Digital Hackers' Memories

Survival, hunting, absorption, and even evolution...

It can be said that it is precisely because of DigitalCore's outstanding information processing capabilities that the digital world has been able to develop this series of miraculous ecosystems.

"However, compared to computers in the human world, digital cores are far more powerful and have a wider range of capabilities."

At this point, Renamon seemed to realize that Chen Ze's current state was different from that of ordinary Digimon, so it went on to explain further.

"Take your current form for example, it is maintained by the digital core."

"If you can absorb enough useful data later, the Digital Core will further optimize its structure, change its existing form, and give you even more powerful abilities."

"We Digimon generally call this mutation process 'evolution,' and the opposite is called 'devolution.'"

Chen Ze nodded knowingly. He had long known that Digimon had the concept of "evolution," and now he simply understood the essence of this "evolution" more clearly.

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

Ji Jia is a night cashier at a 24-hour convenience store, and also a very rare female night cashier.

Unlike ordinary cashiers, Ji Jia came to work as a cashier at this convenience store mainly because of the "high-end computer" displayed there.

In addition to her part-time job as a cashier, Ji Jia also has the identity of a "high-achieving student majoring in computer science at the University of Tokyo," which means she needs to use computers in many situations.

Unfortunately, although the owner of this convenience store was incredibly wealthy, his understanding of computers wasn't much better than the average person's, which greatly disappointed Ji Jia, who wanted to borrow the computer to review her studies.

Because she was almost certain that her store manager had been ripped off and that the so-called "high-end computer" was not worth the price at all.

"Should I find an opportunity to talk to that guy about this?"

Although Ji Jia didn't like her store manager's lecherous gaze, she knew that it was just a habitual lust and he didn't necessarily have any ill intentions towards her.

On the contrary, as a top student from the University of Tokyo, Ji Jia had seen too many so-called "celebrities," and those as blatantly lewd as this store manager were a minority.

hum!

Just as Ji Jia was idly doing her cashier work, the sound of a computer starting up, though not very loud, reached her ears.

If it were an ordinary cashier, they might have overlooked this tiny sound.

However, Ji Jia had been using this computer for so long that she was extremely sensitive to this kind of sound, so she was quite certain that she hadn't misheard.

"what?"

Ji Jia glanced suspiciously at the computer, which was in standby mode, but she was absolutely certain that the sound was coming from inside the computer.

But she clearly remembered putting the computer into standby mode, so why did it suddenly start running automatically?

A woman's intuition led Ji Jia to sit down next to the computer and turn it on, as it was malfunctioning.

The next moment, the mouth of the University of Tokyo student, who had never been exposed to "hacking," gaped open.

Because the moment she turned on the computer, the screen started running uncontrollably.

All sorts of dazzling data flashed across the screen, as if someone were browsing through it at high speed.

Who is controlling this computer?

This was the only thought in Ji Jia's mind at that moment.

Ji Jia almost instinctively ruled out the possibility of gods or ghosts, and instead considered the possibility of someone else controlling the computer from the perspective of "remote control".

After eliminating all the impossibilities, Ji Jia finally thought of a group of people who were outside the mainstream computer science field but also possessed superb skills—hackers!

"Someone is hacking into this computer!"

Never having imagined she would come into contact with this mysterious group, Ji Jia made no attempt to hide her excitement, immediately placing her hands on the keyboard—she was going to use her knowledge to defeat the unknown hacker's intrusion.

"Is this what hacking is?"

Soon, Ji Jia, who had taken control of the computer, seized control of it using her home-field advantage and forcibly stopped the other party's browsing behavior.

Ji Jia didn't know what data the other party wanted from this computer, but with her administrator privileges, she could forcibly terminate all of their unauthorized browsing.

Furthermore, to prevent the other party from hacking into her computer again, Ji Jia chose to change the existing password of this computer and set a more complex password.

It is no longer a simple collection of numbers, but a super password composed of uppercase and lowercase letters, number strings, and even rare punctuation marks.

