Universe Infinite Canteen

"I'm someone who seeks novelty," Ma Lu rubbed his nose and said, "It's hard for me to stay in one place for too long, and besides, I've already done almost everything I could for Hou De.

"Although the school is currently ranked fourth, in reality, Hero is no longer our competitor, as long as we continue to develop normally, no one will be able to catch up with us. Whether I'm here or not doesn't really make a big difference."

"You've always been the pillar of Hou De. Whether it's the faculty or the students, they have all grown to where they are today under your protection." Cao Youyi said, "How could there not be a big difference whether you're here or not?"

"Alright, but I do have reasons that I must leave," Ma Lu said. "A school can't be without someone in charge, Hou De was originally left by your brother after all, and you should understand the significance of this school to him better than anyone and want to inherit his will to protect this place. Only by handing Hou De over to you can I rest assured."

Cao Youyi didn't reply but continued to ask, "When do you plan on coming back?"

"That's hard to say, even though I'm going away for a while, I'll come back to check every two or three months. You can pluck more leaves and fruits from the exotic fruit you guys dug up, just remember not to kill it, keep it for me."

"Then we can keep the position of principal open for you too," Cao Youyi said. "I can manage the school just as well as vice principal."

Ma Lu wanted to say something more, but seeing Cao Youyi's determined look, he could only compromise in the end, "That works too, let's do it your way."

Anyway, with him as the principal away, the vice principal would practically have the authority of the principal. Plus, Ma Lu was a bit worried that if he wasn't the principal, the school management system might also fail.

Although the strength of Thick Virtue All Living Beings wouldn't decline, the technology and buildings he had previously invested in might all be for naught.

Okay, it seemed he had thought too simply before, to be on the safe side, it looked like he still needed to occupy this position, even if he did not plan to "take a dump."

Then, Ma Lu handed over duties to Cao Youyi. Just like Cao Youyi had said before, as the backbone of Hou De, Ma Lu's departure wouldn't be without impact on the school.

The most direct impact was on the business side. All of Hou De's initial promotion revolved around Ma Lu as the principal. Once he left, Hou De would have to launch new stars.

It just so happened that Qiutong, Wang Chongyang, and others showed impressive performances in the previous competitions. Many reporters interviewed them after the event. It was a good opportunity to put them in the spotlight and start a promotional push.

Cao Youyi found that there was suddenly a lot more she needed to be busy with.

And the main culprit behind all this had already returned home with his spoils of war.

The moment Ma Lu got home, he received a text message about a bank deposit of 957,329 yuan, sent from Hakimi Network Technology Co., Ltd.

This sum was last month's operating income from Red Ridge, including skins and game discs that had started charging.

While the amount wasn't large, and not as high as Universe Infinite Canteen's weekly turnover, it didn't require much management, and since Red Ridge was in a growth period, future monthly income would still increase.

Ma Lu had a wooden robot fetch a bottle of Bordeaux red wine from the cellar and poured himself a glass to celebrate.

Before he knew it, he was living the life he had once dreamed of, where money continuously flowed into his account, even if he did nothing.

Just half a year ago, he had to buy a tricycle on installment, but now even the socks on his feet were more expensive than that first tricycle.

The socks were a Christmas gift from Angie, apparently from some brand called what's-it-called. Honestly, Ma Lu didn't understand why anyone would choose such a strange name for their brand, but that was not the point.

The point was that one sock cost 3,500, two of them together cost 7,000, and they weren't sold separately.

When Ma Lu heard the price, he could only sigh that Universe Infinite Canteen's pricing was still conservative.

After another sip of wine, Ma Lu settled into the massage chair he had bought the day before yesterday, ready to enjoy the joy that money brings.

But who knew, there was a ring at the door. Old Wang put down the mop he was holding, opened the door, and saw Ma Youyou outside, who greeted him, "Uncle Wang, good morning, I want to see my uh... Boss Ma!"

"He's in the massage room," Old Wang answered.

"You have a massage room?"

"Just got it the day before yesterday, second room on the left, upstairs."

"Alright then." Ma Youyou thanked Old Wang and hurried up the stairs. Sure enough, she found Ma Lu in the second room, sprawled in a massage chair and sipping red wine.

But before she could speak, Ma Lu said first, "Oh, Youyou, you're here. Just in time to try out my new massage chair. It's a flagship model, and I bought two, but Old Wang said he didn't need one."

Ma Youyou had a serious look, "Boss, I encountered something weird today."

"Uh-huh, no rush, talk while you massage," Ma Lu pointed at the other vacant chair.

Ma Youyou had no choice but to lie down as well, and continued, "I encountered something weird."

"What weird thing?" Ma Lu turned on the massage chair with a remote control.

But Ma Youyou didn't answer. Instead, she asked back, "Do you know who the author of 'One Piece' is?"

"Ha, are you testing me? But even seven or eight-year-olds know this. The author of 'One Piece' is the renowned Qi Yu," Ma Lu replied.

"No, the author of 'One Piece' is actually Eiichiro Oda," she insisted.

"Who's that? Never heard of him."

"He's the author of 'One Piece'."

"You must be remembering wrong; the author of 'One Piece' is Qi Yu," Ma Lu took out his phone to search and then showed it to Ma Youyou.

"See, I told you it was Qi Yu."

"No, it's definitely Oda," Ma Youyou insisted and then asked, "What about 'Demon Slayer'?"

"Qi Yu."

"'Chainsaw Man'?"

"Still Qi Yu."

"And 'One Person Below'?"

"Qi Yu is currently serializing it... Are you saying all these were drawn by that what's-his-name Oda guy?"

"No, that's not what I mean. Only 'One Piece' is by Mr. Oda, the other three are by three different manga artists. Anyway, all these comics have nothing to do with that Qi Yu guy in my memory.

"But today I turned on the TV, and everyone was saying he drew these comics."

"Is there a possibility... that these really were drawn by him?"

"No, the styles of these comics are all different, it's impossible for them to be by the same author."

"Plus, we talked about 'Chainsaw Man' a week ago, and you said you even planned to check out 'Flame Fist'."

"But 'Flame Fist' is by Fujii Shu, what does it have to do with Qi Yu's 'Chainsaw Man'?" Ma Lu asked curiously.