Knights of the Digital World

"I just went there last week. I've been to these digital worlds countless times this year, they're so boring."

"Then why not let the Dark Ship take you to a new world?"

"There are only six Digimon series in total, and the other worlds are pretty much the same as the current ones. If we run into people like Ruki, Dai, Taichi, Taiki, and Takuya from another world, it will be really awkward."

The young lion watched Yongmeng pick and choose, feeling utterly exhausted, and inexplicably understood the feelings of a corporate slave when facing a client.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through the young lion's mind. He clapped his front paws and shouted:

"I've got it! You can go to the Knight World! Didn't Brother Shi say there's information about the knights on the system fragments? With that information, you can travel to the corresponding knight's world via the Dark Ship! The Knight World is a completely new world for you, right? It won't be boring, will it?"

"That's right! Lion Cub, you're a genius!"

Emu's eyes lit up, and he happily rubbed the cub's head again, praising it repeatedly.

He was also very interested in the world of knights. However, a year ago, Emu had traveled to several worlds in succession, and each time he would have to lie in bed for a month due to the debuffs he had been under, which left Emu feeling deeply exhausted. Therefore, he temporarily put aside his plans to go to the world of knights.

Later, Emu got busy with other things and forgot about his plan to go to the Knight World. If Lion Cub hadn't brought it up, he might never have remembered it again.

"Alright, Lion Cub, let's go! Let's head to the Knight World!"

With a new adventure goal in mind, Emu put down the lion cub, stood up, raised his fist, and shouted loudly.

The cub, however, took the opportunity to bypass Yongmeng, ran a few steps to the door, and shook its head, saying:

"No way. Emu, you go by yourself. Your debuffs are getting worse. Last time, I had to lie in bed with you for a whole month. And there's Shige's healing too."

The young lion involuntarily shuddered as it recalled the pain it had felt then.

"Anyway, with your strength, you should have no problem in the world of knights, so I won't go. After all, I'm not bored."

"Lion Cub! You've changed! You weren't like this before!"

Yongmeng shivered with cold.

"Yeah, yeah, that's all for now. I'm going to find something to eat, I'll be back soon."

The lion cub gave a perfunctory reply, opened the door, and ran out. Emu could still hear him calling out to his mother in a spoiled tone:

"Mom, I'm hungry, is there anything to eat?"

"Tsk, the world is going to the dogs, people's hearts are no longer what they used to be."

Emu shook his head in criticism of the cub's behavior, then immediately became cheerful again:

"Forget about Lion Cub! Target now: Knight World, let's go!!!"

Chapter Two: First Arrival

"Ah, we've finally arrived! Are the Knight World and the Digital World really that far apart? Dark Ship, you've already evolved, and it's still taken you this long. It's been almost a day, hasn't it?"

Emu stood in front of the Darkship's carriage, stretched, and casually remarked.

Perhaps due to his constant travels through various Digital Worlds with Emu, which increased his experience and knowledge, Darkrai evolved six months ago. His evolved form is called "Hagedenmon," and while his combat abilities remained unchanged, his speed in traversing worlds increased significantly.

Before evolution, it took the Dark Ship several hours to travel from Emu's world to Ruki's world. But after evolution, the Dark Ship can cross the two worlds in less than ten minutes.

"Actually, it's not too bad. The distance is a bit far, but not that exaggerated. It's mainly because I spent a lot of time figuring out the location."

Emu, you've given me too little information. If it weren't for the evolution, I don't know if I would have been able to find it.

But now that we've found the place, next time it will be much faster. It should only take about six hours.

Dark Number replied calmly.

"Haha, thanks for your hard work, Dark. Are you going back first, or do you want to explore the surrounding world?"

Yongmeng smiled and patted the shell of the Dark Ship, asking a question.

"Going back to the Digital World is quite a distance, and if you summon me, I probably won't be able to get back so quickly. I'll just wander around here for a bit."

The Digital World is actually quite close to each other, and the Knight Rider World might be the same. Let me see if I can find other Knight Rider Worlds and mark their coordinates. That way, you can save some effort next time you're interested.”

