Digital Hackers' Memories

But Chen Ze has now provoked two invincible beings, Swordmon and Arkadimon, so it's no wonder that Renamon X is starting to worry about Chen Ze's safety.

When it comes to a talent for causing trouble, Chen Ze seems to be even more exaggerated than me.

"It's okay, I'm not planning on causing any trouble for a while anyway."

With a helpless shrug, Mechdramon naturally picked up on the underlying resentment in Reifomon X's words.

"This was just an accident; I have no intention of courting death."

After he finished speaking, the mechadramon began to glow with digital light, and in the next moment it transformed into Chen Ze's original appearance.

"Besides, even if I'm found by SwordEmperormon and Arkadimon, won't you still be there to protect me?"

When two identical "Chen Ze"s stand on the rooftop facing each other, their appearances and demeanors are so similar that it's hard to tell them apart.

"Huh? Do you want me to protect you?"

Upon hearing that Chen Ze needed her protection, the fox spirit X, who had been quite annoyed, immediately forgot her previous slight frustration and unhappiness.

"Why do I feel like our 'identities' have been reversed?"

"You were the one who kept telling me not to cause trouble, but you've caused more trouble in the last few days than I have in the whole time."

Despite saying that, seeing Chen Ze had returned to his original form, Renamon X was still very happy to transform back into its Digimon form and then skillfully disappeared.

"But I will definitely protect you, so just relax and enjoy my protection!"

"Little brother Chen Ze..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the fox spirit X, to Chen Ze's astonishment, patted his head for the first time in a long time.

This guy... he's definitely a natural-born troll!

This was Chen Ze's last thought at that moment.

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

Time flew by and it was time to let out of school in the afternoon.

When the school bell rang, the "Going Home Department," which made up more than 50% of the school's students, immediately and frantically ran towards the school gate.

Such an exaggerated surge of people prompted Makiko Date, who had been away from school for a long time, to exclaim, "It's so good to be young."

"Sister Ida?"

Chen Ze noticed Makiko Date standing at the school gate immediately. He was taken aback for a moment, then quickened his pace and walked up to her.

"I've told you so many times, you should call her Makiko."

She greeted him familiarly; this was already the umpteenth time that Makiko Date had corrected Chen Ze on how to address her.

Given that "Date" is not a common surname, the fact that Date Makiko allowed Chen Ze to call her by her first name is itself a sign of a close relationship.

However, Chen Ze always insisted on calling her by her surname instead of her given name, which, in the eyes of Date Makiko, who was gradually getting to know him better, was somewhat of a distant gesture.

However, Makiko Date was also very clear in her heart that Chen Ze's insistence on calling her "Idate-nee" was actually a psychological safety net.

If it weren't for her very close relationship with Chen Ze's mother, based on her observations of Chen Ze over this period of time, this somewhat aloof boy would never have taken the initiative to make any friends.

Or more precisely, just as Chen Ze's mother told him, despite Chen Ze's usual polite demeanor, deep down he always harbored a sense of wariness that kept people at arm's length.

Makiko Date hadn't understood why he was so unusually wary, but now she felt like she understood this boy from a foreign country somewhat.

Thinking of this, Makiko Date glanced subtly at the direction behind Chen Ze.

【Huh? 】

As if sensing Makiko Date's spying, the fox spirit X, who had been hiding behind Chen Ze, suddenly raised its head and looked at Makiko Date with a puzzled expression.

Did she find out about me?

Somewhat unsure whether the spying he had just sensed came from Makiko Date, Reijomon X couldn't help but shift his gaze to the black-eared beast perched on Makiko Date's shoulder.

However, just like with Makiko Date, Renamon X did not find anything unusual about Blackearmon.

A mere Rookie-level Digimon couldn't even see through the demonic magic Renamon X had bestowed upon it, let alone discern its true form.

On the contrary, Chen Ze quickly noticed the black-eared beast on the shoulder of Date Makiko after getting close to her.

You can't ignore it, because the big black-eared beast is flapping its two big ears, looking around at the flow of people coming and going like a curious child.

"Digimon?"

"Sister Ida, it is..."

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Confession Leads to Leniency

It was evening in Chen Ze's automated apartment.

Chen Ze skillfully set out the table and dishes, chatting with Makiko Date as he went in and out of the kitchen.

"So, Blackearmon is a Digimon you picked up on the street?"

Although somewhat surprised by Makiko Date's explanation, Chen Ze had no doubts about her actions, considering her naturally carefree personality.

While the human world harbors immense hostility towards Digimon that suddenly intrude, there are also humans who have goodwill towards the existence of Digimon.

The "Rebels" team, consisting of hackers with Digimon partners and Shiramine Nokia components, are groups that are relatively friendly towards Digimon.

"Yes! It's hard not to feel sorry for this little guy when he looks so pitiful."

With a nonchalant shrug, Makiko Date knew that her actions had violated some police regulations, but she simply couldn't bring herself to hand over the Black-Eared Beast.

Anyway, I've broken the rules quite a few times, so I don't care about one more time.

"You won't tell anyone about this, will you?"

Chen Ze shook his head knowingly. He naturally wouldn't tell anyone; he wasn't stupid enough to want to cause trouble for himself.

"Of course not, but are you sure you'll raise a Digimon?"

On the internet, things are fine. The Digimon that live there naturally have their own rules for survival. They can maintain their lives and even evolve by absorbing data.

However, in the real world, materialized Digimon must eat in order to survive.

Chen Ze didn't doubt Makiko Date's intelligence; he just had some doubts about whether her carefree personality was really suitable for raising another Digimon.

