Digimon: I really didn't want to be the Digimon Emperor!

The sun in the sky was unusually warm. I wonder if this sun is the same one as the sun in the real world? Is the sun in this space also the same one?

Is there an extraterrestrial universe in the digital space, or digital world?

Cheng Yuan remembered that in the fourth season of the anime, the main characters were driven to the moon to escape. He wondered if the digital space and the lunar space here really existed.

He stepped on the grass and gravel on the ground, seemingly no different from the real world.

This pristine landscape and mild climate are simply tailor-made for picnics.

"Alright, now we'll split into four teams, each led by a few temporary instructors, to familiarize yourselves with the surroundings," Xu Xin said. "Be careful not to stray from your teams. If you do, no one can guarantee your safety, not even your instructors. The wild beasts here love your delicate skin and tender flesh."

Meanwhile, outside the Savage Valley outpost in the real world, a strange figure is lurking in the shadows.

The tall, thin young man wearing a baseball cap, nicknamed "Mo"—or rather, a demon disguised as a human—was staring intently at the heavily guarded building with his scarlet eyes.

“Found it…” He stretched out his pale finger and drew a line lightly in the air.

Just now, he clearly sensed that the dark energy within the puppy's body suddenly stopped, as if it had been abruptly cut off by something.

There is only one explanation for this abrupt disappearance—the little dog beast entered the digital space.

"It's like searching high and low without finding it..." The demon beast's lips twisted into a ferocious arc. The tracking and surveillance over the past few days had not been in vain; he had finally locked onto the entrance to the digital space.

It waved its hand and unleashed a skill, and a faint black mist began to emanate from its body.

When the power of 【Soul Binding】 was fully activated, the surrounding air began to distort and deform.

It passed straight through the gate, and the fully armed soldiers acted as if they didn't see it at all.

On the monitor screen in the control room, the image appeared slightly distorted; all images of it were directly rewritten, and it was no longer visible.

"Human technology..." the demon beast chuckled contemptuously, "is child's play."

It was like an invisible ghost, drifting with the crowd to the outside of a huge crack.

It also stepped in gracefully, its black trench coat rustling in the data stream.

Chapter 39 Encounter Battle

The reason this digital space is called Savage Valley is because its entrance is located near the area where Savage Beasts are active, and is closest to Savage Valley. It is not that Savage Valley is the only area in the digital space.

Cheng Yuan surveyed the scenery before him. In the distance were rolling green mountains, while nearby were lush river valleys and forests. A winding river shimmered in the sunlight.

According to the map, following this river downstream will lead to the main habitat of the Savage Beast—the real Savage Valley.

"Class representative, what are you daydreaming about?" A voice interrupted his thoughts.

Cheng Yuan then noticed that he had been assigned to Wang Lin's team, along with seven classmates and physical education teacher Cao Jin.

Teacher Cao was nervously rubbing his hands, looking like a naive young man on his first date: "Instructor Wang, shall we take a walk around the neighborhood first? Get familiar with the area?"

"This area is surrounded like an iron barrel, what's the point? Do you really think we're here for a spring outing?" Wang Lin shook her head and said, "We're here to experience combat. Let's go, head into the jungle. There are very few wild Digimon around here."

The group headed into the jungle, and after walking for about half an hour, the surrounding scenery gradually became unfamiliar.

Wang Lin stopped and said, "From here on, Teacher Cao and I will follow you at a distance. Pay attention to what Team Leader Xu Xin tells you. Don't be reckless and don't feed them."

The students knew that the two would definitely drop far behind, so they weren't too scared.

They also saw that Wang Lin's Digimon was a flying insect beast patrolling and detecting in the sky. The flying insect beast's flight speed and detection capabilities were very reassuring.

The physical education teacher's Digimon, although only a Rookie-level Terriermon, is also jokingly called a "fighting nation" Digimon. It has been training for many years in its Rookie stage and, in addition to assisting in teaching, it also insists on training, making it one of the more powerful Rookie-level Digimon.

Teachers seem to prefer pairing up with Terrier, which may be related to Terrier's cute appearance and serious, easygoing personality.

【Flying Beast (also known as Spiked Beast)】

[Data on insect types]

[Maturity Stage]

[Skills: Insect Bomb, Horned Charge, Finishing Spike]

[Introduction: A rare insect-type Digimon with a humanoid form. It possesses the hard exoskeleton and agile movements characteristic of insect-type Digimon. It excels as an assassin, using its intelligent movements and accurate judgment to snipe at the enemy's vitals. It is skilled at attacks that silence the enemy with a single blow. It is very calm and intelligent, with a composed personality.]

Terrier (also known as the terrier)

[Data-driven Beast Types]

[Growth Period]

[Skills: Small Tornado, Blazing Inferno, Big Ear Smash]

[Introduction: With large eyes and long ears, it looks very cute and is often mistaken for a toy. However, it is actually a Digimon from a warrior race, capable of displaying power far exceeding its appearance in battle.]

Wang Lin shook a device the size of a water glass in her hand: "This is a data collector. Your task today is for each of you to kill at least one Savage Beast and collect their data into this collector."