Dark Number also has its own plans, which is very thoughtful and considerate.

"Thank you for your hard work. Let's do it the same way as before. Remember to contact me if anything comes up."

Emu gave a word of advice.

After Darkrai evolved, its equipment was also upgraded. With the help of the overpowered Izzy, Emu could communicate with Darkrai via the Digivice, with a communication range of three worlds. Beyond that distance, they could only sense each other.

The Dark One responded, and the whistle stopped. A large hole was torn open in the void in front of it, and it went inside.

After watching the Dark Ship depart, Emu looked around and found a reasonably clean-looking step. He swept it clean, plopped down, and began to think:

"Alright, now I need to familiarize myself with this world. I'm sensing my original system fragment through the Dark Code, so if nothing unexpected happens, this should be the world of Kamen Rider Ex-Aid. Tsk, another Emu Hojo, I'm actually kind of looking forward to it."

Putting all that aside, I need to first confirm the current time. Speaking of which, are there any limitations on my cartridge? System fragments? Want to know?

"squeak."

The system fragment gave Yongmeng a friendly squeak.

"You're really honest, aren't you? Come on, tell me quickly, in the Kamen Rider world, can I still use my cartridges?"

"Beep, according to the results, the Digital World and the Knight Rider World have a similarity of over 70% in their world rules, so they can be classified as worlds of the same origin. According to the test results, cartridges below LV99 can be used directly. Cartridges above LV99 need time to upgrade and adapt because they involve control over the world rules. After upgrading, they can be used freely in both worlds."

The system fragment hadn't appeared for a long time, but it still faithfully performed its duties, reporting the results to Yongmeng in an electronic voice.

"Same world? Oh, Digimon and Kamen Rider are both from Toei, no wonder they're said to be from the same source."

After hearing the system fragment's report, Emu breathed a sigh of relief. Apart from the extraordinary action game cartridges given to him by the system fragment, all his game cartridges were created by collecting data on Digimon.

Previously, he had been traveling around various Digital Worlds. These Digital Worlds were all quite similar, so Emu had never considered the issue of malfunctioning game cartridges. But now that he'd arrived in the Rider world, Emu had to check that problem first.

After all, strength is the foundation of one's words. In this world where Lao Tan and Xia Jiao are causing trouble, only the cassette tape in hand can give one a sense of security.

It seems the results are pretty good. As long as I don't rush in too late, I can use the cartridges below LV99. And the strongest cartridges aren't permanently banned; I just need to spend some time adapting to the rules of the current world, and I can still use them.

I just don't know how long this time will take?

"System fragments, can you provide an exact timeframe for upgrade adaptation?"

"Emu asked."

After a brief silence, the system fragment provided accurate information:

"The World Guardian cassette has the ability to control the world and change the rules. The upgrade and adaptation time should be between five and ten years, but this cannot be fully confirmed."

Alphamon Gacha has the ability to control time. There is a corresponding Gacha in this world with this ability, which shortens the upgrade and adaptation time to only three months.

The remaining cartridges are all at level 99, which triggers the world rules, but we have not yet fully gained control over them. The total upgrade and adaptation time is two months.

The host can specify which cartridges to prioritize for upgrade adaptation based on their needs. Only one cartridge can be specified for each upgrade adaptation.

The Alphamon cartridge was generated by the system automatically scanning data after Emu and Leomon fused and evolved.

Perhaps due to the influence of the "first acquired power," the Alphamon Gashat's level is LV?, making its exact level uncertain. However, even disregarding the first acquired power, the Alphamon Gashat possesses power comparable to any LV99 Gashat, making it Emu's ace card second only to the World Guardian Gashat.

"Wow, it takes that long! Let me think... I'll rule out the World Guardians for now. Five to ten years is too long. I can't wait that long."

The upgrade times for Alphamon cartridges and other LV99 cartridges are acceptable, but a choice still needs to be made.

"Hmm, system fragments, please upgrade my Alphamon cartridge first. If I encounter Dan later, being able to control time will prevent me from being powerless to fight back."

