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

In this era where the strength of Digimon is directly equivalent to military power, requesting cross-border assistance is virtually impossible.

Zhao Zheng's stubble seemed to have turned completely white overnight. Zhao Lu bit her lower lip tightly, tears welling up in her eyes but stubbornly refusing to fall.

Cheng Yuan stared at the guardian beast on the hospital bed, feeling as if a huge rock was pressing on his chest.

On one hand, the Guardian Beast was injured while participating in the battle against Devimon, and Devimon's evolution was more or less related to him, including leading it into the Savage Valley and taking it to investigate information about the Demon Beast... On the other hand, this hero who had protected the city for fifteen years should not leave like this.

He opened the notebook, which was filled with densely packed Digimon ideas and data memories about this world—some pages of which included all his memories of Andromon.

Every frame of the anime from his past life flashed through his mind: the streamlined silver armor, the retractable missile launcher on the chest, the iconic spiral sword on his right arm...

Even the most insignificant settings were recalled and recorded one by one.

Because he has used these memories to escape danger more than once.

“Vaccine type...mechanical modification...chronic digital metal…” he muttered to himself, then his eyes suddenly lit up, “Wait…chronic digital metal?”

The notebook fell to the ground with a "thud," and everyone looked in the direction of the sound, only to see that the paper was covered with scribbled diagrams and annotations.

"I have a bold idea," Cheng Yuan said excitedly. "Maybe we can try a different approach."

Having fought side-by-side through the night, Zhao Zheng had developed a deep trust in this young man. Although the guardian beast's perilous situation unsettled him, he forced himself to listen attentively.

"What's the idea?" All eyes were on Cheng Yuan.

“Since energy attribute confrontation is not working, perhaps we can try racial attribute suppression.” Cheng Yuan quickly drew a diagram on the whiteboard.

“The Dark Gear originated from the Virus-type Devimon, while Guardianmon is a Vaccine-type…” His pen drew a clear dividing line between the two.

Zhao Zheng's eyes lit up: "Vaccines have an inherent inhibitory effect on viruses!"

“That’s right, Guardianmon has held on this long precisely because of this advantage. But Devimon’s power is too great…” Cheng Yuan took a deep breath, his pen slamming heavily on the drawing, “If we could raise the level of Vaccine-types, for example… directly evolve them into Ultimate-level ones, and use the Ultimate-level Vaccine-type’s constitution to suppress the Adult-level Virus attributes…”

"Evolved into...the complete form?" Everyone present gasped in astonishment.

Chapter 70 Time-Based Digital Metal

The air in the ward seemed to freeze, with only the regular "beeping" of the medical equipment.

"In the web-like evolutionary path of Electric Mouse Beast," Cheng Yuan's voice broke the silence, "mechanical modification evolution is the most mature path for Gear Beast. By accumulating enough combat data and combining it with mechanical modification, it can evolve into mature forms such as Guardian Beast, Armored Vehicle Beast, Mechanical Vehicle Beast, and Tank Beast. I think everyone agrees on this point."

Just as Zhao Zheng was about to speak, the female expert Wang Shu pushed up her glasses and interrupted, "But the complete form, that won't work. The evolution of guardian beasts into complete forms is a national-level scientific and technological challenge. There are at least nearly a hundred guardian beasts nationwide with sufficient data reserves that are stuck at this bottleneck." Her lenses reflected a cold light. "Not only the robotic type, but also the complete forms of vehicle types, armed types, and other branches have not been broken through. Currently, only the Divine Eagle Kingdom has succeeded."

Cheng Yuan did not immediately refute. His gaze swept across the ward—Xu Xin thoughtfully touched her chin, Zhao Lu's eyes were red but she stubbornly pursed her lips, and Zhao Zheng's eyes held deep despair. These reactions were all within his expectations.

In this world, the most technologically advanced nation is the Kingdom of the Eagle. Even the advanced chips for the Digivice—chips that support the growth of Champion-level Digimon—mostly need to be imported from the Kingdom of the Eagle. While the Eastern Kingdom can already produce Champion-level chips, the quality still lags behind, and there's a risk of overheating and burning out under overload conditions.

As for chips that support full-scale growth? They are basically available but not in demand.

“In fact,” the female expert Wang Shu continued, “the secret organization of Dongguo once obtained several data frameworks for the complete evolution of guardian beasts from Shenyingguo, and Commander Zhao’s guardian beast was one of the experimental subjects at that time.” She paused deliberately, “but all of them failed to evolve.”

