Universe Infinite Canteen

Ma Lu glanced at the Traveler's Bracelet on his wrist; the entire battle had taken less than 45 seconds.

He put the still burning Space Blue Striped Horseface Fish into his Collection Bag, then left the warehouse at top speed.

Finding a vacant room nearby, he operated the terminal on the wall to lower the big door.

He stayed inside for a full fifteen minutes before opening the door again, peeking outside. The dimly lit corridor was devoid of any silhouettes.

But Ma Lu still felt a chill going down his spine.

No, he couldn't stay on this level any longer. It was rare to have such a perfect start—equipped and with a six-star ingredient collected, and having gathered some intelligence. It was time to hunker down and be cautious.

Ma Lu planned to leave the Third Layer and check out other levels. He first went back to the elevator shaft, and using the steel rope, he reached the fourth level. But he couldn't get the hall door in front of him to open.

The space station's elevators were different from normal residential ones; they were designed with defense in mind from the very beginning. The hall doors were built thick and hard, impossible to pry open with a crowbar.

With no other choice, Ma Lu turned back to look for the emergency stairwell.

All the way, he was on tenterhooks, fearing that at any moment he would be struck through the heart and receive a message about being rolled back.

But it was all a scare for nothing.

Until he found the emergency stairwell next to the security room, the assassin lurking in the shadows did not strike again.

And he didn't see any bugs around the emergency stairwell either. Seeing this, Ma Lu was overjoyed; he didn't want to spend another moment on this layer.

It was like having the Sword of Damocles hanging over his head, not knowing when it would fall. The sensation of life and death being out of his control was terribly unpleasant.

Ma Lu lifted his foot, heading towards the emergency stairwell, then felt his Gravity Boots hit something.

The next second, there was an explosion; Ma Lu's body, along with the corridor, was engulfed in flames.

???

What is this… a trap mine?!

Ma Lu genuinely hadn't expected that there would be a trap mine hidden in front of the emergency stairwell!

However, now that he knew its location, the mine obviously couldn't harm him anymore.

But Ma Lu's brow was still furrowed because trap mines are not the type of thing to be carelessly left lying around.

There must be a person who set the trap mine; who could it be, Annie?

Indeed, when Ma Lu had encountered Annie, she had come from the direction of the emergency stairwell, and when they first met, Annie had also brought up the emergency stairwell—perhaps she had been scheming to trap him then.

But what if Annie wasn't the one who set it up? Well, the guy in the Rabbit costume was also suspicious, even though he had come from the direction of the elevator shaft, but there was no rule saying he couldn't turn back halfway.

Apart from that, Ma Lu also considered another possibility, and it was this possibility that caused a slight change in his expression.

Forget it, overthinking is useless; better to go and check it again in person.

Ma Lu planned to repeat the process he had gone through before, but sadly, this time he messed up at the first step.

Even though he had memorized the moves of the guy in the Rabbit costume, Ma Lu wasn't a machine, and his own performance fluctuated. This time, a single mistake cost him dearly.

No matter, try again!

But perhaps because of his previous failure, his mood was affected, and in the following two attempts, Ma Lu was defeated by the Rabbit Man.

The third time was a hard-won success, but due to not using the elevator shaft, the timeline didn't align, and I was killed by the lurking assassin halfway through.

Although due to the Golden Finger, Ma Lu's death in this Plane didn't incur much penalty, losing three lives in a row still blew his mind.

So, after respawning for the fourth time, Ma Lu didn't rush to try again. Instead, he spent a few minutes meditating to calm his emotions.

Finally, he found his rhythm again, and passed the obstacles and enemies safely, making it to the emergency ladder.

He carefully avoided the trap mines, only to be taken down by a bullet.

Ma Lu silently took note of the attacker's hiding spot and decided to try again.

Anticipating the enemy's move, he raised the Harpoon Gun to aim at that spot, firing before the person could even show themselves.

Ma Lu aimed for his head; though the shot didn't hit its mark, the harpoon unexpectedly struck the assailant's arm holding the gun, causing the submachine gun to fall to the ground.

Ma Lu immediately set his Gravity Boots to the highest adhesion mode, sticking firmly to the ground, then used the rope of the Harpoon Gun to try dragging the man from behind the electrical box.

However, another mishap occurred when two more people rushed out from a nearby room, one of them brandishing a strangely shaped handgun.

A red line appeared on Ma Lu's right leg.

As they pulled the trigger, Ma Lu's leg, equipped with the Gravity Shoes, fell off his body the next moment.

He crashed to the ground, and the two men, one Baldy with a sinister smile, approached him.

"Another one. This kid's gear is not bad, having items like Gravity Boots and a Flame Sprayer. Shame there's only one boot."

His companion was also pleased, "That Harpoon Gun is mine now; I've been missing a ranged weapon."

The wounded man cursed, "Damn it, how long do you plan to chat? Hurry up and help me pull out this harpoon and give me a Healing Needle."

"Stop your whining. Here I come. The cost of the Healing Needle is coming out of your final share."

While speaking, the Baldy pointed the peculiar handgun at Ma Lu again.

This time a red line appeared on the back of Ma Lu's head, and as the trigger was pulled once more, his vision plunged into darkness.

Once revived again, Ma Lu's expression was rather ugly.

Not only because he had just died, but also because what he saw and heard confirmed his worst suspicion.

The trap mine wasn't set up by Annie and the Rabbit Man; there were three people, forming a small gang, blocking the only exit from the Third Layer.

They were murdering and looting there, which might also explain why there were so few people left on the Third Layer.

They were all ambushed at the exit.

If Ma Lu didn't have the Golden Finger to revive himself, he'd be delivering to them too.

And now…

Ma Lu had looped back six times but still hadn't managed to deal with these three—no, actually five people, because there were two more lying in wait at the exit to the 1st Level.

Even though he had memorized the enemy's moves in advance, the sheer number of opponents was just too much for him to handle.

If only he had a proper gun; the Harpoon Gun packed a powerful punch, but it was a one-shot deal, only capable of firing once.

The range of the Flame Sprayer was slightly short; Ma Lu's best record was taking out three at once, but then he'd be gunned down in the chaos.

This group was not only well-staffed, but also well-equipped, probably having killed and looted a lot before.