Inside the Toy Factory, they could hear the commotion coming from nearby. Curious workers kept wanting to know what was going on, only to see Liang Xing squatting casually atop the perimeter wall by the entrance.
Ever since Liang Xing took over the Toy Factory, its revenue had been steadily growing.
Naturally, the security situation around this old factory also needed attention.
There was not much foot traffic around the factory, so the main concern was preventing others from wandering in by mistake.
Thus, they had simply put up a wall around it. It was less than two meters tall, flat on top, and truly served only as a symbolic barrier.
Liang Xing was squatting on the wall beside the entrance, holding a Digivice in one hand and binoculars in the other, grinning happily.
"One~"
The first to lose his ability to fight was not the mercenary who had encountered Agumon—Black Demon.
The small fireballs separated the three men, and the other two were likewise attacked by Digimon.
Black Teacher had better luck. He slipped into the grass in three quick steps and successfully found cover.
Yet he did not spot the enemy, and the fear of the unknown left him restless and agitated.
"Who's there?" Instinct made him suddenly turn around. Outside the grass not far away stood an enormous candlestick.
There really was not a single normal thing in this godforsaken place!
Mercenary Teacher cursed inwardly, then watched helplessly as the candlestick grew arms and opened its eyes.
"Fuck! Oh—my God!"
The candlestick had a golden base. Scarlet eyes and a fanged maw grew from its candle, while even the flame atop its head seemed to possess eyes and a mouth. Its vicious grin sent chills down his spine.
"Is this the graveyard you picked out for yourself?" (Federal language)
Although they were not yet Artificial Intelligence, Digimon evolution itself was a process of refining data.
Under normal circumstances, the more Digimon came into contact with humans, the more likely they were to master human languages.
The Digimon Liang Xing had sent out were no exception.
As the master of the Digital World, Liang Xing could naturally create Digimon at will.
However, the Digital World was a whole; tug one hair, and the whole body moved.
It was the same principle as a programmer fixing bugs.
Liang Xing simply had the option of restoring the Digital World and returning everything to its starting point.
That also meant all the Digimon's prior growth would be voided.
Even so, it was still far more convenient than being a programmer.
So if forced into a corner, he could disregard the consequences and summon a few Ultimate-level Digimon. Ensuring safety would not be a problem.
Although, due to their lack of physical bodies, Ultimate-level Digimon could only inflict fatigue with their attacks.
But with different amounts of data, the efficiency of inflicting fatigue was naturally incomparable.
One attack causing slight tiredness and one attack putting someone directly to sleep were entirely different concepts.
That was why Liang Xing dared squat openly atop the wall and enjoy the show. If they had the guts, they could come cause trouble for him!
In fact, the Liang Xing the workers saw was only a projection. His actual body was shifted some distance away, though there was no need to discuss the precise location.
A gentleman did not stand beneath a crumbling wall. Liang Xing certainly would not put himself in danger just to watch a show.
And the threat posed by the three mercenaries was still far from enough to make Liang Xing throw caution to the wind.
Since that was the case, why not let these men help relieve some stress after work?
Following the rules of the Digital World, the only Digimon who actually accompanied Liang Xing was Agumon.
Candlemon and the one attacking mercenary Jackal had both been temporarily recruited.
But Liang Xing had anticipated this day long ago, so the temporarily recruited Digimon had always received special treatment.
That was why they understood human language and were even proficient in several languages.
Candlemon also knew its flames could not truly set the grass ablaze, so it used Federal language in an attempt to intimidate him.
And Black Teacher had sharp eyes!
The moment he saw the flame atop Candlemon's head, he knew without thinking how dangerous the grass was.
He scrambled out of the grass before finally mustering the courage to strike back.
His marksmanship was excellent too. Three shots, all three hitting the eyes on the candle.
But he did not know that the flame above Candlemon's head was where its DigiCore was located. His precise shooting achieved none of its intended effect.
People instinctively feared the unknown.
The unknown that could not be defeated was even more oppressive.
"Oh—my God! What the hell is that thing?"
He had never heard of anything like it, and bullets were ineffective.
Black Teacher truly could not think of any way to fight it. He could only retreat again and again!
Candlemon merely followed him, hopping along as it pressured his movements.
Fear had already shattered Black Teacher's resolve. He was utterly at a loss and could only let Candlemon herd him along.
This was far easier than the original plan!
After all, he had a gun, and Liang Xing had no way to help Candlemon dodge bullets.
Candlemon's DigiCore was inside the flame atop its head. Once that flame was extinguished, Candlemon would be unable to sustain its life functions.
If his aim had been poor, Liang Xing truly would not have dared let Candlemon approach so openly.
Fortunately, his aim was quite good.
"Impossible... impossible... It's fake! It's all fake!"
Black Teacher had dropped his gun while fleeing. He crawled and stumbled away from Candlemon, muttering nonstop, clearly unable to accept Candlemon's existence.
Because it made a lifetime of Black Teacher's efforts seem utterly meaningless.
What was the point of accurate shooting?
Useless!
This sudden surprise caused Black Teacher's entire worldview to collapse.
In a situation like this, should he be sent to the hospital first?
Meanwhile, mercenary Jackal was particularly unlucky.
His opponent was the first Champion-level Digimon born since the creation of the Digital World—Impmon, the evolved form of Goblinmon.
Thanks to the hacker trio, Liang Xing had obtained several Goblinmon.
After this period of training, the first Champion-level Digimon had finally been born.
White hair, horns, a green and vicious demon-like face, and a massive bone club in hand—Impmon made its entrance by swiftly stripping Jackal of his ability to fight with overwhelming superiority.
Jackal did fight back. Before he discovered Impmon, he fired several shots based on instinct.
But unfortunately, Champion-level Impmon swung its huge bone club, sending the bullet effects flying away. (In truth, they passed through Impmon's projection, but this was concealed.)
One had to understand that damage from reality to Digimon projections followed the underlying logic Liang Xing had written for the Digital World.
Reality that could not inflict damage would be covered by special effects and naturally would not affect the projection.
What resistance could an ordinary human—even a mercenary—possibly put up against Impmon's Sucker Punch?
With just one punch, the massive fist sent Jackal staggering back. He ultimately fell onto the ground on his backside as a feeling of powerlessness spread through him.
Impmon charged over with a savage grin, its huge bone club swinging down mercilessly toward his head. Jackal's vision went black, and fatigue instantly swallowed him whole.
Lucky enough to become the first person to fall asleep due to a Digimon attack, the harmless fatigue would let him get a good rest.
As for where he would be when he woke up?
That was no longer Liang Xing's concern.
Mercenaries were so dangerous, after all. Handing them over to Huaxia for processing was naturally the best choice.
Liang Xing was merely a toy merchant. He did not dare deal with armed criminals like them.
Thanks to the novel author Yue for the monthly ticket! Thank you for the support!
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