Chapter Seventy: Bargaining

“Are you trying to get everyone killed?” Qin Fei suddenly grabbed Taiyi’s restless arm, fixing him with a cold, unwavering gaze.

Just moments earlier, after the Ape Beast had turned away, Taiyi had actually leapt out to taunt it, putting on a show of bravado. Fortunately, Qin Fei had pulled him back in time—otherwise, if they had been discovered, all their plans would have been ruined.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Taiyi replied, grinning with a careless air, as if Qin Fei’s warning hadn’t registered at all.

This won’t do, Qin Fei realized. Ever since Koushiro had explained that this world, including themselves, was made up of data, Taiyi’s attitude had shifted, and not for the better.

“Taiyi, do you really think that just because you’re made of data, you can act recklessly like a character in a video game?” Qin Fei felt he had to make things clear. If an accident happened, Sora and the others would suffer for his recklessness, and his own chances of returning to the real world might be jeopardized as well.

“Isn’t that how it works?” Taiyi looked at Qin Fei’s still stern expression, clearly confused, as if realizing for the first time that he truly believed that.

“Absolutely not!” At these words, it was Koushiro’s turn to step in, a hint of fear in his warning. He strode up to Taiyi and, wearing the same grave expression as Qin Fei, looked him straight in the eye.

“We’re living in this world now. If we die here, it’s for real!”

“…”

“What… what did you say?” Now, hearing both Qin Fei and Koushiro say this, cold sweat seeped through Taiyi’s skin. He thought back to his own earlier recklessness, wishing he could slap himself in the face.

“Whew… I’m sorry, I got carried away,” Taiyi took a deep breath and bowed his head to Qin Fei and Koushiro. If his rashness had brought the Ape Beast down on them, he would have been to blame.

“As long as you understand now. Our actions are incredibly dangerous right now—we must be extremely cautious,” Qin Fei said, his stern expression finally softening as he saw comprehension dawn on Taiyi’s face.

The group finally began to move with genuine seriousness, just as Joe had said before—the goal of this infiltration was to rescue their friends and obtain Sora’s final Crest, avoiding unnecessary battles as much as possible.

“Although the data here is visible, it’s actually hollow inside,” Koushiro explained, glancing into the secret passage that seemed to stretch endlessly. He took the lead, guiding them forward with his laptop.

Agumon, meanwhile, slapped the wall with his paw, trying to test it, only to end up with his claws numb from the shock.

As they walked, two Guardromon suddenly appeared outside the translucent wall, patrolling. The entire group fell silent, not daring to make a sound.

Even Taiyi, who in the animated version would have gone out to tease them, quietly waited for the Guardromon to pass this time, far more cautious than before.

“At least the Ape Beast shouldn’t show up unexpectedly now,” Qin Fei thought. With Taiyi having avoided the cameras, they only needed to be careful of the Nanomon, rather than facing attacks from two fully evolved Digimon as in the original story. The pressure was much less.

All that remained was to keep an eye on Sora, making sure she wasn’t captured by Nanomon.

Soon, with careful steps, the group and their Digimon reached a spot blocked by a high-voltage electric grid. The faint arcs of electricity made it look extremely dangerous.

“It looks like there’s a live high-voltage current here,” Kabuterimon warned, eyeing the electric fence.

In truth, everyone could see the danger for themselves without Kabuterimon’s explanation.

“But the entrance to the secret passage should be harmless data,” Koushiro said, pausing in front of the electric grid, hesitating as he checked the route on his laptop.

“So, apart from the secret passage, the rest of the area is actually electrified?” Sora asked nervously.

Seeing the flickering arcs of electricity, no one doubted that this voltage could roast a living person with ease.

“It’s too dangerous,” Biyomon said anxiously, not daring to approach.

“Where’s the entrance, Koushiro?” Taiyi swallowed hard and pressed Koushiro for an answer. Now that he knew death in the Digital World would mean real death, his fearless demeanor from the anime was gone.

“It should be right here,” Koushiro replied, following the guidance on his laptop and pointing to a specific spot.

Although the computer indicated the secret passage was right in front of them, no one dared to take the first step. It looked identical to the rest of the electrified area—if this was a trap set by the enemy, touching the high-voltage grid would be fatal.

Not only Taiyi, but Sora and Koushiro both hesitated.

Seeing everyone’s apprehension, Sora spoke up, “Maybe we should just forget about my Crest. Everyone’s safety is more important.”

“…”

Looking at Sora’s worried face, Qin Fei suddenly stepped forward and said calmly, “I’ll do it.”

“Qin Fei, don’t!” Sora cried out, but Qin Fei, as if he hadn’t heard her, resolutely reached out and touched the spot Koushiro had indicated.

“It worked!” To everyone’s amazement and relief, Qin Fei passed through safely.

“Thank goodness it worked, but please don’t do that again,” Sora said, her expression a mix of reproach and gratitude as she looked at Qin Fei.

After regaining their composure, the group continued onward. Before long, their surroundings changed, and they found themselves in a room filled with a high-tech atmosphere.

“This is our destination,” Koushiro said quietly, taking his eyes off his laptop to survey the room.

“Hey, isn’t that a Nanomon? It’s a very intelligent Digimon,” Kabuterimon remarked, seeing the Digimon imprisoned in a transparent, pyramid-shaped case, eager to share his vast knowledge.

“So, that’s the Digimon who sent the message?” Koushiro asked with a touch of uncertainty.

“That’s right, chosen children…” Suddenly, Nanomon’s image appeared on Koushiro’s laptop screen, as if using his computer to relay information.

This extraordinary scene drew everyone’s attention—they stared curiously at the Nanomon who had appeared on the screen.

“So that’s it. It used infrared transmission,” Koushiro observed, noting the connection icon on the screen and quickly understanding Nanomon’s method.

“I once fought the Ape Beast, but I lost. My body was destroyed and I was sealed here. Since then, I have been forced to manage the network for the Ape Beast and can do nothing else. But one day, my memory returned, and I began secretly repairing my body, little by little… I know what happens outside, and I can even interfere with some things,” Nanomon explained.

As he spoke, Qin Fei noticed Nanomon seemed to glance at him. If what it said was true, then it must know about the time the Ape Beast had been defeated by him.

“But to break my seal, I need help from the outside,” Nanomon continued, quickly revealing its purpose—it wanted their help to escape.

“Do you really know where my Crest is?” Sora asked hopefully.

“Of course, and I know many things the Ape Beast doesn’t,” Nanomon’s voice came from Koushiro’s computer, shrouded in mystery.

“Can we really trust you?” Taiyi asked.

“We are all enemies of the Ape Beast. Trust me,” Nanomon replied with sincere conviction.

“All right, what should we do?” Listening to Nanomon’s explanation, Taiyi and the others were mostly convinced and began to ask how to help.

“Please follow my instructions,” Nanomon said, a hint of anticipation in its tone.

Just as the group prepared to help free Nanomon, Qin Fei suddenly reached out to stop Koushiro and Taiyi.

“How about you tell us where the Crest is first? Once we verify it, we’ll help you escape…”

Koushiro and Taiyi paused, watching as Qin Fei began to bargain with Nanomon, curious to see what he was up to.