Digital Hackers' Memories

"Please wait a moment, I'll fix your data right away."

After obtaining the students' consent, the Mech Dragon Beast quickly repaired their tampered information data via a "direct connection".

During this process, the mecha dragon also learned the true identities of the students trapped here by reviewing and searching the data of these avatars.

The students trapped here are none other than... the school thugs who surrounded the fox spirit X at the classroom door earlier.

Chapter Sixteen: The Incarnation of Keisuke? A Mysterious Mask?

After the students' avatars were able to speak, the mecha dragon finally learned the whole story from their panicked descriptions.

Just as the mecha dragon beast had guessed, after that school bullying incident, Nogi Yu began to take revenge on everyone who had bullied him in a planned and premeditated manner.

That incident seems to have become the fuse that ignited the dark side of Nogi Yu's heart. Not only those involved in the bullying, but even classmates who were originally just watching coldly were retaliated against by him.

The reason why Reijumon X was blocked at the classroom door was because Nogi Yu threatened these school bullies as a hacker, which made them risk being criticized by the teachers to cause trouble for "Chen Ze".

Unfortunately, due to Reijumon X's godlike performance, Nogi Yu's plan failed, and she almost exposed her hacker identity instead.

In this situation, Nogi Yu, whose dark side was gradually awakening, did not hesitate to use hacking techniques to sever the connection between these thugs and their bodies when they reconnected to the EDEN network, thus artificially creating several "EDEN syndrome" patients.

In fact, this is why the school let Reijumon X off so easily, because they had long realized that a hacker was controlling everything behind the scenes.

Even Makiko Date, who was handling this incident, was secretly investigating the truth behind the scenes.

If it weren't for the sudden opening of the Digital Gate causing the Digimon to wander into Tokyo, Makiko Date might have already followed the clues and found Yu Nogi, who was hiding behind the scenes.

Even so, after imprisoning the data avatars of these people, Nogi Yu quietly went into hiding, no longer daring to cause trouble for "Chen Ze".

After all, the reason why Nogi Yu caused trouble for "Chen Ze" was only out of some kind of envy, jealousy and hatred, and she did not have any real deep hatred for him.

Therefore, after witnessing Chen Ze's abilities, Nogi Yu, not wanting to cause any more trouble, decisively gave up the idea of ​​provoking him and instead began to torture the imprisoned data avatars.

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

"So you just insulted him a few times, and he shut you all up?"

Given the personalities of these school thugs, it's not surprising that they're from Zaun-level areas; calling them foul-mouthed is already a compliment.

Mechadramon was only somewhat surprised by Nogi Yu's ruthlessness and decisiveness, because in his impression, although Nogi Yu was a scheming cross-dresser, she was not the kind of ruthless and antisocial personality.

However, judging from the current situation, Nogi Yu's behavior not only shows that she is extremely cunning, but also that she has a strong tendency towards antisocial personality disorder.

Of course, considering the personalities of these thugs, the Mech Dragon Beast felt no sympathy for their plight.

Mechadramon just felt that, given Nogi Yu's personality, perhaps there was another reason for this sudden outburst of her dark side.

If Nogi Yu truly had such strong antisocial personality tendencies, she would never have resorted to a video recording to retaliate when she was bullied.

Thinking of this, the mecha dragon beast couldn't help but turn its gaze to the very center of this blood-red space—the mask that was filled with madness and insanity.

What exactly is that mask?

Only then did the mecha dragon beast sense a familiar feeling from that strange mask.

It seems to be a collection of some kind of data and concepts, only appearing in this data space in the form of a "mask".

"Artificial digital core?"

In a flash, Chen Ze seemed to remember something and muttered something incredulously.

Because, after setting aside preconceived notions based on appearance, that eerie mask did indeed resemble the artificial digital core of the Armored Dragon Beast.

Or more precisely, it's a Digicore that has abandoned the Digimon's appearance and most of its data capacity.

"Artificial digital core?"

"What it is?"

"Can you take us away from here?"

"I've had enough of this awful place, I'm leaving!"

……

Unaware of what the mecha dragon beast was thinking, the rescued school thugs simply yelled at his virtual projection, their faces revealing undisguised fear.

