Chapter 18: The Fire Spirit Fruit

“Wild Beast, I’ll leave it to you now.”
Li Ping turned to look at the Garurumon and Nine-Tailed Foxmon steadily approaching the group, patted Wild Beast’s shoulder beside him, and the digital energy between his brows gleamed, transforming into a rune that merged with Wild Beast.
“Wild Beast digivolves—Ogremon!”
A milky-white light scattered from Wild Beast’s body, and in an instant, Wild Beast grew into a green giant over three meters tall, shielding everyone behind him.
“Let’s finish this quickly.”
Li Mu glanced at Ore Beast beside him, and the digital energy between his brows also turned into a rune. In the next moment, the light of evolution appeared on Ore Beast’s body as well.
“Ore Beast digivolves—Starmon!”
Starmon is so named because its face is shaped like a five-pointed star, its entire body diamond-hard, making ordinary attacks barely leave a mark. Its signature move is Meteor Storm.
Ogremon, Starmon.
Zhao Jie looked at the two mature-stage Digimon beside him, plus the flying Badramon overhead—three mature-stage Digimon altogether.
“Finish it fast.”
All three, Li Ping and his companions, issued orders to their Digimon, and the three mature-stage Digimon launched attacks at the advancing Garurumon and Nine-Tailed Foxmon.
Tyrant Punch!
Meteor Storm.
Meteoric Giant Wings.
These three Digimon, partnered with humans, were clearly much stronger than Garurumon and Nine-Tailed Foxmon. From the very start of the battle, they gained absolute advantage.
Boom...
No matter how Garurumon and Nine-Tailed Foxmon unleashed their special moves or tried to break through with speed, they were intercepted by the trio of mature-stage Digimon.
The fierce battle ended with Garurumon and Nine-Tailed Foxmon fleeing; Li Ping and the others did not pursue. As the light faded, Ogremon and Starmon reverted to their growth-stage forms.
“Let’s go.”
Chen Tong’s Badramon remained in mature-stage, leading the group toward the exit of the secret realm.

“By the way, kid, you’re pretty lucky. To survive being chased by two mature-stage Digimon.”
Sitting on Badramon’s back, Li Ping looked at Zhao Jie, who was nearly unscathed, and laughed.
He’d thought anyone caught in the digital secret realm this time would surely die. Unexpectedly, not only was the kid alright, but he’d even dared to provoke mature-stage Digimon. This boy had guts.
“Just luck, just luck.”
Zhao Jie replied with an awkward smile. If these people hadn’t shown up, he really might have met his end there.
Touching the last fruit in his pocket, he was glad he’d managed to save at least one.
Soon, the group reached the exit of the digital secret realm.
“Alright, kid, hurry up and leave.”
Li Ping had Zhao Jie’s body checked again by the medical staff. Finding nothing seriously wrong, he signaled for Zhao Jie to go.
“Goodbye, Teacher Li.”
With a bow to Li Ping, Zhao Jie left the sealed area with Agumon.
He’d finally returned alive—no easy feat.
The exit was not far from Zhao Jie’s hometown. When he got home with Agumon, the two elderly people there had no idea their grandson had had such a close brush with death.
“Xiao Jie, that old forest’s all blocked off now. Do you know what happened?”
I know, of course I know. I almost didn’t make it back.
But of course, Zhao Jie would never say such things to the elders before him.
“Grandpa, Grandma, it’s nothing. Maybe they’re doing some research.”
After a few tired words with the elders, he returned to his room and fell into a deep sleep.
When he awoke, it was already the next morning.
“How painful.”
He moved his body, and every muscle groaned. In the secret realm, he’d pushed himself to the limit. While he had no obvious wounds, his muscles were overworked.
He’d need two or three days before he could live normally again.

“Let’s see what this fruit from the digital secret realm really is.”
He took out the last fist-sized red fruit from his clothes and started searching for information about it on his phone.
A fruit coveted by two mature-stage Digimon had to be something valuable. Zhao Jie now needed to know whether Agumon could eat it at its current stage.
Many non-public details were recorded in the Data Sprite app Zhao Jie had registered with before, and much of the information was free to access.
For example, the fruit in Zhao Jie’s hand was actually listed for sale in the Data Sprite app—it wasn’t some unknown fruit with no record as he’d once thought.
“Flame Spirit Fruit: a strange fruit growing in digital secret realms. When consumed by Digimon, it increases affinity for fire attributes. Price: 200 points plus 100,000 RMB.”
Zhao Jie compared the fruit in his hand to the images of the Flame Spirit Fruit, checking several times, and only then confirmed he truly had a Flame Spirit Fruit.
“No wonder Garurumon and Nine-Tailed Foxmon fought over this fruit. Both Digimon are fire-type; raising fire affinity means boosting the power of their special moves.”
Having confirmed the fruit’s name, Zhao Jie deduced the reason for their conflict.
“I really want to sell it.”
Seeing the price on his phone, he guessed the buying price must be high as well.
But Zhao Jie only thought about it. For Agumon, a flame affinity booster like the Flame Spirit Fruit was invaluable, since Agumon itself was a fire-type Digimon.
If Agumon could fully absorb the fruit’s energy, it might go further in the upcoming newcomer’s cup tournament—a long-term benefit.
“No, after I get back, I need to find a sparring partner for Agumon.”
Thinking of Agumon’s initial performance in the secret realm, Zhao Jie’s face darkened a little, but he had to admit Agumon’s later performance was excellent and hadn’t let him down.
In its sleep, Agumon shivered unexpectedly, waking from its sweet dreams to see Zhao Jie holding the Flame Spirit Fruit.
“I’m so hungry.”
Agumon jumped from its bed, clutching its stomach and looking pitifully at Zhao Jie—or more precisely, at the Flame Spirit Fruit in Zhao Jie’s hand.