Chapter 21: Oh, Foolish Brother

"Are you okay, Doroo Beast?"
Seeing Doroo Beast knocked down, its Digimon partner rushed to the center of the arena, gazing with concern at the creature lying weakly on the ground.

Doroo Beast’s Digimon partner was a person about the same age as Zhao Jie and Liu Cheng, yet neither of them recognized him; he was likely not a student of Wuling First High School.

Wuling City had two high schools; aside from First High School, there was also Second High School. Zhao Jie guessed that these two were probably from Second High.

Soon, staff members responsible for overseeing such battles appeared, checked on Doroo Beast, and offered treatment in the medical room if it was injured.

"Haha, your Doroo Beast is really useless. Hand over the wager."

Another boy swaggered to the center, fondling his Youko Beast with one hand while extending the other. A hundred-yuan bill quickly appeared in his hand.

"So you can place bets here?"
Zhao Jie watched the scene with curiosity. Didn’t the staff care about this?

"You two must be here for the first time. The rules here are pretty relaxed. As long as you’re not maliciously causing serious injury or even death to someone else’s Digimon, we don’t interfere with betting battles like this."
At some point, a staff member in uniform had appeared beside Zhao Jie and Liu Cheng, smiling as he explained.

So that’s how it was.

Zhao Jie nodded. Maliciously injuring someone else’s Digimon carried criminal liability. If someone caused another’s Digimon to die, the punishment was even harsher.

Teacher Li Ping had taught this early on; such penalties applied regardless of background. There was once a wealthy second-generation who, despite his connections, maliciously killed someone else’s Digimon and was executed for it.

That was the harshest penalty ever imposed in the country. Since then, the environment had improved severalfold—cases of maliciously killing another’s Digimon became rare.

"Are you two here to look for a place to spar?"
The staff member, who introduced himself as Third Brother, was friendly by nature and soon became acquainted with Zhao Jie and Liu Cheng. Under his guidance, they found an unused arena.

"Let’s begin."
As soon as they entered, Bit Beast impatiently hopped to the center, surprising Liu Cheng.

He knew his Bit Beast was the laziest creature—if it could sit, it wouldn’t stand; if it could lie down, it would never sit up. When had Bit Beast become so energetic?

"I’ll go then."
Agumon, munching snacks, ambled slowly to the other side.

"Your Agumon is quite interesting,"
Third Brother, who had brought Zhao Jie and Liu Cheng here, clicked his tongue in admiration. He wasn’t a Digimon user, but he’d seen plenty during his time working here.

A Digimon fond of eating human food—this was a first.

"It’s not so strange,"
Zhao Jie chuckled awkwardly, then asked, "Third Brother, are there any rules for this sparring?"

"The rules are simple: when one Digimon loses the ability to fight or concedes, the match ends. I’ll be the referee."

The rules were even simpler than Zhao Jie and Liu Cheng had expected; soon, both took their positions to command.

"Are you ready?"

"Three, two, one—begin!"

As the word "begin" echoed, electricity crackled and gathered on Bit Beast’s horn—its ultimate move: Paralyzing Lightning.

Whoosh!

The electric light shot like a lightning serpent straight toward Agumon.

Bang.

The lightning struck the ground, but Agumon had already dashed away. The Paralyzing Lightning hit nothing at all.

Just like that?

Agumon looked at Bit Beast, recalling the embarrassment of its own Mini Fireball missing the target. Brother, you still have much to learn.

Orange-red fire flickered in Agumon’s mouth; it was the prelude to its ultimate move, Mini Fireball.

"Bit Beast, be careful!"
Seeing Agumon’s stance, Liu Cheng couldn’t help but shout.

Bit Beast rolled its eyes rapidly.

My foolish servant, do you think the wise one among Digimon doesn’t know how to dodge?

Whoosh!

Agumon inched ever closer, keeping the Mini Fireball ready but unreleased, which frustrated Bit Beast immensely.

Release it already!
If you don’t, how am I supposed to respond?

"Smart move!"
Third Brother watched in surprise. Keeping the ultimate move charged but unreleased put pressure on Bit Beast, who had already unleashed its own. Bit Beast wasn’t fast, so Agumon could approach and increase the chance of landing its attack.

What amazed him most was that Agumon made all these decisions on its own, without any visible commands from its partner.

Of course, since the two were friends, perhaps they’d discussed tactics beforehand.

Dodge!

Forced into a corner, Bit Beast had to expend energy to dodge in advance, hoping to delay and await the cooldown for its next Paralyzing Lightning.

But just as it dodged, Agumon stood still and launched its Mini Fireball, striking Bit Beast directly.

"Bit Beast!"
Seeing this, Liu Cheng felt a pang in his heart.

"Don’t worry, Bit Beast is fine,"
Zhao Jie reassured him. The Mini Fireball, despite its impressive display, was all flash and no substance—it didn’t cause any real harm.

Whoosh.

A wave of heat washed over Bit Beast, but the expected pain never came. Instead, it felt warm and cozy.

Then it met Agumon’s eyes.

Humiliation!
This was utter humiliation. Bit Beast knew Agumon was holding back; otherwise, even the weakest Mini Fireball should have hurt.

"Why is fate so unfair? I’ve worked so hard, yet I still can’t beat this villain before me."

Bit Beast questioned the heavens in silence.

If Liu Cheng knew what was going through its mind, he’d surely be shaking with rage.

Rolling around a few times a day—is that what you call hard work? You clearly misunderstand the word "effort."

Agumon easily hoisted Bit Beast up; compared to Agumon, Bit Beast was at a physical disadvantage.

Agumon tapped Bit Beast’s forehead with its other claw.

"My foolish brother, hate me, despise me!"

Bit Beast widened its adorable eyes, staring at Agumon.

Brother, aren’t you in the wrong story?