A shining silver gear appeared in Andromon's palm, spinning endlessly by itself, without any visible force.
"A Black Gear…"
Zero immediately recognized its origin: the same Black Gear Devimon had used before.
The Black Gear would invade a Digimon's DigiCore after embedding itself, using an internal virus program to take over their minds.
But the gear in Andromon's hand had been thoroughly cleansed of any viral programming, losing the pitch-black coloration from its infection.
The Black Gear's technology originally came from the Metal Empire. With that technology available, reverse-engineering it was naturally no great challenge.
Right now, multiple systems within the Unmanned Mechanical Factory had resumed operation. Though restarting full-scale production was still impossible due to lack of materials, research had progressed significantly.
The first successful prototype was this silver gear Andromon currently held.
After completely purging the viral code from the Black Gear, Andromon had integrated entirely new programs—an "Overclocking Program" and a "Power-saving Program"—supported by Zero's data about DigiSoul.
By embedding this gear into a Digimon, it could directly interface with their DigiCore, temporarily overclocking it when needed to unleash vastly greater computational power than normal.
Conversely, when not needed, it could switch into a power-saving mode, shutting off unused computational processes and drastically reducing normal energy consumption.
The first experimental batch was complete, and initial testing results were promising.
Andromon had tested it on itself and Hagurumon volunteers. In overclock mode, Andromon's strength increased by around thirty percent, while Hagurumon's combat power soared by as much as fifty percent.
However, overclock mode currently could only be sustained for three minutes. Pushing beyond this would harm the DigiCore—and exceeding four and a half minutes could cause irreversible damage, making it a desperate card to be played only at critical moments.
Yet just having such an extra card could mean the difference between victory and defeat in many cases.
More importantly, however, was the gear's power-saving function. Most of the time, a Digimon didn't fully use its DigiCore's computational power—in fact, it was rare to even use a fifth of it.
Yet the energy consumption from maintaining a DigiCore was a constant drain. Saving this unused energy over time would accumulate into an enormous amount, sufficient for Digimon equipped with this gear to evolve an entire stage earlier than their peers.
What the difference of evolving a full stage earlier meant was obvious and for Machine-type Digimon specifically, the benefit was even more pronounced.
"Energy-saving and emissions reduction" was an eternal challenge. The maintenance costs for military equipment were astronomical; even a ten-percent reduction in annual daily maintenance costs would represent huge savings.
And this was just the first prototype; theoretically, the potential was immense.
Although its effects weren't nearly as potent as the Crest's or DigiSoul's external buffs, the gear had a decisive advantage: mass production. Just its general applicability alone made it incredibly valuable.
Meanwhile, the Dark Army, which also possessed Black Gear technology, lacked any information about DigiSoul or Crests. No matter what, they couldn't replicate this new gear.
"It's just a prototype for now, but since it's clearly different from the original Black Gear… how should we name it?"
Andromon asked for Zero's opinion, since it was Zero's data and ideas that allowed the research to bear fruit. Naturally, naming rights belonged to him.
Zero thought for a few seconds before deciding—
"…In that case, let's call it 'Hyper Gear.' How about it?"
Andromon clearly had no strong opinions about naming; as soon as Zero decided, it nodded in immediate agreement.
Thus, Zero had gained another card to play. Though, currently, the stronger the Digimon, the smaller the gear's boost—but even if a Mega-level Digimon only gained a five-percent increase, the practical benefits were greater than an Ultimate-level's larger percentage gain.
After all, battles at higher levels often came down to just that one crucial move or half a step.
With a communication network set up, Andromon could transfer items between both sides through the network.
Since everything in the Digital World was data, theoretically anything here could be transferred along network lines. But for now, the communication channel was limited—a narrow data pipeline—making large-scale transfers impossible.
Still, sending a few small items was manageable…
Actually, Andromon's side at the factory had a solid connection. It was Zero's newly built first temporary base that was the real bottleneck, seriously limited in performance.
Through the network, Andromon nevertheless managed to send several Hyper Gear samples to Zero, for emergency use.
"In Toy Town, the residents previously controlled by Devimon have mostly returned. Reconstruction there is nearly finished, and they've begun widely welcoming Baby and Rookie Digimon."
