Infinite Cosmic Cafeteria Chapter 75: The Trouble of Happiness

Translator: Stellar Novels Editor: Stellar Novels

Before setting off, Ma Lu calculated his profits for the week as usual.

Thanks to the upgrade of the Collection Bag, he brought back an additional 100 pounds of ingredients this time. Selling Queen’s Crisps at 18 yuan per serving, he managed to sell 7,775 servings, bringing in a total revenue of 139,950 yuan.

Costs were higher than the previous week, mainly because Old Wang used a lot of fresh vegetables for the new sauce and they had to replace a gas cylinder and purchase four barrels of oil, totaling 2,189.7 yuan.

The final profit was 137,760.3 yuan.

The first thing Ma Lu did with the money was to continue upgrading the Collection Bag.

He spent 80,000 yuan to upgrade the Collection Bag from LV4 to LV5, increasing the storage limit to 800 pounds. The next upgrade to LV6 would cost 160,000 yuan, which he didn’t have at the moment.

Ma Lu also topped up his electricity bill with 20,000 yuan and bought himself a humidifier.

It’s inevitable—once you sleep on a latex mattress and your back pain is gone, you start complaining about the dry weather.

And before the humidifier even arrived, Ma Lu was already researching rowing machines.

Hunting and street vending are physically demanding, and a strong physique is essential. It’s said that rowing machines work over 90% of your muscles, so it seemed necessary to get one.

After that, he could look for a shooting range, get a VIP membership, and find a coach to improve his marksmanship—it’s embarrassing to keep missing the target…

But all of that could wait until he returned. For Ma Lu, the most important thing now was to hunt 5-star or higher ingredients and cook a dish that could impress the werewolf.

With that goal in mind, Ma Lu set out once again.

He was all fired up and ready for action, but the moment he arrived in the other dimension, he heard Bocchi’s urgent voice.

“Something’s happened!”

“Huh?” Ma Lu opened his eyes and found Bocchi looking more serious than ever.

“Has San Lu already started suspecting us?”

“No, Black Horn is indeed investigating the disappearance of Jin Jian and the others, but they haven’t linked it to us yet,” Bocchi replied. “Besides, San Lu probably doesn’t have time to avenge his subordinates right now.”

“Why not?”

“Because something has happened at The Giant Screen,” Mai Mai added from the side.

Ma Lu then noticed that the others looked tense as well.

Although the hunt hadn’t started, Setta had already created his sand golem in advance, and Senqi had rolled up her sleeves. The siblings were constantly on the lookout, wary of their surroundings.

Their behavior made Ma Lu realize the gravity of the situation.

“What exactly happened?”

“The animals in the desert have become unusually aggressive for some unknown reason, and they’re converging on The Giant Screen. Even the powerful beasts from the Dead Zone have come out,” Bocchi explained.

“They haven’t fully surrounded The Giant Screen yet, but they’re close. For safety reasons, aerial transport has already been suspended. If you had arrived just one day later, we wouldn’t have been able to leave the city to find you.”

“It’s a beast tide,” Mai Mai said with a serious tone, quite different from her usual carefree self. “Throughout history, 17 cities have faced beast tides, and only 3 have survived.”

“What happens if they don’t survive?”

“Everyone dies,” Bocchi said coldly. “The Hunters’ Guild has issued the highest-level mobilization order, calling all hunters to defend the city. But you’re not a local; you don’t have to risk your life for The Giant Screen like we do.

“We came here to inform you of the situation. I’ve also brought a map, backup batteries, and enough supplies to survive in the desert for a month. You can try heading to another city…”

As Bocchi spoke, she handed over the map, but Ma Lu took it without even looking and tore it in half.

“What nonsense are you talking about? I’m also a member of Double Sunflower, and I’m the vice leader. Of course, I’ll stand with my teammates.”

Leave? What a joke.

Ma Lu was just worrying about where to find high-star ingredients, and according to Mai Mai, even the powerful creatures that usually hid in the Dead Zone had come out.

Right now, there was no better place than The Giant Screen to hunt for rare ingredients.

As for the danger, Ma Lu didn’t care at all. A mere beast tide was nothing; even if a comet were to crash down in the next second, he wouldn’t suffer any real harm. The worst-case scenario would just be a wasted trip.

Moreover, after so many hunting trips together, Ma Lu couldn’t be indifferent toward Double Sunflower. Now that Bocchi and the others were in trouble, he certainly wouldn’t stand by and do nothing.

Setta gave a thumbs up. “That’s our vice leader! I knew you wouldn’t leave us. I used to admire Captain Li from Harpist the most, but from today onward, it’s you!”

Mai Mai was also moved. “I just realized how majestic our vice leader’s presence is…”

Bocchi felt pleased, but as the captain, she had to maintain her authority, so she simply nodded at Ma Lu with a serious expression and said, “Since you’ve made your decision, get on the bike. I’ll explain the situation in more detail once we’re back at The Giant Screen.”

“Alright.”

Ma Lu quickly changed clothes at the storage point, and after mounting his motorcycle, he finally had time to claim his points from the last round.

In the previous session, he had gained a total of 80 blessings—not a lot, as the team hadn’t engaged in serious hunting.

Fortunately, Bocchi had brought along a sack of market-bought Red-bellied Rattlesnakes and found fourteen Vampiric Long-Tailed Weasels and two Yangsha Pangolins along the way.

These creatures contributed 3 white blessings, 67 blue blessings, and 6 purple blessings.

The three Stinger-Legged Whip Spiders added 3 more purple blessings, while the Stinger-Legged Whip Spider Queen dropped a gold blessing. In addition, Ma Lu retrieved 1 gold and 1 purple blessing using Sticky Web and Sticky Web - Modified.

Final score: 3,673. A new high without even trying.

Combined with the 3,349 points left over from the last session and an extra 670 points from Piggy Bank’s interest, Ma Lu now held a staggering 7,692 points.

Terrifying!

With this much wealth, it was time to check out some high-end items, and this time, the Curio Shop didn’t disappoint, offering up a curio worth 1,999 points—Troubles of Happiness.

Effect: Each time a blessing selection appears, it adds an extra option.

What a fantastic item!

Ma Lu couldn’t take his eyes off the curio once he saw it.

It was worth every bit of its price. This 1,999-point curio increased the number of blessing options from three to four, not only boosting the chances of useful blessings appearing but also speeding up the time needed for a build to take shape. Plus, with more options, the effects of Work Plan Book and Heartbeat Lottery were even more impactful.

After shopping, Ma Lu used Sticky Web and Sticky Web - Modified to retrieve 【Strike Charge】 and 【Super Imitation Show】.

Although the other gold blessing, 【Power Bank】, was quite useful, it was clear that 【Super Imitation Show】 was far more satisfying to use.

After copying the Lava Spray from the Lava Giant Lizard and Mai Mai’s Electric Field, Ma Lu found himself increasingly reliant on this gold blessing.

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