Infinite Cosmic Cafeteria Chapter 27: Upgrade

Translator: Stellar Novels Editor: Stellar Novels

The bald man and his group had delivered a great gift, but Ma Lu hadn’t forgotten the real prize.

He was about to grab his chef’s knife and deal with the Giant Claw King when Bocchi stopped him.

“Let me handle it this time.”

“Hm?”

“The Giant Claw King is highly valuable and needs to be processed properly. If key parts are damaged, it’ll lose a lot of value.”

Bocchi had already frowned when Ma Lu butchered the Two-Headed Jackal last time.

Processing and preserving prey is a must-learn skill for every hunter. It would be a pity if the value of a rare catch plummeted due to poor handling.

Ma Lu took the advice and handed the chef’s knife back to Bocchi.

Bocchi approached the Giant Claw King, inserted the knife into a joint, and with a couple of twists, removed one of its hind legs.

Instead of going for the meat right away, he first disassembled the remaining legs and the pincer, then opened the shell on its back. He made a small incision on a white membrane and collected the purple liquid that flowed out into an empty water bottle.

“This is the Giant Claw King’s pulmonary fluid. Just this small bottle can sell for 800 energy units,” Bocchi explained. “It’s not edible, but clothing shops in the city will buy it.”

After collecting the pulmonary fluid, he removed the stomach and heart, keeping the gills intact...

As Bocchi worked, he explained each step to Ma Lu. In less than twenty minutes, he had expertly processed the Giant Claw King.

He extracted around 700 jin of meat, sorted according to different cuts, along with many valuable organs.

Ma Lu felt like he was witnessing a surgical operation. Bocchi’s movements were swift and precise, with not a single unnecessary cut.

“I’ve already taken the Swift Coyote pup, so all this meat is yours. As for the bottle of pulmonary fluid and the other parts, if you don’t need them, I can sell them in the city and split the money with you.”

“Let’s do that.”

Ma Lu agreed with the arrangement, but as he was loading the Collection Bag, he stopped halfway.

“What’s wrong?” Bocchi asked.

“It’s full.”

Ma Lu wasn’t surprised that the Collection Bag had a capacity limit; after all, whether it was a game backpack or a storage ring, they could never hold items indefinitely.

However, the limit came sooner than Ma Lu had anticipated. Considering the 22 Vampiric Long-Tailed Weasels and various other prey he had already packed inside, Ma Lu estimated the plastic bag could hold no more than 400 jin.

The Universe’s Best Snack Stall had already made a name for itself at the west gate of the university. Every time he set up shop, the food sold quickly. Last time, he brought back over 300 jin of ingredients, and they sold out in less than five days. This time, even with an extra 100 jin, it still didn’t seem like it would be enough.

Scratching his head, Ma Lu had to reorganize. He removed the lower-star ingredients he had previously stored and finally packed 350 jin of Giant Claw King meat and 50 jin of scythe-horned antelope meat.

Back at the rental house, Old Wang was already waiting in the kitchen.

Ma Lu pulled out his haul from the plastic bag and chose 【Giant Claw King Roast】 from the recipe menu for today’s dish.

This dish had a deliciousness rating of ★★ and could provide 146 chef experience points.

Old Wang listed the necessary ingredients, but instead of heading out immediately, Ma Lu asked another question.

“By the way, can I get another plastic bag? I collected more ingredients this time, but the Collection Bag couldn’t fit them all.”

Old Wang shook his head. “You can only carry one Collection Bag. Even if you bring more, the total capacity won’t increase.”

“I see. For the snack stand, it’s not a huge issue—just a little less profit. But if I want to open a restaurant in the future, bringing back only 400 jin each time clearly won’t cut it.”

“Although bringing multiple Collection Bags won’t help, you can increase the maximum capacity by upgrading your existing Collection Bag.”

“Upgrade? I didn’t know Collection Bags could be upgraded!” Ma Lu exclaimed. “Then help me upgrade mine now, so I can bring back more ingredients next time.”

“I can’t,” Old Wang shook his head.

“Only craftsmen can create and upgrade high-dimensional artifacts. However, their numbers are extremely limited; as far as I know, there are fewer than 10,000 craftsmen in the entire multiverse, and most of them have joined the Artifact Technology. The rest live in seclusion across the universe.

“The odds of encountering them in any given universe are less than one in a hundred trillion. Considering our current location is outside the Grand Alliance, the chances are even slimmer.”

“So, are you saying my Collection Bag can never be upgraded?” Ma Lu said, rubbing his chin.

“For now, that seems to be the case. But I can try to contact them; I’ve dealt with them before, and there are still some contact details from their sector.”

“That’s the best we can do for now.”

After discussing the upgrade, Ma Lu went to the farmers’ market, spent 165 yuan to buy the necessary ingredients, handed them to Old Wang, and then went back to bed for a nap.

Yesterday, he and Old Wang had spent nearly ten hours playing the Switch, and then he had gone hunting under the blazing sun with Bocchi. He was genuinely exhausted.

He slept until 2 p.m., then got up, drank a bowl of Yangsha Pangolin clay pot soup, and tried a freshly cooked Giant Claw King roast. Feeling completely rejuvenated, he gave Old Wang a thumbs-up.

After a quick clean-up, the two hopped on their tricycle and set off again.

While still on the road, Ma Lu received a message from Shen Yue asking why he hadn’t arrived yet.

It was her sixth time checking in today.

— Are you coming? Haven’t seen you in days, I miss you.

— It’s almost lunchtime, where are you?

— Bro, my good big brother, why aren’t you setting up?

— Come on, man, how many days have you skipped? Even the production team’s donkey doesn’t rest this much.

— I’m dying here, without your Fried Meat Patties, I’m going to die.

— Say something, Dad!

(Translator's Note: They’re not actually related (obviously), calling someone big brother/dad is a way of putting their social position above yours. Considered changing it to Daddy but it felt too sexual.)

Ma Lu, steering with one hand, replied:

— I’ll be there in ten minutes.

— Damn, you’re still alive? That’s great. I’ll order one Fried Meat Patty—no, make that two.

Shen Yue replied instantly and sent 36 yuan, but Ma Lu didn’t accept it.

Ten minutes later, Ma Lu and Old Wang arrived at the west gate of the university, where a line had already formed in their usual spot, probably tipped off in advance.

Shen Yue was there too, along with two junior members of the Ancient Poetry and Literature Club who were helping maintain order.

When Shen Yue saw Ma Lu, her eyes lit up, but when she saw Old Wang pull out the grill, she froze.

“Huh? I thought today was Fried Meat Patties?”

Ma Lu nodded. He had money now, so although the grill was second-hand, he had it delivered by courier to save time.

“I told you already, Fried Meat Patties are a limited-time offer. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.”

“What? How could they be gone?! I have to criticize you, senior.” Shen Yue protested, “As a vendor, you should consider your customers! You can’t just stop making a popular item that everyone loves whenever you feel like it.”

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