Chapter Twenty-One: Pepkino

"The rain yesterday was quite heavy, pulling down all the dispersed moisture from the air. Coupled with today's bright sunshine, it's a rare, exceptionally good day in the Magical Beast Rainforest—conditions will dry out quickly," Ling Mo strolled leisurely through the forest, still taking the time to explain to the trailing Katherine, "On a day like this, you'll witness many wonders that are seldom seen."

"Wonders?"

"Yes, wonders. At our current pace, it'll be about two hours before we reach our destination. On the way, we might as well talk a bit about survival." Ling Mo gestured toward the surrounding plants and asked Katherine, "Do you recognize these plants?"

Katherine made an effort to identify them, shaking her head. "I recognize some, but many seem vaguely familiar yet oddly different."

"That's perfectly normal," Ling Mo replied. "Because of the presence of the World Tree, the Magical Beast Rainforest is saturated with excessive magic and other exotic energies. Any plant that can thrive here is bound to exhibit certain mutations. For instance—" He stopped, bent down, and pinched a tiny green fruit from the end of a vine sprawled across the ground. Holding it up to Katherine, he asked, "Do you know what this is?"

Katherine examined the small green fruit carefully. It was oval-shaped, no bigger than the first joint of a thumb, its pale green skin patterned with orderly, longitudinal dark green stripes. She was sure she'd seen something like it before, but couldn't quite recall what it was.

Seeing Katherine's confusion, Ling Mo smiled. "It's a watermelon. Surprised?"

"Watermelon?!" Katherine was astonished, then suddenly relieved. Indeed, that striped pattern was the unmistakable hallmark of a watermelon, but in such a tiny form, it was impossible to connect it to the hefty melons weighing over ten pounds that she was familiar with. "Why is it so small? And aren't watermelons usually better suited to dry environments?"

"That's the magic of the Magical Beast Rainforest," Ling Mo said, somewhat entranced as he brought the tiny watermelon before his eyes. "This miniature watermelon is known among the centaur tribes as 'Pepugino,' meaning 'little bountiful fruit.' It's extremely rare. Watermelons generally prefer dry conditions, but the rainforest is perpetually humid. To adapt to this extreme environment, the watermelon vine evolved an extraordinary strategy: it stores energy underground most of the time, and when it detects favorable conditions, it immediately absorbs the energy diffused in the air and produces this tiny fruit. From flowering to fruiting takes only three hours, and then, three hours later—bang!—it explodes."

"Explodes?!" Katherine was even more puzzled by Ling Mo's dramatic gesture. "Why would it explode?"

"To spread its seeds as far as possible, of course," Ling Mo replied, holding up the little green fruit and pointing at its swollen underside. "Don't be fooled by its size; this tiny thing contains dozens of watermelon seeds. When the fruit ripens, the explosion sends them flying great distances. The farthest I've seen recorded is over three kilometers!"

"Three kilometers? And more? That's an incredible blast! What if someone happened to eat one, mistaking it for a wild fruit...?"

Ling Mo nodded, confirming her suspicion. "Absolutely. Nine months ago, I witnessed an old man with a blazing white beard and a bright red afro—must have been a Magister by the feel of his aura. He was dressed in a chef's coat as white as snow, carrying an array of modern-looking camping gear—probably a gourmet traveler with a passion for food. He mistook this for an ordinary wild fruit and tossed it into his mouth. The scene... tsk, his afro truly exploded. I was a dozen meters away and still got splattered with brain matter."

"A Magister with a white beard, chef's coat, and explosive hair?" Katherine thought for a moment, then suddenly gasped. "Wasn't that Magister McDonald? He entered the Magical Beast Rainforest a while back claiming he was searching for the ultimate seasoning for his world-famous fried chicken. Did he really die like that?"

Ling Mo shrugged. "Yes, he did. When I saw him about to eat the 'Pepugino,' I rushed over as fast as I could. But I guess he mistook me for an attacking beast and instantly put up a blazing fire shield, blocking me for a split second. And then... tragedy struck. Well, Magisters are quick, that's for sure."

Katherine stared at Ling Mo, a storm of emotion in her eyes. A Magister, gone just like that? And in such... an undignified manner?

