Digital Hackers' Memories

Without relevant data records, Chen Ze did not believe that anyone could find his true self in the real world based solely on a vague memory.

At most, Chen Ze will eventually give up using the data avatar that Makiko Date "handled" for him.

Anyway, that avatar has long been restored to its factory settings, so it doesn't have much value anymore.

"Wait, I haven't finished speaking!"

Seeing that a battle was about to break out, Takumi quickly reached out to stop it.

“You are the second digitized human I have discovered, and I… am the first.”

Without showing any sadness about his own experience, Takumi calmly stated a fact that was far from peaceful, as if he were talking about someone else's story.

"The first...digitized human?"

With its eyes wide open in disbelief, the white flame beast stared at the boy before it, not even having time to ask how the other had made such a judgment.

Because only he truly understands what a digitized human being means.

For Digimon to appear in the human world, they must undergo a process called "digitization".

Conversely, if humans could appear in the digital world, could that also be called "reverse digitalization"?

Although Chen Ze has lost the ability to "digitize" since Guangqiu returned.

But he knew that the ability to "digitize" had not left him, because his physical body had already shown similar signs.

Whether it's the superhuman level of physical control or the data phenomena manifested in the semi-digital space, both are close to the "digitalization" of the Mitsuhiro period.

The ability to manifest a data-driven state in the real world can indeed be called a "data body"!

Chapter 49 Aiba Takumi

In Takumi's own mind, he has always been an ordinary high school student.

Aside from his parents living abroad and constantly trying to leave Japan, Takumi doesn't see himself as any different from anyone else.

His life trajectory changed when Takumi received a mysterious invitation from EDEN while chatting with two other online friends—Shin Sanada and Nokia Shiramine—in an online chat room.

First, when meeting with two online friends, he encountered the legendary "mysterious online ghost".

Then, they encountered a boy who looked exactly like the "mysterious cyber ghost" and were forcibly installed with a hacking program called "Digimon Catcher".

Although Takumi later learned that the mysterious white-haired boy was YUGO, the leader of ZAXON, the "strongest hacker group" at present.

But this did not alleviate his doubts; on the contrary, it made him even more confused.

Why would YUGO, the most powerful hacker at the pinnacle of all hackers, appear at the place where he and his online friends were having a gathering?

Why would you force yourself to install a "Digimon catcher"?

Most importantly, why do you feel a sense of déjà vu about the other person?

Not only YUGO, but even after meeting the other two online friends—Sanada Arata and Shiramine Nokia—Takumi felt as if he had seen them somewhere before.

Have we... ever known each other?

After the three of them officially met, Takumi discovered that he wasn't the only one with this feeling; the other two had similar doubts.

It's not the kind of "familiarity" we had when we communicated online before, but a deeper level of "acquaintance".

Just like Takumi knew that Sanada Arata, despite his seemingly aloof demeanor, was actually a severe case of chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) and a manga addict.

For example, Shiramine Nokia, who appears carefree and lacks any sense of female self-awareness on the surface, is actually very timid at times and possesses "divine favor attributes" that are even more exaggerated than the protagonist's halo.

However, the three's doubts did not last long before they were attacked by the mysterious data monster—the Invader.

In order to cover the escape of the other two, Takumi chose to stay behind, and as a result, he suffered the most direct attack from the Invader, which caused his mind and body to separate.

If it weren't for Kyoko Kuroi (Alphamon) suddenly intervening, Takumi would probably have died at the hands of the Invaders long ago.

Even so, Takumi, whose mental data was forcibly separated from his physical body, became a "data body," a "real ghost" existing outside of reality and the internet.

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"Able to freely travel between the real world and the online world?"

After listening to Takumi's self-introduction, White Flamemon suddenly realized that the other's ability was indeed digitalization.

If Chen Ze's existence is due to the existence of a digital core, it is because his human body has also exhibited a "semi-digitalization" phenomenon, a state of digitalization.

Takumi, whose mental data was devoured by the Invaders and who could only reconstruct his data with the help of Kyoko Kumi (Alphamon), had already completed his complete "digitalization".

"Yes, that's why I'm very curious about what kind of being the second human with digital tendencies would be?"

