Infinite Cosmic Cafeteria Chapter 45: Brother and Sister

Translator: Stellar Novels Editor: Stellar Novels

This week was more exhausting than the previous two, but Ma Lu still managed to hit his sales target.

In six days, he earned a total of 80,535 yuan, with a profit of 75,926.7 yuan. Seeing over 80,000 yuan in his bank account genuinely thrilled him.

And the good news didn’t stop there—Old Wang had finally gained enough experience, upgrading his chef level from lv1 to lv2.

“Hey, what’s the difference between level 2 and level 1?” Ma Lu asked, munching on an apple in the rented apartment.

“The upgrade has improved my cooking skills. When preparing dishes, there is a 25% chance of producing a premium dish, which increases the deliciousness rating by an extra ☆.”

“So you can boost the star rating just by refining your cooking skills, without relying on the quality of the ingredients?” Ma Lu was surprised.

“This is the dividing line between an excellent chef and a mediocre one. An excellent chef can create unexpectedly delicious dishes even with ordinary ingredients,” Old Wang explained seriously.

“That makes a lot of sense.” Ma Lu then thought of something, his eyes lighting up.

“Wait, if you keep leveling up, the probability of producing premium dishes will continue to rise. So when you reach lv5, you could consistently add stars. In that case, couldn’t we sell low-star ingredients at high-star prices?”

Ma Lu felt he had discovered a new way to make money. As long as Old Wang’s level was high enough, he could eventually sell 1-star ingredients as if they were 5-star.

“That would require a lot of experience points,” Old Wang said.

Hearing this, Ma Lu finally made up his mind.

No, these college students’ pockets are too empty; he needed to figure out how to open a storefront to draw in working adults willing to spend. That way, he could continue raising prices.

However, opening a store wasn’t something to rush into—it was a big undertaking with many preliminary tasks to complete.

For now, Ma Lu shifted his focus to the upcoming hunt.

…

Bocchi had been feeling inexplicably irritable lately. She didn’t know when Ma Lu had left that day or whether he had heard what she said afterward.

She finally found a chance to clear up the misunderstanding, but after explaining, their relationship only seemed to become more awkward.

Bocchi wasn’t even sure how she should act around Ma Lu now. She could only focus on riding her motorcycle.

This time, she arrived at the storage point earlier than Ma Lu, with three other motorcycles following behind her.

When Bocchi parked, the three behind her also slowed down. Besides Mai Mai, there was a young couple.

“The vice leader hasn’t arrived yet?” asked the young man.

“No, but he’ll be here soon.” Bocchi took out her pocket watch and glanced at it. “He should be here in another thirty seconds.”

“Thirty seconds?” The young man was skeptical. He looked around and saw no motorcycles approaching, so he asked again, “Are you sure you arranged to meet him at this storage point?”

The girl beside him gently tugged on his sleeve, signaling him to say less, but the young man ignored it and continued, “Could the vice leader have gotten the location wrong? Should I check the nearby storage points?”

“It’s good for newcomers to be eager, but you should also trust the leader’s judgment,” Mai Mai said nonchalantly.

The young man wanted to say more, but the hand pulling on him tightened its grip.

“Brother,” the girl said urgently.

“I’m just making a suggestion to the leader.”

“No, someone’s here,” the girl whispered.

“Huh?” The young man turned around and saw a dark figure behind him, his face showing a hint of surprise.

He had just checked the surroundings and hadn’t seen anyone.

Moreover, this person had no vehicle—how did he get here?

The girl was also startled and moved closer to her brother, while Mai Mai looked equally surprised.

However, she immediately recognized Ma Lu. “Vice Leader, why do you always appear out of nowhere?”

“It’s one of the effects of my psychic ability, called Teleportation.”

Ma Lu made up an explanation on the spot. He also noticed the brother and sister not far away and raised an eyebrow, “New recruits?”

“Yes, Setta and Senqi,” Bocchi introduced. “The brother has an earth-type psychic ability, and the sister has a beast-type psychic ability.”

She then pointed to Ma Lu, “Ma Lu, Vice Leader of the Double Sunflower Hunter Group, specializes in Roguelike-type psychic ability.”

“Roguelike?” Setta frowned slightly, “What’s that? I’ve never heard of it.”

“Well, you’re in for a treat today,” Ma Lu said, nodding to Bocchi and Mai Mai. “I’m going to get my equipment.”

He entered the code on the metal cylinder, waited for the container to rise to the surface, and went inside.

When he came out, he was already dressed in his hunting gear and had mounted his motorcycle.

Bocchi briefly reported to Ma Lu about their last hunt. The Thousand-Toothed Sandfish sold for 201,263 energy units, and the other prey totaled 12,913 energy units.

After deducting the 10% guild fee and the 12,000 energy units spent on renting the air transporter, each person received 60,252.8 energy units.

Upon hearing this number, Setta and Senqi couldn’t help but swallow, their eyes filled with envy as they looked at the three of them.

They had heard about the newly formed Double Sunflower Hunter Group’s recent lucky streak, consistently yielding great rewards, which was why they wanted to join.

They were both in desperate need of money.

When Bocchi handed Ma Lu 15 Red-Bellied Rattlesnakes that she had bought at the market and stated that the cost would be counted as group expenses, Setta couldn’t help but speak up.

“This doesn’t seem quite appropriate.”

Bocchi glanced at Setta. “I know you and your sister have decent abilities, but not good enough that I absolutely have to keep you. You haven’t even passed the newcomer assessment yet, so you’re not in a position to comment on the group’s affairs.”

Setta didn’t back down. Instead, he looked Bocchi straight in the eyes. “If we pass the newcomer assessment, will we be allowed to voice our concerns about unreasonable aspects to you, the leader?”

“Yes.”

Ma Lu watched from the side, nudging Mai Mai with curiosity, “Where did you guys find such a hotheaded guy?”

“Well, they sent in their own application letter, but their overall skills were indeed the best among the candidates. Besides, they have some ties with the leader.”

“What kind of ties?”

Mai Mai adjusted her hair and explained, “I heard from someone that their father used to be an old member of the Harpist Hunter Group, but he left the group early due to illness. They spent a lot of money on his treatment, only barely managing to keep his condition from worsening, and he still needs expensive medication to stay alive.

“Their family’s financial situation has always been poor. When Leader Li was still around, he would regularly send money to them, but it was all anonymous. After he passed away, the money stopped.

“They both had to drop out of school to become hunters. Most hunter groups saw that they were young and without any backing, so they treated them harshly. Setta’s penny-pinching nature probably developed during that time.

“After all, he has a sister to look after. The Black-Breasted Chicken acts similarly when facing enemies—it clucks loudly, spreads its wings, and raises its feathers to appear more intimidating, hoping to scare off threats.

“But his attitude easily offends people, and it’s said that because he offended a vice leader in their previous group, they were forced to leave.”

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