Universe Infinite Canteen

"No, both works are authored by Fujii Shu," Ma Youyou said. "I'm very certain, at least until today that's been the case."

"Do you mean to say, the author of these comics changed overnight?"

Ma Lu adjusted the massage chair to the Thai style mode, feeling the vibrations from behind, "Let us assume what you're saying is true. How could this be done, some kind of collective memory hijacking technique? But why haven't you been affected?"

"I feel that our current situation is more like a timeline change," Ma Youyou said. "That would explain why I haven't been affected because I'm not from this timeline in the first place."

"Oh... is that so?"

"I can't be completely sure, but I'm at least seventy percent confident," Ma Youyou said. "On my way here, I also checked the resume of this teacher Qi Yu and found out he has stolen a total of seven comics.

"The earliest one, 'One Piece,' started serialization in 1996, which is exactly one year before Oda. Thus, the node where the timeline changed should be in '96."

"Wait, let me summarize, you're saying Qi Yu time-traveled back to '96 yesterday and then claimed other manga artists' works as his own?"

"That's right."

"How cunning. Why could that guy go back to '96, oh, don't tell me he's also a Time Traveler like you?"

"I... don't know. I haven't encountered any other Time Travelers." Ma Youyou's gaze flickered slightly.

However, Ma Lu didn't notice, as he was immersed in the massage with his eyes closed.

"This sounds like a job for the City Manager. I'll call them right away."

"Stop!" Ma Youyou hurriedly stopped him. "How are you going to explain to them that I was able to detect the plagiarism?"

"Right." Ma Lu also recalled at that moment that Ma Youyou, the Time Traveler, had sneaked in without registering with the City Manager.

Although Ma Lu didn't know why she was keeping this a secret, the Pigeon and the organization behind it seemed pretty reasonable.

But this made it more complicated to explain things clearly.

Ma Youyou tried to say, "How about we investigate this on our own this time?"

"But I'm just a restaurant owner, this isn't my business."

While saying this, Ma Lu reached for the remote control again, "This time let's try the deep massage mode. Besides, I thought about it some more, and it doesn't seem like such a big deal to change the author of the comics.

"In fact, I find that guy kind of admirable. He went back and thought about serializing comics for everyone. That's hard work. If it were me, I'd probably just slack off until the year Bitcoin appeared, then buy a million Bitcoins all at once, and continue to slack off.

"Wow, Bitcoin is really outrageous. Its existence has made it difficult to write time-travel novels."

"But I really care about this. Can you help me, boss?"

"Why do you care?" Ma Lu wondered, but soon he realized, "Oh, right, I almost forgot, you're looking for a way home, aren't you? If the other guy is a Time Traveler, maybe he can help you."

"Um... that's right."

"After the restaurant closes today, let's go visit teacher Qi Yu together. Can you find his address online?"

"I've searched, but haven't found it. I only know he currently lives in City B," Ma Youyou said.

"I remember 'One Person Below' was serialized in Penguin Comics. Ask his editor, they must know where he lives." Ma Lu snapped his fingers and pulled out his phone.

"But what are you going to say to his editor?"

"I'll just say I admire Qi Yu's talent and want to go to his home... er, that sounds a bit too creepy. Wait, I've got a better idea, I'll have Qi Yu come to us.

"I'll say I'm a fan and invite him to the Universe Infinite Canteen."

Ma Lu was a bit of a celebrity in City B by now. Virtually no one who liked food didn't know about him and his Universe Infinite Cafeteria and even those who weren't into eating, who frequently browsed TikTok and similar short-video platforms, must have heard of him.

So his invitation carried some allure. To increase the chances of success, Ma Lu planned to cater to Qi Yu's preferences by preparing some of his favorite food, which should make it even harder for him to refuse.

"I'll check." Ma Youyou searched on her phone and later found the answer in an online interview with Qi Yu.

"Mexican food, he likes Mexican food."

"Alright, then I'll prepare some Mexican food for him." Ma Lu had also found Qi Yu's editor's QQ account and sent a friend request.

While waiting for the request to be accepted, Ma Lu adjusted the massage chair to space mode, then on a whim, asked in over sixty of his fan groups if anyone knew Qi Yu.

As it turned out, someone who claimed to be Qi Yu's middle school classmate got in touch with Ma Lu, saying he could pass on the invitation.

Ma Lu sent him 3 pieces of Atonement Cake as a token of appreciation and promised that if he could successfully invite Qi Yu over, he could eat for free at the store for two days.

Upon hearing this, the person was elated, insisting he would definitely get him to come.

An hour later, Ma Lu received a confident message from him, stating that he had managed to get Qi Yu to agree to dine at Universe Infinite Cafeteria. However, Qi Yu had one condition.

He didn't want other fans to disturb him and hoped Ma Lu could arrange a private room for him.

That was no issue for Ma Lu; although the Universe Infinite Cafeteria didn't have private rooms, he could arrange a specific time to serve Qi Yu.

Finally, they settled on tomorrow evening at six-thirty.

By then, the Universe Infinite Cafeteria would have already ended its daytime operation and would still have two hours before the evening shift began, which was perfect timing.

At this point, Qi Yu's editor from Penguin Comics also accepted Ma Lu's QQ friend request.

To be safe, Ma Lu confirmed tomorrow's dinner plans directly with Qi Yu, then put away his phone and said to Ma Youyou.

"All set. He's coming to eat tomorrow. Once I lock the door, you can ask him whatever you want."

"Thanks, boss," Ma Youyou said and then realized Ma Lu had somehow stopped the massage chair and was staring at her. She felt a bit nervous, thinking that Ma Lu might have discovered something, but still tried to appear calm, "What's wrong?"

"I just realized, if you find a way back from Qi Yu, you'll be leaving this plane, right?"

"Er... probably."

"That means I'll have to hire a new waiter again," Ma Lu said. "Really, one should normally give a month's notice before resigning, you know, to give the employer time to recruit someone new."