Chapter 323: Watermelon Picnic Under the Moon

Taking advantage of the momentum, he returned home, where at this moment Orangel was fanning with its leaf fan, using psychic power to manipulate oval green-skinned, black-striped fruits, washing off the mud in the kitchen sink, then neatly arranging them in a fruit basket nearby.

"You've worked hard."

Luo Mu's eyes lit up; he quickly ran to Orangel's side, gently tapping the surface of the watermelons, listening to the "thump-thump" sound indicating ripeness, and looking at the fruit baskets in the living room filled to the brim with watermelons, he felt deeply moved in his heart.

Perhaps, this was what they called watermelon freedom.

Even if he ended up squatting in the toilet tomorrow unable to get up, Luo Mu was now determined to prepare a lavish watermelon feast for tonight's moon viewing.

Rolling up his sleeves and putting on an apron, Luo Mu called upon Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, who was silently honing sword techniques outside the house, and immediately planned to showcase his skills.

First, they needed to finalize tonight's menu.

Since watermelon was to be the star, naturally, they had to make as many different watermelon foods and drinks as possible.

First was the most classic: watermelon juice, which was very simple to make.

This time, the Pokémon on Luo Mu's farm could be said to have mobilized entirely, but considering the farm still needed Pokémon to guard it, Luo Mu divided them into two batches: one to hold the fort at the farm, and one to accompany him first for moon viewing and stargazing; after a period of time, the two groups would swap, conveniently replenishing the consumed watermelon dishes.

The general preparations continued until seven o'clock in the evening before coming to a pause; having been busy all day, Luo Mu supported his waist, which had been bent all day, accepting a massage from Orangel, and while enjoying the comfort, he looked up out the window.

A bright moon hung high in the sky, scattering soft silver moonlight; its glow reflected on the grassland and the nearby stream, making every blade of grass shimmer with a crystalline luster, while the stream, under the moonlight's reflection, sparkled with rippling waves, resembling a silver ribbon winding and flowing.

Applin looked up at the sky in a daze; the stars twinkled with light, like countless shining diamonds embedded in a black canopy, and at this moment, a desire actually rose in Applin's heart to fly up into the sky and view this beautiful scenery from a closer distance.

The operation was very simple; Orangel learned it after just one glance and could even assist Luo Mu from the side.

Immediately after, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui helped Luo Mu process nearly ten more watermelons; the red flesh arranged in a row on the kitchen counter emitted the unique fruity aroma of watermelon, making one unable to help but appetite surge.

Luo Mu felt these menu items were about enough to shut the Pokémon's mouths, sufficient to dazzle them.

Next, Luo Mu took out specially purchased popsicle molds, poured in watermelon juice, inserted wooden sticks, and handed them to waiting Pokémon like Serperior, instructing them to take this batch of popsicle molds to the ice cellar and hand them over to the Vulpix and Sandslash couple for freezing.

But it could not fly yet, so it could only ask Tropius to carry it up into the sky.

Luo Mu felt that the glowing little bugs Skarmory Skarmory Sanmao saw were very likely fireflies; upon hearing this news, Luo Mu directly changed the original plan of dining near the watermelon field, deciding instead to gather at the watermelon field and depart together from there to the wilderness, which was not too far away, to hold a moon-viewing picnic watermelon banquet in the wild!

Enjoying Orangel's massage with just the right amount of pressure, Luo Mu even took a short nap; when Orangel woke him, the sky was already completely covered by the night curtain, twinkling stars hanging on this pitch-black backdrop, and the time was remarkably approaching ten o'clock at night.

In winter, days are short and nights are long; in summer, days are long and nights are short.

Tonight happened to be cloudless; the brilliant, boundless starry sky was reflected in the eyes of the two accompanying Shuckle, as if the entire universe was displaying itself before them at this very moment.

And so, Luo Mu, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, and Orangel divided the labor and cooperated: one selected watermelons, one cut open watermelons, and one acted as a juicer to press out the watermelon juice.

The final dish was considered one of the most common ways to eat watermelon.

On the quiet, gentle grassland, the night curtain unfolded like a scroll before the eyes of Luo Mu and Pokémon like Luxray.

Considering also grass-eating Pokémon like Meng Ya Lu, Mudsdale, Skiddo, and Da Nai Guan, Luo Mu prepared some vegetables as well, which could be mixed into a fruit and vegetable salad for them at night, both fat-reducing and delicious.