Such a shocking revelation instantly set the bullet comments ablaze:

"Man, watching Teacher Ling's show is always full of surprises!"
"What kind of ridiculous fruit is this—shouldn't it be called the Exploding Watermelon?"
"Alas, the world is short one more Magister. A moment of silence."
"We should mourn, but somehow I can't help but laugh at the way Magister McDonald died."
"Perhaps that's what you call a touch of comedy in the midst of mourning?"
"Oh no, I really liked all the fast food Master McDonald invented. Does this mean we've lost a great gourmet forever?"

While the viewers kept up their discussion, a line of red text, visible only to administrators, suddenly appeared in the center of the livestream:

"Hello, Mr. Ling. I'm an administrator from BattleShark. After hearing your news, Magister McDonald's family contacted us. Would you be willing to speak with them?"

"His family? Sure. What is it?"

"Mr. Ling," the red text hovered before all other comments, "I'm Magister McDonald's son. I am deeply grieved by my father's passing. If you don't mind, could you tell me where he died? I wish to bring his remains home."

"Well..." Ling Mo frowned, thinking for a moment. "I do remember the location, but it's quite deep in the forest. Retrieving his remains will be dangerous."

"That's all right. Please just tell me the exact location."

"Very well. I'll pass by on my way back after taking my apprentice home. But don't get your hopes up—although I buried his body, with the rainforest's climate, I'm afraid only a skeleton may remain by now."

"Even so, I beg you, please."

Ling Mo said no more. He shook the little green fruit in his hand and turned back to Katherine. "We've drifted off track. This little watermelon is dangerous, but it's called 'bountiful fruit' for a reason—look here." He pointed at the tip of the watermelon, where an extremely fine, almost imperceptible pale line ran horizontally. "If your knife skills are good enough to slice along this fine line, the seeds inside will shoot out like a barrage, but the rest of the fruit will remain intact. The rind and flesh are left unharmed, filled with nutrients. Among the centaur tribes, it's said that eating it brings the blessing of the gods, and young centaur men bearing this fruit have a much higher success rate in courting partners. Of course, every year, a few unlucky souls with poor knife skills meet their end with this thing."

After finishing his explanation, Ling Mo handed the little watermelon to Katherine, pointing at the fine line. "Here, your task is to open it up and eat it."

Katherine took the tiny watermelon, her face already a little pale. She held it gingerly, as if cradling a bomb—well, she was cradling a bomb—and looked at Ling Mo with pleading eyes, full of hope.

Ling Mo ignored her look, silently producing a dagger from who-knows-where and handing it over. Katherine saw at a glance that it was nearly identical to the previous dagger—about a foot long, bone-white and curved, with a hilt woven from some unknown vine. If the handle weren’t different, Katherine might have thought it was the same one as before. She tested its edge—still as sharp as ever—and heard Ling Mo's reminder: "Don't be nervous. With your physical abilities now, even if the Pepugino explodes in your hand, you won't die—you'll just be badly injured. I'll heal you, don't worry. Just remember: control your muscles, and strike quickly. The faster the better."

Katherine nodded, took a deep breath, left hand holding the watermelon tip outward, right hand gripping the dagger. She paused in thought, then her eyes lit up. With a flick of her wrist and a twist of her fingers, she spun the dagger rapidly with the pommel as the axis!

She balanced the dagger’s center of gravity perfectly, and after a few seconds of steady spinning, she deftly brought the watermelon’s fine line to the path of the rotating blade—slicing off the tip in perfect silence!

Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

Like a wind-magic rapid-fire cannon, the seeds shot out in a crisp and rapid burst from the unremarkable little watermelon, hitting the trunk of a massive tree dead ahead. The meter-thick tree was pummeled, wood chips flying, and in just a second, it was snapped in two and toppled with a mournful crash!

Katherine stared, dumbfounded, at the fallen tree, muttering, "Suddenly, I feel like Magister McDonald didn't die in vain..."

She rubbed her reddening palm, shook out her numb arm, and heard Ling Mo's praise: "Very good—very clever. You understood the physics behind it, that's impressive."

Katherine quickly replied humbly, "It's mainly because the dagger you gave me is so good. It's unbelievably sharp. It looks like it's made from the tooth of some fierce beast. Whose tooth is it, anyway?"

"Mine."

"...Huh?!"