Digital Hackers' Memories

This was the first time Chen Ze had entered the online world in the form of a data life form. Even his previous virtual avatars had never been so deeply involved here.

"It's much more chaotic than I imagined."

Swimming in the ocean of information, Chen Ze, who was originally just a pure electronic signal, quickly adapted to the interference and reproduced the form of "Agumon" in this world of data.

Renamon, which adapted even earlier than Agumon, had already reverted to its true form and remained unmoved amidst the chaotic torrent of information surrounding it.

"This is also the first time I've ever encountered such a primitive cyberspace."

Watching everything with a hint of amazement, the fox spirit had never imagined that the early days of the internet world would be so chaotic.

The various and complex information was not classified in a unified way, but was transmitted directly to all parts of the world through simple network cables, most of which were not even encrypted.

This is unimaginable in the 21st century, because the network in that era will no longer be limited to physical network cables; different frequency bands of signals and encrypted message content will be the mainstream of that world.

"This looks like a love confession email, doesn't it?"

Chen Ze casually intercepted a message, which immediately unfolded between his hands in the form of a "letter".

In the 21st century, with its highly developed information and network infrastructure, this message might have been projected directly onto the recipient's screen or into a specific email address, but it would never have been so easily intercepted by Chen Ze.

Not only was the message easily intercepted, but its specific content was also deciphered directly by the digital core.

The whole process was smooth and seamless, as if the built-in encryption of email did not exist.

"That's real cheating!"

Without using any decryption software, the powerful digital core automatically decrypted and read the contents of the message the moment it came into contact with it.

"The encryption level of this era is too low. Even a nascent digital core can be directly deciphered."

Renamon also intercepted a message, but instead of presenting it as a "letter" like Chen Ze did, it directly integrated it into its body—this is a "reading method" unique to Digimon.

"However, precisely because the encryption level is so low, there is very little useful information inside."

Compared to the highly encrypted and compressed files containing a huge amount of information that Youkomon remembered, the information in this era takes up far too much "memory".

"Constantly absorbing this kind of data will not only reduce the utilization rate of digital cores, but the frequent changes in information will also directly affect our lifespan."

When Renamon said this, he was thinking of the "Ancient Species" Digimon that were rumored to be powerful but short-lived in the Digital World.

Although the two may be quite different, if the ancient Digital World was also filled with such complex and redundant data, one can imagine the plight of the Digimon living in it.

"Just like a hard drive? Overuse will shorten its lifespan?"

Since Renamon was taking the initiative to talk about the Digital World, Chen Ze simply let the "confession email" go. Anyway, a "confession" that doesn't even involve meeting in person is bound to fail.

"Although it's not the most accurate way to put it, it's certainly a valid interpretation."

Nodding slightly, the fox beast also did not choose to intercept the message within its body, allowing it to fly back into the chaotic torrent of information.

Rather than meaningless information, Renamon needs vaccine data that can make it stronger and rarer.

This is also the most obvious difference between Renamon and other Rookie Digimon; her power is enough to qualify her to choose her future evolution path.

"found it!"

Just as Chen Ze was about to continue asking questions, the fox demon's eyes suddenly lit up.

A sudden data storm swept the two of them away, rushing against the flow of data—to the location of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's surveillance data center.

In the future, Youkomon wouldn't dare to covet the Metropolitan Police Department's data, even if the data contained within could allow her to advance further.

But things are different now. In 1995, before the rise of the internet, the genuine and invaluable data in the Warning Hall was like an open treasure trove, waiting for the fox demon to pluck it.

In fact, this is also why Renamon took the initiative to abandon the hacker's method of intrusion and instead used the Digimon method to intrude—she not only wanted to delete the surveillance video, but also wanted to take it a step further.

Silence!

Even faster than Chen Ze had imagined, as a data life form capable of freely traversing the network, the Digimon's speed in the network was equivalent to the speed at which electromagnetic waves propagate in the air.

In the blink of an eye, the foxmon, having already locked onto the warning hall's database, broke through numerous obstacles and arrived in front of a tall "electronic wall".

"Firewall?"

