Universe Infinite Canteen

"Are Cosmic Chefs very rare?"

"Of course, just like with metalworking, cooking requires both innate talent and diligence. Moreover, the culinary path is even more difficult to pursue than the practice of metalworking, and those without great perseverance don't even have the courage to start on this path," Yan Wu said. "In the entire Multiverse, the number of people who can become Cosmic Chefs is very few."

Ma Lu turned to look at Old Wang, "Is that so?"

"I don't know," Old Wang shook his head, "Since my senses recovered, those recipes have been in my sector."

At this moment, Yan Wu seemed to think of something as well, stepping half a step closer to Ma Lu, his towering figure blocking out the sunlight.

"That pigeon has always been very stodgy, yet it actually revealed its identity in front of an Earthling and even told you my address. What do you have that it couldn't refuse?"

"Oh, we plan to open a restaurant."

"And then?"

"A restaurant with a Cosmic Chef."

Yan Wu's eyes suddenly lit up, "Really?"

"Really," said Ma Lu. "The two of us are partnering up. I'll procure ingredients from other dimensions, and Old Wang will be in charge of cooking. But there are still some troubles we haven't resolved to get the restaurant up and running. The city manager said we could come to you for help."

"Then you've come to the right place."

Yan Wu wiped his hands on his overalls before grasping a wrench from the very top shelf and turned it around.
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The next moment, Ma Lu felt as if the world had flipped upside down.

When he came back to his senses, he was still standing in the hardware store, but the items on the shelves had completely changed.

They had turned from ordinary hardware into all sorts of weird and wonderful goods.

There were minuscule black holes contained in empty liquor bottles, green crystals flickering with strange light, iron helmets bristling with antennas, biscuit boxes covered with indecipherable symbols, from which strange whimpering sounds occasionally emerged...

A wooden man with both hands and feet kept sighing while moving an iron bucket from one end of the store to the other, then back again, repeating this futile task over and over.

Ma Lu also spotted an exquisitely made Lego library model on the second shelf and was about to touch it when Yan Wu stopped him.

"Don't touch, that's the Tiny Black Room Library, a very malicious High-Dimensional Artifact. If you touch it, you will be sucked inside, forced to study a very rare interstellar language for an entire week before being released, and the problem is that it's so rare even the translators don't have it. In the whole Multiverse, it's said that only three people still speak that language, so even if you learn it, you'll likely never have a chance to use it in your lifetime."

"That malicious?"

Ma Lu quickly retracted his hand at this and then turned to look at the Werewolf, "So, are you an Artisan?"

"You know about Artisans?" Yan Wu shook his head, "I'm not an Artisan. Those guys all gather at Creation Technology. Artisans outside are even rarer than Cosmic Chefs and even more reclusive in personality.

"Unless you have a special way to contact them, even if they live right next door, they won't give you the time of day, let alone considering this dimension's geographical location is off the beaten path..."

"I'm just a hardware store owner who also dabbles in interstellar smuggling, or you could say, scavenging."

Yan Wu spoke the truth, but Ma Lu knew there actually was an Artisan in this dimension;

Even when Old Wang got in touch with him, he only sent Number 6 over; the guy himself never showed his face. It looked like he didn't have any contact with visitors from different dimensions normally, no wonder Yan Wu and the others didn't know he existed.

"What do you mean by 'picking up trash'?" Ma Lu asked again.

"Oh, most of the high-dimensional artifacts here are second-hand ones I've scavenged, out of warranty, some with minor issues, and some are simply trial works by novice artisans."

Yan Wu pointed to the wooden figure, "Take this thing for example. The artisan who made it originally wanted to create an assistant, but it turned out this creation could only move stuff around, and once it starts, it can't stop. If it's not moving something, it feels uncomfortable all over.

"Not to mention, while moving objects, it likes to sigh a lot, making it seem as if it's being exploited by someone, affecting the mood of those who work with it."

As Yan Wu spoke, the wooden figure walked past Ma Lu again with the metal bucket, leaving behind a trail of profound sighs.

"Right, and that Tiny Black Room Library you almost bumped into earlier, same story. Its creator intended it to be a quiet place for studying, but something went wrong, and now users are forced to learn nearly extinct interstellar languages inside."

"Of course, besides these duds, I've got plenty of useful high-dimensional artifacts here. They're all second-hand and unfixable if broken, but the quality of Creation Technology's products is quite good. Even out of warranty, they generally don't break under normal circumstances."

As Yan Wu talked, he reached behind the counter, rummaged around, and found an old-fashioned five-jiao coin to toss to Ma Lu.

"You should find this useful."

"What's this?"

"A Phase Shifter, it does the same thing as my wrench, providing access to a mirror space."

Yan Wu continued, "When using it, you first need to anchor the target space. Then, by flipping this coin over, you can freely switch between the two spaces."

"Oh oh oh oh, this is indeed something we urgently need; this way we don't have to worry about inspections anymore," Ma Lu received the five-jiao coin and said joyfully.

"And you guys could probably use this too," Yan Wu took down a Beaver Copper Statue from the shelf.

"This high-dimensional artifact is called 'This is Very Beaver,' and its capabilities are somewhat similar to those of a city manager's. It affects a small area, making anything that happens within it seem perfectly reasonable to those who are there."

"However, there's a limitation on its use. It can only be used three times a month, half an hour each time."

"Ha... Do artisans also enjoy puns?"

"That's just a coincidence. I remember there are beaver species in the Multiverse with strong psychic abilities."

"I see."

"Ah, I almost forgot," Yan Wu suddenly slapped his forehead, "I picked up a rare item on my last supply run, and it just happens to be perfect for you guys, but it's still in my truck. Wait here a moment."

After saying that, Yan Wu flipped his wrench again, the world turned over once more, and the three of them returned to the normal hardware store. Yan Wu stepped outside, opened the trunk of his Wuling Hongguang van, and dragged out a large cardboard box.

Carrying the heavy-looking box back into the shop, Yan Wu set it down.

Opening the box, inside was actually a miniature landscape aquarium.

And inside, it was divided into several small compartments, from deserts to rainforests, grasslands, lakes, snowy terrains… a complete range of landscapes and terrains.

"What's this?"

"A Desktop Ranch." Yan Wu grinned.