Universe Infinite Canteen

The attack didn't come from the surrounding vigilant energized plants, but from the Hellhound that was supposed to protect him.

Ma Lu was bitten on the neck by the purple-haired girl.

To ensure flexibility of the head, the helmets and breastplates forged by the Church were not connected by metal but used an ultra-high molecular weight composite material.

Although it also had piercing resistance, because it was soft, Ma Lu could still feel the impact of the teeth biting down and got quite a scare.

"What are you doing?"

"Hm...I don't know why, but I've been finding you more and more annoying," the Hellhound mumbled, still clinging to Ma Lu's neck.
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"You can't just bite me because of that."

"But I feel uncomfortable if I don't bite," the purple-haired girl snorted coldly.

This was also a downside of Ma Lu's superpower; he could attract enmity indeed, but it was indiscriminate, drawing aggression from enemies and necessitating wariness of allies as well.

Especially with someone like the Hellhound, who lives purely by instinct and intuition.

"Your scent has suddenly become very unpleasant," the purple-haired girl complained.

"Just bear with it a little longer," Ma Lu said, "Once we've dealt with these energized plants, I'll recover. As long as you cooperate with me, the next time the Weaponry Department updates inventory with suitable equipment for you, I'll snap it up for you right away."

It took Ma Lu a lot of cajoling and deceiving to finally make the Hellhound let go of his neck, but her mood clearly remained sour.

Afterward, she took out all her frustrations on the approaching energized plants nearby.

Even without activating any active skills, with the Hellhound's current strength, she could usually end a fight with the 1, 2-star energized plants within three strikes, even without any buffs.

With her help on the side, Ma Lu's task of luring the monsters became secure, encountering virtually no danger along the way.

Before long, a huge mass of energized plants, numbering in the hundreds, had gathered behind him, but Ma Lu was still not satisfied. He lured another hundred before returning to the stone and clambered up the rope.

The Ouroboros Serpent immediately cast an Acid Rain Spell.

The space below the stone platform, engulfed in acid rain, saw plant after plant collapse in waves.

Ma Lu even felt like he was watching a combine harvester work through wheat fields in the countryside.

With just two cycles of Acid Rain Spell, Ouroboros Serpent had nearly cleared the low-star energized plants below, leaving the 3-star and 4-star ones for Yun Que to focus on.

The first generation poster girl dressed in purple gear plus golden gear was no longer the laggard she used to be.

The bullets fired from Thunder Kiss carried electric chains that would spread upon hitting a target, capable of attacking up to seven targets simultaneously, while also benefitting from an enhancement piece that provided 50% armor penetration and a 100% headshot damage bonus.

Yun Que managed to make a sniper rifle feel like a machine gun.

And once that wave of creatures was cleared, Ma Lu immediately headed off again to lure a new batch of enemies back.

Using this method, he dealt with all the energized plants within 600 squares nearby.

Just the mission rewards in terms of Holy Silver Coins and Atonement Points were estimated to be as much as 250,000 and 29,000, respectively.

In addition, Ma Lu also got his hands on those two Meteorite Shards that were engulfed by the energized plants, all of which he later posted on the All-Seeing Eye.

The result of the second engraving was still mediocre, yielding an enhancement that increased the defensive power by 25%. The value was good, but as a remote marksman, Yun Que didn't have a strong need for defense.

But another result was a rare jackpot—the bullets had a 30% chance to penetrate barriers up to 150mm thick without any kinetic energy loss.

150mm, the thickness of standard interior brick walls, meant that hereafter, Yun Que's bullets had a 30% chance to pass through walls, without any decrease in damage.

Indeed, fortune favors the bold!

Tasting success, Ma Lu was eager to try another engraving, but for the next more than two hours, he couldn't find any more meteorite shards.

Ma Lu was somewhat disappointed, but not particularly surprised.

Compared to Circle Mirror Lake, this area's meteorite shards had already been scavenged once; his visit was akin to picking up leftovers.

Having found 6 pieces was actually beyond his initial expectations. He had managed to engrave both of his gold gears, and he guessed the rest had probably been taken back to Holy Temple City.

Ma Lu wandered around the vicinity for a while longer, and when he didn't find anything else, he stopped searching deliberately.

By now, his Collection Bag was almost full.

Over the next two hours, Ma Lu even had to throw away some of the Energized Plants he had previously captured in order to make room for more rare varieties.

His main purpose for coming here was to stock up for the Desktop Farm, so he caught live specimens. Once these 1100 pounds of Energized Plants were introduced to the Desktop Farm, Universe Infinite Canteen could begin to achieve vegetable autonomy.

After completing his main objectives, Ma Lu also found an inconspicuous spot to bury the things he had obtained from the Pointy Hat that he couldn't use yet.

Afterward, the group returned to Holy Temple City.

Li Wei didn't mention it, and Ma Lu would not have noticed on his own, but now that he was looking as they returned, the city already bore some festive atmosphere.

Colorful banners hung from street lamps, and many stores took the opportunity to offer discounts, attracting customers.

Ma Lu paused outside a mall, holding a hefty amount of Holy Silver Coins. Due to a lack of gear, he could not use them for draws.

Seeing that a significant event would occur in the city in a few days and unsure of the future situation, he decided it was best to spend the money.

So Ma Lu entered the mall and first purchased some hard assets like precious metals and jewelry.

Then, accompanied by Yun Que and others, he began a spree in one clothing store after another.

Ma Lu only chose the most expensive brands in the mall, buying 50 sets of clothes for each of his witches, enough to last them several years.

He also bought snacks, toys, and daily necessities worth almost 100,000 Holy Silver Coins, and another 300,000 worth of jewelry and accessories.

Due to his lavish spending, he even drew the attention of the mall manager, who personally arranged to have these items delivered to the Witch's Home.

They also received some small complimentary gifts.

Ma Lu opened one of the gift boxes and found a beautifully crafted commemorative badge. He recognized the icon on the back of the badge—The Great Tower, an iconic structure of Holy Temple City.

However, he was unfamiliar with the person depicted on the front.

Pointing at the man on it, Ma Lu asked Bliss Bird, "Who is this?"

"Prophet Yong Yi," replied the red-haired girl. "The founder of Holy Temple City and the Order Church, the savior of human civilization, the spokesperson of the Master of Order on Earth… He has many titles; I've just listed some of the most important ones. Without him, we would have completely lost to those Energized Plants outside the city by now."