Universe Infinite Canteen

Patrons who came to eat today noticed an A4-sized paper plastered on the glass door of the restaurant.

Upon closer inspection, they realized it was an advertisement for hiring waitstaff.

"Hey, has Boss Ma finally decided to hire some more help?"

"Right, right, weren't you always hiring part-time university students from nearby to save money? Why all of a sudden become so generous?" someone even teased.

Ma Lu glanced at the person, "Because winter break is coming up."

"Oh, that's right... Now that you mention it, I just realized next month is the New Year."

In fact, since last week, Little Snail and the others had begun showing up less and less, as they needed to prepare for their final exams.

Luckily, Shen Yue had previously recruited quite a few students to work part-time, and with everyone working half a day each, they managed to patch up the gaps, or else Ma Lu could still mobilize the enthusiasm of the regular customers.

They were regular customers after all; they should learn to order by themselves by now.

But always dragging on like this wasn't a solution because, as Ma Lu said, after the exams, there is the winter break, and all of those part-time students from the store would definitely want to go home for the New Year.

Therefore, recruiting new waitstaff had become an urgent matter.

But even though Ma Lu swiftly posted the hiring advertisement, finding the right person would not be that easy... right?

As Ma Lu was thinking this, he saw a girl with ear-length hair, wearing tortoiseshell-framed glasses, and carrying a backpack walk out from outside.

He Xiaoqian hurried over and politely said, "Hello, is it just you dining alone today? Sorry, we have a bit of a crowd today; you'll need to queue outside first."

"Oh, no, I'm not here to eat." The girl pointed to the recruitment flyer outside, "I saw that you are hiring."

As she spoke, she also revealed the orthodontic braces in her mouth.

Ma Lu had just wheeled out a cart of freshly baked burdock pizza, which was the restaurant's featured dish for the week.

Although some other restaurants had introduced burdock-flavored pizzas before, the burdock in those pizzas was used as a topping, just like sausage slices and ground beef.

However, the burdock pizza now sold at Universe Infinite Canteen used burdock in place of flour for the thin base, which was quite magical in both technique and taste.

Ma Lu handed the cart over to He Xiaoqian, who was nearby, asking her to serve the dishes, and then he looked up at the girl in front of him, Steel Teeth Girl.

"How old are you?"

"23, same as you."

"How do you know I'm 23 this year?" Ma Lu wiped his hands, curious.

"Uh..." The Steel Teeth Girl suddenly hesitated, a flash of panic crossing her face, then she stuttered, "I... I've seen your story on TikTok, knew you just graduated from Aerospace University, so I guessed it."

"But even within the same year, everyone's age when they enroll is different," Ma Lu said, scratching his chin, "Anyway, that's not the point. You've seen that we're short on staff, so, are you also a university graduate?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." The Steel Teeth Girl nodded.

"Why does a university graduate want to work as a waitress?"

"Because I can't find any other jobs."

"Although the current employment situation is grim, it shouldn't be that bad, right? What's your major?"

"Environmental Science and Engineering."

"That's... certainly a bit unusual, but you're so young, why don't you consider taking the civil service exam?"

"I—well... it's not very convenient."

Seeing Ma Lu frown, Steel Teeth Girl quickly added, "I can also do without the 'five insurances and one housing fund'."

"Do you take me for some kind of unscrupulous businessman?" Ma Lu said righteously, "Even if I don't pay it now, won't I have to make it up to you if you file a labor arbitration claim?"

"I can guarantee I won't file for labor arbitration."

"Forget it, I'm not short of that little money, and I don't want to invite trouble," Ma Lu said before sizing up Steel Teeth Girl again, looking suspicious. Enjoy new chapters from My Virtual Library Empire

"You... graduated from university, so young, you'd rather work at a restaurant than take the civil service exam, and then you don't even want the 'five insurances and one housing fund'. It all seems very suspicious. Right, do you have your ID card and health certificate with you?"

"Um..." Steel Teeth Girl glanced around at the diners, lowering her voice, "Can we find a place where there aren't any people?"

"What do you want to do?" Ma Lu stepped back half a step, warning, "I'll warn you, I'm not one of those casual bosses."

"You've had so many girlfriends, and you still have the nerve to say that," Steel Teeth Girl couldn't help but mutter softly.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing, I said my situation is rather unique."

"Unique? How unique?"

"I... like Boss Yan, Wandering Sorceress Sister, I am not from this world, so I don't have an ID card or a health certificate. I can't take the civil service exam like you suggested, nor can I work at other restaurants.

"But rest assured, I had a physical examination right before I came here, and I'm completely healthy. I just need a job to sustain myself here."

"Ha..." Ma Lu stroked his chin, thinking for perhaps a few seconds, "This isn't the place to talk, come with me."

After saying that, he led Steel Teeth Girl into the kitchen, where the Valkyrie People, busy washing dishes and stirring sauces, were surprised to see Ma Lu followed by a stranger and subconsciously stopped what they were doing.

Only Old Wang continued his meticulous cooking.

Ma Lu led Steel Teeth Girl through the kitchen and used the back door to enter the residential area, away from the crowd of diners, before speaking again, "Your race..."

"Human."

"Are you sure? Because I can find out if you're lying."

"I am 100% human, just like you."

"OK, I don't want to meddle, but since you plan to work in my restaurant, there are some things I need to clarify. Why have you come to this universe, political asylum? Elopement? Or are you in debt?"

"None of the above. Actually, I'm a Time Traveler. The reason I ended up here is completely accidental. I'm working on figuring out how to get back, but it will take some time. So I need to find a job to support myself here."

"Time Traveler? Wow!" Ma Lu raised his eyebrows, "Are you from the past or the future? You should be able to make money easily, whether by trading stocks, cryptocurrencies, or even playing the lottery, right?"

"I'm not a Time Traveler from this universe, and most of the time I can only return to previous points in time.

"Moreover, unlike what most people think, the timeline is not actually a line. It's more like a ball of yarn made up of countless strands, and it changes with observation.

"My brother often tells me not to think about changing the past whenever something goes wrong, although he himself has asked me if there's a way to arrange a meeting between him and Nenrei Rina."