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

Chapter 82 Adopting a Gear Beast

"This Gearmon has been working in the factory for over a year." Mr. Cheng lowered his voice, tapping his fingers lightly on the worktable. "It had a black shell from day one, but recent news says that black Digimon might be infected—and have to be quarantined with their tamers, which led to this child being abandoned by its tamer."

"Has it not been checked by a digital health professional?"

"It goes through the detector at the factory gate every day before entering," Mr. Cheng shook his head. "It's never shown anything abnormal. But its trainer went missing after seeing the news, and the Dinobot was forcibly untied... I'm afraid if I call the police, it will be taken away..."

Mr. Cheng sighed softly, his gaze softening as he looked at the black gear beast: "Although this child is introverted, he is exceptionally diligent when he works. Not only is he 30% more efficient than ordinary gear beasts, but he also frequently improves the assembly process."

He paused, his voice lowering, "Unfortunately, because of its different appearance, the other gear beasts are unwilling to cooperate with it and always isolate it in a corner."

"Oh, right," Cheng's father suddenly remembered something and turned to Cheng Yuan, "Do you remember the data cube my coworker gave you when you first became partners with the little dog beast? It was this kid who saved up his own food rations and specially asked me to bring it to you."

Cheng Yuan was taken aback upon hearing this, and the image of that simply wrapped but heartfelt gift flashed through his mind.

He crouched down and carefully examined the black gear beast in front of him: "If it was this color a year ago, then it definitely wasn't recently infected. Little Dog Beast, help us confirm."

"Woof!" The little beast jumped out of Cheng Yuan's arms, its holy halo shining brightly, and four holy light bullets spun above its head.

"Wait!" Cheng Yuan quickly restrained the eager little dog beast. "Be gentle, I'm not telling you to attack it!"

After a thorough examination, the puppy beast confirmed, "It doesn't have any dark gears inside it! It's just an ordinary gear beast!"

Cheng Yuan gently patted his father's shoulder, his tone firm: "Dad, don't worry. This is just an ordinary subspecies of gear beast. Its black shell is a natural characteristic, and it's completely different from the viral infection reported in the news."

Mr. Cheng breathed a sigh of relief, but his expression quickly darkened again: "Ever since the news came out, its trainer unilaterally terminated the contract... Now it's an unregistered animal."

Cheng Yuan followed his father's gaze and noticed the torn group photo above the workbench—the young man's bright smile in the photo was now only half there, while the figure of the black gear beast was still completely preserved.

"This beast tamer is simply..." Cheng Yuan clenched his fists, his voice filled with suppressed anger, "What kind of beast tamer abandons their partner like this? Where does this Black Gear Beast live now?"

Mr. Cheng sighed heavily: "According to regulations, stray Digimon must be taken in by a shelter. I felt sorry for it, so I secretly let it live in the factory's conference room..."

He glanced around, lowering his voice, "But this can't go on. The manager has raised objections multiple times. Without a Digivice, it doesn't even have the most basic identity verification. What if the Digimon Guild finds out..."

Cheng Yuan looked at the lonely gear beast. It carefully avoided the gazes of its other silver companions, its movements revealing an indescribable loneliness. Even among gear beasts, there seemed to be an invisible barrier between the virus species and the data species.

"According to the East Great Kingdom's Digimon Management Regulations, that tamer will be held accountable by the association," Cheng Yuan said in a deep voice. "But this Gearmon..."

"What should we do with this child?" Mr. Cheng asked worriedly, looking at the black gear beast working alone in the corner.

Cheng Yuan pondered for a moment: "Theoretically, the ideal solution would be to find a tamer without a partner to take it in. But the reality is..." He shook his head with a wry smile, "Most tamers would rather start raising it from a Digimon egg, as it's easier to build a close relationship that way. Besides, each tamer can only contract one Digimon. Even if someone unfortunately loses their original partner, they wouldn't waste such a precious opportunity on a Gearmon from a factory."

At this point, Cheng Yuan's voice became somewhat heavy: "Is it really the only option... to release it back into the wild?"

'

He looked at the black Gearmon working silently and couldn't help but think about the huge differences in fate among Digimon.

Both are Gear Beasts, but those in the Sheriff's Office enjoy the best training resources and have ample opportunities to evolve into Guardian Beasts or police vehicles. Those in the factory, however, are relegated to repetitive mechanical labor on the assembly line day after day, with almost no possibility of evolution.

"Dad, you wouldn't be thinking of..." Cheng Yuan suddenly realized something and turned to look at his father.

"I think..." Mr. Cheng rubbed his hands together, his voice trailing off, "Our house is close to the factory, and we have a storage room at home. If we tidy it up..."

Cheng Yuan immediately understood his father's thoughts from his shifty eyes and his deliberate avoidance of the sheriff.

This old worker, who had toiled on the assembly line for half his life, had long regarded this diligent gear beast as his "workmate." He felt sorry for its fate of being abandoned by the trainer, but also couldn't bear to part with the friendship they had built up over the past year.

"Um—how about... we let it stay with us for a few days? If it gets used to it, then..."

Seeing his father's rare moment of embarrassment, Cheng Yuan couldn't help but smile. He was all too familiar with this expression on his father's face; it was always this hesitant look whenever his father wanted to adopt stray animals but was afraid of being scolded by his mother.

"I'll consult the Public Security Bureau about the unregistered resident issue tomorrow," Cheng Yuan readily chimed in. "As for living expenses, don't worry, the Gear Beast's daily expenses are even less than the 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 skilled worker; he gets paid, and his salary is higher than mine. It's just that your mother's side—"

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

.

After making the decision, Cheng's father took the gear-like creature 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 gear beast enter first.

The gear-like 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 spatulas clattering came from the kitchen. Cheng Ma poked her head out and stared at the black gear-like creature 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 a Gear Beast. From now on, it will be a member of our family." As he spoke, he subtly kicked the little dog beast's butt with his toe.

"Woof!" The little dog understood immediately, leaping gracefully into Cheng's arms. Its fluffy head nuzzled affectionately against her arm. "Mommy~ It's so well-behaved, it promises not to destroy the house, much more sensible than that guy 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 feel uncomfortable, we can..."

"I'm thinking..." Aunt Cheng suddenly spoke, her brows furrowing slightly, "This metal thing... does it eat or charge?"

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 gently, "Don't worry, you're welcome in our home."

"Sizzle... sizzle..." The gear beast's shell emitted a slight electrical sound, and its gear-shaped hands twitched uneasily.

"Don't be nervous, our family is very friendly, right, Little Dog Beast?" Cheng Yuan gave Black Gear Beast a kind smile.

"Woof!"

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

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

Cheng Yuan sighed, rubbing his forehead, utterly baffled as to where his Digimon had learned these nonsensical hierarchical concepts.

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