Digital Hackers' Memories

Is this what humanity is like?

Despite possessing extremely high intelligence, Renamon still felt that the complexity of humans far exceeded its comprehension.

In the world of Digimon, the law of the jungle is always the unchanging rule, which is why they retain relatively simple personalities.

Before meeting Chen Ze, the fox beast never considered anything other than evolving and becoming stronger.

But things are different now. Renamon has discovered that there are so many things worth pursuing and acquiring besides evolution.

Leaving aside distant things like family and friends, simply observing the various contradictory yet fascinating behaviors of humans is enough to captivate Youkomon.

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PS: Trying to build a qualified black market system while avoiding crossing the line as much as possible is really troublesome.

PS2: I really lost out on that treasure chest yesterday. I was hoping to increase my collection so the editor would give me a better recommendation, but so many people were smashing treasure chests?!

Yesterday wasn't the beginning of the month, did the big shots really need to make such a fuss...?

Forget it, I'll never smash treasure chests again. I'll just leave it to fate!

Chapter Seventeen: The Three Musketeers? Or Three Extras?

"Oh, it's actually a rare humanoid Digimon."

Just as Chen Ze had purchased the information he wanted and was about to obtain another set of identity data for the fox demon, a slightly contemptuous voice suddenly came from behind them.

"Is this Digimon yours?"

Under the watchful gaze of the fox demon, Chen Ze turned around in astonishment and was shocked to see three strangely dressed hackers standing behind him.

More importantly, beside these three hackers was a humanoid Digimon engulfed in flames—Flamemon.

As for the teenage hacker who sold personal information, he quickly took a few steps back, looking as if to say, "I'm just a passerby, and everything that happened between you has nothing to do with me."

"Who are you?"

Glancing at the somewhat sluggish fire beast, Chen Ze then looked at the hackers who clearly had ill intentions, his face displaying an expression that defied description.

Putting aside how these three strange-looking hackers knew about "Digimon," just by looking at their expressions, Chen Ze was certain that they weren't there to catch up with him.

What frustrated Chen Ze even more was that, since the demon fox beast was clearly the center of this incident, why did these hackers target him directly?

And what's with that indifferent, spectator-like expression on the fox spirit's face? It's obvious the other side is after you!

"Who are we?"

The hacker trio were clearly taken aback; they seemed surprised that there was someone in Nordens who didn't recognize them.

"You ask who we are?"

Nodding affirmatively, Chen Ze pretended to be a newbie and looked at the three people opposite him, but in his heart he was secretly thinking about what exactly was going on with that fire beast.

Why is this hacker trio able to team up with the fire beast?

What's with that stunned expression on the other person's face?

“We are the ‘Three Musketeers’ of Nordens! How can you not recognize us?!”

The lead hacker stepped forward and looked down at Chen Ze with an almost arrogant attitude.

"The Three Musketeers?"

The "confusion" on his face instantly turned into "contempt," and Chen Ze suddenly straightened his back, using his height advantage to achieve a true downward gaze.

"Then do you even know who I am?"

Chen Ze's sudden display of power startled the leader of the hackers, who even forgot the lines they had repeated countless times.

"Who are you?"

With difficulty, the hacker opened his mouth, momentarily forgetting the astonished looks of his two companions behind him, and took several steps back before finally emerging from the shadow cast by Chen Ze's height.

"who am I?"

To the hacker trio's surprise, just when they thought Chen Ze was about to utter some terrifying title, his expression changed again, and he then spoke with a grin.

"Actually... I'm just a newcomer here. You can ask him if you don't believe me."

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

"I……"

Staring dumbfounded at Chen Ze who suddenly pointed at him, the young hacker who sold personal information hesitated, wanting to explain something, but ultimately didn't have time to explain clearly.

The three hackers on the other side seemed to realize they had been tricked and immediately became furious.

"You're playing us?!"

This time, it wasn't the leader of the hackers who spoke, but another hacker who was half a step behind him and had a slightly more aggressive temper.

"You're courting death, kid."

Faced with the hacker trio's undisguised threat, Chen Ze, having finished teasing them, could only roll his eyes helplessly.

"Do you know that when you said those words, you sealed your fate?"

At this point, Chen Ze paused deliberately and raised his voice intentionally or unintentionally.

"If I respond to what you're saying next, it means you might be the villains."

"If I choose to ignore you, then you'll definitely just be extras."

Before Chen Ze could finish speaking, the young hacker, who had just been about to explain, burst out laughing, even temporarily forgetting his earlier intention to distance himself from the situation.

"You're so interesting."

Seeing that he had been mistaken for one of Chen Ze by the hacker trio, the young hacker finally stopped trying to explain and simply stood on the opposite side of the three.

"The three of you now have two choices: leave voluntarily, or I will send you away."

Just like Chen Ze's previous change of expression, the young hacker's face also darkened in an instant, revealing a sinister look like that of a hawk.

"Charge! Flame Beast!"

Seeing this, the three hackers said nothing more and decisively commanded the fire beast to launch an attack.

tumultuous!

Like a manipulated puppet, the fire beast, its body engulfed in raging flames, took a step forward without hesitation, and the intense heat instantly assaulted its senses.

"Demon Fox Beast!"

Not wanting to expose himself, Chen Ze immediately shouted, signaling the fox demon to stop standing by and watching the show.

"Just a mere fire beast."

