Ikebukuro Avenue, Tokyo. Net Café—Hudie.
On the surface, it seemed like any other EDEN-focused internet café, offering high-spec network devices for customers wanting to experience EDEN's virtual wonders.
Yet deep within this modest café stood a private VIP room strictly off-limits to outsiders, filled with professional-grade EDEN hardware that far surpassed the so-called "high-spec" machines in the main area.
In reality, as the hidden base for the elusive hacker group Hudie, this special VIP room didn't merely boast superior networking equipment; it was also the permanent haunt of the group's beloved little sister—Erika.
"Hmmm?"
But today, Erika—kneeling before her massive monitor, fingers rapidly tapping across the keyboard—had an uncharacteristically frustrated look on her pale face.
"Just where did Piddomon run off to?"
After yet another fruitless search, Erika, dressed in her usual pale blue pajamas, had no choice but to admit she'd completely lost track of Piddomon.
Even with the help of Keisuke and Leomon, chasing a Digimon who not only knew the network intimately but also had excellent hacking skills had finally pushed Erika to her limits.
Restricted by her frail health, even Erika—the so-called "genius hacker"—had limited "free time" each day.
"Erika? Are you sure you're feeling alright?"
At this moment, a lively Wormmon suddenly popped onto the screen, peering worriedly at Erika.
"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"
Erika absentmindedly patted her cheeks, but quickly realized something and shot Wormmon a sharp glare.
"If you go tattling to my brother again, I'll lock you up in the dark room. And I mean it this time, you little traitor!"
Only when Wormmon shrank back timidly, clearly frightened, did Erika nod in satisfaction.
"That's more like it. You're my partner—why are you always secretly telling on me?"
Strong-willed and fiercely independent, Erika hated worrying her family or friends about her condition—even though their concern came from genuine care.
"Erika is seriously a demon…"
Wormmon eyed Erika nervously, hesitating before finally muttering quietly enough to almost escape notice.
"Hmm? Did you say something?!"
Yet Erika seemed to have superhuman hearing, instantly glaring again at Wormmon, who almost panicked enough to close the screen.
"N-Nothing, nothing at all! Wormmon was just…just…"
Wormmon struggled desperately for a proper excuse but failed miserably.
"Hmph."
Satisfied at last, Erika shot the pitiful Digimon a smug glance, determined to teach this little traitor a lesson.
"Wait, what's that?"
After finishing her little "lesson," Erika suddenly noticed a strange patch of distortion—something resembling pixelated static—appearing inexplicably on her screen.
"A virus?"
Immediately sending the alert to Keisuke, Erika disregarded Wormmon completely, quickly activating her specialized antivirus program.
"Wait…not a virus?"
Erika stared at the strange pixelation that clearly eroded her display yet exhibited none of the normal traits of a typical virus. She abruptly widened her eyes in surprise as realization struck.
"Wormmon!"
"Understood! (｡･ω･｡)ゞ"
All signs of Wormmon's earlier sulkiness vanished instantly. Without hesitation, the Digimon dove directly into Erika's memory server.
...
A few minutes earlier, at Kowloon Level 5 in the EDEN Free Area.
After confirming Piddomon wasn't deeper within the area, Keisuke had no choice but to return the way he'd come. He suspected he'd been tricked—that Piddomon had never actually entered Kowloon Level 5 at all. Instead, it probably hid at the entrance, amusedly watching them chase after nothing.
And from the reports Erika had sent over, this seemed all but certain. Apart from the initial entrance, no traces of Piddomon had appeared anywhere else.
Forget actual data evidence—Keisuke and Leomon hadn't even glimpsed a shadow, clearly indicating that Piddomon hadn't moved beyond the entry point from the start.
"Piddomon definitely tricked us!"
Thus, when Keisuke finally returned to Kowloon Level 5's entrance and saw the residual signs of a recent battle involving Piddomon, he immediately confirmed his suspicions.
"The real question is…what exactly was Piddomon fighting against?"
Leomon's deep, resonant voice interrupted Keisuke's thoughts. Without hesitation, Leomon stepped protectively in front of his partner, cautiously eyeing the deceptively calm entrance.
"It was an Eater!"
As two holographic screens flickered into existence, cartoonish representations of Erika and Wormmon appeared directly before them.
[Erika]:It was one of those Eaters we encountered earlier. That's what Piddomon was fighting just now.
[Wormmon]:(งò ᴥ ó)ง Wormmon worked really, really hard for five whole minutes to find that info from files about Makoto Yamashina, you know!
[Erika]:(╯°Д°)╯︵ ┻━┻ Those were files I sorted ages ago! You barely searched at all!
[Wormmon]:Also, Erika was bullying me again just now. Keisuke, Leomon, you have to help Wormmon! (｡•́︿•̀｡)"
[Erika]:You're not even listening to me, are you?!
"…"
Keisuke and Leomon exchanged troubled glances, both feeling a creeping headache building. Ever since Wormmon joined the group, these headaches seemed to come more frequently.
And since when had Erika picked up Wormmon's habit of using emoticons?
Crash—!
Just as Keisuke and Leomon pondered how to calm Erika and Wormmon down, a sudden, sharp noise shattered their conversation.
Immediately afterward, a grotesque, black-and-white tentacle appeared through the entrance, writhing and twisting as though some monstrous thing had descended from another dimension.
[Erika]:(￣口￣|||) Ah crap! I totally forgot—that Eater is still hanging around! Wormmon, this is all your fault!
[Wormmon]:Σ(ﾟДﾟ;) Wormmon forgot too! Leomon, Keisuke, hurry and run!