This is a vast, boundless "electronic wall" because it is the embodiment of firewalls in the network world; the space of the physical world has no meaning to it.

As far as Chen Ze could see, only those dark green patterns would occasionally flash a glimmer of light, extending beyond the field of vision of all observers.

Apart from that, this massive firewall has no other distinguishing features; it's as if it were just a world wall silently standing at the ends of the earth.

"Is this the firewall of the Japanese National Alert Department?"

Unable to describe whether he was amazed or shocked, Chen Ze looked at this "electronic wall" that completely defied the laws of physics and sincerely felt the difference between humans and Digimon.

"Yes, this is the 'firewall' of the online world."

The Reflective Fox Beast had already seen all sorts of firewalls, and she had anticipated the appearance of this "electronic wall."

What Chen Ze considered an exceptionally magnificent "electronic wall" was, in the eyes of the fox demon beast, who had already cracked countless firewalls, so backward and rudimentary.

Aside from its massive computing power built from servers, its overall structure is even inferior to the personal computer that Chen Ze built himself.

There are a million ways for the fox spirit to enter such a firewall, but she has chosen the simplest one—disguise.

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PS: I'm going to do a little something with a pro: "I, the Spirit of Machines, in Azeroth".

I've known this big shot for a long time. He previously wrote "The Infinite Tale of Heroes," and is known for his wildly imaginative ideas. He's the kind of writer who gets easily hooked once he gets into my style.

The following is a brief introduction...

Azeroth, a world that holds the memories of so many people's youth.

The flames of Blackrock Mountain, the yellow sands of Silithus, the floating necropolis, the lonely traitor, the sword light on the Frozen Throne, the torn earth, the seven-headed behemoth...

We were once obsessed with World of Warcraft, but now we can never go back.

This article is dedicated to the two lands that were part of my youth.

Chapter Seventeen Monitoring Center

A firewall is a network security technology used to protect internal networks from malicious attacks and intrusions from external networks, prevent computer crimes, and keep intruders out.

Therefore, a firewall can be considered the boundary between the internal and external networks. It can closely monitor data packets entering and leaving the boundary and promptly block intruders.

In addition, firewalls can strictly restrict the permissions of external networks on internal networks, and effectively monitor internal network access to external networks.

In theory, firewalls can block all malicious data, thus maximizing the security of internal networks.

Especially for important institutions like the warning center, sometimes physical isolation is even used to ensure the secure operation of the internal network.

Just like the systems mentioned before, no matter how much a firewall improves its functionality, it is essentially just a program, an automated program that automatically filters and monitors internal and external data interactions.

There is no such thing as a perfect program in the world. Since it is a program, it must have vulnerabilities. This is an unchanging truth in the hacker world.

"You plan to infiltrate it disguised as normal data?"

Chen Ze was clearly aware of what the fox spirit was planning to do, but he remained skeptical.

If it were me, I would probably tamper with the certification process for officers above the section chief level in the Police Department, trying to infiltrate without causing any disturbance.

But how can an AI program like "妖狐兽.SMS," which has never been seen before, disguise its identity and infiltrate the firewall?

Obtaining the necessary operating permissions and implanting an unknown program into a computer are vastly different in terms of difficulty.

The former sometimes doesn't require implanting a virus, while the latter actually spreads Trojan viruses.

"Don't forget, I'm a vaccine-type Digimon."

Faced with Chen Ze's questioning, the fox spirit simply remained calm and elegant as always.

"Vaccine? If you weren't planning to hack into the database right now, I might actually believe that nonsense."

After muttering a complaint under his breath, Chen Ze realized that the attribute divisions between Digimon were not simply about mutual restraint, but rather had an inherent purpose.

"Actually, I'd like to evolve into a virus species, so I wouldn't have to worry about infiltration."

The fox spirit's implication was clear: she preferred to directly crack and destroy the firewall program rather than infiltrate by disguising herself as normal data.

"Come on! Let's go in!"

Before he could finish speaking, the fox demon once again dragged Chen Ze towards the firewall.

In an instant, a flash of electricity appeared on the originally dark firewall, and the fox demon and Chen Ze surged into it like phantom bubbles, as if they were part of the firewall itself.