The gentle smile on her lips instantly turned into a cold laugh, and the fox beast appeared directly behind the flame beast in a flash.

The next moment, the fox demon that appeared out of thin air stretched out its sharp claws toward the back of the fire beast. The almost tangible demonic energy collided with the flames, producing a strange chemical reaction.

—Fox Strike!

This is a close-combat technique unique to the Foxmon, a special method that allows it to wrap demonic energy around its limbs to launch attacks.

"what!"

In an instant, the raging flames were torn apart by the sharp claws, and the unsuspecting fire beast let out a mournful howl.

However, this brief pain seemed to awaken the fire beast's own will, causing it, which had been like a puppet being manipulated, to reveal a ferocious and malevolent expression.

"Burning Fist!"

Without any intention of turning around to fight back, the flames around the Flame Beast seemed to have been given some kind of accelerant, gushing out like a fountain towards the Fox Beast on its back.

tumultuous!

The floor beneath my feet melted, the surrounding air distorted...

In this digital space entirely composed of data, the Flame Beast's power is enhanced to a far more terrifying degree than in reality.

"Oh no, the Flame Beast has gone out of control!"

In the blink of an eye, the three hackers closest to the fire beast realized the danger and chose to run away immediately.

Even so, one hacker was caught off guard and had his avatar ignited by the power of the Flame Beast, becoming part of this digital space.

Fortunately, the hacker trio wasn't using their real avatars; otherwise, this attack would have been far more devastating than any other hacker attack.

Chapter 18 Digimon Capture Program

boom! boom! boom!

The battle between Renamon and Flamemon quickly attracted the attention of everyone in the Digital World.

However, things were different from what Chen Ze had expected. The hackers watching didn't seem surprised at all; instead, they skillfully cleared enough space for the two of them to fight.

Moreover, Chen Ze even discovered that some hackers seemed to be running certain transcription programs, recording all the details about this battle.

"He really is a 'newcomer'."

Now that consciousness no longer needed his intervention, the young hacker turned to glance at Chen Ze, who seemed still not quite used to everything, and asked in a confident tone.

Is this your first time in Japan?

Chen Ze glanced at the young hacker with some surprise, but he didn't hide this fact from him. In any case, the other party must have already seen through some clues from certain details, so there was no need for him to make excuses anymore.

"How did you tell?"

Faced with Chen Ze's question, the young hacker did not look at him, but pointed to the fox demon beast that was still fighting.

"She is different from ordinary Digimon; she is fighting for herself."

"Actually, from the first moment I saw you, I felt something was strange. Why don't you put your Digimon back into the private space of the 'Digimon Catcher'?"

"Now I understand, that Digimon wasn't captured by you, she followed you willingly."

Seeing Chen Ze's bewildered expression, the young hacker patiently offered some statements that were neither true nor false.

"Although I had 'heard' of examples of Digimon and humans living together, this is the first time I have actually 'seen' it with my own eyes."

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Since the establishment of the EDEN network, all sorts of strange legends have circulated in this online world.

Initially, no one took these rumors, which were no different from urban legends, seriously, believing that they were just various bugs generated by the Kamishiro Corporation when running the EDEN network.

After all, this is the first virtual reality network in human history, so it's not surprising that various bugs and errors will occur.

Until a group of hackers discovered a special program in EDEN space—Digimon.

No one knows how the first Digimon was discovered, just as no one knows their true origins.

Hackers only know that this special "program" comes with a certain amount of AI and has the ability to absorb all data and mutate and evolve according to different surrounding environments.

Especially after absorbing a large amount of data, these "programs" can even evolve specific abilities in a targeted manner.

Although these abilities may vary, they are all special attack methods created specifically for the concept of "networks," possessing an inherent advantage in computer networks that ordinary programs cannot match.

As a result, a considerable number of hackers regarded them as special virus programs, believing that they were rudimentary artificial intelligences that emerged with the advent of the EDEN network, and named them "Digimon".

Then, at some point, a program called "Digimon Catcher" began to circulate in the hacker community.

Using this special program developed by an unknown source, hackers can capture Digimon and mutate and evolve them to obtain the abilities they desire.

Now, owning a unique Digimon has even become a symbol for hackers.

"In fact, it's not just hackers; even security officers employed by large companies have started training their own 'Digimon'."

Upon arriving at this point, a hint of hatred unconsciously surfaced in the eyes of the young hacker.

If the Digimon captured by hackers evolve in the direction of viruses, then top security personnel consciously make their Digimon become data species or even vaccine species.

However, no matter what type of Digimon those captured by humans evolve into, without exception, their minds have been erased, turning them into programs that can only operate according to instinct.

"Is this why that fire beast is so dull?"

Staring at the Flame Beast, which clearly possessed power far exceeding that of the Fox Beast, yet was being completely outmaneuvered by it, Chen Ze finally understood what was causing the "unnatural" feeling he had been experiencing.

Of course, more importantly, Chen Ze finally figured out why the hackers here weren't surprised at all when they saw the fox demon.

Even after the battle between the Foxmon and the Flamemon, they were able to skillfully clear the battlefield.

In the established EDEN virtual network, Digimon are no longer a rarity.

While the existence of Digimon is not yet widely known, hackers with a little skill and knowledge already know of their existence and are trying to obtain one.

This was a blind spot in Chen Ze's thinking; he had always believed that Digimon like Renamon were very secretive beings.