Theoretically speaking, unless an intruder knows what Ji Jia was thinking when she set the password, it would be impossible for them to gain control of the computer in a short period of time.

"123456, it's unbelievable that that perverted shop manager dared to set such a simple password. Isn't he afraid that outsiders could easily figure it out?"

Just as Ji Jia had predicted, as she put the computer back into hibernation, the unknown hacker was indeed unable to restart the computer using the previously cracked password.

But... is it really over?

Chapter Thirteen: Hacker Survival Rules

Rewind a few minutes to when Chen Ze found the cable extending outside the convenience store.

Like all wired networks of this era, this cable was the interface connecting the convenience store's computer to the outside internet, and also the channel through which Chen Ze "intruded".

Let's start here!

With the awakening of his digital core capabilities, Chen Ze finally regained a sliver of his "hacker" confidence.

Just like in the EDEN virtual network space, Chen Ze simply slashed his two claws in front of his eyes, and a completely virtual screen was projected in front of him.

"This ability... is like bringing a virtual interface into reality."

In Chen Ze's memory, even in the last world where internet technology was highly developed, it was rare to be able to create such a realistic AR projection, let alone his current ability, which is not just as simple as projecting a virtual screen.

If a comparison must be made, Chen Ze's current capabilities are somewhat similar to a "digital implantation technology" that is still in the experimental stage.

This involves semi-permanently implanting a miniature electronic device into the human body, allowing users to enjoy the convenience of internet technology without any external terminal.

The ultimate form of this technology is the bionic human body technology seen in cyberpunk movies, where one can freely replace their own body structure.

However, compared to those artificial electronic organs, Digimon's abilities are innate, inherent in the advanced computer within their bodies called "Digicores".

Without even needing to directly contact or damage the cable, Chen Ze used some unknown electromagnetic signal to achieve the "intrusion".

"I have a feeling this ability is a bit like cheating!"

Although he was still using familiar methods to infiltrate, Chen Ze felt that he had not yet reached the pinnacle of his ability.

Since it is possible to infiltrate a network through some unknown electromagnetic signal, it seems that it is not impossible to completely transform itself into an electronic signal and achieve "reverse digitization".

Recalling the entire process of the data stream descending from the digital world to the human world and then transforming into electronic signals to enter the network, Chen Ze felt that it must have been some kind of manifestation of this ability.

"The operation is a bit troublesome..."

Not being used to Agumon's body structure, it took Chen Ze quite a while to barely get used to the feeling of "six claws" tapping the virtual screen.

"But at least we found it."

Because of the single-line connection, Chen Ze didn't even need to determine the specific IP address of the target he was hacking to be certain that it was the computer he was looking for.

After all, this network cable only connects to two "computers," including my own, so the monitoring data I want must be on the other computer.

"The password is 123456?"

Looking at the computer interface projected on the virtual screen, Chen Ze made a brief complaint before immediately starting to review the monitoring data.

Chen Ze originally thought that without relevant decryption software, he would need to exploit vulnerabilities in the computer itself to access the main interface.

Little did he expect that simply typing "123456" would crack the computer's password, a process far simpler than any of his previous hacking attempts.

In fact, this is also a result of different perspectives brought about by the differences in the times.

In this era where even computers are a rarity, setting a password for your computer is already a sign of being very security-conscious.

They never imagined that someone could remotely control their computer from another computer in order to steal confidential data from it.

"what?"

Just as Chen Ze entered a folder named "Monitoring Center", he found that he could not open the folder.

Immediately afterward, before Chen Ze could even react to what had happened, the screen in front of him returned to the boot screen.

"what happened?"

Although it couldn't see the virtual interface in Chen Ze's eyes, the fox demon still realized that something unexpected might have happened through the subtle changes in the other party's expression.

"It seems someone has discovered my intrusion?"