“Perhaps the problem isn’t with the data,” Cheng Yuan’s words drew everyone’s attention again, “but with the material—Time Digital Metal.”

"Chrono-digital metal?" Zhao Ming frowned. "That kind of metal extracted from ores in the digital space..."

“That’s right.” Cheng Yuan nodded, pretending to organize his notes, creating the impression that he had been researching for a long time. “Currently, mechanical modification mainly uses real metals, which can barely cope before the maturity stage. But the energy level of the complete form… has exceeded the carrying capacity limit of traditional real materials.”

"No wonder the Divine Eagle Kingdom smuggles so much digital metal from our country every year!" Zhao Ming suddenly realized. Xu Xin was already on the phone communicating with the Beast Tamer Association.

Cheng Yuan showed several sketches: "If we decide to try, we'll need to prepare Time Metal Armor. These are my design ideas." The lines on the drawings were messy, and the ink was still wet, but the functional labels for each part were exceptionally clear.

Silence fell over the room. Zhao Zheng squinted, trying to make out the abstract lines, while Wang Shu's glasses reflected an eerie light.

“This is…” Zhao Zheng frowned: “A masterpiece?”

Zhao Lu suddenly reached out her hand: "Leave it to me, you soul painter, you name it and I'll draw it." She took the notebook, and her pen danced across the paper.

Cheng Yuan was surprised to discover that this academic star also had an amazing talent for drafting.

Ten minutes later, a futuristic mechanical warrior appeared on the drawing board—sleek silver armor, a missile launcher concealed in the chest plate, a spiraling sword extending from the right arm, and sensors arranged in a majestic visor on the head. Every design element balanced aesthetics with practical combat needs.

Zhao Zheng's gaze was fixed on the design drawing before him. The lines depicting the mechanical warrior were strikingly similar to the RoboCop he had admired in movies when he was young. His Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice tightened slightly: "This is..."

"Andro Beast".

Wang Shu took the blueprints, his eyes widening: "This design... requires at least 1.3 tons of high-purity Chrono Digital Metal..."

“The Public Security Bureau’s vault has some reserves.” Zhao Zheng immediately took out his communicator. “The smuggled goods seized last year can be used first. Report back to me and I will replenish them later.”

"Wait!" Wang Shu stopped him. "Even if we have metal, how do we solve the technical problems of casting, circuitry, weapon systems...? It's not as simple as you make it out to be."

"Let's start preparing. I'll go apply." Zhao Zheng's voice was filled with a resolute determination.

Wang Shu, the young female mechanic, said, "Captain Zhao, this concerns the complete evolution of the Guardian Beasts, which isn't a project that our Public Security Bureau alone can handle." She paused, "Our security system's technology supplier—Yushu Technology—is definitely interested in the evolution of the Guardian Beasts. I forgot to mention... my brother is currently the actual controller of Yushu Technology..."

Zhao Zheng was stunned. He looked the mechanic in front of him up and down. He never expected that she would have such a family background.

"Alright, let's put the pleasantries aside for now." Xu Xin hung up the communicator and strode in, the hem of his trench coat still smelling of gunpowder from the battle. "The association has already coordinated everything. Although the whole city is currently dealing with the Dark Gear epidemic, the evolution plan for the Guardian Beasts has been listed as the highest priority—all resources in Pengcheng will be given the green light for this project."

"Thanks, Xiao Xu." Zhao Zheng's tense face finally relaxed, revealing a rare smile.

With the concerted efforts of all parties, the relocation work proceeded exceptionally smoothly.

The guardian beast was sent to the Pengcheng Digital Evolution Research Institute—a transformation center with a national-level laboratory, where all equipment was now ready for this special case.

It was late at night, and Cheng Yuan went home to rest for the night.

The next morning, he returned to the Pengcheng Digital Evolution Research Institute—a place he knew all too well.

As a regular visitor who comes every week, he even cleaned the dark gears from the little dog's body here the night before last.

Turning the corner of the corridor, a familiar figure was leaning against the laboratory door, flipping through a data panel.

Today, Zhou Mo wasn't wearing her usual white lab coat; instead, she was wearing a dark blue researcher's uniform, her ponytail neatly tied back, making her look exceptionally capable.