This was the first time Takumi had encountered someone he could call "one of his own," so he was extremely excited.

It turns out that in this world, not only have I become an "outcast," but there is another person who also has a similar tendency toward digitalization.

Moreover, compared to his ability to freely travel between the real and online worlds, Chen Ze's ability to directly transform from a human into a Digimon is clearly even more exaggerated.

"If I remember correctly, you should be the 'Pale Warrior' who caused a huge disturbance at the Digimon Black Market a while ago, leading to its closure, right?"

At first, Takumi was a little unsure, but after seeing the alien Agumon evolve into the white Flamemon, he became certain of his guess.

The mysterious person who caused chaos in the EDEN black market two months ago and indirectly led to the closure of the Nordens and Digimon black markets should be the hacker I'm currently facing.

No one knew where the mysterious hacker came from; all that was known was that he seemed to be a hacker who liked to use a "cartoonish fox spirit" as his avatar for intrusions.

Thanks to Chen Ze's first appearance on the EDEN network, which brought down two well-known black markets, his reputation in the Japanese hacker community was not good.

Powerful as they may be, their arrogant and unrestrained style of doing things is even more infamous than the most arrogant hackers of the past – the Otaku Hackers.

Takumi, who is a "cyber detective," gets more information from his friend Arata Sanada.

Besides his penchant for using cartoonish fox spirit images, this mysterious and unknown hacker also has an extremely chuunibyou (delusional) nickname: "Pale God of War."

The Japanese hackers were unaware of the other party's detailed information because the other party's activities were always active on traditional networks outside of EDEN.

As for further news?

Because the whereabouts of the "Pale War God" were so mysterious, apart from the "battle records" that were deliberately left behind, Takumi was unable to obtain any more useful information.

If it weren't for this close encounter with Chen Ze, Takumi wouldn't have been sure whether this mysterious hacker was human or a Digimon.

How can you be so sure I'm human?

It's worth noting that even the Royal Knight, SwordKingmon, only mistook WhiteFlamemon for a "mutant disguised as a human."

Therefore, Chen Ze was very confident that his "disguise" was perfect. So how did Takumi determine at a glance that he was a human, rather than a human Digimon disguised as a human?

Digimon disguised as humans are not uncommon in EDEN. On the contrary, Chen Ze has only discovered one human who can transform into a Digimon so far.

"After eliminating the influence of preconceived notions, it is not difficult to determine that you are human."

Digimon are simple life forms; at least before they evolve to their Ultimate level, their thoughts are not actually complicated.

In contrast, Chen Ze's choices and judgments in the face of crisis were very "human," a trait that even the highly intelligent fox spirit X could not escape.

This is the result of the difference in concepts between the two worlds, and it is also the most obvious evidence to distinguish humans from Digimon.

"Most people don't have this kind of insight..."

The white flame beast gently shook its head, knowing that Takumi was being "modest."

Let alone ordinary people, even an Ultimate-level Digimon like SwordEmperormon, which is almost a "god," couldn't see through its disguise, which shows how difficult it was.

"You said you're a cyber detective, right?"

Thinking of this, White Flamemon once again remembered Lilacmon, who had kidnapped Renamon X.

Given Takumi's insight and analytical abilities, if I could get his help, I should be able to find their whereabouts quickly, right?

Would you mind taking on a temporary assignment?

"I can't give you money or anything like that, but Renamon has some data on 'digitalization' that you'll definitely need."

Chapter Fifty: The Love of the Lilac Beast

The lilac beast appeared on the internet eight years ago, when EDEN technology was just emerging.

At that time, she was just a mature Sunflower Beast, and neither her mind nor her strength had fully developed. Therefore, she only felt endless fear towards this unfamiliar online world.

In fact, this is a common characteristic of all plant-type Digimon.

Compared to Digimon that possess animal forms and data, plant-type Digimon generally grow slowly and often only reach true maturity when they evolve to the Ultimate level.

One can imagine how lonely and isolated Sunflowermon must have felt wandering the internet alone in those early days of EDEN network technology, when its mind was still immature.

However, the Digimon ending up in the newly formed EDEN Network has both disadvantages and advantages.

