Digital Hackers' Memories

"hehe."

With a strange expression, Suedo Akira stared at Kishibe Rie for a while with a look that could send chills down one's spine before slowly speaking.

"I just figured out a problem with the 'digital wave' control scheme."

He didn't care whether Rie Kishibe believed his story or not, since their relationship was merely a superficial collaboration, and Akemi Suedo believed the other party felt the same way.

"Wow! It seems our great genius truly lives up to his reputation as a great genius!"

It seemed like a gasp of amazement, yet also like a mockery...

Rie Kishibe's unusually exaggerated voice and tone seemed to be emphasizing something, causing Akemi Suedo to unconsciously frown.

"Digital Bourbon is an energy flow used to transmit digital messages."

"Once the key nodes are found, manufacturing and controlling digital waves is not a major problem."

"The challenge lies in blurring the lines between the physical and the virtual, allowing it to appear in the real world, which is what is known as 'digitalization'."

At this point, Modo Akira let out a deep sigh, his voice filled with profound meaning.

"If we can achieve 'digitalization,' perhaps we will be able to truly control the future evolution of this world."

This time, it was Rie Kishibe's turn to stare at Akemi Suedo with that creepy look.

"Great idea?!"

It wasn't until quite a while later that she seemed to remember something and burst into laughter again.

"I'll be looking forward to that day, Akemi-chan!"

Before she finished speaking, Rie Kishibe turned and left the research institute, her alluring and graceful figure drawing admiring glances from the researchers.

"Hehe, are you looking forward to that day?"

As he watched Rie Kishibe's departing figure, Akemi Suedo revealed a meaningful smile.

"That day may come earlier than you think."

The "seeds" I planted in the EDEN network have finally sprouted. Perhaps I can find a breakthrough by dealing with that artificial invader, that invader that acts according to some kind of law.

The only thing that surprised Akemi Suedo was that the artificial Invader was actually invading the Digimon Black Market.

"You sensed this too, which is why you came to test me?"

Staring thoughtfully at the entrance of the research institute, Akemi Suedo, who had already suspected the origins of the Digimon black market, was now even more certain of her guess.

If it were you, there would certainly be reason to build such a black market.

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

The Digimon Black Market, a small trading center.

At this moment, Chen Ze had already reverted to his "Matrix" attire of black clothes, black pants, and black sunglasses, leisurely strolling through this "market" built in virtual space.

As for Flamethrowermon?

Now he had reverted to his previous appearance as a teenage hacker and was leading the way for Chen Ze, guiding them little by little into the core area of ​​this small trading center.

Of the three, only Renamon made no disguise, still following closely behind Chen Ze in its Digimon form, and curiously observing its surroundings.

Fortunately, the Digimon Black Market is different from the previous dark web black market. Without exception, everyone who can enter here is a top-level hacker who brings their own Digimon.

So even though the fox-like beast's peculiar way of looking around was quite strange, the hackers nearby only glanced at her briefly and didn't pay much attention to her.

After all, there are so many hackers in the world, and there are always some maverick hackers who don't like to put Digimon into "Digimon Capturers".

In fact, according to big data statistics, such hackers are not only numerous, but can even be said to dominate the Japanese hacker community.

It is only in special places like the "Digimon Black Market" that these hackers will restrain themselves a little and not openly let their Digimon slip out.

It has nothing to do with any rules or regulations; it's simply because the hackers who can appear here are all powerful individuals. Who knows which of them might take a liking to your Digimon and then try to seize it from you through various means?

Such examples are not uncommon. A significant number of hackers who possess powerful Digimon but lack the corresponding strength have had their Digimon stolen in this way.

Therefore, in the current "Digimon Black Market", those who dare to release their Digimon are either newbies or veterans, and the probability of being a veteran is far greater than that of a newbie.

Especially intelligent humanoid Digimon like Renamon are always in high demand.

In other words, even if the hackers here saw the potential of the fox beast, they planned to wait and see, without knowing the background of Chen Ze and the young hacker, to see if anyone would be the first to step forward.

"They... seem to be deliberately avoiding us."

Although Renamon was unaware of the unspoken rules of the Digimon Black Market, he could still sense the wariness and apprehension the hackers around him had towards his group.

"Good taste."

Seeing this, the young hacker walking in front simply raised the corners of his mouth slightly and said in a tone that was hard to tell whether it was mockery or contempt.

"It's a pity they're all a bunch of thieves with the desire but not the courage, destined to hide in this dark black market."

Having said that, the young hacker didn't bother to explain anything to Chen Ze and the fox spirit, and walked to the very center of the trading market.

"It's been a long time, Keisuke."

Chapter 40 Samurai Agumon

The Digimon Black Market, the central area of ​​a certain trading platform.

"It's been a long time, Keisuke."

Startled, the black market merchant named "Keisuke" looked up and was taken aback. He then noticed the young hacker who was smiling and greeting him.

"you……"

Seemingly surprised by the sudden appearance of the young hacker, Keisuke looked at the boy in front of him and didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Didn't you make up your mind to leave? Why are you back?"

After a moment's hesitation, Keisuke finally suppressed his excitement and said with an expression that seemed to say something that was neither happy nor helpless.

"And those two behind you, are they your friends?"

Seemingly displeased with Keisuke's use of the word "friend" to refer to Chen Ze and the fox spirit, the young hacker frowned slightly before continuing.

"They're not really friends; I just had no choice but to bring these two 'jinxes' here to seek refuge."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ze could only smile awkwardly, because he discovered that this young hacker disguised as an Angelmon seemed to have a more complex past than he had imagined.

As for the Foxmon following behind Chen Ze, it continued to observe the Digimon that were caged behind Keisuke, completely unconcerned.

