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

“I’ll consult the police department about the unregistered household registration issue tomorrow,” Cheng Yuan readily agreed. “As for living expenses, don’t worry, Gear Beast’s daily expenses are even less than Puppy Beast’s.”

Upon hearing this, Mr. Cheng's eyes lit up, and his wrinkles smoothed out: "Don't worry about that. Gear Beast is a technician, he gets paid, and his salary is even higher than mine. It's your mother's side..."

"Leave Mom's to Little Dog Beast." Cheng Yuan winked, revealing a sly smile. "I guarantee it'll be done in three minutes."

After making the decision, Cheng's father took the Gear Beast home after get off work that day.

"Mom, we're back!" Cheng Yuan's voice rang out in the entryway. He stepped aside to let his father and the black geared beast enter first.

The Gear Beast's shell gleamed matte in the twilight, its mechanical body slightly curled up, as if trying to hide behind Cheng's father.

The sound of clattering spatulas came from the kitchen. Cheng's mother poked her head out and her gaze lingered on the black gear beast for a moment: "What is this...?" The spatula in her hand was suspended in mid-air, and a drop of oil slowly slid down the edge.

Cheng Yuan cleared his throat: "Mom, this is Gear Beast, and it will be a member of our family from now on." As he spoke, he subtly kicked the little dog beast's butt with his toe.

"Woof!" The little dog understood immediately, leaping gracefully and landing precisely in Cheng's arms, its fluffy head nuzzling affectionately against her arm. "Mommy~ It's so well-behaved, it promises not to destroy the house, much more sensible than that other kid who always leaves his socks lying around~"

Cheng Yuan's eyes twitched, barely suppressing the urge to pick up the little traitor.

After listening to the father and son's explanation and the little dog's help, Cheng's mother nodded thoughtfully. Only then did she notice that the black gear beast was cowering behind Cheng's father's legs, its red optical lens cautiously observing her.

Seeing his wife remain silent, Mr. Cheng nervously rubbed his hands together. "Um... if you find it inconvenient, we can..."

“I was thinking…” Cheng’s mother suddenly spoke up, her brows furrowing slightly, “This metal thing… is it for eating or for charging?”

Cheng Yuan crouched down to be at eye level with the Gear Beast. He gazed at the pair of flashing red optical lenses and said in a gentle voice, "Don't worry, we welcome you to our home."

"Sizzle... sizzle..." The Gear Beast's shell emitted a faint electric current sound, and its gear-shaped hands twitched restlessly.

"Don't be nervous, our family is very friendly, right, Little Dog Beast?" Cheng Yuan smiled kindly at Black Gear Beast.

"Wang!"

"Tsk—I-please take care of me from now on..." The black gear beast seemed startled, data flowing rapidly across its body as it stammered.

"That's right, woof~" the little dog wagged its tail proudly, "Remember your family order: Mom first, me second, you third, and Cheng Yuan at the bottom~"

Cheng Yuan sighed, unable to understand where his Digimon had learned these nonsensical concepts of ranking.

After everyone went inside, Cheng's father couldn't help but touch his hair and ask, "What number am I?"

Chapter 81 Knowledge Changes Fate

"You two get along well, I'll go tidy up the room." Mr. Fang smiled as he walked towards the storage room, carrying a newly bought Digimon-themed mattress.

Cheng Yuan watched his father's busy figure, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up—this family was finally going to welcome its second Digimon.

The Gear Beast hesitated before extending its mechanical arm, and Cheng Yuan took the initiative to reach out, letting the edge of its gears lightly touch his fingertips.

Despite the cold metallic feel, Cheng Yuan sensed a touch of warmth. In this era where Digimon and humans coexist, ownerless Digimon like this often face difficult circumstances.

Since the digital world merged with the real world twenty years ago, a large number of Digimon have migrated to the human world. In addition to the partner Digimon registered with the Tamers Association, many "unregistered" Digimon have also integrated into ordinary households.

These Digimon are strictly prohibited from developing military capabilities, and if discovered, the entire family will be severely punished.