"Leave? I'm afraid it's too late!"

This time, it wasn't the virtual projection of the Armored Dragon Beast that spoke, but the Armored Dragon Beast itself.

"It...is awake."

As if in response to what the mecha dragon had said, the mask that had been floating in mid-air suddenly began to rotate, and a data avatar of a boy was gradually taking shape.

"Yes, it's too late."

When the avatar fully appeared in front of the mecha dragon beast, not only him, but also the several school thugs who were nervously hiding behind him showed expressions of surprise.

"Keisuke Amasawa?"

"Is it that guy who took a leave of absence for hacking the school server?"

"He really is a hacker! The school should have expelled him from school in the first place!"

Why did he kidnap us? Was it for his effeminate friend?

……

Unable to tolerate the noise of these school hooligans any longer, the mecha dragon, who was set as a "warrior of justice," immediately turned around and glared at them.

"Shut up! This is just a data avatar. The one truly controlling this avatar is that mask!"

In the EDEN network, outward appearance proves nothing, just as the current appearance of the Mechdramon is not its original form.

Rather than the fact that Nogi Yu, or rather the entity hidden behind Nogi Yu, stole Amasawa Keisuke's account, the MechDragon is now more concerned about who is controlling this talking data avatar.

Yu Nogi? Other hackers? Or perhaps a Digimon?

"Such keen observation skills. No wonder he's a powerful... hacker capable of infiltrating this place?"

He casually removed and put on the eerie mask, and the manipulated data avatar of Keisuke continued in a sharp voice.

"But I also have a question I'd like to ask: are you really 'human' now?"

Upon hearing this, the few school thugs who had just been hiding behind the mecha dragon beast were stunned and took a few steps back, staring at the illusory projection with shocked expressions.

"You're just a Digimon that acts in the 'shell' of a human, aren't you!"

Although it was a question, Keisuke's alter ego used an affirmative tone.

"I'm just one step closer to you, about to have a 'shell' that can truly walk in the real world."

Chapter Seventeen: Digimon Parasitic on Humans

"I'm just one step closer to you, about to have a 'shell' that can truly walk in the real world."

With a calm tone, Keisuke's avatar stated a shocking fact, while giving the mecha dragon a strange smile.

Throughout the entire process, Keisuke's avatar didn't even glance at the fake avatar projection, because it knew it was just a little trick by the Mech Dragon Beast to gain the trust of these humans.

The one who truly orchestrated the invasion and forced me to reveal myself was Pyramidmon, the Ultimate-level Digimon that possessed an extremely strong sense of oppression.

"You intend to replace a human's mental data?"

At this moment, what came to mind in Armordramon's mind were SwordEmperormon, Philosophermon, and Lilacmon, who had only appeared briefly in the past—all of them were "pioneers" who were able to truly bring Digimon into the human world.

Although their methods and purposes differ, these Digimon are remarkably consistent in their results.

Without a doubt, that eerie mask, like them, is a Digimon making some kind of attempt to appear in the human world.

Compared to the sagemon and lilacmon, which specialize in digitalization, this current Digimon uses a method closer to that of the previous sword-royalmon, both of which aim to parasitize humans.

Considering Nogi Yu's various unusual behaviors, which seemed to have existed even before the Digital Gate opened, Pyramidmon was already convinced of its own judgment.

This Digimon is very likely one of the first Digimon to appear in the EDEN Network, and then, by chance, it has been silently eroding Nogi Yu's spirit.

It wasn't until the Digital Gate was truly opened that its power extended into the material world, truly beginning to affect Yu Nogi in the real world.

In this way, it becomes clear how Nogi Yu was able to use bizarre hacking techniques to imprison human data here.

So, here's the problem.

As is well known, before the Digital Gate was officially opened, the more powerful a Digimon was, the more difficult it was for it to cross the "dimensional wall".

When it traveled through time, it gave up most of its power, leaving only a mask... Just how powerful was it in its prime?

Compared to the SwordKingmon, which only has a wisp of spiritual data occupying Rie Kishibe's body, even if it is not as good as the Royal Knights, it is certainly not comparable to ordinary Ultimate-level monsters.