Theoretically speaking, this is indeed the case.

Because the Digimon in the vaccine are naturally a kind of antivirus program, a powerful firewall plugin.

This time, however, the antivirus program named "Demon Fox Beast.SMS" wasn't killing viruses, but rather surveillance data that might have exposed its own information.

An antivirus program that doesn't "falsely kill" isn't a good Digimon, that's for sure!

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

The monitoring center of the National Police Agency and the Nerima Precinct.

The police officer responsible for real-time monitoring of the entire Hikari-gaoka area was yawning listlessly.

Perhaps because electronic surveillance is a relatively new technology, although local warning bureaus have established "monitoring centers" in accordance with orders, the tasks within them are not actually very demanding, and the officials do not pay much attention to them.

If it weren't for offending his superior during the last mission, this police officer named "Tanaka" wouldn't have been reassigned to this sinecure.

In fact, the entire Nerima Precinct considers that once you enter the monitoring center, you are essentially cut off from promotion.

After all, what merit can one gain from spending every day in the monitoring center?

Even in Japan, a society that values ​​seniority, it's a pipe dream to expect a promotion without any achievements.

Not to mention that the monitoring center is staffed 24 hours a day, and none of the officers there can serve a full year before they voluntarily apply to be transferred to other branches in remote areas.

"That bastard, I'll make him kneel down and beg me to come back one day."

Half-asleep, Tanaka, who was "on duty," was talking in his sleep while rubbing his sleepy eyes.

Although Tanaka disliked his current job, his nature as a "police officer" made it impossible for him to sleep soundly for a night.

Taking a short break now and then is fine, but it shouldn't interfere with normal work; this is Tanaka's principle.

In addition, with the shift handover approaching, Tanaka didn't want to leave a negative impression of being lazy and decadent in front of his colleagues.

"what?"

Just as Tanaka stood up, intending to check if there were any abnormalities in the surveillance footage of the Hikari-gaoka area, he suddenly widened his eyes, and all his sleepiness vanished instantly.

Because the surveillance cameras that were originally located on a certain street in Guangqiu were now black, he clearly remembered that the camera was working when he handed over his shift.

When did it break?

Tanaka wasn't surprised that the street cameras would break down, because this happened at least three times a month, and it wasn't limited to the Hikari-gaoka area that he was monitoring.

Ultimately, electronic surveillance is still a relatively new concept in this era, and it carries some suspicion of infringing on privacy. It is not impossible for it to be occasionally sabotaged.

Tanaka was just a little annoyed. Why did this camera have to break down right when he was on duty?

He now only hopes that this is just a temporary malfunction and not that someone is deliberately sabotaging the camera, otherwise he won't be able to rest for the next few days.

"I've asked you to catch who's secretly sabotaging the security cameras. I'll make them pay."

Muttering to himself, Tanaka didn't do anything special and went straight to the main server computer where the monitoring data was stored.

All the data from before the camera was damaged is stored there, so by looking at the surveillance data, it's possible to figure out how the camera broke.

However, to Tanaka's surprise, when he walked in front of the computer screen, he suddenly discovered that the server host, which was theoretically in a dormant state, had actually started running.

Even more bizarrely, on the main screen of this running server, countless data codes were flashing by at a speed unimaginable to ordinary people, as if the computer was autonomously resisting some unknown force.

"What's happening here?"

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PS: I've had enough of the servers on Shuke. Every time I log in, they lag countless times before I even get in, and then all sorts of weird things happen.

PS2: It's messed up again? Is nobody managing this server?

Chapter Eighteen: The Incarnation of the Firewall

"What's happening here?"

Staring in astonishment at the suddenly activated firewall, Chen Ze cast a questioning glance at the fox demon beast beside him.

Just as the two entered the database, the server, which had been treating them as normal users, suddenly started operating on its own, as if it had discovered the two intruders.

However, Chen Ze knew this was abnormal, because a typical firewall can only monitor and block abnormal access to data.

In other words, the firewall either identifies the abnormal "virus data" in the beginning and then blocks it outside the firewall.