Monzaemon, Toy Town's mayor, had always loved children—translated into Digimon terms, he enjoyed spending time with Baby and Rookie Digimon. Now reopened, Toy Town essentially served as a giant kindergarten.
So, Monzaemon, previously amusement park director and town mayor, now added "Headmaster of File Island Kindergarten" to his roles—forever solidifying his reputation as a devoted caretaker.
Though he'd happily embraced the role. Compared to the chaos on Server Continent, File Island was gradually beginning to show signs of genuine civilization.
"Haha, then please tell him thanks for all his hard work on my behalf~"
"Monzaemon also said, once your business there is done, he warmly welcomes you to visit Toy Town. He promises a proper reception."
"I look forward to it~"
The communication ended on that uplifting note. Hearing good news from behind the lines lifted Zero's spirits instantly, filling him with motivation at the frontline.
Taichi, standing aside, couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
"It's amazing… Zero, having so many who respect and trust you—you're really incredible."
"Haha, something like this… You can also accomplish it, Taichi~"
Taichi only took Zero's reply as polite encouragement. But Zero knew clearly in his heart—Taichi, as the undisputed leader and core of the original DigiDestined, absolutely had impressive leadership abilities.
…After all, how else would he later become a diplomat? Not just anyone could handle that kind of work.
After thinking briefly, Zero distributed the Hyper Gears to Piximon and the Drimogemon, clearly explaining their usage. Whether they chose to use them or not was entirely up to themselves.
Piximon immediately integrated the Hyper Gear into his body. Even if it had side-effects—which it didn't—gaining a 30% boost for a short time was enough for Piximon to accomplish many things.
After all, Piximon didn't necessarily need it for combat. His magic required extensive computational support; the 30% boost wasn't merely about strength—it meant he could try out magic previously impossible for him.
As for the Drimogemon, Hyper Gear held limited meaning for them currently, but it was still a useful emergency card.
Though frankly, even boosting their strength by fifty percent probably wouldn't change the outcome if they fought against truly strong enemies…
Having dealt with things at the base, Zero now prepared to head to Etemon's base—to raid it for resources to fuel development.
Of course, by Jianghu rules, when dealing with evil and heretical sects, there's no need for etiquette or moral high ground. Just go in and beat them up… We're simply conducting a righteous robbery!
The Drimogemon stayed behind at the base, and Piximon would arrange their rest. Their work building the base had temporarily ended; they could now safely relax until needed again.
...
Meanwhile, Zero, along with Taichi and Hikari, was ready to hit the road once more.
Piximon had already provided the exact location of Etemon's base. Calling it a "base" was generous—Etemon hadn't even bothered building it himself, just forcibly took it over…
Originally, it was Datamon's lab—a large pyramid structure with both surface and underground sections.
The upper levels were Etemon's current base, while the lower sections served as Datamon's former lab and his prison, where Etemon imprisoned Datamon and forced him into servitude.
Other than minor grunts, the base's main obstacles were Etemon and Datamon themselves. Any traps or security measures were trivial before Zero's current Ultimate-level power.
At worst, he'd just blow up the whole base. Who cared about traps then?
Zero initially planned to stealthily infiltrate Etemon's base—but just as they exited the southern desert, they were met with a very enthusiastic welcome.
Clearly, after their previous encounter, Myotismon now considered Zero a major threat who must be swiftly eliminated.
Since Zero refused Myotismon's offer to cooperate, he naturally became Myotismon's number-one enemy, deserving special treatment.
In the bright daylight, Myotismon's power was heavily weakened, preventing him from personally acting. Yet he still had plenty of subordinates. The instant Zero's party left the desert, they saw dozens of Devidramon circling menacingly overhead…
"Oh ho, stepping out and already people are kindly delivering experience points—how nice~"
As Zero joked lightly, he prepared to digivolve and fight. At this exact moment, however, a shadow suddenly darted out, swiftly smacking away a diving Devidramon.
Then, a playful voice cheerfully chimed in—
"…Neko Punch~"
---
T/N: 4 chaps meeting this weeks quota, last week it was 7dtd this week it was tomodachi life........ teehee
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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