Digital Hackers' Memories

PS2: I'll try to include more slice-of-life content in the next volume!

Chapter 1 The Demon Fox Beast's Perverse Pleasures

The automated apartment where Chen Ze lives in Tokyo, Japan.

After being discharged from the hospital, Chen Ze finally adapted to the mental and physical disharmony after a few days of recuperation, and to the fact that he was gradually becoming "non-human".

After his spirit returned to his body, in order to adapt to the powerful Digicore of MetalGreymon, Chen Ze's body seemed to be affected by some kind of evolutionary instinct and began a process of self-strengthening.

It should be noted that before the "Valhalla Server Strategy Incident," Chen Ze's body had already undergone some kind of mutation due to the influence of the digital core.

The most obvious point is that Chen Zhe at that time was able to judge, like a machine, how much physical strength he had left and how far he was from his limit.

The enhancement of the five senses, the improvement of balance, and the control over the subtle details of the body have surpassed the scope of what ordinary people can understand.

After his spirit returned to his body, Chen Ze's changes became even more pronounced.

First, there was an improvement in physical strength. Chen Ze could feel that his body was like that of an athlete who had undergone more than ten years of professional training, possessing a physique that surpassed that of ordinary people.

This was a phenomenon that had never occurred before. The previous "alienation" at most improved Chen Ze's control over his body, but it did not directly improve his physical strength in this way.

Secondly, there are improvements at the microscopic level, such as changes that require specialized instruments to detect, such as self-healing ability, blood circulation speed, and enhanced immunity.

To be honest, the way Suedo Akemi looked at Chen Ze after his physical examination was unforgettable.

To paraphrase Akemi Suedo, you are now a monster in human skin, in every way.

Fortunately, Modo Akemi didn't connect Chen Ze's changes with MetalGreymon, otherwise, given his personality, he might have actually implanted a Digicore in himself.

After that, in order to avoid giving Suedo Akemi unnecessary ideas, Chen Ze avoided the Central Hospital and Suedo Akemi as much as possible, except for occasional medical check-ups. If he couldn't avoid them, he would remain silent and let them do as they pleased.

Fortunately, Akimi Suedo had no intention of delving deeper into the matter. The series of troubles caused by Swordmon opening the Digital Gate were already enough to attract his attention.

If it weren't for the promise he made to Youkomon X, he wouldn't even have planned to give Chen Ze a follow-up examination.

According to Suedo Akira, Chen Ze's current condition is already as good as it gets. Even if any problems are found later, they are beyond the scope of current human technology.

"Thinking about it this way, Suedo Akizumi really is a strange person."

Chen Ze stretched lazily in front of the computer, muttering listlessly after just having a video call with his lovable parents.

Despite being a perfectly normal human, he possesses a level of understanding of digitization, digital waves, and even the Digital World that surpasses that of ordinary Digimon.

"But did he really not make any connections?"

Somewhat uncertain, Chen Ze touched the back of his head, then closed his eyes slightly and fell into deep thought.

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

"Chen Ze, it's time to eat!"

On the other side, after using the automated kitchen equipment to make breakfast, Youkomon X skillfully pushed open Chen Ze's door, intending to call him to come to the living room for dinner.

"Wait a moment, I'll be right there."

Looking back at the opened door, Chen Ze was not greeted by the pale yellow humanoid fox demon, but by a tall, mature woman.

Her long, golden hair cascaded down her shoulders naturally, and her upturned, aloof gaze gave her a unique, cold beauty...

This is none other than Youkomon X, who has used illusion magic to disguise himself as a human.

"Don't pretend at home..."

Seeing this, Chen Ze sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time.

Since she could no longer impersonate Chen Ze, Youkomon X has frequently appeared in this apartment in different female forms.

From little girls to young girls, from wealthy women to mature women, and even elderly grandmothers with white hair...

Heaven knows how many different female forms Youkomon X has taken on in just a few short days.

As a result, every time Chen Ze entered or left the apartment, he had to face the pitiful yet envious and jealous looks from the security guards.

"If you change your appearance a few more times, I guess my nickname with the gatekeeper will go from 'the gigolo who doesn't discriminate between meat and vegetables' to 'the shameless human self-propelled cannon'."

