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

At the entrance of the cave, Zhao Lu paced back and forth, occasionally glancing into the deep forest.

The cubs seemed to sense the tense atmosphere and huddled together obediently, except for the golden-haired black ball beast, which was still restlessly wriggling on the pangolin's back.

"It's been twenty minutes, why isn't Cheng Yuan back yet?" Zhao Lu checked the DVR for the third time, still no signal. "I'm going to go find him!"

"Are you crazy?" Kang Zhaodi grabbed her. "Your Gear Beast is an offensive type, not a speed type. If something happens, you won't be able to escape!" Kang Zhaodi said.

Wenrou held the trembling black ball beast, her voice shaking, "Could we have encountered a savage beast?"

"Squeak!" The injured monkey was equally restless, dragging its bandaged body and trying several times to rush into the jungle.

Just as everyone was arguing, a series of hurried footsteps came from the depths of the jungle.

Cheng Yuan and the little dog tumbled and crawled out, as if they were being chased by a demon.

"Quick! Back to the cave!" Cheng Yuan shouted breathlessly, his face still covered in streaks of black ash.

"What happened?" Zhao Lu grabbed his collar. "What's this on your face...?"

"Let's get out of here! We'll talk on the way!" Cheng Yuan broke free, picked up the two dog-cat beasts that had fallen behind, and ran into the cave.

Although everyone was confused, they quickly organized the cubs to retreat back into the depths of the cave.

The tunnel echoed with creaking sounds as the black ball beasts huddled in the rattan chairs on the pangolin's back, like a basket of restless balls of yarn.

"Do you know any other way back?" Cheng Yuan asked the mischievous monkey beast after catching his breath. He knew that this invaded tribe was not the monkey beast's homeland, but merely a place it passed through.

Judging from the horrific scene just now, this tribe has been massacred by the savage beast army led by the Golden Horned Beast.

The monkeymon gestured to indicate that the caves and tunnels were interconnected, providing alternative routes back and connecting to other tribes. These tunnels were a masterpiece left by the monkeymon's ancestors, facilitating travel between tribes through the tunnels within Green Fruit Mountain. However, the tunnels were intricate and complex, and it was highly likely that other wild Digimon, like Spidermon, lurked within them.

Cheng Yuan nodded, and then told everyone everything he had just witnessed, including how the savage beast army massacred the mischievous monkey beast tribe, and how the golden-horned beast fought fiercely with the diamond beast...

Cheng Yuan took out some of the intense battle footage he had recorded with his Dinosaur camera and shared it with them.

My God, that's a fierce battle between two mature animals!

Cheng Yuan handed over the data acquisition device, and Wenrou saw the data volume soaring within it...

"Wait," Wenrou suddenly interrupted him, pointing to the wildly fluctuating numbers on the data collector, "Cheng Yuan, how many corpses did you collect? This amount of data is more than the 30-odd savage beasts we collected yesterday!"

Zhao Lu said worriedly, "Cheng Yuan, picking up a few is fine, but don't risk your life."

"No, no," Cheng Yuan waved his hands repeatedly, "I only picked one up..."

"One?" everyone asked in unison.

"Hmm," Cheng Yuan scratched his head, revealing an innocent smile, "a Vajra Beast."

Everyone: "!!!"

Kang Zhaodi's booming voice caused several pebbles to fall from the cave ceiling. "A mature Vajra beast? How did you do that?"

"Shh—luck, it's purely luck." Cheng Yuan waved his hand modestly. "It just happened to be crippled by the Golden Horned Beast, and I... just happened to pick it up."

Zhao Lu rolled her eyes: "You call this 'finding a bargain'? I've heard that the data of a Champion-level Digimon starts at least at 500,000 on the market!"

"Alright, let's get down to business." Cheng Yuan put away his playful expression. "Zhao Lu, you take the team and follow the route of the Mischievous Monkey Beast. Big Guy, have the Pangolin use its Earth-Splitting Claw to blast the entrance shut and completely block it. That Golden Horned Beast is not to be trifled with; I doubt even Instructor Wang Lin would be a match for it."

