Digital Hackers' Memories

No matter how much trouble Alphamon caused, Kyoko Mukai was confident that she could help it get away with it during the few hours she was awake each day.

This is not blind faith, but a fact that Kyoko Murami has accumulated over the past eight years of living with Alphamon.

In terms of ability, aside from that malicious coffee, Alphamon may indeed possess the qualifications to surpass all humans.

But when it comes to using one's brain, how can it, having never been exposed to human society, compare to the true genius girl, Kyoko Kuroi?

Not to boast, but the fact that Kyoko Mukai maliciously manipulated the stock price of the Kamishiro Group a few days ago, causing its competitor, the Mitsubishi Group, to take the opportunity to acquire a portion of its shares, is enough to be listed as a classic case of contemporary Japanese economics.

If the Japanese government hadn't acted as a mediator to resolve the conflict between the two major groups in order to maintain political stability, the EDEN network would probably have become a tool for the two groups to fight each other.

Who could have imagined that Kyoko Murami, who orchestrated this "hostile takeover" case, initially only intended to divert the attention of the Kamishiro Group and incidentally annoy the Sword Emperor Beast?

As for manipulating stock prices to make profits during this process?

That was just something Kyoko Murami did casually; she didn't even put much effort into it.

"Then you should rest! Leave the rest to me."

Alphamon, who shares a body with Kyoko Murami, understands her better than anyone else and can naturally sense her weakness.

Although Alphamon spent eight years piecing together Kyoko Murami's mental data, the eight-year gap was real.

In addition, Alphamon intentionally or unintentionally trained Kyoko's body to make it easier for him to move around, giving her strength that surpassed that of ordinary people.

The result of combining the two is that Kyoko Mukai's current level of consciousness is not commensurate with her physical body; excessive thinking and exercise will lead to mental fatigue.

Okay, just remember to call me if anything happens.

After letting out a light yawn, Kyoko Murami, who had been lying on the chair, suddenly lost her previous languidness and became somewhat aloof and indifferent.

"Sister Xingzi?"

Sitting stiffly on the sofa, Yuko Kamishiro immediately noticed Kyoko Kuremi's change and realized that this must be the "other personality" that Takumi and the others had mentioned before.

As a new member who just joined Takumi's team, Yuko Kamishiro had known Kyoko Kuremi for longer than any of them, but she didn't know much about this mysterious cyber detective.

Yuko Kamishiro deduced details about Kyoko Kuremi from Takumi and Nokia's daily words and actions.

For example, this occasional personality switch is a "secret" that Kyoko Kuroi doesn't easily reveal to outsiders.

In other words, switching personalities in front of Yuko Kamishiro is, in another sense, a confirmation of her identity and an acceptance of her as a member of the detective agency.

"Ah."

Kyoko Murami (Alphamon) nodded calmly without offering any explanation.

Because before it could even begin to explain, the detective agency's door was knocked on.

Knock, knock, knock…

After a brief, urgent knocking, a loud voice took the lead.

"You really came back. I knew you couldn't just disappear for days without a reason."

As the door opened, Makiko Date walked in with Chen Ze, whose face was full of embarrassment.

In his previous conversation with Makiko Date, Chen Ze did not hear her mention anything specific about her relationship with Kyoko Kuroi, but he vaguely guessed that the two might have had some kind of interaction.

However, after seeing Makiko Date's familiar demeanor, Chen Ze felt that the relationship between the two might be more than just "having worked together a few times".

"It's been a long time, you careless and shameful detective."

"I heard you were investigating a case related to Digimon recently. Did you cause Uncle Yuji some trouble again?"

Seemingly inheriting the sharp-tongued personality of the real Kyoko Kuroi, Alphamon rubbed its head with a slight headache the moment it saw Makiko Date, while still complaining about her unreliable personality.

"That's what I should be saying, you suspicious, crazy detective!"

Rolling her eyes, the outgoing Makiko Date sat down opposite Yuko Kamishiro without any hesitation and got straight to the point.

"Young lady of the Kamishiro family, is she the one you said you saw Patamon on the EDEN network?"

Yuko Kamishiro glanced at Makiko Date with slight hesitation. She was clearly not used to Makiko Date's overly familiar personality, as she was not good at handling interpersonal relationships.

