Chapter Ninety-Six: Novice Mission

Qin Fei felt that he had just experienced his first case of sleep paralysis since crossing over into this world.

Through the haze, a heavy, suffocating weight pressed down on his chest, his stomach, his legs...

"Ugh..."

At last, the growing discomfort roused his still-sleeping mind, and Qin Fei had no choice but to open his eyes and see what was going on.

"..."

"...These little troublemakers..."

He gave a helpless, wry smile, finally finding the cause.

Lolo was lying right on his chest, even clinging fiercely to his neck with both arms. No wonder he had felt short of breath in his sleep.

Gatomon was curled up on his stomach. Even asleep, her ears twitched gently, so adorable that Qin Fei could hardly bear to move her.

BlackGatomon, whose body was a size larger and considerably heavier than Gatomon and Lolo, was sprawled across his legs. It looked as if she had been there for quite some time, leaving his lower body with an indescribable tingling pain... to the point where he could barely move his legs now.

"You three are all sleeping so deeply. What am I supposed to do now?"

With only his right hand free, he reached up and took the alarm clock from the cabinet above his head. Seeing that it was not yet seven o'clock, Qin Fei realized he still had some time.

"Creak..."

He shifted slightly, but the squeak of the wooden bed made him inwardly cry out in alarm. He was just about to wake the three Digimon lying on top of him.

Crack!

"Uh-oh!"

Whether from panic or from moving too violently, the entire wooden bed suddenly splintered apart, sending Qin Fei and the others tumbling to the floor.

"W-What happened?!"

The three Digimon woke at once, rubbing at their still-groggy eyes while warily looking around. Only after confirming that they were still in the dormitory did they gradually relax.

"You three..."

Looking at the three bewildered, uncertain figures before him, Qin Fei scratched his nest-like hair and found he could not bring himself to scold them any further.

"Forget it. From now on, there’s one more rule: everyone sleeps in their own bed. No climbing onto anyone else’s... especially not onto my bed."

Seeing the annoyed look on Qin Fei’s face, as well as the broken boards scattered beneath them, Lolo and the others knew they were in the wrong. They exchanged embarrassed smiles but did not argue. As for whether they would actually obey, that was another matter.

"..."

"I'm going to training. All of you stay here. If there’s a mission, I’ll let you know. Breakfast will be brought over... so don’t run around."

After getting dressed, Qin Fei spoke to the girls inside. After all, the three of them stood out quite a bit in DATS.

"I’m going too."

The moment Lolo heard that, she immediately protested. She hurried to the door and pressed a hand on the handle, refusing to let Qin Fei close it.

Gatomon seized the chance to slip out through the narrow opening before the door could shut.

BlackGatomon tried to follow suit, but compared to Gatomon, her body was much larger. In her haste to squeeze toward the doorway, she instantly knocked Qin Fei, who was outside, flying backward.

"..."

Outside, Qin Fei glared at the Digimon staring back at him, one set of eyes meeting another, and felt a surge of irritation.

"Yesterday you were all perfectly happy staying in the dorm. Why won’t you do that today?"

"..."

"It's too boring. We can't do anything."

"The snacks are all gone..."

"I want to go outside and take a look..."

"..."

Listening to the three Digimon grumbling one after another, Qin Fei felt his blood pressure climbing.

"Fine, fine. Come with me."

In the end, Qin Fei sighed and gave up on making them stay in the dorm. Since they refused to remain there, they could come with him. At the very least, he could keep an eye on them.

He absolutely could not let these restless troublemakers go wandering off on their own... because who knew what kind of mess they might cause.

"Oh, right, Gatomon..."

"What is it?"

Seeing Qin Fei suddenly approach with his Digivice, Gatomon looked at him in confusion.

Qin Fei answered her with action alone: he pointed the Digivice at Gatomon and pressed the button.

In the blink of an eye, Gatomon vanished from everyone's sight.

"W-What happened?"

"Where am I? Everyone, Qin Fei!"

Gatomon's uneasy voice immediately came from inside the Digivice in Qin Fei’s hand, sounding utterly lost.

"It's all right, we're here... But Gatomon, can you see us?"

Qin Fei lifted the Digivice and soothed the little figure on the screen, whose expression was still anxious. He had simply remembered that the fifth-generation Digivice had this function and decided to try it.

He had not expected it to work.

"Ah, yes, I can see you, Qin Fei..."

Clearly, through the screen of this Digivice, she could also make out the world outside.

"Good. Gatomon, try to come out on your own."

"Okay."

Gatomon responded, seemingly making an effort.

Qin Fei knew that Agumon could come out of Marcus's Digivice on his own, but he had never seen Lalamon or Gaomon do the same.

"No, I can't find the way out."

Gatomon's voice grew a little tense.

"Try coming out through the screen."

Qin Fei suggested.

This time, it did not take long. A pair of paws in tiger-striped gloves reached out from the glowing screen of the Digivice.

"I did it!"

Under the astonished gazes of Lolo and BlackGatomon, Gatomon appeared before them once more.

"Qin Fei, I don't really like staying in there."

Gatomon looked a little resistant as she eyed the fifth-generation Digivice in Qin Fei’s hand.

"Oh? Really? I was planning to take you out to the human world for a walk. If you don't want to, then forget it."

Gatomon: "..."

"Suddenly, it doesn't seem so bad inside after all."

"..."

"Let's go. We'll get some breakfast first, then head to the training grounds together. I need to keep a close eye on all of you so you don't run off."

He checked the time. If they did not set off soon, Captain Sammo might well get angry.

Qin Fei still wanted to use his help to train himself properly.

...

"Qin Fei!"

Just as Qin Fei had finished breakfast and was on his way to the training room, Sammo suddenly appeared before him.

"Captain Sammo?!"

Qin Fei froze, somewhat surprised. Sammo looked as though he had been waiting here specifically for him.

"Training is off for now. I have a mission for you that's a good fit."

Qin Fei immediately showed an enlightened expression. So what Sammo had said yesterday about finding him a mission had been true after all.

"Captain Sammo, leave it to me."

He answered at once.

"Good. Someone will be waiting for you after you go downstairs. Keep in contact at all times. Do not break communications unless absolutely necessary."

Qin Fei nodded. He understood that Sammo needed to keep constant watch over him and Lolo...

Not just him. When Marcus Damon and Thomas H. Norstein were on missions, Sammo watched them as well.

That was how the most reasonable judgments and commands could be made.

DATS generally relied on teams to carry out missions. Aside from himself, Qin Fei figured there would probably be one other person assigned to support and coordinate with him.

And since this was his first mission as a newcomer, Qin Fei did not think Sammo would assign him anything especially dangerous for a beginner...