Universe Infinite Canteen

Lin Cheng scrambled and stumbled into the tropical greenhouse ahead.

He was never good at sports, had been eating junk food for months, and rarely got any sunlight, which worsened his physical condition.

After just a fifty-meter run, he was gasping for air, his lungs burning fiercely. The full-frame camera hanging from his neck felt like a heavy weight slamming against his chest.

The travel bag on his back was almost cutting into his shoulders.

Lin Cheng regretted bringing so many lenses, especially the telephoto lens, each one was incredibly heavy.

But now, he didn't have the time to open his backpack to throw them out, as the English teacher was right behind him and could catch up at any moment.

Fortunately, the tropical greenhouse was now just ahead.

Lin Cheng gritted his teeth, pushed his tired, sore legs, and sprinted forward, just managing to dash through the turnstile before the English teacher could catch him.

He was greeted by a large patch of bird's nest ferns. Lin Cheng hesitated, not daring to hide among them as they were too short to conceal his body, especially with the travel bag on his back.

So Lin Cheng continued searching. Inside the greenhouse, he saw pitcher plants, towering trees, staghorn ferns, palm trees... but none seemed suitable for hiding.

Until he remembered that half a year ago, when he came to the botanical garden to take photos, he had seen a cleaning lady walk out from inside a rock formation in the tropical greenhouse.

It seemed there was a storage room hidden inside. Lin Cheng, like grabbing a lifeline, rushed towards the faux rock formation.

He squeezed out every last bit of potential from his body; his heart rate was skyrocketing, but he didn't dare stop because the footsteps behind him were getting closer.

Fortunately, fate favored him in the final moments. Lin Cheng quickly found the half-hidden storage room inside the faux rock formation in the center of the greenhouse.

Even more fortunate, the storage room was unlocked.

Lin Cheng yanked open the door, which was the same color as the faux rock, scrambled inside, and shut the door quickly, pressing his back against it.

The footsteps outside grew clearer, accompanied by a strange scraping sound.

Lin Cheng knew it was made by the English teacher's fingernails scraping against the ground.

The footsteps finally stopped outside the storage room door, and then something bumped into the door.

Lin Cheng covered his mouth tightly, curling his body into a ball in the darkness, paralyzed with fear.

He feared the English teacher would break in the next second.

But just then, the ground under his feet suddenly shook.

Since the tremor was too brief, Lin Cheng even wondered if it was his imagination.

But soon, he heard the English teacher's footsteps gradually fading away outside the door.

The sharp, grating sound also vanished.

However, Lin Cheng still stayed in the storage room for a good half an hour, until he was sure there were no sounds outside. He first pushed the door open a crack and peeked outside nervously.

Only then did he cautiously step out.

It was now 12:37 PM, the sun was at its peak, and sunlight streamed through the greenhouse's glass dome.

The light fell on the tropical plants, tracing them in a golden outline.

Lin Cheng couldn't help himself and took down his camera, snapping a photo.

The click of the shutter calmed him a bit. Lin Cheng put the lens cap back on and took the backpack off his shoulders.

He pulled out a compass and a map, checked the marked position with a red pen on the map, and confirmed the direction with the compass.

Then he rolled the map back up and walked out of the tropical greenhouse.

Lin Cheng intended to keep heading towards his destination, but upon exiting, he noticed something new had appeared in the broad-leaved forest area nearby.

At this point, he was unwilling to bother with anything else, but the object was too conspicuous.

It looked very much like a legendary spaceship, with a unique shape and color, resembling a pink whale resting in the forest from afar.

Lin Cheng often came to the botanical garden to photograph plants, and he distinctly remembered that there were no large structures in the broad-leaved forest area.

Connecting this with the previous strange tremor, he couldn't help but think more about it.

After hesitating for a long time, Lin Cheng couldn't curb his curiosity and decided to take a closer look.

Since that incident, Lin Cheng had become completely numb; no matter how strange things still happened, it wouldn't surprise him.

So he temporarily changed his route and walked towards the broad-leaved forest.

When he was still around a thousand meters away, Lin Cheng heard a long-missed song. He couldn't understand the lyrics repetitively singing "Ah Pa Tze, Ah Pa Tze," but he could tell the melody was very cheerful and lively.

This made Lin Cheng quicken his pace, though he remained cautious.

He stopped at the edge of the broad-leaved forest, switched his camera to a telephoto lens, and used the 400mm lens to observe the spaceship-like structure. He saw a group of people moving tables, chairs, and kitchen equipment around.

The strange song was emanating from a large black speaker.

Lin Cheng couldn't help but widen his eyes. These people seemed too relaxed, considering the city was riddled with crises, yet they behaved as if they were out on a camping trip.

The key point was, Lin Cheng spotted several slender figures among the group.

When he aimed his lens at a woman in a red cloak, she seemed to sense something and glanced in his direction.

Lin Cheng was startled. Logically, the woman shouldn't have been able to see him, but he still ducked behind the trash bin and hid his camera.

Before he could decide whether to approach these people, the woman in red appeared right in front of him.

Without a word, she grabbed him by the collar, and Lin Cheng's vision blurred.

The next moment they were already under the pink whale-shaped spaceship.

Ma Lu was adjusting a banner with his face printed on it, trying to place it in a conspicuous spot.

He looked up and saw the Female Sorceress and Lin Cheng in her grasp, his eyes lit up.

"You found a guest? I told you, this place looks like a park, there should be more people, but it's strange, we've been here for so long and no one came to check on us... Why are you holding our guest like that? Put him down."

"This kid was secretly photographing us," said the Wandering Sorcerer.

"I... I wasn't," Lin Cheng blushed, "I was just observing through the lens..."

Ma Lu glanced at the camera on Lin Cheng's chest and realized, "Ah, you're a photographer! Then you must have been out for street photography just now."

"I... I wasn't doing street photography."

"It's okay even if you were secretly photographing. After all, we haven't bathed. I'll spare your life because dead men don't pay. Ha ha ha.

"Although there's no one around now, killing and robbing would be faster, but rest assured, I'm not that kind of person."

Ma Lu tried to lighten the mood with a joke, but Lin Cheng's face only grew more tense.