Universe Infinite Canteen

After picking up Yan Wu from the hardware store, Ma Lu drove to the little park where he first met Lao Hei.

The trio met up here.

There were even fewer people in the park than last time, hardly a few figures in sight.

As it turns out, this matter also had something to do with them. That night, Lao Hei secretly met with Ma Lu using Old Man Zheng's body.

As a result, Grandpa Ge, Old Man Zheng's good friend, happened to come across them, and they even spun tops together, enjoying a harmonious atmosphere.

Grandpa Ge emerged victorious and went home in high spirits, only to be told by his son that Old Man Zheng had passed away from a cerebral hemorrhage that very morning.

Grandpa Ge felt a chill run down his spine, nearly joining his old friend in the afterlife.

Afterward, the story of Old Man Zheng's returning spirit grew more and more far-fetched. Now even the ladies who come to dance in the square had dwindled by more than half.

Now the park, especially after dark, was as quiet as a graveyard, which actually made it convenient for the trio to embark.

Lao Hei led Ma Lu and Old Wang to a patch of grass marked with an X.

Ma Lu took out three Memorial Tacos, and they each ate one. Then he handed a teddy bear costume to Lao Hei, while he himself donned a frog one.

Lao Hei took the costume and looked at it, then said to Yan Wu, "Space Wanderer Suit I, that's the stock you got from me, right? It's been over thirty years. You haven't sold these two suits yet?"

"No, but I'm about to." The hardware store owner remained poker-faced.

???

Ma Lu, holding the frog head, looked towards Yan Wu, "Didn't you tell me these were in demand?"

"I never said they were in demand, I just said someone else might buy them if you didn't."

"Who would buy, if you haven't been able to sell them for over thirty years?"

"These things are unpredictable."

Ma Lu then looked at Lao Hei, "How much did you sell it to him for?"

"4000, or maybe 4500, I can't remember clearly, but definitely not more than 5000 Star Currency," Lao Hei recalled.

"So you sold it to me for 8000 Star Currency?" Ma Lu's face darkened even more.

"I've always sold it at that price," Yan Wu stated.

"No wonder you've been unable to sell it for over thirty years."

"That's okay, I live pretty long."

While the three of them were chatting, suddenly a beam of light descended from the sky, enveloping them.

Ma Lu squinted upward, seeing a gigantic buttered loaf of bread floating in the night sky.

And the beam was emanating from one end of the loaf of bread.

Next, Ma Lu felt a pulling force; his body started to fly towards the other end of the beam of light.

As he was being lifted, Ma Lu seemed to hear something stirring, and he looked towards the small grove of trees nearby.

He vaguely saw two disheveled figures, looking up blankly in their direction.

A moment later, the two seemed to realize something, scrambling to take out their phones, frantically pressing the shutter with trembling fingers.

However, by this time, Ma Lu and his companions began to accelerate and were sucked into the buttered loaf of bread in less than a second.

In the end, the pair of lovebirds below only managed to snap a picture of the gigantic buttered loaf of bread floating above the park.

They excitedly posted the photo on forums, but it failed to make any waves.

Mainly, it was the butter bread-shaped unidentified flying object that was a bit too advanced for current humanity.

By this time, Ma Lu and the other two had been sucked into the spaceship by a beam of light.

This was Ma Lu's first time boarding a Dimensional Pirates' spaceship, and he was curious about these most mysterious creatures of the Multiverse and their ship.

However, as soon as he entered, everything went black before his eyes. When Ma Lu opened his eyes again, he found himself in a beam of light once more.

Only this time he was descending, and below his feet was an unfathomably deep Meteor Crater.

Huh? Had they reached The Moon already?

But what about the in-between? How did they get here? Ma Lu tried hard to recall what happened on the way but couldn't remember a thing.

His memory seemed to have paused at the last moment before boarding the ship.

Then, almost reflexively, Ma Lu raised his hand to check the time on his Traveler's Bracelet.

But what he saw was a green, striped frog's arm.

That's when he remembered he was wearing a frog doll suit.

No wonder he was not being affected by cosmic radiation or feeling the cold. After all, in places on The Moon out of the sunlight's reach, the temperature could drop to minus one hundred and eighty degrees Celsius.

About half a minute later, Ma Lu had fully descended into the Meteor Crater.

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but it felt like something in the darkness below was staring at him.

However, when Ma Lu looked in that direction, he could see nothing but the pockmarked walls of the crater.

A few seconds later, the beam of light around him disappeared, and he wasn't sure if the Dimensional Pirates had left as well.

The Meteor Crater fell into complete darkness. At the same time, a sense of crisis emerged in Ma Lu's heart.

Although scientists had theorized that The Moon should not harbor life, the feeling of being watched lingered in Ma Lu's mind.

Thinking back to the eyes he felt beneath him, Ma Lu chose to activate the Illumination Technique.

With a flick of his thumb, a dazzling light once again filled the Meteor Crater.

And Ma Lu saw a sight that made his hair stand on end.

Somehow, the crater walls had come to life, with pairs of eyes appearing all around, watching him.

Then Ma Lu felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Lao Hei.

Lao Hei gestured to him to turn off the light beam.

Ma Lu hesitated but did as he was told, then blurted out, "What are those things?"

He didn't expect an answer because The Moon had no atmosphere and was nearly a vacuum, where sound could not travel.

But then Lao Hei's voice came from beside his ear, "Those are Earth Rock People, the indigenous creatures of The Moon."

"Is there really life on The Moon?" exclaimed Ma Lu in surprise.

"Yes, but it's special," said Lao Hei. "Their bodies are mainly composed of various minerals, which makes them better adapted to extreme environments compared to carbon-based life.

"The trade-off is they move slowly, have limited intelligence, and are almost incapable of evolution. They have some plant-like instincts. Most of the time, they're attached to the rock walls, sleeping.

"They're hard to spot unless you look closely. Only when they feel the sunlight do they wake up.

"A Moon Day is about equivalent to 29.5 Earth Days. That means they sleep for at least two weeks at a time. The bright light from you just now woke them up, causing them to think that daylight had come, so they woke up."

"Do they have any hostility toward us?"

"Although called 'People,' the Earth Rock People are more like plants and seldom attack other intelligent life forms. However, they have a behavior similar to photosynthesis.

"They absorb sunlight and heat during the day. If you don't want them attached to you, it's better not to turn on any lights unnecessarily."