The chosen children

"As expected of the child of someone who helped research and create Digimon back then. You have sharp instincts."

Mo Yan looked at Li Jianliang and praised him without reservation.

"My dad... my dad helped bring Digimon into existence?!"

To Li Jianliang, Mo Yan's words were like a blow to the head.

They also sent Takato Matsuki into a flurry of startled exclamations.

Li Jianliang had never imagined that his own father was one of the creators of Digimon.

No wonder his father could always buy the latest Digimon game devices.

No wonder his father had such a unique understanding of how to combine and use Digimon cards.

Looking back now, everything made sense.

Seeing Li Jianliang's tightly knitted brows relax as understanding dawned, Mo Yan suddenly felt a mischievous urge.

So Mo Yan continued, "Yes, that was a good correction. Your dad only helped bring Digimon into existence."

After saying that, Mo Yan glanced at Li Jianliang's expression and continued:

"They say that before Digimon came into existence...

Back then, the Digital World had yet to settle on how Digimon should be born, grow, or live.

At that time, there was a group of people filled with boundless enthusiasm, pure hearts, and the noble goal of bringing smiles to children's faces.

They began researching electronic pets called Digimon.

Their dedication to Digimon, their faith in themselves, and their love for children...

Those unwavering convictions and burning emotions even reached the Digital World.

And so, the Digital World adopted their designs.

In the end, Digimon were born.

Although Digimon came into existence because of humans, they surpassed humanity's original designs.

In the years that followed, Digimon broke free of the framework humans had set for them and forged their own future."

As Mo Yan told the story, looks of wonder appeared on the children's faces, greatly satisfying his vanity.

"What does any of that have to do with calling us the chosen children?"

Watching Mo Yan hold forth, Rika Makino was thoroughly annoyed.

"Don't be so impatient. We need to sort out how everything connects before we can get a clear picture.

Wouldn't you agree?"

With that, Mo Yan took a cup of juice out of his dimensional space.

Snap!

As though something had occurred to him, Mo Yan snapped his fingers and gave each of the children and Digimon present a cup of juice.

He took a small sip, looking satisfied.

"You!

Hmph!"

With a cold snort, Rika Makino turned her head away.

Still, she did not spill a single drop of the juice in her hand.

"Because Digimon were originally designed to bring smiles to children's faces, that idea also influenced the Digital World.

So, when the Digital World connects with the real world and passages open between them...

To prepare for potential disasters, the Digital World materializes a card based on how much a human child loves and believes in Digimon, then lets that child decide whether to use it.

If the child chooses to use it, the card reader they swipe it through transforms into the D-Ark you're holding.

The Digital World created this more advanced D-Ark based on the Arukenimon humans once designed.

And receiving a D-Ark means you've accepted the Digital World's summons and are willing to step forward against whatever disasters the future may bring.

Your partners were also chosen through a mutual selection process after the Digital World screened the data.

That's why I call you the chosen children."

Before he knew it, Mo Yan had finished his juice and finally explained why he called them the chosen children.

"Wait, what do you mean by disasters?"

Rika Makino, who had just finished her own juice, hurriedly asked.

Li Jianliang and Takato Matsuki also set down their juice and turned to Mo Yan.

Only Guilmon, Terriermon, and Impmon, who had been freed from immobilization, paid little attention to the disasters Mo Yan mentioned.

To Guilmon, there was nothing to fear as long as he could stay with Takato.

To Terriermon, figuring out things like that was Jianliang's job.

To Impmon, the top priority was working out how to defeat the Digimon in front of him.

As for Renamon, protecting Rika Makino was what she ought to do.

"What do you think about the Digital World and the human world becoming connected, allowing passage between them?

Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?"

Mo Yan crushed the bottle, watched it dissolve into drifting data, then put the question to the children.

"Huh?

That's a really hard question. I can't think of an answer."

Scratching his head, Takato Matsuki gave a sheepish smile and answered guilelessly.

"I think it would probably cause a lot of conflict. At the very least, some adults would be afraid of the power Digimon have."

Thinking of the power of Digimon and the destruction they had caused over the past few days, Li Jianliang frowned as he spoke.

"Tch. What does that have to do with me?"

Rika Makino lifted her chin and spoke with haughty defiance.

She was the one concerned about disasters, yet she was also the one acting indifferent.

That did not mean Rika Makino was heartless or hypocritical. Rather, she understood one thing.

Saving the world and preventing disasters...

Relying on children for things like that was ridiculous. It was utterly absurd.

So, to her, Mo Yan's claim sounded downright stupid.

"Little girl, honesty is a virtue. You need the courage to face what's in your heart."

In response to Rika Makino's disdain, Mo Yan pointed at his own chest, signaling that she should bravely confront her true feelings.

"Who are you calling a little girl?"

Hearing Mo Yan address her that way, Rika Makino instantly bristled like an enraged leopardess.

She was fierce!

The sort whose hackles would not settle, no matter how much you soothed her.

"Okay, my mistake.

So, if that day comes, what do you intend to do?"

Mo Yan did not keep trading barbs with Rika Makino. That would have been too childish, so he immediately changed the subject.

He also used a mind spell.

"I... I don't know..."

Mo Yan's question, infused with mind magic, made Rika Makino involuntarily reveal the vulnerability buried within her.

Seeing Rika Makino clutch her head and reveal her true self, Mo Yan turned to Renamon, who was glaring at him with hostility.

As a future shrine maiden, Renamon had an extraordinary sensitivity to fluctuations in mystical energy.

"Don't worry. This isn't a bad thing.

When she breaks through her own barriers and truly faces her most authentic self, you, as her partner, will reach a whole new level."

Mo Yan appeared entirely unconcerned by Renamon's hostility.

Of course, he still needed to explain what warranted explaining. He was not some ruthless hothead who picked fights with everyone and everything.

So Mo Yan sent her a telepathic message anyway.

After all, he was not doing anything bad.

Most importantly, the future was the future, and the present was the present.

A shrine maiden serving a god would indeed possess unrivaled might.

But that was in the future. It did not mean she already possessed that might or that power.

So, as far as Mo Yan was concerned, being part of the main cast did not mean he had to fear her or lower himself.

If a beating was called for, he would beat her. If a rebuke was called for, he would rebuke her. He could not indulge her.

Especially when he could overpower her right now, there was even less reason to be afraid.

Besides, Mo Yan did not believe he would be unable to defeat her in the future, either.

Otherwise, wouldn't the Twelve Digicores, which represented a certain order of existence, have been given to him for nothing?