Chapter 129: The Cooperation of Mercurymon

"Everyone, please calm down. I said I brought the answer today... the answer to all of this."

Seeing the critical moment where they were about to come to blows again, Qin Fei stepped forward immediately, positioning himself between Mercurymon and the bald man.

"Hoo..."

Mercurymon glanced at Qin Fei, let out a long, heavy breath, and leaned back onto its throne. It wanted to hear the explanation this boy had promised.

Ikuto, along with the cold-faced Gazimon nearby, also fixed their gazes upon him with unreadable expressions.

Qin Fei nodded to everyone, then turned his eyes to the bald man behind him—Hiroshi Yushima—and began to speak.

"Director Yushima, do you still remember... Akihiro Kurata?"

"Hmm? That guy used to be Spencer Daimon's assistant... What about him?"

The bald man nodded, then said with a sigh, "Akihiro Kurata and Spencer Daimon were like two extremes. Spencer always hoped to coexist peacefully with the Digital World, but Kurata was always deeply repulsed by Digimon. There was even a lot of conflict between them. After we escaped back from the Digital World, he just disappeared."

"My father's assistant?"

Masaru Daimon froze, looking at the mysterious bald man beside him in disbelief.

The culprit Qin Fei spoke of was actually his father's former assistant!?

"Perhaps the disappearance of Dr. Spencer Daimon is also inseparable from Akihiro Kurata," Thoma added, unable to help himself as he glanced at Masaru.

"That bastard! If I ever run into him, I’ll make him pay!" Masaru gritted his teeth, looking at his clenched, white-knuckled fists as if imagining how to smash them into the man's face.

"You... could you be Spencer Daimon's son?"

Looking at the orange-red Digisoul flickering on Masaru’s hands, Mercurymon’s eyes seemed to soften significantly.

"Yes, I am Masaru Daimon, the son of Spencer Daimon. My father would never be a man who breaks his promises. Everything is the fault of that bastard Akihiro Kurata. We came to the Digital World this time for an answer as well."

Masaru stared unflinchingly at the mountain-like, towering Digimon, speaking with absolute sincerity.

"What is going on?"

Seeing the indignation among the children, the bald man looked puzzled, as if all of this were connected to the person Qin Fei had just mentioned... Akihiro Kurata.

"Director Yushima, you might not know this, but some time after you left the Digital World, Akihiro Kurata returned with an army and cruelly slaughtered the Digimon."

Upon hearing Qin Fei’s explanation, the bald man’s eyes widened, seemingly unable to believe it.

"Ho... how is that possible!?" the bald man muttered. "When Digimon are defeated, don't they turn into Digi-eggs? How could they be killed?"

"Because Akihiro Kurata developed artificial Digimon. Those Digimon can fire a technique that destroys the data within a Digimon's body. The energy of the Digimon killed this way is completely destroyed and then absorbed, making it impossible for them to reform into Digi-eggs. That energy is then used for a very dangerous experiment..."

Listening to the situation described by Qin Fei, Mercurymon, sitting on its ice-crystal throne, also stood up, suppressing boundless rage as it said, "I cannot forget the cruel acts of humans that day..."

"Impossible. How could Akihiro Kurata have such capability on his own..."

"What if it wasn't just him? What if he was colluding with the Japanese government? For instance, Hashiba..."

Qin Fei stared coldly at the disoriented bald man, cutting off his argument.

Upon hearing that name, the bald man couldn't help but take a step back. Thinking of Chief Hashiba’s recent actions in dissolving DATS, it all made sense.

Research funding, researchers, the military... Hashiba could provide all of these.

"So... it's true..."

A dejected Hiroshi Yushima gave a bitter smile and sat down on the ground. "We originally worked so that humans and Digimon could live in peace... why did this happen?"

Then, his face twisted as he grabbed Qin Fei by the collar, pleading, "I absolutely do not believe it... You're lying to me, right? All of you are..."

Thinking of his life’s work—the efforts he made for the sake of both worlds—being destroyed in an instant by that bastard Kurata, Yushima felt as if his world were on the verge of collapse.

"I’m sorry. The cause of all this is indeed the fault of humans... no, it should be said that it is the fault of Akihiro Kurata, although the Japanese government was involved as well..."

For a moment, the entire space fell silent.

Looking at his dejected old friend, Mercurymon’s fury gradually subsided. It could tell that these people here had been unaware at the time.

"How do you know all of this?"

After a long silence, seeing the unflappable Qin Fei, a glimmer of hope rose in the bald man’s eyes.

"That is my secret, but I have a way to verify the truth of the matter."

Everyone and every Digimon began to look at Qin Fei, observing this extraordinary human child.

"Mercurymon, we hope to join forces with you to eliminate the person who is destroying the peace between the two worlds. This is the purpose of our coming to this world, and it is the answer for you."

"..."

Everyone looked at Qin Fei with surprise, not expecting that this had been his intention all along.

"So, your previous plan was..."

"Lord Mercurymon, do not believe the flowery words of these people. It must be another human trick."

Gazimon hurried over and stuttered, but its voice lacked its previous conviction; clearly, everything that had just happened had shaken its resolve.

"..."

Mercurymon looked down into Qin Fei’s eyes, finding not a trace of deception.

As if recalling some past events, Mercurymon spoke in a conversational tone: "Spencer once said that some humans had disappeared into Digital Gates that opened unexpectedly, and he himself had traveled through a Digital Gate to find the missing children..."

"Is it Ikuto?" Falcomon asked with a sudden realization.

"Exactly..."

Mercurymon nodded, then looked tenderly at the child standing at its feet, revealing a smile. "I believed Spencer’s words and told him everything. He also told me... he wanted to build a world where Digimon and humans could live together."

"Spencer set out on a journey to find Yggdrasil, but there has been no news of him since..."

Having said this, Mercurymon looked at Masaru. "If you can find Yggdrasil, you might be able to find your father..."

Having finished, Mercurymon returned its gaze to Qin Fei.

"In that case, I will trust you all once more."

Hearing Mercurymon’s promise, Qin Fei finally let his guard down.

He then pulled out a photo of young Ikuto from his pocket, walked over to the hollow-eyed boy, and placed the photo in his hands.

"Keep this. Your parents' longing for you has never ceased. At the very least, when everything settles down, go and see them."

Looking at the photo in his hand and listening to Qin Fei’s words, Ikuto gripped the picture tightly. He seemed to recall the words of his mother, Frigimon: "Listen, Ikuto... perhaps a cruel fate awaits you, but Ikuto, you must never hate humans, because you... are also human..."

"Plop."

Tears blurred the smiling face in the photo. Ikuto began to sob... and then louder and louder, until he was wailing.

"..."

Watching Ikuto’s weeping figure, Mercurymon sighed and looked solemnly at Qin Fei. "So, what is your plan for how we should proceed?"