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

Cheng Yuan rolled his eyes listlessly: "You...you wait...once I recover...I promise..."

"Definitely what? Add two more kilometers?" Zhao Lu smiled slyly, then suddenly lowered her voice, "Want to know a little trick to be lazy?"

Cheng Yuan immediately perked up his ears: "What tricks? Bribing the teacher? Pretending to faint? Or just defecting to a regular class?"

"Idiot!" Zhao Lu pointed at her Gearmon, "Get a Digimon to help!"

Suddenly, the gear-like beast accelerated and rushed in front of Zhao Lu, leaning to the side and gently pressing the edge of its gears against her back. As the gears turned, it actually propelled her forward!

"You can do that?!" Cheng Yuan exclaimed in disbelief. "Isn't that against the rules?"

Zhao Lu winked smugly: "Teacher Xu only said 'run with your partner,' but didn't say how to run~"

Cheng Yuan suddenly realized something and turned to his dog, Beast: "Beast, did you hear me? Think of a solution!"

The little dog tilted its head and thought for two seconds, then its eyes suddenly lit up. It slowed down and rushed behind Cheng Yuan, then—suddenly accelerated!

[Extreme Speed ​​Collision] Speed ​​Control Version + [Holy Barrier]!

"boom!"

With the barrier formed by divine power on his back, Cheng Yuan sprinted forward, propelled by the rapid charge of the little dog beast, doubling his speed.

It felt as if a huge truck was pushing me forward at breakneck speed.

"I... damn it..." Cheng Yuan, bewildered in the wind, felt as if his mouth was filled with air.

Seeing this, the other students followed suit, and the training ground lit up with colorful skill lights.

However, many Digimon are not known for their speed; in fact, they are slower than their trainers and can only run slowly and laboriously.

After running ten kilometers, they were all red-faced and drenched in sweat, collapsing to the ground in a disheveled state. Their Digimon partners were also exhausted, panting with their tongues hanging out.

Kang Zhaodi and his pangolin were quite at ease, only slightly sweating. Clearly, their daily "martial arts manual" style training was not in vain, but their speed was not very fast.

In the end, Cheng Yuan, who relied on his dog's superhuman abilities, was the first to cross the finish line in this "marathon".

He lay sprawled on the lawn, too exhausted to even move a finger. The little beast lay on his chest, both of them panting heavily.

Continuously using Extreme Speed ​​Charge while maintaining speed control is also a great way to train the puppy's skill control.

Xu Xin strolled over and looked down at them: "Class representatives, how do you feel?"

Cheng Yuan, barely able to speak, said, "Teacher... I understand..."

"What have you realized?"

"To become an animal trainer... the first thing you need to buy... is personal accident insurance..."

Xu Xin couldn't help but chuckle, squatted down and patted Cheng Yuan on the shoulder: "I have some bad news for you. Because of the dangers of the professional animal trainer industry, most insurance companies refuse to insure them. However, if someone dies in the line of duty, the state will provide compensation."

To hell with your martyrdom!

"Ten-minute break, then we'll move on to the next lesson."

Cheng Yuan sprang up as if he'd come back from the dead: "There's more?!"

“Of course,” Xu Xin said with a devilish smile, “this is just the warm-up.”

Looking at the group of "spoiled" seed students in front of him, Xu Xin's face remained expressionless. He simply commented, "Physical fitness is one of the Achilles' heel of animal trainers. I hope to see your progress in the next class."

For the next lesson, Xu Xin didn't let everyone continue to overexert themselves. Instead, he took out a new-looking, more streamlined and rugged Tyrannosaurus Rex from his equipment case.

The material of this Digimon seems to be of higher quality, shimmering with a cold metallic luster. Most notably, there is a noticeable slot on the side of the body.

"Let me introduce you," Xu Xin said, holding up the Digivice so everyone could see it. "This is the latest achievement of Dongda Digital Technology—the 'Arc Light Digivice,' a new generation of tamer terminals that will soon be launched on the market."

Chapter 14 A Bottomless Pit of Pay-to-Win

He paused deliberately, his gaze sweeping across the expectant faces in the room before finally settling on Cheng Yuan: "Class representative, guess what this slot is for?"

Cheng Yuan was staring blankly at the slot when he was suddenly called on and almost bit his tongue: "Huh? Uh... is it... is it for swiping a card?"