Digimon are a double-edged sword. If there are no restrictions, anyone can keep them as pets, and society will fall into chaos. That's why the Digimon Tamers Association has introduced a series of important regulations.

"Dinner's ready!" Cheng's mother's call interrupted Cheng Yuan's thoughts.

At the dining table, the little dog was wolfing down its sacred data packet mixed with rice, occasionally stealing glances at the gear beast sitting next to Fang's dad—Waaaa, eating 555 batteries for dinner is so pitiful…

If Cheng Yuan heard this, he would probably retort, "Don't you know that Zhao Lu's Gear Beast X is powered by high-voltage electricity?"

In the dead of night, Gear Beast lay in the converted storage room.

The three-square-meter space was tidied up by Fang's father into a warm and clean place: a small bed, a bookshelf, and old books from Cheng Yuan's student days neatly arranged on it—from textbooks to comics, everything was there.

"Get some rest. If you can't sleep, you can read a book." Mr. Fang gently closed the door. "I'll take you back to work at the factory tomorrow."

The Gear Beast's red optical lens gleamed faintly in the darkness. It gently turned over, its mechanical fingers tracing the spine of the book.

Memories abandoned by his former master flashed back like fragments of data: the indifference when tearing up the partnership agreement, the alienation from the other Gear Beasts in the factory, the long nights spent alone curled up in the corner of the meeting room...

But tonight is different.

The warm acceptance from Cheng Yuan's family made its digital core warm up slightly.

It pulled out a comic book, filled with exaggerated little figures and illustrations that it couldn't understand, and lost interest after reading a few pages.

Human fictional stories are too abstract for it.

It pulled out a copy of "Digital World: Programming for Beginners"—the worn spine indicated that the book had been frequently read.

When the first line of code appeared in the optical lens, Gearmon's data stream suddenly accelerated, as if it had found its destined home.

But tonight is different.

"Didn't you sleep well last night?" Cheng Yuan noticed the dark circles under the Gear Beast's eyes during breakfast.

The Gear Beast shrank back nervously, afraid that its secret learning would be discovered—something that would have always brought it scolding from its former master.

“It’s okay, you’ll get used to it soon.” Cheng Yuan handed over a new battery. “If you have trouble sleeping, you can take a look at my programming textbook. I guarantee it will have a top-notch hypnotic effect.”

"..." Gear Beast felt its data stream suddenly become disordered.

After watching his father leave with the Gear Beast, Cheng Yuan began preparing for school.

On the way, he made a special detour to a digital store and bought several rows of high-performance lithium batteries—"snacks" for Gearmon.

In class, teacher Liu Liuyan was explaining the tactical command input techniques for the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Cheng Yuan listened to the lecture while glancing at Zhao Lu next to him out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey," Cheng Yuan said in a low voice while the teacher was writing on the blackboard, "what procedures do we need to follow if my family wants to officially adopt a stray Digimon?"

Zhao Lu raised an eyebrow: "Do you have adoption criteria?"

"What indicator?"

"The new policy stipulates that non-trainer families can also adopt Digimon, but they need to apply for a license plate number," Zhao Lu explained.

Cheng Yuan's eyes lit up, but the words "lottery number" made his face fall instantly. Based on his past experience, he knew that such a stroke of good luck was unlikely to come his way.

"Lottery? That'll be waiting forever!" Cheng Yuan scoffed, then winked at Zhao Lu. "Or... could you think of a solution?"

In his view, why take the long way when there is a shortcut?

"Well..." Zhao Lu approached mysteriously, her voice extremely low, "I have to ask Dad first. But..." she smiled slyly, "with your merits in the police station, maybe they can make an exception..."

Today's training session lasted until evening. After returning home, the little guy was simultaneously controlling the golden holy light bullet and the purple shadow ball, with the two groups of energy balls engaged in a fierce five-in-a-row battle in mid-air.

This is a special training method designed by Cheng Yuan—training the ability to multitask by simultaneously manipulating energies with opposing attributes.

