Digital Hackers' Memories

Digital Hacker's Memories Author: Lazy ZRO

It stands silently in a post-apocalyptic world made of blood and fire.

With most of its body covered in pale yellow alloy, WarGreymon gazed helplessly at the sky, its expression filled with an indescribable sorrow and despondency.

Traversing countless timelines, exploring countless possibilities, and even resetting existing world lines...

Even he, hailed as the "strongest hacker," was now completely exhausted.

Even so, he continued onward, dragging his weary body, hoping to find that last glimmer of hope.

"You want to protect the world..."

"And all I want to do is protect you."

Thus, in this desolate, post-apocalyptic plain, only his final echoes still reverberate across this battlefield stained with blood and fire.

"Wait for me, I will definitely be with you until the very end!"

Chapter 1 EDEN Technology

Chen Ze originally thought that he had simply failed to complete the normal reincarnation process, which was why he was reborn into this near-future human society.

After all, whether it is the development of history or the level of technology, this world has continued the trajectory of human development in Chen Ze's previous life, and it can even be said to be what human society will look like decades from now.

It wasn't until eight years ago, when Chen Ze saw the practical application of VR technology—EDEN network technology—that he realized the world he was in was not the future at all.

Especially when he saw that the prototype of EDEN technology came from the Far East country of Japan, Chen Ze was almost certain that this was a world that only existed in an anime, novel or even a game.

Fortunately, Chen Ze was never a depressed person. With his open-minded nature, he accepted the fact that he might be a supporting actor or extra in a certain work a few days later.

In fact, sixteen years of living here had long since allowed Chen Ze to integrate into this new world.

Aside from trying to find a way to travel back in time, he didn't show anything unusual.

An ordinary birth, a middle-class family, daily studies...

Chen Ze felt as if he were reliving his childhood, only this time he had enough time and ideas to plan his future.

Before meeting EDEN, his original plan was to make up for the regrets of his past life, to explore and learn about all the things that interested him, and then get into a top university and find a girlfriend who wasn't particularly pretty.

However, after encountering EDEN, a groundbreaking virtual reality technology, he devoted most of his time and energy to it, intending to find the "truth" of this world within it.

Fortunately, Chen Ze's family in this life was considered to be above average, and since he was the only son in the family, he had enough energy and money to devote to completing his studies.

Of course, according to the traditional Chinese family education philosophy, Chen Zene certainly doesn't have much money to freely spend, but it's enough for him to get started with the virtual network EDEN.

Just like the Internet at its inception, with the popularization of EDEN networks, more and more people have joined this emerging electronic world.

This has led to the emergence of individuals or organizations maliciously cracking networks and invading personal terminals.

Compared to the traditional Internet, the EDEN network world offers greater freedom, but the cost of tracking criminals across networks is also higher. As a result, a significant number of unstable individuals have become the legendary "hackers" or "cybercriminals."

Chen Ze, who studies EDEN network technology in his spare time, is one of them, but he is not very interested in things like cracking software servers and stealing users' personal information.

Chen Ze preferred the feeling of freely exploring this virtual world to venting his emotions in this lawless environment.

In Chen Ze's view, if the traditional Internet still has various limitations, then the EDEN network has already overcome these limitations, allowing virtual entertainment to shift from the spiritual to the physical.

Chen Ze's pursuit is to completely digitize his height, weight, date of birth, and other information, construct a body in the virtual network that is infinitely close to the real one, and then enjoy things that are impossible to enjoy in the real world.

Admiring the pyramids from Antarctica, looking down at Earth from a satellite perspective, or even personally participating in a virtual game or movie...

In short, as long as you master the relevant technology, you are like God in the EDEN network.

Especially in the early days of the EDEN network, Chen Ze and the "hackers" he represented were the pioneers, the original gods.

"Unfortunately, there seems to be some hidden danger in this technology, which is why the country has not yet truly introduced it."

With a slight sigh, Chen Ze touched the EDEN custom glasses he was wearing, feeling a pang of regret for the large sum of money he had just spent.

In Japan, where EDEN networks are already widespread, such login systems wouldn't cost much, and large EDEN installations, similar to those in internet cafes, are commonplace on the streets of Japan.

Unlike now, I have to use a year's allowance to buy such a hacked login device that can't connect to the internet, and I only managed to get it through a proxy buyer.

"Cracking, copying, and free services seem to have always been part of the national situation. I just don't know how many years it will take to make them legitimate this time."

With that thought in mind, Chen Ze stopped thinking too much, skillfully put on his EDEN glasses, and logged into the virtual network world he had been looking forward to for so long.

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

When Chen Ze opened his eyes again, a huge logo written in Japanese appeared in front of him.

Chen Ze knew that this was the logo of the original developers, or rather, discoverers, of EDEN technology—the company, Kamishiro.

If you follow the normal procedure, after clicking on this logo, you will be automatically connected to the EDEN network, and a data avatar will be automatically generated based on your entered identity information to access the EDEN network.

Unfortunately, this is in China. Not to mention that the EDEN network from Japan has not yet been widely adopted here, Chen Ze doesn't have detailed identity data.

Fortunately, Chen Ze was prepared. In this cracked EDEN device, he did not need to input relevant information data, but directly loaded a "pseudo-identity: Pale God of War" that he had prepared beforehand.

"Chuunibyou, you've finally come online!"

A flurry of data, like snowflakes, flashed by, and then Chen Ze found himself in a small, dark space.

"How many times have I told you, don't call me a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur)?"

