Infinite Cosmic Cafeteria Chapter 38: Confession

Translator: Stellar Novels Editor: Stellar Novels

Ma Lu gave Mai Mai a thumbs up. “Amazing!”

Mai Mai smiled slightly at his words, but then she staggered, her body leaning forward, and she fell face-first into the sand.

“Huh?”

“I’m fine, I just used up all my Psychic energy and feel a bit drained.” Mai Mai’s voice came from beneath the sand, muffled. “That’s just how my ability works—once it’s activated, it can’t be stopped.”

Bocchi walked over, picked her up, and placed her on the back seat of the motorcycle.

Mai Mai closed her eyes to rest for a moment before speaking again. “Captain, Vice Captain, did I pass my assessment?”

Before Ma Lu could say anything, Bocchi replied seriously, “You did. The strength you’ve shown fully qualifies you to join Double Sunflower.”

“Thank you. I won’t leave the hunting group or abandon everyone again,” Mai Mai said softly.

Bocchi shook his head. “Leaving a group is a hunter’s freedom. There’s no rule that says a hunter must stay in the same group forever.”

“But I really like Double Sunflower, and I like both Captains. I want to stay here forever.”

“Sweet talker.” Bocchi snorted coldly.

Ma Lu pointed to the nearby Thousand-Toothed Sandfish. “Speaking of which, what do we do with this thing? It’s impossible to transport it back with the motorcycle, and my bag can’t fit it.”

The Giant Claw King they encountered on the previous hunt was already quite large, but compared to this Thousand-Toothed Sandfish, it seemed no bigger than a crab in a creek.

Moreover, the Giant Claw King had a thick shell that accounted for about half its weight, and once you removed the inedible organs, the remaining meat was even less.

In contrast, the Thousand-Toothed Sandfish had no shell, and the ratio of meat to bone was about seventy to thirty. Ma Lu roughly estimated that the amount of meat could easily exceed 10,000 jin.

This was an unprecedented haul!

Thankfully, he had upgraded the 【Collection Bag】 before coming, but even then, it could only carry 600 jin of meat—less than one-tenth of the total.

Bocchi’s motorcycle had a similar load capacity, and even if Mai Mai recovered enough to ride her motorcycle back, there would still be over 8,000 jin of meat left behind with no way to transport it.

Leaving it here would be a huge waste.

Bocchi said, “I just rented an aerial transport drone from the guild. After upgrading to Bronze, the hunting group can use this service, but each time costs a significant fee.”

“The medium-sized drone I rented costs 12,000 units of power for two hours of use, with an additional 2,000 units per extra hour.”

“That expensive?”

“Yes, which is why most of the time hunters prefer to use their motorcycles to haul their prey back.”

“But we got something really good this time.” Mai Mai’s voice was filled with excitement. “The current market price for Thousand-Toothed Sandfish meat is about 16 units of power per jin, cheek meat can sell for 24, and mid-belly meat for 21. This entire fish should sell for around 190,000 units.

“Even after deducting the 12,000 for the drone rental, we still have 180,000. If you two split it…”

“Three of us,” Bocchi corrected. “You’re already a member of Double Sunflower, and this Thousand-Toothed Sandfish was caught thanks to you, so you’ll definitely get a share of the final reward.”

Mai Mai didn’t refuse and cheerfully said, “Alright, then the three of us will each get 60,000. Plus the other prey, we should end up with about 65,000 each. Haha, I never expected to make such a big profit right after returning from a two-year hiatus.

“Being a hunter really is the fastest way to make money. I should never have bothered opening that perfume shop.”

The harvest this time was already bountiful enough.

Following the principle of quitting while ahead, the three unanimously decided to end the bait fishing.

Bocchi stood guard in front of the Thousand-Toothed Sandfish with his mechanical spear. He had rewrapped the remaining organs, but this place had just witnessed a dozen battles in quick succession, and the scent of blood was strong, likely to attract nearby beasts.

Fortunately, until the transport drone arrived, no beast stronger than the Thousand-Toothed Sandfish appeared.

Only a group of Vampiric Long-Tailed Weasels tried to take advantage of the situation but were easily dealt with by Bocchi, who was stacked with blessings.

Afterward, the captain of the Double Sunflower Hunting Group loaded the Thousand-Toothed Sandfish, the other prey they had caught, and the exhausted Mai Mai onto the six-rotor drone, which looked like a giant ladybug.

He, however, stayed behind, accompanying Ma Lu to the nearest storage point to stow the motorcycles and equipment.

“Ah, you’ve really gone through a lot of trouble. I could’ve come here alone,” Ma Lu said as he changed clothes inside the container. Bocchi didn’t follow him inside, stopping at the door and speaking through the metal walls.

“It’s fine. This way, it’ll be easier for me to find you next time.”

After that, neither of them spoke again, leaving only the sound of sand grains striking the metal with a soft ping-pong noise.

Perhaps feeling the atmosphere was a bit odd, Bocchi eventually broke the silence again.

“I… plan to recruit two more people. Five should be enough. If we have too many, the rewards for each person will be less.”

“Sure, that’s up to you,” Ma Lu replied.

“Of course, our ultimate goal is to enter the Death Zone, so I’ll adjust the team structure and purchase weapons and equipment accordingly…”

Bocchi tried to keep the conversation on business, but he realized that avoiding the real issue wouldn’t help. He needed to clear things up; otherwise, the misunderstanding from earlier—when Ma Lu asked him to change clothes in front of him—would only make things more awkward between them.

Bocchi took a deep breath and finally made up his mind. “Actually, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you. I’m not… who you think I am.

“After my father passed away, to carry on his legacy and support the hunting group he left behind, I cut my hair, rode his motorcycle, and imitated his style, mannerisms, and even his way of speaking.

“At one point, I desperately wanted to become him… No, even now, I’m still trying to be him, to become a hunter, a leader as excellent as he was, and not let down those around me.

“But after becoming a hunter myself, I realized the gap between us more clearly—a gap so vast it made me despair. I finally understood that no matter how much I mimicked him, I could never come close, let alone become him.

“Still, I want to thank you. If it weren’t for you, I might be drowning in some bar on The Giant Screen, wallowing in self-pity. You saved me; you brought a ray of light into the darkest time of my life.

“Even if it’s just 12 hours a week that I can be a proper hunter, it’s the most wonderful thing that has happened to me in recent years.

“And also, I didn’t mean to deceive you. I just never found the right moment to explain that I’m not actually a guy. But I guess it’s not too late to tell you now.

“Anyway, I hope you don’t mind, and that we can continue to get along as well as before.”

After saying all this in one breath, Bocchi felt much more at ease.

However, she received no response from Ma Lu. She waited a little longer, then stepped forward and knocked on the container’s metal door again, but still, there was no reply.

Bocchi hesitated, finally pushing the door open, only to find that inside was just a motorcycle and the hunting outfit that had just been taken off.

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