"Quite a step forward." Cheng Yuan noticed with satisfaction that even when the little dog was completely absorbed in watching the movie, the energy ball could still autonomously switch between offense and defense. In addition to Gomoku, they have also developed various training modes such as Go and drone battles.

Suddenly, an idea flashed into his mind. Cheng Yuan sat bolt upright and quickly opened his laptop: "It's time to try out the 'Swarm Holy Light Bullet Control Algorithm'..."

However, reality quickly poured cold water on him. When he opened the programming software, his fingers hovered above the keyboard but hesitated to fall—although this body had studied programming, the memory was as blurry as if it had been pixelated.

"Sizzle—" Three holy light bullets suddenly shot out from the crack in the door, and at the same time, a scream came from outside the door.

Cheng Yuan turned his head and saw three purple shadow orbs circling the Gear Beast, which stood at the doorway in a panic.

"Gear Beast, are you off work?" Cheng Yuan softened his tone, trying to ease the tense atmosphere. "Want to play with Puppy Beast?"

The Gear Beast shook its head, but its gaze remained fixed on the jumping code on the computer screen.

Suddenly, it turned around and scurried away, slamming the door to the small room shut.

Cheng Yuan couldn't help but wonder if the Gear Beast's personality was a bit too sensitive.

At dinner time, the puppy went to call Gearmon to eat, but exclaimed in surprise, "Oh dear! Gearmon, you've drawn all over the walls, woof!"

Cheng Yuan rushed into the room, and the scene before him made his eyes widen in shock—

The entire wall was densely covered with code and algorithm diagrams. The two programming textbooks on the bed were worn and curled at the edges, clearly having been studied repeatedly. Gear Beast huddled in the corner, its optical lens flickering, like a child who had done something wrong.

Cheng Yuan crouched down, looking directly at the Gear Beast: "These...you wrote them all?"

The Gear Beast nodded timidly, like a child who had done something wrong, its mechanical arm turning nervously, as if afraid of being kicked out of the house for dirtying the walls.

Gearmon's electronic eyes flickered on and off, and Puppymon trotted over carrying two wrinkled textbooks in its mouth. The covers of "Introduction to Digital Programming" and "Algorithm Fundamentals" were covered in creases.

"Woof! It's ruined your 'collector's edition'!" The little dog put the book on the ground, wagging its tail happily.

Cheng Yuan picked up the book, looked at the curled pages and smiled helplessly—this was hardly a treasured book, but rather an introductory textbook he had casually bought to prepare for an exam years ago.

In the corner, the Gear Beast's mechanical body was curled up in a ball, the optical lens flashing on and off, just like a primary school student caught by his parents sneaking a peek at a comic book.

Cheng Yuan stared at the metallic figure, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside him.

This abandoned virus-type Digimon repeats the simplest assembly work day after day on the assembly line, without even the most basic evolutionary resources.

Its metal shell is covered with fine scratches, and the rotating gears occasionally make a rough friction sound—in the eyes of tamers who pursue combat power, such a Digimon has no training value.

But at this moment, Cheng Yuan carefully examined the code on the wall, becoming increasingly astonished. Although these algorithms were basic, their structure was rigorous and their logic clear, completely unlike the work of a beginner. Even more astonishing was that Gear Beast had actually carved a complete flowchart onto the wall using its metal fingers.

In this digital age, programming has become one of the most valuable skills.

From smart homes to digital space maintenance, from automated factories to urban management systems, code builds a bridge for the symbiotic relationship between humans and digital beasts. And digital beasts that are proficient in programming are a scarce resource that major technology companies are vying for.

"Perhaps it won't shine on the battlefield," Cheng Yuan thought, "but if it could become a programmer-type Digimon..."

His gaze fell on the Gear Beast's precise and flexible mechanical gear hands—those nimble gear joints were practically the hands of a programmer, born for programming.

A digital beast that has mastered programming skills can easily take on development work in a technology company or enter the digital space maintenance department, which is far more promising than tightening screws in a factory.

