Chapter Ninety-Three: Pursuit

"Shino, answer me!"

The voice of the intelligence commander suddenly sounded in Shino's earpiece, pulling the bewildered girl back from the momentary daze caused by Damon's actions.

"Cough... this is Shino..."

She quickly came to herself and answered the reminder in her earpiece.

"The target has already taken Garurumon and is heading toward the D17 district... pursue it!"

"Understood!"

Shino's eyes soon regained their firmness. Knowing this was not the time to hesitate, she urged Qin Fei and the others to get into the car at once.

"You three head out first. I'll drive over myself."

Seeing Shino's questioning gaze, Toma nodded and explained. That had originally been his seat, but Qin Fei had taken it.

"Garurumon is heading north... please track it as quickly as possible."

The stern voice in the earpiece cut off Shino's thoughts. She could only start the car immediately and set off.

If that Garurumon was not dealt with soon, it would likely cause even greater harm to the surrounding area.

"Garurumon has turned onto Route A145 and is moving north..."

...

"Tch, this is troublesome. No one knows when that Garurumon will stop..."

No one knew how long they had been following it; seeing the little red dot on the electronic map still moving without pause, Shino's head began to ache.

"And Damon too, that guy... actually wanted to fight a Digimon all by himself... no matter how reckless you are, there has to be a limit..."

As she spoke, an unmistakable look of worry surfaced in her eyes. It seemed she was still very concerned about Damon.

"Shino, if you trust me, let's go straight to the northern end of Route A145. There's a station under construction there."

"Mm..."

At Qin Fei's sudden suggestion, Shino unconsciously eased off the accelerator. But after a moment's hesitation, she still shook her head and refused. "We can't rely on guesses for something like this. One careless mistake could lead to serious consequences. Especially when it concerns the safety of the people around here, we'd better trust the command center's orders."

Qin Fei nodded and did not take offense at her distrust.

Indeed, his unsupported "guess" could not earn their trust. In a matter like this, one had to be careful, then careful again; one small slip could cause casualties. Even if he were right, he still had to proceed according to the rules.

In the long run, that was the safest approach.

If one truly relied on intuition, even if one guessed right once or twice, a single failure could bring about an irreparable disaster... Qin Fei's "guess" could not make Shino trust him unconditionally.

"Shino, the target has stopped at the northern end of Route A145, at the station under construction."

The commander's voice came through the earpiece again, making Shino immediately slow her car.

"You're actually right..."

Shino glanced in surprise at Qin Fei in the front passenger seat, but without hesitation she sped up again.

Seeing how anxious she looked, Qin Fei remained calm. If he was not mistaken, that bald old man would soon be sending Agumon over, and then things would be almost settled.

With Damon's and Greymon's strength, they should be able to handle that newly evolved black Garurumon.

"I'd really like to see Damon fight that Garurumon..."

"Hm... what did you just say?"

Hearing Qin Fei's barely audible mutter, Shino, still driving at speed, instinctively glanced at him.

"Nothing, it's just... Shino, could you stop the car?"

Qin Fei was getting more and more natural with calling her "Shino," showing none of an adult's embarrassment.

"What do you want to do?"

Shino asked in confusion at his request.

"I think Shino should go act with Toma instead. The situation has already become hard to control, and I don't think I'll be able to help much, so..."

Shino's heart stirred slightly. It was true... Satsuma had asked her to carry out the mission with Qin Fei, but back then Garurumon was still Elecmon, so the danger was not great, and it was indeed a chance for a newcomer to gain some experience.

But now Elecmon had evolved into the dangerous Garurumon, and Shino no longer had the confidence to protect someone like Qin Fei, who seemed inexperienced, while dealing with it.

"All right. Take care of yourself."

After a short while, Shino agreed, adding, "Stay nearby and wait for me. Once the danger is over, I'll come back for you."

Just as Qin Fei got out of the car, Toma also caught up behind them... driving his own private vehicle.

"Huh? Why did you stop by the roadside?"

"Toma, you're right on time. Get in quickly. At your leisurely speed, who knows how long it would take to reach the destination! Damon doesn't have Agumon with him now, so he's in a very dangerous situation."

"Then... him?"

"It's too dangerous now. It's not suitable for someone who just joined to handle this, and besides, he's still a child."

Soon, Toma agreed as well. After all, the appearances of Qin Fei and Lopmon were indeed deceptive. Though Toma knew Qin Fei's ability, he also remembered that this was the human world, and the two children had no experience at all in dealing with Digimon incidents here. So he decisively got into Shino's car.

"..."

"All right, Lolo, hand over the D-Terminal."

Watching the taillights of the car recede into the distance, Qin Fei said with a smile to Lopmon beside him.

Lopmon nodded and handed Qin Fei the D-Terminal that had originally belonged to BlackGatomon.

At this moment, the entire command center had focused its attention on Garurumon, and paid little mind to Qin Fei and the others getting out of the car.

Satsuma, however, seemed to be thinking about something while looking at Lopmon's location data.

"Lopmon Digivolve... Chrysalimon!"

"..."

On the other side, as the Digivice energy surged rapidly, the DATS command center descended into chaos once more.

"Captain Satsuma, there's another sudden surge in Digivice energy!"

A panicked information officer shouted back at the tall, silent man behind him. "Should we...?"

"No need. That's the data for the new member's Digimon. Just mark it and continue monitoring Garurumon!"

"Understood!"

Order swiftly returned to the command room.

...

"Well now, it's been a long time since I've been in the human world."

Riding on BlackGarurumon's back and soaring through the sky, Qin Fei shouted excitedly. Looking down at the bustling lights below, glittering like stars, he felt his heart lighten at once.

It was as if he were mourning the life he had before his crossing; perhaps he would never be able to go back again...

"Qin Fei, I feel strange right now..."

"Hm?"

Qin Fei froze and turned to look at Gatomon behind him, surprised.

At that moment, a gentle white light had begun to radiate from her body, rendering her incomparably sacred.

Lopmon moved a little uncomfortably closer to Qin Fei, seeming not to like that intensely holy light very much.

A faint gray glow, like the soul of a Digimon, also began to envelop Qin Fei.

"So that's how it is..."

Watching the flickering digital light in his hand, Qin Fei felt as though he had gained a sudden understanding.

As a power born of belief, it would manifest itself whenever one was happy, excited, sad... even angry, reflecting itself in the bodies of Digimon.

Then was the cultivation of the Digimon Soul also a cultivation of one's own true heart? If so... how was the heart to be cultivated?

"Qin Fei, look below!"

At that moment, BlackGarurumon's voice abruptly interrupted Qin Fei's thoughts. It seemed their destination had been reached.