39. Feet off the ground, back to being yourself

Whether a pixie truly has a tail or not, Gennai himself did not know. However, a Piximon is essentially a pink, fleshy sphere with a pair of wings; it certainly does not have a tail.

"No, this is bad, it's interference from dark forces... beep, beep, beep."

Before they could exchange more than a few words, the old man Gennai’s projection began to glitch, stuttering before finally disappearing altogether.

Tai remarked, "That old man, he always gets interrupted just as he's getting to the point."

Gennai’s sudden appearance did not disrupt Tai's plans. He stuck to his original intention: finding the cruise ship in the desert. It was merely an extra stop at a hidden location—the home of a Piximon—before heading toward the final base, the inverted pyramid.

Since the luxury cruise ship was constantly moving across the desert, Tai and Zeromaru had no choice but to rely on luck, wandering the dunes and hoping to cross paths with it. This wandering lasted until the first light of dawn.

Gazing at the desert, which was beginning to slowly heat up, Tai never expected that what hindered his progress wasn't a powerful enemy, but the sheer effort of traversing the map. The time spent searching for the cruise ship was enough to have defeated Etemon ten times over.

Tai walked across the sand, his figure swaying slightly. He tugged at his Holy Cape; thanks to it, he hadn't been roasted into blackened meat. "I never thought the obstacle to my speed-run wouldn't be a powerful foe, but the map traversal!"

Perhaps Tai's resentment was so heavy that even the heavens couldn't stand it. Just as he decided to have Zeromaru throw him into the sky to search for his target from above...

"Woo—"

Accompanied by the sound of a steam whistle, a luxury cruise ship appeared before them. A ship over a hundred meters long emerged, gliding across the sand as if it were a flat, calm sea.

"Finally!"

Tai’s spirits soared. Orange-yellow energy flared around his fists—the power derived from the Crest of Courage, which he had become quite adept at using. "It’s just a ship. Who do you think you're dealing with?"

"Watch me push you back!"

But to Tai's surprise, as the cruise ship was about to collide with him, it came to a halt on its own.

A middle-aged man’s voice called down from above: "Apologies, apologies! I never expected to find humans in this desert."

Tai and Zeromaru looked up to see a giant Cockatrimon standing on the deck, waving its plump wings at them in a friendly manner.

"Please, let me treat you to some hospitality as an apology."

Tai and Zeromaru exchanged a glance. Zeromaru whispered, "Tai, that guy is an Adult-level Cockatrimon, a bird-type Digimon that can't fly."

"It seems they know we're formidable and are pretending they don't know who we are, trying to use a trap to harm us!"

Tai nodded cautiously, "Free-range chicken meat is the tastiest."

At a time like this, with the enemy standing right above them, how could he still be thinking about food! Tai, have you lost your mind?

Zeromaru advised, "You can't eat it; Digimon turn into data when they die."

Tai sighed with regret, "What a shame."

At that moment, the Cockatrimon lowered the gangplank and gestured hospitably with its wings: "Come on up! The hot water for the bath is ready, and there’s a sumptuous feast waiting~"

Tai immediately felt conflicted. He remembered that when they first decided to come to the Server Continent, it was because Leomon had mentioned there were restaurants run by Digimon. Now, he finally had the chance to taste the cuisine, but it was a trap set by the enemy.

Suddenly, Tai thought of his Digivice. This gadget could even neutralize the viruses in Devimon’s special moves. Even if Cockatrimon poisoned the food, how could it be more toxic than Devimon?

Realizing this, Tai felt fully confident. Under the strange gaze of the Cockatrimon, he hoisted Zeromaru onto his back and stepped onto the gangplank.

This was something Tai had just thought of: since Zeromaru got motion sickness when riding vehicles, but was fine when carried on his back, wouldn't he achieve a sea-sickness-free world as long as he rode the vehicle while carrying Zeromaru, keeping the Digimon's feet off the ground?

As the engines roared to life, Tai felt the vibration beneath his feet. He looked back at Zeromaru, who appeared perfectly fine, and felt a surge of joy.

Bug successfully exploited!

***

Watching Tai walk toward the bathroom, the Cockatrimon returned to the captain's cabin, unable to suppress the sinister smile on its face. It had once been a subordinate of Etemon, but now that Datamon had usurped the throne, it had naturally shifted its allegiance to a new boss.

Datamon appeared on the screen in the captain's cabin. The Cockatrimon gave a salute.

"Great Datamon, I have successfully lured the Chosen Children onto the ship."

"The Chosen Children didn't discover you're one of my people, did they?"

"Of course not," the Cockatrimon said, puffing out its chest.

"Good, good," Datamon praised nonchalantly.

"Hehehe, Great One, about what we agreed on before... my evolution..."

The Cockatrimon rubbed its hands together, eyes burning with eagerness.

"Rest assured. Once you complete the task I've assigned you—stealing the children's Digivices—I will bestow upon you the power of an Ultimate level."

The Cockatrimon immediately pounded its chest: "I offer my heart to the Great One!"

Datamon’s lips curled up in an imperceptible smirk. Although he had promised to let the Cockatrimon evolve, he hadn't mentioned that the evolved form would be under his complete mental control.

The screen dimmed. The Cockatrimon casually grabbed a Numemon that was working on the ship.

"I'll pay you double your wages if you go and take out those Chosen Children and their partner Digimon!"

The Numemon, still holding a mop, looked left and right. Seeing no other Digimon around, it pointed to itself in disbelief.

"Uh, me?"

*I'm not a boss, I'm just here for a part-time shift!*

"Don't worry, you don't have to fight them," the Cockatrimon sneered. Little did it know that the Numemon's kin on File Island were the only powerful Digimon that had ever sent Tai running for his life since he started his journey. "You just need to steal the necklace around the kid's neck."

"This..." The Numemon looked troubled.

Seeing the other party's hesitation, the Cockatrimon rolled its eyes and added, "I recall your sweetheart back home is still waiting for you to earn enough money to go back and settle down."

The Numemon panicked instantly: "You! What are you planning to do to the Sukamon!"

"Hehehe, you wouldn't want the Sukamon to keep waiting for someone who will never return, would you?" the Cockatrimon threatened.

"I... I understand! I'll do as you say!" Facing the threat, the Numemon had no choice but to comply.

Meanwhile, Tai and Zeromaru were in the open-air bath on the deck, lying on surfboards and sunbathing.

Zeromaru sighed with lingering fear: "Phew... it's a relief that I can't feel the ship swaying while in the water."

"Zero, you really need to cure this motion sickness of yours," Tai said, wearing his goggles like sunglasses and resting his hands behind his head.

The Numemon hid in its favorite dark corner, watching the Digivice that Tai had carelessly left on the table. Seeing that the boy didn't seem to be paying any attention to it, it crept toward the table inch by inch.