Universe Infinite Canteen-Chapter 635 New Moon

Mr. Zhuang Shiqiang wanted to ride on the coattails of Hou De's victory over Heroic Concealment, but the sponsorship fee of nine thousand and one a year was way beyond his bottom line.

And the thought that the price had risen so much just because he was one or two hours late made Mr. Zhuang feel as sick as if he had eaten shit; the smile on his face couldn't be maintained any longer.

"Principal Ma, if you really insist on this price, I'm afraid we won't be able to make a deal."

"That's too bad," Ma Lu said, "Just a moment ago, I received several calls from parties interested in discussing sponsorship with us. But since you, Mr. Zhuang, approached us first, I kept the opportunity available for you.

"Nine thousand may seem like a lot, but in a short amount of time, you'll surely realize it's a very worthwhile investment."

Mr. Zhuang rolled his eyes inwardly at these words. A nine-thousand annual sponsorship fee worthwhile? Did he really look like such an easy mark?

As for the pie in the sky that Ma Lu was painting, Mr. Zhuang had been in business for so many years; how could he possibly believe that? Certainly, Hou De's consecutive defeats of strong rivals, especially Heroic Concealment, were beyond his expectations.

But Hou De must have put forth every bit of their effort to surge from last place all the way to 89th. It would be good enough if they didn't slide back down in the rankings, let alone climb any further.

In the end, Mr. Zhuang gave up on cooperating and took his leave down the mountain.

Ma Lu didn't mind. He hadn't just been bluffing Mr. Zhuang; in this day and age, a person capable of expanding their business would have a network far from shabby, and indeed, there had already been numerous inquiries about potential collaborations after Hou De's significant victory over Heroic Concealment.

Ma Lu delegated these matters to Qi Baichuan and made his way to the research laboratory.

The projects "Pursuing Perfection," "Angel Investment," and "Energetic," on top of "Wind and Clouds Change" that had been chosen last time, were all already completed.

It was time to start new research projects this week.

Ma Lu had decided to focus on talent recruitment, so the research projects for the coming week were mostly related to that.

"Seeking Masters": Slightly increases the chance of finding a master when recruiting.

Ma Lu then activated the advanced version of "Seeking Masters" called "Hidden Dragon and Phoenix."

"Hidden Dragon and Phoenix": Significantly increases the chance of finding a master when recruiting.

After activating these two, Ma Lu wasn't yet satisfied and decided to add "Fame Spreads Far and Wide" to the mix.

"Fame Spreads Far and Wide" works by increasing the speed and range of news spread related to the school, whether good or bad.

Although it doesn't directly increase the chance of finding masters like "Hidden Dragon and Phoenix" and "Seeking Masters," it can expand the candidate pool, thereby indirectly enhancing the chance of encountering talent.

Ma Lu reserved the last research slot for "Class Break Exercise."

"Class Break Exercise" is unrelated to talent recruitment and gives access to a set of class break exercises.

Practicing these exercises can temporarily raise students' spirits and physical strength by 10%, lasting for 30 minutes, limited to once a day.

Since Ma Lu had already upgraded the student dormitory and cafeteria to max level, and given that "Energetic" provides students with a boost of energy twice a day – once in the morning and once in the evening – the 10% increase in spirit and strength from "Class Break Exercise" was rather modest.

Its main benefit is that it is not time-constrained or location-dependent.

For example, one could do a set of class break exercises before a skirmish with another school to get a +10% buff to energy and physical strength.

The 30-minute duration is more than enough for one battle.

Although Ma Lu was working hard to spend the education points that came into his hands, between upgrading buildings and researching projects, he had only spent 141,100 education points after all his efforts.

He still had nearly 200,000 education points left.

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Ma Lu then spent 40,000 on an enhanced version of Enlightenment Cola, ensuring that even ordinary students could get ten bottles each, while key trainees got an additional ten bottles.

But even after such expenditures, he still had 160,000 education points remaining.

Ma Lu sorted the items in the prop shop by price in descending order, then lifted his eyes to the first page– okay, they all had seven-figure prices.

He had been a bit reckless.

Ma Lu continued flipping through the pages, and an item on the third page caught his interest.

That's the one!

However, Ma Lu didn't rush to purchase it. Instead, he went down to the foot of the mountain to a secluded spot, where he spent 100,000 education points to procure the item.

The next moment, an enormous statue, nearly five meters tall, appeared in front of him.

The statue was none other than Ma Lu himself.

This prop was known as "Principal Statue."

The bronze centipede portrayed Ma Lu with a determined face and deep gaze, his right fist held high towards the sky as if emitting a silent roar, or as if he were clearing the mists for Hou De, leading all the teachers and students ever onward.

Ma Lu admitted that erecting a statue of himself was perhaps a bit premature.

Although he truly had led Hou De out of trouble and even to new heights, it was, after all, less than a month since he had become principal.

But he couldn't help it; the effect of that "Principal Statue" was simply too tempting.

Placing the statue at the school's main entrance would refresh a catastrophe belt in the designated area each week.

Being a principal was never anything more than a side job for Ma Lu; gathering ingredients was what he cared about the most.

With this statue, he could ensure that he would never return empty-handed from each visit.

Afterward, Ma Lu contacted Carriage Shop to have someone haul the copper statue up the mountain, under the pretense that it had been gifted.

As for himself, it was just about time, so he simply made himself scarce.

After running his shop for two days, Ma Lu heard a piece of news among his Otherworldly visitors and fans: a new smuggling ship was about to arrive on Earth within the next couple of days.

Earth itself is located outside The Grand Alliance and is considered a blockaded zone.

Since the Pink Whale Smuggling Group was taken out by Dimensional Pirates, in theory, Earth had lost its stable connection to the outside world.

Although those Dimensional Pirates later signed a trade contract with Universe Infinite Canteen's agent, Lao Hei, agreeing to trade part of their looted goods for food, these goods clearly could not satisfy the needs of so many Otherworldly visitors on Earth.

The owner of the hardware store, for example, had lost his channel for scrounging, unable to refresh his inventory lately.

That wasn't even the worst part. Others needed to purchase special medication or basic survival necessities on a regular basis, becoming the most anxious people since the fall of the Pink Whale Smuggling Group.

They were constantly inquiring about news, but luckily, they didn't have to wait too long. Here it was, a new Smuggling Group, an old and established one called Fairy Dragon, had set their sights on this lucrative opportunity.

With a fleet of four smuggling ships, they sent one named New Moon.

Not only did it bring the goods that Earth's customers urgently needed, but it also carried a group of passengers.

For the past two days, this topic had been all the buzz in the groups, and even the patrons at the night events were talking about it.