Digital Hackers' Memories

To be honest, that was the first time Keisuke had ever seen a Digimon that dared to challenge him, and it was also the first time he realized that a Rookie-level Digimon could be so powerful.

In that battle, his partner, who hadn't shown any signs of fatigue since his successful evolution, was actually exhausted when fighting a baby-stage monster.

If it weren't for the advantage of being outranked, Keisuke wouldn't even be sure if he, as a "Digimon Hunter," would have been caught off guard and suffered a crushing defeat against a Rookie-level Agumon.

So after that battle, Keisuke, who always puts profit first, miraculously did not choose to capture Samurai Agumon, but instead planned to end that "failed" hunting operation.

Even though Samurai Agumon's potential was beyond imagination, even though Samurai Agumon was powerless to resist at that time...

Keisuke pursues money only to treat his physical disability; otherwise, he is not a truly profit-driven businessman.

On the contrary, after witnessing the perseverance and persistence of Samurai Agumon, Keisuke admired such a being from the bottom of his heart.

Therefore, Keisuke immediately decided to give up capturing the other party and abandon this peculiar Digimon that could potentially bring him a large sum of money.

However, to Keisuke's surprise, after Samurai Agumon regained some of its mobility, it actually took the initiative to catch up with him, who had not yet left.

—The samurai's principle is to accept defeat. Since we have been defeated by you, you may kill or dismember us as you see fit.

It's hard to describe Keisuke's feelings at the time in a single word, but in the end, he chose to capture this peculiar Digimon and bring it back to the Digimon Black Market.

For some unknown reason, Keisuke never "recommends" Samurai Agumon to his guests, and even consciously places it aside.

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

"That's just womanly compassion."

After hearing Keisuke and Samurai Agumon's entire experience, the young hacker who had been standing quietly to the side was the first to give his evaluation.

However, Chen Ze wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that there seemed to be some other meaning behind the young hacker's judgment.

Considering that the young hacker's true form is FlareAngemon, and the hatred it shows towards "those who enslave Digimon," Chen Ze felt that he seemed to have learned some secrets that the other party was unwilling to reveal.

"sorry."

After staring blankly at the young hacker, Keisuke could only whisper an apology.

"There's nothing to apologize for; leaving back then was my own choice."

Just as the question of what the relationship was between the teenage hacker Chen Ze and this black market businessman was being investigated, an unexpected incident suddenly occurred.

Boom!

With a familiar sound of space shattering, familiar black and white tentacles broke through the barriers of digital space and appeared out of thin air above the trading center.

"An Invader?!"

"How did that thing end up here?"

"This is bad, isn't this thing only supposed to appear in the Free Zone of EDEN?"

"Why did they appear without any warning? This doesn't make sense!"

……

Unlike the low-level hackers on the dark web, those who appear on the Digimon Black Market are not only top hackers in the Japanese hacking world, but also have their own understanding of things like "Invaders," which are almost like urban legends.

Perhaps they are unaware of the origins of the Invaders, nor do they understand what their appearance signifies...

However, those who become top hackers know more or less about the connection between "Infiltrators" and "EDEN Syndrome".

Whenever "EDEN syndrome" occurs on a large scale, those eerie, god-like invaders appear on the scene.

At the same time, a white-clad boy appeared, as if he were a ghost.

Or more precisely, the white-clad boy, who seemed like a ghost, was actually a warning, a warning that "the invaders are about to appear."

At this moment, the hackers present had no idea why the white-clad boy, who symbolized "omensity," had not appeared this time.

However, it is an undeniable fact that the Infiltrators have breached the Black Market's firewall and appeared outside the EDEN Free Zone.

"go!"

Without the slightest hesitation, the hackers who were already scattered throughout the trading center decisively chose to leave.

Even hackers who were unaware of the inside story, after seeing the behavior of the hackers around them, seemed to realize something and also chose to go offline.

Some survivors who personally experienced what the invaders did went so far as to log out of their accounts, disconnect the network cable, and unplug the power, leaving the invaders no chance to take advantage of them.

In this way, even if the invader can locate itself by following the clues it left behind, it will never be able to harm the real-world hacker.

This is the difference between a top-tier hacker and an ordinary hacker.

Having experienced too many crises, they are now able to control their curiosity when faced with the unknown, avoiding getting involved in unnecessary trouble.

In the blink of an eye, the trading market that had been sparsely populated became deserted, leaving only Qi Jie and Chen Ze's group still standing there, gazing up at the suddenly appearing tentacles of the invader.

"Are all invaders this troublesome?"

Although he already knew about the special nature of this invader, seeing its relentless persistence made Chen Ze wonder if he had done something heinous.

If I had known that thing would be so troublesome, I shouldn't have provoked it in the first place.

Although he thought this way, if Chen Ze were to encounter a similar situation again, he certainly wouldn't just stand by and watch those hackers become vegetative.

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P.S.: Tomorrow is the beginning of the month, and I'm considering whether to offer a bounty.

Chapter 42 Hacking Skills (Monthly Bounty!)

"Oops!"

Like other hackers, Keisuke, who has the dual identity of "Digimon Hunter" and "Black Market Merchant", also planned to leave immediately.

Keisuke had recently experienced a similar incident and learned about the terror of the unknown monsters known as the Invaders.

According to Keisuke's subsequent investigation, every hacker who was hit by the Erosioner in that incident suffered from "EDEN syndrome" in reality, so he knew better than anyone how terrifying this monster was.

