Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Anomalous Infinite Mountain

The night grew increasingly profound. The embers in the campfire emitted residual warmth, roasting the still-burning branches. Tonight, the children slept particularly soundly. Even the night watch seemed to have forgotten their duties.

"Qin Fei..."

Suddenly, the Loretta Beast quietly stood beside Qin Fei. In the darkness, her eyes, covered with black bandages, glimmered with an excited red light. Qin Fei slowly sat up, his expression emotionless as he gazed at the myriad stars outside the cave. The brilliant starlight illuminated the faces of all the children with remarkable clarity.

"Let’s go."

Rising slowly, Qin Fei walked silently toward the cave's entrance, careful not to wake anyone.

"Ah—"

Upon stepping outside, he looked at the hazy silhouette of Infinite Mountain in the night and took a deep breath, feeling a twinge of nervousness.

"Qin Fei, I will protect you, so... don’t worry."

The Loretta Beast smiled at him, revealing her pristine sharp teeth. Qin Fei nodded and prepared to step forward.

"Qin Fei!"

At that moment, a cautious voice suddenly came from behind him, as if someone had either discovered him or had been waiting for him.

Qin Fei's expression stiffened, and he turned his head in disbelief to see Mei Mei behind him. The child who usually slept the soundest had been awakened by his movements tonight. Qin Fei had thought he had been soft-footed enough.

"I’ve been awake all along because I know you will follow through with your decisions."

Mei Mei frowned at Qin Fei, seemingly reproaching him for sneaking off alone.

"There are many ferocious Digital Monsters in Infinite Mountain."

Baru Beast stepped out from behind Mei Mei, looking worriedly at her and then fixing a gaze on Qin Fei.

"So... are you here to stop me?"

Qin Fei scratched his head, feeling a bit regretful, realizing it seemed he wouldn’t be going to Infinite Mountain tonight.

"No, we didn’t wake anyone else."

Mei Mei shook her head.

Qin Fei looked at her in silence, unsure of her intentions.

"Take me with you. The strength of two is always better than one. Infinite Mountain is too dangerous, and... I can’t bear the thought of you alone... I can’t bear to leave a companion on their own."

Mei Mei’s words caught Qin Fei off guard; she didn’t seem to be trying to stop him after all. Her cheeks, slightly flushed, appeared dreamlike under the dim starlight.

"Baru Beast can evolve into Cactuar now; I won’t hold you back."

Seeing Qin Fei's expressionless gaze, Mei Mei suddenly felt anxious and quickly added, "If not, everyone will wake up because of me."

Her feeble threat forced Qin Fei to shake his head with a wry smile.

"Let’s go, or we really will wake everyone up. But listen to my commands and don’t run around."

Qin Fei spoke slowly and then beckoned to the Loretta Beast as they headed toward Infinite Mountain.

"Okay."

Mei Mei responded joyfully and called for Baru Beast to follow Qin Fei.

"Wow, I didn’t expect this mountain to be so big."

Mei Mei began to breathe heavily, realizing that a girl’s stamina was indeed not as abundant as a boy's. Upon reaching the foot of Infinite Mountain, despite the exhausting journey, they had encountered no ferocious Digital Monsters, contrary to what Qiu Beast had described.

Both Mei Mei and Baru Beast breathed a sigh of relief.

Qin Fei, however, remained unfazed; after all, in the cartoons, Azu and Gomamon had safely reached near the mountain's peak, indicating that this area had been cleared by the Black Gears.

"In reality, this is a mission of investigation and hunting..."

Qin Fei, who had been walking silently ahead, suddenly spoke as if giving Mei Mei a psychological warning.

"Huh? Hunting what?"

Just after he finished speaking, Mei Mei’s eyes widened in shock.

"You’re planning to hunt Digital Monsters?!"

Baru Beast also stared at Qin Fei with a bewildered expression, sensing a dangerous aura emanating from him.

"That’s a bit too much."

Mei Mei exclaimed in discontent, having felt that many Digital Monsters had the ability to think and speak, each a living entity that shouldn’t be so easily deprived of life.

"Even the ferocious Digital Monsters that Qiu Beast mentioned—do you really think they would be friendly with you? This world is much closer to the natural order of survival of the fittest."

Qin Fei turned to look at Mei Mei, his eyes revealing a strange light that made her feel unfamiliar. "When we first arrived in this world, creatures like Gaugamon, Shellmon, and Seadramon didn’t think it was excessive."

"But... but..."

Mei Mei stammered, unsure of what to say.

Seeing the beautiful girl below him looking lost, Qin Fei felt that his previous words had weighed too heavily on her, and his expression softened a bit.

"Don’t worry; I won’t kill indiscriminately. I will only act against those ferocious Digital Monsters that strike first."

"Baru Beast and I won’t help you."

Mei Mei glared at Qin Fei in discontent, still unwilling to trust him.

"That would be best. You and Baru Beast can stay behind me; let Loretta Beast handle the fighting."

Qin Fei waved his hand dismissively, leading the way up Infinite Mountain with Loretta Beast.

Clenching her teeth, Mei Mei had no choice but to follow.

The mountain path became more treacherous, with streams, narrow bridges, and caves draining Mei Mei's stamina. To accommodate her, Qin Fei had to slow his pace.

Yet, strangely, apart from a few difficult paths and cliffs, they hadn’t encountered a single Digital Monster along the way.

"Hey!"

After pulling Mei Mei up a steep rock, Qin Fei glanced at the path that was nearing the mountain’s waist.

"Something feels off."

Clearly, after walking for so long, even Mei Mei, despite her usual dullness, sensed something was amiss.

"Did you finally notice?"

Qin Fei smiled: "This mountain has clearly been tampered with by someone, which is why it’s so quiet."

"What... tampering?"

Mei Mei’s heart skipped a beat, feeling an ominous premonition.

"You’ll find out soon..."

Qin Fei said, continuing to climb upward.

"Mei Mei, I sense an uncomfortable presence."

After climbing a bit further, Baru Beast suddenly looked tense, even shrinking back while glancing around.

"It’s coming!"

Qin Fei warned seriously, pulling out his Dragon Digivice and Seadramon card, then focusing intently on the segment of Infinite Mountain near its waist.

Suddenly, the ground shook violently.

The smooth stone wall of the mountain slowly parted, revealing a dark interior. Countless shadows burst forth, indicating that a strange space was concealed within.

"Is that... a Black Gear?!"

As a mass of black gears passed by, Mei Mei's voice trembled in panic; she never expected to find something so terrifying hidden within Infinite Mountain.

"Seadramon Ice Arrow!"

With a flick of the red fan in her hand, Loretta Beast struck a large number of black gears with ice arrows, turning them into powder.

Yet, even more black gears continued to surge forth.

"Why is it hidden in this mountain?"

Baru Beast stared blankly at the mountain wall that was slowly closing again, as if nothing had happened.

"Let’s go take a look; we might learn something."

Qin Fei discreetly tucked away the nearly solidified black gear card, clearly still needing a bit more.

This time, even Mei Mei didn’t object.

Upon reaching the previous mountain wall, they still found nothing unusual.

The distant dawn was becoming increasingly clear, signaling that morning was approaching.

"Qin Fei, what should we do? Should we continue climbing to the summit or go back and tell everyone?"

Mei Mei was a bit at a loss.

"Wait, my target is coming."

Qin Fei replied, squinting and focusing intently on the place where the new sun was gradually rising.