EDEN Free Area, Kowloon Lv. 4.
In the chaotic, lawless depths of the network, just moments after the young hacker and Keisuke had left, Chen Ze and Renamon arrived here in a jump.
But unlike the young hacker who'd arrived calmly, Chen Ze and Renamon looked rather pitiful after escaping Snowden. Chen Ze even appeared openly in his Agumon form.
"Huff… huff…"
Breathing heavily after their near-death escape, Agumon and Renamon exchanged a glance, then simultaneously burst into laughter.
"That was thrilling!" they both said at once.
Despite different personalities, experiences—even belonging to entirely different "species"—they spoke in perfect sync, clearly reflecting their mutual understanding.
"My only regret is, it looks like your plan completely failed," Renamon said lightly.
Whether it was rescuing those reckless hackers or trying to capture the Eater, Chen Ze could be said to have failed in both respects.
"I did what I could. I can't save those idiots determined to die."
Contrary to Renamon's expectations, though Chen Ze was somewhat regretful he couldn't rescue everyone, he showed no sign of negativity.
Because from beginning to end, Chen Ze knew one thing clearly—he was no savior, just an ordinary person doing whatever was within his power.
Forcing hackers offline, battling the Eater—all were merely attempts to remedy his own "mistake."
But once the situation reached the point of no return, Chen Ze wouldn't risk himself for hackers whose curiosity exceeded even cats.
In this respect, he and Renamon were exactly alike.
Yet Renamon was more extreme in prioritizing her survival; unless absolutely necessary, she would never willingly put herself at risk again—such was the painful lesson taught by her excessive curiosity.
Chen Ze differed slightly; he also valued his life greatly, but he was willing, within his capability, to steer things toward a better outcome.
Despite this difference, both shared a fundamental value: they treasured their lives deeply.
"Besides, who said my plan completely failed?"
Thinking of this, Agumon gave Renamon a slightly smug grin and continued,
"Let's not even mention those hackers I forced offline—when it comes to capturing the Eater, I didn't exactly walk away empty-handed."
Hearing this, Renamon's eyes widened with surprise, undisguised curiosity flashing through her tired expression.
"What did you do?"
Renamon had been curious from the start about what Chen Ze had attempted earlier, wondering why the already humanoid Eater suddenly went berserk.
Theoretically, even if the Eater didn't become stronger after evolving, it shouldn't have abruptly gone berserk.
Even Champion-level Digimon like Numemon or Sukamon, no matter how weak, still had a stable structure surpassing ordinary Rookie Digimon, capable of handling more complex data.
This stability marked the key difference between Champion-level and Rookie-level Digimon—the former had better longevity and evolutionary potential.
For data-based lifeforms, data stability and continuity mattered far more than mere brute strength; without that stability, they wouldn't survive long in the ever-changing Digital World.
To put it plainly, Champion-level Digimon had significantly longer lifespans and far broader evolutionary possibilities.
The Eater, also being a data-based lifeform, should have been no different. Thus, Renamon couldn't grasp what Chen Ze had done to trigger its sudden rampage.
"I originally wanted to rewrite its core programming, but who knew it had some hidden defense mechanism?"
Chen Ze swore the Eater absolutely did not initially have firewall-like or antivirus programs—it had emerged out of nowhere.
After all, the Eater's original ability was to assimilate all data indiscriminately. Even so-called viruses were simply more data for it to consume.
Without intercepting parts of the Eater's source code and adding the Purity Code as a mask, Chen Ze never would've succeeded in tricking its core program or implanting a trojan.
"You really are crazy."
Renamon didn't seem too shocked by Chen Ze's attempt to control the Eater, as if she'd already guessed his intentions. She was simply curious about what exactly happened afterward.
"If we're talking crazy, I still can't beat you."
Chen Ze didn't know what secrets Renamon hid, but he absolutely refused to believe her outward composure and elegance were genuine.
Especially her near-crazed ferocity when pushed to the brink—if not for Chen Ze's timely intervention, she might've already perished with the Eater.
Beneath Renamon's calm, elegant exterior lay a heart filled with restless curiosity, even a slight self-destructive streak.
"Though I didn't succeed in implanting the trojan, at least I obtained fairly complete source code."
Casually pulling open his virtual interface, Chen Ze hid nothing, openly sharing everything he saw with Renamon.
The Purity Code from Mimi…
The original Eater source code downloaded from the hacker…
And part of the evolved Eater's humanoid code captured at the final moment…
These three similar yet distinct codes formed a structure that, in a way, seemed complementary. Even Renamon could see the subtle intricacies at a glance.
"You're planning to create your own 'Digivolution Program,' aren't you?"
Renamon's words pierced directly into Chen Ze's thoughts, expressing not only surprise but a faint admiration.
With a personalized Digivolution Program, Digimon could control their evolutionary paths, even freely evolve or devolve.
This would be an incredible boon for Champion-level Digimon burdened by enormous bodies requiring massive amounts of food to sustain.
"A Digivolution Program?" Hearing Renamon, Chen Ze gave a helpless laugh.
"I'm still far from that. Right now, I don't have the ability to code a complete Digivolution Program."
If it was simply borrowing and combining code fragments, Chen Ze could certainly piece together something from these three sources. But rather than risking an uncontrollable evolutionary tendency, Chen Ze wanted to fully understand the true essence behind Digivolution, then craft a unique program of his own.
"But even though I can't build a full program yet, these codes themselves already have enormous value."
Having formed a rough idea, Chen Ze paused briefly, smiling mysteriously.
"If I really think about it, perhaps I can use them to create something very interesting."
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