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

His pupils were fixed on the puppymon, his mind filled with doubt: Why could this Digimon maintain such pure holy power after being implanted with the Dark Gear?

"Smack!"

A sticky, unidentified object suddenly fell from the sky and landed precisely on his shiny leather shoes.

Devimon: "......"

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

He slowly lowered his head, looking at the still steaming "trophy" on the shoe. His expression shifted from shock to anger, finally settling into an indescribable contortion.

"Little, evil, demon, beast!" he growled, each word uttered slowly, his voice seeming to come from the depths of hell.

"Squeak!" A small, bat-like Digimon flew out of the shadows, its wings flapping and stirring up gusts of cold wind.

With a swipe of its sharp claws, several dark darts shot straight at one of the Squeaky Beasts.

"Woof! Opportunity!" The little dog seized the moment, and five dazzling holy light bullets condensed in front of its chest.

With a few "whoosh" sounds, the holy light bullets drew graceful arcs, all hitting the snot-nosed Digimon. The disgusting soft-bodied Digimon let out a "gurgle" scream and collapsed to the ground like a lump of mud.

On the other side, Palmon's vines tightly entangled another Squeakmon. With a lightning-fast charge, Puppymon slammed the Squeakmon against the wall with a loud bang.

"Retreat! Retreat quickly!" Seeing that the situation was not good, Scarface fled with his two henchmen, abandoning even his Digimon.

The poor snotty beast writhed and chased after it, leaving behind a trail of slime and... other indescribable substances in the alley.

"Huh? Who's that..." Cheng Yuan's gaze passed over the fleeing thugs and landed on the young man in the baseball cap at the alley entrance.

"Thank you so much for your help, brother!" Cheng Yuan waved enthusiastically to the young man in the baseball cap at the alley entrance.

The young man in the baseball cap stood in the shadows, his face so gloomy it seemed to drip water.

He intended to remain hidden, but his act of summoning Devimon had already exposed him, causing him to lose his concealment form.

The little Devimon perched obediently on his shoulder, occasionally rubbing its wings against the brim of Devimon's hat.

"Could he be the tamer of this little devil beast?"

Seeing how obedient Devimon was, Cheng Yuan thought to himself, "This guy is something else. He can even tame Devimon, the notorious street urchin in the Digital World, so well."

This kind of Digimon with a terrible personality is already quite good if it doesn't attack its partner, but this little Devimon is completely obedient to its partners. This guy is definitely not an ordinary tamer.

Zhu Caiwei carried her younger sister over and said gratefully, "Thank you so much..."

"Brother, you're awesome!" Cheng Yuan casually put his arm around the shoulder of the young man in the baseball cap. "You managed to tame the little devil beast so well. Can you teach me sometime?" As he spoke, he sized up the other man—his pale skin looked like he hadn't seen the sun for years, his tracksuit zipped up to his chin was completely covered, and he exuded an aura that kept strangers at bay.

The young man in the baseball cap remained as silent as a stone, not even giving a glance.

At this moment, he was torn between two conflicting thoughts: Should he tear off this human facade now? As long as he reverted to his true form as a demon beast, he could immediately unleash his power, awaken the dark gears within the little beast beast, and plunge this tamer into despair...

Let this noisy human watch his partner fall into darkness; his expression of despair must be delicious.

Just as black mist began to rise from his fingertips—

"Ring ring!" Cheng Yuan's phone suddenly rang, and Xu Xin's voice came through the speakerphone: "Cheng Yuan! Are you near the Digital House? The police received a report of a Digimon fight, and I happen to be nearby..."

"Ah, this..." Cheng Yuan was speechless for a moment. Wasn't it him, Cheng Yuan himself, who was fighting and brawling?

The young man in the baseball cap froze upon hearing Xu Xin's voice.

"Teacher, I ran into a few thugs..." Cheng Yuan explained hurriedly, completely unaware of the change in the young man's expression.

The young man in the baseball cap had exceptionally good hearing. He recognized the voice on the phone all too well; it was the captain of the professional animal trainer team who had been relentlessly pursuing him for the past month!

