Universe Infinite Canteen
Chapter 787 - 787: The Final Sprint

"Isn't this a bit too risky?" Ma Lu said, "If we get caught on camera, won't it alert the dock security?"

"Under normal circumstances, maybe. But it's already the end of the world, chaos has started spreading across the city in recent days, and the dock patrols have been reassigned to maintain order elsewhere.

"Plus, the port right now is insanely busy. No one cares about small robberies like this." The Gnoll spoke with experience. "As for my boss, you don't need to worry about him reporting this. First off, he's already gone. Secondly, this Warp Pulse Engine has a rather sketchy background itself.

"The nameplate's been scraped off, the chips inside have been hacked violently—you can only sell it to smuggling groups or interstellar hunters like you guys. Hmm... Why are you all staring at me like that?"

"How do you know we're a smuggling group?" Angie asked in shock.

"Oh, come on, you contacted me via the black market. What else could you be—an actual legit company?

"But generally, I don't pry too deep into these things. I keep one eye open, one eye closed. If something happens to a client someday, I can always claim I knew nothing about it. It's called worker wisdom."

Ku Juzi hurried them, "If you want to snatch the engine, you'd better hurry. Your docking time limit's almost up too, right?"

"Thanks." Ma Lu patted the Gnoll's shoulder. "If I manage to save the world, you'll have played a part."

"Don't mention it." Ku Juzi said, then suddenly bolted toward a surveillance camera below, his face contorting into a horrified expression, screaming, "You, you, what are you doing?! Guards! Guards, come quick!!"

Ma Lu shot a glance at Flush your Pee, who got the message and immediately sprang into action, roaring like a bear and charging forward, claws extended, grabbing the Gnoll by the neck.

The Gnoll let out a bloodcurdling scream, "Do you... do you know who my boss is?! Dare to touch his goods—he'll never let you off the hook!"

Ma Lu watched with admiration from the side. Even in a situation like this, Ku Juzi still managed to slip in some subtle praise for his boss. As the breadwinner of his family, he really went all out to protect his job.

Flush your Pee, being a first-timer at this kind of thing, didn't quite control his strength. At first, the Gnoll was half-acting, but soon his face genuinely turned purple, desperately slapping at the Black Bear's paw, trying to get him to ease up.

But Flush your Pee was already fully invested by now. Instead of loosening his grip, he tightened it further, sneering, "Struggle! Shout! Tell your boss—it's you that we're robbing!"

Ku Juzi was choking so badly he started sticking out his tongue.

Ma Lu noticed something was wrong and stepped forward, "Alright, that's enough. Finish him off and move the engine onto the ship."

"Got it, watch me snap his neck."

"No, throw him out," Ma Lu quietly reminded the overly excited Flush your Pee.

The Black Bear then swung his arm, hurling the Gnoll with considerable force. Ku Juzi's back slammed hard against a shipping container, producing a dull thud. He rolled his eyes and immediately passed out.

Ma Lu went over to check if he was still breathing. Finding he was, Ma Lu finally let out a sigh of relief and directed the team to haul the Warp Pulse Engine from the vehicle onto the ship.

Meanwhile, their 25-minute docking window was almost up, with small drones already flying over to prompt them to leave and make room for the next arrivals.

The hardware store owner wasted no time starting up the ship, and they successfully passed through the aurora and left the trade port without encountering any obstacles.

It seemed Ku Juzi was right—the city's security situation was indeed dismal enough, with even the port's protection forces reassigned elsewhere.

Still, despite everything, the Gnoll insisted on clocking into work. Truly a gold-star employee.

"He's a good guy. I like him," Ma Lu remarked. "Even though we only met once, for some reason I feel an inexplicable sense of mutual understanding between us."

Flush your Pee was still basking in the thrill of his big debut, "Hope the guy doesn't end up laid off and survives to retire."

"If you really like him, maybe try not choking him so hard next time," Ma Lu said.

With the final Warp Pulse Engine secured, the resource-gathering phase was completely done.

Next came heading to Plane 8287 for the ultimate showdown against those Skulder.

Ma Lu threw himself entirely into cooking now, vowing to devise a dish before reuniting with Boggy that could defeat those terrifying foes and turn the tide.

But over the next two days, even though he adjusted his state of mind and got plenty of rest, he still failed to come up with a successful dish.

It wasn't until the third day that he managed to create something: Five-Fingered Peach Root with Stewed Black Chicken, which had the effect of automatically clenching your pelvis 500 times after drinking it.

Ma Lu didn't continue practicing right away but instead tried to recall the key points of that attempt. He'd been so stimulated by repeated failures that he had nearly lost his focus and creativity, yet managed to succeed again by sheer accident.

Could it be that the essence of creativity isn't about deliberate thought, but... yielding to instinct?

Ma Lu tried making the dish again, unsurprisingly failing this time. Yet he wasn't discouraged, quickly diving into new attempts... and finally succeeding again on the third try.

The success rate wasn't high, but it was an improvement compared to the previous days.

Following this strategy, Ma Lu kept practicing, eventually pushing his success rate to 50% by the end of a day and a half.

But further improvements came slower again, possibly because he wasn't truly a chef. Strictly speaking, he was borrowing Old Wang's power to cook.

With limited understanding of cooking, it was hard to increase his success further.

It did make him wonder how he initially managed to create two dishes in one go. Was it just beginner's luck?

Ma Lu scratched his head but realized there was no time left for more practice.

The ship was due to arrive at Plane 8287 in half a day, and Ma Lu needed to figure out a way to defeat the Skulder within that time.

Over the past week, while cooking, he had been pondering this question and had come up with a few potential answers.

Yet compared to the failure of the Otherworldly Flu Season Pizza from another plane, these dishes didn't seem much better.

Ma Lu still had no confidence in using them to defeat the Skulder.

Just as he was feeling stuck, inspiration struck him. If he couldn't come up with something, he could try consulting someone who could.

Though cooking time hadn't been long for him, according to Old Wang, Ma Lu possessed an extraordinary talent for creativity. There were very few chefs in this world who could surpass him in that regard.

But Ma Lu knew there was one person who definitely could.