Muttering something incredulous, Chen Ze, still skeptical, entered "123456" as his password again on the login screen, only to find that the computer indicated the password was incorrect.

"Someone discovered my intrusion and changed the computer's password in time."

Although he couldn't quite understand who had discovered his intrusion and reacted so quickly, Chen Ze still had to admire the other party's security awareness.

First, they revoked my browsing permissions for the folder, and then immediately changed the computer password without saying a word. This kind of reaction clearly shows that it was done by someone who knows computers.

"Then what happens next?"

Unconsciously, I glanced in the direction of the convenience store. The subtext in the fox spirit's words was already very clear—since the soft approach didn't work, let's just go for the hard one!

"You're not planning to storm into the convenience store and smash that computer, are you?"

Blinking in disbelief, Chen Ze looked at the fox demon with an "that's just how it is" expression and realized for the first time that this seemed to be a beast that disregarded the laws and regulations of the human world.

"No! Since you are now in the human world, you must abide by the rules of the human world."

After a brief silence, Chen Ze spoke solemnly.

"In the human world, direct violence is always the last resort for solving problems!"

Tilting its head in confusion, the fox-like beast stared blankly at Chen Ze, finally nodding under his "majestic" gaze.

"I understand."

Whether the fox demon truly understood or was feigning understanding, Chen Ze could only sigh inwardly.

“For a true ‘hacker,’ they are someone who would never consider the option of exposing themselves to a certain kind of view.”

"While it may be convenient to storm into a convenience store and smash a computer, have you considered the impact of such behavior?"

"That would only make things worse and could even provoke hostility from the human world!"

"Quietly deleting the convenience store's surveillance data and trying to keep everyone from knowing we exist is a standard hacker survival rule."

Nodding as if understanding but not quite, the fox demon beast, though unable to comprehend Chen Ze's thoughts, knew that the other party must have his own reasons for doing so.

Especially in this unfamiliar human world, Chen Ze clearly has more authority to speak than I do.

And so, the sacred text that would later be remembered by countless digital hackers began to sprout in Renamon's heart.

—The Hacker Survival Guide

—First rule: Never expose yourself to the public eye; being elusive and unpredictable is the true essence of hacking.

Chapter Fourteen: Seizing Authority

"How did he do that?"

Ji Jia didn't have to wait long before the computer, which had already gone into standby mode, was restarted.

Moreover, this time the other party clearly did not boot the computer by cracking the login password, but rather seized superuser privileges through some method that Ji Jia was unaware of.

Typically, hacker intrusions revolve around passwords and permissions.

With a password, one can remotely log in to any computer they want to hack, and with permissions, they can freely delete or modify any files on that computer.

While there are many ways to crack passwords, the simplest and most brute-force method is exhaustion.

Assuming the codebreaker can correctly identify the decryption result, trying all possible code combinations until a correct code is obtained is called exhaustive testing.

Generally speaking, this method of cracking passwords not only requires specialized software and dictionaries, but also places high demands on the cracker's computer.

Especially in the future society after Chen Ze's rebirth, due to the development of dynamic key technology, if a codebreaker cannot try billions of keys in a very short time, then there is almost no possibility of successfully cracking the code.

Another decryption method that stems from this is the "physical decryption" that Chen Ze is currently using.

As the name suggests, this is a method of deciphering by exploiting physical defects in the computer itself, or by finding vulnerabilities left by the system architect in the system.

Hackers who master this method of decryption can often bypass the key-decryption process and directly gain root access to the computer, leaving the victim helplessly watching their computer slip out of control.

Just like Ji Jia now...

"How can it be!"

Completely unable to believe her eyes, everything that was happening at this moment was beyond Ji Jia's "knowledge scope".

How exactly did that mysterious hacker manage to remotely control this computer when all computer privileges were completely restricted?

"Is it a developer bug?!"

Fortunately, Ji Jia, being a top student from the University of Tokyo, came up with a highly probable method of intrusion after a brief moment of thought.