Andromon

Nothing happened. Truly, nothing happened at all. Faced with Leomon's and Centarumon's puzzled looks, Zheng Fan had to direct their attention to the Night Dawn Sword. Only then did they notice a tiny band around its Sword Tassel. Its shape was not exactly the same as the Holy Ring depicted on the mural. Perhaps it was a Holy Ring unique to the Night Dawn Sword.

Holy Ring: A power unique to the Digimon world. Before the Night Dawn Sword, it belonged exclusively to angel Digimon, doubling their strength and tripling their effectiveness against darkness.

"Centarumon, why are you still guarding these ruins?" Leomon brandished a fist threateningly. "Do you believe I'll tear this pile of junk apart?"

Centarumon clearly knew exactly what sort of Digimon Leomon was and ignored him entirely. Instead, he said to Zheng Fan, "Zheng Fan, although you aren't a Chosen Child, I believe you can certainly help us." As he spoke, Centarumon actually bowed to Zheng Fan. "Please."

Zheng Fan hurriedly helped Centarumon straighten up. Although Buzhou's philosophy had never been bound by distinctions between light and evil, the Dark Power of the Digimon world was undeniably brutal. Bai Qi, Buzhou's chief instructor of military law, had also slaughtered countless people, but his purpose had been to weaken the enemy's fighting strength. The Dark Power of the Digimon world killed purely for the sake of killing. Zheng Fan found that utterly repulsive. Besides, repaying kindness was what made a true man. Even without the constraints of the Buzhou Blood Oath, he would still repay his debts.

"Don't worry, Centarumon. As long as I get a chance to meet them, I certainly won't stand by and do nothing." Zheng Fan's voice was firm.

After bidding Centarumon farewell, Leomon and Zheng Fan headed for Andromon's Factory once more.

"Leomon, have you finally decided to abandon your fragile flesh and choose evolution through mechanical modification?" In front of the modern Factory, a large orange iron ball greeted Leomon. "I told you long ago that joining the Metal Empire is the ultimate outcome of Digimon evolution!" The large brown iron ball was positively fanatical.

"And I told you long ago that everyone in the Metal Empire is a freak." Standing outside the Factory, Leomon did not dare speak loudly at all.

Zheng Fan had been stunned from the moment he saw the Factory. Primeval forests, enormous insects, eggs scattered haphazardly across a square, strange ruins, a lion-man whose consciousness had awakened from that of a beast, descendants of trolls left behind by the demon realm, a centaur born from the love between the Human Race and the horse race... What a magnificent, epic panorama! Yet within that epic tapestry stood a thoroughly modern factory, with intelligent production lines and robots capable of thought. What a jarring sight. And weren't these robots a little too intelligent?

Zheng Fan had witnessed the power of mechanical civilization. Every thousand years, the mechanical plane sent a hundred thousand photonic computers to Earth, attempting to cultivate Earth's inhabitants so it could harvest the planet's unique resources. In the end, all those devices became spoils of war for the three great domains. Although the technological plane's photonic computers were powerful, they could not break through that plane's early-warning purge protocols. By contrast, although the Metal Empire's robots were loyal, there was never any shortage of exceptions. In fact, developing self-awareness was a prerequisite for evolution in the Metal Empire.

"Guardromon, can you bring Leomon to the Mega level through mechanical modification?" Zheng Fan considered Leomon a friend, so naturally he could not stand by and let him get the short end of the stick. Guardromon replied quite calmly, "Not just any Digimon can reach Ultimate. If Leomon can evolve to Ultimate, we can help him become Mega." Although the Digimon world had no laws governing innate talent, and any Digimon could become Mega as long as they kept evolving, the process of evolution was still closely tied to their experiences. A sheltered flower could not even reach Champion.

Although the Factory produced furniture and household tools, Zheng Fan could sense surveillance and security forces everywhere. Guardromon was extremely confident in the Factory's defenses and merely called over another Guardromon to guide them. With the two Guardromon standing side by side, the freedom and vitality of the other one were immediately apparent. "This Guardromon is an assistant Andromon has trained. He has a high degree of self-awareness and may be able to evolve on his own," Leomon explained to Zheng Fan.

Since the Metal Empire could help other Digimon evolve, naturally it could modify its own members as well. However, choosing modification inevitably meant losing the ability to evolve further. That was unacceptable to any conscious Digimon who understood what evolution meant.

When Zheng Fan saw the modern Factory, he realized he had underestimated the Digimon world. Only upon meeting Andromon did he discover that Andromon had indeed reached the level of the technological plane's humanoid robots. He felt slightly reassured, but even more astonished, because Andromon had not yet reached the ultimate heights of Digimon evolution. And judging by Earth's way of thinking, Mega might not necessarily be the final stage of Digimon evolution either.

Although Andromon was a mechanical Digimon, he displayed the intelligence of a sage. That was astonishing. Even though he was an Ultimate-level mechanical Digimon, his outward appearance suggested an ancient model. Of course, by Earth's standards, even Guardromon would have counted as an advanced model.