That's no ordinary animal; it's a data life form with the instinct to evolve. Who knows what kind of Digimon the usually careless and sloppy Date Makiko will raise Blackearmon into?

"Won't……"

She shook her head decisively. Just as she was about to say something, she hesitated as if she had suddenly realized something.

"Sigh, never mind!"

"Let me just say it directly, I'm not the kind of person who likes to hide my thoughts anyway."

So, to the surprise of Chen Ze and the Black-eared Beast, Makiko Date's expression became unusually serious.

"Chen Ze, before I find Patamon for BlackEarmon, please take care of it for me!"

"Anyway, you're a hacker, aren't you?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ze, who had just placed a dish on the table, froze, and even the black-eared beast stared blankly.

Hacker?

Aren't they a group of humans who like to capture Digimon and use them as "slaves"?

Makiko's younger brother, is this seemingly gentle and refined young man in front of him actually a hacker?

"Actually, I've been holding it in the whole way, and it feels much better to say it out loud."

Regardless of the turmoil of emotions within the human and the beast, Makiko Date's expression immediately became much more relaxed and cheerful after she revealed the fact that "Chen Ze is a hacker."

"How...did you find out?"

After a brief hesitation, Chen Ze did not deny Makiko Date's statement.

He knew that given Makiko Date's personality, she would never say such a thing to his face unless she had solid evidence.

"Actually, I've felt something was strange for a long time."

"With your grades in China, there's absolutely no need for you to come to Tokyo to study high school."

Makiko Date is telling the truth. In this day and age, even if someone wants to study abroad, no one would choose to study in Japan during high school.

After all, starting in the 1980s, the Japanese government changed its teaching and education policy and gradually adopted a liberal teaching method that was more Anglo-American.

This almost "free-range" approach may indeed allow some geniuses to stand out, but it is absolutely unsuitable for China, which still practices exam-oriented education and regards studying as the only way to change social class.

If Chen Ze still intends to take the Chinese college entrance examination in the future, then his decision to spend his three crucial years of high school in Tokyo is absolutely the worst possible choice.

"You came to this country with the most hackers to find your companions because you didn't want your parents to find out you were a hacker, right?"

Makiko Date felt that she could understand Chen Ze's "chuunibyou" thoughts at his age, because she was just as rebellious and chuunibyou a few years ago.

In fact, this is why Makiko Date took such good care of Chen Ze after he came to Tokyo, and even went to the school to help him out of trouble as his "guardian".

“I understand your thoughts, but this is not a reason for you to give up your studies, and becoming a hacker is definitely not the end of your life.”

Makiko Date understands the adolescent rebellion and angst of youth, but she doesn't want Chen Ze to waste his talent because of it.

At the very least, during the years when Chen Ze was rebellious and eccentric, Date Makiko, who had come to regard him as her younger brother, felt obligated to urge him not to give up his studies or go astray.

This is a promise that Makiko Date made to Chen Ze's mother, and also her expectation for Chen Ze, this "genius boy".

"..."

Actually, Chen Ze really wanted to shout to Makiko Date—you're wrong!

But looking at Makiko Date's serious expression, Chen Ze was speechless for a moment.

In a foreign land, in an unfamiliar place, to have someone who genuinely cares about you, even if their intentions are wrong, Chen Ze doesn't know how to refute them.

"I have not given up learning, nor do I intend to."

With a soft sigh, Chen Ze did not dwell on the matter further, but put down the plate in his hand and asked again.

"You've determined I'm a hacker based solely on this?"

"Of course not, actually you have many 'flaws'..."

Seeing that Chen Ze had finally let down his guard, Makiko Date's worries were finally completely relieved.

If Chen Ze had refused to admit his hacker identity at this point, Makiko Date really wouldn't have known how to continue the conversation.

"Do you remember the temporary network access certificate I gave you when you first came to Japan?"

"of course I remember."

How could Chen Ze forget that network access certificate? It was the first gift that Makiko Date gave him. It not only contained a URL link to the Yu-Gi-Oh! tournament, but also a skin for "Zhao Zilong of Changbanpo".

If the situation hadn't been urgent, Chen Ze wouldn't have reset the network access certificate to factory settings, resetting all the data inside.

"Although you said it was due to an operational error that all the data was deleted."

"But according to my subsequent investigation, you intentionally deleted the data in order to prevent others from accessing the relevant records."

At this point, Makiko Date paused slightly.

"This is typical hacking behavior."

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Deliberate Misleading

"So, you started to doubt my identity back then?"

Chen Ze's lips twitched slightly. He never expected that even the most meticulous plans could have a lapse in judgment. He had actually forgotten that the woman who often came to his house for meals was a legitimate member of the "Computer Crime Investigation Department".

For ordinary people, resetting electronic devices to factory settings is a very simple thing.

However, for the "Computer Crime Investigation Division," which frequently deals with cybercrime, as long as they can obtain the relevant electronic devices, they can easily discover the trickery by recovering the data.

"No, that's just one of the 'flaws'."

Makiko Date wasn't that observant; she only remembered the temporary network access certificate whose data had been reset after realizing that "Chen Ze might be a hacker."

"What truly convinced me of your identity was the 'Digimon incident' that happened at school today."

"That Digimon that flew out of your terminal today, didn't it?!"

Although the sentence is in the form of a question, Makiko Date uses an affirmative tone here.

"Is that your Digimon? Is it in this room right now?"

After looking around, Makiko Date, having regained her usual curiosity, returned to her usual self.

"..."