"As expected of the birthplace of EDEN technology… It's far more prosperous than I imagined."
Completely unaware that the gears of destiny had already begun to turn, Chen Ze couldn't help but marvel when he truly crossed the boundary between traditional networks and virtual ones, stepping fully into the digital expanse of Cyberspace EDEN.
"With this incredible level of detail… It's hard to imagine this is actually a virtual digital space."
Even though Chen Ze had long known Japan had developed astonishingly realistic virtual-world technology, aware that this VR tech had advanced beyond mere visual fidelity to subtle layers of hearing, smell, and even touch—
Yet, when Chen Ze actually reached out to touch the "modeling" of his own virtual body, he couldn't conceal the surge of excitement that rose in his heart.
This kind of fully immersive virtual sensory experience had already surpassed simple "simulation." It was as if Chen Ze had become Agumon once again, an utterly authentic existence.
Back in Chen Ze's own computer space, the most he could achieve was mere visual simulation—and even that had only been possible after Renamon optimized his system.
As for hearing, smell, touch, or sensations beyond, Chen Ze didn't even have a clue about how to simulate them, let alone attempt it himself.
"This technology was reverse-engineered from the Digital World to begin with, so naturally it's not much different from the real thing."
By contrast, Renamon was long accustomed to sensations infinitely close to the Digital World.
In truth, even the Digital World from which Renamon originated still paled in comparison to the real, physical world.
Let alone this EDEN space, a mere imitation of the Digital World. Only someone like Chen Ze, a human encountering it for the first time, would feel such astonishment.
"You can't just dismiss it like that. Breaking through into true virtual reality technology isn't as simple as you think."
At this moment, immersed in this sensation infinitely approaching "physical perception," Chen Ze suddenly recalled a deeply controversial science fiction hypothesis—the brain in a vat.
If all your memories and perceptions were simulated by machines, and you were just a "brain" placed in an experimental vat, could you say you truly existed?
Or, to phrase it another way: could you really trust that the world you see, touch, and perceive right now truly exists?
The "red pill" and "blue pill" choice from The Matrix was merely an elaboration and extension of this very question, embodying humanity's ultimate fear of virtual reality.
"This is humanity's first step toward becoming 'God'…"
Chen Ze sighed softly, almost groaning. In his view, if Digimon had never existed, this infinitely realistic virtual technology would indeed mark humanity's first step toward godhood.
Creating and simulating a new world, manipulating and orchestrating new life, weaving and restructuring a new destiny…
Were humans who possessed such power and technology not the gods of the virtual world?
Unfortunately, humanity never truly possessed this technology. They had only managed to build this revolutionary virtual network by reverse-engineering aspects of the Digital World.
Because in this world, situated somewhere between physical reality and virtual illusion, there existed another form of life—a data lifeform known as Digimon.
"This isn't the time to be amazed."
Indifferent to Chen Ze's musings, Renamon could vaguely grasp why virtual reality technology so profoundly affected humans, but she could never truly understand or weigh the pros and cons from a human perspective.
"If you don't want the owner of this place to discover us, I suggest we leave as soon as possible."
To avoid being noticed by Mirei Mikagura, Chen Ze hadn't entered EDEN's public network directly, instead opting for a semi-private, partially abandoned digital space.
This place was a small-scale digital zone built inside the EDEN network—something akin to traditional online forums, chat rooms, or websites—a place specifically designed for online communication.
Benefiting from the maturity of virtual technology, the functions of such digital spaces had become extraordinarily diverse. Chatting and browsing, standard in traditional networks, were merely basic functions here.
Virtual tourism, virtual gaming, virtual movies—all these were rapidly evolving, making EDEN a distinct world, almost independent from the physical reality outside.
In theory, every user in EDEN's network world was like a god.
Provided they had sufficient administrator privileges, they could freely delete, alter, and create any data within EDEN, achieving anything they wished.
Of course, this was all theoretical.
In reality, much like the traditional internet, ordinary users had severely limited privileges within EDEN.
Unless you became a hacker, unauthorized modification of EDEN's data was a serious crime—the kind you'd inevitably get caught committing.
After all, the founder of EDEN had long anticipated such scenarios.
Thus, logging into the public EDEN network required strictly authenticated personal accounts, ensuring that everyone entering was a real person.
This was somewhat similar to the real-name authentication system becoming widespread on traditional networks, but EDEN's authentication was far stricter, nearly eliminating most forms of cybercrime.
Still, there were always exceptions. Chen Ze's method—fabricating a fake account and disguising his ID—was common practice among skilled hackers.
After all, the reason hackers became hackers was precisely because they didn't want to be constrained by others, yearning for a freedom impossible to experience in reality.
"This place is a half-abandoned digital space. It's impossible for anyone to find us here."
Habitually raising a death flag, Chen Ze didn't debate much with Renamon on this point.
Unlike last time, when he had recklessly invaded EDEN's network and experienced the Hikarigaoka Incident, Chen Ze had thoroughly prepared for this infiltration.
Not to mention, even his current Digital Avatar was strictly following the principle of being "ordinary."
Black clothes, black trench coat, black sunglasses—even his boots were black leather—he was dressed head-to-toe in classic "Matrix" fashion.
As for this, Renamon, possessing a normal sense of aesthetics, expressed reserved skepticism: if this counted as "ordinary," then perhaps nothing in the world qualified as ordinary.
Of course, Renamon merely expressed her opinion without pressing further. After all, a golden fox-like Digimon wasn't exactly within the bounds of "normal" in EDEN either.
The pot shouldn't call the kettle black; they're both equally out of place here.
In any case, before entering EDEN's public network, they'd both have to modify their appearances once more.
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