He and his team, along with the Digimon they led, including DarkGreymon, Insectmon, Giant Chickenmon, and Sunflowermon, made up arguably the most formidable of all the pursuers.

The young man in the baseball cap wasn't afraid of them, but rather worried that if he were exposed, his carefully laid plans would easily be ruined.

Its motto is to shoot stealthily and develop stealthily.

At this moment, it was torn between two conflicting thoughts: Breaking through the disguise and capturing the little beast would be easy now, but the squad was nearby, and if its whereabouts were exposed, its painstakingly planned scheme might be ruined...

"What's your name, brother?" Cheng Yuan suddenly grabbed the demon beast that was trying to slip away. "I'll introduce you to my teacher when he arrives!"

Devimon: "..." (Inner monologue: Is this human in such a hurry to die? Can't he see I'm trying to leave?)

Soon, Xu Xin arrived with his four-person team in a flurry of activity. The Flying Insectmon and Sunflowermon, who were of relatively normal size, followed behind the group, while DarkGreymon and Giant Chickenmon were not suitable for running around freely in the streets.

"Teacher! Where are you going..." Cheng Yuan asked, while also showing curiosity about the two Champion-level Digimon behind them.

"Execute the mission," Xu Xin said succinctly.

This teacher never has a moment of free time. The dark circles under his eyes and his unpredictable appearances these past two weeks are probably all because of this ridiculous task.

Xu Xin's sharp gaze lingered on the young man in the baseball cap for a few seconds, and the latter immediately restrained his aura, even adjusting his breathing to be like that of an ordinary human being.

Cheng Yuan patted the young man in the baseball cap on the shoulder enthusiastically, "Thanks to this brother for releasing Devimon to help us, otherwise we would have been overwhelmed by the snot monster's poop attack!"

"Oh? What's your name?"

Seeing that he couldn't avoid it, the young man casually made up a name: "Mo".

Hearing his strange name and unusually pale skin, people assumed he was from an ethnic minority or of mixed race and did not investigate further.

After hearing about the thugs, Xu Xin made a special call to the Public Security Bureau and, using the guise of a professional animal trainer, fabricated a charge of "using Digimon to commit crimes." The Public Security Bureau responded that they would investigate thoroughly.

Zhu Caiwei repeatedly expressed her gratitude.

"Don't overwork yourself this weekend." After hanging up the phone, Xu Xin suddenly said to Cheng Yuan, "Next week's special training at Savage Valley might involve encountering mature evil beasts, so stay in shape."

After Cheng Yuan readily agreed, Xu Xin left.

At this moment, a storm was brewing in the heart of the young man in the baseball cap, "Mo".

Within the ancient parchment scrolls of the Vicherney Senate, numerous evolutionary chains of the Devimon race, passed down through countless generations, are recorded. The path to the supreme Demon Lord requires a Devimon as a sacrifice! He had lurked in the Digital World for many years, traversing countless digital dimensions, never expecting… to find himself in the human world!

Devimon murmured ancient, inherited incantations: Darkness embraces resentment, the demon is crowned king...

Devimon... if it absorbs Demonmon... then...

Meanwhile, Xu Xin's team was complaining.

"You're starting to sound more and more like a kindergarten teacher," Wang Lin teased Xu Xin with her elbow. "Should we prepare some more snacks and band-aids for you to take the kids camping?"

The giant chicken beast's tamer, a muscular man, said, "Taking these student babies to hunt in the wild is one thing, but why drag the whole team along to act as babysitters?"

"A new mission from the Evolution Research Institute." Xu Xin shook the Digivice, the screen displaying a generous reward figure. "Capture the Savage Beast Shaman alive, I can complete the mission along the way."

No one expected that Digimon could disguise themselves as humans.

In the alley, Devimon watched Xu Xin's team leave, his mind already changed.

He looked at Cheng Yuan, who was completely unaware, and a sinister smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

This kid... still has some use.

"Brother Mo, how about we go grab some barbecue?" Cheng Yuan invited enthusiastically. "I know a barbecue place nearby..."

