I might be a fake Ultraman.

Chapter 5164 The watermelon has revealed its worm legs!

The watermelon farmer helped Higashi Kotaro select watermelons.

"Although some watermelons had problems, most of them are still pretty good. Look, this one is good, this one is good too... this one is fine, this one is very plump. How many do you want?"

The melon farmer picked out a few watermelons, tossed them in his hand, and it was clear that they were quite heavy. When he slapped them, they made the sound that a ripe watermelon should make.

"Give me four watermelons."

Just as Higashi Kotaro was about to buy a watermelon, Hyakuri En suddenly approached the watermelon cart, looked up at the watermelon farmer, and asked, "Are you sure these watermelons are ripe?"

"I sell watermelons, why would I sell you unripe watermelons?" the watermelon farmer replied speechlessly.

"How much is it per pound?"

"250 yen per jin (approximately 10.75 RMB)"

"Bulbasaur! So expensive?" Baili Yuan raised an eyebrow and asked the melon farmer, "Is the rind of your melon made of gold, or are the seeds made of gold?"

The watermelon farmer said helplessly, "You think it's too expensive? I think it's too expensive too. We can't set the price of watermelons ourselves; it's all set by the agricultural cooperative."

Higashi Kotaro patted Hyakuri Yuen's head and smiled, "Yuen, Japanese watermelons are indeed like this."

That's the price of watermelons in Japan.

农协成批收购价都要150~250日元/斤，瓜农散卖的西瓜价格一般在200~300日元/斤，所以250日元/斤是合理的。

Premium and gift melons cost 300-600 yen per kilogram.

I've even heard of top-tier watermelon auctions where a single watermelon can sell for 50 to 70 yen.

Kotaro Higashi bought four watermelons to give as gifts, which was not stingy at all, but rather showed great sincerity.

In fact, the pricing power of agricultural products in Japan is generally not in the hands of melon farmers, but in the hands of Japanese agricultural cooperatives.

Don't think of Japanese agricultural cooperatives as selfless associations that help farmers.

Japanese agricultural cooperatives control everything from seeds and pesticides to farm tools and sales channels. Farmers' decisions about what to plant and what to grow are largely determined by the cooperatives' arrangements and policies.

The farmers' job is simply to cultivate the land for the Japanese agricultural cooperatives; they can't manage anything else. And when it comes to distributing the profits, the Japanese agricultural cooperatives take the lion's share.

Even if Japanese agricultural cooperatives use the money to speculate in stocks and lose a lot of money, the farmers can't do anything about it.

The melon farmers are also helpless.

Even those who grow melons may not be able to afford to eat them.

Baili Yuan patted the melons that the melon farmer had selected; they did indeed look plump and round, without any problems.

But the inside is another matter.

"What if your melons aren't ripe?" Baili Yuan asked the melon farmer.

The melon farmer was somewhat displeased, "Are you here to cause trouble?"

Higashi Kotaro was a little puzzled; Baili Yuan wasn't the kind of child who would throw tantrums.

Then Baili Yuan picked up a watermelon and dropped it on the ground.

"What? You smashed my melons!" the melon farmer exclaimed in surprise.

Kotaro Higashi was also caught off guard.

As a result, Baili Yuan pointed at the watermelon, looking as if he had discovered a secret.

"Aha! The watermelon is showing its worm legs!"

When Higashi Kotaro and the melon farmer looked over, they saw a large worm in the smashed watermelon, which looked just like a small snake!

Baili Yuan never expected that he would find green caterpillars inside a watermelon, when he had only noticed something was wrong with it.

Upon seeing such a large insect, both Higashi Kotaro and the melon farmer were taken aback.

Is this melon any good?

Higashi Kotaro looked at the melon farmer. He had just heard the farmer say that there were worms in the watermelon, but he hadn't said that the worms were this big.

Why don't you just sell insect meat directly!

We've even come up with the advertising slogan for you—"Crispy and crunchy, with six times the protein of beef!"