During this period, relying on Orangel's exquisite control over psychic power, not a single drop of watermelon juice fell onto the kitchen floor, walls, or even the ceiling.

With Cangyan Cangyan Rengui present, after Luo Mu selected a watermelon and placed it before it, as Cangyan Cangyan Rengui completely retracted the heat from its blade, it flexibly wielded its sharp purple greatsword in the kitchen; in no time, the watermelon was perfectly peeled of its outer skin, leaving only the tempting red flesh, without even the internal juice spilling out.

In the grass bushes on both sides of the stream, just as Skarmory Sanmao had said, numerous fireflies twinkled with faint light, dancing gracefully under the night sky, as if dots of starlight had fallen into the human world.

Of course, if one liked the texture of the flesh, the flesh could also be kept.

In the middle of this, Shuang Nai Xian seemed to be plotting with Victini and the others to make a huge fruit cake, even taking several watermelons from Luo Mu; Luo Mu didn't interfere, merely looking forward to tonight's surprise.

According to Skarmory Skarmory Sanmao, who found that area, that place not only had clear stream water and an almost completely open, spacious lawn from which one could see the entire sky, but recently, some small bugs glowing with green light had even gathered there.

As for watermelon granita, it was simply watermelon plus ice cubes blended into a slushy state, without adding milk or yogurt, purely experiencing the coolness brought by the slush, making it even more suitable for dispelling the heat in the scorching summer.

Yet in just two hours, they had pressed out dozens of buckets of watermelon juice that filled the ground around the kitchen.

Watermelon granita and watermelon slushie appeared to be just two characters swapped in order, but in reality, they were not the same thing.

After trial-making two types of slushies and granitas, Luo Mu took out some chibi-style molds, shaped like chibi Pokémon such as Pikachu, Charmander, and Togepi, which were very cute.

Orangel nodded slightly, gently waving its fan; psychic power instantly clung to the watermelon flesh, lifting it up and placing it above a wooden barrel; as Orangel began to increase the force of its psychic power, the watermelon flesh was compressed inward by the powerful force, juice constantly dripping down, filtered through a cloth to block the watermelon seeds, leaving only the purest watermelon juice.

One only needed to take out the flesh, use a juicer to extract the juice, and then remove the flesh and watermelon seeds.

Depending on personal taste, one could add some Combee honey for seasoning, or mix it with a fixed ratio of Tapu Tapu Moumou fresh milk or sheep milk to make watermelon milk, or alternatively prepare some tea leaves to brew tea, remove the leaves, and blend it with watermelon juice to make watermelon tea, a drink sold by many milk tea shops before Luo Mu transmigrated.

Next were watermelon slushie and watermelon granita; to make these, Luo Mu had specially purchased several slushie machines specifically for making slush; after the returning Serperior and others brought some ice cubes that Luo Mu had frozen in advance from the ice cellar, Luo Mu began demonstrating for Serperior and Orangel, teaching them how to use the slushie machines.

By washing and cutting watermelons and various fruits and berries into chunks, then adding an appropriate amount of yogurt, honey, or salad dressing according to taste and blending, one could make delicious fruit salad.

In Luo Mu's menu, most of the food items required watermelon juice during preparation, which was also the most basic preparatory procedure and could not be careless.

The excellent picnic spot discovered by Skarmory Sanmao was about nearly ten-plus minutes' walk from the watermelon field.

When Luo Mu and the Pokémon arrived carrying large and small bags of food, they were stunned by the beautiful scenery before their eyes.

But this was only the first step of processing; Luo Mu then found clean wooden barrels and arranged them, laying a layer of filtering cloth on top, then cast his gaze toward the eager Orangel nearby, signaling that it could begin its action.

Watermelon slushie was a drink made by pouring watermelon juice, ice cubes, milk, or yogurt into a slushie machine and blending it into a slushy state, resulting in a very rich texture.

After all, since they were going out for a picnic, naturally they had to choose the best time to go out.

At this time, the sky was not only not yet pitch black, but even the sun seemed to be emitting a warm halo as if it had not set at all.

