Chapter 82: The Terms Offered to Yu Ren

"Che."
Watching the sudden appearance of an unfamiliar Digimon and the metallic sphere it shot toward him, Yu Ren could only unwillingly dodge once again.

"Why! Humans are destroying the peace of the Digital World, slaughtering us Digimon—why do you Digimon still help them?"
"Traitors! Traitors! Traitors!"
Yu Ren cursed incessantly, unable to comprehend why so many Digimon still believed in humans.

"I don't know what other humans are like, nor what they've done to you, but we believe in him—our partner... Qin Fei."
Black Dorulmon stepped forward, shielding Qin Fei behind him, wary of the boy who kept trying to attack.

Hearing Black Dorulmon's words, the previously lost Gatomon felt a jolt in her heart. She glanced at the now-calm Qin Fei, as if she had resolved something within herself.

"Ahhhhh!"
Yu Ren was overwhelmed with irritation and resentment. He had originally wanted to avenge the mother Yeti Digimon and other Digimon who had died tragically at the hands of humans, but now he found himself thwarted by Digimon themselves.

This was something he had not anticipated, something he struggled to understand.

"In that case, I'll take you all down—Night Hawkmon!"
"Yu Ren, give me strength!"
Responding to Yu Ren's call, Night Hawkmon broke free from Loretta's side and answered his partner.

After the recent battle, Night Hawkmon was acutely aware of the gap between his own power and that of the Digimon who resembled a human. Without evolving, he and Yu Ren stood no chance.

"Ughhh!"
Yu Ren shouted, pulling from his waist a device resembling an old music player. A purple, data-like sphere of energy instantly gathered in his palm, and he decisively pressed it into the "music player" in his hand.

Qin Fei's pupils contracted as he muttered, "A fifth-generation Digivice... So he really does have that."

"Night Hawkmon, digivolve... Woodpeckermon!"
A burst of purple digital aura enveloped Night Hawkmon, causing his short figure to suddenly grow. A Digimon resembling an ostrich with a scarf appeared before Qin Fei.

"This... evolved?"
Gatomon was also surprised by what she saw.

Compared to Gatomon, Qin Fei remained much calmer, though he too took out his own Digivice.

"Go, Woodpeckermon!"

Following Yu Ren's command, the newly evolved Woodpeckermon leapt high, appearing above Qin Fei’s head.

"Spiral Claw!"
Watching Woodpeckermon transform into a purple drill in midair, Qin Fei gripped his Digivice tightly—

"Meow Meow Punch!"
Just as Qin Fei was about to let Black Dorulmon evolve, Gatomon suddenly struck first, using her claws to block Woodpeckermon's attack.

"Qin Fei, let me handle this. Protect yourself."
Gatomon shoved Woodpeckermon away, trying to keep him further from Qin Fei.

Seeing Gatomon proactively protect him, Qin Fei couldn’t help but feel a deep, genuine joy.

"Ice Arrow!"
As Woodpeckermon tried to continue his attack, Loretta arrived just in time, launching a sharp ice arrow that struck Woodpeckermon’s claw.

"Ah... How could this be!"
Frost quickly spread up Woodpeckermon's thigh, instantly throwing him off balance.

"Bang!"
Woodpeckermon crashed onto the ground, refusing to admit defeat, furiously thrashing his claws in an attempt to break free from the ice.

"Let him go! What do you plan to do to him?!"
Seeing his partner in dire straits, Yu Ren rushed forward in terror, as if afraid Qin Fei and the others would kill him.

To Yu Ren, Night Hawkmon was a companion who had been with him since childhood.

"Loretta, just don’t hurt them."
Loretta, who had been ready to attack again, pursed her lips, snapped her folding fan shut with a crisp sound, and tapped Yu Ren's foot as he ran toward them. Instantly, a slick, pointed sheet of ice appeared beneath his feet.

"Ah!"
With a miserable cry, Yu Ren slipped and fell, the slick ice even carrying him to Woodpeckermon's side.

Loretta swept her fan again, and Yu Ren and Woodpeckermon were instantly locked together in icy rings, unable to separate.

Qin Fei shook his head at the despair written on Yu Ren’s face. Though Yu Ren was far more skilled than him, his emotions easily got the better of him. Had he kept his cool, his abilities would have prevented him from falling for such a simple trick.

"I’ll never let you get away with this, even if it kills me!"

Yu Ren cried out in hopeless rage, feeling that falling into Qin Fei’s hands meant his ruin, and that he had even dragged Night Hawkmon down with him.

Yet Qin Fei paid no attention to the restrained Woodpeckermon or Yu Ren, instead watching the Ore Digimon and their companions, who had slipped away unnoticed.

Clearly, they had abandoned Yu Ren and Night Hawkmon.

"I won’t kill you,"
Qin Fei withdrew his gaze and spoke to the boy at his feet.

Yu Ren’s eyes, once filled with despair, flickered with a glimmer of hope—though it quickly faded away.

"I don’t believe a word from you humans; you must have some ulterior motive."

Hearing the boy’s self-assured suspicion, Qin Fei sighed helplessly.

"Do you want Night Hawkmon to survive?"
Yu Ren: "......"

At last, the boy beneath Qin Fei fell silent.

"......What do you want from us?"
Woodpeckermon gradually devolved back into Night Hawkmon.

"Evolution" is a symbol of growth for Digimon, proof of surviving many deadly battles. For trainers, it is an honor signifying their nurturing skills.

And since time in the Digital World moves several times faster than in the human world, Digimon’s lifespans are inevitably much shorter than humans', compounded by frequent battles. Therefore, in the original story, Digimon’s short lives and rebirth as eggs were never particularly rare.

However, in the anime, it became a miraculous rule: as long as a human child transmitted spiritual power, Digimon could evolve instantly. Not only that, evolution could be triggered repeatedly, and the resulting power could rival that of Digimon who evolved through actual life experience and strength.

As for lifespan, that setting seemed to vanish entirely. Even after watching the entirety of the second series, the issue of Digimon’s lifespan was never addressed...

According to the above settings, only the partner Digimon of the children could use this "temporary evolution." Wild Digimon followed the original rules. Because the children possessed this power to trigger "temporary evolution," they were chosen to start their adventure and save the world.

But since the protagonists are the children and their Digimon, shouldn't they maintain the original settings?

Later, to address this, Gatomon was introduced as a Digimon who could only remain in the mature stage, representing the importance of training in the original. In retrospect, it was a self-mocking admission that the protagonists relied too much on "temporary evolution" and neglected actual training...

In the original concept, Digimon were raised by network users known as "Tamers," used as electronic pets, experiment programs, battle games, hacking tools, and more, bred for various purposes as original computer viruses.