However, considering that she was the one who had called Makiko Date over, Yuko Kamishiro nodded affirmatively.

"Yes, I've seen Patamon on the EDEN network, and it told me it was looking for its partner."

Chapter Thirty-Five: A Familiar Gaze

The encounter between Yuko Kamishiro and Patamon was, in truth, not exactly a coincidence.

Because on the day that Swordmon opened the Digital Gate, the Roppongi Research Base where Yuko Kamishiro was located has always acted as the "key" to opening the gate between the two worlds.

Therefore, after the gates between the two worlds were officially opened, a considerable number of Digimon appeared near Roppongi Base and its corresponding EDEN cyberspace.

Those Digimon that successfully descended into the human world were alright. Since they appeared with the main force, and there was also the battle between SwordGreymon and MetalGreymon, not many people cared about their final fate.

In fact, this was a major reason for the surge in the number of Digimon in the Tokyo area in the following days.

Even the military forces that constantly monitor the movements in the alternate dimension would find it difficult to capture all the Digimon that came out of the gate at that time.

However, those Digimon that also crossed the "dimensional wall" but failed to descend into the real world for some reason are in a terrible situation.

Those who are lucky enough might successfully log into a network space that connects both worlds.

Whether it's the traditional Internet or the virtual reality EDEN network, those Digimon have at least survived.

The truly unlucky ones are the Digimon that failed to log in.

Faced with the turbulent spacetime currents that fill the gaps, the best fate for these Digimon is to have their own data distorted and be swept into some unknown other dimension.

Otherwise, those invaders who also failed to cross over but stubbornly survived in the cracks would show them what despair is.

Patamon is considered to have relatively good luck among these Digimon.

Although it failed to successfully descend into the real world like its companion BlackEarmon, it unexpectedly appeared in the EDEN network corresponding to the Roppongi base.

It was a small public area where no data entities other than the data avatar should have been present.

Unfortunately, after the "dimensional wall" was destroyed, the rules there also became bugged, which allowed Patamon to survive by sheer luck.

At that time, Yuko Kamishiro was also trapped in that small public area, which is when she discovered the lone Patamon.

This situation continued until Takumi and his group stormed into the Roppongi base and awakened Yuko Kamishiro, who was sleeping inside the "memory modification device".

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

"So, Patamon is currently in the EDEN network?"

Nodding in realization, Chen Ze finally understood why he had searched all over Tokyo these past few days but couldn't find a single Rookie-level Digimon.

Patamon did not descend upon Tokyo with Terriermon, but instead went to the EDEN Network due to some unexpected event.

"Yes, Patamon is currently in the public area of ​​EDEN."

Upon waking up in reality, Yuko immediately found the lone Patamon and took it to a relatively safe public space.

Of course, this time Yuko Kamishiro used her authority within Kamishiro Corporation to bring Patamon, this obvious "outlier," into the strictly regulated public area.

In public areas, any hacking or violation of digital rules is prohibited, so Patamon living there is naturally safe.

If nothing unexpected happens, this situation will continue until Yuko Kamishiro finds the Black-eared Beast.

However, an accident is an accident precisely because it comes so unexpectedly.

During a casual conversation, Yuko Kamishiro learns from Nokia that a police officer named Makiko Date has commissioned a cyber detective agency to find Patamon in the human world.

He immediately connected the Patamon that Nokia mentioned with the Patamon he had found.

So, after confirming several times, Yuko Kamishiro, who was not good at interpersonal relationships, took the initiative to contact Makiko Date and arranged a time and place to meet.

"So that's how it is? The two Digimon that descended at the Digital Gate at the same time ended up in different timelines by some twist of fate?"

The one who said this was not Chen Ze, Yuko Kamishiro, or Makiko Date, but Kyoko Kuroi (Alpha Beast), who had been silently listening from the side.

"So, after confirming Patamon's identity, how do you prove that your side is the other Digimon?"

Driven by detective logic and instinct, Kyoko Kuroi (Alpha Beast) turned her attention to Makiko Date and Chen Ze.

Or more precisely, Kyoko Mukai (Alphamon) focused her gaze on the camera on Chen Ze's chest, because there were traces of digitized data there.

[She...found us?]

