Ark Simulator: Don't I Have No Physical Body?

After gradually realizing Su Rui's personality, Maria stopped rushing to work on the armor.

Volume 5, Chapter 248: I Need a Break Too

"Are you making sandwiches?" Su Rui asked, somewhat puzzled, as she watched Maria sausages and preparing bread.

"Hmm, sandwiches taste great hot too. Besides, we don't have any extra ingredients at home right now, so could you make do with this for now?"

Maria was a little embarrassed. Surely Su Rui, who could earn 70,000 yuan just by making a couple of casual phone calls, wouldn't be interested in sandwiches?

Su Rui roughly understood Maria's thoughts and said in an annoyed tone:

"What are you thinking? Dude, it's not like you've never suffered before. What's wrong with sandwiches? Sandwiches are delicious, of course. It's nice to have something better, but it's not unacceptable if you don't. Don't overthink it."

"Okay, I understand." Maria couldn't help but smile happily.

"Okay, stop thinking about it. I'll just make one more call today, the last one, then I'm going to rest."

Although collecting and integrating information was easy for Su Rui, the urge to slack off was irresistible. Sometimes people can be so lazy that they don't even want to eat. Su Rui felt that she had already tried her best.

Maria nodded, then, seeing the screen in her field of vision, realized that Su Rui had already started dialing, and couldn't help but panic. "Now? I'm still making food~"

"This call won't take long, it'll be quick."

Maria nodded, composed herself, and prepared for the conversation to begin.

The target of this conversation is a mercenary, the kind who works alone in the city.

The call connected quickly, and a mature female voice came from the other end:

"Hello? What's up?" Maria glanced at the other person's information and nodded.

"I'm Miss Coriander, a middleman. I have a job for you: steal a box of smuggled goods. The pay is good. How about it? Want to do it?"

"Um, exactly where? What kind of goods are they, and where should they be delivered after we receive them?"

The female mercenary on the other end of the phone was straightforward and didn't ask many questions, only some necessary information.

Maria provided the information based on the data provided by Su Rui.

Although the Armorless Union secretly controls the city, this organization generally doesn't get involved in minor skirmishes, so there are actually quite a few mercenaries and middlemen involved.

The mercenary's job was to help Maria steal or kill anyone who stood in the way of a gang smuggling in a batch of high-end alloys intended for weapon manufacturing. The quantity was small, enough to fit in a suitcase, but it was enough to prepare armor and weapons for Maria.

As for how to harvest her, the mercenaries will place her in a specific location. With Su Rui's Scanning Vision, it will be guaranteed that Maria will not be followed or noticed by the mercenaries.

Furthermore, mercenaries generally don't do this, because middlemen usually have their own subordinates to do the work, and most middlemen don't collect the goods themselves.

After finishing her conversation, Su Rui hung up the phone. Maria, however, asked curiously, "Hiring mercenaries must cost a lot of money, right?"

"It's just that, relatively speaking, most commissions aren't that expensive. For example, this commission isn't actually difficult, so it's worth five thousand."

Maria nodded, and then Su Rui wrote out the list for Maria:

"This is your bill for today. There are two income items, totaling 70,000. There are three expenses: 3,000 for your new tools, 2,000 for the various parts needed to forge the armor, and 5,000 for the materials the mercenaries brought. The total expenses are 10,000."

"Overall, today's net profit is 60,000."

Maria nodded, her tone filled with gratitude and joy. "By the way, how about Su Rui and I split it equally? You can take thirty-five thousand whenever you want."

"What are you thinking? If I really needed it, I wouldn't be polite. It's all yours, and besides, I don't have any physical assets right now, so I have no use for this money."

Maria nodded, then glanced at the kitchen utensils in her hands:

"Alright, the sandwiches are ready, and there's also hot milk. How is Su Rui going to eat?"

"As I said before, I can use your body so I can eat it. Of course, in that case, you won't need to eat, since I'm just using your body and I'm only tasting it."

"I see." Maria nodded, showing no resistance and agreeing to the exchange.

Then, Maria's aura changed, transforming from a vibrant young girl into an aura that subconsciously inspires affection and gentleness.

Maria, who was stuffed into the consciousness space, was stunned for a moment, then blushed slightly. She hadn't expected Su Rui to be like this.

Su Rui didn't pay much attention to it, she just tasted the sandwich Maria made, drank the milk, and then wiped the milk from the corner of her mouth:

"Mmm, it tastes great! Your cooking is excellent!"

"Really? That would be wonderful if Su Rui liked it!"

