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

Cheng Yuan typed with a wry smile: [The little dog beast's dark stats are skyrocketing... I wonder if this will affect its evolution.]

A new message popped up immediately: "Pengcheng Digital Evolution Research Institute, give me your name when you arrive."

"Evolution Research Institute?" Cheng Yuan frowned and muttered, "Isn't she a nursery nurse at the Digital Center's Nursery?"

He remembered that Zhou Mo's work ID clearly had the words "Pengcheng Digital Center" printed on it.

Around noon, Cheng Yuan stood in front of a tall, silver-gray building, holding his little dog. The builder's sign bore the words "Pengcheng Digital Evolution Research Institute" in large, gilded letters.

Through the floor-to-ceiling glass wall, one could vaguely see many staff members in white coats hurrying by.

"Woof?" The little dog shook its ears nervously; the unfamiliar environment made it slightly uneasy.

"It's alright, little beast." Cheng Yuan gently squeezed its paw. As the automatic sensor door slowly opened, a blast of cold air rushed in.

The receptionist looked up: "Hello, do you have an appointment?"

"Zhou Mo sent me." Before the words were finished, a familiar voice came from the end of the corridor—

"Cheng Yuan! Over here!"

Zhou Mo was wearing the research institute's standard white lab coat uniform, with a "Junior Researcher" badge on her left chest. Compared to when she was at the Digimon Nursery, she had a more serious demeanor.

She crouched down, her pupils focused on the sacred ring around the Digimon's neck, and the moment her fingertips touched it, the sacred ring rippled with a faint light.

“Interesting…” she murmured. “The purity of light and divine energy is so high that it’s rare to see this in a growth-stage Digimon.”

Of course, Cheng Yuan thought to himself, he had spent a lot of wealth points in the Light and Divine systems.

"Sister Mo, didn't you work at the nursery before?" Cheng Yuan couldn't help but ask, "How did you suddenly become a researcher?"

Zhou Mo chuckled upon hearing this, and led him through two automatic sensor doors into the laboratory.

"My main job is at the research institute. Last month, I went to the nursery for an exchange and learning session. There are often learning and exchange sessions between the Institute of Evolution and the Digital Center."

"Your little Digimon is the DigiEgg we brought from the lab that time—although it was bred by the research institute, according to the Digimon Rights Act, it is also qualified to become a trainer's partner."

On the platform in the center of the laboratory, several precision instruments were emitting a soft hum.

Zhou Mo skillfully adjusted the parameters of the testing station.

"Put the little guy on the testing table." She placed a ring that shimmered with blue light onto the dog's sacred ring. "Don't worry, it's just a routine check-up."

The little dog nervously shrank its neck, but was quickly drawn to a high-purity data cube that Zhou Mo handed it. It hugged the cube and started chewing on it, completely unaware of the indicator lights on the surrounding instruments.

"Look here." Zhou Mo pointed to the holographic screen, which displayed the energy diagram of the little dog beast. Golden divine energy flowed like a tide, but within the energy diagram, there was also a dark energy, the two distinct yet strangely coexisting.

“The vaccine is of the divine type, with a very high purity of energy,” Zhou Mo pushed up his glasses, “but dark energy also exists within its body.”

She pulled up another set of data, "This dark energy is a bit restless, like a grumpy little black cat."

"If this dark energy is allowed to grow unchecked, it may affect its evolution in the future."

"Will it affect evolution? What kind of evolution?"

Zhou Mo laughed and said, "It's hard to say. After all, the evolution of Digimon is still being explored, and there aren't many patterns yet. The evolutionary path of the Digimon's Digimon-type Digimon is not yet fully understood. Currently, we've only explored up to the Champion stage of Gatomon, let alone the Dark Kin."

However, Cheng Yuan was very clear that in the original world's animation, the dog beast did indeed have a dark evolutionary path.

[Puppymon → BlackGatomon → LadyDevimon.]

LadyDevimon, fair-skinned and beautiful, in a tight leather bodysuit, long legs and a slender waist... that doesn't seem so bad... No, no, no, Angewomon is a childhood dream... LadyDevimon in a tight leather bodysuit, alluring and sexy, that's not bad either... No, no, no, Angewomon in a white bodysuit isn't bad either...

Seeing Cheng Yuan's absent-minded appearance, Zhou Mo mistakenly thought he was worried that Dark Evolution would cause Digimon to go berserk, and gently comforted him, "Actually, Digimon that have undergone Dark Evolution will not necessarily lose their minds and go berserk. Last year, a college student trainer successfully restored the Digimon to its senses."

She gently removed the monitoring ring from the puppy's neck. "I recommend that the puppy be monitored regularly. Please bring it in for a check-up once a month, is that okay?"

Weekly testing? That seems more frequent than the regular quarantine for Digimon viruses?

According to the Tokyo National Digimon Quarantine and Inspection Law, Digimon of the Virus type need to undergo monthly quarantine inspections to prevent erosion and rampage.