Devimon: "..." (Inner monologue: Does this human have some kind of social superpower?)

The puppymon tilted its head and looked at "Ink". Although it should have been unusually sensitive to dark energy, it did not have a rejection reaction under the influence of Devimon's [Soul's Embrace] disguise and the Dark Gear in its body.

"Woof?" The little guy wagged its tail in a friendly manner.

Devimon suppressed the urge to attack immediately, stiffly shook his head, and turned to disappear into the depths of the alley.

He needs to rethink his strategy—the Savage Valley, the Demon Beast, the Little Dog Beast... combining these elements might allow him to break through and embark on the path to becoming the Demon King!

Cheng Yuan watched Mo's departing figure, scratching his head: "What a strange person..."

"Sister, that brother smells awful," Zhu Caiwei's younger sister said, pinching her nose.

"Ziwei...don't talk nonsense." Zhu Caiwei quickly stopped her, then turned to Cheng Yuan, "Thank you so much for today. How about...coming in for a beauty treatment? It's on me."

Cheng Yuan looked at the smelly and filthy little dog beast and readily agreed: "Then I'll gladly accept your offer!"

Chapter 36 Preparations for Departure

As Cheng Yuan walked out of the Digital Home with his fragrant little dog, he happily stuffed the VIP membership card into his wallet.

"From now on, baths will be 20% off, massages will be 20% off, and even manicures will be 20% off!" He poked the little dog's pink paw pads. "You're such a delicate little guy."

"Woof!" The little dog beast comfortably raised its head, watching the sacred ring around its neck shimmer in the sunlight. Cheng Yuan felt that spending money to make the little dog beast look beautiful after the battle was worthwhile.

During a routine check-in at the Institute of Evolution over the weekend, Zhou Mo stared at the test data and exclaimed in astonishment: "Did this little beast of yours grow up on hormones? Its growth rate is outrageous!"

"Maybe... it's a natural talent?" Cheng Yuan touched his nose guiltily, thinking that he couldn't very well say that he was a pay-to-win player using cheats.

"Come on," Zhou Mo rolled her eyes. "I'd rather believe it was you who played 'Butterfly' on it every day to force it to mature."

After leaving the research institute, Cheng Yuan went straight to the Dragon Clan Club.

After last week's "sparring" experience, he and Lin Ge reached a certain understanding—to make those rich kids lose, but also to leave them with the illusion of "just a little bit more" or "if I just try a little harder."

“Remember, you have to act convincingly today,” Cheng Yuan said, rubbing the little dog’s head as he showed him his treasured old book, “On the Self-Cultivation of an Actor,” and instructed him, “Especially at the last moment, you have to look like you’re panting and have just narrowly won.”

The little dog tilted its head: "Woof? Master, are you teaching me to throw a match?"

"This is called igniting the light in their hearts!" Cheng Yuan said righteously. "It's to keep them hopeful, to never give up, and to make them the light they chase! If they win too easily, all that's left in their hearts is despair, and they lose the motivation to become stronger! Only when they have the hope of becoming stronger in their hearts will we have a continuous stream of sacred feasts, data burgers, Rubik's Cube baked lobsters, and energy sashimi..."

So that's how it is! The little dog's fighting spirit was ignited.

This strategy proved to be quite successful. In one day, Cheng Yuan not only easily earned 28000 yuan, but also gained a group of highly motivated "defeated opponents".

At this moment, in the center of the arena, Cheng Yuan was picking up Little Dog Beast and "reviewing" the performance: "Little Dog Beast, in the previous performance, your performance was too superficial. The part where you were exhausted after using the Holy Light Bullet was affected and a bit exaggerated, like a third-rate stage actor."

The little dog barked in dissatisfaction: "Woof, you're no better."

Cheng Yuan sighed and said, "I led that scene from beginning to end. It was a high-quality production, which is obvious to all. Enough, enough. Saying more will only make me sound arrogant."

The chubby boy had just lost his third match. He had exhausted the little dog beast, and it was just a tiny bit more than the pangolin could have defeated it. Thinking of this, he was moved by his own unwavering spirit, and before leaving, he declared fiercely, "Just a little bit more! Next week I'll put in extra effort, and I'll definitely beat you!"

