Knights of the Digital World

Cheche deactivated his transformation and game-like abilities, placed Poppy in CR's ward, and then called a nurse to give Poppy an IV drip. After finishing these tasks, Cheche sat in the lobby, reflecting on his mistakes in the battle and worrying about the battle on the other side.

"I wonder how Emu and the others are doing?"

…………

After finishing writing the defense program for Poppy, Emu (Da) immediately piloted the Extreme Player's mech towards the street where the incident occurred.

The giant, enhanced mech, Maximum Gama, has limbs that can extend and retract freely. With each step, Emu (Big) can travel a great distance, and in no time, he arrives at his destination and bursts into the game's realm.

Upon entering the game world, Emu (the older version) saw Parado, transformed into a Fighter Player Lv.50, wielding a flame-encased "Material Crusher" towards him. Without thinking, he shouted:

"stop!"

Immediately, Emu (Big) kicked out, and Maximum Gama's big leg quickly extended, blocking Parado's attack.

"Emu? This power is no weaker than that brat's. Is it another Lv.80 cartridge?"

Parado's attack was interrupted by Emu's (large) kick, and he couldn't help but take a few steps back, filled with disbelief.

Although Dan Kuroto's constant boasting can be a bit annoying, it must be admitted that he is a genius, truly talented. His ability to create so many game cartridges and transformation devices like the Player Driver and the Malfunction Driver speaks volumes about his skill.

However, while Dan Kuroto was still unable to produce cartridges higher than level 50, even higher-level cartridges kept appearing one after another. No wonder Dan Kuroto was almost driven to despair. Parado himself was starting to question his existence.

Emu (the older one) kicked Parado away, then saw Emu pounce on him like a mad dog. He punched Emu, knocking him to the ground, and jumped to Emu's side, asking:

"How are you, Xiaomeng? Are you alright?"

When Emu saw Emu (the older one) arrive, he breathed a sigh of relief, pointed to the shrimp dumpling who was getting up from the ground, and said:

"I'm fine. I think you should pay more attention to him. Taking advantage of his immortality, he kept coming up to get beaten up, probably trying to collect my combat data... But the damage he's accumulated seems exaggerated to me."

From a gameplay perspective, he won't die. But once he reverts to his transformation, I'm worried he might suddenly die. When you use reprogramming to break his invincibility cheat later, remember to heal his injuries as well. Otherwise, someone really might die.

As if to prove Emu's words, Emu wobbled to his feet and chuckled coldly:

"Another one... Has divine talent really become so common? Oh well, whatever. More is fine, it means I can collect more data! Come on! I am immortal! I am—Kami!!"

Shrimp Dumpling roared and charged towards Emu (Big) with zombie-like steps. His current appearance was not intentional; it was just a strange posture that his body couldn't take after being beaten so many times.

"Mr. President, you're really going all out... Xiaomeng, I understand. I don't want anyone to die either."

Yongmeng (the eldest) swallowed hard, also intimidated by the shrimp dumplings' frenzied momentum, and nodded vigorously.

Although he was furious about what Shrimp Dumpling had done, he never intended to kill him. Even in the original story, when Shrimp Dumpling killed Cha Cha, Emu, after defeating him, thought of sending Shrimp Dumpling to prison rather than taking his life.

Therefore, Emu's reminder came at just the right time, letting Emu (the eldest) know what to do.

Emu (Big) pulled a lever, took out the Gasha Keyboard Sword, tapped a few times on the keyboard with his thick fingers, set a new program, raised the keyboard sword at the stiffly charging shrimp dumpling, and fired a white beam of light:

"Reprogram!"

Even from a great distance, Parado sensed the terrifying power within the beam of light. It wasn't a particularly destructive force, but to them, it felt like a natural enemy.

Parado was trembling all over, and with all his might, he shouted at the shrimp dumpling:

"Get out of the way!!"

Shrimp Dumpling did sense the extraordinary power of the beam emitted by Emu (Big). However, his already weakened body didn't allow him to make such a difficult maneuver as changing direction. The white beam struck Shrimp Dumpling squarely in the chest, freezing him in place like a statue.

Then, the Honkai Virus entities summoned by Shrimp Dumpling's ability let out a scream and all vanished from their spot. Shrimp Dumpling's Knight Gauge rapidly slid down, exceeding halfway in the blink of an eye.

Then, the armor covering Shrimp Dumpling's entire body became ethereal, revealing his bruised and swollen human form. An indescribable pain and exhaustion instantly surged into Shrimp Dumpling's heart, causing him to suddenly kneel on the ground.

