you turned to robbery?"

"Not at all. I've already consulted many people, and this dish—Revenge canned carps sashimi—is generally this price everywhere because it uses the extremely rare nine-star ingredient Revenge canned carps."

"......"

"When did your restaurant start having nine-star ingredients?" the Pigeon wiped the sweat from its forehead with a wing.

"Just last week, I got a new shipment in. So what do you think? If you find it too expensive, I can change the dish."

"No need, we'll go with this dish," the City Manager gritted its teeth.

Ma Lu was surprised this time, "Who are you planning to treat that you're splurging so much?"

"It's not me treating." The City Manager said, "The money is coming from the Earth Autonomy Management Committee behind me. Weren't you always curious about who our supreme leader is? Tonight, you will meet him."

"I will make sure the kitchen is ready."

Ma Lu had a premonition that something big might happen tonight.

In his memory, the City Manager has always been composed, their regular work ensuring the city operates normally, allowing those from other Planes to seamlessly integrate into the lives of the locals.

It was rare for them to contact him directly in front of so many people like now, even though the City Manager could communicate with Ma Lu telepathically, and the restaurant's customers couldn't hear it speak.

In the past, this would have been considered highly irregular behavior.