Chapter Five: The Black Sphere Beast Evolves
When Zhao Jie woke from his dreams, the entire room was in utter chaos—books, clothes, and various items scattered everywhere, as if a thief had ransacked the place.
“Huh?”
Rubbing his eyes in disbelief, Zhao Jie surveyed the scene before him.
“Am I still dreaming?”
Muttering to himself, he pulled the blanket over his head again, but as soon as his eyes adjusted, he saw a black sphere gnawing greedily on his chair.
“Ah! Black Sphere Beast, are you the culprit behind all this?”
Leaping from the covers, Zhao Jie gently lifted the creature still munching on the chair.
“Eh. Eh.”
Suddenly picked up, the Black Sphere Beast squirmed desperately, its eyes longing for the table it had just tasted—a flavor it had never encountered before.
“You’re quite the glutton, aren’t you?”
Seeing the wood chips clinging to its mouth, Zhao Jie couldn’t help but feel exasperated. Eating wood now, really?
The Black Sphere Beast looked at Zhao Jie, bouncing with excitement, eager to express how delicious the wood was.
“Fine, I’ll clean up later.”
Zhao Jie dressed, took the Black Sphere Beast outside, and fetched the food he’d bought the day before, suitable for young Digital Monsters.
A cup of drink infused with digital energy, a low-purity digital crystal—just those two items cost two hundred yuan for a single meal. For a day, that would be six hundred yuan, and it was said the price would multiply several times once the Digital Monster reached maturity. Ordinary families truly couldn’t afford to raise one.
“Eat up, and no more wood from now on.”
He stroked the Black Sphere Beast as it slowly consumed its nutritious meal. Once it finished, Zhao Jie leisurely took up a glass of plain milk and some bread for himself.
The Black Sphere Beast, having finished its breakfast, stared at Zhao Jie with shining eyes, as if he looked particularly appetizing.
“All right, you can have a little.”
Zhao Jie broke off a piece of bread and handed it to the Black Sphere Beast.
Such a little glutton.
Cradling the creature, Zhao Jie returned to his room, tidied up the mess, and eyed the now fragile chair that had been gnawed. He had no doubt anyone who sat on it would take a nasty fall.
“Looks like I’ll need a new chair.”
He glanced at the Black Sphere Beast, feeling slightly helpless. What if it evolved into Agumon? That would be disastrous.
But thinking it over, achieving Agumon evolution wouldn’t be easy. From Ball Roll Beast to maturity, there were several branching paths—if it evolved into something else, he’d lose his beloved War Greymon.
No, he had to ensure the Black Sphere Beast followed the War Greymon path. The others were powerful, but none quite matched War Greymon.
Besides, War Greymon could fuse with Metal Garurumon to become Omnimon, one of the Royal Knights. Just imagining it made Zhao Jie drool.
Ahem... Perhaps it was best not to indulge in such dreams.
He should focus on reality, like first evolving the Black Sphere Beast into Ball Roll Beast.
“Eh.”
The Black Sphere Beast eyed its companion suspiciously, seeing Zhao Jie unmoving for over a minute—could it be he’d ended up with an idiot?
“Beep beep...”
Luckily, a string of phone rings broke Zhao Jie from his fantasy of taming Alphamon and Jessmon, snapping him back to reality.
“Who calls in broad daylight, disturbing my sleep?”
Liu Cheng, on the other end, heard this and was speechless—disturbing sleep during the day? Did Zhao Jie’s schedule differ from normal people?
But he wasn’t calling to argue about that; he had more urgent matters.
“Zhao Jie, come to my house quickly! My Digital Monster is about to hatch, my parents aren’t home, I have no experience, I don’t know what to do.”
He made it sound as if Zhao Jie was an expert.
Zhao Jie, inwardly amused, agreed nonetheless and headed to Liu Cheng’s house with the Black Sphere Beast.
The two houses weren’t exactly close—separated by two neighborhoods—but Zhao Jie arrived within half an hour.
“Zhao Jie, what should I do? I’m not ready!”
“Should I wear this shirt, or this one? What about these pants?”
Watching Liu Cheng switch outfits repeatedly, Zhao Jie felt speechless. Was he waiting for a Digital Monster or preparing for a blind date?
“Oh, is this the Black Sphere Beast? So cute!”
After changing clothes several times, Liu Cheng finally nodded with satisfaction and turned his attention to Zhao Jie and the Black Sphere Beast.
Heh...
“Not bad.”
Zhao Jie chuckled inwardly; it was the first time he noticed Liu Cheng had a bit of a celebrity complex.
“Eh, Black Sphere Beast, do you want something to eat?”
“No, you can’t have that, here’s something else.”
While waiting for Liu Cheng’s Digital Monster to appear, Liu Cheng discovered the Black Sphere Beast’s insatiable appetite and kept offering it snacks.
The Black Sphere Beast accepted everything, its gaze toward Liu Cheng growing more affectionate—anyone with food was a friend.
The two boys and one beast sat quietly together, both Zhao Jie and Liu Cheng staring intently at a pale purple Digital Monster egg nearby, tiny cracks appearing on its surface.
It wouldn’t be long before a new life emerged.
But they waited for three hours. The Black Sphere Beast cycled between eating and napping, and Liu Cheng began to worry—would his Digital Monster turn out to be a glutton like this one?
Suddenly, a faint glow emanated from the Black Sphere Beast, startling both Zhao Jie and Liu Cheng, who had been focused on the egg.
“What’s happening?”
“Digital Monster evolution! Zhao Jie, your Black Sphere Beast is evolving!”
Liu Cheng turned and saw the light coming from the creature, exclaiming in surprise.
Evolution—it was the first time Liu Cheng had witnessed it in real life, and Zhao Jie as well.
Why did it evolve so suddenly?
Zhao Jie’s heart raced—please don’t evolve into the wrong form, it must become Ball Roll Beast!
If he remembered correctly, the Black Sphere Beast had two branches in its second stage of infancy: Ball Roll Beast and Gabumon.
He prayed fervently—don’t let it go astray!