Chapter Twenty-Two: The Elusive Future

“Koushiro, did you just use your computer to make Kabuterimon evolve?”
Initially feeling a bit dejected because Tentomon hadn’t defeated Raremon, Koushiro quickly perked up when he heard Takeru’s voice.
“Yes, I did. Why do you ask, Takeru?”
Upon hearing Koushiro’s confirmation, Takeru’s face lit up with hopeful anticipation.
“Can you make Patamon evolve for me too?”
“Hm? Maybe I can!”
Seeing the hopeful look in Takeru’s eyes, Koushiro’s previously sluggish mind suddenly became lively.
If, with the help of his computer, he could make Patamon and Palmon—who hadn’t evolved yet—transform, then their group would possess even greater strength.
“Let me try!”
With that, Koushiro entered his focused mode again, typing furiously into his laptop.
The clacking of keys echoed through the quiet, and everyone gathered around him, watching to see if he would succeed.
...
“Takeru, can you show me your Digivice?”
After a moment, Koushiro finally looked away from his screen and nervously asked Takeru.
“Hmm... It seems to be reacting a little, but I don’t really feel anything...”
Watching the slowly filling meter on his Digivice screen, Takeru turned toward Patamon.
“Patamon, how are you feeling?”
“I... I feel a bit warm, but I can’t evolve.”
Patamon spun around, as if searching for any sign of change, but found nothing unusual.
“Maybe the energy isn’t enough. Should we wait a bit longer?”
Yamato came up behind his younger brother, keeping him company as he stared at the blinking Digivice in his hand.
...
An hour later, seeing no change on the Digivice screen, everyone sighed.
“It looks like it’s not working.”
Mimi squatted down in disappointment. Only she and Takeru hadn’t evolved yet; if Koushiro could help Patamon evolve, maybe Palmon could too. But given the situation, it seemed to have failed.
“Sigh, why could Koushiro’s Kabuterimon do it, but not mine?”
Takeru was a bit disheartened.
“Maybe everyone has different evolution requirements, Takeru. Don’t lose hope—Mimi, you too. You’ll definitely find your own path to evolution.”
Qin Fei encouraged them, though he realized he’d been too optimistic.
He had hoped to replicate the anime’s approach and make everyone evolve successfully, especially since in the show, Koushiro’s computer had lost power at the critical moment.

But thinking carefully now, and considering the meaning behind each child’s crest, it was likely that using the computer only worked for Koushiro.
Taichi’s crest is Courage, symbolizing the heart that faces difficulties unafraid.
Yamato’s is Friendship, representing the heart that values friends.
Sora’s is Love, the heart willing to give and care for others.
Koushiro’s is Knowledge, representing the pursuit of truth and learning.
Joe’s is Sincerity, the heart that is earnest and seeks truth.
Mimi’s is Purity, the heart that is genuine and unpretentious.
Takeru’s is Hope, the heart that never gives up even in adversity.
Kari’s is Light, representing kindness that shines for others.
Digimon evolution seems to rely on these idealistic qualities, and the process always reflects the qualities embodied by their crests.
So Koushiro evolving Tentomon with his own program perfectly fits the meaning of the Crest of Knowledge—pursuing truth and learning.
But this evolution is unique to him, and irreplaceable.
It wouldn’t work for Takeru, because it’s not his path.
“Qin Fei’s right. Everyone’s path is different. We need to find our own way step by step, not look for shortcuts. So don’t lose hope, Takeru. Gabumon and Agumon evolved without Koushiro’s computer, didn’t they?”
Yamato comforted his younger brother.
“Yes, I understand! I’ll keep trying.”
As expected, the boy with the Crest of Hope recovered quickly.
“I really envy everyone who can evolve!”
Mimi voiced her disappointment without reservation.
“By the way, Koushiro, I have another favor to ask you.”
Qin Fei, rather than feeling too dejected, began asking Koushiro about his second plan.
“What is it?”
Koushiro looked curiously at Qin Fei, wondering what strange idea he had now.
“Andromon, can we borrow this factory?”
Instead of answering Koushiro, Qin Fei turned to Andromon first.
“Although I’ve lived here, this factory isn’t mine. If you don’t destroy it, I won’t stop you.”
Andromon’s tone made it clear he agreed.
“Alright, we won’t break anything.”
Qin Fei turned back to Koushiro, “Can you connect your computer to the factory’s systems and change the production line?”
Seeing how much energy was wasted on the assembly line every day, Qin Fei wanted to make use of it.
“I’ll try.”

Koushiro paused, then quickly got to work, typing in new code.
“How’s it going?”
Finally, Koushiro let out a relieved sigh. Qin Fei leaned in, eager for results, though he couldn’t understand any of the code on the screen.
“It’s done. The production lines are stopped now. But what do you want to do?”
As expected of a computer genius—his skill was extraordinary.
Qin Fei praised him silently and said excitedly, “Can you make the assembly line produce something else?”
“What do you want to produce?”
Koushiro asked, puzzled.
“Weapons... Digimon weapons.”
Cover Agumon’s claws and horns with alloy, make usable tools for Tentomon’s four arms, give Garurumon a full set of alloy armor...
As Qin Fei laid out his plan, the other children stared in shock.
...
“No, the factory’s materials have already been set as data types. If we try to make what you want, it’ll waste a lot of time.”
After trying to follow Qin Fei’s idea, Koushiro finally shook his head.
While he was intrigued by Qin Fei’s plan, all the Digimon alloys had already been formed into parts. Re-forging them into weapons suitable for Digimon would require enormous time.
Clearly, the kids wanted to get home soon and didn’t want to linger here any longer.
“Alright, looks like we have to give up.”
Now it was Qin Fei’s turn to be dejected. Both his plans had failed.
Earlier, seeing Gomamon unexpectedly evolve into Seadramon, Qin Fei had hoped to alter the story even more, but reality had defeated him.
“Looks like we’ll have to find other ways to make Agumon and the others stronger.”
Qin Fei mused anxiously.
Recalling the anime, where the mighty Devimon was unstoppable until Takeru’s Patamon evolved into Angemon and sacrificed himself to defeat him, Qin Fei dared not rely on the uncertain possibility of Patamon evolving at the crucial moment.
After all, Seadramon had already evolved ahead of schedule, so the story had changed.
If, because of the butterfly effect, Takeru and Patamon failed to evolve against Devimon and were crushed instead,
Then facing even greater threats later—Vamdemon? Piedmon? Apocalymon?
Both worlds might truly fall together.