Digital Hackers' Memories

The food street on the first floor of the Nakano Building is a traditional food street that still uses manual methods to prepare food in this day and age.

On this street, all the food is processed by hand, not machine-made.

Occasionally, one or two shops will have food vending machines, but their business is not as booming as in other areas.

Ultimately, this is a culture, a culture unique to Nakano Food Street.

Over 90% of the tourists who come here are there for the traditional food, and they are willing to spend far more than the price of mass-produced food.

Coincidentally, Yuko Kamishiro, the heiress of the Kamishiro Group, is a regular customer of Nakano Food Street.

Whether she has free time or not, Yuko Kamishiro likes to come here to enjoy some delicious food. She even posted some tasks for others to find food for her.

The legendary cyber detective agency was something Yuko Kamishiro discovered by chance when she was posting a mission.

Yuko Kamishiro didn't have much contact with the true owner of the cyber detective agency, the beautiful and languid older sister figure—Kyouko Kuromi.

On the contrary, by chance, Yuko had more contact with Takumi Aiba, who was hired by her as a cyber detective assistant.

Yuko was also very familiar with Aiba Takumi's two friends, Sanada Arata and Shiramine Nokia, who could be considered "unofficial members" of the cyber detective agency in a sense.

However, to Yuko's utter surprise, during the Valhalla server incident, Shin Sanada appeared as the leader of JUDE, thwarting her plan to invade "Utopia".

What Yuko Kamishiro didn't expect was that Nokia Shiramine actually summoned the legendary Royal Knight—Omegamon—during that battle.

Later, when his main body was trapped at the Roppongi base, it was these three who risked being sniped by the Royal Knights to forcibly rescue him.

Yuko Kamishiro didn't know whether to feel hatred, gratitude, or guilt towards this.

In conclusion, after that incident, Yuko Kamishiro no longer concealed her identity as YUGO and officially joined Takumi Aiba's team as the "strongest hacker," contributing her strength to stop the Royal Knights from invading the human world.

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

"Is this another food-related task being posted today?"

Standing at the entrance of the cyber detective agency, Kyoko Kuroi immediately spotted Yuko Kamishiro, who was hesitating outside.

"Or are you here to see Takumi?"

With a teasing expression on her face, Kyoko Mukai showed no signs of adult intuition, acting as if she were just a friendly older sister next door.

"..."

Clearly not quite comfortable with Kyoko's overly familiar way of chatting, Yuko, who has never known how to handle interpersonal relationships, chose to remain silent.

"Alright! It seems you really are here to see Takumi."

However, Kyoko Kuroi wasn't the type to enjoy awkward silences, and she quickly spoke up again.

"Takumi isn't here right now. If you have a request, it's the same if you contact me."

It may sound sad, but ever since Takumi came to the cyber detective agency, the real cyber detective, Kyoko Kuroi, has indeed been in a semi-retired state.

Aside from missions involving Royal Knights, Takumi handles the vast majority of the agency's work, and the regular customers have long been accustomed to the presence of that big boy.

In some ways, a significant portion of the commissions are made specifically for Takumi, his "assistant."

"no."

After a brief silence, Yuko Kamishiro finally spoke.

"I'm not here to make a request."

"I found a Digimon in the public area of ​​EDEN a few days ago. Officer Date was also looking for this Digimon, so we arranged to meet here."

The reason for choosing to meet here instead of somewhere else was simply because Yuko Kamishiro was familiar with this place; there was no other special significance.

"Officer Date? You mean Makiko?"

After a brief moment of surprise, Kyoko Kuroi realized who Yuko Kamishiro was referring to as "Officer Date."

As Matayoshi Goro's capable subordinate, Date Makiko was very familiar to Kuromi Kyoko, who often accepted commissions from Matayoshi Goro.

Makiko Date and Kyoko Kuremi have collaborated before to investigate online crimes and have apprehended a significant number of criminal hackers.

Over time, Kyoko Kuroi's online detective agency also became one of the sources of information and clues for Makiko Date.