The melon farmer looked completely innocent. "How could it be so big? The bugs I've seen before were all about the size of caterpillars. I've never seen a bug this big before!"

Clearly, this is no ordinary insect.

Baili Yuan picked up another watermelon and smashed it at the insects that appeared.

The insect rolled away to dodge, then suddenly shot out a long, white, rope-like thread, attacking Baili Yuan. Dong Guangtaro reacted quickly, grabbing Baili Yuan and throwing him onto the melon cart, thus avoiding the thread's attack.

"It must be a pest! Watch me catch it!" Higashi Kotaro flicked his clothes and instantly switched to a fighting expression.

Kotaro Higashi: Insect, you are the challenger!

Then, Higashi Kotaro rushed forward to fight the insects.

The insect attacked again with silk. Although silkworm silk and spider silk are generally not very harmful to humans, Kotaro Higashi dared not take the bait from this obviously strange insect.

After dodging several attacks from the insect's silk-spitting attack, Higashi Kotaro got close to the insect and stomped on it.

This insect was exceptionally resilient. Unable to kill it with a single stomp, Higashi Kotaro could only continue to attack it with his fists and feet, trying to render it unable to fight back.

The melon farmer also picked up the pitchfork on the ground and gestured to himself, observing from the sidelines, wanting to help but not daring to step forward, acting as the atmosphere-maker.

Baili Yuan sat on the watermelon cart and listened to the sounds coming from inside the other watermelons.

Then he quietly sent a few watermelons into his home space.

Because there were insects crawling inside these watermelons.

Finally, Higashi Kotaro wrapped the insect in his clothes and tied it up, thus catching the insect.

Higashi Kotaro and the melon farmer both breathed a sigh of relief.

"This insect has incredible vitality, and its strength and speed are unlike any ordinary insect! I've never seen anything like it before," said Kotaro Higashi with a serious expression.

Kotaro Higashi's intuition as a member of the Seth team made him realize that something was wrong with the insect.

What normal insect can fight against Higashi Kotaro?

The melon farmer nodded, "That's right, this insect is strong, but the two of us are even stronger!"

Higashi Kotaro: "..."

In the end, Kotaro Higashi chose four watermelons to take with him.

All four watermelons were cut open beforehand to make sure there were no worms inside. Only then were they safely brought back to the research institute.

Then, after Higashi Kotaro returned to the research institute with Hyakuri En, he immediately made a phone call to the Seto team and reported the melon farmer's melon field.

According to the melon farmers, there are quite a few of those insects.

Based on the previous insect attacks on Baili Yuan, it's not hard to tell that those insects were aggressive.

So just in case, those bugs must be dealt with!

Melon farmer: How could you be so selfish!

Kotaro Higashi: The Seitet team will provide subsidies.

Melon farmer: Sir, please come in!

……

The Set team arrived, bringing professional equipment, and everyone started catching insects in the melon field.

I didn't expect that even after catching them all afternoon and into the evening, I still wouldn't have caught all the insects in the melon field.

These insects are not only numerous, but also very difficult to catch.

The insects captured by Higashi Kotaro were sent back to the Seitet team for research, and results were quickly obtained.

This insect resembles a silkworm in shape, but it is not a modern silkworm variant; rather, it is an ancient creature.

Like the turtle monsters that have appeared before, they are all "remnants" of ancient creatures.

Although insects are primarily herbivorous, they are capable of eating meat. They also have an extremely high craving for sugar; consuming large amounts of sugar allows them to grow rapidly.

The ejected threads are composed of a substance somewhere between silk and rubber, emitting a watermelon scent while also being highly acidic. If they land on humans, they would pose a significant threat.

Its tail can emit yellow smoke that can suffocate humans.

Besides these, Kotaro Higashi also personally experienced the insects' jumping ability, speed, and vitality.

In conclusion, these insects pose a threat to humans and must be captured completely; not a single one should be spared!

Furthermore, the Set team named this insect—the leaf-eating insect, Kemjira. (End of Chapter)