Chen Ze first turned his head to look at the fox lying next to him, and then spoke with a slightly helpless expression.

"Calling yourself the God of War? Isn't that just chuunibyou (middle school syndrome)?!"

Upon hearing Chen Ze's rebuttal, the fox revealed a human-like smile, as if a person were speaking to Chen Ze.

In fact, this was indeed a person, or rather, a hacker.

A powerful hacker, whose methods are unknown, broke into Chen Ze's self-built "private server".

If the other party's intrusion methods weren't so far superior to Chen Ze's, he would have driven this guy out long ago.

"Hey, don't you ever get a break? Why are you always on my computer?"

This server was set up on Chen Ze's personal computer, unlike a real server that is always running 24/7.

So he was very puzzled as to how this guy dressed as a "fox" had gotten here before him.

"It's a secret!"

With his signature smile still on his face, the fox seemed oblivious to Chen Ze's rejection, and instead spoke in a low, mysterious tone.

Where are you planning to hack this time?

"Do you need a new image?"

"I happen to have some very interesting data here."

******************************

P.S.: This is a new book release, so there might be quite a few typos. If any of you see them, please mark them and I'll fix them...maybe!

Chapter Two: Digimon

"Where am I? Have I traveled through time again?"

When Chen Ze opened his eyes again, he was no longer in the familiar data space.

However, this was not the real world he knew, but a completely unfamiliar place.

Judging from the surrounding environment, this appears to be a park.

An abandoned park, deserted and empty late at night, with only the broken exercise equipment telling the story of its former glory.

"Sorry, it seems there was an error with the login location."

Just as Chen Ze was wondering what had happened, a woman's voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Who?"

Upon hearing the somewhat familiar voice, Chen Ze immediately turned around warily, only to see something that shattered his worldview—he saw a fox.

Or to be more precise, Chen Ze saw a creature that stood upright, resembling a fox demon.

Its golden fur could not conceal its calm and superior demeanor, and its lively eyes spoke volumes about its intelligence and wit.

"A fox-like beast?!"

Unable to hide his astonishment, Chen Ze looked at the familiar creature and blurted out a sentence.

"Did I really time travel again?"

Tilting her head slightly, the fox demon was also somewhat surprised that Chen Ze recognized her identity, but she had something more important to explain now.

"Although I don't know what you mean by 'time travel'."

"But we are not in any known data space right now."

It was only at this moment that Chen Ze finally came to his senses from his shock, and the scene that had happened not long ago came back to his mind.

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

Today, the EDEN custom-made glasses that I finally managed to get through a second-hand intermediary were finally delivered.

That's something you can't get through normal channels; it's a cutting-edge technology product that can truly digitize and upload human data to a computer.

However, just as he was excitedly about to use it to log into his computer, he discovered that the hacker who had been lurking in his computer was mysteriously saying that he wanted to give him a new image.

Chen Ze didn't pay much attention to this at first. After all, he was using fake images, so he could just change them. It didn't matter at all.

Here, Chen Ze refuses to admit that it's because the Fox Hacker mocked his fake identity as being too childish.

If the normal procedure is followed, the next step is for the user abroad to use a proxy server to redirect to the actual Japanese EDEN virtual network.

But I don't know what went wrong during this process, and as soon as I opened my eyes, I was "time-traveled" again.

Of course, according to the fox spirit, "there was an error in the login location."

"So, you're saying you caused all of this?!"

Without a doubt, the "fox demon" in front of him was the same fox hacker from before, and it was she who caused him to end up in this godforsaken place.

"Something seems off. When did I get shorter?"

Thinking of this, Chen Ze suddenly lowered his head—he saw a pair of pale yellow three-fingered claws.

Now that things had come to this, Chen Ze realized that not only was his login location wrong, but even his current appearance was not his original one.

"It's Agumon!"

This time, Chen Ze exclaimed in surprise.

He felt that the surprises he had experienced today had already exceeded the total number of surprises he had experienced in the previous ten years.

Agumon, the ace protagonist of the Digimon series, is a childhood memory for most people born in the 90s, and also the most unforgettable color of Chen Ze's childhood in his previous life.

It is precisely because of this that he is extremely familiar with his current image.

A small, yellow dragon-like creature, standing upright, with sharp three-fingered claws...

It can be said that Chen Ze's current appearance is a perfect recreation of the "Agumon" image, even more perfect than any professional cosplay.

"Wait, is this the new image you were talking about?"

With so many questions in his mind, Chen Ze didn't even know where to begin.

—I was planning to log into the Japanese EDEN network, so why am I here?

—And what about my current Agumon form? Is it a data-driven virtual disguise, or a real body?

—If Agumon and Renamon are real, does that mean that the Digital World and Digimon in the previous life were also real?

—And most importantly, what kind of being is that "Fox Beast" facing me?

“I know you have a lot of questions, but I don’t know exactly what happened either.”

With a slight wry smile, the elegant fox-like beast was also somewhat unable to understand its current state.

She originally only intended to play a little trick on Chen Ze, and did not change his login location, nor did she intend to put the two of them in a completely unfamiliar world.

"However, if my 'database' is correct, this should be 'Hikaru' from Japan."

When he said that, even the fox spirit was a little unsure of himself.

In her mind, Hikari Hill was a "modern" city full of information technology and all kinds of EDEN equipment.

But this place looks like it was at the end of the 20th century, filled with all kinds of original, backward high-rise buildings, and even the vegetation on the side is real natural vegetation.