Maria was very happy, then Su Rui switched her back. She looked around in confusion before realizing what had just happened.

The girl touched her stomach and murmured softly, "Suddenly my stomach is full, what a novel experience."

"Hmm, now you should get some rest. What do you usually do?"

After eating, Su Rui relaxed considerably and lingered in Maria's mind, intending to see what Maria would do next.

Maria paused for a moment, then blinked. "I usually secretly practice crafts or read books, but right now my heart is beating so fast, I can't seem to concentrate on either."

"Really? Then you should go and train. Physical fitness is an indispensable part of participating in Knight Tournament."

"Oh, right! I also want to go check out Uncle Kowal's workshop; it'll be good practice!"

Maria nodded, picked up her toolbox from under the bed, and prepared to leave.

"Just carrying this tool bag around doesn't count as exercise. You'll have to keep running laps when you get back."

Although Maria's tool bag was also heavy, this level of training was nothing compared to what was required to stand out in Knight Tournament.

Although there is a certain gap between competitive knights and Campaign Knight, they are not so easy to deal with.

"By the way, what kind of weapon do you like to use?" After all, Knight Tournament are a show to watch, and if Su Rui makes the armor look too over-the-top, it won't be interesting.

Su Rui plans to create armor of the same specifications Patriot, but it won't be as powerful. At the very least, Su Rui doesn't intend for Maria to use the missiles and energy cannon systems in competitions.

That would be too unfair, and a one-sided victory with no suspense wouldn't be fun.

Oh, right, since that's the case, the armor's output also needs to be limited, but if Maria is going to lose, just remove it. Also, set an output adjustment that can be freely adjusted within a certain limit, and there's also an overload mode.

Volume 5, Chapter 249: The Price of Breaking a Promise

"I like using swords, is that okay?" Maria asked, her eyes sparkling with anticipation for Su Rui's answer.

"Of course, any weapon will do. I can even make you a slipper that deals 8,000 damage, as long as you don't feel embarrassed."

"I would never fight in slippers!"

Su Rui's words made Maria feel a little embarrassed, but while getting the information, Su Rui also measured the weight and model of the sword that matched Maria's armor and made some calculations.

"Alright, the information gathering is complete. All that's left is to wait for the materials to arrive so I can give you the blueprints to start the production."

Maria nodded. After finishing dinner, Maria, having nothing else to do, turned on the TV and watched programs to pass the time.

During this time, only a small thing happened: Maria's uncle, Młynar, came home from work. Su Rui showed Maria the image of Młynar opening the door and returning to the Nearl Family Estate from the Scanning Vision.

"Your uncle came home. Is it alright if he found out you were watching TV?"

"Uncle's coming back?!" Maria's ears perked up immediately. She got up alertly, quickly turned off the TV, and ran upstairs to her room.

"... No need to be so nervous, it's just watching TV."

Su Rui asked with some confusion, "You're already so old, are your family still so strict with you?"

"No, that's not it. I just didn't want my uncle to find out I was slacking off. Even though watching TV isn't a big deal, I was still subconsciously a little nervous."

Maria leaned against her bedroom door, one hand pressed against her soft chest, which was heaving violently from her earlier anxiety, and answered Su Rui breathlessly.

"You're not getting enough exercise. You're already out of breath just from going upstairs. You must feel terrible during the Knight Tournament."

"No, I was just a little nervous," Maria retorted somewhat guiltily to Su Rui, then froze, quickly opening the door and running downstairs.

"What happened again? Didn't you leave anything downstairs?"

'I should prepare dinner for my uncle!' Maria thought nervously, almost unconsciously, as if she assumed Młynar was probably already home.

"Generally speaking, this kind of small oversight is nothing, right? Besides, I see that your uncle often works overtime, so he probably doesn't eat at home often, does he?"

'Hmm! But since Uncle is eating at home, I should make things easier for him. Otherwise, it's too tiring for him to cook after a long day, isn't it?'

Maria was having this conversation with Su Rui in her mind as she walked down the stairs to the ground floor. Just as she was halfway down to the first floor, she met the eyes of Młynar had returned home exhausted and was slumped on the sofa, wanting to rest.

"Uncle, Uncle, you're back! Have you had dinner yet? I'll make you some."

Maria greeted Młynar with a somewhat awkward smile.

Upon hearing Maria's words, Młynar's eyes flashed with a hint of relief and relaxation, and he nodded. "I'm counting on you for durability, Maria."

