Universe Infinite Canteen
Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Strange Object Store

Ma Lu stepped from the cool, air-conditioned living room directly into the sweltering heat of the desert.

Looking around, he saw the same desolation and monotony as always.

However, his previous experiences had made him realize that the place wasn't as lifeless as it seemed on the surface.

He looked around, not seeing Boggy anywhere, but he wasn't too surprised; it was difficult to pinpoint locations in the desert, and besides, he had given Boggy two positions before he left last time.

Even Ma Lu didn't know where the Bug Egg had transported him; all he could do now was wait for Boggy to replace him.

Climbing atop a nearby dune, Ma Lu found a conspicuous spot to sit cross-legged, but soon the sand beneath him was so hot he had to stand up again.

To divert his attention from the pervasive heat, he checked his character status on his wristband.

All the blessings he had accumulated last time were reset to zero after he left, leaving the display completely empty.

The good news was that the effect of [Gift of Fate] was still working; it seemed to automatically engage the Meat Pigeon Mode whenever he returned to this plane.

Ma Lu also received a notification, somewhat like a summary of a completed level.

It listed all the blessings he had obtained last time, totaling 85, including 71 White Blessings, 13 Blue Blessings, and 1 Purple Blessing.

These blessings were then converted to corresponding points: 1 point for each White Blessing, 10 points for each Blue Blessing, and the Purple Blessing was worth a whopping 100 points.

Adding them together, his final score from his last session was 301.

After the score was tallied, he unlocked a new feature—the Strange Object Store.

Every period, the Strange Object Store put 6 items on sale, purchasable with points.

Unlike blessings, the items didn't reset to zero and remained effective indefinitely, like the Sticky Web Ma Lu had just bought for 300 points.

Its effect was simple: reclaim one blessing from the last set of reset blessings (limited to Purple Blessings and below).

Ma Lu didn't hesitate and immediately reclaimed the single Purple Blessing from his last session.

[My companions are few: The fewer people in the team, the higher the individual members' basic attributes bonus. Strength, speed, stamina, and reaction increased by 50%. Each additional person reduces the effect by 10%; the blessing becomes ineffective when the team surpasses five members].

Now, with only Ma Lu in the team, he could take full advantage of all the bonuses, making the twin suns beating down on him feel a bit less scorching.

Then Ma Lu activated detection mode, starting to search for his old friend, the Young Flame Lizard.

Even a mosquito is meat, and besides meat, there were additional blessings to collect.

Ma Lu didn't have to wait long; roughly twenty minutes later, he saw a motorcycle approaching and eventually stopping in front of him.

The rider pulled down his face scarf, revealing none other than Boggy.

"How do you manage to navigate this desert without any means of transport?"

"That's a long story," replied Ma Lu, "You could consider it one of my abilities, but I can't just go anywhere I want. If you hadn't come to pick me up, I'd still be here sunbathing."

Boggy frowned at this, but fortunately, he didn't probe further, instead, he took a package from his motorcycle and handed it to Ma Lu.

Ma Lu opened the package, inside was the set of Hunting Clothes he had worn before, and beneath it lay a document.

"You said you wanted to partner up to start a New Hunting Group, but you disappeared after our last hunt, so I had to register with the Guild by myself," Boggy said, "I've done all the main paperwork, all that's missing is your signature."

Ma Lu briefly scanned the document and signed his name on the last page without hesitation, then started to eagerly change out of his current clothes.

Boggy quickly turned his back.

While changing into his hunting clothes, Ma Lu said, "We're all men, is there really a need to be so tense?"

Boggy pursed his lips without saying a word, only handing Ma Lu a brooch after he had changed.

"Here's your Hunting Group emblem, I'm giving it to you in advance."

Taking the brooch, Ma Lu saw it was a copper flower and recalled that the name of the New Hunting Group mentioned in the documents was Twin Sunflower.

"If you're not satisfied with this name, you can change it when we get back to Giant Curtain."

"No, Twin Sunflower is quite nice," Ma Lu pinned the brooch onto his chest and then reached out his hand, "Come, join the team."

This time Boggy didn't hesitate and firmly grasped Ma Lu's hand.

As the team size increased, the basic attribute bonuses for both of them also became 40%.

Boggy felt as if a strange power had been injected into his body, easily breaking through his previous limits.

Even though it wasn't the first time he had experienced such a sensation, it still felt incredible to him.

"There are Angular Belly Black Swift Snakes, Jumping Mice, and Short-Eared Lync Hedgehogs nearby," Ma Lu pointed in two directions, both areas he had previously scanned.

Both the Angular Belly Black Swift Snake and the Jumping Mouse had been seen before as 1-star ingredients, but the Short-Eared Lync Hedgehog was a new encounter, ranking the same as the Two-Headed Hyena, as a 2-star ingredient.

Ma Lu had been quite startled when he had first detected it, but the Short-Eared Lync Hedgehog didn't have the same aggressiveness as the Two-Headed Hyena.

Until Ma Lu left that area, he hadn't been attacked at all.

At these words, Boggy's eyes lit up, "Short-Eared Lync Hedgehog? Those are rare. In the market, one can sell for 200 Electric Degrees, but if it's alive, it can go for 280. However, special catching tools are needed."

As he spoke, Boggy was already rummaging through the storage box under the car seat, eventually pulling out a long, thin metal tube, which kind of resembled the blowguns used by Native Americans, but with an electric air compressor attached to the end.

Boggy inserted an anesthetic dart into the metal tube, then carefully moved towards the location of the Short-Eared Lync Hedgehog.

These were the supplies he had purchased with the money he had earned from the last hunt, and he hadn't expected them to come in handy so soon.

"Short-Eared Lync Hedgehogs are docile by nature and almost never initiate attacks. But once they sense danger, they will quickly curl into a ball and shoot out the spikes on their back."

"Don't underestimate those spikes; they can easily penetrate 2mm of steel plate. And Short-Eared Lync Hedgehogs usually don't shoot just one spike. There are at least a dozen, and if you face them directly and are slow to escape, you can easily get hit."

Boggy quietly explained to Ma Lu, unsure where this mysterious fellow had sprung from. However, it was evident Ma Lu had not attended Hunter School and knew very little about the desert and the animals that lived there.

In the past, it might have been okay, but now Ma Lu was a registered Hunter and also the Deputy Leader of the Twin Sunflower Hunting Group; he needed to understand these basic things.

At first, Boggy was worried Ma Lu wouldn't have the patience for this.

Generally, the stronger one's Psychic Power, the less interest they have in these arduous knowledge points that require rote memorization.

After all, most of the time, large Hunting Groups operate collectively, with a dedicated commander. The members simply follow orders and fight.

Fortunately, there was no sign of impatience on Ma Lu's face; instead, he listened with great interest and occasionally asked questions.

The two of them soon found the Short-Eared Lync Hedgehog and approached the target from downwind, keeping their bodies as low as possible and crawling on the sand.

Boggy aimed with the long metal tube, and once the wind stopped, he immediately shot out the anesthetic dart!