The audience burst into laughter.

He pointed to the slot: "This is the tactical chip slot. The Arc Light Machine is equipped with a more powerful computing core. Its core function is to instantly enhance the abilities of Digimon in battle by inserting specific tactical chips."

Xu Xin's tone carried a hint of popular science: "Our Dongda Kingdom's digital chip technology has been striving to catch up with Shenying Kingdom. The significance of the Arc Light Machine lies in the fact that it allows tamers to provide powerful, real-time temporary boosts to their Digimon through tactical chips during battle, based on the ever-changing situation."

Zhao Lu raised her hand and asked, "Teacher, what's the difference between this and regular data reinforcement?"

“Good question.” Xu Xin snapped his fingers. “Ordinary data enhancement is permanent, but it takes time to absorb. But tactical chips…” He winked mysteriously, “are plug-and-play add-ons!”

He listed examples: "Imagine your Digimon suddenly gains a temporary weapon, a short burst of speed, a brief flight ability, a significant increase in energy for a specific attribute... or even..." He deliberately dragged out the words, "it can even give the tamer an energy shield!"

A murmur of amazement and discussion erupted from the audience. This feature sounds incredibly tempting! It's practically a godsend in battle!

Cheng Yuan's pupils contracted slightly. A Digimon Arc Machine? A Tactical Chip? This setting… it's so similar to the D-Ark Arc Machine from the third season of Digimon in his past life! Except, in the anime, the children used cards whose symbolic value outweighed their actual cost, while in this real world, they became expensive "Tactical Chips" that needed to be purchased with real money!

His mind raced: chip enhancement…weapons, acceleration, flight, energy amplification…it all sounded wonderful, a weapon capable of instantly changing the course of battle. But Cheng Yuan knew perfectly well—this kind of thing was an absolute money pit! Each tactical chip that could bring substantial improvement was probably as expensive as a high-end data cube, or even more! And that was just the price of the chip itself; what about the Arc Light Tyrannosaurus Rex machine itself? Absolutely astronomical!

"Teacher!" Kang Zhaodi raised his hand at just the right moment and asked the question Cheng Yuan wanted to ask: "Are these chips expensive?"

Xu Xin's smile grew even brighter: "Well... the more powerful the chip, the more... beautiful the price will be. However, it's still in the testing phase, so there's no price yet, but the initial estimate is that the basic tactical chip will probably cost over 10 in the early stages."

The training ground fell silent instantly; you could hear even the breathing of the Digimon. Cheng Yuan mentally calculated his savings, beads of sweat forming on his forehead—this price was practically robbery!

Xu Xin's subsequent words confirmed his conjecture: "Professional animal trainers will be prioritized for the use of arc light machines. In the future, this technology will gradually be popularized among ordinary animal trainers."

“Gradually popularized…” Cheng Yuan pondered the word in his mind, a bitter smile appearing on his lips. How long would this “gradual” process take? How could the civilian version of the Digivice be replaced so quickly? The high cost meant that the Arc Light Digivice would be the exclusive equipment of a few elites and “pay-to-win players” for a considerable period of time.

—As expected, the world of professional beast tamers is a true abyss of pay-to-win!

This realization was like a bucket of cold water poured over Cheng Yuan's head, which had just been buzzing with excitement at being selected for the honors class. Aspiring to become a professional animal trainer, he seemed perpetually on the path of financial hardship. He subconsciously touched the ordinary Digivice in his pocket, then glanced at the Arc Light machine in Xu Xin's hand, a machine representing the future and power, and a sense of urgency and a deeper "financial anxiety" welled up inside him.

His current wealth accumulation is essentially the result of cash subsidies; he loses money on every sale he makes, slowly climbing the ranks. To catch up with these true "whales" (players who spend real money), acquire the Arc Light Machine, and purchase powerful tactical chips... the road ahead is long.

Xu Xin looked at the group of young people, his serious expression softening slightly: "With this Arc Machine, tamers can truly participate in battles, and combat is no longer solely the domain of Digimon. In the wild and in the digital realm, you may encounter all sorts of unexpected situations. Trusting your companions and looking out for each other is sometimes more important than individual strength."

"If you become professional animal trainers in the future, this will even become your standard equipment, with subsidies directly provided to your home by the Animal Trainers Association."

