Infinite Cosmic Cafeteria Chapter 72: Desktop Farm

Translator: Stellar Novels Editor: Stellar Novels

“Are Cosmic Chefs that rare?”

“Of course. Cooking, like hardware work, requires both talent and diligence; you can’t lack either. But culinary arts are even harder to master than hardware—only those with great perseverance even have the courage to step onto this path,” Yan Wu said. “Throughout the entire multiverse, there are only a handful who can become Cosmic Chefs.”

Ma Lu turned to Old Wang. “Is that true?”

“I don’t know,” Old Wang shook his head. “The recipes were already in my sector when I regained consciousness.”

Yan Wu seemed to remember something and took half a step closer to Ma Lu, his towering figure blocking out the sunlight.

“That pigeon has always been rigid. For it to reveal its identity to an Earthling and give you my address, there must be something about you two it couldn’t resist.”

“Oh, we’re planning to open a restaurant.”

“And then?”

“A restaurant with a Cosmic Chef.”

Yan Wu’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Really?”

“Really,” Ma Lu confirmed. “We’re partnering together. I source ingredients from other dimensions, and Old Wang handles the cooking. But there are still some issues preventing us from opening the restaurant. The city manager said we could come to you.”

“Then you’ve come to the right place.”

Yan Wu wiped his hands on his overalls and grabbed a wrench from the top shelf, flipping it around.

In the next moment, Ma Lu felt as if the entire world had turned upside down.

When he came to his senses, he was still standing inside the hardware store, but the items on the shelves had completely changed.

The ordinary hardware pieces had been replaced by bizarre items of all shapes and sizes.

There was a miniature black hole inside an empty wine bottle, a glowing green crystal radiating an eerie light, an iron helmet bristling with antennas, and a cookie tin covered in cryptic symbols that occasionally emitted strange whimpering sounds...

A wooden figure, awkwardly moving in a synchronized motion, was sighing as it repeatedly moved an iron bucket from one end of the store to the other and then back again, endlessly performing this pointless task.

Ma Lu spotted an intricately crafted LEGO model of a library on the second shelf and was about to touch it when Yan Wu stopped him.

“Don’t touch that. It’s the Black Room Library, a highly malicious high-dimensional artifact. If you touch it, you’ll be sucked inside and forced to study for an entire week before being released. The worst part is, you’ll be learning a very rare interstellar language.

“It’s so rare that it’s not even in the translation databases. It’s said that only three people in the entire multiverse still speak this language, so even if you learn it, you’ll never have the chance to use it.”

“That malicious?”

Ma Lu quickly pulled his hand back, then looked at the werewolf. “So, you’re a Craftsman?”

“You know about Craftsmen?” Yan Wu shook his head. “I’m not a Craftsman. Those guys are all holed up in Artifact Technology. Craftsmen are even rarer than Cosmic Chefs, and their personalities are all more eccentric than the last.

“Unless you have a specific way to contact them, they won’t even acknowledge your existence, even if they live next door. And considering this dimension’s remote location…”

“I’m just a hardware store owner who does a little interstellar smuggling—or you could call it scavenging—on the side.”

Yan Wu was telling the truth, except for one thing. Ma Lu knew there actually was a Craftsman in this dimension, but that guy was incredibly reclusive.

Even when Old Wang managed to contact him, he only sent No. 6 over and never showed up himself. It seemed like he had no interaction with other interdimensional visitors either, so it was no wonder Yan Wu and the others didn’t know he existed.

“What do you mean by scavenging?” Ma Lu asked again.

“Oh, most of the high-dimensional artifacts here are old goods I’ve picked up—out of warranty, slightly faulty, or sometimes just experimental works from novice Craftsmen.”

Yan Wu pointed at the wooden figure. “Take this thing, for example. The Craftsman who made it originally intended to create an assistant, but when it was completed, all it could do was carry things, and it couldn’t stop. If it’s not moving something, it feels uncomfortable.

“It wouldn’t be so bad if that was all, but it also sighs constantly while moving things, making it seem like it’s being exploited, which negatively affects the morale of anyone working around it.”

As Yan Wu spoke, the wooden figure once again passed by Ma Lu, carrying the iron bucket, leaving behind a long, meaningful sigh.

“Oh, and the Black Room Library you almost touched earlier—that’s another example. Its creator intended it to be a quiet place to study, but something went wrong, and users are forced to learn near-extinct interstellar languages inside it.”

“Of course, besides these failed creations, I also have some useful high-dimensional artifacts. Although they’re second-hand and can’t be repaired if they break, products made by Artifact Technology are of high quality. Even after the warranty period, they usually don’t malfunction.”

Yan Wu walked behind the counter, rummaged around, and pulled out an old 5-cent coin, tossing it to Ma Lu.

“You should find this useful.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a Phase Shifter, and it works like my wrench—it can create a mirror space.”

Yan Wu explained, “To use it, you first anchor it to the target space, then flip the coin between heads and tails to switch freely between the two spaces.”

“Oh, wow, this is exactly what we need! Now we won’t have to worry about inspections anymore.” Ma Lu said joyfully as he caught the 5-cent coin.

“And this should also be useful for you.” Yan Wu took a bronze beaver statue off the shelf.

“This high-dimensional artifact is called ‘This Is Very Beaver.’ Its ability is similar to that of a city manager’s—it can influence a small area, making anything that happens within that space seem completely reasonable to those inside it.

“However, it has limited usage—only three times a month, and each use lasts for half an hour.”

“Ha… Do Craftsmen also like puns?”

(Translator's Note: Beaver in chinese is pronounced very similar to the way Reasonable is pronounced)

“That’s just a coincidence. I remember that there’s a beaver species in the multiverse that’s skilled in psychic abilities.”

“Got it.”

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Yan Wu suddenly smacked his forehead. “During my last supply run, I found something rare that happens to be perfect for you guys, but it’s still in my car. Wait a moment.”

After saying that, Yan Wu flipped his wrench again, and the world turned upside down once more. The three of them returned to the regular hardware store, and Yan Wu strode out the door, opened the trunk of his Chevrolet Enjoy, and pulled out a large cardboard box.

Carrying the seemingly heavy box, Yan Wu returned to the shop.

He opened the box to reveal a miniature terrarium inside.

It was divided into several small compartments, showcasing various landscapes—deserts, rainforests, grasslands, lakes, snowy terrain… every type of environment you could think of.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a Desktop Farm,” Yan Wu grinned.

Previous

Next