Infinite Cosmic Cafeteria Chapter 26: One Punch Man

Translator: Stellar Novels Editor: Stellar Novels

Bocchi exerted all his strength, yet he couldn’t break free from the sand chain.

Seeing this, the bald man was overjoyed and immediately ordered, “Now! Take him down!”

Four of his men sprang into action, each using their Psychic Ability. However, whether it was fireballs or wind blades, none of their attacks could get past Bocchi’s blood-red shields.

What kind of Psychic Ability was this, so overwhelmingly powerful?!

The bald man was secretly alarmed, realizing they might have messed with the wrong people today. Bocchi’s defense was incredible; even when restrained, he could defend himself flawlessly.

If Bocchi managed to break free from the sand chain, they would all be in serious trouble.

The hunter controlling the sand chain was already sweating profusely.

The bald man knew he couldn’t afford to drag this out any longer, but he also wasn’t confident about breaking through the blood shields quickly.

His gaze shifted to Ma Lu, who was just watching the scene unfold. His intuition told him that this guy might be easier to deal with.

If he could take Ma Lu down first, perhaps he could use him as leverage to force Bocchi into submission.

Without further hesitation, the bald man charged at Ma Lu, activating his ability at the same time.

One of his arms swelled to three times its original size, covered in coarse, beast-like brown fur. Underneath the fur, veins bulged like wriggling worms, continuously throbbing.

Beast-type Psychic Ability—Ape Arm.

With this move, the bald man could triple his strength for a short time, unleashing tremendous destructive power.

Ma Lu noticed he was being targeted but didn’t panic. He calmly clenched his right fist.

In Roguelike mode, the blessings applied to the entire team.

【Strike Charge】 could be used by Bocchi, and Ma Lu could use it too. After studying these blessings for so long, no one knew how to use them better than Ma Lu.

He glanced at his character status panel; his strength boost had reached an astronomical figure—2162%.

All thanks to the help of an old friend.

The Flame Gecko that Ma Lu had hidden in his hand five minutes earlier had been tirelessly attacking him, scratching, biting, and constantly spitting tiny flames.

These attacks were harmless but counted as real hits.

Each hit increased Ma Lu’s strength by 10%.

The Flame Gecko’s relentless efforts had unintentionally boosted Ma Lu’s strength to its current level.

It was time to experience what it felt like to be a One Punch Man.

Before the bald man could get close, Ma Lu swung his fist.

In the next moment, the world seemed to darken.

The terrifying force of the punch, mixed with sand and gravel, blocked out the two suns above.

The bald man felt an overwhelming presence locking onto him, making his hair stand on end, and he was gripped by a sense of inescapable dread!

How was this possible?!

Even though he had activated his Ape Arm, which should have given him the upper hand in strength, facing this incoming punch, he felt as fragile as a baby.

The bald man was utterly terrified. He prided himself on being cautious, always sizing up his opponents before making a move, but today he had misjudged twice in a row.

These two seemingly insignificant characters were each more dangerous than the last!

But it was too late to regret. The bald man could only make a desperate move, attacking in hopes of defending himself.

Before their fists even met, the force of the punch blew the sand in front of them several meters away.

Then, like two comets, they collided violently!

The bald man felt as if he had crashed into a thick, metal wall. His bones and muscles trembled wildly as he pushed his strength to the limit.

Yet, he still couldn’t budge that wall, and it continued pressing toward him with unstoppable force, slamming into his body.

He spat out a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying, crashing headfirst into a nearby sand dune, where he passed out cold.

Ma Lu, having effortlessly finished the fight, looked over to see that Bocchi had already freed himself from the sand chain, and the remaining three enemies were huddled together, trembling.

Ma Lu walked over and suggested, “Let’s kill them.”

The three shivered even more violently at his words, and the female hunter who had ambushed Bocchi earlier burst into tears.

Bocchi shook his head. “I’ll take them back to the city and hand them over to the marshals.”

"You’re the captain; it’s your call."

Bocchi took some ropes and tied up all the people on the ground. He then turned to Ma Lu and asked, “Why did you want to kill them just now?”

“These guys live in The Giant Screen like you do. It feels safer to just get rid of them.”

Bocchi had considered many possibilities, but he hadn’t expected Ma Lu to answer like that. Stunned, he replied, “I can protect myself.”

“Yeah.”

“The Giant Screen has good security with marshals keeping the peace, and even hunters have to follow the law. Although my father is no longer around, he left behind quite a few friends. But once outside the city walls, some people can’t resist their greed.”

Bocchi didn’t know why he felt the need to explain all this to Ma Lu, but after a moment’s thought, he added.

“I’ll recruit more people. Right now, it’s just the two of us in the hunting group, and that’s too few. It makes situations like this more likely. If we had more members, those guys wouldn’t have thought to take advantage of us, and we’d have more support in the city too.”

“That would be ideal,” Ma Lu agreed.

With the captives and recruitment matters settled, it was finally time for the exciting task of tallying their loot.

According to the Hunter’s Code, those who attack or rob others in the desert forfeit all their possessions to the victims.

Bocchi didn’t hesitate and took everything he could.

From the motorcycles, he found about 100 jin of scythe-horned antelope meat, 7 Red-Bellied Rattlesnakes, 4 Black-Breasted Chickens, and a pup of a Swift Coyote.

Most of the items were as expected, but Bocchi was genuinely surprised when he saw the Swift Coyote pup.

Ma Lu’s wristband scan confirmed that it was a rare find.

Three stars, another 3-star ingredient.

Bocchi hesitated before asking Ma Lu, “I’d like to keep it, if that’s alright. I can deduct the cost from the earnings of this hunt.”

“Sure,” Ma Lu agreed readily. Although the pup had a high star rating, it didn’t seem to have much meat on it. After hunting the Giant Claw King, Ma Lu wasn’t particularly interested in the little wolf cub.

“Are you planning to fatten it up before you butcher it?”

Bocchi shook his head. “I want to train it to be my companion.”

Ma Lu raised an eyebrow. “You know how to tame animals?”

“I learned a bit in school. Swift Coyotes are intelligent and loyal. If you raise them from a young age and build a close bond, they can become great hunting companions when they grow up.

“But it’s rare to find a Swift Coyote pup. If you’re interested, I can keep an eye on the market for you, or you can have this one.”

Ma Lu wasn’t keen on raising a pet, especially a wolf. Plus, since he only came around once a week, it would be difficult to build any bond with the animal.

Most importantly, Ma Lu already had a companion.

Aside from the meats, they also found two hunting suits, likely spare gear brought by the bald man’s group.

These suits were a level above the basic hunting gear Ma Lu wore, offering better defense and breathability.

Ma Lu changed into one immediately and invited Bocchi to do the same, but Bocchi declined.

“This suit is already great; it was a gift from my father.”

“Alright,” Ma Lu said, pointing at the pile of weapons and supplies on the ground. “What should we do with these?”

“My motorcycle’s full. We can store them at a depot, so we can use them on our next hunt.”

“Depot?”

Bocchi pulled out his crumpled map again and pointed to a location marked with a warehouse symbol.

“There’s one here, just a 10-minute drive from us. We can store anything we don’t need there, especially extra supplies and batteries. Next time we hunt nearby, we can just come here to pick them up.”

“You can do that?”

“Of course. Why else do people form hunting groups and join the guild? Every time we go out, the guild takes ten percent of our earnings, but in return, we get access to all kinds of services they provide.”

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