Digital Hackers' Memories

This is a game server specifically set up for the game "Stellaris," and everything inside is themed around the fictional game.

The vast and boundless cosmos, the glittering stars, and those enormous interstellar warships...

This server contains every imaginable vision of future space, presented in a tangible form that is beyond the comprehension of people in the early 21st century.

"The people who organized this competition must be incredibly wealthy!"

"Yes! A private competition actually rented the official server."

"I heard the prize money this time is a whopping $30,000. That should be considered top-tier in a private competition, right?"

"Of course! It's said that the organizers went to such lengths to recruit new members for their team."

……

In a designated waiting area, Chen Ze, who had created a new avatar using his real information, was listening to the discussions of the contestants around him.

Unlike the previous Yu-Gi-Oh! tournament, this game called "Stellaris" is somewhat similar to real-time strategy games like StarCraft, Warcraft, and Red Alert from the early 21st century.

However, compared to the "rudimentary" games of that time, today's games have evolved into programs that are close to real space battles, and are much larger in scale than previous real-time strategy games.

Putting everything else aside, just this competition alone had nearly a hundred "star" game enthusiasts participating at the same time.

These hundreds of players will build space fortresses, establish bases, create armies, manufacture spaceships, and so on in this vast starry sky, then form alliances, seek out enemies, or wait for others to attack.

Hundreds of players simultaneously engaging in a real-time strategy game—this was something Chen Ze could never have imagined in his previous life.

Even in Japan, where EDEN networks are now widespread, only dedicated official game servers can handle such a massive scale of computation and data.

In fact, this is why the participants were so amazed – the organizers actually rented the official game server for this private competition, which is incredibly extravagant.

However, whether the organizers have money or are trying to select new members for their own team, these things have little to do with Chen Ze.

Chen Ze was only there for the $30,000 prize money. If he didn't win the championship, he would accept a second or third prize, or even a consolation prize of a few thousand dollars.

After all, to fill the hole in their own savings, the most important thing is to find ways to increase income in a short period of time, rather than relying on stocks and funds that require a long time to generate more money.

This is also a key reason why Chen Zhe did not use his own hacker avatar, but instead used his real data to regenerate an avatar to participate in the competition.

Only by using your own real data will the prize money won in the competition rightfully belong to you.

As for whether Chen Ze can win the game?

Or rather, why was Chen Ze confident that he could win the game?

That's because after these few days of exploration and practice, Chen Ze discovered that his brain seems to have developed and evolved to some extent.

Just like the changes in his body, Chen Ze's brain also became more acute and intelligent under the influence of the digital core.

This sharpness and intelligence are not only reflected in IQ and memory, but also in the greatly improved thinking speed and neural reaction ability.

To use a slightly melodramatic term, Chen Ze felt like Neo from The Matrix, possessing some kind of "bullet time" ability.

Although such an ability is only the most basic ability for a Perfect MetalGreymon, Chen Ze in his human form finds it quite strange that he could possess "superpowers" in reality.

Most importantly, this means that Chen Ze can easily defeat the top professional players in "StarCraft" without using his hacker avatar or Digimon form.

"Although this might seem like 'cheating,' it's still better than directly using a hacker avatar to tamper with server data!"

After muttering something indistinctly, Chen Ze, who had initially felt somewhat guilty, finally felt a little more confident.

After all, compared to directly using "cheats," my current abilities all come from myself and I haven't violated any of the game's rules.

"In the end, it's all the fox spirit's fault. Who told her to waste money like that?"

Thinking of this, Chen Ze couldn't help but feel a little worried about the fox spirit that was taking his place at school.

Chen Ze did not doubt Renamon X's intelligence. He reasoned that if he himself had such a significant increase in intelligence due to the influence of the Digicore, then Renamon X, being a Digimon to begin with, would certainly be even more so.

As genuine data life forms, born from information, every Digimon possesses computing power comparable to a computer, which is essential for its survival in the world of data.

However, intelligence does not equate to IQ, much less wisdom. The biggest weakness of Reijumon X is that she is not a true human and does not understand the rules and order of human society.

Even if a beast without self-awareness possesses the world's most advanced computer, all it can do is follow its instincts and use it as a simple calculator, stick, or even a stone.