Hearing this, the top students became even more eager to become professional animal trainers.

He packed up the training equipment, turned and walked toward the exit: "Tomorrow at the same time, we will continue with more effective training. Class representatives, stay and clean up the area."

Cheng Yuan: "......" How come this blessing is still not over?

After everyone left, Cheng Yuan sighed as he packed up the training equipment, complaining to the little dog, "If I had known being a class representative was this tiring, I should have firmly refused and let that girl Zhao Lu do it herself..."

The little dog suddenly perked up its ears: "Cheng Yuan, someone's coming."

Cheng Yuan turned around and found that Xu Xin had returned at some point, holding two bottles of sports drinks in her hand.

"You've worked hard." Xu Xin handed him a drink. "Have something to drink before you get back to work."

Cheng Yuan accepted the gift with a flattered expression: "Thank you, teacher!"

Xu Xin leaned against the wall, her gaze falling on the little dog beast: "Your little dog beast... is very special."

Cheng Yuan's heart tightened: "Extra cute? Extra handsome? Or extra..."

“It’s incredibly incongruous.” Xu Xin interrupted his narcissism. “I heard you evolved it to the growth stage in just two weeks? To evolve to the growth stage in such a short time, you must have a secret. Whether it’s your extraordinary encounter or a family secret, I have no intention of investigating. Actually, I’ve reached this point because of my own circumstances. But what I want to say is that its divine attribute is very strong, but its basic qualities can’t keep up. It’s like a bicycle with an airplane engine installed; it’s fast, but it could fall apart at any moment…”

Cheng Yuan was speechless. This was precisely the problem he had been worried about recently—the puppy beast's evolution speed was too fast, and it wasn't yet proficient in controlling its own power.

"Teacher, what should we do?" Cheng Yuan asked, unusually serious.

Xu Xin didn't answer directly, but instead asked, "Do you know that Agumon evolved into the Virus type DarkGreymon, a Dark-type Virus, which should be extremely prone to losing its sanity? Do you know how I kept DarkGreymon sanity?"

Cheng Yuan shook his head, and the little dog also tilted its head curiously.

“Because I spent three whole months training it in the volcanic zone of the digital space.” Xu Xin’s eyes became deep. “Every day, it was accompanied by magma and fought with volcanic beasts. In the most extreme way, it solidified its mastery of every bit of power, even the power of darkness.”

“Evolution is not the end, but a new beginning.” He crouched down and gently patted the little dog beast’s head. “Jade must be carved to become a gem. Your partner’s divine power is very pure and has great potential, but it needs more systematic refinement. Starting tomorrow, I will develop a special training plan for you two.”

Cheng Yuan's eyes lit up: "Really? Thank you, teacher!"

"Don't get too excited yet." Xu Xin stood up, revealing a meaningful smile. "My special training... is quite 'exciting'."

Watching Xu Xin's departing figure, Cheng Yuan suddenly had a bad feeling. He looked down at Little Dog Beast: "Little Dog Beast, do you think... it's too late for us to apply to withdraw from the honors class?"

The little dog covered its eyes with its paws: "Don't let me look down on you..."

Just as Cheng Yuan started tidying up, Zhao Lu suddenly returned and helped him.

Then more and more people came back, and they all came back together to pack up.

Kang Zhaodi's burly figure appeared at the doorway, followed leisurely by the pangolin. Next came Wang Wei and Yang Tao, the tamers of the hedgehog beast and the mineral beast, respectively…

One after another, the students from the top classes returned, each bringing their own Digimon partners.

"You guys..." Cheng Yuan was stunned, and almost dropped the training protective gear in his hand.

"Don't misunderstand," Zhao Lu pouted, and the silver gear beast had already begun to tidy up the scattered training equipment. "We just don't want to be put to extra training by Teacher Xu tomorrow."

Kang Zhaodi picked up a box of training balls and said, "Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and finish so we can eat."

Looking at these classmates who were saying one thing but meaning another, Cheng Yuan suddenly felt a lump in his throat. He squatted down, patted the little dog's head, and whispered, "It seems these kids are actually quite cute. Let them continue being class representatives for now."

Chapter 15 Speed ​​Training

The next day, as the class representative, Cheng Yuan arrived at the school's training venue early in the morning.

At that moment, he was stunned by the newly added facilities in the venue, as if it had undergone a major renovation overnight.

