Ark Simulator, Don't I Lack a Physical Form?

"Thank you for letting me stay." Su Rui's voice was as gentle as a night breeze in Scroll World. "I know how much you hated it at first."

Xi was silent for a moment, then turned over. "I've just... gotten used to the noise."

Su Rui couldn't help but laugh, "Liar. You actually really enjoy my company."

"Go to sleep," Xi commanded, pulling the blanket over her head, but a smile involuntarily crept onto her lips.

In a corner untouched by moonlight, the flowering tree in the Scroll World swayed gently, its petals drifting down around the almost invisible figure beneath it. Two distinct beings found a strange stability in this secluded space.

Xi's brush was sketching the outline of a bamboo leaf on the rice paper when Su Rui's voice suddenly echoed in her mind, "By the way, someone mentioned you on Rhodes Island earlier."

The brush paused, leaving a small ink dot at the tip of the bamboo leaf. Xi squinted, gently smudged the ink with the brush, and asked casually, "Who?"

"It's your sister, Nian," Su Rui replied cheerfully. "She mentioned you while chatting with some operators in the cafeteria, and I overheard her."

Xi's hand suddenly tightened, and the brush made a "snap" sound as it struggled to break free from the pressure between her fingers. The sky in the Scroll World instantly darkened, and faint thunder rumbled in the distance.

"Nian?" Xi's voice was colder than polar ice. "When did you first come into contact with my sister?"

Su Rui seemed to finally realize she might have stepped on a landmine, and her voice immediately softened. "Uh... it was a few days ago, when you asked me to 'go under the tree,' I slightly... expanded my sensory range?"

"Expand your sensory range?" Xi repeated, enunciating each word clearly, causing the bamboo forest in the Scroll World to distort unnaturally. "You mean, you went to chat with my sister when I wasn't looking?"

"It wasn't intentional!" Su Rui hurriedly explained, "I was just curious about the current situation at Rhodes Island, and then I sensed Nian's consciousness fluctuations... She's a very strong presence, as clear as a lighthouse in the night!"

Xi's lips twitched. This analogy only made her more displeased. She put down the broken brush and crossed her arms over her chest. "So, what did my dear sister say about me?"

Su Rui hesitated noticeably. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"Explain."

"She said..." Su Rui's voice became cautious, "'My shut-in sister is hiding in the painting again and won't come out. This time, she hasn't shown up for who knows how long. I bet she forgot to eat again.'"

A vein bulged on Xi's forehead. The thunder in the Scroll World grew closer.

"Anything else?" she asked coldly.

"Uh... she said that when you were little, you once stayed in your room for days to finish a painting, and eventually fainted from hunger on your easel..." Su Rui's voice trailed off, "She also said that you still haven't gotten rid of that habit..."

Xi suddenly stood up and knocked over the inkstone. Black ink splattered onto the unfinished painting, just like her current mood—a complete mess.

"That talkative one...!" Xi gritted her teeth, her long hair moving without wind, "What else did she tell you? Embarrassing things from my childhood? My life? Or my--"

"She also said you're a genius painter," Su Rui suddenly interjected.

Xi's anger abruptly stopped. "... What?"

"Nian said, although you have an awkward personality, don't like to see people, and are a workaholic..." Su Rui's voice carried a hint of laughter, "You are the most talented painter she has ever met."

She said your Scroll World is more vivid than anyone else's work because it's not just a painting, but a real universe.

Xi fell silent. The thunder in the Scroll World gradually faded away, but the sky remained overcast. She slowly sat back down in her chair, took a new brush from the brush holder, and twirled it between her fingers.

"What else did she teach you?" Xi finally spoke, her voice much calmer but still wary. "My sister loves to instill her crazy ideas in people."

Su Rui laughed, "She did want to teach me some 'interesting things,' like how to use consciousness fluctuations to make everyone on the floor have the same dream, or how to create hallucinations in someone else's tea..."

Xi's calligraphy brush broke again. "I knew it! That bastard!"

"But I refused," Su Rui quickly added, "I told her that my current host is already difficult enough, and doesn't need any more of my years of prank skills."

"Current host?" Xi raised an eyebrow. "I'm not your host." She was still stubbornly refusing to admit it.

"Landlord? Roommate?" Su Rui tried to find the right words. "Anyway, I told Nian that I'm satisfied with our current relationship and don't want to risk upsetting you."

Xi gave a soft "humph," but her expression softened. She waved her hand to wipe away the ink splattered on the painting, and the sky in the Scroll World began to clear.

"Nian also asked me a lot of questions about you," Su Rui continued, "Like what you've been drawing lately, how you're feeling, whether you've been eating on time..."

Xi paused for a moment. "She... cares about these things?"

"Of course," Su Rui's voice warmed.

"How is she?" Xi hesitated for a moment before asking, "Is she alright?"

Su Rui seemed surprised by the sudden question, "She looks great? Full of energy. She's working on a new movie project, something like mechs versus monsters..."