What truly allows computers to realize their greatest value is not their ultra-fast computing speed, but rather the experience and knowledge accumulated by human society over millions of years.

This is also true for Digimon. Digimon that exist as "individuals" can use the data they absorb for evolution, which is already their strongest use of the Digicore's power.

In this respect, the Steel Empire, which once single-handedly dominated the evolutionary trend of the entire digital world, can be considered an outlier.

Unfortunately, since the disappearance of the Steel Empire, the Digimon have reverted to their individual existence, forgetting that the accumulation of experience and knowledge is the shortcut to evolution.

"All contestants, please get ready, the competition is about to begin..."

"All contestants, please get ready, the competition is about to begin..."

"All contestants, please get ready, the competition is about to begin..."

Just as Chen Ze and the other contestants were making their preparations, a mechanical and indifferent voice suddenly rang in their ears, repeating the same words three times.

Then, the nearly one hundred contestants who were originally in the waiting area were directly launched into the vast starry sky and placed into their respective space bases.

Chapter Six: Warrior Players

Once the competition officially began, nearly a hundred contestants quickly set up their bases and then built power plants, infrastructure, defensive weapons, and space warships around them.

For these semi-professional players, Stellaris is a game they've already thoroughly mastered.

Aside from lacking the reaction speed and strategic ability of true professional players, their understanding of basic common sense and rules is in no way inferior to that of true professional players.

In most people's understanding, after establishing their main base in the game "Stellaris", the first thing to do is to build some basic facilities to lay the foundation for climbing various different technology trees.

If several people form an alliance in the early stages, the players may even divide the work and cooperate.

Those responsible for resource gathering are specifically in charge of resource gathering; those responsible for defense are specifically in charge of defense; and those responsible for preparing for attack are specifically in charge of preparing for attack...

In the late game, after all other enemies have been eliminated, the alliances will fight individually to compete for the final victory.

However, to the surprise of all the players present, an anomaly appeared in this competition, an anomaly that dared to take the initiative to attack in the early stages without forming an alliance.

"what is that?"

The first to notice the anomaly was a player specifically tasked with scouting the surrounding resources. From his perspective, an unexpanded base was heading towards him with some initial small warships.

He initially thought they were players who wanted to form an alliance, since there were quite a few players who started forming alliances during the game.

However, once those small warships entered the prepared attack range, they unexpectedly and decisively launched an attack on them.

Caught off guard, the player who had just set up his base and sent out other small warships to collect resources was instantly destroyed, and the resources he had collected were also taken by the enemy.

[Congratulations to 'AGU' for destroying 'Please Be Gentle's' main base and securing the first win of the game.]

Stunned by the announcement, all the players present could hardly believe their ears.

Starting a battle right from the beginning is a rare occurrence, even among the most novice players.

"Fight back! That's the enemy!"

The first to realize this were the other teammates who were allied with that player. They all abandoned their original missions and dispatched their warships to besiege the player named AGU.

However, to their utter surprise, the AGU, as the attackers, not only did not adopt any defensive posture, but also decisively dispatched all of their warships.

"Damn it, they're besieging my warship! Come and help me!"

Although the player who was first besieged immediately sent a distress signal to his alliance, due to the distance, by the time the third allied player arrived, the player who sent the distress signal had already been wiped out by AGU's warships.

Moreover, the AGU, which had already set up its base, used the resources it had just plundered to produce more small fleets and launched an offensive.

It was only at this point that the players in this area realized that the player who started the war at the very beginning was a rare "brave warrior".

Gathering resources doesn't matter, as long as we defeat the enemy and plunder them.

Most importantly, AGU not only has excellent strategic thinking, but also has achieved a high level of skill in subtle tactical command.

Despite having a smaller fleet that was always outnumbered by the allied players, AGU, through its excellent command, quickly defeated several players who came to its aid with an astonishingly low casualty count.

"Is this a professional player?"

"Isn't that incredible? Even professional gamers couldn't do that level of micro-management, right?"

"Wait, look at that! He hasn't built any defensive weapons. Does he intend to take over this area in one go?"

……

Filled with resentment, the players who were sent back to the waiting area at the start of the game zoomed in and focused their attention on the interface of the player named AGU.