"What... what kind of ability is this?!"

Shrimp Dumpling, struggling to support her weak limbs, raised her head, squinted at Yongmeng (Big) with her swollen eyes, and asked.

Looking at Shrimp Dumpling's injuries, Yongmeng (the eldest) scratched his head sheepishly and said:

"This is the ability to reprogram. I've cleared the virus from your body, and you've lost your ability to transform. Of course, I also treated your injuries, but I didn't expect them to be so severe. I'm sorry."

"Reprogramming? Taking away my ability to transform? I..."

The shrimp dumpling trembled, finally unable to hold on any longer, and its vision went black as it fainted.

"He's fainted? Let's take him back first..."

Yongmeng (the eldest) scratched his head and was about to step forward to take the shrimp dumplings away.

Parado finally made his presence known, pushing out with both fists, flames shot out, splashing sand and dust all over the ground, obscuring Emu's (large) vision.

When Emu (Da) swept away the dust, Parado and Shrimp Dumpling had already disappeared.

Chapter Twenty: Shrimp Dumplings Have Gone into Seclusion Yet Again

The disappearance of the Collapse Virus left Gatton Bugster and Motors Bugster, who had been suppressing Hiiro and Taiga with their numerical advantage, completely stunned. Hiiro and Taiga seized the opportunity and used their finishing moves to defeat them on the spot.

"How are things going! Where are Dan Kuroto and Parado?"

After defeating their opponents, Hiiro and Taiya approached the two Emu and asked them questions.

"Ran."

"I'm a little annoyed," Emu said. He had been a bit careless because of Emu's (big) arrival and hadn't noticed Parado's movements, which allowed Parado to rescue the shrimp dumplings. This mistake was really quite naive.

No matter how you look at it, it's a shameful thing that two high-level knights, one Lv.99 and the other Lv.80, were able to escape from an opponent who had almost no chance to fight back.

Emu (the eldest) was quite easygoing; he patted Emu on the shoulder and comforted him:

"Don't worry about it. I've already used reprogramming to strip Dan Kuroto of his transformation ability, and our strength has been proven. Now all we have to do is wait for the Ministry of Health to find Dan Kuroto."

"It's not that easy. What's most terrifying about Shrimp Dumpling isn't his fighting ability, but his outstanding research and development capabilities. If we don't capture him this time, who knows what powerful cartridges he'll come up with next... Besides, he can regain his transformation ability with just one more surgery. With Bugster's help, it won't be difficult."

"Emu said, head bowed."

He made a mistake, partly due to his own carelessness, and partly because the traitor Parado had left such a deep impression on him. In the original story, Parado directly betrayed Shrimp Dumpling, who had lost his transformation ability, causing him to die on the spot.

This time, the combination of an extreme player, a character who has lost his transformation ability, and Parado once again caused Emu to subconsciously overlook Parado. Unexpectedly, this time the traitor didn't betray him; instead, he loyally saved his master and took the traitor away. How could this not frustrate Emu?

Others may not know, but does he not know Xiajiao's abilities? Although the current conditions may not be enough to support Xiajiao in making cheat-like cartridges like God Infinity or Invincible Dad, making a few more Lv.99 high-level cartridges would be enough to make people suffer.

"Alright, alright, what's done is done, there's no point in thinking about it anymore. Let's go back to CR first. We can discuss anything else later. But no matter how amazing the cartridge Dan Kuroto makes, I believe we'll still be the ultimate victor!"

Seeing his younger brother looking withdrawn, Yongmeng (the older one) quickly gave him a sip of chicken soup.

Taiga and Hiiro didn't blame Emu either; they both nodded at her to comfort her.

So what if the opponent got away? It's just a common occurrence, you'll get used to it.

Emu was depressed for a while, but he quickly recovered. He suddenly realized that because of his interference, the famous scene from the original work, "House↗Emmu↗", seemed to have disappeared.

From this perspective, I guess I've changed my fate, right?

…………

"boom!"

Parado, carrying the badly injured Shrimp Dumpling, slammed him into the door. Amasaki Ren, who had been slumped over the table, jumped up in shock from the loud noise. Turning around, she saw Parado and Shrimp Dumpling, then relaxed and grumbled:

"Just come in, don't make such a commotion, it's terrifying."

Parado took a few breaths and said impatiently:

"Stop talking nonsense. Come and help."

It was only then that Amasaki Ren noticed their injuries and quickly stepped forward to help support Shrimp Dumpling. Together with Parado, they placed him on the table.

"How did you two end up in such a sorry state? Aren't you two level 50?"