Seeing Cheng Yuan hesitate, Zhou Mo added, "I'm preparing to conduct a study on the coexistence of divine and dark forces. If you're willing to cooperate regularly..." She found an agreement, "The research institute can pay a monthly research stipend of six thousand yuan."

The image of Cheng Yuan fidgeting with his pockets in the nursery flashed through her mind.

"Six thousand a month?" Cheng Yuan almost bit his tongue, his fingers unconsciously clenching the little dog's paws.

The little guy barked in pain.

Cheng Yuan felt his throat tighten. The words "research allowance" on the agreement kept enlarging in front of him, translating into wealth value of +6000, +6000, +6000.

"I do!"

By the time Cheng Yuan carried the little dog out of the research institute, night had completely fallen. He had the newly issued research funding card in his pocket, and the little guy in his arms was munching on Zhou Mosai's data blocks.

"Have we sold ourselves?" Cheng Yuan sat on the shared bicycle and poked the puffed-up cheeks of the little dog on the basket.

I pulled out my vibrating phone, and a bank deposit notification showed: "[Pengcheng Digital Evolution Institute received a transfer of 6000 yuan]".

[Ding! System notification: Wealth value 43200 (+6000)]

Chapter 19 The Little Dog's Choice

Cheng Yuan originally planned to take the little dog beast to the abandoned factory to train the Holy Light Bullet, but for some reason, he felt a strange sense of resistance towards the abandoned factory.

"Forget it, let's go somewhere else today." He rubbed the little dog's head. "Let's go to the training park, the sun is nice there."

"Woof!" The little dog wagged its tail happily, clearly having no attachment to the abandoned factory.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

Cheng Yuan found a quiet corner, threw his backpack onto the lawn, and the little dog immediately jumped off his shoulder, excitedly spinning around twice, its sacred ring gleaming in the sunlight.

"Today's goal is—" Cheng Yuan held up one finger, "the accuracy and endurance of the Holy Light Bullets!"

"Woof!" The puppy struck a fighting pose with high spirits, its front paws slightly lowered and its tail held high, intending to play the role of a hungry wolf pouncing on its prey, but its cute appearance ruined the mood.

Throughout the afternoon, the park was filled with the sounds of "whoosh—pop!" as the light bullets flew. At first, the trajectory of the Holy Light Bullets was somewhat erratic, but through repeated practice, the little dog beast gradually mastered the rhythm of energy output.

"Beautiful!" Cheng Yuan whistled, watching the Holy Light Bullet trace a graceful arc and accurately hit the bullseye drawn on the tree trunk thirty meters away.

The little dog proudly raised its head, patted its chest with its little paws, as if to say, "See, master, I'm just that awesome!"

"Don't get too cocky." Cheng Yuan grinned mischievously, picked up a branch, and drew two targets on the grass. "Next, try controlling two Holy Light Bullets simultaneously!"

The next step is to increase the power output and endurance of the Holy Light Bullets. Then, we need to increase the number of Holy Light Bullets and train the ability to control them via multi-threading.

Little dog, you still have a long way to go.

As evening approached, the training finally ended. The little dog immediately climbed up Cheng Yuan's arm and onto his shoulder, then stretched out its paws to try and open its backpack to find the Digimon machine.

“Not now.” Cheng Yuan knew it was longing for the sacred feast after its daily training.

"Woof..." Her pitiful little eyes.

Although the sacred feast doesn't convert into wealth as much, it's satisfying!

Cheng Yuan almost burst out laughing. Ever since his digestive system materialized, this little glutton has made "eating" his top priority in life. Every meal his mother makes is devoured by him, so much so that his mother now has to prepare an extra portion when cooking, always saying, "My good child eats well, so he grows up fast and beautiful."

"Don't rush, we'll eat together at dinner tonight."

Hearing Cheng Yuan say this, the little dog started looking forward to dinner again and began urging Cheng Yuan to go home quickly.

Looking at the carefree little guy, even if he's exhausted, a meal when we get home will make him forget all the pain and troubles of the day.

This kind of mentality is commonly known as being carefree and heartless.

He also longs for that kind of positive attitude.

But he was different; the pressure of his senior year of high school and the college entrance exam weighed heavily on his mind.

While waiting for his mother to cook, Cheng Yuan scribbled and drew in his notebook.

“Little Dog Beast.” He pushed the notebook in front of Little Dog Beast. “Take a look at this.”

"Wang?"

The little dog stared wide-eyed in confusion at the picture Cheng Yuan had picked up.

On the left page of the notebook, there was a drawing of a humanoid creature with four pairs of wings, and a sacred ring on its left ankle.

On the right page, there is a humanoid creature with a jet-black body and bat wings, its entire body wrapped in chains, and a ghostly flame connected to its back.

They are clearly the Perfect forms of Angewomon and LadyDevimon.

The little dog's ears perked up, and it looked up at Cheng Yuan with its eyes full of questions.

Master, what kind of stick figures are you drawing? I can't say I'm impressed with your drawing skills!