"Andromon, can you tell me what the energy of the Digimon world is like?" Zheng Fan finally could not resist asking Andromon the question that had been troubling him. "The power of the Digimon world may be the power of data and thought." Seeing the lingering confusion in Zheng Fan's eyes, Andromon continued, "In the world you described, everyone can absorb a power called spiritual energy to strengthen themselves. But the Digimon world is different."

As he spoke, Andromon walked over to a working machine and switched it off. Then he continued, "The power of data is roughly like a blueprint. If I don't provide that blueprint, the Factory cannot produce anything. Like this." He switched the machine on again. It continued operating in an orderly fashion, but all it did was assemble various parts, take them apart, assemble them again, and take them apart again.

"The Metal Empire's power lies in possessing a blueprint like this. We can help weak Digimon evolve in a specific direction, provided there is enough energy."

"If the power of data determines the direction of evolution, then the power of the heart provides the possibility of evolution."

Andromon casually swept his hand across the machine, and it returned to production. He continued, "Digimon without consciousness are generally unable to evolve within a short time, because they are unwilling to accept the energy needed for evolution or do not understand how to retain it. Of course, since they have no consciousness, their inability to evolve does not trouble them." As he spoke, Andromon pointed at Leomon. "For conscious individuals like Leomon, when they wish to evolve, the power of their hearts actively seeks opportunities for evolution."

Andromon paused again, then said, "Elecmon in the Village of Beginnings has lived long enough to evolve to Champion, but he does not want to evolve. Champion Digimon are too destructive and are not permitted near the Village of Beginnings. That is why Elecmon has remained a Rookie all this time. This, too, is a manifestation of the heart's power."

After listening to Andromon, Zheng Fan thought for a while and seemed to grasp something. He took the Night Dawn Sword from behind his back and showed it to Andromon. "Andromon, this is my weapon. It acquired this Holy Ring in Centarumon's ruins. Was that because of my desire to grow stronger?" Leomon hurriedly recounted what had happened in Centarumon's ruins. Sensing the aura of the Night Dawn Sword, which did not belong to the Digimon world, Andromon said, "Actually, any matter that enters the Digimon world is converted into data. But neither you nor this sword is composed of data energy. As far as I know, only Mega Digimon have the power to protect their bodies from being converted."

"Is that so?" Leomon asked in confusion. "But when I first met Zheng Fan, I definitely sensed a Digimon's aura on him." After hearing that, Andromon also looked at Zheng Fan in puzzlement. Zheng Fan had no choice but to explain, "People from our world have to keep absorbing energy to become stronger. So even when I was unconscious, I was still absorbing data energy. That's why Leomon could sense a Digimon's aura on me. As for now..." With a wry smile, Zheng Fan shook both arms, and his sleeves instantly crumbled into powder. Yet a moment later, that scattered powder turned back into his sleeves.

"My clothes have already been converted into data energy." Shattering his clothes and then restoring them like that would have been an earth-shattering feat even in Buzhou, but in the Digimon world, it was perfectly ordinary. "As for my body, absorbing data energy caused it to show signs of being converted into data energy, so I stopped cultivating of my own accord." Zheng Fan thought for a moment, then said, "If I keep absorbing the Digimon world's data energy, perhaps I might turn into a Digimon. But what kind of Digimon would that make me?"

Andromon missed Zheng Fan's self-mockery and explained earnestly, "That is precisely the manifestation of the heart's power in evolution that I mentioned." At the mention of evolution, Leomon perked up and listened closely. "Every Digimon has many possible directions when evolving. At that point, they must rely on their heart to choose: protection, revenge, flight, or safety. If the heart is strong enough, it can even evolve along an entirely new path. Of course, because of the explorations of ancient Digimon, evolving along a new path is very difficult now."

Both Zheng Fan and Leomon felt they had gained a great deal. That was especially true of Zheng Fan, an outsider who had already encountered all sorts of incredible realities in Buzhou and was quick to accept new knowledge. Although Digimon evolution held many unknowns, as long as the heart remained steadfast, nothing should go too badly wrong. Yes, should. With cultivation, how could you know without trying? After all, many companions in Buzhou were unable to cultivate because they lacked a suitable path. A digital path like this was another option.

Andromon, however, did not fare so well. The information Zheng Fan gave him about Buzhou was so overwhelming that he crashed on the spot. Zheng Fan and Leomon were hit by Guardromon's Destruction Grenade Launcher and died instantly. End of story.

Just kidding. How could an Ultimate-level mechanical Digimon be that fragile? Although Zheng Fan and Leomon were very worried, the self-aware Guardromon told Zheng Fan there was no need to worry. The Factory had enough equipment to help Andromon. Only then did Zheng Fan and Leomon relax and take in the scenery around the Factory while waiting for Andromon to wake up. Say, did this count as taking a stroll together?