"Typical Nian-style aesthetics." Xi curled her lip, but her tone lacked its usual sharpness. "Violent, noisy, and utterly devoid of substance."

"But when she mentions you, her eyes change," Su Rui whispered, "Like... a mixture of pride and worry."

No, Nian is just a bad older sister who likes to bully her younger sister. No, she doesn't count as an older sister, Xi doesn't admit it.

Xi did not respond, but the brush in her hand finally landed on the paper. She no longer painted landscapes, flowers and birds, but a blurry human figure—the back view of a woman holding a long sword, full of vigor.

"Was that the New Year?" Su Rui asked curiously.

"No." Xi immediately denied it, but then added a few blooming peonies around the humanoid figure—Nian's favorite.

Su Rui wisely refrained from pressing the matter. He quietly "watched" Xi paint until Xi spoke up on her own initiative.

"When we were little," Xi suddenly said, her voice filled with distant memories, "We often drew together. Nian always drew those exaggerated battle scenes, while I preferred landscapes, flowers, and birds."

Su Rui noticed that this was the first time Xi had taken the initiative to share her past. She didn't interrupt, but listened quietly.

"Later we went our separate ways." Xi's writing became sharp. "Nian chose that noisy film career, while I... created this world."

The woman's silhouette in the painting gradually became clearer. Although Xi still refused to admit that it was Nian, the resemblance between them was undeniable.

I only learned a little bit from Volume 9, page 532.

"Those pranks I taught you last year," Xi suddenly changed the subject, "You really didn't learn a single one?"

"Uh..." Su Rui's voice suddenly became guilty, "Maybe... I learned a little bit? Just the smallest kind! Like how to make a teacup look like it has a little spider on it..."

Xi turned her head away; although she couldn't actually "see" Su Rui, the gesture clearly expressed her dissatisfaction.

"But I absolutely won't use it on you!" Su Rui quickly assured her, "I swear!"

"You'd better not try," Xi threatened, but the severity in her tone had diminished considerably, "Or I'll banish you to the most desolate corner of the Scroll World and make you stare blankly at the desert for a month."

But you can't do it. I live in your head. Even though Su Rui thought this, she still didn't make Xi angry.

"Yes, sir," Su Rui replied playfully.

Xi shook her head and continued to refine the painting. Unconsciously, Nian's image had occupied the center of the picture, surrounded by burning flames and blooming flowers, a strange scene of water and fire merging.

"Tomorrow..." Xi hesitated for a moment, "Tomorrow I may have to leave the Scroll World for a while."

"Should I leave?" Su Rui asked again.

Xi thought for a moment and said, "No... you can come along, but try not to make a sound."

"I understand," Su Rui solemnly replied.

Xi put down her paintbrush and looked at the completed painting—her first work with a portrait theme in many years. The figure in the painting turned back and smiled, which was both a provocation and an invitation, and was so lifelike that it seemed as if it would step out of the paper at any moment.

"What else did Nian teach you?" Xi suddenly asked, but this time her tone lacked the previous hostility and instead carried a hint of curiosity.

"Hmm... she taught me how to tell the best hot sauce, saying it's an essential skill for Yan..." Su Rui answered cautiously, "And how to draw mustaches on people while they're asleep..."

Xi let out a sound that was somewhere between a sigh and a soft laugh, "As expected of something my sister would teach."

"But she finally said..." Su Rui's voice softened, "She said if I really want to understand Yan art, I should look at your paintings more."

Xi was stunned. After a moment, she gently rolled up the painting and carefully placed it into a bamboo tube.

Xi stood at the edge of the Scroll World, her fingers lightly touching the barrier leading to the real world.

"Xi," Su Rui's voice suddenly rang in her mind, tinged with a hint of alarm, "Someone is gradually approaching your cabin."

Xi's fingers paused in mid-air, her brows furrowing slightly. "Who?"

"They're Rhodes Island operators," Su Rui replied, her consciousness extending to the outside world through Xi's perception:

"One is named Kroos, Cautus (rabbit), and the other is Lava, Sarkaz sorceress. They're holding something... it looks like a keepsake from the past."

Xi's expression instantly turned cold. She withdrew her hand, her wide sleeves drawing a resolute arc in the air. "I knew that talkative older sister would cause trouble."

The sky in the Scroll World darkened with her changing emotions, and a layer of gray mist shrouded the distant mountains.

Xi turned and walked towards the painting table, a faint light already gathering between her fingers—a sign that she was about to cast a spell.

"Wait," Su Rui realized her intention, "What are you going to do?"

"Since they've come to me with New Year's tokens," Xi said coldly, her fingers tracing complex runes in the air, "I'll send them to visit the Painted World. I just created a new desert scene that no one has 'appreciated' yet."

Su Rui's voice suddenly rose eight octaves. "You're going to lock them inside the painting? Just because they came to see you?"

"It's not a closure," Xi corrected, runes gradually forming at her fingertips, "It's an invitation. Only... there's no set time for departure."