She shoved the collector into the arms of the nearest girl.

The girl asked timidly, "Should we...kill him directly?"

"Otherwise what?" Wang Lin rolled her eyes, leaving her speechless with that one sentence.

Cheng Yuan knew that the Digimon in this world did not automatically reincarnate as DigiEggs in the Founders Village after death, but truly died. Once their data was absorbed and their Digicores were shattered, they were beyond saving.

Humans have created a series of digital data processing systems and industries. For example, the data of a Digimon that has been killed is collected in various ways and brought back to a data factory for analysis, screening, classification, and compression. Finally, it is packaged and compressed into data growth packages or attribute cubes through different processes, which are then consumed and absorbed by other Digimon.

If a Digimon directly absorbs the data of a defeated Digimon, it is easy to absorb excessive impurities, leading to data disorder, which in turn affects its growth and future evolution. If not careful, it may even evolve into an inferior Digimon, such as Snotmon or Poopmon, which could easily lead to all its previous efforts being wasted.

Therefore, there is a general consensus in society to allow Digimon partners to consume growth data packs or attribute cubes, and to rarely directly absorb data from other Digimon, unless the Digimon itself possesses an extremely powerful ability to decompose and absorb data.

After putting down the data acquisition device, professional animal trainer Wang Lin and physical education teacher Cao Jin tacitly stepped back fifty meters, handing the stage over to the students.

Teacher Cao's big-eared beast nervously tugged at its long ears, while Wang Lin's flying insect beast had already taken off, darting and patrolling among the treetops.

"What's next?"

"Class representative, what do you suggest? We'll listen to you," someone suggested.

Over the past month, Cheng Yuanshu has established a certain level of prestige, both in terms of his strength and his willingness to serve as a sparring partner. Now is the time for the class leaders to play their leading role.

Cheng Yuan counted the Digimon in his team: besides his own Puppymon, there were two Sandshrewmon, Orimon, Gearmon, Candlemon, Palmon, and Flareon—it was practically a "starter five" alumni group.

As for Kang Zhaodi and Zhao Lu, they probably went to other teams to become team leaders based on their abilities.

Cheng Yuan walked ahead, silently exploring the edge of the jungle and carving marks on the trees.

As you venture deeper into the jungle, the light gradually dims, and the dense canopy filters the sunlight into an eerie green. The tangled roots on the ground can trip you up from time to time.

The puppy beast, with its speed advantage and keen senses, ran ahead as a scout.

"Woof! There's a Digimon ahead!" The little dog suddenly stopped in its tracks.

"Something's wrong!" Cheng Yuan rolled behind a tree, and the other students followed suit, instantly lying down in a group.

Cheng Yuan stood up, reached out and approached the puppy beast, hiding behind the trunk of a large tree, and used the Tyrannosaurus Rex to scan the direction the puppy beast was facing.

"It's a Mischievous Monkey Beast!" Cheng Yuan whispered to the Tyrannosaurus Rex, sending the image database to Xing Shu.

The Tyrannosaurus Rex now serves as the team's communicator during the R-wave.

“This mischievous monkey is larger than the average mischievous monkey,” Cheng Yuan said based on his observations.

He had seen pictures of the Monkeymon in the encyclopedia and knew about its fighting habits and characteristics, but seeing a live Monkeymon in front of him was a completely different experience.

The mischievous monkey carried a slingshot almost as tall as itself on its back, its entire body covered in dark brown fur, and it wore a fur coat made of the fur of some unknown animal.

“Monkeymon is a social Digimon.” A female student’s voice came from the Digimon. Her name was Wenrou, and she was one of the better students academically. She was in charge of keeping the data collector. “Have you found any other companions of its?”

"Wang!"

“No, but… I saw a Savage Beast.” Cheng Yuan licked his lips. A group of green-skinned humanoid Digimon were waving wooden sticks, chasing after the mischievous monkey beast.

The wild beasts chattered and shouted, occasionally throwing fireballs. Normally, the mischievous monkey beast should have already climbed up the tree and escaped, but instead of fleeing up the tree, it stumbled along the jungle path. If you looked closely, you could see that it was holding something in its arms.

"What is it protecting..." Cheng Yuan suddenly realized.

Just then, a fireball struck the monkey beast on the back, and it screamed and collapsed to the ground.

The thing in its arms rolled out—it was a digital egg with a dull color like stone!

Chapter 40 The Best Universities

"Woof! There's an ambush over there!" the little dog whispered, alerting Cheng Yuan.

Cheng Yuan squinted and searched carefully, finally spotting an unnatural sway in the grass in the direction the mischievous monkey was heading.

"Good heavens, these green dwarfs can ambush people?" he muttered to himself.

If it weren't for the little dog's reminder, he would never have noticed the savage beast that blended perfectly into the grass. These guys' green skin was practically natural camouflage in the jungle.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The mischievous monkey suddenly turned around and fired a barrage of pebbles from its giant slingshot. The pebbles accurately struck the pursuing savage beasts, exploding into sparks of data on their bodies. One savage beast reacted extremely quickly, using a wooden stick to block the attack, but the hard stick was dented by the pebble.

