Under the moonlit night, two outsiders who had "accidentally" broken into this world dashed forward at full speed.
Only now did Chen Ze realize that his current identity as "Agumon" had brought not merely an appearance change, but an even more exaggerated boost in physical abilities.
If this were simply the virtual network, external appearances simulated from height, weight, age, or gender data wouldn't matter at all.
Because fundamentally, those were merely expressions of data, carrying no particular significance.
Especially for a hacker like Chen Ze—if he so desired, he could easily rewrite his personal data to construct any imagined persona.
But usually, the result of doing so would just make his avatar conspicuous, causing other users to report him immediately.
Unless it was a hacker deliberately flaunting themselves, most hackers hid their true identities carefully, freely roaming cyberspace unnoticed.
However, all these changes were premised solely on existing within the "network."
Even though Chen Ze currently wore this virtual identity of "Agumon," he now genuinely existed in the physical world.
In other words, once "Agumon" transitioned from virtual data to reality, its existence now had to match its original "settings" to some extent.
This directly resulted in Chen Ze's current physical prowess vastly surpassing human limits, essentially indistinguishable from a real Agumon.
Even though he sprinted at a full ten meters per second, Chen Ze's heartbeat remained calm, even relaxed.
Beyond that, Chen Ze discovered his dynamic vision had also greatly improved, allowing him to clearly observe everything around him even while running at extreme speeds.
But if we're talking exaggerated… that one's abilities are truly outrageous!
Thinking this, Chen Ze unconsciously shifted his gaze toward Renamon, who effortlessly leaped from lamppost to lamppost.
Like some mythical ninja, she continuously sprang off streetlights and treetops, running forward with even greater exaggeration than Chen Ze himself.
He could clearly see Renamon was deliberately slowing down just to accommodate his pace—otherwise, she could easily move even faster.
Though thinking carefully, it made sense. Both might be Digimon, but a clear gap still existed between Agumon and Renamon.
Not to mention, his own "Agumon" avatar was provided by Renamon herself—it might've even been one of her prey at some point.
Realizing this, Chen Ze couldn't help but recall what he knew from his previous life about these digital lifeforms called "Digimon."
In the anime and games he remembered, Digimon were fundamentally data-based lifeforms, whose attributes and evolutionary stages depended entirely on the quantity and type of data they absorbed.
Digimon born from informational data became Data-type…
Digimon spawned from viral information became Virus-type…
Digimon created by vaccine data became Vaccine-type…
Aside from the exceedingly rare "Free-type," Data, Virus, and Vaccine Digimon generally balanced and restrained each other.
But such restraints weren't absolute, because besides basic attribute matchups, Digimon could also undergo a transformative ritual called "evolution."
Much like mythical structures such as the Kabbalah's Tree of Life or a biological evolutionary tree, Digimon similarly adhered to a hierarchical progression:
The Digi-Egg represented the foundational layer, symbolizing the birth of a Digimon.
Just as all carbon-based lifeforms consisted of water and proteins, Digi-Eggs were essentially indistinct—still-restructuring data.
[Baby I (Fresh)]: At this stage, Digimon had their first primitive Digital Core, adapting initially to the Digital World's complicated information, shaping various appearances accordingly.
In essence, Digimon at this stage were newborns, virtually defenseless.
[Baby II (In-Training)]: Was a step further: beyond adapting to digital information, Digimon began their struggle for survival within the Digital World.
Limbs, teeth, claws—all manner of offensive or defensive organs started developing at this stage.
Reaching Rookie level indicated a Digimon had fully differentiated into a unique and complete lifeform, capable of surviving independently, no longer weak and defenseless like their Baby stages.
At Rookie level, after absorbing sufficient external data, the Digital Core within a Digimon would mutate, producing various abilities inconceivable to ordinary lifeforms.
Beyond the Rookie stage were even stronger evolutions: Champion, Ultimate, and finally Mega—beings virtually equivalent to divine entities.
And according to Chen Ze's memory, "Agumon" was precisely a Rookie-level Digimon whose Digital Core had absorbed online data related to flames and dinosaurs.
Speaking of Digital Cores… what exactly are those?
In anime or games, a Digital Core might have been an insignificant "setting."
But for Chen Ze, now literally transformed into an Agumon, it was an unavoidable detail.
Precisely due to the Digital Core's existence, Digimon could adapt to, and absorb, chaotic digital information, converting it into nourishment to grow and evolve.
According to Chen Ze's understanding, the Digital Core should be something akin to a control program—a central system capable of selecting beneficial data from countless streams, facilitating evolution.
Otherwise, there'd be no explanation for the harmonious evolution of Digimon, instead of degenerating into self-destructive mutations.
Some kind of intelligent program, perhaps?
After a moment's consideration, Chen Ze reached his conclusion regarding the Digital Core.
It should function as an intelligent, DNA-like program, capable of screening and assimilating useful data for its own growth.
However, unlike biological evolution which required extensive time, Digimon could rapidly evolve due to the massive volumes of readily accessible data online.
Theoretically, if one could manually control this 'Digital Core,' you could interfere directly with a Digimon's evolution path.
Yet that raises a new problem—how exactly could I interfere with the Digital Core?
And more importantly—how can I guarantee my own selection would actually be more effective than the Digital Core's own judgment?
Dark evolutions, mistaken paths—these had always existed in the branching paths of Digimon evolution. Chen Ze wasn't arrogant enough to assume his "wisdom" could surpass countless Digimon whose very lives had determined the most viable evolutionary routes.