"Xi!" Su Rui's voice was unusually serious. "You can't treat others like this. Kroos and Lava were just following orders; they might not even know about your... special circumstances."

Xi paused for a moment, but quickly continued drawing runes:

"My cabin is surrounded by a protective barrier; ordinary people can't find the entrance at all. The fact that they were able to find it means I gave them specific directions next year. This is clearly yet another instance of my dear sister meddling in other people's business."

Su Rui paused for a moment, seemingly pondering how to persuade the stubborn painter.

When he spoke again, his voice was much softer. "Xi, I know you don't like being disturbed."

But... locking people inside paintings isn't the solution. One of the hosts I've possessed before taught me a lesson: running away only makes facing things more difficult next time.

Xi's fingers trembled slightly, the light of the runes flickering. "I'm not running away, I'm just... choosing who I communicate with."

"Just like when you chose to shut me out?" Su Rui asked softly, "Look how well we get along now."

Xi did not answer, but the light of the runes gradually dimmed. She turned to look at the mountains and rivers she had created in the Scroll World, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

Su Rui knew she had hit the nail on the head and continued gently, "At least let me 'see' what they're up to, okay? If it really is just a prank by Nian, then you can throw them into the desert."

Xi took a deep breath and waved away the unfinished runes between her fingers. "... Do as you please."

Su Rui immediately expanded her sensory range, focusing her attention on the two visitors outside the cabin.

Through Xi's sensory connection, Su Rui could clearly "see" Kroos, the Cautus girl with long, light golden hair, carefully holding an exquisite metal box; and Lava, the red-haired Sarkaz warlock, holding a metal artifact engraved with Yan runes. It was this jade tablet that allowed them to pass through the barrier set up by Xi.

"They did bring the New Year's token," Su Rui reported to Xi. "Kroos has a metal box that looks very important. They're discussing... it seems like there's something important they need your approval?"

Xi raised an eyebrow. "Documents? What does the cooperation between Rhodes Island and Yan have to do with me?"

"Wait," Su Rui suddenly said in surprise, "Kroos just said... this is something from Nian? Nian thinks it should be given to you."

Xi's body stiffened noticeably. The wind in the Scroll World suddenly stopped, and even the flowing water seemed to freeze for a moment. Her voice became unusually calm, revealing the turmoil within her heart.

"Yes," Su Rui confirmed, "Lava specifically instructed that it be delivered today."

Xi turned her back to the outside world, her long hair falling down to obscure her expression. Su Rui could sense her emotional fluctuations—anger, sadness, nostalgia, and complex feelings about Nian's arrangement.

"What else did they say?" Xi finally asked, her voice a little hoarse.

"Kroos said they're just messengers and won't bother you for long," Su Rui relayed truthfully. "They can leave the things at the door and leave. Lava seems a bit nervous, constantly looking around, as if worried he might suddenly become a figure in a painting."

Xi snorted lightly, "At least they know their place."

She walked to the drawing table and sat down, her fingers unconsciously stroking a calligraphy brush. Su Rui could sense that she was engaged in a fierce internal struggle—a tug-of-war between curiosity, wariness of the year, and resistance to social contact.

Volume 9, Chapter 533: Social Anxiety and Evening Melon

"I have a suggestion," Su Rui cautiously broke the silence, "How about... I talk to them?"

Xi looked up. "You?"

"I can borrow a small portion of your ability," Su Rui explained, "To create an isolated area within the Painted World, allowing them to enter and speak with me. This way, they can obtain the items without you having to personally intervene."

Xi pondered the suggestion. Time seemed to slow down in the Scroll World, each second stretched out. Finally, she nodded gently. "... We can try. But if anything goes wrong—"

"Just kick them all out right now, I understand," Su Rui quickly replied. "Don't worry, I'll stay alert."

Xi stood up and drew a rune in the air with her finger, much smaller than before. This rune was a translucent pale blue, completely different from the golden rune she had used to imprison the operators.

"This passage will only last for ten minutes," Xi warned. "I will place you and the others at the edge of the Painted World —that bamboo forest. Once the time is up, I will close the passage, regardless of whether the conversation is finished."

"That's enough," Su Rui said gratefully. "Thank you for trying, Xi."

Xi did not respond, but the rune's light became even more stable. With a gentle push, the rune passed through the barrier of the Scroll World and appeared in front of the wooden house in the real world.

Outside the cabin, Kroos and Lava were hesitating about whether to place the metal box on the porch. Suddenly, ripples appeared in the air in front of them, and a pale blue portal slowly opened, revealing a quiet bamboo path behind it.

"This is...?" Lava took a step back warily, the staff in his hand already glowing faintly.

Kroos, however, curiously approached the portal. "Wow, this must be Miss Xi's Painted World! Nian told me about this!"

A gentle, youthful voice came from the portal. "Miss Kroos, Lava, hello. I am Su Rui, Xi's... friend. She entrusted me to receive the items you brought."