Universe Infinite Canteen

The Pink Whale Ship charged through the Death Forbidden Zone recklessly, leaving chaos in its wake.

However, this kind of commotion also helped locate hunters who were out hunting.

With Boggy and the others' rich experience, if they noticed any unusual movements from their prey, they should come to investigate.

Ma Lu had done everything he could; as for himself, he had returned to the kitchen to continue perfecting his dishes with new ingredients.

The time left for him was running out.

Those Skulder creatures could appear at any moment.

Ma Lu thought, if only he could have arrived one day earlier, or even half a day earlier, he wouldn't feel this much pressure now.

But he also understood that life was like this—there's no dress rehearsal for 90% of it, you just have to dive in headfirst. Everyone goes through the same.

Ma Lu peeled a Volcanic Big-leaf Tomato and diced it, tossing it into the cast-iron pot. Then he added the abdominal meat of the Phantom Lower Mouth Batfish, and waited about three and a half minutes before scooping a spoonful of broth to taste.

Compared to before, the flavor was richer and more layered, especially the initial sensation of heat—it packed an impressive punch yet didn't overwhelm like chili, allowing the subsequent flavors to shine.

But it was still missing something...

The main issue was that Ma Lu's chosen theme this time was far too ambitious.

Back in university, his academic advisor often emphasized avoiding overly broad topics. Choosing a specific angle allows you to focus and is more likely to yield results.

Cooking was much the same. For example, Ma Lu had previously created Chicken Shawarma and Five-finger Hair Peach Stewed Black-bone Chicken. The former focused on storytelling, while the latter was themed around promoting digestive health.

These two themes were straightforward, allowing him to clearly decide on the ingredients needed to bring them to life right from the start.

But now, what he was trying to create couldn't be described in just a few words. In fact, every individual might interpret it through a different lens, making it incredibly challenging to translate the concept into food.

The number of ingredients required was also far greater than for typical dishes. Balancing so many flavors without them interfering with each other presented a particularly difficult challenge.

Ma Lu's idea was to find a single ingredient to act as a thread, tying all these flavors together.

But the trouble now was that he couldn't find such an ingredient—he even doubted whether such an ingredient truly existed.

Ma Lu turned his gaze back to the Desktop Farm.

It contained all the ingredients he had painstakingly collected using his Collection Bag—ingredients he was already deeply familiar with.

He didn't even need to search specifically; he could mentally review every ingredient. Yet he still couldn't find the answer he was searching for.

If worse came to worst, he'd have to fallback on his previous plan.

But Ma Lu had a vague premonition that if he went that route, it might not ultimately lead to success.

As Ma Lu continued pondering in the kitchen, the Pink Whale Ship suddenly came to a halt.

The next moment, the Wandering Sorcerer appeared before Ma Lu.

The Female Sorcerer wore a serious expression and said, "You need to come see this."

Before Ma Lu could respond, she grabbed his shoulder with one hand.

Ma Lu felt as though he hadn't moved at all, yet within just four seconds, their bodies had passed through several walls and arrived at the bridge.

The bridge was already crowded with people, all of them staring at a central light screen.

On the screen, several massive animals were fiercely battling atop a sand dune, while other animals fled the area.

Conflict between animals in this desert wasn't rare, but such battles were highly unusual within the Death Forbidden Zone.

Here, large animals generally had their own territories, conducting hunting activities within them and rarely clashing with one another.

He Yueji had also joined them now. Staring at the battling animals on the screen, she muttered, "Something's wrong, something's very wrong."

"What's wrong?"

"Earlier, those two Six-armed Ancient Apes were fighting against an Iron-Eating Scarab. But after killing the scarab, they suddenly started attacking each other. It looks like they've been subjected to some kind of mental control."

The others' expressions immediately turned grim upon hearing this.

Because they all thought of one name.

—Skulder.

These creatures would immediately take control of the bodies of those who killed them.

If the scarab had been a Skulder, it would explain the strange behavior of the Six-armed Ancient Apes when they began fighting their companion.

Carefully observing the screen, Ma Lu noticed that the Six-armed Ancient Ape in the fight wasn't alone. Several other animals were beside it, attacking another Six-armed Ancient Ape together, driving it into a dire situation.

Perhaps because the opponent was a companion, the embattled Six-armed Ancient Ape appeared hesitant or constrained in its movements.

On the other hand, its attackers showed no mercy, directing their blows exclusively toward its vital points.

The good news was that Ma Lu had also spotted Boggy and the others by this time.

They were hunting a Hardened Golden Python roughly twenty miles away from the dune. Judging by their behavior, they had likely noticed the anomaly as well. However, since their hunt was nearing its crucial phase, they didn't want to abandon it midway.

Boggy dispatched two hunters to keep watch on the situation near the dune, while she and the rest accelerated their hunt, launching a fierce assault on the python.

Boggy personally joined the fray, leaping onto the python's giant head and hitting it with her fist.

Her fist technique was straightforward and direct, but incredibly fast—air currents left only faint afterimages.

The Hardened Golden Python's head had already endured dozens of punches. Despite its tough scales, it seemed dazed from the relentless pounding.

The others seized the opportunity, swarming the python with their attacks as if they were free to use, quickly overpowering it. Soon, the python was collapsed on the ground, barely breathing.

But at that moment, Boggy also noticed a distant spaceship hovering in the sky, her expression filled with confusion.

They hadn't summoned a transport ship, and no transport ship would dare venture into the Death Forbidden Zone.

As everyone expressed their curiosity, the spaceship began heading in their direction.

The hunters from the Cyren and Twin Sunflower Hunting Groups were well-trained. Without waiting for instructions from Boggy, they immediately scattered and sought cover upon seeing the spacecraft approaching.

To minimize the attention from the Skulder creatures, Ma Lu had already shut off the ship's transmitter, and asked the Wandering Sorcerer to escort him down first, appearing among the hunters before the Pink Whale landed.

As the hero who saved the Giant Curtain, Ma Lu's face was now widely recognized throughout Great Curtain City, and he was instantly identified.

"Deputy Leader Ma Lu! Ah, it's you!"

"Why are you here?!"

"Is that thing in the sky yours?!"

"......"

The hunters bombarded Ma Lu with a slew of questions the moment they saw him. He nodded at Boggy and said, "Time is tight. Let's get on the ship first and talk."