He slowly crouched down, keeping eye to eye with Gear Beast: "You know what? This is really amazing."

Cheng Yuan's voice was gentle yet firm. "My teacher always says that knowledge can change your destiny... Would you like to learn more programming knowledge from me?"

The Gear Beast's optical lens eyes shone with a bright and steady light. It nodded solemnly, and the gears made a cheerful "click" sound.

Chapter 82 A Chance Encounter with the Ancient Music Beast

“From now on, this computer will be your personal learning tool.” Cheng Yuan patted his old-fashioned laptop, which had just been downloaded as an e-tutorial of “Introduction to Algorithms”.

The Gear Beast's red optical lens instantly lit up with excitement, and the mechanical gears unconsciously began to spin at high speed, making a "click-clack" sound.

It hesitated for a moment, then took out a bank card from the outer shell and carefully pushed it toward Cheng Yuan.

"Tsk...wages..." Gear Beast's electronic voice trembled slightly. In its limited understanding, handing in its paycheck was a way to express loyalty to its trainer.

"Take it back!" Cheng Yuan and his father shouted in unison, startling Cheng's mother, who was busy in the kitchen.

Cheng Yuan gently pushed the bank card back to Gear Beast: "In our family, your salary is yours. Keep it safe; you can use it to buy data to improve yourself later."

“Thank you... teacher..." Gearmon’s data stream rippled slightly, and the optical lens shone with a warm light.

"What kind of teacher is this? Calling me by my name like a little dog or beast!"

In the following days, during the day, Cheng Yuan took the puppy beast to school to participate in battle training courses, while the gear beast went to work at the factory with Cheng's father to continue its work of assembling precision parts.

In the evening, the three "students" squeezed into Cheng Yuan's room, each busy with their own things—Gear Beast focused on learning programming, Puppy Beast practiced playing Connect Four with Holy Light Bullet and Shadow Ball, while Cheng Yuan tutored Gear Beast and studied how to apply the algorithm to optimize Puppy Beast's skills.

Gear Beast has demonstrated an astonishing talent in learning programming algorithms.

In just one week, it taught itself all the programming courses for elementary school students.

Even more amazingly, as knowledge accumulates, the amount of data within the Gear Beast's body increases geometrically—a rate of increase far exceeding what one would expect from simply memorizing textbooks.

"The saying 'knowledge is power' is truly embodied in Gearmon," Cheng Yuan remarked, looking at the increasingly bright data stream on Gearmon's shell.

Knowledge is data, but the volume of data far exceeds the data itself.

Gear Beast's focus and dedication to programming allowed it to progress at an astonishing pace. Cheng Yuan even suspected that he might have inadvertently picked up a programming genius.

Of course, this is inseparable from Gearmon's hard work - it studies until late at night almost every night, and its dark circles are so obvious that even its black shell can't cover them up.

This worried Cheng Yuan's family, as it might become the first Digimon to die from overworking itself.

"This can't go on." On Friday evening at dinner, Cheng's mother looked at Gear Beast's metallic panda eyes and said with heartache, "Xiaoyuan, you have to find a way to help this child relax."

So, the travel plans for Saturday were officially released.

"No studying today!" Cheng Yuan slammed the Gear Beast's laptop shut without another word. "Let's go to the amusement park!"

To help Gearmon relax, Cheng Yuan decided to take the two Digimon to an amusement park for half a day. Puppymon, who had been born for so long, had never been to an amusement park before. Cheng Yuan clearly remembered the longing look in Puppymon's eyes when he described the amusement park to Silverhorn in Savage Valley.

However, Gearmon's eyes dimmed slightly, and it made a whining sound of grievance.

The little dog is furious! Do you know that this spoils the fun and could prevent me from going either?

The sacred ring shone with a threatening holy light.

“Don’t do that,” Cheng Yuan said while stuffing snacks into his backpack. “You need to balance work and rest. The little dog is training hard and you are studying hard, but you should still go out for some fresh air on weekends.”