"Don't worry, when I meet Andromon, I'll talk to him."
Watching the hasty Aili Beast depart, Zhou Zhu did not get up to see him off, but remained in place, waiting for the Chosen Children to arrive, while also feeling the state of Little Flame Beast.
Nighttime~
Although there was the noise of various machinery operating within the entire Andromon Factory, Zhou Zhu, knowing he was the only one in the factory, felt even more flustered.
But thankfully, he had Little Flame Beast accompanying him, even if it was just a clone of himself...
Buzz~~~
Just then, the body of Little Flame Beast in Zhou Zhu's arms began to emit the light unique to Evolution~
"Is this it? Is Little Flame Beast finally going to Evolve?" Feeling the various Evolution paths appearing in his mind, Zhou Zhu decisively chose the main Rookie path of Candlemon.
"Little Flame Beast~ Evolution!"
&…………… (Evolution song)
"Candlemon!"
As Zhou Zhu made his choice, Little Flame Beast's body underwent a tremendous transformation.
The white light dispersed, and an ordinary Candlemon appeared beside Zhou Zhu.
(Data) Candlemon:
Rookie Digimon~
A Digimon with its Digicore, which can be called the heart of a Digimon, placed on its head, a intensely burning flame-type Digimon. If the fire of the Digicore burning on its head disappears, Candlemon cannot maintain its life activities. It is said that the fire on its head is its true body, and the body part is false. As a flame-type Digimon, its personality is very honest, and it will not cause harm to its surroundings. Its special move is to spit out small fireballs called ~ Bonfire.
"A Rookie Candlemon? I've finally caught up with the basic progress of the protagonist group. Although it's impossible to Evolve further in a short time, in a place like File Island, basic self-preservation or escape can still be achieved."
Looking at the Candlemon beside him, Zhou Zhu finally felt a slight sense of security.
Although Candlemon isn't considered very strong, with his cooperation, facing a Champion Level Digimon isn't completely without the power to resist.
For the next period of time, Zhou Zhu spent it getting familiar with Candlemon's special moves. When he was hungry, he would go outside to pick some wild fruits or something, as there were no other fierce Digimon around the Andromon Factory.
Boring times are always long. Zhou Zhu had already controlled Candlemon to fight all the Rookie Digimon in the vicinity. Aili Beast also visited a few times during this period, but he didn't stay long and went back, after all, Founding Village couldn't do without him.
………………
"Judging by this progress bar, for Candlemon to Evolve to Champion Level, it would take at least a year and a half, or even two years. This is assuming Candlemon isn't restricted by its level, as many Digimon can only get stuck at Rookie their entire lives."
This day, inside the factory, Zhou Zhu was immersed in Candlemon's inner body, feeling the various Evolution paths and its own Digimon data in Candlemon's mind, when suddenly a child's voice came from outside.
Although Zhou Zhu himself didn't understand Japanese, Digimon do~
Through Candlemon's clone, Zhou Zhu could easily understand the language of Tai and the others, and use it proficiently.
From the plot of the second season in the original work, the languages of Digimon from different countries do not seem to be mutually intelligible, and the birthplace of his Candlemon, File Island, clearly belongs to the Japanese-speaking region.
"Is anyone there?"
"Is there anyone?"
"The machines are working, but why isn't there a single person to be seen?"
Have they finally arrived? It seems his waiting these past few days wasn't in vain.
"No need to shout. Besides me, there should be no one else here. After all, before you came, I had already surveyed this place inside and out."
As the few of them were discussing, Zhou Zhu slowly walked out from the corner with Candlemon.
"Huh? Someone?"
"Great, we finally saw a living person."
"Hello, my name is Yagami Tai. How did you get here? Also, do you know how to return to the Human World?" Compared to the other companions, Tai's personality was clearly more cheerful and also more reckless.
Encountering an unfamiliar stranger like Zhou Zhu, he not only had no defenses but even walked straight towards him.
"I wanted to ask you that. You are the only group of humans I've seen since I came to this awful place." Facing Tai's question, Zhou Zhu, of course, couldn't give an answer.
Even if he knew that the Chosen Children could return to the real world by defeating Apocalymon, could he tell them directly? Clearly not. The cost of changing the plot might be something he couldn't bear.
One must know that the appearance of the Chosen Children was a premeditated plan, euphemistically called the Sacred Plan. Homeostasis and Gennai were clearly using the Chosen Children.
Before he had the strength to protect himself, he should try to lower his sense of presence as much as possible. Judging by Homeostasis and Gennai's control over the Digital World, they could at most only guide with external forces.
And it was impossible for them to directly arrange for the Royal Knights to enter the fray, or even for them to appear in person, like Yggdrasil in the fifth season.
Based on all the above inferences, Gennai and Homeostasis should not cause a malicious incident like a targeted hunt for him, a child who inexplicably appeared outside their plan, right?
At most, they would be suspicious of his identity, or secretly observe his origins.
Of course, the worst outcome cannot be ruled out. After all, it concerns his life, and such a major matter absolutely cannot rely on luck or the goodwill of others to survive.
Therefore, before he becomes strong, he must absolutely, absolutely not interfere with Homeostasis's plan…
"Ah~ You don't know how to go back either? By the way, how did you get here?" Tai was slightly disappointed by Zhou Zhu's answer. After all, he finally met a human, but the other person's situation was actually the same as his~
"How did I get here... I only remember I was eating hotpot and singing, and then a flash of white light, and I arrived at Founding Village. Oh, this is my partner Candlemon, and my name is Zhou Zhu~"
To avoid arousing the suspicion of Gennai, who might be secretly observing, Zhou Zhu decided to tell the truth. After all, his child-like appearance was indeed very deceptive, and he truly didn't lie about his appearance method.
Such things cannot withstand scrutiny. If he lied, it would instead attract others' focused attention.
"Zhou Zhu? No last name? Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, this is my partner, Agumon, and this is Sora behind me~"
Hearing Zhou Zhu's statement, Tai didn't pay too much attention to it, but was rather curious about Zhou Zhu's name.
"Alright, Tai, I'll introduce myself. Hello, Zhou Zhu, I'm Sora Takenouchi, and this is my partner Biyomon."
Sora's face was filled with displeasure towards Tai for introducing her without her consent.
However, despite her inner annoyance, Sora still stepped forward to introduce herself to Zhou Zhu.
"Hello, my name is Koushiro Izumi, and this is my partner Tentomon."
"Yamato Ishida, and this is my partner Gabumon."
Yamato's vigilance had already reached its peak regarding this suddenly appearing individual, but in order to obtain more information, he did not stop Tai from rushing forward.