Whether it was Renamon X's imagination or not, she sensed a kind of naked scrutiny in Kyoko's (Alphamon) fleeting gaze.

However, before the fox spirit X could recover, the scrutinizing gaze disappeared, replaced by a sense of déjà vu.

Renamon X felt a long-lost sense of familiarity with Kyoko Kurumi (Alphamon), as if he had run into a long-lost acquaintance on the street.

However, Renamon X was very certain that he had never met Kyoko Kureha (Alphamon), and had never even come into contact with a human woman of that type.

Wait...humans?

As if remembering something, the fox spirit suddenly widened its eyes, revealing an expression of disbelief and sudden realization.

If SwordEmperormon can impersonate Rie Kishibe, then why can't other Digimon impersonate Kyoko Kureha?

So... why does it feel so familiar to me?

Before Reijomon X could snap out of its reverie, Chen Ze, who had come from outside, had already manipulated the virtual screen to materialize BlackEarmon into the real world.

"what?"

Caught off guard, the black-eared beast instinctively hid behind Chen Ze as soon as it appeared.

It wasn't until Chen Ze pulled the black-eared beast out from behind him that it cautiously poked its head out and looked at Yuko Kamishiro, who also had a curious expression on her face.

"Its name is Blackearmon, and it's Patamon's partner."

Seeing the Black-Eared Beast, who was clearly excited but still looked terrified, Makiko Date, who hadn't said much, explained it this way.

"I found it a few days ago during the 'Wind Disaster Beast Incident,' when the Black Big-Eared Beast was being surrounded by a group of gangsters..."

"Therefore, it may not be quite used to being 'watched' in this situation."

Chapter Thirty-Six: Shy Makiko Date

"Therefore, it may not be quite used to being 'watched' in this situation."

After explaining BlackEarmon's history in detail, Makiko Date hugged BlackEarmon to her arms like a cuddly pillow.

Makiko Date has always been a person who is rough around the edges but actually quite meticulous, and her inner self is far gentler and more delicate than she appears.

"Is that so?"

Nodding slightly, Yuko Kamishiro didn't say much, but instead looked at the Black-eared Beast with a hint of pity.

"It's true that Patamon's partner is Blackearmon."

During her time with Patamon, Yuko had already learned most of Patamon's experiences in the Digital World from it.

According to Patamon's description, it and Blackearmon were born in a founding village on the easternmost edge of the continent, where they were raised by Kubimon.

After evolving to the growth stage, Blackearmon chose to stay in the Founding Village to continue taking care of the newborn children, while Patamon, full of curiosity, went out to see the wider world, just like its predecessors.

However, unexpectedly, disaster struck at this moment.

The invaders, appearing out of nowhere, have turned the Digital World into their own "private domain" in just a few years with their astonishing ability to reproduce and assimilate.

Not only have the Digimon living in the Digital World become food for the invaders, but even the data that constitutes the Digital World itself has been subjected to unprecedented corruption.

The most obvious change is that the terrain and landforms in the digital world that originally imitated the human world have all turned into a vast expanse of black and white, as if countless invaders have eroded the earth and layered together.

In this situation, in order to escape the Digital World, which has become hell, Terriermon and Patamon are naturally forced to gather near the opening Digital Gate.

At the risk of their lives, the two Digimon immediately jumped into the shattered "Dimensional Wall" after Examon crossed the Digital Gate.

What happened next was exactly as Chen Ze and the others knew.

At the same time, Terriermon and Patamon, who crossed the Digital Gate, did not appear together in the real world. Instead, they were separated and appeared in different times and spaces due to a series of coincidences.

"In that case, let's go to the public area now!"

Chen Ze shrugged slightly and glanced at the Black-Eared Beast, who was clearly excited but still looked serious, before making the suggestion.

Now that their identities have been confirmed, the most important thing now is to get Blackearmon and Patamon together as soon as possible.

Just then, Chen Ze was extremely curious about what the Digital World was really like.

Perhaps I can get some different information from these two "survivors"?

"Well, yes."

Noticing Chen Ze's subtle glance, Yuko Kamishiro nodded without hesitation.

Even if Chen Ze hadn't said that, Yuko Kamishiro had already decided to take Blackearmon to see Patamon, because that was originally her purpose in meeting Blackearmon today.