Universe Infinite Canteen

Ma Lu recalled in his mind that the last catalyst seemed to be when he had killed a Young Flame Lizard. Did this mean he also had to hunt a local ingredient to complete the activation here?

Of course, this was just Ma Lu\'s guess; after all, the sample was too small. Only one instance didn\'t really prove anything.

Still, Ma Lu turned on the food scanning function of his Traveler\'s Bracelet, only to find that something eerie happened again—after a whole scan, there was no response at all.

If the same thing had happened in the previous dimension, it would not have been surprising, given that food ingredients are inherently limited in a desert. Yet now, he was in the midst of a forest, and not just any forest but one where various plants were thriving robustly.

With just his eyes, Ma Lu could spot many colorful mushrooms under the trees. If all these mushrooms were coincidentally poisonous and not considered ingredients, then the banana tree ten steps away with several bunches of bananas, though still green and underripe, was telling.

Moreover, right at Ma Lu\'s feet was a clump of daisies. Daisies are not only ornamental but also can be used for cooking.

However, the Traveler\'s Bracelet seemed to have suddenly "gone blind," ignoring so many potential ingredients right before his eyes.

At this time, Ma Lu also noticed something else

—this forest was a little too quiet.

He could hear the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the leaves, but small animals commonly found in forests, such as squirrels, rabbits, and sparrows, were nowhere to be seen.

Other than plants, there were only more plants. This raised a sense of caution in Ma Lu\'s mind, so he decided to wander the woods a bit more to see if he could gather any new intelligence, thereby understanding this dimension better.

And he had walked less than a hundred steps when he made a new discovery.

Ma Lu saw an iron plate among some vines. Although he couldn\'t understand the writing on it, it looked very much like the signposts by the roadside in another dimension.

This discovery also gave him a jolt of excitement; this sign was definitely not a natural growth of the forest, and its presence indicated that there might be intelligent life nearby.

The only issue was the significant amount of rust on the iron plate; it seemed to have been abandoned for a very long time, and there was no telling if the people who had originally placed the signpost were still around.

Since Ma Lu didn\'t have a particular direction to go, he decided to head in the direction the signpost pointed. After walking about a mile, passing through a patch of cold fir forest, he suddenly came upon a clearing.

There, in the open space in front of him, stood a two-story building that resembled a small warehouse.

But, like the signpost, it too had been deserted for a long time. Its walls were covered with vines and moss, and the glass was shattered.

Ma Lu was still pondering whether to take a closer look when suddenly there was a rustling of branches from above and, immediately after, a dark shadow pounced down on him.

Ma Lu barely had time to look up before his chest was struck heavily, sending him tumbling backwards to the ground beneath him.

The sharp pain in his rib cage made Ma Lu somewhat regret making excuses not to use the rowing machine for a proper workout over the past two weeks.

It could be said that due to the Meat Pigeon system, the increase in attributes had been too easy. Once accustomed to such levels of advancement, the thought of laborious exercise lost its appeal.

But now, regret was useless. Ma Lu had already seen his attacker, a young girl wearing a bomber jacket.

She had short purple hair with strands of gemstone blue intermixed, kneeling on Ma Lu\'s chest, and also pressing a red short blade against Ma Lu\'s neck.

Her brown pupils looked down condescendingly at her captive, as if she were assessing prey caught in a trap.

"Struggle, vermin, come on, please me with your futile efforts!"

As she spoke, she also rotated her knees, and seeing Ma Lu wince in pain brought a pure and innocent smile to her face.

Then she brushed the hanging strands of hair behind her ear and stuck out her tongue, licking Ma Lu\'s cheek.

"You taste good, I like it. You\'ll be delicious~"

At that moment, Ma Lu\'s attention was fixated on her right hand; he noticed that the arm holding the red short blade was mechanical.

However, his head was quickly twisted back by the purple-haired girl, "Don\'t be distracted~ Next, I\'m going to flay open your chest. I plan to start with your heart!"

After saying this, the purple-haired girl aimed the red short blade at Ma Lu\'s right chest, but before she could stab down, another voice sounded from behind her.

"It\'s bad, A\'Quan, Miss Bliss\'s condition is deteriorating, and at this rate, she will be lost soon."

A figure less than 1.5 meters tall stumbled out of the nearby bushes.

That was also a young girl, wearing an eyepatch on her left eye and looking to be only in her teens. Unlike the purple-haired girl, she retracted her neck upon seeing Ma Lu, then immediately stopped in her tracks, unconsciously diverting her gaze to the side.

"How many times have I told you not to call me A\'Quan! Call me my full name, Hellhound."

The purple-haired girl, upon hearing her companion\'s words, visibly irritated, grabbed her own hair, "Ah, really, everything was going smoothly when we set off, and it was so hard to get here."

"Miss Bliss has always taken care of us at school," the eyepatched girl whispered as a reminder.

"Shut up, Yun Que, I know," Hellhound said, her hair becoming a mess as she clenched her teeth, "Once I kill this guy, we\'ll return to Holy Temple City, where there\'s a potion for mental recovery."

"But the Knight, he\'s already dead," Yun Que\'s voice now carried a sob, "and we haven\'t completed our mission yet."

"Stop your sniveling!" Hellhound shouted, "Just give me a moment to think of a solution."

Upon hearing this, Yun Que immediately stopped her sobbing but still whimpered softly.

Hellhound\'s expression grew increasingly irate, until her gaze fell on Ma Lu again and her eyes lit up.

She grabbed his collar, "Hey, you insect, your luck has turned. If you do as I say next, I might consider sparing your life."

However, to her surprise, the man beneath her showed no expression of relief upon hearing her words.

"My name is not \'insect,\' and I do not intend to follow your orders next."

A flash of murderous intent crossed Hellhound\'s eyes as she shook the red short blade in her hand, "Are you seeking death?!"

"Well, you can kill me, of course, but only if you\'re not planning on caring about your friend\'s life anymore," Ma Lu said calmly.