The downside is that Sunflowermon must endure loneliness and solitude, and if it can't bear it, it will self-destruct due to various incorrect evolutions.

But the benefits are equally obvious: as long as Sunflowermon can endure the loneliness, the vast amount of information in the human world will be ample nourishment for its growth and evolution.

This is the opportunity, and also the real advantage of those Digimon that accidentally ended up in the human world.

Compared to the life-or-death battles in the Digital World, Digimon living in the EDEN Network can safely grow to the Champion stage as long as nothing unexpected happens.

And for those with a bit of talent and perseverance, with a little effort, evolving into their complete form is not impossible.

That's how Lilacmon successfully evolved, and it even became a great mage proficient in all kinds of magic (programming), possessing strength surpassing that of an ordinary Perfect level.

It was after that that the Lilac Beast gradually emerged from the server where it was hiding, disguised itself as a human, and began to come into contact with and understand everything about the EDEN network—A Zhe was also a human she met during that time.

The lilac beast had only saved A Zhe on a whim and never intended to have any further contact with him.

However, after saving A Zhe, the Lilac Beast suddenly developed a certain interest in this boy who was known as a "genius"—he also seemed to be an outcast who didn't fit into the world he lived in.

Despite growing up in such a developed, high-tech society, this was the first time that human boy had come into contact with the EDEN network.

In a series of subsequent investigations, the Lilac Beast was even more astonished to discover that the boy named "A Zhe" was not only experiencing the EDEN network for the first time, but also rarely used other common electrical appliances.

In A Zhe's nominal "home," all Dingxiang Beast saw was his parents' exploitation of his talents and their endless concessions and tolerance.

It could be curiosity, or it could be pity...

When A Zhe was once again tricked into joining the EDEN network by the younger members of the Go club, Dingxiang Beast did not hesitate to hack into their system and contact A Zhe again as a "hacker".

The lilac beast originally intended to help A Zhe take revenge on that junior, but to her surprise, A Zhe refused her help.

From then on, the Lilac Beast became acquainted with this strange human boy.

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"You've fallen for that human?"

Deep inside Shinjuku subway station, Renamon X first glanced at the huge barrier that was forming nearby, and then looked at Lilacmon, who was still busy, and asked.

It wasn't that Renamon X didn't want to escape the other's control, but rather that the gap between them was simply too great, so great that Lilacmon could bind her with just a simple program.

"like?"

After a brief pause, the lilac beast decisively shook its head.

That's 'love'!

The clove beast's undisguised affection for A Zhe left the bewildered fox beast X somewhat at a loss.

Because in Chen Ze's mother's soap operas and otaku dramas, there has never been a female character as "straightforward" as Dingxiang Beast.

"Ever since I discovered that someone was creating digital waves, I have been determined to appear in the real human world."

It wasn't within EDEN's network, nor did it appear disguised as a human...

What Lilacmon wants to do is to use the power of Digital Wave to completely complete the "digitalization" process, transforming data into matter.

Coincidentally, the fact that Swordmon used Digimon to attack the World Barrier a month ago allowed Lilacmon to truly detect the traces of Digimon for the first time.

The power that is called the "Philosopher's Stone" in the eyes of Fairy and Demon types is actually the materialized form of Digital Wave.

In the hands of a special Digimon like Lilacmon, who is proficient in magic (programming), with the help of the Philosopher's Stone, it is not impossible to accomplish a "miracle" that even Ultimate Digimon would take notice of.

"So, this is why you arrested me?"

Renamon X knew perfectly well that he had undergone the process of digitalization and de-digitization in Hikari Hill in another world.

Although the transformation was accomplished with the help of Mostimon's power, its own Digicore must have left behind relevant records.

In addition, there's the Digivice obtained from recovering the SwordEmperormon NX...

If there's anyone in this world who understands digitalization, besides SwordEmperormon who caused this disaster, it's probably only Renamon X and Chen Ze.

"It was just a coincidence at first..."

Without concealing its intentions, Lilacmon initially decided to kidnap Renamon X as a "test subject" simply because of Digiwave.

However, after noticing Renamon X's unusual behavior, Lilacmon discovered that the other party might have had more than just contact with the Philosopher's Stone.