A False Alarm

We won!

"You okay?"

All three of them were GD Racers enthusiasts, so their physical fitness was definitely up to par.

A Lie lay on the ground, gazing up at the sky. Though he was completely drained, he felt strangely exhilarated.

The sheer satisfaction of overcoming the unknown filled him with an immense sense of accomplishment.

Now that the two of them had calmed down, they had realized that the monster from earlier was most likely part of a new toy.

Although he still could not understand the source of that exhaustion, A Lie had to admit that he was somewhat interested in the new toy.

"Tiantian!"

"Huh? Star Uncle told me not to say anything!"

Qi Tian and Koromon—or rather, Kurokyumon—were chasing each other in circles, celebrating their victory over a formidable enemy.

Because Digimon that evolved through a Digivice could not be considered to have truly evolved.

Only by keeping both Goblinmon behind, allowing the data Koromon gained to exceed what it consumed, could it maintain its Koromon form.

But now that one had escaped, it naturally reverted to its original form once the battle ended.

Still, the two little ones were especially happy.

At the very least, judging from what had happened on-site and afterward, the new toy seemed to be a success.

Anyway, Qi Tian saw A Lie and Qian Lai smiling happily too. They probably liked the toy as well, right?

"About that... never mind. Are we still racing?" A Lie had initially wanted to ask, but seeing Qi Tian's conflicted expression, he decided not to force the issue.

As long as he knew it was a new toy, that was enough. At least it meant this world was still the familiar one he knew.

"Of course!" Qi Tian had actually been hesitating over whether to say anything, but he truly did not know much about Digimon.

So even if he wanted to explain, he did not know where to begin.

Fortunately, A Lie changed the subject, and Qi Tian hurriedly prepared for the race with a cheerful grin.

"You two do a couple laps first. I'll rest for a bit." After lying there for a while, A Lie had recovered some of his strength.

He picked up the phone that had fallen onto the ground. When Goblinmon fled, it had to rely on the passage connecting to the Digital World and had suddenly charged at Qi Tian, startling the little guy into instinctively letting go.

The phone had fallen to the ground just like that. Its screen was slightly cracked, but it was not a serious issue, and it could still connect to the livestream.

"Hahaha! That scared you, huh? Pretty sick effects, right?" A Lie adjusted himself and opened the livestream with a laugh.

'Holy shit! What happened?'

A little under half the viewers were still in the livestream, and the audience count quickly recovered after he went live again.

'Damn you! I even called the cops! But I didn't know the location! They told me not to stay up all night and to get some proper rest!'

If they had given a location, the police would have sent officers to check it out.

But if all they said was that streamer GD Racer A Lie was being chased by green-skinned dwarves, who would believe that?

It was already lucky that they had not been accused of filing a false report!

A Lie had actually been worried that viewers would call the police. That was why, the moment he remembered the issue, he immediately reconnected to the livestream.

He had not expected so many people to actually report it for him!

It was just that, first, nobody knew the exact location, and second, it really did sound absurd.

If only a few people had reported it, they might have treated it as a prank, given them a warning, and let it go.

But with so many reports describing roughly the same thing, Baisha City police had no choice but to consider whether something had really happened within their jurisdiction.

Fortunately, it had been a false alarm.

A Lie did not say it was a new toy from Liang Xing Toys Factory. He only said it had been experimental special effects.

Thanks to his eloquence, he actually managed to bluff his way through it.

He figured that Qi Tian's hesitant behavior meant Liang Xing had probably told him to keep it secret.

He and Qian Lai had likely just stumbled into it by chance. For a toy still in its testing stage, it was enough to know without spreading rumors outside.

Just as he finally guided the viewers' attention toward the new racetrack at Qian Lai's house, the Cruise Ship boss quietly sent A Lie a private message.

Was that the effect of a new toy?

Holy shit! What an accurate guess!

A wealthy boss with such a clear purpose was not easy to fool.

Everyone else was just watching for fun. If he said it was not, then it was not. Those who did not believe him would at most investigate privately, and who knew what it might turn into once rumors spread.

But the Cruise Ship boss was straightforward. He asked directly.

And for the achievements A Lie had today, there were two people he had to thank.

One was Liang Xing. GD Racers had given his livestream content.

The other was the Cruise Ship boss. The Cruise Ship gifts had brought traffic to A Lie's livestream.

Still in the testing stage. It can't be shared publicly.

He could not refuse the boss's goodwill, and A Lie truly did not know any further details. A subtle hint was enough.

Understood.

Cruise Ship x1 gifted

The Cruise Ship boss had always been generous. Without another word, he sent a gift.

'Is this little thing special effects too?'

'Let's see more! Let's see more!'

A Lie was holding up his phone to film Qi Tian and Qian Lai racing for the viewers when Kurokyumon suddenly poked its head into the livestream.

The Digimon had indeed not reached the level of Artificial Intelligence, but its underlying simulated logic had recognized A Lie's protection.

Qi Tian also happened to be racing again. Seeing A Lie shouting at his phone, Kurokyumon came over to take a look as well.

And with that look, it was caught by the viewers.

"Hello! Are you Mr. Wang Lie, the Douyin streamer GD Racer A Lie? Sorry, but please turn off the livestream."

At the same time, Kurokyumon hid away in fright, and a female police officer arrived at the scene.

A Lie had been worrying about how to answer the viewers' questions. This gave him the perfect excuse.

"Looks like your reports really worked." A Lie did not film the policewoman. He only said that to the livestream before quickly ending it.

"Sorry, sorry! I am."

"Hello, this is my police ID, and these are my colleagues. You're GD Racer A Lie from Douyin, correct?"

A Lie had been focused on filming the track. There were four people in total—the female officer and her colleagues—and he had not realized anyone was approaching until she spoke.

"Yes, yes! Sorry, this should be a misunderstanding." It was A Lie's first time dealing with police under these circumstances, and he was somewhat at a loss.

"No need to be nervous. Could you tell us what happened? There doesn't seem to be any monster here." Seeing that A Lie was nervous, one of the female officer's colleagues approached with a smile.

Apart from a broken chair, there was no sign whatsoever that a monster had existed.

Although many people had filed reports, it looked like this trip had been for nothing.

Elsewhere, Liang Xing, who had been observing the results of the first battle through the Flying Camera, also noticed his own mistake.

He had underestimated how realistic the Holographic Projection was.

Fortunately, to be safe, he had not chosen a crowded place for the first battle.

Otherwise, if it had happened on a main road and frightened pedestrians caused a stampede, Liang Xing's sin would have been enormous.

For now, only A Lie and Qian Lai had been frightened—perhaps the golden retriever counted too—so the consequences were still within a controllable range.

As for the auntie who had been cooking, she had merely run out with them and swung a rolling pin once. She had earned ten thousand with that single swing, so she probably had not been scared at all.

Liang Xing could not reduce the realism, but he also could not let passersby face it without any psychological preparation.

So he planned to release a teaser trailer in advance.

And the Digital World Adventure project might become even more difficult.

When the boat reached the bridge, things would work themselves out. Liang Xing first needed to apologize to A Lie and Qian Lai.

A Lie, at least, had truly been scared out of his wits.

This did not count as filing a false police report, right?