"and many more……"

However, just as Keisuke was about to leave, he suddenly seemed to remember something and abruptly turned his gaze to the young hacker and Chen Ze.

"Is it targeting you?"

Theoretically, while the Invaders appear randomly in the EDEN Free Zone, the black and white tentacles that appeared that day were clearly not "random".

It is deliberately undermining the firewall of the Digimon Black Market and intends to invade it—this can be seen from its efforts to expand the "rift" and penetrate the main body.

Compared to its kind who merely acted on instinct, the intruder that was destroying the firewall was clearly more advanced, seemingly possessing a kind of "spirit" similar to that of a Digimon.

This "spirituality" may not be comparable to real life, but it is enough to allow it to transcend the boundaries between data and life.

Like the first cell born on Earth, this is a fundamental leap, a formal transformation, the first step for the invader to become a true life.

"It wasn't me, it was them."

Realizing the same thing, the young hacker first glanced at Keisuke, then at Chen Ze and the fox demon who looked like they were facing a formidable enemy, before whispering something.

"This incident has nothing to do with me, and I don't owe you anything anymore."

The "teen hacker" refers to the incident where Chen Ze used Little Piccolo to save his own life. If it weren't for that, he would never have taken Chen Ze and Renamon to hide in the Digimon Black Market.

Now that the Digimon Black Market's firewall couldn't stop the invaders' intrusion, the boy decided not to get involved any longer and turned to leave with Keisuke.

Boom!

Unfortunately, the invader, whose main body was still outside, seemed to have realized that the young hacker was planning to leave, and promptly another tentacle appeared out of thin air.

However, this time it appeared not above the exchange, but at the location where the teenage hacker is now.

tumultuous!

In a flash, raging flames erupted from the young hacker's body, and he transformed back into Angelmon. He decisively flapped his wings and instantly escaped the Invader's attack range.

clack clack...

However, to Angemon's surprise, after it was out of attack range, the wriggling tentacle turned around and slammed into Keisuke, who was unable to dodge in time.

"careful!"

Chen Ze, who was closest to Keisuke and on high alert, suddenly shouted and revealed his ice-blue Agumon form.

Bang!

With a clearly audible cracking sound, the ground beneath Agumon's feet suddenly crumbled, and he himself rushed towards the tentacle that was within reach like a gust of wind.

"late!"

Seeing this, the fox demon beast following closely behind Chen Ze frowned and then sighed helplessly.

It wasn't that the fox demon didn't want to rush up to save people, but just as Chen Ze lunged at Qi Jie, another tentacle stretched out from the void, and this time its target was him.

"They've even learned to 'hold grudges'?"

With a slight turn and a dodge, the elegant and agile fox beast did not choose to retreat, but instead swung its sharp claws to grab at the thick tentacles that had lost all momentum.

—Fox Strike!

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

"Data barrier activated!"

"Personal firewall activated!"

"Account security protection mode activated!"

As the enormous tentacles hurtled towards his face, the usually mild-mannered Keisuke finally revealed his skilled side as a "Digimon Hunter."

Bang!

In less than a second, several barriers appeared in front of Keisuke, one of which even turned into a solid "wall" blocking his way.

These are the various security programs that Keisuke "installed" in advance on his avatar, and also proof of his ability as a top hacker.

Just like firewalls and antivirus programs that specifically protect computers, these security programs will also resist all "viruses" that intend to attack data and protect the security of personal data.

Click...

To Keisuke's utter surprise, the defensive programs in front of him that were designed to withstand attacks from Champion-level Digimon crumbled the moment they touched the tentacles.

This situation was completely unexpected by Keisuke, leaving him no time to use his prepared backup plan before he had to confront that deadly tentacle head-on.

At this critical moment of life and death, Keisuke felt his mind go blank, and the fear of death completely robbed him of his ability to think.

Clang!

Just at this critical moment, a sharp, metallic clang, like the sound of a blade being drawn, suddenly rang out.

—Super high speed, one-stroke slash!

In an instant, a blade of light as fast as lightning shattered the cage's restraints, taking Keisuke's place to face the invader's attack.

laugh!

Unlike any previous collision, the friction between the tentacles and the longsword produced intense sparks, and the ear-piercing metallic groan resounded throughout the entire arena.

Immediately afterwards, a figure that wasn't particularly tall appeared in front of Keisuke and slowly sheathed his drawn sword back at his waist.

"I have repaid your kindness in sparing my life, and I have nothing more to do with you!"

At this critical moment, the one who appeared in front of Keisuke was none other than the samurai Agumon, who had been imprisoned in a cage.

"Next comes a samurai's pursuit of the way of martial arts."

Its loud, clear sound exudes an arrogant and domineering aura.

Samurai Agumon gradually lowered its center of gravity, looking at the Invader's tentacle with a predatory and arrogant gaze.

"Can you break free from the cage?"

Looking incredulously at the samurai Agumon blocking his way, Keisuke knew perfectly well how sturdy the cage he used to imprison Digimon was.

That's a "confinement program" written using code from digital alloys.

Even if it's not as powerful as the legendary "Chrono Digizoid," it's definitely not something that ordinary Champion-level Digimon can break free from.

Not to mention that no matter how talented Samurai Agumon is, it is still just a Rookie Digimon, a Rookie Digimon that can't even beat its own partner.

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P.S.: Hmm, let's offer a bounty!

Because of the contract, the main reward this month will be razor blades.

I'll add an extra chapter if I get 200 monthly votes or 200 razor blades, settled daily.

Chapter 43 Twin Digimon