Infinite Cosmic Cafeteria Chapter 36: Decapitation in One Strike

Translator: Stellar Novels Editor: Stellar Novels

Bocchi glanced at the three Wattled Hook-Beaked Vultures circling in the sky and then activated his Psychic ability.

Using the blood left behind by the Gray-Spotted Cheetah on the ground, he created seven thumb-sized blood shields.

Four of these shields were positioned beside him, while the other three covered the pile of rotting organs behind him.

Soon, one of the vultures could no longer resist the temptation and swooped down from the sky.

Although it could eat anything, it was clearly more interested in carrion, making its primary target the pile of organs on the ground.

However, it flew straight into a mechanical spear. Sensing danger, the Wattled Hook-Beaked Vulture abandoned its hunt at the last moment, flapping its wings to evade.

Bocchi's speed boost was only 12% at the moment, making his movements only slightly faster than the vulture’s. Moreover, with its wings, the vulture was even more agile in its maneuvers.

After attacking, the 223% strength boost Bocchi had accumulated with 【Strike Charge】 vanished completely.

At that moment, the other two vultures also dived down, seemingly realizing that unless they dealt with this troublesome human, they wouldn’t be able to feast.

They attacked Bocchi from the left and right, forming a pincer movement!

The four blood shields at Bocchi's sides were pierced almost instantly by the vultures’ sharp talons.

Then, Mai Mai saw one of the ferocious Wattled Hook-Beaked Vultures suddenly shudder, as if struck by a sudden illness, and fall to the ground without warning.

【Water Conducts Electricity: Water-type Psychic ability users in the team have a 33% chance of adding an electric current when using their abilities】

This time, Bocchi didn’t manage to get 【Final Iron Wall】 for damage immunity, but luckily, this purple blessing could partially substitute it and even provided a control effect.

The grounded vulture was stunned by the electric shock. Bocchi pushed back the attacker on his right, reversed his grip on the spear, and thrust it into the downed vulture, ending its life.

Just as Bocchi pulled his weapon free, a loud thud came from behind. The first vulture that had attacked realized Bocchi was occupied with its companions and attempted to claim the pile of organs for itself.

It collided with the three blood shields Bocchi had left on the organs, and it too wasn’t lucky—triggering 【Water Conducts Electricity】 once more.

Bocchi didn’t hesitate to collect this easy kill.

After completing the double kill, Bocchi turned to find that the last Wattled Hook-Beaked Vulture, sensing the unfavorable situation, had already fled.

Perhaps unwilling to leave empty-handed, the vulture spotted Ma Lu and Mai Mai on the sand dune and dove towards them.

Mai Mai placed a hand on her backpack, ready to unleash her ability, but Ma Lu moved faster.

He pulled out the small hand crossbow he had picked up at the storage point, but after a moment’s thought, he tossed it to Mai Mai. “You do it.”

Ma Lu knew his aim wasn’t great, and firing the crossbow would count as an attack action. Once activated, his accumulated strength boost would reset, and that power wouldn’t be transferred to the bolt, making it a wasted effort.

Mai Mai took the crossbow, quickly loaded a bolt, aimed, and fired, all in one fluid motion, exuding a practiced grace that showed systematic training.

The bolt struck the left wing of the vulture, just half an inch shy of its left ventricle.

But that half-inch made all the difference.

Against the vulture’s massive body, a bolt as thin as a finger would cause limited damage unless it hit a vital spot. Otherwise, it wouldn’t seriously wound the Wattled Hook-Beaked Vulture.

Mai Mai had done her best, but ultimately, the vulture was only slightly knocked off its flight path.

For Ma Lu, however, that was more than enough. Seizing the moment, he leapt forward and swung his 【Chef's Knife】.

With a forceful burst of 4,983% power, the vulture’s head and neck were effortlessly severed in two.

The headless body continued to fly a short distance before crashing into a sand dune, flapping a couple of times before finally lying still.

Ma Lu let out a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, the two Wattled Hook-Beaked Vultures that Bocchi killed earlier each dropped a blessing that enhanced speed and reflexes, even though they were both blue.

Without this extra 10% boost, Ma Lu might not have been able to seize that fleeting opportunity just now.

After all, no matter how strong you are, you need to land your hit for it to count.

After surviving the first two rounds of attacks without much trouble, the subsequent battles became much easier.

Mai Mai noticed this as well.

As an experienced hunter, she keenly observed that Bocchi’s strength, speed, and reflexes seemed to be steadily improving over time.

Moreover, Bocchi’s stamina was unusually remarkable today; the relentless battles didn’t seem to wear him down much.

Those small red shields were also something Mai Mai had never seen before. She had known Bocchi for a long time and was well aware of what his Psychic ability was.

It was precisely that weak Psychic ability that had hindered Bocchi from becoming an excellent hunter.

However, the Psychic ability Bocchi was displaying now felt unfamiliar to Mai Mai.

These blood shields appeared to have the power to paralyze prey, block attacks, and, when shattered, could transform into a toxic substance that burned the target’s skin on contact.

Mai Mai had witnessed Bocchi create a blood shield as large as a door, which then shattered and wiped out an entire group of Two-Headed Jackals.

—It’s a common belief among hunters that once a Psychic ability awakens, it remains fixed and unchangeable.

Yet today, that belief seemed to be challenged.

But how was that possible?

Mai Mai had lost count of how many times she had been shocked today, and she knew the answer she sought lay with the man beside her.

Not long ago, Bocchi had been disheartened and announced his departure from the Harpist’s group. Less than a week later, he founded Double Sunflower and returned with full hauls twice in a row.

There was only one variable in all of this.

Mai Mai leaned close to Ma Lu’s cheek, her breath tickling his ear. “Who exactly are you?”

“Me? For now, I’d say I’m just a flexible freelancer.”

Ma Lu sneezed.

“Fine, don’t tell me.” Mai Mai feigned anger, but the smile on her lips betrayed her true feelings.

But when she lifted her binoculars again, she let out a soft exclamation.

“What is it?”

“There’s a sand dune over there that seems to be moving.” Mai Mai observed for a moment longer and confirmed, “Yes, it’s moving toward us.”

“It’s a Thousand-Toothed Sandfish,” Ma Lu said, picking up his binoculars. The scene was all too familiar to him.

When he first arrived in this dimension, the first to greet him was the giant lurking under the sand dunes.

And that same night, he had tasted Pan-Seared Sandfish at the Little Bear Tavern, and it was quite delicious.

If he could get Old Wang to cook it, it would surely elevate the dish even further.

So now, the only question left was:

—How to hunt this Thousand-Toothed Sandfish.

If Ma Lu recalled correctly, this creature’s timid nature was completely disproportionate to its size, and it would quickly burrow underground if startled.

Although Bocchi was now loaded with buffs, taking down the Thousand-Toothed Sandfish in a single blow would not be easy.

Typically, hunting such a large creature would require at least seven or eight people, along with special traps and weapons.

As Ma Lu pondered, Mai Mai’s voice rang in his ear again.

“Vice Leader, can you leave this one to me?”

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