Upon hearing this, the fox spirit X simply chuckled and shrugged, seemingly unbothered by Chen Ze's complaint.

"How do I look today? My current appearance is based on the 'mature woman' image you have on your computer!"

As she said this, the fox spirit X consciously puffed out her chest, but unfortunately Chen Ze's attention was clearly not on her at the moment.

"What?! You've been going through my computer again?!"

Whether out of embarrassment or anger, Chen Ze's cheeks flushed instantly, and he frantically began searching through a folder hidden deep inside the computer.

Since the last time the Fox Spirit X modified the system and found his accounts, Chen Ze has adopted a more secretive way to hide his "private files".

However, judging from the current situation, Chen Ze's "defense measures" seem to have failed to prevent the invasion of a certain fox demon.

"It's just some... well, human 'mating data,' isn't it? What's the point of hiding it?"

Despite using the same wording as last time, this time, the fox spirit X blushed almost imperceptibly without Chen Ze noticing.

Having spent so much time in the human world, Youkomon X clearly understood why Chen Ze had hidden those documents.

"You guy!"

Looking at the fox demon X with a hint of grief and indignation, Chen Ze decided that next time he would definitely get a portable hard drive to save his data.

He simply couldn't believe that the fox spirit could sneak into his external hard drive while completely isolated from the internet.

"More importantly, why have you started using the computer again these past few days?"

The topic was promptly changed, and even the fox spirit X didn't know why he had suddenly come to enjoy teasing Chen Ze.

All she knew was that if she continued like this, Chen Ze might really get angry and embarrassed.

As for why I have this tendency?

Renamon X's failure can only be attributed to its rash use of the "evolution program" last time, which may have caused it to exhibit some unknown, erroneous evolutionary tendency.

Fortunately, Renamon X did not experience a similar situation with humans other than Chen Ze, otherwise she would really have to consider adjusting her evolutionary path.

"Don't you have an EDEN device? Isn't that more convenient than a computer?"

Chapter Two: Value Determines Price

"It's not because of you!"

Taking a deep breath, Chen Ze glared at the other person with annoyance.

“EDEN is indeed very convenient, but it can only be used in Japan. If you want to use networks other than EDEN, you still need a computer and a mobile phone.”

The EDEN network is a virtual network independent of traditional networks. It is a "local area network" created by Japan in order to fight for internet independence and sovereignty.

Therefore, aside from daily communication and contact, to understand internet platforms outside of the EDEN network, you need to use a dedicated computer and mobile phone.

"because I?"

The fox spirit X clearly didn't quite understand what Chen Ze meant, and stared at him with a confused and curious look, waiting for him to continue explaining.

"Of course, if you hadn't bought this useless server, would I have needed to go to such lengths to make money?"

Pointing to the flashy private server next to him, Chen Ze continued to complain in an annoyed tone.

Before coming to Japan, Chen Ze's lively parents considered that their child would definitely need money living alone in Tokyo.

So in addition to his daily tuition expenses, he was given extra pocket money, which was put into his private account.

However, during the week Chen Ze went to the world of Muji, Youkomon X used his savings to buy a private server with extremely low cost-performance in order to better infiltrate those large servers.

The direct consequence of this was that Chen Ze suddenly realized that he might not have enough money for his expenses this month.

In fact, if Chen Ze's lively parents hadn't paid so little attention to his private accounts, they probably would have discovered this "abnormal expense" long ago.

Even so, Chen Ze, unable to explain the expense, had to find a way to resolve the issue before his mother found out.

After all, using one's living expenses to buy "gaming equipment" would be seen as a complete waste of time by parents of any era.

Moreover, he also needs to conceal the existence of the fox spirit X, so he naturally wants to keep such things as secret as possible.

Use hacking techniques to make some money and then fill this hole?

Chen Ze immediately rejected this idea.

In today's information-rich society, the flow of electronic currency is far more transparent than in the era of paper money.

Chen Ze does indeed have a way to obtain funds in a short period of time and then turn them into a legitimate income through money laundering, which is quite simple in today's society.