These were jelly molds, used to make watermelon jelly with watermelon juice as the main ingredient; one only needed to pour an appropriate amount of watermelon juice into the molds, sprinkle in an appropriate amount of jelly powder or gelatin sheets, finally inject a slight amount of clean water, and then send them to the ice cellar for freezing.

Mimikyu, Shuang Nai Xian, Mawile, and Comfey closed their eyes, enjoying the light of the moon; as Fairy-type Pokémon, they had intricate connections with the moon, and could even use the move called "Moonblast," utilizing the moon's power to attack.

Luo Mu was not in a hurry to go out just yet; it would be better to go out when the night had completely fallen and the moon hung in the starry sky.

These tiny lights intertwined with the starry sky and the bright moon, constituting a breathtakingly beautiful scroll.

Victini, Bai Bai Pengpeng, and Combee widened their eyes, completely unwilling to miss this dreamlike beautiful scenery.

A night breeze blew past, carrying away a trace of summer heat from Luo Mu.

Watching the Pokémon each begin their activities, he smiled, and with the help of Orangel, Serperior, and Swampert, spread out a huge picnic blanket, took out the slushie machine and a series of Semi-Finished Products or already completed watermelon desserts and drinks from his space backpack, and called upon the Pokémon admiring the scenery to come and enjoy.

Victini, Applin, Tropius, Vulpix, and several other immature children gathered around Luo Mu, Serperior, and Orangel, watching eagerly as they slowly hand-cranked the slushie machines, becoming extremely anxious.

The Shuckle siblings hid behind them, peeking out, seemingly very interested in watermelon granita and watermelon slushie as well.

Just as several restless Pokémon were about to act shamelessly and cause a scene, Applin and Tropius were glared at by Serperior, and like quails, they shrank their necks and obediently waited in place.

As for Victini and Vulpix, they were startled by Luo Mu's kind eyes; remembering that they still relied on Luo Mu for their meals, they completely dared not act presumptuously.

On the contrary, the Shuckle siblings were very well-behaved; although they watched the slushie machine with eager eyes, they never showed any impatience, being so obedient it made one's heart ache.

Annoyed by several Pokémon staring at him with eager eyes, Luo Mu pulled a few watermelon popsicles from a nearby mold, placed some watermelon jelly before them, and shooed them off to play.

After all, making hand-cranked smoothies and shaved ice for dozens of farm Pokémon couldn't possibly be done so quickly, since these two items, unlike popsicles and jelly, couldn't be prepared in advance and had to be made on the spot.

It was one thing that electric shaved ice machines weren't available in Cortondo, but even now, Luo Mu couldn't understand why such a vast region as Paldea didn't sell a single electric shaved ice machine; even after he specifically made a trip to Mesagoza and conducted a carpet search of the largest mall, he found none!

Although he had long known the Pokémon world's tech tree was skewed, seeing it skewed to this degree nearly made Luo Mu lose his composure.

If he had known earlier, he would have bought some multi-functional blenders; he remembered those could make not only shaved ice but also milkshakes.

When his arms grew tired from cranking, Luo Mu would take a sip of sweet, heat-relieving watermelon juice, his gaze following the Pokémon playing and frolicking on the grass, a smile hanging on his face that even he hadn't noticed.

Just as Luo Mu finished cranking another bowl of shaved ice, Alcremie approached him, displaying its signature smile that indicated it wanted to try something.

Although Alcremie was still assisting Luo Mu, it was now spending more time improving its culinary skills and learning methods for making desserts.

Thinking it might offer him a surprise, Luo Mu stepped aside slightly to let Alcremie perform on its own.

Alcremie sequentially added some sugar, Moomoo Milk, and a few drops of Watmel fruit juice into the shaved ice machine, cranked it for quite a while, poured the slightly yellowish shaved ice into a bowl, used its ability to create a layer of cream to cover the shaved ice, and finally placed a single strawberry on top as garnish.

It seemed to hint that the flavor of this shaved ice, like a strawberry, was sweet with a hint of sourness.

"Is this... cream shaved ice?"

Luo Mu widened his eyes, looking curiously at Alcremie.

"Mafu~"

Alcremie nodded gently, sniffed the aroma of the shaved ice, rolled its eyes playfully, and then, with a beaming smile, handed the shaved ice to Luo Mu, signaling for him to taste it first.

