Compared to the smooth conclusion of the battle inside the village, Qian Lai was in a rather awkward predicament by the fence.
Considering that the camera crew was present and Liu Jie's group of three was genuinely worried about the safety of the Digital Eggs in the village,
and since Qian Lai himself did not want to become a burden, he decisively told the three of them not to worry about him.
It was only a show, not a life-and-death farewell, so the three of them decisively abandoned Qian Lai.
Only Smokemon floated beside Qian Lai, in case the Goblinmon became desperate and lashed out.
Normally, these mass-produced Goblinmon brought their tendency to bully the weak and fear the strong to the fullest.
One had been injured and the other had fled. Under normal circumstances, neither would have dared to turn back.
But Elecmon had left in a hurry, and Liu Jie's group had no habit of hiding when they left with their respective Digital Monsters.
As a result, the fleeing Goblinmon only realized halfway through its escape, Eh? It seemed like no one was chasing me?
Elecmon had always chased them a long way before. Why was it not chasing them this time?
Goblinmon only knew how to bully the weak and fear the strong. It did not possess much intelligence to speak of.
It only knew that Elecmon had not chased after it. Did that mean it could go back and try stealing some eggs?
It quietly slipped back. The injured Goblinmon was still lying on the ground, swaying its head as it tried to stand.
The main group inside the wall had already left, leaving behind only the injured—or rather, exhausted—Qian Lai and Smokemon.
I can beat this!
Goblinmon immediately regained its confidence!
"Ooooh—"
Waving its wooden club and shouting, it charged forward.
"Smokemon, use smoke to cover the gap!"
After resting for a while, Qian Lai could barely force himself to move.
But judging by Goblinmon's momentum, he definitely could not outrun it.
Fortunately, the enemy was far away while Smokemon was close at hand.
The smoke originally meant for escaping covered the damaged fence. Qian Lai pointed at the injured Goblinmon and shouted, "Where do you think you're running?!"
The charging Goblinmon froze for a moment and unconsciously glanced at its injured companion.
The swaying Goblinmon's injuries were not particularly serious.
Or rather, for Digimon, there was no such thing as a true injury in the conventional sense.
As long as there was enough data, repairing injuries was incredibly simple.
At worst, it would devolve. In essence, it was merely a loss of data.
Goblinmon was unwilling to devolve, which was why it looked so unsteady.
But all of Qidian Village was covered by Holographic Projection, making it part of the Digital World itself.
It was no exaggeration to say that the air of Qidian Village was filled with the scent of data.
With this brief period of rest, the injured Goblinmon had more or less recovered.
Qian Lai had not shouted for any other reason. He simply did not want them focusing on the gap in the fence.
Thanks to that moment of distraction, the smoke spread farther, making it genuinely difficult to determine the gap's exact location.
But Goblinmon did not care!
They had originally stolen eggs in order to kill the freshly hatched Baby Digimon.
Since Smokemon was right there, they could skip part of the process and directly attack Smokemon.
Qian Lai knew they had targeted Smokemon, so after releasing the smoke, he hurriedly wrapped his arms around it in an empty embrace.
Although it had a psychological effect, it had no physical body after all. Maintaining that empty embrace was actually quite tiring.
Thud—thud—
Two impacts rang out in succession. Unsurprisingly, the Goblinmon had crashed into the fence.
Humiliated and enraged, they stopped caring about the smoke and began randomly smashing the fence. Qian Lai seized the chance to hurry toward the village.
Under the cover of smoke, the two Goblinmon fought and somehow ended up fighting each other.
Qian Lai had no idea the Goblinmon were killing each other. One Goblinmon absorbed the data provided by the other and evolved on the spot.
The camera crew and the prop team, who had been preparing to start work, were stunned. It seemed the script had not included this?
According to Liang Xing's original plan, this episode was also meant to accelerate the growth of the Digivice's internal testers.
After all, the usual Baby I and Baby II stages truly did not offer much to test.
But if they could defeat Goblinmon through temporary evolution, Liang Xing could continue deploying them and achieve the effect of grinding monsters to level up.
However, the script did not include Goblinmon's evolved form.
How were a group of Baby I and Baby II Digital Monsters supposed to fight a Champion-level Impmon?
Moreover, humanoid Digimon were naturally more agile, and Impmon was especially violent and combative. It even dared to challenge opponents obviously stronger than itself.
"Boss Liang, Boss Liang! A Goblinmon evolved over here. How should we handle it?"
"It evolved? Have it go back first."
Liang Xing had spent a great deal of effort cultivating a single Impmon himself, yet these mass-produced Goblinmon could complete evolution on their own?
Impressive!
Should he let Tiantian's group get wiped out?
After all, no game rule said players had to achieve final victory.
But Impmon... its King's Fist could probably one-shot these Baby Digimon.
Even Qian Lai and A Lie would likely end up with their exhaustion maxed out and immediately fall asleep after taking one punch.
"Tch—"
A one-sided battle was not entertaining. The show needed better results!
He needed to find some formidable Rookie-level Digimon to make guest appearances. The Black Gear could also finally be put to use.
And just like that, it was happily decided!
That way, Qi Tian's Koromon would not get instantly killed and have to be raised all over again. The little guy would cry himself to death~
Liang Xing planned to give the Impmon that had evolved through its own abilities the role of the villain's top henchman.
It would make an appearance at the end. Impmon's design was quite distinctive and should whet everyone's appetite.
That would give the next episode something to look forward to as well. A win-win!
"Have it return to the cave first. I'll be there right away."
Having already arranged the next part of the plot, Liang Xing hurried over in a flurry.
At the same time, the camera crew used the token Liang Xing had provided to communicate with Impmon.
This did not involve modifying its underlying logic. It was likewise Liang Xing making use of the authority granted by his status as its creator.
Impmon was violent by nature, so using his authority to make it turn over a new leaf was unlikely—Liang Xing's own Impmon was easiest to command when he let it fight.
Fortunately, the camera crew relayed an order for Impmon to prepare for greater destruction. The Impmon that had been about to give chase finally settled down.
For the sake of challenging stronger opponents, enduring for a while was not unacceptable.
After Impmon left, the prop team began moving as well.
After all, things that existed in reality did not truly disappear just because they were covered by the blank space of a Holographic Projection.
Wearing specially made glasses, the prop team's task was to synchronize reality and virtuality.
Hammers in position!
Chainsaws activated!
Behind the backs of the show's contestants, the prop team began laying the groundwork for a path that would make everyone question their world.
In fact, the prop team had already handled the aftermath at the house where A Lie had first been attacked by Goblinmon in the village.
A Lie drawing Goblinmon away had also provided the prop team with a working environment.
With the Flying Camera's Holographic Projection assisting them, the prop team could work right under the contestants' noses without being discovered.
But for safety's sake, and because the show had not yet reached such an urgent stage, Liang Xing had chosen to handle the aftermath afterward.
Once he had time to prepare some related equipment, Liang Xing truly could have the prop team work in sync.
Then the existence of the Digital World would genuinely make people question the reality of their original world.
That day should not be too far away, but this episode would not scare them just yet~
Before you continue