Hearing footsteps, she looked up, her beautiful eyes narrowing slightly when she saw Cheng Yuan, revealing a look of surprise.

"Cheng Yuan?" Zhou Mo quickly stepped forward to greet him. "Why are you back so soon? Did you not clean up the Dark Gears from the night before last?"

Cheng Yuan shook his head and explained, "No, I'm helping out at the Public Security Bureau, so I came with them."

Before the words were even finished, the laboratory's broadcast system suddenly announced: "Attention all personnel, the Guardian Beast evolution program is about to begin. All relevant personnel are requested to immediately proceed to the main laboratory in the modification area."

Inside the main laboratory, the guardian beast was placed on a huge hexagonal platform.

Its original armor has been completely removed, and its exposed mechanical body is covered with a dense array of data connection cables.

Technicians are performing final purification of the dark energy remaining on its right shoulder.

At the six corners of the platform float evolved components made of Chrono Metal—a gleaming silver chest armor, arm armor, leg armor, helmet, and the iconic spiral sword, all gleaming coldly under the laboratory lights.

Chapter 71 Evolve, Guardian Beast!

Zhao Zheng stood in front of the hexagonal platform, his fingers trembling slightly as he stroked the brand-new chip on the Tyrannosaurus Rex machine.

The chip's surface gleamed with a cold, metallic sheen, and the certification mark of the Divine Eagle Kingdom stood out prominently under the lights. This top-tier chip, capable of supporting the operation of Ultimate-level Digimon, had long been listed as a strategic material under control, and each one was hard-won.

"The Tyrannosaurus Rex chip upgrade is complete." Mechanic Wang Shu adjusted her glasses and checked the final parameters with the experts from the evolution team. On the monitor beside her, data streamed down like a waterfall.

Cheng Yuan noticed that although Zhao Zheng's uniform was still crisp, the wrinkles around his eyes seemed to be deeper than yesterday.

He followed Zhou Mo into the laboratory, his gaze immediately drawn to the disassembled mechanical body on the platform—around the digital core of the guardian beast, black gears were still slowly turning.

"The Time Metal Armor with a purity of 99.8%, the components that Yushu Technology rushed to produce overnight..." Wang Shu's voice echoed in the laboratory, "All preparations are complete, we can proceed to the next step, Dean Zhou."

“Okay, Engineer Wang.” The middle-aged man standing in front of the control panel turned around. Cheng Yuan then noticed that Dean Zhou’s eyebrows and eyes were somewhat similar to Zhou Mo’s, only with a touch more authority in his expression.

Cheng Yuan's gaze fell on the experimental platform—the guardian beast's mechanical body had been completely dismantled, and around the exposed digital core, several black gears were still slowly rotating, emanating an ominous aura. This sight stirred a sense of unease in him.

He recalled the anime scenes he had seen in his previous life: in the first season, even the Ultimate-level Andromon was controlled by the Dark Gear; but in the second season, the same Andromon was able to break free of the Dark Gear's restraints on its own. What was the fundamental difference between the two?

Cheng Yuan frowned, his fingers unconsciously tapping his knees as he tried to recall his memories.

The image that gradually surfaced in my mind was the yellowed group photo of Andromon with the main characters in the second part of the series…

Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and two keywords flashed through his mind—memory and belief.

Yes, it is those unforgettable battle memories and unwavering belief in protection that enabled Digimon to break through the shackles of darkness.

“Uncle Zhao,” Cheng Yuan suddenly asked, “are you wearing a sheriff’s badge?”

Zhao Zheng was clearly unprepared for this question, and subconsciously touched the Morning Star badge on his uniform hat—a five-pointed star surrounded by a digital code pattern, symbolizing the honor and responsibility of a sheriff.

“I think…beliefs and memories are also a kind of data,” Cheng Yuan said softly.

Zhao Zheng's fingers trembled slightly. He silently removed the cap badge and gently placed it beside the exposed core of the guardian beast. The crisp sound of metal touching metal was exceptionally clear in the quiet laboratory.

"Let's begin." Zhao Zheng's voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible.

Zhou Mo pressed the start button, and the hexagonal platform immediately lit up with a ghostly blue light. The Time Metal components, manipulated by the robotic arm, slowly moved, converging towards the guardian beast in the center of the platform. The guardian beast's body was enveloped in blue light and gradually floated into the air.

