Chapter Thirty-Two: The River Thanatos

“Master, do you know who he is? He’s actually…” Seeing Ling Mo hang up the call without hesitation, Katherine’s hand trembled. She hurriedly tried to explain to him.

“I know!” Ling Mo cut her off directly. He fixed his gaze on Katherine and said, “I know who he is, and I also know their research is of great significance. But guarding this place is already beyond your capabilities.”

His stern tone cowed Katherine into silence. Her face was filled with hesitation and uncertainty. Ling Mo sighed inwardly. Katherine was an orphan—she must have suffered through all kinds of hardships growing up. Even if she wasn’t twisted, it would be difficult for her to be so open-hearted, and yet now, she seemed to have a childlike urge to help others at any moment. It was truly odd.

She followed Ling Mo, walking further away, but kept glancing back, her inner turmoil evident with every step. After a few kilometers, Ling Mo suddenly stopped. Katherine, lost in thought, walked straight into his back. Startled, she snapped back to reality and hurriedly took several steps back, apologizing profusely.

Ling Mo found a tree stump and sat down, beckoning Katherine over. “Since you call me Master, today I’ll teach you your first lesson in life: Never agree to do things beyond your ability. Countless people have ruined their lives on this point. And…”

He lightly tapped her stomach. “Now that you’ve advanced to Intermediate Martial Artist, your stamina has increased greatly, but so has your need for energy, or rather, for food. Aren’t you feeling hungry now? Most of the energy from that cordyceps went into transforming your body—there shouldn’t be much left.”

At his words, Katherine was suddenly aware that the energy she’d thought was overflowing had already been more than half consumed! Her expression changed drastically. A quick comparison told her that as an Intermediate Martial Artist, she was burning energy at three times the rate of a Beginner!

“Do you understand now? Even if a Level Six magical beast doesn’t come here, your stomach won’t allow you to stay in this wretched place for twenty-six hours. You’d better follow me and learn how to hunt before you start trying to show off.”

Katherine let out a frustrated breath, forcing herself to set the matter aside and regain her composure. She reopened her livestream:

When the DouShark platform had called Katherine just now, her stream had been cut off. Tens of thousands of viewers found their screens inexplicably blacked out. Now, nearly everyone was convinced—the rumor about the World Tree was likely true!

Driven by the simple urge to never miss a spectacle, none of them left. Instead, they crowded into the darkened chatroom, enthusiastically speculating and joking. Some conspiracy-minded viewers were convinced that as soon as Katherine returned to human society, she’d be taken away and locked in a small dark room. Others thought this was nonsense, and both sides emphasized their points by sending gifts and using special fonts. Katherine glanced at the chat and thought, even streaming a black screen, she could easily make a million a month.

Switching back into her host persona, she smiled and said, “Hello, everyone! There was a little… you-know-what… technical difficulty just now, so the stream was cut off for a bit. But we’re back to normal! Let’s follow your host deeper into the Magic Beast Rainforest for more adventure!”

“66666!”

“There really is a cover-up! Host, you’re in trouble now!”

“Federal officials are coming for you! Don’t move! Now you’re the one in danger!”

“What happened during the blackout? Host, can you share a bit?”

“Yeah, give us a hint—here’s a shooting star gift!”

“Ahh! I’m so curious! Host, if you don’t satisfy my curiosity, I’ll die!”

No matter how the chat asked, Katherine just smiled without answering, making a shushing gesture with her finger to her lips. “What can’t be said, can’t be said. When the time comes, you’ll all know. For now, follow your hungry host into the rainforest to hunt! Now that I’m an Intermediate Martial Artist, my food consumption is three times faster, and I’m already starving!”

She then turned to Ling Mo and asked, “Master, I feel like I’ve boarded a pirate ship. With martial arts burning through food so quickly, where can I find enough to eat?”

Ling Mo didn’t answer her question. Instead, he asked, “You’re a wilderness streamer, aren’t you? You’ve hunted in the wild for a long time. In your experience, which kind of magical beast is the hardest to catch or kill?”

“Birds, of course!” Katherine answered without hesitation. “Especially raptors—my magic can’t even touch them!”

“And why can’t your magic hit them?”

“Because their reaction speed and ability to change direction are too fast. I just can’t…” She stopped abruptly, then lit up with excitement. “Right! It’s because my reaction speed couldn’t keep up with theirs! But now my physical abilities are greatly improved. In theory, I should be able to keep up! That means birds might actually become the easiest food to catch!”

Ling Mo nodded approvingly. “That’s right. Birds evolved hollow bones to make flight easier, which means their skeletal structure is quite fragile. Among magical beasts of the same rank, birds are the most vulnerable. If you can match their movements, bird-type magical beasts are the best food source!”

“But…” Katherine glanced around the dense rainforest. “There are lots of birds here, but most are low-level magical beasts like nightingales or pied birds. Hunting them wouldn’t provide much energy. And large birds rarely live in such complex environments, right?”

“You’re correct. The tangle of branches and vines makes rainforests unsuitable for large birds. The most common raptor here is the hunting swallow-hawk. To call it a raptor is generous—it’s barely enough to meet your dietary needs. But have you noticed that as you’ve followed me, the environment around you has changed quite a lot?”

Huh?

She’d been so distracted by thoughts of the World Tree she hadn’t noticed her surroundings. Now that she looked around, she realized something was off: this area no longer looked much like a rainforest.

The trees were just as numerous, but they no longer had the broad leaves typical of rainforests—the leaves were much narrower. The smaller trees had disappeared, replaced by massive giants, wide enough for several people to encircle, towering dozens or even over a hundred meters high. The ever-present pools of water were gone, and the humidity had dropped noticeably. If she sniffed carefully, she could even detect a faintly “dry” scent in the air.

Katherine said uncertainly, “Is it… just my imagination, or does it feel like we’re about to leave the rainforest?”

“That’s precisely your imagination. Listen carefully—do you hear the sound of powerful rushing water?”

Following his instructions, Katherine listened intently for a long moment, then pointed to the right. “Yes, very strong water flow. I’m certain there’s a large river ahead!”

“Excellent. Congratulations—beyond the last patch of forest lies the most mysterious river in the Magic Beast Rainforest: the Thanatos River.”

Thanatos River? That name sounded familiar.

Still pondering, Katherine hurried through the thicket to the right. As she passed the final row of towering trees, her view suddenly opened up. The sight before her made her catch her breath—she had never even dreamed of seeing such a scene!

A broad river flowed by with a clear, rushing sound. Its water was so pure and transparent it put even mountain streams to shame—so blue it looked as if it had been filtered multiple times. It stood in stark contrast to the muddy yellow rivers so common in the rainforest. Standing on the bank, you could see fish and shrimp playing more than ten meters down on the riverbed!

The current wasn’t exactly swift, but for some reason, Katherine felt a sense of danger emanating from the river. There was something unnatural about it. She knew full well that a river of this width and flow should stir up mud and sand from its banks—there was no way it should be this clear!

The river’s strangeness was one thing, but looking farther across, the opposite bank was a world of yellow earth! On her side, the lush green rainforest pressed close, almost oppressive in its vitality. But across the river, it was barren—dead trees, cracked earth, and, to her amazement, cactus growing not far away! It felt as if she’d stepped into a desert wasteland in an instant.

On either side of the Thanatos River, separated by only a few dozen meters, two completely different worlds existed in stark contrast.

(P.S. The new book is at a critical moment! Dear brothers and sisters, honored readers, please give the author your support with a recommendation or a follow! Even a little bit of help means the world to me right now. If I get fifty new follows, I’ll definitely stay up late to add more chapters. I’m counting on you!)