Universe Infinite Canteen
Chapter 781 - 781: Devil Training

The group joined forces to take down Ahao and searched the surrounding area, but still couldn't find any trace of Sir M.

"That's impossible."

Lao Hei slapped the back of his neck, killing a big mosquito trying to suck his blood. "That guy shouldn't be too far from his bodyguards."

"Did we miss some spot?"

"No way, I even checked inside the tree holes," Beigong Meng replied.

The hardware store owner didn't join the discussion. He closed his eyes and used his superior sense of smell to capture lingering scents in the wind.

Previously, he had been in close contact with Sir M on the plane, so he still remembered the man's scent.

Following the trail, Yan Wu walked about a dozen steps forward and stopped in front of a banana tree.

"I already searched here. Didn't see anyone, and there's no place to hide a person, either," said Brother Xiao Wei.

The hardware store owner said nothing, crouched down, and scanned the empty ground in front of him. His gaze finally settled on a flytrap plant.

He reached out and pried open the hairy, tightly clamped leaves of the flytrap, which resembled a stuffed bun.

At the center, he discovered a miniature figure, no bigger than a thumb—none other than the mysteriously vanishing Sir M.

Upon being discovered, Sir M immediately put his hands on his hips and began to shout. However, his voice was so tiny that Yan Wu and the others couldn't make out what he was saying.

Seeing this, Sir M slapped a belt around his waist. Instantly, his body began to swell, expanding until he returned to his normal size. He bellowed furiously,

"Do you people even know who I am?! Even your bosses would treat me with utmost respect. A single word from me, and I can make sure you have no place to stand anywhere in the entire Multiverse!"

"The world's ending, and you're still using this old scare tactic on us?" Lao Hei sneered. "Your wealth and connections are useless now."

"What if the world doesn't end?" Sir M retorted stubbornly. "Think about your families and friends. Don't do something foolish."

Chen Zhengyi, unwilling to engage in his nonsense, stepped forward and grabbed Sir M, pressing his head onto a suitcase.

The suitcase's lock mechanism chimed, signaling it had been unlocked. When opened, it revealed a glass aquarium—but it was completely empty.

Chen Zhengyi froze. "Where is it?"

"Where's what?"

"The Time Blue Lobster! Isn't it stored in this case?"

Sir M had an epiphany. "So, you're after the Time Blue Lobster. You should've said so from the start!"

A cunning glint flickered in his beady eyes. "That thing is incredibly rare. There's only one in the entire Multiverse. Among all my treasures, it's easily in the top three in terms of value.

"I can hand over the Time Blue Lobster, but you must guarantee my safety. Otherwise, I can make sure you'll never get your hands on it."

Yan Wu glanced at Lao Hei. Among the group, only Lao Hei had a personal grudge against Sir M.

Lao Hei had previously joined the Pink Whale smuggling group to carry out dangerous missions for Sir M, only for the group to be annihilated by the Dimensional Pirate Group.

He was the sole survivor and, because of his mission failure, Sir M had even sent assassins to Earth to kill him.

Lao Hei had never planned on seeking revenge. For someone like him, surviving the execution order set by Sir M was already a miracle.

But now, with the chaos brought by the impending end of the world disrupting all systems, he unexpectedly found himself with an opportunity for revenge. To say he wasn't tempted would be a lie.

Still, Lao Hei understood he couldn't let personal grudges hinder their greater mission. Just as he was preparing to agree to the deal, Chen Zhengyi suddenly spoke up.

"The Time Blue Lobster… it's a time-related ingredient, right? Is it possible it's simply not in this timeline at the moment?"

"Ah, so you're saying it might reappear if we wait?" Beigong Meng asked.

"I'm not sure, but since we've already waited this long, waiting a bit longer won't hurt," Chen Zhengyi replied while keeping a close eye on Sir M's expression. He noticed a flicker of panic in Sir M's eyes.

Sure enough, after waiting just five more minutes, the previously empty aquarium now held a transparent lobster about half a meter long, glowing with a faint, ethereal blue light and exuding an elegant aura.

"Whoa, it really appeared! What an incredible creature," gasped Beigong Meng, eyes wide in amazement.

On the other side, Sir M's face had turned ashen. "The world's ending soon—none of us have many days left to live! Can't we just talk this out? Do you want money? I can give you money! A lot of money! Enough to make you all filthy rich."

"I'm not interested in money," Chen Zhengyi shook his head.

Baldy added, "Recruiting people for my business is more important to me."

Yan Wu said, "I've made my living from hardware sales and flipping second-hand goods, not through extortion."

"Too bad Boss Ma isn't here. He might've agreed to let you buy your way out," Yogurt Freeze quipped.

Lao Hei scanned the group. Seeing no one stopping him, he picked up the alloy dagger Ahao had dropped and moved excitedly toward Sir M.

This time, Sir M was genuinely terrified, his face full of panic. "Don't be rash, young man! We can talk this through! I've never heard of the Pink Whale, and it wasn't me who gave the order to wipe them out! It's all a misunderstanding by my subordinates!"

...

While Yan Wu and the others were hosting Sir M in the Amazon Rainforest, Ma Lu was scratching his head in his restaurant's kitchen.

After bringing back the energy core and wrench, he had announced in dozens of fan groups and put up signs outside his restaurant that he would be closing temporarily for "intense training."

At first, Ma Lu tried practicing his culinary skills at home to find inspiration. However, there were simply too many distractions at home. On the first day, he spent four hours in the kitchen but felt utterly drained and decided to relax by playing some NBA 2K.

The "relaxation" ended up lasting until 2 AM. Exhausted and filled with guilt, he finally went to bed.

The next day, filled with renewed determination, Ma Lu smashed his PS5. But during his lunch break, he picked up a drone, put on flying goggles, and flew through the nearby bridge, spending another two hours draining all four drone batteries.

Crestfallen, Ma Lu thought about smashing the drone as well, but a quick glance at the 4090 gaming PC in the esports room, the new full racing simulator setup, the neck training Apple Vision Pro, and the cinema-grade sound system made him realize that breaking everything wasn't a viable plan.

In the end, he resolved to move out of his villa, bringing only daily necessities, a blanket, and Old Wang. He headed to his closed restaurant to begin a period of rigorous creative training.

Surprisingly, it actually worked.

On the first day, Ma Lu succeeded in creating a dish: Chinese chicken shawarma. Its special effect? Anyone who ate it would start speaking Chinese uncontrollably.

Ma Lu tried it himself and felt no change, but when he gave it to a foreigner who'd been asking for directions in English, the man immediately started speaking fluent Tianjin dialect.

Why Tianjin dialect instead of Henan, Shaanxi, Hakka, or Standard Mandarin? Not even Ma Lu, the dish's creator, had a clue.

Still, it was a success. Even though it was just one dish, it boosted his confidence immensely.

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