Chapter 120: Becoming a Digital Researcher (Fourth Update)

After Zhao Jie departed, the Digital Envoy in charge of distributing supplies shook his head slightly.

Raising two Digimon simultaneously while also aspiring to become a Digital Researcher—was this genius from Wuling City taking himself a bit too seriously? Did he not understand the principle that biting off more than one can chew leads to failure?

Zhao Jie was unaware of these thoughts, and even if he were, he would only have smiled them off.

*If you are not the fish, how can you know the joy of the fish?*

Becoming a Digital Researcher was an inevitability for him, as he needed the status to help secure resources. The resources one could obtain merely as a Digital Tamer were limited, but once he became a Digital Researcher and published a few unprecedented papers—for instance, a thesis on the Super Evolution of Greymon—his status would immediately shift, and the resources available to him would become far more abundant.

"Fire Stone, no."
"Water Stone, no."
"Radiant Stone, no."

After several trials, only a few of the energy ores he had purchased remained.

"Let’s try the Courage Stone."

Looking at the few unused stones before him, Zhao Jie said with a sense of indifference. He had already abandoned his expectations; perhaps it was because the energy in these ores was too low to suppress the corruption of the garbled code.

"Wait!"
"It’s having an effect!"

Suddenly, Agumon spoke up.

What?!

Hearing Agumon’s words, Zhao Jie’s spirits soared. He initiated Digital Fusion, blending his own digital energy into Agumon’s body. He then saw the power of the Courage Stone entwining with the garbled code. Within a few short breaths, the energy contained within the Courage Stone was absorbed by the corruption.

It could actually absorb other forms of energy!

This was a brand-new discovery. Previously, other energy ores would simply dissipate rather than be consumed. The energy of the Courage Stone was the first to be devoured by this garbled code.

"Do you feel anything?"

After recording the reaction of the Courage Stone, Zhao Jie asked Agumon about his sensations.

"There is a very faint resistance," Agumon said after tilting his head to think.

Faint resistance? This was good news. It confirmed for Zhao Jie that the energy within the Courage Stone was effective and that his research direction was correct. What if he replaced the Courage Stone with a more powerful Valor Stone? Or perhaps other energy ores of a similar nature?

Next, all that remained was comparison.

"System, list all energy ores containing power similar to the Courage Stone."

Soon, more than a dozen types of energy ores appeared on his digital phone. He was only one step away from victory.

June 3rd was the date for the Digital Researcher qualification exam. When Zhao Jie arrived at the Digital Association, he saw only a handful of people in the examination hall. Not many were interested in becoming Digital Researchers. In fact, apart from Zhao Jie, everyone else present was merely looking to obtain the status of an apprentice researcher. After all, passing the apprentice exam was not difficult; it only required memorizing theoretical knowledge about Digimon. The challenge lay in becoming a formal researcher, which required the submission of an original thesis.

"Why are you here?"

The invigilator was Gong Yingjie, the President of the Wuling City Digital Association. He looked quite surprised to see Zhao Jie sitting among the examinees.

"Here for the exam!" Zhao Jie pointed to his admission ticket and said with a smile.

"Uh..." Gong Yingjie paused. He naturally knew Zhao Jie was here for the researcher qualification, but why would a promising young Digital Tamer run here to take an apprentice exam? Was he just bored?

The apprentice researcher exam consisted only of a written test. By the time Zhao Jie left the Digital Association, it was already noon.

"Hey? Where are you all? I’m finished with the exam, I’m coming to find you!"

With only three days left until the national entrance exam, the school had granted the students in the digital track a holiday, leaving them to manage their own time until the 6th, when they would return to collect their admission tickets. Today was supposed to be a small gathering for many of his classmates, and Zhao Jie hurried over after his exam.

When he returned home from the party, it was already night. Lying on his bed, the voices of his classmates talking and laughing echoed in his mind.

"Master, you have an email."
"Read it."
"Congratulations, you have passed the written test and are now an apprentice researcher."

So fast?

Zhao Jie subconsciously grabbed the digital phone floating in the air. He scanned the content of the email again; it was indeed a notification of passing the written test.

"Master, would you like to upload a portion of your research?"

"You can upload it, but don't publish it just yet. Let’s wait until we have fully researched the details of Greymon’s Super Evolution before making it public."

He did this to protect his results. Having worked so hard to reach this point, he couldn't afford for someone else to swoop in and reap the rewards. It would be better to wait until he found the power capable of suppressing the garbled code before publishing.

Three days passed quickly, and the eyes of the entire nation were fixed on the entrance exam. For students like Zhao Jie, the exam spanned three days. The first two days were written tests, much like those for general students. The third day was the Digimon assessment, a comprehensive evaluation of a Digimon's abilities. There was an unspoken rule that if a Digimon could evolve into its Mature stage, the assessment would be graded as a perfect score. Such students were the talent that every major university vied for.

Zhao Jie and Agumon naturally achieved a perfect score. Besides him, students like Peng Wei and Liu Cheng also successfully evolved their Digimon to the Mature stage. Overall, however, fewer than ten students in all of Wuling City had managed to reach the Mature stage.

"It’s finally over!"

Leaving the examination hall, Zhao Jie looked back at the school where he had spent six years. It was finally time to say goodbye.

"A-Jie!"

Liu Cheng walked out of the hall with his Betamon.

"How was it? Decided on a university yet?" Zhao Jie asked with a smile.

Liu Cheng’s Betamon had successfully evolved into a Seadramon, and several universities had been contacting him privately over the past few days.

"I actually really wanted to go to Xiangnan University with you," Liu Cheng said, rubbing the back of his head. "But Xiangtan University promised to provide me with research materials on raising Seadramon, so I’ve decided to go there."

"Xiangtan University, huh? That’s great. We won't be far apart; we can meet up often." Zhao Jie smiled and patted his friend on the shoulder.

"Haha, that's true." Liu Cheng beamed.

The two looked together at the school that had accompanied them for the last six years. A new life was about to begin.

It was time to say goodbye.