"I'll be waiting anytime." Cheng Yuan waved goodbye with a smile, thinking to himself that the chives were growing very vigorously.

Although these beast tamers made progress last week, Cheng Yuan's little dog beast, supported by the wealth value spending attribute, obviously grew faster and had a higher attribute conversion rate, unlike the data cubes that contain a small amount of other data impurities.

Simply put, 28000 was earned, along with an additional 28000 wealth points. Without hesitation, I spent all my money on the Holy and Light factions.

Monday arrived in the blink of an eye, and Xu Xin's course took a sudden turn, shifting from combat training to a survival guide for the digital world.

In fact, Cheng Yuan was unaware that their special training in the sub-digital space almost prevented them from leaving.

When the school leaders first heard about allowing these students in the special training class to receive digital space experience cards in advance, some agreed and some disagreed, and even Principal Liu Guoliang showed hesitation.

Just as the controversy was about to escalate into a debate, Xu Xin calmly snapped his fingers. The meeting room door suddenly opened, and three professional animal trainers filed in—a muscular burly man, a dashing female warrior, and a refined young man wearing gold-rimmed glasses. The professional badges on their chests gleamed under the lights, causing the school leaders to squint.

“These three will be leading the team with me.” Xu Xin’s tone was as relaxed as if he were taking students on a spring outing.

A total of four professional animal trainers!

This indicates that there are at least four powerful Champion-level Digimon accompanying and protecting them!

The atmosphere in the meeting room instantly reversed. The head of teaching, who had just been opposing the plan, suddenly began to enthusiastically discuss the emergency plan, and even the most conservative grade leader spoke eloquently about his experience and strategies for hunting in Savage Valley.

After all, this is a star-studded lineup of four professional animal trainers! Any one of them could take on the entire school's faculty. Not to mention the privileged status of professional animal trainers in society—they can enter military areas with a simple gesture, block roads with their credentials, they're practically walking VIP black cards.

In the end, the school only symbolically sent a few physical education teachers and school doctors to accompany them, ostensibly to "assist," but in reality, they wanted to get a free trip.

Since the large-scale integration of digital space with Earth twenty years ago, the emergence of digital space has never stopped.

Every new digital space inevitably brings harm and resources to the Earth's ecology and human living space.

To prevent harm and make full use of resources, animal trainer associations in various regions have established branches in order to respond promptly to the emergence of the digital space and to implement the blocking and management of the digital space.

Digital spaces can be categorized by size as "extra-large, large, medium, small, and extra-small".

The smaller the digital space, the faster it integrates with Earth, the less impact it has on Earth, and naturally, the weaker its power and resources. The larger the digital space, the more numerous and diverse the Digimon, the stronger they are, and the richer their resources.

"We're entering a medium-sized digital space this time. The Digimon here are at Champion level or below. Everyone, please stay together and we won't be in too much danger..."

Teacher Xu Xin is very confident in her abilities.

In the newly emerged digital space, some devices that were originally on Earth are no longer usable. Even mobile phones, watches, and computers are ineffective. They can only be gradually restored to use if the two spaces complete the merging of the world, become fully materialized, and complete the infrastructure construction.

However, there is one exception: the Digivice. The Digivice can communicate with Digimon and the Digivice Trainer team within the Digital World.

“In the digital world, the most dangerous thing is often not the Digimon,” Xu Xin tapped the blackboard with a serious expression, “but your brains that lack common sense.”

He presented a case: a reckless animal trainer tried to feed bananas to the monkeys in Savage Valley, but the monkeys targeted him and robbed him of all his belongings, almost leaving him without even his Digimon.

"Some people even fed wild beasts, which the beasts mistook for food falling from human bodies, and as a result..."

"Remember, don't feed wild Digimon indiscriminately!" Xu Xin said with exasperation. "Especially you, Cheng Yuan! I think you have the face to do that kind of thing."

Cheng Yuan: "......" (hugs the little dog beast with a pitiful expression)