Cheng Yuan held his breath.

“Data and energy reserves 98%...99%..." Dean Zhou stared intently at the data screen, while Zhou Mo stood beside him taking notes. “100%! Initiate the evolution program!”

Cheng Yuan then noticed that Zhou Mo had already entered the laboratory and was intently assisting Dean Zhou with his work.

Zhou...could it be...?

Before he could think it through, he was drawn to the sight before him—the Time Digital Metal began to melt into a stream of data, wrapping around the Guardian Beast's body as if it were alive.

The first thing to take shape was the breastplate, and familiar battle marks gradually appeared on the silvery-white metal surface—that was the Time Metal reading the Guardian Beast's memory data.

Next, the arm armor and leg armor took shape, each piece of armor bearing the marks of time.

The most astonishing thing was the sheriff's badge. It hadn't been melted down; instead, it was perfectly embedded in the center of the breastplate, the five-pointed star shining brightly against the silver armor.

"Did it...do it work?"

Zhao Zheng's voice trembled so badly it was almost incoherent; this tough sheriff was now like a helpless child.

The Digivice in his hand suddenly burst forth with a dazzling golden light, which shone brightly against the blue glow of the metal cocoon.

As the last piece of armor was completed, the entire laboratory was instantly engulfed by a blinding blue light.

In the bright light, Cheng Yuan had to squint, vaguely seeing countless data streams intertwining and swirling in the air.

As the light gradually dimmed, a huge metal cocoon stood silently in the center of the platform—its surface was composed of countless precisely arranged hexagonal crystals, each of which was rhythmically flashing, as if it were breathing.

Through the translucent crystal walls, one can see energy flowing slowly inside, like the pulse of life.

“This is an evolution cocoon.” Zhou Mo’s voice was soft, but it was filled with undisguised excitement. “It is a dormant state unique to Ultimate-level Digimon when they evolve, and it usually takes 12 to 48 hours to emerge from the cocoon.”

Cheng Yuan looked in the direction she was pointing and saw a tall, imposing mechanical warrior clearly reflected on a hexagonal crystal surface of the metal cocoon.

Most striking is the sheriff's badge on the soldier's chest, which shines brightly in the energy flow.

Even more exciting is that several stubborn black gears are being forcibly expelled from the mechanical warrior's body by some force, turning into wisps of black smoke and disappearing without a trace under the purification of blue light.

"It really...worked..."

Cheng Yuan then realized that his back was soaked with sweat, and his tense nerves finally relaxed.

He looked down at the little dog in his arms. The little guy was gently rubbing his cheek with its wet nose, its bright blue eyes filled with joy.

Cheng Yuan couldn't help but rub its fluffy head, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up.

Standing at attention in front of the control panel, Zhao Zheng gave the metal evolution cocoon a standard sheriff's salute.

His shoulders trembled slightly, but his eyes shone with an unprecedented determination.

What followed was a long wait, but Cheng Yuan didn't want to waste time waiting.

Lin Ge from the Dragon Club has called. It's Sunday, and he's urging his "little devil" to hurry up and meet the challenge from the "heroes."

Pushing open the glass doors of the Dragon Club, a chilly breeze mingled with an intense fighting spirit.

More than a dozen dragon-shaped Rookie Digimon raised their heads in unison, their scales rubbing together and making a rustling sound.

Their partners—the beast tamers who had been "narrowly defeated" by Cheng Yuan for two weeks—now had flames of revenge burning in their eyes, like heroes going to fight the Demon King BOSS.

It was these tamers and dragon-type Digimon who were tortured by Cheng Yuan for two weeks, contributing several waves of wealth points.

The main goal is to provide a long-term meal ticket!

"It seems you've all made great progress." Cheng Yuan's lips curled slightly as his gaze swept over his opponents, who were poised to attack.

"Enough with the nonsense! This time I'm going to roast your little dog beast to a crisp!" Little Fatty Wang Baole shouted, patting the pangolin that had grown half a size larger.

"I was careless last time, this time I'll show you the power of Firewave Beast!" A rich kid pushed up his glasses, and the Firewave Beast beside him flapped its thick wings.

“And my Qi Dragon Beast, it lost by half a move last time, but you won’t be so lucky this time!” said the skinny beast tamer with glasses.

"If I don't beat you to a pulp today, I'll change my name!" the spiky-haired boy swore menacingly.