"Alright!" Kang Zhaodi said without hesitation, turning and leaving with the pangolin. A moment later, a series of deafening explosions came from deep within the tunnel, and the entire cave shook.

The cubs huddled together in fear, even the most mischievous Golden Silk Black Ball Beast burrowed into the fur of the Little Dog Beast. Only after the tremors stopped did they continue on their way.

The tunnel was eerily quiet, with only the sounds of footsteps and the occasional dripping of water echoing through it.

"Those savage beasts will find the tunnels to other tribes sooner or later," Cheng Yuan said in a low voice. "We must notify the next tribe before they do."

"Why would they want to invade? For food? Or for data?" Zhao Lu frowned in thought.

"I think..." Cheng Yuan revealed a mysterious smile, "...it's related to reproduction."

Some images unsuitable for children immediately flashed into everyone's minds, and several girls blushed instantly.

Wildman Beast & Mischievous Monkey Beast?

How could you do that!

"What kind of time is this to be saying this!" Zhao Lu slapped Cheng Yuan on the back of the head. "Don't you know that Digimon don't reproduce like real animals? Most Digimon are born as Digi-Eggs through the separation and backup of their Digicore DNA!"

"Most of them?" Cheng Yuan became interested, turned around and walked backwards. With the little dog beast leading the way, he walked with great peace of mind.

"And what about the rest?"

Cheng Yuan continued, "I once heard researchers at the Pengcheng Evolution Research Institute discussing the reproduction of Wildman Beasts. They said that they have not yet discovered the digital eggs or juvenile stages of Wildman Beasts, and they don't know how they are born and evolve into Wildman Beasts."

Cheng Yuan looked at the carefree cubs, lost in thought: "I just saw that when the Savage Beast attacked, it only killed the Monkeymon, but collected the Blackballmon, the Woofmon, and the Digi-Eggs. If it was for food, there was no need to go to such lengths... unless..."

"The Savage Beast invades the Monkey Beast tribe every now and then and kidnaps the children," the Monkey Beast said through gritted teeth.

Cheng Yuan's eyes lit up: "This is related to the 'mission' that Teacher Xu and the others were talking about! I think I understand." He quickened his pace, "We have to notify the next tribe before the savage beasts do. Stubborn Monkey Beast, you and I go first, leaving marks along the way. The rest of you take the cubs and follow the marks."

"Cheng Yuan," Zhao Lu said worriedly, pulling him back. "Don't be impulsive. Contact Instructor Wang Lin if anything happens."

"Don't worry!" Cheng Yuan patted his chest. "You guys contact the instructors, we'll meet up up ahead!"

After saying that, he, the puppy beast, and the mischievous monkey beast disappeared around the corner of the tunnel.

Kang Zhao stared in the direction they had left, scratching his head: "Ever since entering the digital space, the class representative's audacity... is fatter than pork belly."

Half an hour later, Cheng Yuan and his group finally saw the light of the exit. The mischievous monkey suddenly stopped, sniffing the air warily: "No fighting..."

At the tunnel exit, Cheng Yuan held his breath and cautiously peeked out. The sight before him made his pupils shrink—

The mischievous monkeys of the Qingguoshan tribe were on high alert, dozens of adult monkeys holding slingshots, guarding the treetops. On the ground, several exceptionally strong monkeys were training; their muscles were bulging, and their movements were agile, clearly the tribe's elite warriors.

"Looks like we're early." Cheng Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and was about to walk out when the mischievous monkey grabbed him.

"Wait..." the mischievous monkey beast lowered its voice, "The tribe... is on high alert, and humans... are considered invaders."

Just then, a sharp whistle rang out from the treetops. The next second, dozens of pebbles rained down like a storm!

"Holy crap!" Cheng Yuan rolled behind a rock, the pebble hitting the rock and sparking.

The puppy beast quickly deployed a sacred barrier, protecting the monkey beast within it as well.

"Stop! We're here to deliver a message!" Cheng Yuan shouted at the top of his lungs.