Universe Infinite Canteen

Ma Lu gave Qiutong a moment to digest the recent information, then continued, "Do you know how to get out?"

He had simply asked out of curiosity, not expecting Qiutong to actually nod.

"Yes, Mr. Cao taught me that if we defeat the Lord in the Disaster Zone, the disaster will end, and we can wait here for rescue.

"Normally, if the first team of talisman masters cannot resolve the disaster, the reserve group of talisman masters will enter the Disaster Zone after two hours."

Qiutong took a small pocket watch out of her bosom and glanced at it, "It should have been over two hours since we entered the Disaster Zone, so the rescue should be arriving soon. Did you see anyone else on the way here?"

"No."

"Um..." As a half-baked talisman master, Qiutong didn't know what to do next upon hearing this.

Ma Lu took out a green stone, which was dropped by the Shadow Demon that had ambushed him at the stairway entrance. He held the stone up to Qiutong.

"Do you recognize this thing?"

Qiutong first shook her head, then nodded, "I don't know what this is, but I've seen Mr. Cao use it."

"What did he use it for?"

"Payment, at the Ministry of Education," gestured Qiutong.

Special currency?

Indeed, this thing must be valuable, and probably not cheap, since it wasn't obtainable outside.

An audacious idea suddenly sprouted in Ma Lu's mind.

His Light Illumination Technique was effective against those Shadow Demons. Perhaps he could take advantage of this rare opportunity to fish for as much as he could before the rescue arrived.

He also wanted to see the Lord of Calamity, born from an Ingredient Collector's intuition.

Upon arriving at the new Plane, he immediately activated the scanning function of the Traveler's Bracelet, but so far had not found anything.

Although ingredients might not necessarily be hidden in the catastrophe belt, without confirmation, Ma Lu was not willing to give up.

After all, if he died, it would just be a matter of returning next time.

Weighing the pros and cons, Ma Lu said to Qiutong, "Since there are no Shadow Demons here, you might as well stay."

"And you?" asked Qiutong.

"I'm going out to see if the rescue has arrived."

What Ma Lu didn't expect was that as soon as he finished speaking, Qiutong grabbed him, nervously pleading, "No, don't go out, Mr. Cao disappeared like that."

"I am not Mr. Cao," Ma Lu said. "I have a way to deal with those Shadow Demons."

Qiutong didn't let go, "Then take me with you, I'll go with you."

"You are safer here."

"This place is not safe at all. If one Shadow Demon comes in, there will be a second one. I don't want to be scared in the bathroom again, and if you have any problems, I might be able to answer them."

Ma Lu thought for a moment, "Alright, then stick close."

"Okay." Only then did Qiutong let go. She straightened her skirt and followed behind Ma Lu.

The two walked out of the bookstore and onto the deserted, pitch-black streets.

Qiutong instinctively moved closer to Ma Lu, accidentally stepping on his shoe because she was too close.

"I'm sorry," Qiutong quickly apologized.

"You can still change your mind now, upstairs is generally safer than the street."

"No," Qiutong insisted. "We'll do this together."

Hearing this, Ma Lu didn't try to dissuade her further, but reminded her again, "Remember to close your eyes as soon as you see me rubbing my thumb."

"Okay."

They had only walked a few steps when Ma Lu thought of something and turned to ask Qiutong, "Are you familiar with this street?"

"Familiar," Qiutong nodded, "my home is nearby."

"Do you know where the bank is?"

The green stones were valuable, but only the shadows dropped them. In contrast, getting some general currency was much easier when there was no one around.

If this world had ordinary people, and quite a number of them, then their currency must also be of value.

Qiutong blinked, seemingly not understanding what Ma Lu was planning.

Still, she responded, "I know, I can take you there."

They quickly arrived at the bank where Ma Lu once again activated the Illumination Technique and dealt with two Shadow Demons inside, then proceeded to the vault.

Unfortunately, he didn't have the key to the vault and couldn't enter, but thankfully, there were plenty of silver coins and paper money at the counter.

Ma Lu stuffed his pockets while also gesturing to Qiutong to help herself.

Qiutong was stunned, having not expected Ma Lu to come to the bank for this reason.

But after a moment, when she realized what was happening, she still advised, "You shouldn't take it anymore."

"Are you worried about an investigation afterward?"

"No, this is the Disaster Zone, a projection of the real world, we can't take anything from here except the special products from the Disaster Zone."

"Ah?" Now it was Ma Lu's turn to be surprised.

Shortly after, he nonchalantly removed the silver coins and paper money from his pockets, "You should have said so earlier, I was wondering why this place was so odd, and there were so few people."

"The Disaster Zone is like this, appearing from time to time. The Jiulong Instrument can detect them, but for ordinary people, they might seem like a strange mirage on the road.

"As long as it's reported to the Talisman Master Association, everyone can go back to their daily lives without any impact."

"And the Talisman Master Association will ask schools to handle it. Generally, as long as they are sorted out within half a month, the monsters inside won't come out.

"Since the beginning of the Qi Yuan Calendar, there have been tens of thousands of catastrophe belts, and less than 10 have actually brought forth monsters, and all those that escaped were eventually killed by powerful schools."

"No wonder," Ma Lu realized, "The newspaper's reaction to the disaster was so indifferent."

"Because it's not a civilian matter, like different professions, responsible for different tasks. Eradicating disasters is the job of talisman masters."

"Do you want to become a talisman master?" Ma Lu asked casually.

"I... don't know." Qiutong's answer surprised Ma Lu, "Like everyone else, I've always admired those talisman masters who could fight monsters, and until before today, I was excited to be able to get into a talisman master school.

"But this is my first battle, and Mr. Cao, who was so powerful, is... gone. My qualifications are quite ordinary, and I'm a bit worried about the future."

That's only natural.

"Do you have to go to talisman master school here if you discover you have the talent?" Ma Lu asked again.

"No, although most people would choose to do so, it's not mandatory. If you want to go to a regular school, you can."

"Then go to a regular school."

When Jin Hua handed over Hou De School to Ma Lu, he mentioned that if Ma Lu didn't want to be the principal, he could dissolve the school, but ideally, he should arrange a plan for the teachers and students.

So now, Ma Lu intended to persuade one right then and there to lighten the workload for his future self.