Whenever she encounters a problem that cannot be resolved through official channels, Makiko Date always makes a habit of coming to the Internet Detective Agency to inquire about relevant information.

In fact, it wasn't just Kyoko Kuremi; Takumi, Nokia, and Arata Sanada also frequently encountered Makiko Date when they came here.

"Well, if you're waiting for Makiko, then come in and have a seat."

"That girl seems to have gotten into some trouble lately, and she seems particularly interested in things related to Digimon. I should ask her what she's up to."

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PS: This is probably the only fanfic where the main storyline is almost over before the main characters officially come into contact.

Chapter Thirty-Three: Kyoko Kuroi's Dual Personality

On the way to Nakano Ward, Chen Ze was sitting on the back of Makiko's police motorcycle.

"Nakano's Cyber ​​Detective Agency?"

When I heard Makiko Date say that the clues about Patamon came from the strongest detective agency in the Nakano area—the Cyber ​​Detective Agency.

The first person that came to Chen Ze's mind was another data entity that was suspected to be the "protagonist"—Aiba Takumi.

It's not like Chen Ze and Takumi have only met once or twice, but they've never had a proper conversation or gotten to know each other.

From the very beginning, the operation involved in infiltrating the EDEN network, encountering Takumi and Nokia in public areas, tracking down the hacker, and rescuing Agumon and Gabumon.

Later, at Shinjuku subway station, Takumi, who was accidentally caught up in the incident, took the initiative to stop Ryuji's pursuit for Chen Ze.

Then there was the recent Valhalla server incident, where Takumi and his friends stopped YUGO from invading and cracking "Utopia".

Chen Ze and Takumi's several encounters were either due to their differing positions or because they each had their own things to do.

"Is it that cyber detective agency I know?"

Somewhat uncertainly, Chen Ze asked, "I don't think there should be such a coincidence in this world, right?"

"Is there a cyber detective assistant in there who calls himself 'Takumi Aiba'?"

Upon hearing Chen Ze's question, Makiko Date nodded affirmatively.

"So you've heard of them after all..."

"This 'Odd Jobs' club, which takes on any kind of case, is quite famous in the hacker community."

"Takumi is just Kyoko Kuremi's assistant; Kyoko Kuremi is the real cyber detective."

“Sometimes when we encounter cases that are not suitable for the department to handle, Uncle Yoshi will ask Kyoko Mumi to conduct a separate investigation.”

From Makiko Date's words, Chen Ze could easily discern her affirmation and trust in Kyoko Kuremi.

Being able to cooperate with the Cyber ​​Security Department of the Alert Bureau and gain the high trust of its members, the cyber detective named "Kyoko Kuroi" seems to be more capable than she imagined.

However, considering Takumi's data body and his repeated appearances on the most dangerous front lines, Chen Ze could understand the existence of that cyber detective.

If there really is a protagonist in this real world, and Takumi is the chosen protagonist, then the cyber detective must be the NPC responsible for guiding the protagonist's gradual growth.

Generally speaking, such characters are either tragic NPCs who trigger the protagonist's outburst at the last moment, or powerful figures who can turn the tide of battle in times of crisis.

【Kyoko Kuremi?】

In order not to attract the attention of ordinary people, the fox spirit X, who had hidden in the camera on Chen Ze's chest before leaving the house, muttered something thoughtfully.

As for the black-eared beast that was also hiding in the camera?

Now it's just nervously flapping its ears, excited and nervous about the upcoming "meeting".

"Is there anything I should be aware of when going to that detective agency?"

Unaware of the individual movements of the two Digimon visible in his camera, Chen Ze asked curiously.

In his impression, such a base, which is similar to a "main character group", usually has some very interesting and subtle "settings".

"Anything I need to be aware of?"

Upon hearing Chen Ze's question, Makiko Date, who was driving, was visibly taken aback.

"If there's anything I should be careful about, just remember not to drink their coffee."

Chen Ze was somewhat dumbfounded this time. He couldn't drink coffee from the cyber detective agency? What kind of bizarre setting was this?

"Is there something wrong with the coffee there?"

