Digital Hackers' Memories

Chen Ze didn't need to defeat his opponent; all he needed to do was hold off Angemon, who was still recovering, to buy time for Renamon's next attack.

Bang!

A surge of passion welled up in Chen Ze's heart, and his all-out burst of energy seemed to have stirred up Agumon's remaining data instincts, allowing him to adjust his sprinting posture like a true warrior without any instruction.

—Mach charge!

Bang!

The asphalt slab beneath Chen Ze's feet suddenly sank, and his powerful physique combined with Agumon's instincts left clearly visible footprints on the bluestone pavement.

Click!

Without hesitation, Angemon plunged his holy staff into the ground. Facing the brute-force charge of Agumon, Angemon showed no sign of arrogance. (This is followed by promotional material for a website, which is not translated as it's irrelevant to the main text.)

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Facing any enemy with all its might—this is the key to Angemon's gradual growth from its juvenile stage to its adult stage, and also the basis for its being entrusted with this mission by the "gods".

"Use 'Sharp Claws'!"

Seeing this, Renamon didn't wait for herself to fully recover her strength before charging after Agumon. As she charged, she reminded Chen Ze which skills to use.

"Big sister! I want to too! The problem is I don't know how!"

He mumbled a complaint, feeling as if something was burning in his chest, and a cold glint flashed involuntarily in his hand.

Is Renamon strong?

It's definitely strong, and undeniably strong.

After all, being able to fight against an Angemon in its Champion stage while still in its Rookie stage is something to be proud of in any Digital World.

Is Agumon strong?

This is certain, because it is a Digimon that was qualified to be hunted by Renamon and have its remaining data kept as "trophies".

This can be seen from the fact that Chen Ze inherited only a portion of Agumon's data and was able to possess such powerful physical attributes.

"Sharp Claws!"

Thus, Chen Ze, who accidentally activated Agumon's Digicore, naturally inherited some of its abilities, including its pair of honed "sharp claws".

Tear!

Agumon's claws were much sharper than Chen Ze had imagined. Angemon was only slightly careless when Chen Ze slashed his wing as he leaped away.

However, that wasn't the end of it, because at that very moment, Renamon, who was right behind Agumon, also showed its instinct to hunt down strong opponents.

"Fox Strike!"

With the elegance of a fox spirit, Renamon appeared in front of Angemon in the blink of an eye. With a perfect front flip, it tore through Angemon's chest with its sharp claws, delivering the most fatal blow.

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PS: The lucky bag event has started again this year, but unfortunately the editor is on holiday and the book hasn't been signed yet, so the reward will have to wait until after the new year.

Chapter Nine Vending Machines

"You guys are amazing..."

Unable to hold onto the Holy Staff any longer, Angemon looked down at the claw marks on his chest and exclaimed in a tone devoid of any emotion.

"But this world does not belong to us, and you will understand that sooner or later."

Before he could finish speaking, Angemon felt a mysterious call, and his body, which had already dissipated, turned into shattered data fragments and returned to the Digital World.

"..."

Watching helplessly as the heavily injured Angemon vanished into thin air before their eyes, Renamon remained silent, as if the fierce battle that had just taken place was merely a dream.

On the contrary, Chen Ze, upon seeing the chaotic scene around him, gained a further understanding of the dangers of the digital world.

Digimon whose combat power is comparable to weapons of mass destruction...

And that "god" who never showed up, only silently observing from the sidelines...

Yes, Chen Ze was quite certain that the battle between Renamon and Angemon must have been witnessed by "God," otherwise there would be no way to explain Angemon's eventual disappearance.

"This experience, which lasted less than a few hours, was much more exciting than being an ordinary cyber hacker."

Unconsciously muttering to himself, Chen Ze didn't dislike this kind of exciting adventure; otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen to become a cyber hacker in the first place.

Chen Ze was just a little regretful, regretting that he hadn't discovered the existence of Digimon sooner and experienced this thrilling adventure sooner.

However, why did I time travel again?

[And what exactly is the connection between the 'ENDN Network' and the digital world?]

Chen Ze now strongly suspects that the world he transmigrated to is also the Digital World, only one that he doesn't know about—the appearance of Renamon proves this point.

After all, according to Chen Ze's understanding, the works about Digimon in his previous life were not limited to the few anime he watched as a child, but also included some related comics, games and even novel derivatives.

Those things happened to be things that Chen Ze had never encountered before.

"Gululu..."

Just as Chen Ze was pondering the inevitable connection between the two worlds, his rumbling stomach suddenly began to protest.

I'm hungry too...

Immediately afterwards, the fox-mon, who had been silent until now, also spoke up at the opportune moment.

According to the Digital World's setting, Digimon can replenish their energy by eating ordinary food, and they can also maintain their condition by absorbing the spilled data after a Digimon dies.

Although Angemon was defeated, its data did not remain in the human world, but was directly collected by the "god" behind it.

This resulted in the fox beast, who was the main force in the previous battle, being even hungrier than Chen Ze was now.

"Okay, let's go find something to eat now."

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

"Vending machine?"

Standing in front of a vending machine with its head tilted, the fox-like beast looked down at Chen Ze with a puzzled expression.

"That's right, it's a vending machine."

If it were at another time or in another place, Chen Zhe really wasn't sure he could find something like this.

However, I am now in Japan at the end of the 20th century. Although vending machines are not yet widespread, they are far more common than in other countries.

