"You sure can eat a lot."
Mimi stared in astonishment at the voraciously feasting YukimiBotamon, glancing occasionally at the mountain of wrappers piled nearby, truly curious about how this creature managed to devour more food than its own size.
If her parents hadn't always kept the refrigerator stocked with food and fruits, Mimi would've suspected this "little bad egg" could even swallow the table itself.
"Ya-ya!"
Hearing Mimi's comment, Chen Ze—still stuffing his mouth—could only roll his eyes helplessly.
If he could speak right now, he'd just want to ask her plainly: "Hey kid, are you missing some common sense?"
Putting aside his current form as a tiny YukimiBotamon, how was it possible that this girl's first reaction upon discovering him hiding under the bed had been to ask him if he was hungry?
He'd initially intended to refuse out of sheer pride—but the reality was, since last night, all he'd eaten was one instant noodle cup, and even that had been consumed back when he was still Agumon. YukimiBotamon, ever since his birth, hadn't tasted a drop of water or a crumb of food.
Thus, when Mimi had lured him out from under the bed with a juicy, grilled sausage, he abandoned all pride, crawled out shamelessly, and willingly acted cute for it.
Thinking back, Chen Ze couldn't help but wonder if YukimiBotamon's fluffy form was just especially effective at charming little girls—or if Mimi was simply too naive for her own good.
Whatever the reason, the outcome was that after some friendly (albeit one-sided and rather rough) interaction, Chen Ze had finally managed to enjoy his first proper meal as YukimiBotamon.
Yet, recalling Mimi's overly affectionate "friendly interaction"—more like squeezing a plush doll to death—Chen Ze's cheeks still ached. This girl genuinely seemed to regard him purely as a pet or stuffed toy.
It was fortunate he was a Digimon with the mature consciousness of Chen Ze. Any other Fresh-level Digimon would've instinctively retaliated against Mimi's rough cuddling.
And if that Digimon happened to possess a destructive move like his own Overload Impact, Mimi's situation could've quickly turned dangerous.
Luckily, YukimiBotamon—now Chen Ze—understood Mimi meant no harm, and so a tragedy had been narrowly avoided.
Speaking of which, Chen Ze mused, Kari—who could instinctively tame that rampaging Agumon—must truly be this world's destined protagonist.
Botamon or Koromon stage Agumon was relatively harmless since they lacked powerful offensive moves like his own; they posed little threat by comparison.
But Agumon and Greymon were another matter entirely. Even the weakest Rookie or Champion-level Digimon had the strength to effortlessly tear apart a car.
And yet, such a powerful beast—lacking intelligence to match its brute strength—still chose, at the moment of crisis, to protect Kari and Tai. That was the true miracle.
If Chen Ze remembered correctly, this very evening, that legendary Agumon destined to enter the annals of Digital World history would be born—and, evolving at unprecedented speed, it would become a mighty Greymon, strong enough to rival even Ultimate-level Digimon.
I must find a way back before Greymon completes his evolution. Otherwise, Homeostasis will surely notice me and Renamon as anomalies from outside the normal system.
Thinking this far, Chen Ze's heart sank again.
Leaving aside the fact Renamon was still hiding in some corner of the network, his own current condition made finding a path back home practically impossible.
Without a protagonist-level figure like Kari by his side, how could he possibly evolve into a Champion-level Digimon in a single day?
Forget becoming Champion—Chen Ze seriously doubted how long he'd remain stuck as YukimiBotamon.
"Oh! What's this?"
Just as Chen Ze sank into despair, Mimi—who had been closely observing him all along—suddenly discovered something new and interesting. Squatting down carefully, she reached toward it.
"Ya-ya!"
Caught completely off-guard, Chen Ze didn't even have time to react before Mimi snatched up the white leather strap lying beside him.
"It feels like stiff fabric?"
And then, before Chen Ze's startled eyes, Mimi—upon first contact with Agumon's remnant data—began glowing with a strange, mystical radiance.
It was a pure, reassuring light—the light of innocence itself. This was the first-ever resonance between a human with a "Crest of Purity" and the Digital World.
From Chen Ze's Digimon perspective, the glow appeared as a primitive, mysterious code—one even his current hacking abilities could only manage to partially capture.
"Huh?! Why am I glowing?"
Clearly, Mimi herself noticed the pure light suddenly emanating from her body and reacted with innocent delight.
Even more astonishing was how, as Mimi's emotions fluctuated, that mysterious code surged through Agumon's residual data, rapidly flowing into Chen Ze's own body.
These weren't ordinary data or information fragments; rather, they formed a complete, refined "Digivolution Program."
Though it couldn't directly increase his power or data volume, it optimized YukimiBotamon's fundamental data structure, reshaping it toward the direction of "purity" envisioned by Mimi's Crest.
Thus…
YUKIMIBOTAMON (VARIANT)—DIGIVOLUTION...
The food Chen Ze had just devoured was digested at astonishing speed, quickly converting into pure, usable data.
Meanwhile, the "Light of Purity" acted like a selective filter, restructuring and recasting that converted data into a form that closely resonated with itself.
Chen Ze could clearly sense his Digital Core rewriting itself during this process. YukimiBotamon's form rapidly shifted as well.
In a fleeting instant, Chen Ze experienced something akin to millions of years of human evolution. YukimiBotamon's round, fluffy body began to reshape itself, taking Mimi's Crest of Purity as a blueprint and evolving toward a more humanoid direction.
Unfortunately, among the data Chen Ze absorbed from his meal, aside from a few fruits, very little resonated effectively with Mimi's pure heart.
Thus, after a brief hesitation, this unusual evolution—unable to perfectly follow Mimi's desired form—defaulted back to the foundation of YukimiBotamon's original Digital Core, becoming something different, an alternate evolutionary path:
—KOROMON (VARIANT)!
When the radiant glow around Chen Ze and Mimi faded, the original YukimiBotamon had vanished, replaced instead by a Koromon utterly distinct from any others.
Its snow-white body was pristine, devoid of any other colors, and a pair of ears even longer than any rabbit's fluttered instinctively…
But the most distinguishing feature setting this snowy Koromon apart was a childishly charming "scarf" wrapped snugly around its neck, just like the cute little clothes worn by cats and dogs.
This "scarf" was precisely what Agumon's original data had become after optimization through the Crest of Purity.
"Mimi…? Wait, you're Mimi Tachikawa?!"
---
T/N: bonus chaps tomorrow
Hey everyone, thanks for reading. If you're enjoying the translation, dropping some Powerstones would really help out your hardworking translator (100 stones = 1 bonus chapter, 200 = 2 chapters, and so on—easy math, right?).
If you're feeling especially generous, or maybe just impatient, you can support the translator at patreon.com/wisetl. Totally optional, but hey, early access is always a nice bonus.
Oh, and don't forget—join the Discord at discord.gg/wisetl. Come chat, share theories, or complain directly to the translator—trust me, they love it.
Anyway, see you in the next chapter~
say thank you to hayasaka guyss