All Was Quiet in the Sewers

Leomon was now making his intentions perfectly clear: either face him head-on until his ultimate move was ready, or turn and leave-provided you had complete confidence in your defenses from behind. Of course, an opponent with overwhelming strength could simply crush him and render this open gambit meaningless. But Zheng Fan was not that sort of fighter.

"Charge-Up, Beast King Fist!" This must have been Leomon's newly mastered ultimate move. The agonizing pain in both arms made Zheng Fan realize just how terrifying its power was. He could feel that both his hands had been completely shattered.

"Hahaha, Zheng Fan, what do you think of my ultimate move?" Leomon's grin was begging for a punch, but his own fists had been pulverized too. That must have been the price of using it.

Leomon and Zheng Fan sparred every day, and both had their share of wins and losses, though Zheng Fan won more often. Perhaps Zheng Fan had an unfair advantage: only his arms could turn into data energy, so Leomon could not let loose and smash away at him indiscriminately. Zheng Fan, on the other hand, could attack Leomon without restraint. Especially against a Digimon as tough as Leomon, several fights had only ended once he had been rendered completely unable to move.

In the past, neither of them would have dared fight like this. Even Andromon would not have dared. But later, Zheng Fan discovered that Andromon's Super Missiles were actually physical objects.

"Andromon, your Super Missile is a physical attack. Does that mean you have to reload every time?" Andromon did not understand why Zheng Fan was asking, but answered, "For us Digimon of the Metal Empire, physical weapons are the most commonly used weapons. To us, what difference is there between matter and energy? As long as I have energy, I can keep producing Super Missiles endlessly." Zheng Fan asked another question. "Andromon, how is that energy converted? Does it have to pass through your DigiCore?" "This conversion does not require the DigiCore. Our weapons come with conversion programs built into them. The process of converting energy into matter takes place inside the weapons," Andromon replied. "So that's how it works. Let me think," Zheng Fan muttered to himself.

The next day, Zheng Fan asked, "Andromon, do the symbols Digimon use to strengthen their bodies also control the composition of those body parts?" Andromon had never considered such a question. But taking DigiCores apart and putting their components to use had always been familiar work for the Metal Empire, so naturally it posed no difficulty for him. Zheng Fan merely proposed the idea, and Andromon produced a sample the following day. From then on, Zheng Fan and Leomon became utterly fearless in battle.

Of course, those two were not the only ones fighting all-out. Andromon No. 1 and Andromon No. 2 sometimes came to give them a beating, and sometimes a dozen or so Guardromon attacked together, their Destruction Grenade Launchers raining down fire. But once Zheng Fan achieved a breakthrough in his Flowing Water Sword Style, the Guardromon's barrage became little more than decoration, much to Leomon's and Andromon's envy.

"You're looking for human children? Chosen Children?" Feeling that there was no more room for improvement at the Factory, Zheng Fan decided to find those Chosen Children first. "Let me think." For Andromon, thinking meant his eyes glowed red. On the surface, he seemed to be staring at something, but his consciousness was actually submerged in a database. People on Earth called this behavior "looking it up on Baidu."

"Zheng Fan, perhaps you could try Toy Town. As far as I know, human children love toys," Andromon said. Zheng Fan looked at him. "Actually, it isn't just human children. All children love toys, whether they're humans, elves, or members of the Demon Tribe. Don't Digimon children like toys?"

While Andromon seemed to have frozen, Zheng Fan hurriedly asked, "Guardromon No. 1, where is Toy Town?" Guardromon No. 1 pointed toward a towering mountain in the distance. "Cross Infinite Mountain and you'll reach Toy Town." Leomon quickly said, "Zheng Fan, don't listen to him. The summit of Infinite Mountain is known as a forbidden zone for Digimon." Hearing Leomon's warning, Guardromon No. 1 asked, "Leomon, aren't you supposed to be brave? Why would you be afraid of a forbidden zone for Digimon?" Zheng Fan was curious too. Just then, Andromon came back to his senses. "It would be best not to go to Infinite Mountain. There is an unknown power there. Any Digimon who enters loses consciousness and is transformed into a Virus-type. We investigated, but found nothing." Zheng Fan immediately knew this was not something he could get involved in. After all, his path was one of attack and slaughter; investigation did not suit him. "If you're going to Toy Town, follow me."

"Zheng Fan, if you're in a hurry, this sewer leads straight to Monzaemon's Toy Town. Monzaemon may not be very intelligent, but he wouldn't fail to notice human children arriving in Toy Town." Andromon was Andromon: even when speaking ill of someone behind their back, he remained perfectly serious.

Come to think of it, Digimon did not produce household waste, so why were there sewers? Andromon could not explain this question of Zheng Fan's either. He only told Zheng Fan that cities in the Digital World were built using the human world as a model. This thrilled Zheng Fan. The closer the contact between the Digital World and the human world, the more chances he would have to return home. He might even bring companions who could not cultivate here to experience the path of digital cultivation.

