Chapter One Hundred Twelve: The Fragrant Beast of the Bhikkhu

“Where is the egg?”

Glaring fiercely at the imposing figure before him, the Night Hawk Beast seemed to dismiss him entirely, demanding without any courtesy, “Give me back the egg!”

Sensing the threat from the Night Hawk Beast, the Fluffy Beast that had been hiding beneath Chika’s bed suddenly panicked and began darting about wildly.

“Little Fluffy!”

Chika lunged forward and held it tightly, trying to soothe the frightened creature.

“That is...!”

Seeing the Digimon in Chika’s arms, the Night Hawk Beast immediately understood and asked, “Is this Digimon hatched from the egg?”

“So what if it is?”

Big Daimon clenched his fists and, displeased, charged toward the Digimon that had startled his sister.

However, the Night Hawk Beast’s agile movements easily caused Big Daimon’s fists to miss their mark.

“Hand that Digimon over...”

The Night Hawk Beast stepped closer, looming threateningly over Chika and her sister Yuri, who were hiding behind Big Daimon.

“Mom, Chika!”

Seeing his family in danger, Big Daimon’s expression tensed as he prepared to rush forward again to block the Night Hawk Beast.

“Don’t interfere!”

But before Big Daimon could take more than a few steps, a sharp shuriken suddenly flew from beneath the Night Hawk Beast’s wings, pinning it to the balcony, making escape impossible for the moment.

“Damn it!”

“Hand it over quickly!”

At this moment, Chika suddenly grew remarkably brave to protect Fluffy Beast. She suppressed her fear and yelled at the advancing Night Hawk Beast, “Little Fluffy is scared of you—don’t you see? Get out of here!”

The Night Hawk Beast seemed enraged by the girl’s shout and immediately spread its sharp wings, threatening once again, “If you don’t hand it over...”

“Qu!”

Fluffy Beast, sensing the danger to Chika, broke free from her embrace and let out a threatening roar toward the Night Hawk Beast.

“Fluffy Beast... you?”

Looking at the small creature still standing defiantly before him, the Night Hawk Beast appeared stunned.

It couldn’t believe the Digimon it had been so concerned about was willing to oppose it for the sake of a human.

“Phew, looks like I made it just in time.”

While the Night Hawk Beast was caught off guard, a voice it recognized sharply sounded from behind, causing its once smooth feathers to bristle in alarm.

“It’s you!!!”

The Night Hawk Beast turned immediately, facing the boy who had climbed inside from outside. An unpleasant memory resurfaced vividly in its mind.

“Yes, it’s me.”

Qin Fei clapped his hands and smiled at the “old acquaintance” before him.

Seeing the all-too-familiar face, the Night Hawk Beast broke out into cold sweat instantly.

“Firecracker Fall!”

“Pop, pop…”

Without hesitation, it spread its wings wide, releasing countless firecracker-like segments from its feathers.

When they exploded, the entire room was instantly filled with thick smoke so dense that one could not see a hand in front of their face.

“Cough, cough, what is this?!”

Everyone covered their mouths and noses, waving frantically to disperse the sudden white smoke filling the room.

Qin Fei stepped back, using the breeze from the balcony to avoid the smoke, but he immediately spotted the panicked Night Hawk Beast darting through the mist, apparently attempting to escape.

However, Qin Fei thought it best not to stop it for now; after all, he would need its help, along with Yu Ren, to confront Akihiro Kurata in the future.

“Is everyone alright?”

Once the smoke cleared, Shunao’s worried voice came through.

Everyone glanced at each other and confirmed they were fine. The Digimon had only attempted to flee and hadn’t harmed anyone.

“Ah, Little Fluffy?”

At that moment, noticing something strange about the Fluffy Beast, Chika’s face showed concern.

But before she could step forward to check, the Fluffy Beast suddenly became enveloped in a radiant digital light.

Soon, as the light faded, a familiar pink large bird appeared before everyone—recognizable to both Qin Fei and Loretta Beast.

“I am Bichu Beast...”

“...”

Qin Fei was unsurprised, but the others looked on with bewildered expressions at the Digimon that had evolved into a different form.

“小 Book Pavilion”

“It’s speaking...”

Chika and her mother stared in astonishment at Bichu Beast introducing itself.

“...”

“I’ve evolved, Chika. I did so to protect you.”

Bichu Beast approached Chika’s younger sister, looking at her with solemn and sincere eyes, as if declaring to all present that it was her partner.

“Please take care of me, Chika...”

Seeing Bichu Beast extend its hand, Chika gently held it, equally moved, and replied, “Please take care of me... Bichu Beast.”

“...”

“Qin Fei... this is much larger than Bisuna’s, but isn’t Bichu Beast supposed to evolve from Big Tall Beast? Why did Fluffy Beast...”

Loretta Beast looked puzzled, staring at the familiar Digimon before her, unable to help but ask.

Qin Fei patted Loretta’s shoulder and smiled, “A Digimon’s evolution path is filled with infinite possibilities. It can’t be confined to fixed routes.”

Loretta nodded in understanding; Qin Fei had mentioned this before.

“What should we do now?”

Big Daimon looked uneasily at Bichu Beast, who was getting along well with his sister.

He knew well how Digimon that bonded with humans were usually treated.

Either they joined DATS, constantly facing danger, or they were sent back to the Digital World, never to be involved again.

But he didn’t want his sister to join DATS; he truly understood how dangerous these creatures could be.

Many injuries and deaths had occurred in the course of dealing with Digimon incidents.

Yet, seeing his sister and Bichu Beast together, Big Daimon felt conflicted...

“...”

“It’s getting late. You all can stay here tonight. I’ll prepare some tea.”

Big Daimon’s mother stepped forward, sighing deeply at the tense atmosphere.

Looking at Bichu Beast beside her daughter, her eyes betrayed a subtle but unspoken resistance.

...

The next day, inside the DATS command center.

“How could you act so arbitrarily!”

Having finished his usual training, Qin Fei overheard Big Daimon’s angry roar as he passed by.

“My sister is still a child. How can you force her to join DATS?”

“Calm down, Big Daimon. Aren’t you just a kid yourself?”

Samo tried to soothe the furious Big Daimon.

“I’m not the same. I volunteered to join DATS to fight powerful opponents. My sister’s different—she doesn’t even want to fight Digimon!”

Big Daimon slammed the table, still filled with resentment.

“And this place is far too dangerous for Chika.”

Seeing Big Daimon’s determined expression, Samo fell silent to let him vent.

“Big, stop it...”

At that moment, a familiar voice came from the other side.

Qin Fei noticed a woman who had just passed by him, hesitated briefly, then left first, deciding not to get involved in Big Daimon’s family matters.

After all, Chika’s mother and brother absolutely forbade her from participating in anything related to Digimon.

As for Chika’s own wishes... she was only ten years old after all.

Speaking of which, Big Daimon’s family had deep ties with Digimon, especially their father, Daimon Ei, who was a superhuman capable of hand-to-hand combat against Ultimate-level Digimon.

Clearly, their family’s fate was inevitably intertwined with Digimon.

“So... it seems Mercury Beast will be arriving soon.”

Walking and muttering to himself, Qin Fei’s sense of urgency grew even stronger...