Universe Infinite Canteen

Ma Lu hung up the call from the hardware store owner and dialed the number he was given. Despite trying twice, no one answered.

He didn't attempt a third time but instead composed a brief text message introducing himself and explaining his purpose before returning to his room to catch up on sleep.

He slept until 4 p.m. before getting up to check his phone, which had two missed calls—one from a courier and the other marked as spam.

Lao Hei hadn't called back, but Ma Lu wasn't in a hurry. He joined Old Wang at the restaurant first to prepare for tonight's dinner.

Most of Ma Lu's recent outing had been spent on solving mysteries and searching for Singer's Solanum Berry, and he hadn't collected any ingredients above 4 stars.

However, this wasn't a big issue—the Desktop Farm had plenty in stock, especially in terms of meat. Old Wang had just slaughtered an Earth Dragon, and from the hot spring barbecue, only half a leg was consumed, with the rest still frozen in the fridge.

Speaking of which, Universe Infinite Canteen's signature dishes had been vegetarian for several weeks now, so it was about time to satisfy everyone's meat cravings.

Moreover, last week Old Wang's chef level was upgraded again to level 5, and he could now reliably add stars to his dishes.

Any dish he cooked would have half a star higher Deliciousness Index than what the recipe indicated.

In this way, even ordinary ingredients could be elevated beyond their inherent deliciousness under his expertise.

Ma Lu wrote down this week's menu on the small blackboard and then glanced at the line outside that had turned several corners and still seemed endless.

Although Universe Infinite Canteen had been doing well since day one, it was not until Angie posted those pictures on her social media that things escalated to this extent.

Just a few hours after her posts, the restaurant was so overrun with customers that it nearly resulted in a stampede. Even if the Red Little Devil was stirring up trouble outside, at most it encouraged people to rush in.

At the same time, it was Angie's popularity as a top girl group idol that drew so many people here, and Ma Lu had to admit that she indeed had some real talent.

But the problem was that he didn't lack customers; Universe Infinite Canteen's dishes were always limited in supply. The number of dishes sold before Angie's post was the same as now.

It simply meant that the dishes sold out a bit faster and they could close before it got dark. However, with so many people gathered, the likelihood of accidents increased, and another stampede incident like the previous one wasn't impossible.

And there it was, before the restaurant even opened, a disturbance had already erupted in the queue, apparently between two groups of people arguing.

He Xiaoqian hurried over to intervene, but after five minutes, the disturbance showed no signs of stopping and even escalated as the two groups began to shove each other.

One particularly valiant man in a black down jacket was battling verbally like a one-man army, not only with a loud voice and spitting vigorously but also with a particular move—Six Meridian Divine Sword—pointing at people from a distance.

On the other side, it seemed a few male college students were the target of his pointing, and they were visibly angered. Someone pushed the strong man, and the conflict between the two sides intensified.

Poor He Xiaoqian was caught in the middle, still trying to calm the situation, but both sides were too heated to pay her any heed. Your next chapter awaits on empire

Fortunately, Ma Lu arrived afterward. In fact, he had been standing aside, listening for a while and had understood the cause of the conflict.

Due to the popularity of Universe Infinite Canteen, those wanting to dine had to queue up early. Both the man in the black down jacket and the students arrived early, so they were near the front of the line.

However, just before mealtime, the man suddenly called over a dozen people to stand in front of him.

This displeased the students behind him, who accused him of letting others cut in line.

The man in the black down jacket argued that all these people were his friends, and they had come to eat together. It just wasn't necessary for so many of them to queue up at once, so he had let his friends wander elsewhere while he waited here, planning to call them back when it was almost their turn.

In short, both sides had their reasons and neither was willing to give in; then they started to scuffle.

Ma Lu had heard enough and walked over; someone recognized him and said, "The boss is here, the boss is here, stop fighting everybody!"

Then others stepped in to help, and they finally separated the two groups, but afterwards, they continued to hurl insults at each other.

Ma Lu tried to pacify them, "Everybody just wants to have a pleasant meal out, there's no need for all this commotion. Let's all cool down, cool down."

The man in the black down jacket protested, "I didn't want to stoop to the level of a bunch of kids, but I just came out to have a meal with my friends, and they accuse me of cutting in line. How did I cut any line? I've also been waiting for a long time, okay? It's just that I have a few more friends."

"Bullshit!" a college student retorted angrily, "Since when does one person save spots for over twenty people?"

"Watch your mouth, what's wrong with that, can't I have a lot of friends?" the man in the black down jacket shot back, "What now, is there a limit on how many people you can save spots for?"

"Mmm-hmm, I get what's going on now." Ma Lu patted the shoulder of the man in the black down jacket, "This is all a misunderstanding, brother, why did you have to get physical?"

"They hit us first!"

"You were the one who started cursing, and you even threatened to kill us if we meddled more!" another college student said, "Go on, I want to see how you're going to kill us."

"Giving you face, huh," muttered the man in the black down jacket, as he began to roll up his sleeves, "Come on then, do we fight one-on-one or is it a brawl?"

"Hey, hey, hey, how are you starting up again?" said Ma Lu, "Didn't I just say, it's a misunderstanding, and it's also my fault for not anticipating so many people queuing. How about this, I'll give you two desserts."

As Ma Lu spoke, he deliberately lowered his voice, "Both are special editions, not on the menu, and if really for sale, one would be at least 199."

"Special edition?" The man in the black down jacket's eyes lit up.

"Guaranteed to be delicious," Ma Lu reassured, then looked towards the college students, "What do you say?"

The college students looked at each other and nodded, "Alright, we'll go with what the boss says."

"Okay then, no more fighting, or no dessert," Ma Lu cautioned them again, then went back into the restaurant.

About five minutes later, he came out of the kitchen carrying two servings of pudding.

Both puddings looked enticing, with plump egg-yellow bodies that were clear and shiny; they trembled with Ma Lu's every step as he walked, nestled in their plates.

After coming out of the oven, Old Wang had sprinkled sugar on top and used a red-hot metal spoon to sear a crisp caramel crust.

Then he added a bit of sea salt butter and garnished them with biscuit crumbs and mint leaves.

They were mouthwatering at first glance.

"Please enjoy."

Ma Lu handed the two servings of pudding to the man in the black down jacket and one of the college students.