All was quiet in the sewers, with only Zheng Fan's and Leomon's footsteps drawing ever closer. They held the Universal Tools Andromon had given them. Besides providing light, as they were doing now, the tools could also serve as assault rifles and small cannons. Of course, their power as weapons was practically negligible: they were merely ordinary external weapons, without any enhancement from the power of a DigiCore.

"Leomon, do you hear something strange?" Zheng Fan suddenly asked as they walked. "What could there be in a sewer? Maybe it's Digimon traveling from Toy Town to the Factory." Neither gave it much thought. They had already come this far; were they supposed to turn back now? Only after walking some distance farther did Zheng Fan realize they were surrounded.

A city's sewers were much like its roads. Besides a main route, there were countless branches constantly converging on it. That was exactly what happened now: one moment, the main passage ahead was clear and empty of enemies; the next, countless green Digimon poured in from every branching entrance. "They're Sukamon, Champion-level Digimon." Leomon's face turned pale as he spoke. "Their special move is poop." "Poop?" Zheng Fan was utterly baffled, but no explanation was needed. The very next moment, the Sukamon packed all around them gave Zheng Fan a firsthand lesson in the power of poop.

It was impossible to imagine the sight of poop blotting out the sky. But there was no need to imagine it from scratch: what would happen if you replaced the projectiles in the final scene of the film Hero with poop? Zheng Fan and his companion were stunned.

"Flowing Water Sword!" "Hundred Beasts Fist!" "Sukamon Poop Toss!"; "One Sword Slashes the Heavenly Dipper!" "Beast King Fist!" "Sukamon Poop Toss!" "Seven Kills Azure Dragon Flash!" "Hundred Beasts Fist!" "Sukamon Poop Toss!" "Ice-Slaying Sword!" "Beast King Fist!" "Sukamon Poop Toss!"

Neither side held anything back in the fierce battle. Zheng Fan and Leomon slaughtered almost all the Sukamon. Although neither was injured, they had long since lost any recognizable shape; for now, they could be considered two enormous balls of dung. At first, they could still discuss strategy and call out their moves, but once their mouths were plastered with poop, nothing remained but frenzied slaughter.

Naturally, sewer water was hardly clean, but under the circumstances, everything other than their own bodies seemed exceptionally clean. "Leomon, do Sukamon really count as Champions?" "Of course they do. In fact, Sukamon are the true bane of Angel-type Digimon. People just don't usually think of them that way." Zheng Fan could understand that. After all, this was not power gained through personal cultivation. If an innate ability was exceptionally strong in one respect, other aspects were bound to be weakened.

"Were you two the ones who killed my subordinates?" Just as Zheng Fan and Leomon were preparing to continue, a black Sukamon twice the size of the green ones blocked their path. "We were. What are you going to do about it?" Zheng Fan was naturally unafraid, even if this fellow might have been an Ultimate-level Digimon evolved from a Sukamon. "Hahaha, nothing, of course. It doesn't matter how many of those useless fools die. Allow me to introduce myself. I am the ruler beneath File Island, Black King Sukamon. Actually, I'm hoping you'll join my Underground Kingdom."

"Why should we join your Underground Kingdom?" Leomon challenged him. "You surface dwellers never look down unless something leaves you with no other choice. When even powerful Digimon like you have to hide in the sewers, I know you must have offended Andromon at the Factory. But that's no problem. In terms of numbers, I have hundreds of times as many subordinates as Andromon. As long as you join my Underground Kingdom, I can let you lead two thousand Champion-level Digimon to raze Andromon's Factory." Although he lived underground, Black King Sukamon knew even more about the surface than ordinary surface-dwelling Digimon. His yearning drove him to work harder.

"Sorry, you guessed wrong." Zheng Fan could understand Black King Sukamon, because there were people like him on Earth too. If not for Black King Sukamon's last remark, Zheng Fan would not actually have wanted a conflict with him. Damn it, two thousand Champion-level Digimon? How could he even say that? Besides, by now, the mere mention of Sukamon was enough to make Zheng Fan's and Leomon's hair stand on end. There was no remedy for something like this; they had to vent it.

"If you haven't offended Andromon, what could have forced two such powerful Champion-level Digimon to hide underground? It really is hard to believe. Could you two have destroyed the Village of Beginnings? Judging by your performance in that earlier battle, I can tell you aren't Digimon who hold back just because your enemies are weak. So it's entirely possible that you fought all-out in the Village of Beginnings." At Black King Sukamon's analysis, Zheng Fan and Leomon exchanged looks. They had not expected a Sukamon to come so close to the truth. Seeing their exchanged glances, Black King Sukamon assumed he had guessed correctly and laughed. "Now you can make your choice. Will you join my Underground Kingdom and help me become the king of File Island, or shall I capture you and send you back to the surface to stand trial? If you choose the latter, perhaps this cold, damp underground world will finally draw the attention of the surface dwellers."