Amasaki Ren was injured by the program left behind by Emu (the older one). The injury wasn't serious, but he would need some time to rest. He had only helped move some shrimp dumplings, but he was already sweating profusely and kept wiping himself with a handkerchief.

Parad found a chair, sat down, and slumped into it, saying weakly:

"Don't even mention it. Brave and Snipe were alright, each pulling out a game cartridge around level 30. But Emu and that mysterious brat both had high-level game cartridges of level 80 or higher, we were no match for them at all. Dan Kuroto even had his transformation ability taken away."

I fared slightly better; I ran when I sensed danger. However, escaping from two level 80 enemies had taken a heavy toll on me. Now I'm completely exhausted.

Amasaki Ren listened with her mouth agape, wanting to share her own incredible feelings, but then realizing it was unnecessary. Just looking at Parado's relaxed, almost sullen posture, she knew his feelings were far deeper than hers.

"By the way, how's it going on your end? Did you forget to bring Poppy pipopapo back?"

Parado lay there like a salted fish for a while, then remembered Amasaki Ren's mission and asked.

Upon hearing this, Amasaki Ren's face fell, and she said:

"Don't even mention it. Lazer stayed at CR. Somehow, they figured out my identity at a glance. I suspect it was because my previous attempt to take over the Dream Group attracted their attention..."

Anyway, Lazer attacked me directly, and he's probably around level 30. With the help of my cute girls, I temporarily got rid of Lazer, but they also left a mark on Poppy pipopapo. I tried to brainwash her, but failed.

The only good news is that I specifically extracted some data from Poppy pipopapo beforehand, which is at least enough for creating "Kamen Rider Chronicles."

"That's good. At least we didn't go home empty-handed. As for what to do next... let's ask Dan Kuroto when he wakes up... Hey, he's been lying here for so long, should we splash him with water to wake him up? That's what they do in games, TV shows, and novels."

Parado's train of thought suddenly took a turn, and she said to Amasaki Ren.

Amasaki Ren felt even more sweat on her forehead, and while continuing to wipe it with the handkerchief, she advised:

"That's for the enemy, how can you use that on your own people? He looks badly injured, but it's all superficial wounds. He'll be fine once he wakes up. If you really want to do something, just bandage him up and apply some medicine. There's no need to splash water on him."

"Tch, boring. Whatever. You can help him apply some medicine; I remember there's a first-aid kit over there."

Parado looked bored and picked up a game console to play.

In the original story, because Shrimp Dumpling caused trouble everywhere, Parado was filled with dissatisfaction with Shrimp Dumpling's dislike of following the rules of the game and his disregard for the lives of Bugsters, and in the end, he chose to become a glorious double agent.

But now, Shrimp Dumpling has been forced into becoming a recluse, spending his days holed up researching cartridges, racing headlong down the road to sudden death. Parado may have his own thoughts, but he doesn't find Shrimp Dumpling as offensive as he does. Plus, he went to great lengths to save Shrimp Dumpling, and they've developed a bond of camaraderie, so his attitude towards Shrimp Dumpling is much better than it was at the same point in the original story. At least, he doesn't want to be a traitor anymore.

Although Amasaki Ren appears older, Parado was actually one of the first Bugsters, making her a true senior. With that instruction, Amasaki Ren wiped her sweat and gave Shrimp Dumpling a simple bandage.

Whether it was the effect of the bandage or the stimulation from the constant sweat dripping from Amasaki Ren, Shrimp Dumpling finally came to her senses and shouted:

"I want to make cassette tapes!!!"

Chapter Twenty-One: Shrimp Dumpling, I'm Not Human Anymore!

Parado and Amasaki Ren were not surprised by what Shrimp Dumpling said.

Dan Kuroto is an arrogant genius who cannot tolerate anyone being more talented than him. He will use any means necessary to defeat anyone who seems to be more talented than him, just to maintain his unique status as a genius.

Just like in the original work, when he was only a teenager, Dan Kuroto became jealous of Emu's (Dai) genius game design ability, which surpassed his own, and sent the Honkai Impact Virus to Emu (Dai), only thinking about getting rid of this guy who was more talented than himself.

Regardless of whether his actions were right or wrong, at least this strong competitive spirit and self-esteem meant that even if Dan Kuroto suffered a setback, he would not dwell on the defeat for too long, but would instead pick himself up and try to surpass and defeat those who stood in his way.

Therefore, after the emergence of higher-level cartridges, Dan Kuroto only had one choice: to make a more powerful cartridge that could surpass other cartridges and prove himself!