The once empty venue seemed to have undergone a magical transformation—on the left was a dodging training area filled with iron balls that swung at different frequencies; in the center was a fighting arena covered with special materials, as well as various training equipment.

The most eye-catching feature is the row of giant treadmills on the right, gleaming with a metallic sheen.

Xu Xin is the pride of Pengcheng No.1 High School. It is a rare opportunity to invite such an outstanding professional animal trainer as him to come back and train the freshmen. Therefore, Pengcheng No.1 High School is very generous this year and has allocated special funds to meet the students' training needs and achieve the desired results.

All of this is in the hope of taking advantage of this year's college entrance examination to increase the success rate of students entering the Animal Trainer University, leaving other schools behind, and making Pengcheng No.1 High School the undisputed number one high school in Pengcheng.

We don't ask for another genius like Xu Xin to emerge; we only ask that more students can meet the admission score for the Animal Tamer University.

Therefore, in addition to the school's existing equipment, Xu Xin was also allowed to rent professional training equipment from external training institutions.

Cheng Yuan's gaze wandered around the training hall, eventually being drawn to a uniquely designed professional-grade treadmill.

This behemoth was seven or eight times larger than a regular treadmill. The conveyor belt was covered with a honeycomb-shaped anti-slip pattern, and the guardrails on both sides gleamed with a metallic sheen—it was so large that even Xu Xin's enormous Dark Tyrannosaurus Beast could probably fit on it.

"Woof!" The little dog couldn't wait and leaped onto one of the controls, its dark eyes sparkling with excitement. It curiously poked the control panel with its paw, leaving a trail of wet paw prints.

Cheng Yuan bent down to study the interface and found that in addition to the usual speed and slope parameter adjustments, there were also options designed specifically for Digimon, such as "2 legs/4 legs" and "skill selection".

He flipped open the instruction manual pasted on the machine: "The seventh-generation Digimon training platform of the Divine Eagle Kingdom adopts honeycomb cushioning technology and can withstand a maximum speed of 150km/h. It has been improved in terms of speed, slope and intensity..." When he read this number, he couldn't help but gasp. "This is not a treadmill, it is clearly a speed tester."

"Since no one else has arrived yet, why don't we try it out first?" Cheng Yuan's lips curled into a mischievous smile.

He recalled the evolutionary path of Gatomon—whether in its current form or in the future, Gatomon excelled in speed before mastering holy power.

Is this treadmill specifically designed for speed training?

"Play, I want to play!" The little dog wagged its tail happily, clearly regarding it as a new toy.

"Watch closely, I'll demonstrate first." Cheng Yuan stood on the ordinary treadmill next to him and set a gentle 6km/h jogging mode. The conveyor belt ran smoothly, and his running shoes made a regular rustling sound as they rubbed against the belt.

Five minutes later, when he stopped wiping his sweat, he was greeted by a disdainful look from the little dog, whose face seemed to say, "Master, is this all you've got?"

"Running is that simple," Cheng Yuan said, barely suppressing a laugh. "Come on, it's your turn to try."

The little dog leaped onto the conveyor belt; due to its small size, the specially designed treadmill was practically a mini playground for it.

Cheng Yuan suppressed a laugh and carried the little beast onto the professional machine. He quickly entered the parameters: "Height 0.3 meters, weight 7.5 kilograms, has mastered speed-related skills: Extreme Speed ​​Collision!" In the "Normal Speed" column, he hesitated for a moment and entered "60km/h".

The little dog's ears suddenly perked up, and it looked at its owner warily—wait, you didn't set such high standards for yourself just now!

However, before it could protest, the machine had already started humming to begin operation.

The initial speed was indeed gentle; the little dog beast could even stroll leisurely, occasionally casting provocative glances at Cheng Yuan.

"Drip drip drip drip!"

After six rapid beeps, the conveyor belt suddenly accelerated.

The little dog's expression froze instantly, and its four short legs began to frantically move around.

Wait, what did you secretly press, Beast Tamer?

"Drip drip!"

Its speed increased again. Now the little dog beast was no longer taking a walk, but trotting properly. Its snow-white fur fluttered in the simulated airflow, its long, drooping ears billowed behind it like two small flags, and the sacred halo around its neck began to glow faintly.

"Drip! Drip!"