Ark Simulator, Aren't I Incorporeal?

Volume One: Fodder Will Always Be Fodder

Ren Dong: "All right, I'm sorry about what happened earlier. After all, his personality is a bit..."

Ren Dong's ghost: "What's wrong with my personality? Can't I say a few things about fodder who got ganged up on two against one and still couldn't fight back?"

Lappland: "Interesting. Aren't you afraid I'll drag you out?"

Ren Dong's ghost: "You're so amazing, so find me if you can."

Lappland: "You can connect to Ren Dong's earpiece through the network and talk to her. In a place like Syracuse, you can't be far away, can you? Finding you won't be difficult. Just wait."

Ren Dong could not help but remind him helplessly, All right, Su Rui, stop teasing them. What if they really come looking for us again?

"They can't exactly pull me out of your brain and beat me up, can they? I don't even know how that would work. How could they possibly do it?"

Su Rui paid no heed to the concern in Ren Dong's words. After all, he had no physical form at all. What could Lappland or Texas use against him?

Who knows? Maybe anything is possible.

Ren Dong glanced at the materialization progress in her vision, which had already reached forty-two percent, and could not help curling her lips into a smile.

"I don't think that's possible."

Su Rui sounded somewhat dejected, but he quickly perked up again.

"All right, looks like we won't be able to set off tonight, right? Those two didn't cause much damage, but I don't think you can leave right now."

No. We can leave the cleanup and the family's security to the others. I'll still carry out the mission tonight.

Ren Dong shook her head. Then, recalling what Su Rui had said when they first met, she could not help smiling as she reassured him.

Don't worry. The families of Syracuse can afford their lighting bills. It won't stop you from seeing what you want to see.

"Let's hope so. Neither Scanning Vision nor infrared vision can properly capture all of a person's traits. Nothing compares to observing them with your own eyes."

Though he held some resentment toward Ren Dong's plan, Su Rui did not stop her and instead began preparing.

"I searched the network for that family's recent activities. They didn't leave behind many traces. All I can tell is that their transactions have become rather frequent lately."

Which means they may be preparing for something.

Su Rui's words only strengthened Ren Dong's resolve to act that night. Most Syracuse families followed the rules most of the time, but that was merely for Mrs. Sicilian to see.

If everything could be settled before Mrs. Sicilian intervened, then no matter how extreme the methods, the families of Syracuse would not mind. As a member of a family herself, Ren Dong understood that deeply.

"Still, maybe to show they aren't suspicious, they're holding a banquet tonight and invited lots of people. I found an invitation. Maybe we can blend in."

A banquet? Then lots of unrelated people will be mixed in.

Ren Dong frowned. If they were members of the opposing family, then killing a few unimportant non-targets would not matter much. But if outsiders were involved, she would need to judge things more carefully.

No. In fact, perhaps they guessed we would make a move, which is why they want to use the banquet to confuse our vision.

"Can you use firearms? We could just blow his head off while their family head is giving a speech."

Unfortunately, I'm not skilled in Originium Arts, so I can't use firearms.

"That really is a shame. What about explosives? I think explosives would work nicely too."

They might harm the invited guests below the stage. Not suitable.

Ren Dong rejected Su Rui's suggestion. To stop him from continuing to indulge his imagination, she spoke up.

All right, let's get ready to leave. There's no need to think so much. Why not just do it like when we infiltrated the Midal Lineage?

"I don't mind. It's just that plain infiltration feels a little too old-fashioned."

Su Rui had only infiltrated somewhere with Ren Dong once before, yet he was already tired of the method?

He really was fickle enough.

Ren Dong's lips twitched, but she said nothing more. She simply organized her equipment, took her blades, retrieved the invitation Su Rui had color-printed from the printer, and headed to the garage.

"I forged your invitation. You're now a famous fashion model. Those guards definitely won't recognize you that easily anyway. We'll just blend right in."

I know, but what if someone recognizes me?

"I'll mark them in your vision. There's plenty of information online, and I can access their cameras. Anyone who might recognize you will have a little white dot over their head. Just keep an eye out."

Mm. Ren Dong nodded, then realized something. You can access cameras? Then can you turn them around?

"Most cameras are fixed. I can interfere with their footage, but if they don't have a rotation function, there's nothing I can do."

Su Rui spread his hands in Ren Dong's mind. "Besides, Syracuse's weather is damp and cold. The circuitry here breaks down easily. Even if they do have rotation functions, they're probably worn out and malfunctioning already."

Is that so?

"It is. Honestly, I'm surprised this weather hasn't caused more energy failures. All I can say is that this thing called Originium is absurd. A lot of your technology looks a little... too crude."

Do you have some advanced technology in your hands?

"Of course not. But with my current computing power, I can directly design better weapons."

For example?

"Give me money, and I'll build you a railgun capable of shattering an entire large Mobile City with one shot."

No. I have no use for that kind of weapon, and the cost of it is probably beyond what a single family could afford, isn't it?

"True. At the current energy conversion efficiency, the energy needed for one shot would be enough to keep a Mobile City moving for three months."

Then say something practical. Do you have any technology that can directly improve my combat ability?

"I do, but I don't have it on hand."

Then that means you don't have it.

"Not having it on hand and not having it at all are completely different things."

Can't you access the internet?

"I can, but my monitoring range only covers one Mobile City. If something farther away disconnects from the network, I can't reach it."

Volume One: The Bloody Banquet Was About to Begin

In truth, Ren Dong did not expect Su Rui to produce any technology that could improve her combat ability. Her current strength was more than enough for her.

Revealing weapons far beyond those of her peers would instead provoke competition and cause even more chaos.

Ren Dong had only wanted to tease Su Rui. However, after the topic ended, Su Rui still could not let go of the plan he had mentioned at the start.

