Chapter One: The Blue Card (Please Recommend and Add to Your Collection)

“The weather is behaving strangely,” Qin Fei muttered, tightening his clothes around himself. Staring at the single-sided blue card in his hand, its silver edges glinting, he seemed to finally reach a decision.

With a soft rustle, he tore open the recently delivered box. Inside lay a battered, second-hand card reader.

“Is this really possible?” he wondered aloud, instinctively spinning the blue card between his fingers. In the center, the faint outline of a Digimon flickered. Despite his hesitation, determination shone in his eyes.

“What’s impossible about it? If something as miraculous as reincarnation could happen to me, then Digimon and all the rest…” Gritting his teeth, Qin Fei cast aside all doubt and boldly swiped the blue card through the reader.

A harsh crackle erupted, followed by a sharp pop.

“Ah!” A pained cry escaped him as a powerful electric current surged through his body, channeling into the card reader before him. In the blink of an eye, the blue card vanished without a trace.

“Qin Fei, what happened?” A concerned and somewhat puzzled voice called from the adjacent room.

“It’s nothing! I just fell down, no big deal!” Qin Fei quickly rose, forcing himself to sound calm. He couldn’t let his aunt discover anything unusual.

“As long as you’re fine. The summer camp is the day after tomorrow—I don’t want to have to call in for you. Get some rest, do you hear me?”

“Yes, Aunt,” he replied.

Hearing his answer, the next room fell silent.

Shaking his hand, which still felt as if it had been pricked by electricity, Qin Fei’s gaze was drawn irresistibly to the card reader. In his clear eyes, the device was bathed in a gentle white light, which slowly began to shrink. Yet the tremor in his heart only grew more pronounced.

“It—It’s real… Digimon… a Digivice…” His eyes shimmered, barely containing his excitement.

At last, the white glow faded, revealing a third-generation black Digivice with a strap and a ring, lying quietly in the box.

With trembling hands, Qin Fei lifted it, his heart swelling with an indescribable fullness.

Wait… something’s not right, he thought suddenly. When I got the blue card, I checked online. There’s no Ruki Makino, no Queen of Digimon, not even Digimon Card Battle. No one around here knows what Digimon even is.

A sudden realization chilled him. Maybe this wasn’t the world of the third Digimon series after all.

All he knew was that, after being reborn, he’d inexplicably returned to his early teens. Orphaned of both parents, he was now being raised by his father’s sister—his aunt—who lived in Sakura Country.

He’d just enrolled in Odaiba Elementary School, fifth grade, but had barely attended any classes.

“Could it be I wasn’t reborn in the Digimon world?” he wondered, staring at the Digivice in his palm, his mind racing with questions.

Never mind. That’s not important now. Where’s my Digimon? Is it supposed to just appear? His room was silent and empty—there was no sign of any living creature, much less a Digimon.

Or… do I have to design one myself, like the protagonist in the third series? The thought made his eyes blaze with excitement. Who wouldn’t want a unique, powerful Digimon crafted to their own taste?

It was worth a try. He was grateful his past self had studied illustration. Pens, paper—where were his colored pencils and watercolors? He leapt about the room, searching eagerly. Tonight, he knew, there would be no sleep for him.

…

“Wake up, you little rascal! Still sleeping? Your homeroom teacher just called!” An angry voice jolted Qin Fei from his dreams.

He opened his eyes with effort. Standing by the bed was a beautiful woman in her twenties—his aunt, Qin Lulu.

“Aunt… I’m not feeling well…” He coughed weakly. “Could you call the school and ask for a sick day?”

“You…” Qin Lulu hesitated, but Qin Fei had always been a good kid in her eyes. Seeing his dark circles and haggard face, she eventually agreed to report him absent.

“I’ll leave my cell number here. If anything happens, call me on the landline. There’s instant noodles in the fridge, hot water in the thermos—just add it and you can eat.” She looked at him with concern, then headed off to work. This suited Qin Fei perfectly.

He’d only slept two hours, but he slapped his cheeks to wake himself up. He had work to do—the design he hadn’t finished last night.

In this real world, a Digimon would be far too conspicuous. He didn’t want to start with a mature-stage Digimon like Guilmon from the third season—the risk of exposure was too great. A baby-stage Digimon, small and easy to hide, was the best choice.

But Qin Fei decided to challenge himself and start from the ultimate form.

He pulled open a drawer. On the paper, a heroic female Digimon took shape—the fruit of his entire night’s labor. Inspired by Beelzemon’s black bodysuit and flowing silver hair, the mask was softer, adorned with rose-pattern filigree. Instead of dual guns, she wielded a sword and pistol. She was a demon-type, virus attribute, and had a rideable motorcycle.

“Amazing…” His cheeks flushed with excitement—not, he insisted, because of the alluring figure he’d drawn.

Next, the perfect form: borrowing from LadyDevimon, but omitting the scarred helmet and oversized claws. The skeletal emblem was gone, replaced with silver chains and ornaments, a black nun’s headpiece with beast ears, high heels from Rosemon. She wielded a dark whip, was a fallen angel type, virus attribute.

“Brilliant!” he enthused, flushed again—definitely not because he’d exaggerated the bust.

Mature stage: based on Angewomon X, with more armor, black wings and silver plating, golden decorations turned dark gold, a crown, and extended dark gold mane.

Champion stage: influenced by Impmon and Kirlia from Pokémon. A slim figure, black shoes, twin silver ponytails, a butterfly bow on the right ponytail, and a little skirt.

Baby stage: inspired by Viximon, with black fur, sharp fangs, and a size just smaller than a soccer ball.

And all black parts were made from obsidian-tinted Digizoid alloy fibers…

…

Time slipped by unnoticed. The dim sunset gilded Qin Fei’s face, making his delicate features glow like fine porcelain. He had spent the entire day drawing and writing without realizing it.

The door lock clicked. Qin Fei jumped, hastily stuffing his nearly finished designs into the drawer, then dove under the covers, feigning illness.

If his aunt caught him awake, his day-and-night’s work would end up in the trash.

“I’m home!” Qin Lulu’s weary voice drifted in. Qin Fei buried his head deeper.

Suddenly, his stomach rumbled—he hadn’t eaten or drunk all day, and now the emptiness gnawed at him.

…

“Hungry, aren’t you?” Watching him devour his food, Qin Lulu finally relaxed—a healthy appetite meant there was nothing seriously wrong.

“Are you sure you’re up for tomorrow’s summer camp? Need another day to rest?” She handed him a napkin, her voice full of concern.

“I’m fine, Aunt. I want to get out and relax, don’t worry.” He smiled sweetly. He needed some free time to search for his Digimon, and the camp was the perfect opportunity.

After eating, Qin Fei returned to his room, laid out his design drafts in order from baby to ultimate stage.

“Let it be as I wish…” He took a deep breath, then, imitating Takato from the third Digimon series, pressed his carefully crafted drawings to the slot on the Digivice, stepping back anxiously to watch.

His clenched fists betrayed his tension.

A faint crackling sound. Just as Qin Fei was about to lose hope, the Digivice’s screen lit up with an inky glow. One by one, his designs were drawn into the device as if by some magnetic force.

“It worked?!”

But as he was about to leap for joy, disaster struck.

One of the design sheets, as it passed through the Digivice, was suddenly shattered into dust by a bolt of electricity, scattering across the floor.

“How could this be?!” Qin Fei stared in horror at the shredded remains of his hard work.