However, it is unavoidable that as long as there is a flow of money and dynamics, even if no one knows the true source of the money, they will inevitably suspect Chen Ze's true identity.

—The Hacker Survival Guide

—Article 5: Any behavior or action that could potentially reveal one's true identity should be avoided.

Therefore, Chen Ze, not wanting to get into trouble, had to solve the problem in another way.

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

"What? Stock trading?"

With wide eyes in surprise, the fox spirit X stared at Chen Ze in shock, its initial curiosity replaced by an expression that seemed to say, "This guy must be an idiot."

As a genuine Digimon, Renamon X doesn't quite understand "stock trading," a unique product of the human socio-economic system, but she does know that it's best for non-professionals to avoid "stocks."

According to the data that Youkomon X could collect, information related to stock trading was either about jumping off buildings or getting rich overnight.

"Yes, but this 'stock trading' is a little different from what you think of as 'stock trading'."

Having said that, Chen Ze seemed to realize that it would be difficult to convince the fox spirit X with words alone, so he simply started operating the computer interface again.

"Strictly speaking, what I'm doing isn't really stock trading, but rather buying and selling funds."

In this era, thanks to the advanced technology of the internet, buying and selling stocks has become a very convenient thing.

With just a private account, users can freely buy and sell stocks, funds, foreign exchange, cryptocurrencies, and even local specialties from different parts of the world online.

Although the concept of "online shopping" existed as early as the beginning of the 21st century, it is only in recent years that new technologies have truly unified all "online shopping" channels into a single digital account.

In the early 21st century, this feeling was similar to being able to use a single account to buy things from JD.com, Taobao, Pinduoduo, major banks, and even different vendors and private buyers.

This involves more than just technical issues; it also involves the flow and interaction of data between major companies and countries.

Only when all aspects of technology and concepts reach a certain level will the practice of using the same account to "shop online" in different regions, companies, and countries become feasible.

"fund?"

This is yet another unfamiliar term to Youkomon X.

"If stocks represent the market's expectations for a company's future, then a fund represents the market's expectations for an entire industry."

It had been a long time since he had encountered something so completely unknown to him, like a fox spirit. Chen Ze, who had only intended to give a simple explanation, suddenly became interested and began to explain the graphs on the screen.

"Generally speaking, after a company goes public, retail investors can buy its stock and then profit from the price difference by buying low and selling high."

"Perhaps some professional investment institutions are interested in the company's future potential and are buying into its future appreciation potential, but the vast majority of retail investors just want to make a quick buck and leave."

"Then the problem is that, apart from the quarterly reports, ordinary people have no way of understanding a company's specific operations."

"Even the authenticity of those reports is questionable without a specific investigation."

After a slight pause, Chen Ze, under the increasingly curious gaze of the fox spirit X, pointed to a data point on the graph and continued to explain in a low voice.

"To address this issue, and also to avoid putting all your eggs in one basket, experienced investors will simultaneously purchase shares of several leading companies in the same industry to ensure risk diversification."

"Over time, specialized companies and platforms will buy shares of several companies together according to certain rules and then sell them to customers who need them. This is the prototype of a fund."

Nodding as if enlightened, the Fox Spirit X, whose memory and comprehension abilities far exceeded expectations, did not find these two concepts difficult to understand.

Even the fox spirit X, who had always survived by adhering to the law of the jungle, would sometimes instinctively make choices similar to "risk sharing".

"So, you also want to profit from the price difference by 'buying low and selling high'?"

Hearing the slightly confused question from the fox spirit X, Chen Ze smiled and shook his head.

Because Chen Ze didn't consider himself a genius who was very familiar with the financial industry, he naturally didn't think he had the eye to pick out the most valuable one from so many funds.

"No, I don't intend to be the kind of retail investor who engages in short-term speculation; I want to be a value investor."

"When I was in junior high school, we learned a concept in our political class—that prices fluctuate around value."

"This concept also applies to companies, stocks, and funds."

"As long as a company or an industry doesn't disappear, it has value, and this value determines how much consumers accept the price."

"When most consumers recognize its value, the stock price will skyrocket..."

"When most consumers deny its value, the stock price will plummet..."