Luo Mu was also curious about the flavor of this cream shaved ice Alcremie had made with the sour Watmel fruit juice, so he picked up a spoon, scooped up both the cream and the shaved ice together, and quickly put it into his mouth.

In an instant, a bomb of simple yet distinct flavors exploded in Luo Mu's mouth!

His taste buds were first captivated by the blend of sweet cream and icy cold shaved ice; then, as the warmth of his mouth began to melt the ice, a perfectly balanced sweet-and-sour flavor merged flawlessly with the sweet cream, creating a magnificent taste that was neither cloyingly rich nor unpleasantly tart.

Luo Mu looked at Alcremie with delight, lavish praise pouring from his mouth: "Delicious! Your ability to pair flavors is getting better and better!"

Receiving such praise, Alcremie cupped its cheeks in great joy, took the bowl and spoon back from Luo Mu, and eagerly rushed off to share its new creation with the other partners for them to taste.

In a forest near the mountains, slightly distant from the lawn, an profound silence reigned, broken only by the continuous, unceasing sound of slashing.

No Pokémon were active in this quiet forest; the reason was simply that a Pokémon wielding a pink-purple blade at the forest's edge was constantly engaging a simulated imaginary opponent, its blade striking the mountainside, which was already covered in countless slash marks, each blow penetrating three inches into the stone and leaving deep traces.

This Pokémon was none other than the Paradox Pokémon Iron Valiant, who had challenged Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, failed, chosen to cultivate alone, and planned to settle the score with Cangyan Cangyan Rengui another day.

Ever since failing the challenge against Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, Iron Valiant had found a secluded place not far from the farm where Cangyan Cangyan Rengui resided, a spot where it could freely hone its swordsmanship techniques.

Initially, some wild Pokémon lived in this forest.

But after Iron Valiant took up residence, these Pokémon gradually vanished without a trace.

Of course, Iron Valiant had not attacked these wild Pokémon; it had no interest in raising its blade against the weak unless they attacked or provoked it.

Just as before, when it was cultivating in a wilderness town riddled with caves, a Pokémon identified as Tyranitar had displayed hostility and a desire to attack as it passed by, prompting Iron Valiant to slash it directly, only leaving after the opponent had lost its ability to battle.

This time, Iron Valiant was merely cultivating deep within the forest, yet those wild Pokémon, fearing its power, had chosen to flee.

For Iron Valiant, this arrangement was quite suitable, preventing any other disturbances from interrupting its cultivation.

Continuously swinging its pink-purple blade, Iron Valiant's mind, which should have been as calm as an ancient well, was instead seething with irritation due to a certain existence.

For its species... no, at least for this current individual, the source code instruction present since its birth was to seek the pinnacle of swordsmanship arts.

The so-called pinnacle of arts naturally allowed for no defeat in this path.

Yet on that day, having been defeated, it should have lost all meaning and value to continue existing; however, that Cangyan Cangyan Rengui had told it to fight again next time, causing the purpose it had lost through defeat to be re-imprinted onto the code that sustained its operation.

Since then, aside from recharging its electrical energy, Iron Valiant had spent every minute and every second using the Cangyan Cangyan Rengui in its database as an imaginary opponent, constantly practicing.

But the more it practiced, the more irritated Iron Valiant became; although it had already calculated sword techniques that could defeat Cangyan Cangyan Rengui with one hundred percent certainty, it now felt somewhat reluctant to set out.

If it truly defeated Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, did that mean this individual, which had already suffered defeat, would once again lose the purpose supporting its continued existence?

In Iron Valiant's heart, an emotion named "greed" had inexplicably been born.

With a shocking hum resonating through the air, Iron Valiant swung its pink-purple blade, instantly splitting a massive boulder in its path; just as it stopped to regulate its breathing, it suddenly heard some movement nearby.

Pondering whether to conduct some practical combat training, Iron Valiant looked up, its powerful data eyes magnifying the location of the sound like high-precision cameras.

Upon seeing clearly what was there, Iron Valiant's movements froze.

A Pokémon clad in dark purple armor, dual-wielding greatswords of flame, was slicing through an oval green-skinned, black-striped sphere; based on the opponent's characteristics, Iron Valiant could conclude that this was the very individual that had defeated it.

Glancing at the pink-purple blade in its hand, Iron Valiant experienced a rare system crash for quite a while before slowly stepping forward in that direction.