"It's not that there's any problem, it's that there's a huge problem."

Makiko Date, who seemed to have suffered greatly, gave a very serious warning.

"Kyoko Murami's intelligence-gathering ability is undeniable, but her habit of using random things to make coffee is hopeless."

"Using coffee beans, fruit, or vegetable juice to brew coffee can at least be considered to have a unique flavor."

"But using chili water, strong vinegar, or canned herring to make coffee is something only someone whose taste system has been utterly destroyed would do."

At this point, Makiko Date paused slightly before emphasizing it again.

"So you absolutely, positively, must remember this: never touch any cups in the office that look like 'drinks,' especially those personally recommended by Kyoko Kuroi!"

"Gulu..."

Chen Ze swallowed hard. Although he was still very interested in the "coffee" that Makiko mentioned, he decided to put aside his curiosity after seeing her lingering fear.

Judging from Makiko's expression, even if the other person hadn't personally tasted that "coffee," they must have seen someone else drink it.

"Uh, besides this, is there anything else I should be aware of?"

Chen Ze had a feeling that the so-called cyber detective agency was more "dangerous" than he had imagined, in every sense of the word.

"If there's anything else, it's that Kyoko Murami seems to have a tendency toward split personality."

"Normally, Kyoko Kuroi is a calm, restrained, decisive, and resourceful person. All the words that can be used to describe a 'detective' can be used to describe that 'him'."

"But Kyoko Kuroi can also turn into a lazy, indolent, and mischievous homebody at times."

"For the former, you just need to be careful to refuse the coffee offered to you..."

After softening her tone slightly, Makiko Date's voice became cautious as she spoke about Kyoko Kuromi's other personality.

"As for the latter? Although she seems less dangerous than the former, according to Uncle Youji, that guy is the real danger."

A sudden chill ran down his spine, and Chen Ze immediately asked softly.

Is she in any danger?

"Heh, do you think the Kamishiro Group gave up investigating the Roppongi base incident back then, and only issued an online warrant for Sanada Shinichi's arrest as a 'criminal'?"

Knowing that Chen Ze was a hacker, Makiko Date made no attempt to hide anything when talking about what happened at the Roppongi base a few days earlier.

"Because less than two hours after the Roppongi incident, someone anonymously exposed the case of vicious competition within the Kamishiro Group to the relevant authorities, along with relevant evidence and materials."

"Not only that, in the following 24 hours, the Mitsubishi Group, which was already struggling under the pressure of the Kamishiro Group, took the opportunity to acquire 5% of its shares, but Rie Kishibe, the chairman of the board, did not show up for a long time."

"Who do you think did this?"

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Shameful Detective and the Madman

"Ah!"

Unaware that her "bad reputation" had already been spread by Makiko Date, Kyoko Kuremi lay down on her office chair for the first time in a long while after arranging for Yuko Kamishiro to sit down.

"This feels so good! Lying down like this is definitely the most blissful thing!"

Even though Alphamon had almost completely repaired her mental data, Kyoko had long since gotten used to this lifestyle of only being active for a few hours a day.

Exercise, meals, and even sleep are all done for me; I only need to do what I want to do during my waking hours.

After eight years of this lifestyle, which was even more restrictive than domestication, even the once most resilient Kyoko Kuroi had long since given in.

Are you ready to rest?

Alphamon, residing within Kyoko Mukai's body, spoke at the opportune moment.

Because during the time when Kyoko is resting, Alphamon usually takes control of this body and carries out various real detective activities.

The key point is that Alphamon also quite likes this lifestyle, which is completely different from that of Digimon.

In Alphamon's view, the so-called "detective activities" were nothing more than going shopping, playing games, and watching movies as a human, enjoying a human life that it had never experienced before.

I think I used too much brainpower the past few days; I've been feeling drowsy a lot.

Knowing perfectly well what Alphamon was thinking, Kyoko Kumari didn't care about Alphamon's actions of using her body to cause trouble everywhere.

As long as Alphamon doesn't use its own body to taste those deadly "coffee," even if it blows up Tokyo Bay one day, it's none of its business.