"It's alright, it's alright, I'll make dinner right away. How about sandwiches and milk? Oh, and vegetable soup too." Maria breathed a sigh of relief, quickly went downstairs, and slipped straight into the kitchen.

"No problem, it'll be simple... What were you in such a hurry to come down here for?"

Młynar asked with some doubt, since Maria was, after all, his niece. Młynar was entrusted by his brother to take good care of her, so he naturally had to pay attention to what Maria was doing on a daily basis.

Młynar's question clearly stumped Maria. She couldn't very well say that she knew her uncle was coming back because of Su Rui's reminder, so she wanted to come down and cook something for him after a long day, could she?

Even Maria found the coincidence of these words too much to bear.

So, a slightly flustered Maria instinctively sought help from her trusted Su Rui: 'Help me, Su Rui, tell me what to say in this situation!'

"Hmm, there's a TV show that's suitable for girls playing right now. Just tell him you're going to watch it, and then you can sit on the sofa and watch TV for a while. The show isn't too long and it's pretty interesting."

As Su Rui spoke, a television program appeared in Maria's field of vision, a program from the Wine Gazette media.

' Su Rui, Suri, you're so reliable!'

Maria nodded, and then answered Młynar's question following Su Rui's prompt:

"It's nothing, Uncle. There's just a TV show airing recently that I wanted to watch, and I didn't expect to run into you here."

"... Hmm, remember not to run so fast at home next time."

Młynar nodded, not suspecting much, and simply put down the newspaper to give a few words of advice to her impetuous niece.

"Okay, I understand!" Maria responded cheerfully to Marne's instructions, feeling a sense of relief.

'Great! Uncle didn't suspect anything!'

"You didn't do anything wrong, did you?" Su Rui was a little confused by Maria's nervousness.

'That's not the same thing, and besides, what if my uncle finds out I'm making money by making phone calls?'

Maria felt that Su Rui was being too presumptuous.

"Okay, so you were just subconsciously nervous, weren't you? You didn't do anything wrong, and even if you made money, you made it honestly."

'Getting involved with mercenaries, and the tone of our voice when we called them, isn't that a good thing?'

Maria maintained her naive perspective, though she was somewhat worried.

Su Rui didn't forcefully correct her, but simply reminded her:

"By the way, those two company owners have already gone there, and the contract and everything has been negotiated. Just like I said, Moromon succeeded, while Delmer didn't get the contract. They'll probably call you to let you know about it."

'They acted so quickly, is this what businessmen are like?' Considering that only a few hours had passed since she made the call, Maria couldn't help but feel surprised and impressed by the two men, but also a little puzzled:

"Why is that Delmer still calling us? Didn't he go back on his word and try to scam us?"

"Because he realized that we did have methods, and not just business methods. Even if it wasn't just to grab onto the company's lifeline, he also had to find a way to save his own life, otherwise he was finished."

Su Rui's smug tone, coupled with her icy words, made Maria instinctively shrink back. "Su Rui, you don't really want to...?"

Volume 5, Chapter 250: He didn't just know he was wrong; he knew he was going to die.

"Of course I won't do anything to him, don't worry. After all, I'm still counting on him to pay me the intelligence fee after he makes money."

It's clear that Maria isn't really suited for ruthless things; the current knight girl is a bit too immature.

As Su Rui spoke, her tone suddenly changed. "However, because of his breach of trust, that 50,000 is equivalent to compensation he gave us. The new business information will cost 200,000. Once he earns it, we will deduct it from his account without any negotiation. This is what he deserves."

"Okay, I understand." Maria nodded emphatically. She didn't have a good impression of this kind of guy who took the benefits but didn't keep his word.

Soon, Maria placed Młynar's dinner in front of him. The office worker, exhausted from a long day, put down his newspaper, wearily rubbed his temples, and then thanked Maria.

"Thank you, Maria. You should get some rest too."

"Okay, I understand. Oh, right, I need to make a few phone calls to my friends. Uncle, you can eat first, I've already eaten."

Maria glanced at the incoming call notification that Su Rui had displayed in her field of vision, smiled and greeted Młynar, then walked out of the living room, making a gesture as if she were taking her phone out of her pocket.

Maria's phone conversations, conducted as an intermediary, were all arranged by Su Rui in a way that could not be eavesdropped on or tracked; the phone call was merely a pretense for Młynar.

At that moment, both Delmer and Moromon called Maria. Su Rui answered Moromon's call first, then hung up on the unreliable Delmer: "Let's leave this idiot hanging for a bit; it'll make communication easier later."