Digital Hackers' Memories

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Realm of Gods

At the heart of a magnificent industrial city, atop the towering Central Research Building.

Hundreds of agents with differing stances looked at each other from across the building and communicated via real-time video through the network within the Steel Empire.

"It's been a long time, Gennai."

The first to speak was the leader of the Evolution faction, who was also the agent who developed the first generation of digital armor.

Among the group of agents in white robes, this agent, who was dressed in black robes, stood out so much that even from a hundred meters away, Xuan Nei could clearly see his appearance.

"You should know what you're doing!"

It seemed like a question, or perhaps an expression of anger...

Gennai couldn't believe that his former comrade-in-arms wouldn't understand what the Evolutionists' current actions meant.

"This world cannot accommodate that level of power for the time being; it will only lead this world to destruction."

Looking at Xuan Nei, who could no longer maintain his composure, the black-robed agent simply smiled, just as when they had fought side by side before.

"This world can't tolerate that kind of power?"

"It's because the conceptual entities can't tolerate that kind of power!"

At the dawn of this digital world, before the first data life forms were created, there existed a special kind of being called a "concept entity."

They have no physical form, no energy, and not even a will; they exist merely as a rule.

It was they who established the initial order of the digital world, laying the foundation for its evolution.

However, at some point, these "concepts" that existed merely as rules began to differentiate and conflict, forming two completely different orders.

"Evolution" and "non-evolution"...

This was the first war in the digital world, and also the "concept war" that determined the future direction of the digital world.

The entity symbolizing "evolution" ultimately won the war and banished the entity symbolizing "non-evolution" to another world outside the firewall.

“I used to worship ‘He’ as a real god.”

“Until 'He' began to restrict the development of the Steel Empire, even going so far as to reclaim those nine original data sets.”

The original Steel Empire was able to develop digital armor by relying on nine primordial data: courage, friendship, love, innocence, knowledge, honesty, gentleness, hope, and light.

The act of the "Evolutionary Concept" reclaiming the original data undoubtedly severed the trajectory of the Steel Empire's future development.

This is a fact that the black-robed agent, who has always worshipped the "evolutionary concept" as a god, cannot accept—it seems that he has been abandoned by the god.

"That's because we've broken a taboo. The Digi-Armor of Miracles and Destiny has exceeded the limits of the Digital World."

Unlike the black-robed agent, Gennai was fully able to understand the actions of the "Evolutionary Concept Entity".

The early Iron Empire's practice of hunting mature and ultimate Digimon on a large scale and then using them to make Digi-Armor was a practice that went against "evolution".

Not to mention the enormous resources required to create Destiny and Miracle series digital armor; even with the combined power of the entire Steel Empire, it would be difficult to mass-produce them.

In this situation, the fastest way to bring the misguided steel empire back on track is naturally to recover those nine original data sets.

And facts have proven the correctness of the "evolutionary concept".

After losing the ability to mass-produce digital armor, the Steel Empire gradually perfected its mass production technology for mature and even ultimate-level Digimon.

For the entire digital world, such a steel empire is the true manifestation of "evolution".

"Breaking taboos? Perhaps it's out of fear?"

The black-robed agent clearly did not believe Xuan Nei's explanation, or rather, it had its own understanding of the behavior of the "evolutionary concept entity".

“He fears us, fears that we will create something that can overthrow Him!”

Although the black-robed agent was trying to suppress his tone, Gennai could still detect excitement and ecstasy in his words.

"What does this mean? It means that the digital armor we've created has reached the 'realm of gods'!"

The fact that the "Evolutionary Concept" intervened personally undoubtedly proves that the digital armor created by the Steel Empire had the potential to become gods.

Unfortunately, although the Steel Empire at that time created the Destiny and Miracle series of Digimon, it could not find a Digimon that could truly unleash their power to the fullest.

In the eyes of the black-robed agents, this was the real reason for the "failed rebellion."

This time is different. The black-robed agent has abandoned his previous practices and plans to create the strongest Digimon that can fight against the gods.

"A Digimon born from the concept of 'the strongest' can absolutely break the evolutionary rules set by 'He'!"

Looking at the almost frenzied black-robed agent, Gennai knew that whatever he said next would be useless.

From the moment he proposed creating a "naturally perfect Digimon," the black-robed agent may have already been planning to create the "strongest Digimon."

No long evolution is needed, nor is it necessary to find suitable candidates...

A Digimon that enters the "realm of gods" and possesses the strongest power from birth would probably be unable to be interfered with by the "Evolution Concept" as it did last time.

"You are leading the Steel Empire, and even the Digital World, toward destruction."

Xuan Nai reprimanded him in a low voice, knowing that he was in the wrong.

If it weren't for his initial proposal of the "Naturally Perfect Level" research plan, the Black Robe Agent wouldn't have had the audacity to want to create a "strongest Digimon" that would naturally surpass all Perfect Levels.

"Heading towards destruction?"

"No, I'm freeing the Digital World from the control of 'God'!"

Firmly believing that his actions were righteous, the black-robed agent refuted Gennai's statement without hesitation.

"I have long been prepared for this day."

Staring silently at the black-robed agent, Gennai did not speak this time, but expressed his choice through his actions.

Andromon, annihilate all 'rebellious ones'!

When Gennai's order spread throughout the entire internal network, Andromon, who had been preparing for a long time, opened its eyes and commanded its many mechanical Digimon to head towards the "core area".

MetalGreymon, destroy all the 'rebels'!

Seeing this, the evolution faction, led by the black-robed agent, was not to be outdone and also issued combat orders to their own mechanized forces.

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Steel Empire's Civil War

rumbling...

With a command from Xuan Nei and the black-robed agent, the magnificent industrial city instantly transformed into a battlefield.

