Chapter 15: Garurumon

“Ssshhh…”
On the vast, silent grassland, the wind continually brushed through the knee-high grass, causing it to sway rhythmically and produce a persistent rustling sound.

“Something’s coming.”

Agumon’s eyes narrowed, his whole body tensed in readiness, flames gathering at the corners of his mouth, prepared to unleash a small fireball at any moment.

Suddenly, a gray-brown figure sprang out from the grass, emitting a sharp cry.

“It’s a Gray Mousemon, Agumon, attack!”

Seeing the figure, Zhao Jie breathed a sigh of relief. Gray Mousemon, a Digimon in its infancy stage, was one of the most common creatures in the Digital Secret Realm, not particularly strong, and Agumon could handle it easily.

Small Fireball.

Upon hearing Zhao Jie’s command, Agumon opened his mouth and released the fireball he’d been charging.

Bang...

Much to Agumon’s embarrassment, the fireball struck nothing; the leaping Gray Mousemon effortlessly dodged it. After evading, it even waggled its tail provocatively at Agumon, full of arrogance.

Zhao Jie: ????

All that special training, wasted? This is just an infant Gray Mousemon, and you missed? Agumon, are you playing me?

Whoosh!

Agumon felt awkward inside, but his body shot forward in a flash, the sudden burst of speed leaving the taunting Gray Mousemon no time to react, only to sense a large shadow looming ahead.

“Small Fireball.”

This time, the fireball was unleashed instantly, giving the Gray Mousemon no chance to dodge, and it perished miserably in Agumon’s somewhat furious flames.

“Not good, Agumon, we need to run—there’s a swarm of creatures closing in.”

Agumon had wanted to show off to Zhao Jie, but hearing this, he quickly looked around. As Zhao Jie had said, the surrounding grass was swaying violently—something was clearly approaching them.

“Go!”

Man and beast ran desperately forward, but the creatures behind them were quick; in less than a minute, they were less than two meters away from Zhao Jie’s back.

“It’s Gray Mousemon, a whole pack of them.”

Glancing back at his pursuers, Zhao Jie realized he and Agumon had disturbed a nest, provoking relentless pursuit.

“Small Fireball.”

While running, Agumon twisted around and unleashed another fireball at their pursuers, successfully hitting several Gray Mousemon and briefly slowing their advance.

But soon, as the flames died down, the Gray Mousemon resumed their fearless pursuit.

“Seriously? That’s fire—why doesn’t the grass catch?”

Zhao Jie was so frustrated he wanted to cough blood. Isn’t fire supposed to counter grass? Was Agumon’s fire fake?

In truth, he should be grateful it didn’t ignite. If the grassland had caught fire, their situation would have become far worse—the flames alone would have burned him alive.

Small Fireball!

Small Fireball.

After several attempts, Agumon’s stored energy was nearly depleted; he couldn’t unleash any more special moves.

“Go!”

Zhao Jie scooped the exhausted Agumon into his arms and continued to run.

His heavy breathing made it clear he was at his physical limit. He wished he could be like the protagonist in an anime, with a flash of aura, and Agumon would evolve into Greymon.

No matter how many infant Gray Mousemon there were, Greymon could easily deal with them.

But that was impossible.

This was reality. If they didn’t escape, these infant Gray Mousemon could truly kill.

Should he gamble?

See if he could cross over again?

A crossing without a system—honestly, he felt it was shameful for a transmigrator.

“Roar!”

A deafening roar suddenly rang out ahead. A giant beast, over three meters long, covered in blue and white stripes, had been lying in the grass but now rose to its feet.

Its eyes calmly fixed on Zhao Jie, but Zhao Jie saw the intent to kill.

“Garurumon!”

Zhao Jie stared at the giant beast, forcing out these words through clenched teeth.

Yes, the blue and white striped giant before him was Garurumon from the anime. Yet, unlike its animated counterpart, this Garurumon radiated murderous intent.

Garurumon, a mature-stage Digimon.

This was the first mature Digimon Zhao Jie had encountered. If possible, he’d rather not have met one this way.

“Roar.”

A low growl came from the beast’s mouth. Hearing it, the pursuing Gray Mousemon scattered and fled at astonishing speed.

Hey, why aren’t you charging now? Weren’t you just chasing us so eagerly?

Feeling the commotion behind him as the Gray Mousemon retreated, Zhao Jie shouted inwardly.

In this world, even Digimon have learned to bully the weak and fear the strong. There’s no justice left.

“Sorry to bother you, we’ll be on our way.”

Zhao Jie flashed a smile uglier than a grimace. What rotten luck: swept into the Digital Secret Realm and now facing a mature Garurumon.

“Roar.”

Zhao Jie retreated a few steps, and the Garurumon that had been watching him advanced two paces, body leaning forward, ready to pounce at any moment.

Garurumon’s advance revealed what its body had been blocking: a fruit tree less than a meter tall, bearing three fist-sized fruits slowly turning from green to red.

Zhao Jie’s heart stirred. From Garurumon’s stance, it seemed to be guarding the tree.

That meant he had a chance to escape.

Thinking quickly, Zhao Jie realized that while the fruit on the tree looked valuable, survival for him and Agumon was the only priority. Who would dare snatch food from the jaws of a beast?

“Big brother, we’re leaving, we’re leaving now.”

Zhao Jie kept retreating, wary of the Garurumon standing in place. He knew he’d guessed right.

This Garurumon truly was guarding the fruit-laden tree.

When Garurumon vanished from sight, Zhao Jie collapsed to the ground, his body soaked in cold sweat.

Even now, the last scent lingering in his memory was Garurumon’s heavy, fishy breath.

This was the closest he’d ever come to death in both his lives.