Unlike the black market Digimon they encountered along the way, the Digimon behind Keisuke, though looking a bit listless, did not seem to have any signs of their "intelligence" being suppressed.

From this perspective, the black market merchant who knows Angelmon should be different from the previous merchants.

At the very least, Keisuke didn't deliberately turn the Digimon into rigid, inflexible "programs" in order to make his "goods" sell better.

"Refuge?"

Keisuke's expression changed instantly upon noticing the key words in the young hacker's words. He used every method he could think of to barely "appease" the hidden entity in the shadows.

Keisuke knew that this was the hidden entity expressing its dissatisfaction; it hated the way Angelmon always blamed itself for its troubles.

"Hmph! What, you're not welcoming me?"

Clearly sensing something, the disguised Angelmon revealed its boyish nature for the first time.

"Welcome? Or not?"

Ignoring the displeasure of the being in the shadows, Keisuke smiled, spread his arms, and then stepped forward to hug the boy-hacker-like FlameAngemon.

"This will always be your home, and you can come back anytime you want."

"Welcome home!"

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

Is this black market dealer also a Digimon in disguise?

The close, almost familial interaction between the young hacker and Keisuke left Chen Ze, who had been silently observing everything, with a lot of questions in his mind.

Aside from the fact that the black market dealer was also a Digimon in disguise, Chen Ze couldn't think of any other possibility.

But this raises a new question: Do Digimon really have a relationship similar to "family"?

Even in the various Digimon anime series of his previous life, there were very few scenes depicting the relationships between Digimon, so Chen Ze was unsure whether there could really be a "family" relationship between Digimon.

"Are you really a Digimon trader?"

Just as Chen Ze was lost in his thoughts, the fox demon, after carefully examining him, spoke up with considerable curiosity.

"Isn't it similar?"

After releasing the young hacker in time, Keisuke also carefully examined the fox demon before asking a question in return.

"Not like."

Maintaining her elegant demeanor, the fox spirit glanced at Keisuke and decisively gave her answer.

"At least they're not like those Digimon dealers outside."

The black market dealers outside only treat Digimon as some kind of AI program and don't care about their own will.

But the black market merchant in front of him was completely different. The Digimon under his command still maintained their individuality and their wild and untamed instincts.

Renamon had no doubt that if anyone actually wanted to buy these Digimon, they would bar their teeth and hiss and roar at the hackers.

"So, in your opinion, what should a qualified Digimon trader be like?"

Completely ignoring the young hacker's expression, Keisuke looked at Renamon with great interest, observing this Digimon that clearly retained its own will, yet chose to follow humans.

"Cold-blooded? Ruthless? Or simply driven by profit?"

With a smile, Keisuke spoke of the outside world's impression of black market merchants, pointing to the cages behind him that held Digimon.

"In my opinion, none of those people are real Digimon dealers."

"The relationship between Digimon and humans has never been one-sided enslavement; that would only prevent either side from fully realizing their potential."

“Like these Digimon behind me, they are not entirely ‘forced’ to stay here. I’m just finding them a more suitable partner for their growth.”

"Similarly, if the people who come to me to buy Digimon don't even have the ability to tame them, then they are not qualified to be their partners."

Listening to Keisuke's boasting, the fox spirit made no attempt to hide its mockery.

"It's a very distinctive argument, but it can't hide the fact that you're enslaving Digimon. They're just 'forced' to accept your ideology."

"You're not only deceiving these Digimon, you're also deceiving yourself, trying to make your conscience a little better."

"Because you know in your heart that Digimon are not simply AI intelligence, but individual beings with their own will."

At this point, the mockery on the fox-like beast's face vanished instantly, replaced by a calm expression that showed no change whatsoever.

"Of course, I don't deny that there are exceptions, such as that Agumon."

Attracted by the fox spirit's words, everyone, including Chen Ze, turned their gazes in the direction it was pointing.

It was a cage placed to one side, and inside it was imprisoned a strangely shaped Agumon—a peculiar Agumon dressed in traditional Japanese samurai attire and wielding a sharp longsword.

Just like a traditional Japanese samurai, the peculiar samurai Agumon not only dressed like a samurai, but even the family crest on its chest was imitated perfectly.

More importantly, compared to the other digimon around him who were listless, Samurai Agumon kept his eyes closed and seemed to be in seclusion rather than being imprisoned in a cage.

Even though everyone's eyes were on it, it didn't show the slightest sign of panic. Instead, it remained calmly sitting cross-legged on the spot, motionless.

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PS: My first reaction when I saw this picture was, isn't this just Agumon version of Yasuo?

Chapter 41 Digimon Hunter

"Samurai Agumon?"

Stunned, Keisuke carefully recalled the process of capturing this Agumon and realized that this guy was indeed an anomaly.

Because in a sense, it wasn't Keisuke who found this samurai Agumon, but rather the other party who came to him on its own initiative.

As a true "Digimon Hunter," Keisuke is different from other black market dealers in that all of his Digimon are captured by himself.

It is precisely because of this professional habit that Keisuke compiles a document for every Digimon he captures, which clearly describes the time, place, and process of the "hunt".

Keisuke encountered this Samurai Agumon a week ago when he went to the third floor of Kowloon.

At first, Keisuke did not find any trace of this samurai Agumon, because the other party seemed to be skilled in some kind of breathing concealment technique, which allowed it to perfectly hide itself in that chaotic environment.

However, perhaps having discovered Keisuke's identity as a "Digimon Hunter," Samurai Agumon suddenly appeared in front of him and challenged him.

In Samurai Agumon's own words, "My name is Samurai Agumon. I am a Digimon who pursues battle and challenges the strong. You are worthy of my drawing of my sword and fighting."