More importantly, Japan's concept of "vending machine" is broader than that of other countries.

In addition to their primary functions of selling beverages, alcohol, cigarettes, and food, Japanese vending machines even sell some "services."

These types of "services" include, but are not limited to, money exchange, videotape rental, coin-operated machines at stations, and small parcel lockers.

The vending machine that Chen Ze and the fox spirit found is specifically for selling instant noodles.

Chen Ze really wanted to find a vending machine that sold cooked food, but he didn't know if it was because those vending machines were too expensive or because of the limitations of this era. He searched for a long time but couldn't find a similar vending machine.

"Shouldn't this exist in the Digital World too?"

It wasn't surprising that Renamon knew about the "vending machine"; Chen Ze was simply curious whether the Digital World was the same as his "memory".

As a reflection of the material world, anything that has ever existed in the human world can theoretically be projected into the digital world via the internet.

Cars, ships, refrigerators, telephone booths, utility poles...

In Chen Ze's impression of the first digital world, it seemed that any electronic product that existed in the human world could be found in the digital world.

However, most of them lose their original function due to the difference in dimensions, and only a very few can still be used.

"Yes, there are, but they are not quite the same as those in the human world."

If a machine that refreshes its menu every 24 hours and provides an unlimited supply of any food can be called a "vending machine," then such a thing certainly exists in the digital world.

"I remember vending machines in the human world require money? Do you have money?"

Having spent so much time in Chen Ze's computer, the fox beast naturally became familiar with some of the rules of the human world—buying things with money was one of them.

“I don’t have money, but I have a way to use this vending machine.”

It was a rare opportunity to encounter a field he was familiar with, and Chen Ze revealed an undisguised excitement.

As a powerful cyber hacker, Chen Ze's learning scope is not limited to how to program and write code; various electronic components and related manufacturing technologies are also within his learning scope.

From understanding basic circuit diagrams to manually building various electronic components...

It's no exaggeration to say that, given enough raw materials, Chen Ze could even build a rudimentary radio station on the spot.

As for more advanced computers?

That's beyond what humans can accomplish; the various transistors and semiconductors built into computers are usually only manufactured by large companies.

The difficulty involved is similar to the difference between DIYing a bicycle and DIYing a car – it's possible, but unnecessary.

"Are you planning to hack into this vending machine?"

Having already witnessed Chen Ze's modified personal computer, the fox spirit had no doubt about his DIY skills.

She was just a little puzzled as to how the other party could hack into this electronic device with only a few basic buttons. It seemed to be beyond the scope of human capabilities.

"This is not difficult. As long as there is a user interface, it means that its internal program can be modified."

Chen Ze had actually done something similar before. When he first committed an intrusion, he used a vulnerability in a public phone booth to enter the public network and then hacked into his own laptop.

Wherever there is internet, there are vulnerabilities; wherever there are vulnerabilities, there are hackers.

The same applies to this vending machine, and it's even simpler.

Because this vending machine is not connected to the internet, it is easy to hack into by simply modifying its internal program.

Chapter 10 Tachikawa Mimi

Gudong!

Without modifying the vending machine's circuitry or electronic components, Chen Ze in his Agumon form simply stood on tiptoe and pressed a few buttons, and a box of heated instant noodles automatically fell out.

The whole process was so smooth, it was as if Chen Ze had actually bought a box of instant noodles with money.

In fact, this is why Chen Ze chose this high-end vending machine from among many vending machines.

Because if it were a vending machine with simpler principles and a lower degree of automation, he might not have been able to discover the program flaws so easily.

After all, the more advanced the program and machine, the more likely it is to have bugs; this is common knowledge in the hacker world.

"So it's possible to 'invade' the human world after all?"

The fox spirit originally thought that hackers' "intrusion behavior" was limited to the information world of the Internet, but Chen Ze's act of hacking into the vending machine shattered her preconceived notions.

"The information technology of this era is too backward. In the original world, I could even use a personal terminal to hack into any device that can connect to the Internet."

Chen Ze's words were not an exaggeration at all, because while high informatization has brought convenience to mankind, it also hides countless crises.

Especially for hackers like Chen Ze who love to exploit vulnerabilities, discovering and exploiting program vulnerabilities has become an instinct, let alone this "old-fashioned" vending machine that is "outdated" by who knows how many generations.

"I see."

Nodding as if he understood, the fox demon didn't say anything more, but directly took out the box of instant noodles that had already been heated from the vending machine.

Hmm... I feel like there's something wrong with your understanding?

Chen Ze glanced suspiciously at the fox demon, feeling that its thoughts were not the same as his own.

"Don't you want to eat it yourself?"

Fortunately, this suspicion didn't last long, as it was interrupted by a calm question from the fox demon.

"Of course I'll eat! And I'll eat two... no, three servings!"

When Chen Ze stood on tiptoe again, he realized that he was really short, so short that he couldn't even reach some of the buttons on the vending machine.

"Press that button for me! I want the spicy flavor!"

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"what is that?"

Just as Chen Ze and the fox demon were feasting, a little girl was perched on the balcony of a residential building not too far away, watching them with a curious expression.

"Dad! I think I've spotted two strange creatures!"

Her innocent voice was filled with boundless curiosity. The little girl didn't know what she was seeing; she was simply instinctively telling her parents what she had seen.

"Meimei, it's time for bed!"