With the Courage-boosted Mega form unleashed, dealing with this hastily spawned bunch of Ultimates was naturally a foregone conclusion…
Zero charged in with a single Great Tornado, effortlessly sweeping across the battlefield. His body spun at blinding speed like a drill, sparks igniting and coalescing into a fiercely burning flame vortex.
Even Fire-type Digimon stood no chance against these flames born from a heart of courage. This wasn't flame in the traditional physical sense; it had completely transcended to a state powered purely by will.
A sonic boom exploded as Zero pierced the air, a draconic roar reverberating through the heavens. The speed was faster than the naked eye could follow, suppressing everything in an instant.
"All done~"
As the flames dispersed, Zero stood alone amid enemies dissolving into scattered data.
"All anomalous data responses have disappeared; the enemies have been completely eradicated, and then…"
Outside, Rina held the Digivice, reading the displayed messages to confirm the complete elimination of foes.
But truthfully, right now, none of that mattered anymore.
Taking a deep breath, she finally spoke, her voice tight…
"Zero… just what exactly is going on here?"
Though he hadn't directly seen Rina in the network space, Zero naturally sensed her presence clearly.
Unlike the temporary partnership he had with Taichi, Zero and Rina were partners bound by a genuine shared destiny. The invisible connection between them was just like the bond between Gatomon and Hikari.
No matter how far apart, the moment they reunited, they could instantly feel that intangible, invisible bond.
"Ahaha… well, this is kinda complicated to explain…"
Zero, having reverted back to Agumon, awkwardly scratched his head. Although he had a thousand things to say, there was one thing that absolutely had to come first…
"…Ahem. Anyway, I'm back, Rina, Hajime~"
Rina blinked, then gathered herself, smiling warmly.
"Mm, welcome back, Zero-kun~"
Leaving the network space with Taichi, Hikari, and Gatomon, Zero discovered the outside was a basement filled with large server arrays.
"Uh…where exactly are we?"
Rina shrugged nonchalantly, replying calmly, "Here? I guess you can call it my 'secret base'~"
She couldn't help laughing at her own pretentious line.
"Haha, actually it's not that secret at all. It's just the basement under my room. The Kamishiro people set up these servers so I can access any network area experiencing anomalies."
The Kamishiro Group, being the largest global network provider, naturally offered leasing of high-performance servers. In other words, Kamishiro controlled the architecture and precise parameters for around seventy percent of mainstream servers worldwide.
Through the server array Kamishiro installed in the basement of Rina's "room," she could theoretically go anywhere in the world through the network…
…Well, theoretically.
After all, there were still things like the "Dark Web," inaccessible through regular network routes.
But frankly, if Kamishiro wanted to investigate, most of these dark web corners couldn't avoid scrutiny. It wasn't about whether they "could manage" but rather whether they "wanted to."
Besides, setting up a private, unauthorized network violated Kamishiro's user agreement anyway. If anomalies or data loss occurred due to that, it wouldn't be Kamishiro's problem; complaining would be tantamount to confessing.
"Alright, let's head upstairs to my room first. No point staying stuck in the basement. Ah, right, forgot to introduce myself~"
Rina stepped forward, smiling as she reached out to Taichi and his sister.
"My name is Rina Shinomiya, Zero's partner~"
Taichi paused slightly but instinctively replied, "I'm Taichi Yagami, and this is my little sister, Hikari Yagami. We… got a lot of help from Zero in the Digital World. I guess we count as comrades who've traveled together."
Nearby, Gatomon walked gracefully toward Hajime, performing a refined little spin and bow.
"I'm Hikari's partner, and Zero's comrade-in-arms. You're 'Hajime,' correct? It's lovely to meet you~ We'll likely fight side by side quite a bit from now on, so let's get along well~"
Hajime blinked, responding naturally with a nod.
"Mm, please take care of me!"
"…"
Zero distinctly felt Rina next to him giving him a meaningful look. "New companions, new comrades… sounds like you have plenty of stories to tell me, don't you, Zero?"
...
Though Rina said her "room" was just upstairs, Zero certainly hadn't forgotten that her "room" referred to an entire detached villa where she lived alone.