Under the beautiful summer night sky, Luo Mu, having finally finished making the hand-cranked popsicles and shaved ice and letting every Pokémon taste these heat-relieving tools, was finally able to relax slightly.

Holding a piece of watermelon he had specially selected, Luo Mu found Vulpix, placed the watermelon in the cool stream, and had Vulpix use Icy Wind to chill both the watermelon and the surrounding stream water, quickly creating a block of iced watermelon.

Luo Mu then approached Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, asking it to help split the watermelon in half.

Subsequently, he handed the other half of the watermelon to Oranguru, who had been busy working alongside him for quite some time.

Holding half a watermelon and a spoon, Luo Mu gazed at Serperior, who was sternly teaching Applin and Tropius Grass-type moves; smiling, Luo Mu scooped a large spoonful of flesh containing almost no seeds and quickly put it into his mouth.

In that instant, the most original flavor of watermelon exploded in Luo Mu's mouth, causing him to inadvertently display an expression of pure enjoyment.

Looking up at the starry sky, Luo Mu sighed with emotion: "Although processed watermelon desserts and drinks taste quite good, eating watermelon in its original form still feels the best."

Oranguru, who wasn't using psychic powers but was slowly digging out the flesh itself, nodded, displaying an expression of agreement.

Although various human crafts and techniques have created many ways to prepare different foods, for Pokémon like them, the original flavor possesses a unique charm.

Having admired the starry sky enough, Luo Mu lowered his gaze to the stream beside the lawn, where Politoed was playing with Poliwag in the water, four Da Nai Guan were rolling around on the grass with one slightly plumper Da Nai Guan, and Victini, like a child who had never seen the world, was dancing joyfully among a swarm of fireflies.

It had maintained this state for an hour already.

It was evident that Victini, while in Area Zero, must not have seen so many fireflies... or perhaps had never seen fireflies at all.

"Saying it has never seen the world is true, but actually, I haven't personally seen this many fireflies either."

Before transmigrating, living in a big city, let alone fireflies, even butterflies were rare sights; even if there were any, busy with his 996 lifestyle, he had neither the mood nor the leisure to pay attention to such natural beauty.

The city's night sky was always covered by dark clouds; occasionally, the true appearance of the sky would reveal itself, but the twinkling stars within were incredibly sparse.

Whether due to the deepening night or not, the swarm of fireflies, which moments ago resembled scattered stars, was now growing larger and larger, already about to fill the grasslands near the stream.

Beneath the starry sky, the swarm of fireflies resembled a second slowly flowing stream, as if it were the reflection of the Milky Way above.

From afar came a light and beautiful summer melody; perhaps in some patch of grass, several red insect virtuosos were performing their carefully composed tunes under this moonlit night, expressing the emotions within their chests.

"Truly beautiful."

Amidst the tranquil night, Luo Mu let out a sigh, the exhaustion of a day's labor completely healed in this moment.

The Luxray slowly approached Luo Mu, leisurely lying down beside him, silently accompanying him from start to finish.

Luo Mu's gaze followed Victini as it moved among the swarm of fireflies.

He saw that the Psyduck and Slowpoke, who had been staring blankly at each other by the stream, also turned their dull gazes toward the sky due to the gathering of fireflies.

Azumarill and Marill, along with Surskit, simply lay quietly in the stream, feeling the gentle breeze blowing from the night sky, captivated as they admired the beautiful sight of the gathered fireflies.

Time seemed to come to a complete standstill; the Pokémon sharing this sky and this planet with Luo Mu admired the scenery they could never tire of seeing, enjoying this tranquil moment.

The Luxray raised its head to gaze at the sky, energy flowing within its golden pupils; these eyes could not only see through objects but also endowed the Luxray with extraordinary vision.

In the night sky it perceived, those scattered stars appeared even more colorful and varied; the Luxray remembered Luo Mu mentioning this kind of Pokémon.

Their name was Minior.

A dark figure tumbled through the night sky like a swimming dragon; even from a great distance, the Luxray could vaguely sense the other party's formidable pressure.

Yet the Luxray felt no fear; it cast a gentle glance at Luo Mu beside it, who was focused on admiring the scenery and the free summer night melody, a trace of firmness appearing in its eyes.

Just like the promise made when they first met.

Sooner or later, it would reach that unreachable legend in the sky.

(End of Chapter)