"Tell me, is there any way to actually build the railgun I mentioned? I've already prepared the blueprints and schematics. They can fit directly with Terra's existing technology. We could build it right away."

That's dangerous, Su Rui. It's best not to bring out technology far beyond this era on Terra.

Even though Ren Dong was an assassin, she could see how terrifying Su Rui's weapon was. Once such a weapon appeared, it would inevitably cause chaos.

Yet Su Rui was still conflicted about it. "Of course I know it can't happen overnight. We could start by designing something else, like a cool giant mech."

Then several more design drawings appeared before Ren Dong's eyes. "Around thirty meters tall, a single-pilot mech loaded with all kinds of weapons, with overwhelming combat power and nearly endless endurance. Isn't that great?"

...That kind of weapon really shouldn't appear on Terra.

Just one glance made Ren Dong's head ache. If that weapon appeared on Terra, my assassination skills would become a joke.

"Huh? Then forget it. At least for now, I shouldn't think about it. But even with mechs, you could still sneak in and assassinate people, couldn't you?"

With a weapon like that, would there still be any need for little tricks like assassination?

Ren Dong's question made Su Rui fall silent for a moment before he nodded. "You're right. If I built something like that, I'd be making an enemy of the whole world, then beat the whole damn world by myself."

Su Rui was saying weird things again. Ren Dong smiled, feeling much more at ease. At least he had given up on the idea of actually building such absurd weapons.

They arrived at the banquet venue in a sedan driven by the female driver. After presenting the invitation Su Rui had prepared and having it inspected by the greeters, Ren Dong naturally entered the opposing family's grounds.

Are all those white dots in Scanning Vision people who know me? There are far too many.

"Who do you think you are? You may be an assassin, but you're still half a family heir, aren't you? Of course people pay attention to you."

Su Rui casually spoke as he laid out a route. "This route leads to the kitchen. Want to grab something to eat while we're at it?"

I'm not hungry right now.

Ren Dong instinctively declined, but considering Su Rui's personality, she added, A little bit wouldn't hurt.

"That's more like it. The pastries here should taste pretty good. And don't worry, I can guarantee they aren't poisoned. I scanned them all. The only possibility is you poisoning someone else."

Well, thank you very much.

"Come to think of it, Syracuse is really strange. A group of people who all know one another are carrying out assassinations, and they all know the others could try to assassinate them at any time. Yet under those circumstances, you somehow maintain surface-level stability."

Mrs. Sicilian has contributed greatly to Syracuse's current stability.

"So what was Syracuse like before? Don't tell me there were scenes of smashing, looting, arson, and mafia shootouts in the streets everywhere?"

It wasn't that exaggerated... At least, not as frequent as you say. To preserve their present and future interests, both sides try their best not to disrupt ordinary people's lives.

"I think gang shootouts alone already make it impossible for people to live properly."

Ren Dong only smiled. Syracuse was like that. Its chaos could be explained in a sentence or two, but that would not solve anything.

Soon, following the route Su Rui provided, Ren Dong headed toward the kitchen.

Although it was strange for her to enter the kitchen dressed as a guest, none of the attendants paid Ren Dong any attention.

Or rather, even in the kitchen, there were not many chefs present.

"No chefs are cooking."

Banquets like this don't serve hot dishes that lose their flavor after cooling down.

Ren Dong smiled, casually picked up a piece of chocolate and put it into her mouth, then continued walking outside.

Next, we should find this family's head, right?

"Yes. He has quite a few guards around him. You probably can't kill him without anyone noticing unless you're extremely good at throwing weapons."

No need. This time, his bodyguards will die with him.

Ren Dong touched the hidden weapon on her body, her tone icy. After all, this already counted as a declaration of war.

This was not a minor friction like the last time with the Midal Lineage. Even at a banquet, she would take his life.

"That's wonderful."

Su Rui cheered, then directly marked the opposing family head's figure in red in Ren Dong's vision, with the locations of the surrounding guards highlighted as well.

"They aren't at the venue right now. They're wandering around inside the family estate instead?"

Maybe he never intended to give a speech in the first place. He's simply holding a banquet and inviting guests here.

Ren Dong smiled and selected the route that suited her best from the several options Su Rui provided.

She passed through a corridor guests would rarely enter, avoiding everyone's line of sight, and reached the area that truly counted as the family's interior. Ren Dong temporarily hid in a small room.

"I'll directly interfere with their cameras and make sure your image doesn't appear in them."

Why didn't you do that last time?

"Because it would've been too overpowered in the game and ruined the fun."

Then why are you helping me this much now?

Perhaps because their relationship had grown closer. Su Rui cared more about her safety than the so-called rules of the game.

Ren Dong could not help smiling, then heard Su Rui say:

"Because we're about to go on a killing spree. That's more fun than following the rules to assassinate people. This is when it's fun to slaughter everyone invincibly!"

The smile vanished from Ren Dong's lips. Expressionlessly, she nodded. He was only talking tough. Su Rui definitely cared about my safety. And since he told me that, he must be saying it this way just to tease me.

Though she made excuses in her heart for Su Rui's words and actions, Ren Dong had the good memory of an assassin.

She decided to remember this. Once Su Rui's materialization was complete, she would settle the score with him properly.

With that thought in mind, Ren Dong glanced at the materialization progress stalled at forty-two percent and curled her lips in a cold smile.

After this slaughter, the materialization progress should rise higher, right?

Volume One: Perfect Infiltration

This time, the opponents Su Rui and Ren Dong faced would not be easy to avoid. They were on an entirely different level from the Midal Lineage.

The Midal Lineage had been unprepared because they had not expected the Venice Family to act so quickly. This time, however, the family clearly understood that what it had done was dangerous.