"Why not?"

The sound was sharp and piercing, and Keisuke's alter ego continued with his strange smile.

"Isn't it a good option to disguise yourself as 'human' when you don't know what the other world is really like?"

"Just like you right now..."

In fact, this is why Keisuke's avatar did not rush into the human world like other Digimon after the Digital Gate opened.

While the weakening of the "dimensional wall" has reduced the difficulty of crossing, the situation faced by the Digimon after crossing remains unchanged.

An unknown world filled with hostility towards Digimon is not the kind of world that Keisuke's alter ego would like.

"No, I'm not like you."

Glancing at the high school thugs beside him who had already taken several steps back and were still trembling, the Mecha Dragon Beast denied the statement made by Keisuke's avatar with a firm voice.

"go!"

Without any intention of fighting, after figuring out Nogi Yu's hidden secret, the Mechdramon left the private network terminal without hesitation, leading the humans behind it.

This is also the biggest difference between Armordramon and Ashuramon and MetalGreymon.

Compared to MetalGreymon, which basically inherited Chen Ze's original personality, or Ashuramon, which can only evolve successfully when it goes berserk in extreme anger...

The mecha dragon beast, which Chen Ze had deliberately set for it to think things through and be as cautious as possible, showed more of his calm and wise side.

Whenever Chen Ze acts impulsively and tries to follow his instincts, the artificial digital core of the Mechadramon will pop up at the right time to remind him of the "role" he is currently playing, thereby ensuring the success rate of his disguise and cosplay.

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

"Mech Dragon Beast!"

Completely surprised by the other party's "cowardice," Keisuke, who had just been looking "completely under control," was stunned for a moment before revealing a hint of anger.

I was actually tricked?

Were we tricked by a mere Ultimate-level Digimon?

Yes, in the eyes of Keisuke's avatar, he was being played by the Mechadramon, and in a way that was thoroughly fooled.

"Chase them! Bring them back!"

Instinctively, they clenched their fists. Then, Keisuke's avatar pointed in the direction where the Armored Dragonmon had disappeared and roared angrily. A Digimon that looked like a demon suddenly appeared in this blood-red space.

This is the Digimon partner that Nogi Yu painstakingly trained—ZombieSatanmon!

As a powerful Digimon at the Ultimate level, ZombieSatanmon possessed the ability to actively appear in the real world as soon as the Digital Gate opened.

Those are the special abilities of the Digimon that grew up in the EDEN Network, and also evidence that ZombieSatanmon was a Digimon bred by humans.

"..."

Clearly unwilling to obey this sudden order, the zombie Satan Beast did not immediately give chase, but instead turned its head to glance at Keisuke's avatar.

At this moment, on those hollow, ferocious faces that resembled skulls, there was only untamed arrogance.

"Chase after them! Chase after them immediately!"

Keisuke's avatar clearly realized this as well, and immediately connected to the internal network application, using the "Digimon Catcher" bound to the zombie Satanmon to issue a forced command.

To be honest, if Nogi Yu hadn't been unable to log on for a while, Keisuke's avatar would have already chased after him.

Even if the ultimate form of this avatar has complete control, it is impossible for it to appear in the EDEN network as Nogi Yu or Keisuke when the original body is not online.

Putting aside the potential risks of exposure, the mere fact that Nogi Yu would realize she was being controlled would be enough to temporarily dissuade Keisuke's alter ego from pursuing the idea.

Keisuke's alter ego was only angry about being mocked, but he was not blinded by that anger.

It has been lurking in the EDEN network for eight years, and it is absolutely impossible for it to give up its eight years of painstaking efforts because of a moment of anger.

Therefore, sending the zombie Satan Beast to chase the mecha dragon beast was the best option under the circumstances.

"You despicable imposter, I'll make you pay for forcing your way into my service one day!"

With a roar of resentment and anger, the zombie Satan Beast smashed the blood-red cube in front of it with its scepter before chasing after the remaining traces of the Mech Dragon Beast and rushing into the vast torrent of the EDEN network.

Chapter 18 Jealousy