Clearly, Taichi and Hikari's understanding of "room" had led to some misunderstandings. Their reaction was exactly the same as Zero's first visit to Rina's home.
…Holy shit, in what world is this entire building your bedroom?!
Even though they were elementary-school students, they had basic understandings of money and social status. It wasn't like Taichi and Hikari had never met wealthy ojou-samas.
Mimi Tachikawa from the original Adventure-era group was the very definition of a wealthy young lady…
…Sure, during their childhood adventures, that difference hadn't felt like a huge barrier, but as they grew older, certain events made the gap more obvious.
For example, Mimi skipped several movie battles because she was vacationing in freaking Hawaii…
…Of course, that was just a plot device to limit characters and create drama, but it highlighted the difference between a rich ojou-sama and kids from more ordinary backgrounds.
Fortunately, when it really mattered, their friendship always held firm—after all, they'd risked their lives together.
Without those extraordinary experiences, though, they likely would've drifted apart after middle school, becoming strangers again in no time.
Of course, Mimi's level of wealth was still within normal people's comprehension…
…Rina clearly surpassed normal understanding completely. Taichi and Hikari had been missing for half a month, and she cleared everything up with just a few emails.
Though nowhere near Kamishiro-level globally, within Japan, the Shinomiya family still had considerable influence.
Just leveraging the Shinomiya family's local authority to fabricate a nonexistent "summer camp" at school easily buried any trouble.
Taichi was naturally grateful—if they'd stayed missing any longer, their parents would definitely have involved the police, and that would have made things messy.
Rina casually waved her hand, smiling, "Haha, it's nothing big. Rather than that, I'm more interested in how the Digital World is doing now. Gennai-san contacted me a few times, briefly explained things, but he couldn't talk long."
With the interference from the Dark Masters and the ongoing time lag between worlds, even establishing simultaneous communication was already miraculous.
In such limited time, naturally, Gennai couldn't chat casually; each call went straight to crucial points.
Like how Zero was doing fine, searching for a way to return to the Real World, and that Rina and Hajime just needed to wait.
Because of this, Rina hadn't rushed to find a way to the Digital World, trusting that Zero would surely find his way back.
Over the next few hours, Zero and the Yagami siblings exchanged information, piecing together their experiences in the Digital World.
Then Zero took something out—a Tag embedded with the Crest of Courage.
"This is a present for you, Rina~"
"Oh, from Zero-kun? Then I won't hold back~"
Rina naturally accepted it. Zero had already explained clearly the evolution key and the Crest's powers.
Including how he'd broken through the wall to reach Mega thanks to the Crest.
Right now, Zero had been "forced" back into his Koromon form, squeezed and cuddled repeatedly by Rina.
Though accustomed to being Agumon, he naturally had no "personal opinions" when it came to Rina.
Taichi stared at Zero incredulously. In his memories, Zero had always been so dependable, charging ahead into danger each time.
True, Zero had served briefly as Hikari's pillow, influenced by old memories of Hikarigaoka's Koromon.
But after Hikari met her destined partner Gatomon, she naturally "lost interest" in Zero.
Since then, Zero had stuck firmly in his Agumon form, so watching him now as Koromon, squeezed like a plushie by Rina, gave Taichi a surreal sense of dissonance.
"So, I confessed everything that happened on our side…ahem. How about your side, Rina? Anything big happen? You're cooperating with Kamishiro now? What exactly happened?"
Zero sounded like a husband back home from a business trip, finally free to ask about the family.
Next came Rina's explanation, which honestly wasn't much.
She merely revealed that Kamishiro had long known about the Digital World and that Lusamine, the Aether Foundation's chairwoman, had also visited the Digital World.
"Huh? The EDEN incident ten years ago was related to the Digital World? Well, that kinda makes sense. Wait—Lusamine actually visited the Digital World too?"
This was big news, though it explained her fixation.
"So… what about them? Yuuko and Lillie, how have they been?"
The words slipped out, and Zero instantly regretted it…
…Shit. I literally just confessed everything, why am I shooting myself again immediately?!
Luckily, Rina didn't seem bothered—but clearly hearing Zero's guilty tone, she giggled softly.
"Pfft. Them? Unfortunately, you won't see them for a while, Zero~"
"?"
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T/N: B-B-B-BASEMENT??
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