"Ahem..." Cheng Yuan cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly. "That's right, these are your future Ultimate forms." Cheng Yuan pointed to the stick figure on the left. "This one... Angewomon will be your Divine Route Ultimate form. This one on the right... LadyDevimon will be your Dark Route Ultimate form."

“Woof…Angewomon? Ladywomon?” The little dogmon stammered, repeating the two unfamiliar words, its gaze fixed on the pairs of wings. Although Cheng Yuan’s soul painting was atrocious, the little dogmon seemed to see its future soaring through the sky through those clumsy lines.

Does having more wings mean you can fly faster?

Although Cheng Yuan's soul painting turned Angewomon and LadyGreymon into stick figures, Puppymon looked at the several pairs of wings that could fly and the sacred rings on their ankles, its eyes flickered, and it nodded thoughtfully.

Its little paws pressed firmly onto the Angewomon pattern.

Cheng Yuan let out a long sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted. Having just developed decision-making difficulties, letting the little dog make the choice seemed to save his life, pulling him out of the abyss of indecision.

"Forget it, it's too early to talk about these things. The most important thing now is for us to work hard, improve our skills, and prepare for the college entrance examination."

"Woof—Awooo~!" The little dog patted the ground with its tail and yawned, indicating that it didn't want to use its brain and only wanted to fight.

I'll leave everything to you, woof.

The next day, at the start of a new week, when Cheng Yuan appeared at the school training ground, the other students were also arriving around the same time.

Meanwhile, when Cheng Yuan entered the training ground, he noticed a change in the members of the elite class—five students who were ranked at the bottom were gone, replaced by several new faces, and new Digimon in their growth stage had also joined.

"The elimination system is really no joke..." Cheng Yuan muttered to himself, instinctively hugging the little dog in his arms tighter. Teacher Xu Xin would score everyone's training performance every week, and those with low scores would be eliminated.

Teacher Xu Xin walked in as the school bell rang, her face looking frighteningly haggard. The dark circles under her eyes were so thick that it looked like she was wearing smoky makeup, and she even seemed to be walking unsteadily.

But the moment he stepped onto the podium, all his fatigue seemed to vanish instantly, and his eyes became sharp as knives.

"He's a ruthless person..." Cheng Yuan thought to himself.

“Last week, everyone understood the meaning of the training and found their own direction!” Xu Xin’s voice was firm and powerful. “This week, we will learn about—[Skills Development]!”

That's right, it's about developing skills for your own Digimon!

He surveyed the room, his gaze lingering on each trainee for a moment: "The true value of a trainer lies not in training Digimon step by step, but in unleashing their infinite potential!"

"This week's evaluation criteria are very simple—" Xu Xin held up three fingers, "the strength, applicability, and quantity of development skills. Those ranked at the bottom will be eliminated!"

A chorus of howls suddenly erupted in the training field. Cheng Yuan looked down at the little dog beast in his arms. The little guy was tilting its head and looking at him, its eyes gleaming with eager anticipation.

"Looks like we need to step up our game..." Cheng Yuan squeezed its little paw, a confident smile playing on his lips. "It's time to let the Holy Light Ball do something new!"

Chapter 20: The Growth March of Digimon

In the early morning training hall, Cheng Yuan was doing warm-up exercises, and the sound of his muscles clicking softly could be heard.

The little dog squatted to the side, tilting its head to watch him stretch, occasionally imitating him by raising its front paws, looking adorably clumsy.

"Let's continue speed training today." Cheng Yuan patted the huge professional treadmill. "Let's start with a 30-minute warm-up, and then try to break last week's record."

The little dog barked and jumped onto the treadmill, its sacred ring around its neck glowing slightly, and its four short legs eagerly began to march in place.

After the process source sets the parameters, the conveyor belt slowly starts with a "beep" sound.

After intensive training last week, Puppymon's top speed has reached 90 km/h. This speed is considered elite among Rookie Digimon.

At first, the little dog's steps were quite easy, and it even had the energy to wag its tail at Cheng Yuan. As its speed gradually increased, its expression began to focus, its snow-white fur and drooping ears fluttered in the airflow, and the light of the sacred ring became brighter and brighter.

When the speed exceeded 100km/h, Cheng Yuan noticed an abnormal phenomenon—the little dog's limbs moved abnormally smoothly, and each step landed precisely on the optimal point of force, as if it were a precision machine.

"120km/h..." Cheng Yuan's eyes widened. This speed had already surpassed last week's record, but the little dog beast seemed to still have energy left!

At this moment, the puppy's body underwent a special change—

At extreme speed, the little dog's figure suddenly blurred, leaving a faint gray afterimage trailing behind it! The shadow moved almost in sync with the main body, and although it only lasted for a few seconds before disappearing, Cheng Yuan saw it clearly.

"You little beast..."

"Wang!"

But Cheng Yuan roughly knew what had happened to it.

Shadow Clone Technique! This prototype of a speed-oriented Shadow-type Digimon skill was learned by Puppetmon.

Shadow Clone is a skill that creates clones by moving quickly to disrupt enemies. With practice, it can even create energy clones for even better disruption.