Then they discovered that the player with the ID "AGU" hadn't used any voice chat at all.

In other words, AUG not only attacked a small alliance without any allies, but also intends to continue this lone wolf approach.

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

On the other hand, leaving aside the players who withdrew from the competition early, AUG, who had caused such a stir, was now sitting calmly in his main base, leisurely controlling the warships he had slain.

Strategic vision, meticulous micromanagement, and accurate assessment of the strength of both sides...

Chen Ze's current state doesn't resemble that of a newbie who has only been playing the game for two or three days; rather, he seems more like a professional player or military personnel who has undergone specialized training.

Under Chen Ze's command, tactical details such as winning with fewer troops, defeating stronger opponents, and besieging a point to attack reinforcements were handled with ease.

[So, I've become this strong?]

Chen Ze was well aware that his actions were somewhat like bullying a child.

When in Digimon form, Chen Ze did not actually have a clear understanding of his own abilities.

After all, his opponents were also battle-hardened Digimon, and their conditioned reflexes and combat intelligence were not much worse than Chen Ze's.

It wasn't until this physical transformation occurred that Chen Ze realized that he was now quite different from ordinary people in many ways.

The fighting skills he displayed when facing school bullying were, to put it another way, within the capabilities of an ordinary person who had learned fighting techniques.

However, when the same changes manifested at the brain level, Chen Ze immediately became aware of the changes in his intelligence.

Chen Ze wasn't a genius in either of his two lives combined. The reason he was able to achieve what he has today is simply because of the legacy from his previous life and his clear plans for the future.

But now, Chen Ze has become a true genius.

In addition to faster reaction speed and stronger memory, the brain affected by the digital core can also explore a wider and deeper range of things, enabling a more profound and rapid understanding of the essence of things.

What used to take ten minutes to arrive at, Chen Ze can now do in less than a minute.

This ability to quickly grasp the essence of things is particularly evident in "Stellaris," a game that tests real-time thinking skills.

If Chen Ze hadn't lacked formal training in strategic and tactical thinking, he would have been confident he could have made other players question their existence.

Chapter Seven: AGU's Rise to Fame

boom! boom! boom!

In the vast, virtual starry sky, the flames of war continue to spread.

With AGU as a disruptor, other players no longer waited until they had developed a sufficient number of warships before attacking each other, unlike in previous matches.

AGU's fleet is like a swarm of locusts across the vast starry sky, moving only to instigate wars and plunder resources, completely disregarding whether it destroys other players' main bases.

As soon as AGU judges that his next action may result in "damage exceeding benefits", he will immediately retreat, showing no greed whatsoever, unlike normal players or even normal humans.

The direct consequence of this is that other players cannot develop their characters in peace.

After all, no one can expect a main base that has had its fleet and defensive structures destroyed to be able to honestly mine resources and develop on its own.

Even if such people really exist, what's faster than developing peacefully than directly plundering the fruits of others' labor?

In a game where there can only be one winner, being one step behind means falling behind, and falling behind means being beaten, which is not a fact that players are willing to accept.

Therefore, in this crazy game completely driven by AGU, very few people are still following the original established steps to develop peacefully and slowly climb the tech tree.

"He single-handedly dictated the course of the entire game; was he really just an ordinary player?"

"That level of micro-management and overall strategy is one thing, but AGU actually made zero mistakes from start to finish?"

"Too calm, AGU is too calm, so calm that he seems completely unaffected by the intense battle."

……

As more and more players appear in the waiting area, discussions about AGU are becoming increasingly heated.

If at first they were just watching AGU's unpredictable gameplay with a sense of amusement, they are now genuinely impressed by the professionalism AUG has displayed in this game.

While strategic vision and micro-management skills can be explained by talent, AGU's composure under any circumstances is a true testament to his individual ability.

In fact, AGU's overall strategy and mechanics are not particularly outstanding, at least not comparable to the top professional players.

The problem is that AGU can guarantee that it will not make mistakes, or that it can make up for them in the shortest time and in the most effective way after making a mistake.

Unlike other players, they are not easily immersed in the atmosphere of the battle and their judgment and decisions are not influenced by other players or competitors.