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

The metal gate of the outpost slowly closed behind them with a heavy rumble.

Cheng Yuan let out a long sigh of relief, as if a huge burden had been lifted. Under the bright lights, he realized that his down jacket had been torn to shreds by thorns, making him look like a beggar fleeing a disaster.

"Let's go to the medical station first." Wang Lin pointed to the white building on the right. "The mischievous monkeys and their cubs all need treatment."

The black ball beast in Wenrou's arms suddenly squeaked, its little paws pointing at a figure at the entrance of the medical station—the same mischievous monkey beast they had rescued earlier. It was covered in bandages, but seemed to be in good spirits, anxiously looking around.

"It actually got here before us?" Zhang Ming pushed up his crooked glasses, the lenses still covered with a few leaves.

Wang Lin's flying insect beast shook its wings: "I brought it back. By the way, you guys are really slow." Its voice sounded a bit muffled, like it was wearing a mask.

"He was barely alive just now, how come he's recovered so quickly?" the students exclaimed in surprise.

Wang Lin smiled and said, "As long as the data hasn't dissipated and the Digicore hasn't been shattered, this kind of treatment for Rookie Digimon isn't a problem for modern technology. Even if only the Digicore is left, it can be replicated at a certain cost. However, because the data is lost and needs to be refilled, there's a possibility of losing a lot of memories."

She paused, then added, "By the way, its treatment costs are all on my tab; they'll be deducted from your spoils later!"

When the mischievous monkey saw the cubs in everyone's arms, it rushed over excitedly, only to trip over its own bandages and fall.

Ignoring the pain, she frantically checked on each of the cubs, tears welling in her eyes.

"Woof! It says thank you for saving its people!" The little dog beast acted as a temporary translator.

Cheng Yuan squatted down and gently patted the mischievous monkey beast on the shoulder: "You're welcome. Be careful in the future, and don't get caught by the wild beast again."

The mischievous monkey nodded vigorously, then suddenly pulled a faintly glowing stone from its tattered animal skin pouch and placed it in Cheng Yuan's hand. The stone's surface was covered with peculiar data patterns, and it felt warm and smooth to the touch, like jade.

"This is..." Cheng Yuan looked at the stone curiously.

"It's a Digital Stone." Wang Lin leaned closer in surprise. "This is a real gem! Like the Attribute Cube, it can boost attribute values, and it's much purer than the man-made Digital Cube. It's a resource naturally born in the Digital World." She carefully examined the stone's texture. "Judging by its quality, it's at least a mid-level Plant-type stone. It can significantly boost attributes. The Digital Cube was also made by imitating its composition, making it perfect for Floramon or Palmon."

The mischievous monkey said in broken human language, "This... green fruit, tribe... and, welcome, guest."

Upon being invited, the students started chattering excitedly, ready to form another sightseeing group in no time.

Devimon's ears twitched almost imperceptibly. A Digimon Stone? These foolish humans actually managed to find such a treasure. Too bad it's useless to them, otherwise they would have found a way to get their hands on it.

The medical staff in white coats quickly took over the work with the wounded and the cubs.

Cheng Yuan was about to follow them in when Wang Lin stopped him: "You guys go hand in your mission first, Captain Xu is coming over."

Devimon also wanted to use these humans' identities to inquire about clues about Devimon at the outpost intelligence station, since Devimon did not have a Tamer ID card, and a Tamer ID card was required to inquire about or purchase intelligence.

The demon beast silently approached Cheng Yuan, lowering its voice, "Kid, you're interested in money..." It paused deliberately, "Come with me to the intelligence station, and I can give you a sum of money..."

"Don't mention it! We've been through thick and thin together!" Cheng Yuan put his arm around his shoulder. "You just fought alongside us! I'll treat you to some barbecue at the outpost!"

Devimon's temples throbbed. This damned human not only dared to touch my noble body so casually, but also dared to serve me such lowly food! It suppressed its murderous intent, contemplating whether to just strangle this chatterbox.

Just then, a familiar voice came from behind:

"Class representative! What trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?"

Xu Xin strode over with his team, the massive body of the Dark Tyrannosaurus casting a huge shadow.

The demon's pupils contracted sharply—it was that persistent group of pursuers again!

It lowered the brim of its hat, subtly concealing its aura and suppressing the dark energy to a minimum.

It's not that it can't beat them; in fact, based on its past performance, a Champion-level Devimon could easily hold its own against this four-person team of Digimon.

Alone and alone, it must conserve its strength to complete that crucial plan: find the Demon Beast, devour Instrumentality, activate the Dark Gear Project, complete its evolution, and then return to the world of Wicherny to seek revenge.

Now is not the time to expose ourselves.

"Teacher Xu!" Cheng Yuan waved excitedly, "We rescued more than a dozen Digimon babies! And we got this!" He held up the Digimon Stone like a treasure.

Xu Xin took the stone and examined it carefully, his brows gradually furrowing: "This is... stolen from the savage shaman?" Ordinary savage beasts don't usually carry such a good thing.

"Huh?" Cheng Yuan looked blank. "It was given to you by that mischievous monkey beast."

He recounted everything that had happened that day, from discovering the cubs in the cage to being attacked by wild beasts, and finally praised "Mo's" little devil beast for its bravery.

After listening, Xu Xin gave Wang Lin a meaningful look: "You showed up too early."

He turned his back to the students, his tone indifferent, "In the digital world, without experiencing real life-or-death trials, one can never grow into a qualified tamer."

The students fell silent, pondering the meaning behind Xu Xin's words. Wang Lin pursed her lips; who rushed over in such a hurry after seeing the message…?

Cheng Yuan suddenly remembered something and pulled the stone-like digital egg out of his backpack: "Oh right, and this too..."

When the mischievous monkey saw the digital egg, it squeaked excitedly.

"It asked if we could return the egg to it," the little dog beast translated for the excited monkey beast.

Seeing this, Cheng Yuan gave the Digimon the Digi-Egg to Puppymon. Puppymon carefully carried the egg to Monkeymon, and at the moment of handover, the eggshell suddenly made a crisp "crack" sound.

All eyes were drawn to it. The cracks on the eggshell multiplied, and suddenly, a furry little paw broke through. Then, a round little head popped out—it was a Black Ball Beast.

But what sets it apart is that it has some golden fur mixed in with its fur.

"Wow!" Wenrou exclaimed, covering her mouth in surprise. "What a unique black ball beast!"

The newborn little creature blinked its big eyes, curiously observing the world. The first thing it saw was the pair of bright blue eyes of the little beast.

"Squeak!" The black ball beast squealed happily, then suddenly leaped and landed precisely on the head of the little dog beast, curling itself into a fluffy black hat with golden threads.

Xu Xin watched this scene thoughtfully: "Is it a mutant?"