"So this is the network world of this era?"
Entering cyberspace again as a stream of electronic signals, Chen Ze quickly realized that the network space of this era far surpassed the one he'd seen back in 1995's Hikarigaoka.
In the year 1995, data uploaded to the network wasn't rigorously structured or standardized, making Chen Ze's first foray into the digital world feel like diving into a sewer—an overwhelming mess of encrypted data flows, meaningless garbage packets, and disorderly characters mingled chaotically, dirty and confusing.
And even the data that wasn't encrypted offered no security; anyone with basic hacking knowledge could intercept any information they wished.
But in this era, the network world had ceased to be that kind of wildly growing, chaotic wasteland.
Aside from the pristine, transparent, high-speed fiber-optic networks, tunnels composed of multicolored signals and different frequency bands had become mainstream.
Because, unlike the desktop computers of old, most terminals in this era were mobile devices—convenient, diverse, and ubiquitous.
Compared to these mobile devices, capable of accessing networks anytime, anywhere, Chen Ze, who still stubbornly relied on modified desktop computers as a "traditional hacker," had become something of a rarity.
As the times changed, various miniature mobile terminals, provided one had enough money, didn't fall far behind desktop computers in performance.
For instance, the EDEN virtual glasses Chen Ze had obtained were essentially high-end computers disguised as ordinary glasses, adapted specifically for virtual reality functionalities.
However, Chen Ze's particular fondness for desktop computers naturally had its reasons.
Aside from their affordability, the greatest advantage of desktop computers lay in their customizability—perfectly suited for a technical hacker like Chen Ze, adept in both hardware and software modification.
His only regret was the desktop computer's bulky size, which severely limited the number of situations in which it was genuinely useful.
Especially now, as he tried every conceivable method to access the EDEN network, its sole practical use was to mask his tracks and eliminate intrusion logs.
If only I had the money… I'd definitely set up my own large-scale server.
Gazing at the endless data streams before him, Chen Ze secretly yearned for a server that belonged solely to him.
Because temporarily renting someone else's server for network transitions would inevitably leave traces. This was a fundamental hardware flaw unrelated to Chen Ze's own hacking proficiency.
As long as the provider retained physical control over the server, they could restore the original data through physical methods.
Logs, huh?
At that thought, Chen Ze lifted his head, casting a subtle glance at Renamon, who was walking ahead of him.
Exactly what has she been doing with those servers? Why do I feel like she's still hiding something from me?
Pushing away those suspicions, Chen Ze quickly passed through the endless data streams, finally arriving at his destination—the Japanese EDEN network.
...
Keisuke Amazawa was a hacker. Though not particularly skilled, he'd at least succeeded in joining a small hacker group known as "Hudie."
Yet few knew that the only reason Keisuke had chosen to become a hacker was simply to retrieve the account that had been stolen from him.
Or, to put it more precisely, beneath his hacker identity, Keisuke was actually a rather righteous young man.
Because even though he'd become a hacker, he still deeply despised those who preyed upon others' accounts purely for selfish gain, or worse yet, maliciously damaged public networks.
In this era dominated by big data, losing one's account—virtually equivalent to an ID—meant losing all credibility.
Victims of account hunting were treated no differently from criminals; they had zero trustworthiness in others' eyes.
Perhaps precisely because of this overly "gentle" nature, Keisuke had encountered a strange woman before—and subsequently found himself occasionally exploited by her as unpaid labor.
Judging solely by appearance and clothing, she was undoubtedly a beauty—the kind who scored full points in every department.
Unfortunately, however, this beauty's sense of taste seemed entirely alien to normal humans. Having tasted coffee personally brewed by her, Keisuke had developed a profound understanding of this fact.
It wasn't merely that her sense of taste differed from ordinary people; clearly, her taste buds were simply broken to have created such culinary abominations.
If he hadn't seen for himself that the woman genuinely seemed unaware of her own "talent," Keisuke would've suspected she was doing it on purpose.
Nevertheless, Keisuke had secretly sworn to himself never to seek out that strange woman—who referred to herself as "Nakano's Greatest Detective," Kyoko Kuremi—unless absolutely necessary.
That lasted until not long ago, when Keisuke, while investigating hackers involved in trading stolen accounts, had been brought by two peculiar black-and-white cats into someone's private cyberspace. Only then had he finally sought help from that strange woman.
The owner of that private digital space had called herself "Mirei Mikagura," and those two cats she'd raised were not ordinary pets but special programs known as "Digimon."
Though Mirei Mikagura's constant talk of fate and branching paths felt deeply suspicious, Keisuke had reluctantly come to understand that this world wasn't as simple as he'd previously imagined.
Whether those abruptly appearing "living programs" or specialized capture programs designed explicitly to hunt them down, hidden beneath this digital realm lay countless dangers.
Thus, partially to unravel Mirei Mikagura's true identity, but mainly to swiftly reclaim his own account, Keisuke had later approached Kyoko Kuremi and explained to her all about his bizarre experience.
"Given the amount of time that's passed, she probably should've uncovered some clues by now."
This wasn't merely Keisuke's optimism—it was absolute confidence in Kyoko's capabilities.
Having assisted Kyoko many times, Keisuke knew firsthand her formidable efficiency.
Ordinary "cyber cases" typically took her less than a day to solve.
Yet Kyoko had already been investigating that mysterious digital space for three days based on the clues Keisuke had provided.
Even if, for some unknown reason, Kyoko herself seemed strangely hesitant to directly enter the digital world, Keisuke believed that, given her personality, snatching up temporary free labor to do the dirty work would be no trouble at all.
And, if Keisuke remembered correctly, that eccentric woman seemed to have permanent free labor on standby—a guy named Takumi or something like that?
"Still, I have a strange feeling she'll make an exception this time."
Recalling the unusual excitement Kyoko had shown when he'd made this request, Keisuke felt it highly likely that this time, she'd personally venture into that mysterious digital space.
"Forget it. Let's finish this job first."
"Erika should've already found the latest intel on those 'Account Hunters.'"
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