Chapter Nineteen: The Andulu Beast on the Ground

“In a place like this, there’s actually such a large factory…” Ah He said in disbelief.

Everyone stared at the enormous factory complex, momentarily at a loss for words. Only Qin Fei’s gaze remained fervent.

“Let’s go inside and take a look. We won’t learn anything out here,” Taiyi said, still leading the charge as he ran ahead, with Qin Fei close behind. The others had no choice but to follow.

Once inside, they found the factory’s equipment even more complete than they had expected, yet there wasn’t a single person in sight—not even a Digimon. Machines churned tirelessly: workshops, assembly lines, robotic arms, all busily moving, but the purpose of their production was unclear.

Qin Fei, however, understood. The entire assembly line was nothing but an endless cycle of assembling and dismantling, accomplishing nothing.

“If we’re investigating, let’s see if anyone’s here! A factory this big has to have people!” Ah Zhu fervently suggested, still refusing to abandon hope of finding humans in this world.

“All right, since the factory is so large, let’s split up and search,” Taiyi agreed.

This time, everyone seemed to believe him somewhat, and began calling out inside and outside the factory.

“Is anyone here? Hello? Anyone around?”

Quickly, most areas had been searched, but there was no sign of people—not even Digimon.

“Is it possible there’s no one here?” Suna muttered, sounding ready to give up.

“That’s impossible! Someone has to be operating these machines!” Ah Zhu immediately retorted, visibly excited. Clearly, finding humans was his greatest wish. Only then could he believe they were still on Earth and could return home.

“Huh? Strange…”

“What’s wrong, Biyomon?” Suna asked at once, hearing the soft questioning voice behind her.

“I think I heard something.”

Everyone fell silent and began listening attentively.

A metallic clang and a humming noise echoed from somewhere unknown.

They hurried toward the sound.

Meanwhile, Koushiro and his group stopped at a door labeled “Power Room.”

“Let’s take a look inside,” Ah He suggested, pulling open the metal door.

Passing through, Koushiro was stunned by the scene inside. The so-called power room was filled with massive batteries and motors, an odd setup for running the entire factory.

…

“Don’t move!”

Back with Qin Fei, facing the robot-like Andromon, Qin Fei quickly stopped Taiyi and Suna, who wanted to pull it out.

If he remembered correctly, Qin Fei knew there was a black gear lodged in Andromon.

“What’s wrong, Qin Fei? Andromon is a friendly Digimon; there shouldn’t be any problem,” Gomamon explained with a smile, apparently thinking Qin Fei was afraid.

“I don’t know about friendly, but if you do that, you’ll have a very unfriendly Andromon in a moment,” Qin Fei shrugged, half-joking.

“Why?” Agumon and Taiyi chimed in, puzzled. Mimi and Ah Zhu looked curious as well.

“If it’s so dangerous, let me just deal with it!” Licking her sharp fangs, Loretta-mon beside Qin Fei suddenly interjected, clearly coveting Andromon’s data.

She could sense the immense data contained within this perfect-level Digimon; absorbing it would greatly strengthen her.

“In your dreams,” Qin Fei shot Loretta-mon a glance, then crouched down to inspect Andromon, explaining as he did.

“I just saw a black gear inside… Oh, and don’t touch anything. If you hit the switch behind, we’ll all be in danger.”

With that warning, Taiyi, Suna, and Ah Zhu froze, even their retreating movements halted. They stared fearfully at Andromon lying on the ground; the terrifying memory of Meramon lingered in their minds. Gomamon had told them Andromon was a perfect-level Digimon, much stronger than Meramon. If it went berserk, the consequences would be dire.

Agumon and the others were startled as well, moving cautiously to stand protectively before their partners, fully alert.

“Wh-what should we do? Is it dangerous?” Ah Zhu’s face was pale with fright; if Taiyi and Suna weren’t there, he might have already fled.

“It’s lucky for Andromon—and for us—that the black gear hasn’t entered its body yet. If we can remove it first, everything will be fine,” Qin Fei said, just spotting a black gear cleverly “hiding” on Andromon's unarmored lower leg.

“This angle is tricky,” Qin Fei scratched his head. If only Mimi’s Palmon were here; its vine attack could easily retrieve it.

“Wh-what should we do? Can you get it out?” Suna asked cautiously, seeing Qin Fei’s troubled look.

“I don’t have a tool, and my hand can’t reach. If there was something long… Oh!” Qin Fei’s eyes lit up. Why not just destroy it instead of pulling it out?

“Loretta-mon, give me a hand.”

“What for?” Loretta-mon blinked, not sure what her trainer was planning.

“Card switch!” Qin Fei pulled out his unique Digivice, gripped the Kuwagamon card, and stylishly swiped it.

“Scissor Arms!”

…

“Show-off…” Loretta-mon muttered, looking at the slender blade that had appeared in her hand.

“What is that? So cool!” For Taiyi and his friends, barely older than ten, the effect was impressive.

Agumon looked curiously at Qin Fei’s Digivice. “Why is yours different from Taiyi’s?”

Hearing this, Suna, Ah Zhu, and their Digimon all focused their attention. It was the first time they’d seen Qin Fei’s Digivice.

“It really is different. Why is it shaped like that, why does it have grooves, and why can it read cards?” Suna exclaimed, suddenly remembering. “Wait, no—I saw it before! When we bumped into you, you were holding that thing.”

Taiyi and Ah Zhu: “…”

“So Qin Fei got one before us?”

“Seems so.”

…

“Loretta-mon, ignore them. Use Scissor Arms to destroy the black gear!” Qin Fei put away his Digivice, unwilling to delay further.

“Scissor Arms.” Loretta-mon rolled her eyes, then aimed the blade at the hidden black gear.

A flash of red light.

The pierced black gear instantly disintegrated into data particles.

“Huh!”

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, Qin Fei and Loretta-mon exchanged surprised glances, sensing something unusual.