Chapter 1316

NO．220：Let Me See Your Universe

When code was no longer just a string of numbers on a screen, no longer just weak signals flowing through a circuit board, but a tangible thing that could actually be touched, the Holy Terra Federation had officially entered the microscopic realm, standing at an electronic frontier that many extraterrestrial technologies could not reach.

Just like the federation's other technology trees, this was naturally the work of a transmigrator, but what truly caused this technology to explode and spread widely was a group of unique digital lifeforms.

【Digimon/Digital Monsters】

Not only appearing in small independent game consoles like Takumasuko's, but truly stepping into reality—these digital monsters, whose forms varied greatly and were even humanoid to the point where they shouldn't be called "beasts," upon widespread manifestation, declared that part of the truth, which some had cautiously monopolized, had now become evident.

The network world, long unvalued, was actually an existing microscopic world, and there had already emerged from it a biomass that could be called massive, living within it, and even able to interfere with reality at the slightest opportunity...

Interfering with reality...

The more it was explored, the more the threat naturally became impossible to ignore for the various countries that had not yet united at the time.

But for scholars, it was the microscopic data world that reproduced many geographical features of reality, as well as physical and source-energy laws, that was the fact that drove them even more mad.

Especially the digital monsters that were supposed to be abstract concepts where data entered reality.

They could still maintain their form in the computer world, and could even wield abilities resembling source energy, yet utterly failing to conform to any technique framework's norms—speaking them into existence, producing them with a flick of the wrist, these miraculous abilities.

They carried a meaning that neither source-energy studies nor physics could account for.

Compared to those who, upon arriving here, found their powers somewhat altered, or even some unlucky ones who could no longer use their original abilities as transmigrators.

These abilities were fully applicable in reality—whether through verbal inquiry or actual testing, there was no reduction in output for these digital monsters, thus declaring to all scholars—that they/he/she/it/them were residents of this world, just like everyone else.

They merely lived in another undisturbed piece of land.

They merely followed laws that earth scholars had never noticed before.

And that land, those laws, and those living beings themselves—everything, everything—originated from the internet jointly created by earth's inhabitants.

All websites, all code, all vocabulary, along with the culture contained within those words, could be said to form the underlying rules of the digital world, especially those words once entered into network data and extensively browsed.

They directly constructed the digital core of the digital monsters—Barumon's "Baru," Witchmon's "Witch"—these are all things from human internet culture, and more fundamentally, those are the names of the digital monsters in their growth and juvenile stages.

The "Agu" in Agumon/Asian Beast/アグモン essentially is the onomatopoeia "アグアグ" in the Far Eastern pronunciation, describing the sound of biting down.

And the "Gabu" in Gabumon/Beast of Gabu/ガブモン is also the onomatopoeia "ガブガブ" in Far Eastern pronunciation, used to describe the sound "gloop-gloop."

Most low-level digital monsters use these very basic onomatopoeic words as concepts; only upon reaching maturity might they possess affixes with relatively higher completion serving as the core.

From simple to complex, such development also parallels the history of human names in an uncanny way.

This involves a piece of lukewarm knowledge.

That is, early human surnames, and later the popularization of given names—whether East or West—originated from geographical features, occupations, tribal totems, and later evolved into relatively complex meanings.

Clearly, as a byproduct born of fortune and misfortune in the process of human civilization's development, the digital world also stands on the shoulders of giants.

It directly omitted the process of cultural accumulation, used all the content humanity employed when building the internet, and presented to all humans arriving here a worldview with understanding costs far lower than those of other worlds.

It could be said to be more suitable for explorers with childlike physiques in every sense.

—Though it is said that children are indeed the most suitable age to become digital monster tamers, the dangers of the digital world are obviously such that even adults would find them hard to handle.

Before the formation of the Holy Terra Federation, each country still had to specially allocate a large sum of funds to maintain their respective supported professional departments.

Specifically responsible for researching and stabilizing the digital world.

Even after the federation's formation, armed unification, and no longer worrying about problems caused by digital crises, those official departments were not disbanded; in fact, they had earlier supported policies for civilian digital monster tamers to start businesses, and additionally offered some very targeted preferential conditions regarding academic handling.

Clearly, they did not overlook the potential and danger of the many civilian child digital monster tamers.

Even some organizations that studied digital monsters and the digital world through illegal means, attempting to profit from it, had not a few cases of being officially recruited, directly laying the foundation for many products later created around the electronic world.

Even deep immersion games were divided into reformists, who innovated by device framework, and traditionalists, who carved out territory using the data-world framework.

Aomo and Sai are of the former.

The reformists' deep immersion games are very suitable for those with no knowledge of the data world and no desire to directly contact it, although they will be sneered at by traditionalists as "fake things that deceive the senses," but the latter indeed have a bit of stubbornness.

Because nowadays, the reformists have also innovated in hardware to the point of nearly being able to shed the "simulation" title.

By comparison, the traditionalists, due to the recent years' lack of popularity in the network world's professionalism and corresponding reduction in enthusiasts, show a clear break in player numbers.

Gradually, there is a trend of "aging out."

It naturally cannot truly age out, after all, digital monsters are also part of the daily scenery for many federation citizens, and there will always be a group of children paying tribute to the legendary digital monster Ukkomon.

Liking digital monster companionship, growing up and willing to work in digital-related fields, they will naturally become fresh blood for traditionalist games, and also add a bit of small competitive pressure to the Twilight Sea Detective Agency.

"Really?"

Aomo asked that red-haired youth who not long ago had the Platinum Nose Slime Beast deliver goods for him, but now was being chased and beaten with a broom by a Witchmon.

Before going to find Electronic Gomora, he had helped him, after all, although Aomo could now properly face everything related to the digital domain, it did not mean he could immediately become an expert.

He had learned the grasp and use of the Digital Soul from the Xiangyu siblings; to say that in the electronic world above the digital world, he kidnapped people for security—well, that would definitely require calling in a more reliable technician.

"What? You say the Witchmon is also a technician?"

"Expertise has its specialization; in the electronic world's domain, the Witchmon can only rely on its instinct as a research-type digital monster, as one-third of a hanged man, sitting at the same table as early Zeta Ultraman."

"But now, even a soulless program guard is just as cool a machine body, and can be sent to Electronic Gomora, who has no adoptive father, already in hand after one hour."

After parting ways again with Sai Luo's small group big mouth, Aomo Lindun re-established contact with Xiangyu Takuha's purpose, of course not to let the Witchmon review the feel of broom-beating again.

"Of course it's true! Look at these guys from the Steel Empire—they just cooperate with human companies, reduce the agency's commissioned numbers, and that's it, while increasing our operational difficulty!"

"Indeed, can't you use your invincible Platinum Nose Slime Beast to summon the digital monsters and wipe them all out?"

"... Can this be done?"

Having grown accustomed to the digital world's PVP, where one is easily beaten into a digital egg, the famous digital monster tamer in the circle, Xiangyu Takuha, naturally had no objection to sweeping everything away, only worrying about whether it would break the law.

"Although one can roam freely in the digital world, in the real world one still needs to be a bit careful."

"Wait a moment, roughly ten or so minutes later, we can do this."

Aomo said while speaking, while gazing at the mechanical-system digital guards gathered not far away, then turned and waved at this side.

"Come follow, and guarantee that no digital monster can witness anything."

He is the instigator who returned to the scene to observe, and at the same time, feeling that the time was about right, the one lying in ambush to confirm the first reaction.

And what he had to do, in short, was:

Obey me and let me interview you!!