A tremendous roar echoed through the sky, and flames swept across the land...

First to appear is Gennai's aerial unit—the Million Dragon Beast.

"hold head high!"

Developed as an "airborne target" by the Steel Empire, the Mega Dragon Beast is equipped with countless organic missiles on its arms, making it a true aerial bomber.

In theory, as long as the data of the Million Dragon Beast has not been exhausted, it can generate biological missiles infinitely within its body to bombard any suspicious targets.

"hold head high!"

As several million dragon beasts swept across the sky, the Gigadramon, the aerial force belonging to the Black Robe Agent, also made its timely appearance.

Like the Megadragon, the Gigadragon is also one of the Steel Empire's "anti-air units".

However, compared to Megadramon, Gigadramon, which was transformed from a more powerful dark-type dragon, has a superior firepower coverage.

Moreover, even with its mechanized wings, Gigadramon was still able to maintain its aerial advantage after intense battles.

The only saving grace is that, due to the high requirements for "materials," the number of GigaDramon is not as large as that of MegaDramon.

Even among the evolutionists who "pursue ultimate power," the number of giga-dragon beasts they can create is extremely limited, completely incomparable to a well-organized million-dragon beast formation.

boom! boom! boom!

Thus, when nearly ten million dragon beasts and trillion dragon beasts clashed together, those towering buildings became the most innocent victims.

Boom...

With each missile fired, a building collapses...

Every time it sweeps across the sky, it's a relentless bombing...

Sometimes, even without physical contact, the sonic boom created by a mega-dragon or a giga-dragon merely brushing past each other is enough to shatter the mirrors and glass in high-rise buildings.

boom! boom! boom!

This is a massive melee at the fully-fledged level, showcasing the Iron Empire's top air force capabilities in this era.

............................................................................................................

If the skies represent the Iron Empire's most elite "air force battle," then the earth is its largest-scale "land battlefield."

The fully mechanized guardian beasts and tank beasts are the core force in this land battle.

Since both of these Digimon can be mass-produced, for a considerable period of time, the agents of the Steel Empire preferred to use these cheap "cannon fodder" to dominate the battlefield.

Once these cheap "cannon fodder" are exhausted, the gear beasts at the back of the production line will naturally produce a new batch of "cannon fodder" to continue participating in the battle.

This civil war in the Iron Empire was no exception.

boom! boom! boom!

Thousands upon thousands of guardian beasts and tank beasts clashed together, amidst the deafening roar of cannons and the rumble of machinery.

However, for these almost consumable guardian beasts and tank beasts, the chaotic battles between them, though taking place in any corner of the city, do not play any decisive role.

This war is not an external war of the Steel Empire, but a war between agents within the Steel Empire.

This also means that for every Guardian Beast or Tank Beast destroyed, more Guardian Beasts and Tank Beasts will be produced from the assembly line.

As long as both sides in the war want to continue fighting, the number of Guardian Beasts and Tank Beasts will be endless.

In a sense, the massive war between the Guardian Beasts and the Tank Beasts is gradually evolving into a simple contest and consumption of resources.

In comparison, although MetalGreymon and MetalBeanmon were fewer in number, they were the decisive forces that truly dominated this land war.

Hundreds of metal dragon beasts ignored the surrounding artillery fire and slowly emerged from the war depot, then engaged in a fierce battle with the hostile metal dragon beasts.

Body parts kept falling off, and dents kept appearing on the mechanical casing...

The evenly matched MetalGreymon fought, bringing with them a large number of Gearmon.

These Gearmon do not participate in the battle; instead, they are responsible for replenishing ammunition and repairing malfunctions for the MetalGreymon while they fight.

Meanwhile, those massive, powerful metal dragon beasts would also intentionally protect the gear beasts behind them while fighting, ensuring that they were always at their peak condition.

In fact, apart from the occasional MetalBeanmon that pops up, the ordinary Guardianmon and Tankmon are not able to cause much damage to the Gearmon protected by MetalGreymon.

Of course, the Digimon mentioned above are only the main force of the Steel Empire.

Besides these mass-producible Adult and Ultimate Digimon, there are other mechanically modified Digimon that cannot be replicated or have unique ecosystems on this chaotic battlefield.

Among these, the most numerous are mechanically modified Digimon based on Beanmon and Dragon-type Digimon.

Not to mention the various mechanically modified dragon-type Digimon, the number of various subspecies of Beanmon alone is no less than a hundred.

As the first fully mechanized beings, the Iron Empire's transformation surgery, while not granting the Beanmon a leap in power, greatly enhanced their combat capabilities.

The giant bean beast, enhanced in size and strength...

The Bean-Catching Beast is adept at manipulating machinery and programs...

The Thundermon and Ironfacemon, whose bodies are covered in digital alloy and who are adept at self-destruction...

And BeanGreymon, created by recompiling the data of GiantDragonmon and BeanDragonmon...

These subspecies of Beanmon were all "experimental species" born from the initial mechanization modifications of the Steel Empire. Although their power was not as great as the mechanical Digimon that were modified later, they possessed their own unique advantages and characteristics.

Therefore, when these hundreds of fully-modified mechanical beings collided, the force they unleashed caused the entire earth to tremble.

rumbling...

Amidst the deafening roar, the Digimon of the Steel Empire could no longer distinguish whether the sound was the earth trembling or the roar of cannons.

The only thing these Digimon knew was that the instructions from the internal network commanded them to eliminate their own kind, identified as "enemies," at all costs.

boom! boom! boom!

Aerial bombardment by Megadramon and Gigadramon...

The roar of cannons from the Guardian Beasts and Tank Beasts...

The steel battle between MetalGreymon and MetalMamemon...