After careful consideration, Emu made a decision, and the system fragment quickly responded:

"Target selected! Alphamon cartridge upgrade begins, estimated time three months. For inquiries, please check the system fragment logs."

"Alright! The cartridge issue is resolved. Next, I need to confirm what time period it is. Then I need to figure out how to get to know Emu and the others. Hmm, something feels off."

Emu shook her head, stood up from the steps, and was considering which way to go when she saw a guy wearing a red coat over a floral shirt swaying as he walked ahead, which startled her.

"A car?!"

Chapter Three: Saving the Forensic Vehicle

The nonchalant man walking past Emu is none other than Kujo Kiriya, a very popular character from ExAid.

Kujo Kiriya is the fourth Kamen Rider Lazer in the original work. His main job is a forensic doctor, but he is good at driving motorcycle and sword fighting games. Emu has wanted to complain about this for a long time. It's ridiculous that a bunch of doctors are not doing their jobs and are all playing games. They are all very good at it.

Because Kujo Kiriya's LV2 form is a motorcycle, he is affectionately called "CarCar" by fans. He also earned the nickname "CarSix" because he forged his medical records to see Emu, listing his age as six.

However, contrary to his childish nickname, Kiriya's intelligence, action, and professional knowledge are all top-notch.

Because of his colleague's death, he had been investigating the source of the gaming disease. He was the first to discover that Yongmengda was the first patient infected with the gaming disease, and also the first to discover Xiajiao's identity.

The only time he lost his mind was when he foolishly inserted the dangerous zombie cartridge that Xiajiao had given him into the player driver, instantly emptying the Knight Gauge and getting smashed by Xiajiao.

Even so, the data he left behind on his computer became a crucial factor in Emu's victory over Emi-chan.

Kiriya died quite early, in episode 12. Although he was later resurrected as a Bugster, he could no longer be considered human.

The guy who walked past Emu was clearly a pure human, which confirmed Emu's understanding of the timeline. The story was still in its early stages, and he still had time to wait for the Alphamon Gacha to upgrade.

Speaking of which, to avoid the gaze of ordinary people from other worlds, the Dark Ship always chooses relatively secluded locations. There seems to be an abandoned factory nearby; what's Kiriya doing here?

Could it be?

Yongmeng's mind raced, and she guessed the exact time. Today was probably the day Cheche was supposed to die!

If he didn't know, that would be one thing, but now that Emu has stumbled upon it, he can't just sit idly by!

Thinking of this, Emu quickly followed.

"Emu, I have something to tell everyone right away. Please come over here quickly. I'll explain the details later. I'm waiting for you."

Kiriya put away his game observation device, let out a long breath, found a thick tube to sit on, and silently waited for Emu and the others to arrive.

At this moment, Emu had already followed Kiriya's route and approached the factory. Then he saw a man in a black suit carrying a silver box walk into the factory step by step, which made him instinctively flinch.

"Shrimp Dumplings! Sure enough, today is the day Cheche dies! I remember they barely exchanged a few words before Cheche's IQ dropped and he committed suicide on the spot. Tsk, I'd better hurry!"

Upon seeing Dan Kuroto, Emu became even more certain of his judgment and, not daring to delay any longer, rushed towards the factory.

As soon as Emu reached the door, she heard the sound of a car:

"Let's not delay, let's take a test drive now."

Then, he saw a chubby guy holding up the dangerous zombie cartridge and waving it around, preparing to insert it into his driver.

"Wait a minute! You can't insert that cassette tape!"

Emu quickly shouted loudly to stop Cheche's foolish suicidal act.

But he was a little too slow in calling out, or perhaps Kiriya's movements were too fast. By the time Emu shouted, he had already inserted the cartridge into the driver.

Upon hearing the shout, Kiriya was visibly startled. Just as he was about to turn around to see who was shouting, the Dangerous Zombie Gadget began to unleash its power. Purple virus data overflowed from the Gadget, completely enveloping him, and his Knight Gadget in his chest instantly dropped to only two bars.