"This accuracy... is about the same as the accuracy I had when I was a kid." Cheng Yuan counted the savage beasts chasing behind him, "Four chasing, and one cat is lying in ambush behind a tree, five in total!"

Just as he was counting the enemies, the savage beast suddenly leaped out of the bushes, its wooden club whistling through the air as it smashed towards the monkey beast's head—[Goblin Raid]!

With a muffled thud, the Naughty Monkey Beast collapsed to the ground. The Wild Beasts behind it immediately launched [Goblin Assault], and a barrage of fireballs roared in, completely engulfing the Naughty Monkey Beast.

"Class representative, what should we say?" came the students' tense voices from the Dinosaur machine.

Cheng Yuan quickly analyzed the situation: "This group of greenskins is hunting as a group. There are five of them so far, and two of them are already injured. However..." He looked around, "I suggest we don't act rashly yet. Who knows if there are any of their accomplices nearby? Everyone, pay attention to the situation, be vigilant about your surroundings, and avoid any roaming savage beasts."

"Okay!" the students responded enthusiastically.

In their line of sight, the savage behind them unleashed a barrage of fireballs at the mischievous monkey beast, then, wielding a wooden club and with a fierce glint in his eyes, approached the beast step by step.

Just then, the severely injured monkey beast suddenly let out a mournful roar, using its last bit of strength to launch the stone-like digital egg—directed right at where Cheng Yuan and the others were hiding!

Then came a series of sounds of hard objects hitting flesh.

The bloody scenes are tinged with a hint of data, creating a sci-fi feel amidst the gore.

"Holy crap!" Cheng Yuan watched helplessly as the digital egg flew towards him, and the gazes of the savage beasts also turned to the bushes.

It turns out that the mischievous monkey beast in the jungle was also very perceptive and had already discovered Cheng Yuan. At this moment, before it died, it flicked out that stone egg, which seemed a bit like entrusting its orphan to someone else.

To make matters worse, the little dog beast, this "little saint," actually rushed forward, jumped high into the air, and caught the digital egg steadily!

Following the direction in which the stone egg was launched, the savage beast also discovered the white little dog beast hiding in the woods.

Now, six pairs of murderous eyes were fixed on them.

They all raised their big sticks and rushed over.

The savage beasts let out piercing screams and charged forward, brandishing their wooden clubs. Cheng Yuan turned and ran, shouting as he ran, "Wind! Get out of here!"

Cheng Yuan took off running. The little dog beast deployed its sacred barrier behind him, and the two wild beasts charged forward at high speed. At the same time, they heard three fireballs smashing into the barrier with crackling sounds.

The little beast followed closely behind, carrying the digital egg in its mouth, and didn't forget to deploy a divine barrier to block the incoming fireball. The shockwave from the explosion made Cheng Yuan's back go numb; he had no doubt that without the barrier, his back would have been blown apart.

"Damn it, I've been spotted," Cheng Yuan said to the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

"What should we do?"

"Change to Plan B!"

A cacophony of questions came through the communicator: "What Plan B? We don't have a Plan B!"

"We've got it now!" Cheng Yuan made a sharp turn, leading the Savage Beast to the pre-set ambush point. "Listen up, everyone. The Savage Beast isn't very strong; it just relies on its numbers. But we Digimon have more of it."

"Trust me, everyone, and ambush them!" Cheng Yuan said quickly, thinking quickly.

He continued to deploy tactics, panting heavily: "I'll be the bait, you guys lie in ambush. Remember our training coordination!"

"But……"

These students are all top students, and they have received systematic training this month. With the support and training at home and school, their Digimon have grown rapidly, and their basic qualities are far superior to those of wild Digimon that act on instinct.

But after all, it was his first time trying to ambush a wild Digimon, so he was inevitably hesitant and nervous.

Cheng Yuan gave them a strong dose of medicine: "The professional beast tamer is right beside you. A mature flying beast can wipe them out in the blink of an eye. With a powerful figure backing you up, what are you afraid of!"

Five Savage Beasts and a total of eight Digimon make it almost a two-on-one fight. Moreover, the most dangerous baiting action is entrusted to the most agile and fastest Digimon, who can fly a kite with ease. What are they afraid of?

The bait tactic was a tactical template they had devised long before setting off, and the group and the Digimon lay in ambush at the agreed-upon points.

These words were like a shot in the arm, instantly giving the students confidence. The two pangolins had already dug traps underground, their bodies covered in hard earth-based armor; dozens of sharp ores floated above the head of the ore beast; the vines of the flower beast and the barbarian beast silently spread through the bushes; the gear beast's flying saw buzzed, and the candle beast had prepared flammable paraffin...

Holding the petrified digital egg, Cheng Yuan, propelled by the sacred barrier of the puppy beast, sprinted towards everyone.

Cheng Yuan, clutching the digital egg, charged into the ambush, relentlessly pursued by the savage beasts. Just as the lead savage beast was about to catch up with him—