Chen Ze initially assumed he'd simply skipped a step in reincarnation, which led him to be reborn into this near-future human society.
After all, from historical developments to technological advancements, this world seemed to extend directly from the human trajectory of his previous life—almost precisely depicting humanity several decades in the future.
But eight years ago, when Chen Ze first encountered a practical application of VR technology—Cyberspace EDEN—he realized that this wasn't just "the future."
Especially upon discovering that EDEN technology originated from the Far East—Japan—Chen Ze became certain this was a world straight out of an anime, novel, or perhaps a game.
Fortunately, Chen Ze was never the type to wallow in melancholy. Naturally open-minded, within days he readily accepted the possibility of being just a minor side character or cannon fodder in someone else's story.
In truth, sixteen years of life had already allowed Chen Ze to integrate comfortably into this new world.
Aside from occasionally trying to find ways to return to his original world, nothing about him stood out as abnormal.
An ordinary birth, a middle-class family, typical schooling…
It was as if Chen Ze was simply reliving his adolescence—only this time, he had enough time and clarity to plan his future.
Before encountering EDEN, his original plan had been to make up for the regrets from his previous life. He'd explore and learn all that interested him, get into a top-tier university, and maybe find a girlfriend—one who wasn't necessarily beautiful but at least agreeable.
Yet upon discovering the cross-century marvel of virtual reality that was EDEN, he immediately poured most of his time and energy into it, aiming to uncover the "truth" behind this world.
Luckily, Chen Ze's family in this life was comfortably upper-middle class, and being an only child allowed him enough resources and freedom—as long as he kept up with his studies—to dive deeply into EDEN.
Of course, following traditional Chinese family values, the money Chen Ze could freely manage wasn't substantial. Still, it was enough for him to begin exploring the virtual network.
Just like the birth of the original Internet, as EDEN's popularity soared, more and more people joined this emerging electronic world.
Consequently, various individuals and groups emerged who maliciously hacked networks and invaded personal terminals.
Compared to the traditional Internet, EDEN's virtual space had far greater freedom, and cross-network criminal tracking came at a higher cost. Thus, quite a few troublemakers became legendary figures known as "hackers."
Chen Ze, who spent his free time studying EDEN network technology, was among them—though he had little interest in cracking software servers or stealing user data.
Rather than venting his emotions in this lawless virtual space, Chen Ze preferred simply exploring and wandering freely within it.
From his perspective, if the traditional Internet had various limitations, then EDEN had transcended them completely, shifting virtual entertainment from mere mental stimuli to physical experiences.
Completely digitizing one's height, weight, and date of birth—constructing an avatar nearly indistinguishable from reality—and enjoying experiences impossible in the physical world: that was what Chen Ze pursued.
Standing in Antarctica to gaze at pyramids, viewing Earth from satellite orbit, or even personally taking part in virtual game movies…
As long as you mastered the right technology, you could become a god within EDEN.
Especially in these early days of EDEN's rise, hackers like Chen Ze were pioneers—the original gods of this space.
"Too bad this technology seems to have some hidden risks. No wonder the country still hasn't fully embraced it."
With a faint sigh, Chen Ze touched his newly purchased specialized EDEN visor, silently mourning the large sum of money he'd just spent.
If he were in Japan, where EDEN was already widely available, such login equipment would cost next to nothing. Large-scale EDEN terminals, akin to internet cafés, were commonplace there.
Not like now—he'd had to spend a year's worth of allowance to buy this hacked device that couldn't even officially connect online, and even then, he'd only obtained it through an overseas purchasing channel.
"Hacking, bootlegging, free riding—always seems to be our national character. Wonder how many years it'll take this time to officially legalize it."
Deciding not to dwell further, Chen Ze skillfully put on the EDEN visor, logging into the virtual world he'd eagerly awaited.
When Chen Ze opened his eyes again, a huge logo written in Japanese appeared before him.
Chen Ze knew this was the exclusive logo of EDEN's original developers—or rather, its discoverers—Kamishiro Enterprises.
Under normal procedures, after clicking this logo, he'd automatically connect to the EDEN network, and an avatar based on his entered personal data would be generated, ready to explore the digital realm.
Unfortunately, this was China. Never mind the lack of widespread EDEN adoption—Chen Ze simply didn't have the necessary detailed identity data.
Luckily, he'd prepared beforehand. On this cracked EDEN device, he didn't need to input any identity data; instead, he loaded a previously prepared false identity: "Pale Wargod."
"Hey, chuuni, you're finally online!"
A snowflake-like data distortion flashed past, and Chen Ze found himself standing in a dim, modest-sized virtual space.
"How many times have I said, don't call me chuuni!"
Chen Ze turned his head, glanced at the fox crouching beside him, and spoke with mild annoyance.
"Naming yourself 'Wargod'—if that's not chuuni, then what is?"
In response to Chen Ze's complaint, the fox showed a distinctly human-like smirk, as naturally as a human speaking.
In fact, it was indeed a person—or rather, a hacker.
A powerful hacker who had somehow infiltrated Chen Ze's private, self-built server.
If not for this intruder's hacking skills vastly exceeding Chen Ze's, he'd have kicked the fox out long ago.
"I mean, don't you ever sleep or something? Why are you always on my computer?"
This private server was built on Chen Ze's personal computer—it wasn't left running 24/7 like real servers.
Thus, Chen Ze was puzzled how this guy, who always appeared as a fox, kept beating him here every time.
"That's a secret~"
The fox's face maintained its signature grin, seemingly oblivious to Chen Ze's irritation, and it spoke in a deliberately mysterious tone.
"So, what are you planning to hack this time?"
"Want a new avatar?"
"I've just gotten my paws on some really interesting data."