Ark Simulator: Aren't I Without a Physical Form?

Xi immediately understood, unfurled the scroll, and with a wave of her hand, the aged liquor gushing from the ground was drawn into the air, forming a waterfall of liquor. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Nian spat out a cluster of flames, which instantly spread along the liquor, forming a spectacular wall of fire that temporarily blocked the attack of the Artifact Wraith.

"Su Rui!" Xi shouted, "Retrieve the dragon scales! They're the control center!"

Su Rui looked at Miss Du, who was still struggling beneath her, and was caught in a dilemma—forcibly removing the dragon scales might harm her, but if she didn't, all three of them would be overwhelmed by the Artifact Wraith...

In that instant of hesitation, Miss Du suddenly stopped struggling, her eyes flashing with a fierce blue light, as if she were waging some kind of internal struggle. She spoke with difficulty, her voice broken and intermittent:

"Quickly... take away... the scales... the cellar... the base..."

After saying this, the bluish light in her eyes regained control, and she struggled even more violently. But this moment of clarity was enough— Su Rui made up her mind, reached out and grabbed the dragon scales on the oil-paper umbrella, and ripped them off forcefully!

"Ah--!" Miss Du let out a shrill scream and then fainted. After the dragon scales were removed, the surrounding Artifact Wraith immediately fell into chaos and lost unified command.

Ignoring the pain in her shoulder, Su Rui scooped up the unconscious Miss Du and flew to Xi Henian's side. "Got it!"

"Well done!" Nian wiped the sweat from his face. "Quick, the cellar entrance is in the well over there!"

The three rushed towards the ancient well, followed by the gradually regaining order of the Artifact Wraith army. Just as they were about to be overtaken, Xi suddenly turned around and threw the entire scroll into the air—

"Hold fast to the mountains, forsaken!"

The scroll unfurled in the air, transforming into the phantom of towering mountains, temporarily blocking the pursuers. Taking advantage of the moment, the three jumped into the ancient well, plunging into the darkness of the wine cellar's depths...

Volume 9, page 559, but nothing happened.

Inside the ancient wine cellar, the damp, chilly air was filled with a rich aroma of wine. Su Rui held the unconscious Miss Du, while Nian and Xi cautiously looked around, searching for the base of the wine cups.

"It should be around here..." Nian said softly, a flame igniting at his fingertips, illuminating the surroundings.

Suddenly, a strange laugh came from the shadows.

"Hehehe... What a touching reunion."

A blurry figure emerged from the darkness, shrouded in ominous black mist, holding a piece of inky dragon scale in its hand.

"Give me back my scales!" Su Rui roared, his dragon eyes narrowing and the scales on his tail bristling slightly.

"Give it back to you?" The evil spirit chuckled coldly. "No, this dragon scale is a valuable item... it will allow me to completely control you."

Before it could finish speaking, it suddenly raised its hand, and an eerie black light suddenly appeared on its dragon scales, heading straight for Nian and Xi!

"Watch out!" Xi almost instinctively pulled Su Rui into her arms, wrapping her arms tightly around him, while the scroll unfurled, forming a barrier.

However, the expected curse did not descend.

The moment the black light touched Xi, it vanished without a trace, like a clay ox sinking into the sea.

The evil spirit was stunned. "... What?"

Nian and Xi exchanged a glance, both equally puzzled.

"What happened?" Nian frowned. "Your curse has failed?"

The evil spirit, defying all superstition, once again activated the power of the dragon scales, but the black light vanished without a trace the moment it touched Su Rui's direction.

"Impossible!" The evil voice finally crackled with panic. "This dragon scale should have been able to suppress your power..."

Su Rui was held tightly in Xi's arms, her cheek pressed against her shoulder, slightly out of breath. "Xi, Sister Xi... you're hugging me too tight..."

Xi loosened her grip slightly, but still didn't completely let go of him, only staring coldly at the evil spirit. "Fool, don't you know? Su Rui's form of existence is special—his scales..." Although they are indeed connected to Nian and the others, they will not cause a chain reaction when they are affected.

"What?!" The evil voice suddenly rose in pitch.

"This dragon scale is tainted with Su Rui's aura, and Su Rui..." Xi's fingertips gently traced Su Rui's dragon horn, her tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible pride, "... He is mine."

The evil spirit finally panicked. "No... no! This can't be!"

"Nothing is impossible." Nian sneered, the flames at his fingertips suddenly flaring up. "Because this dragon scale—wasn't meant to suppress us at all!"

"It's there to protect us!"

Before the words were even finished, Nian and Xi made their moves simultaneously!

As the scroll of dusk unfolded, ink transformed into countless chains, instantly binding the evil spirit's body; the flames of the year swept away like a raging dragon, burning the black mist to ashes!

"Aaaaaah--!!" The evil spirit let out a shrill scream, and finally turned to Ash in the flames.

Dragon scales fell from the sky, and Su Rui caught them with lightning speed.

"Phew... it's finally resolved." Nian breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Xi finally released Su Rui completely, but her fingers still unconsciously hooked around the tip of his tail, as if afraid he would run away.

Su Rui looked down at the scale in her hand and found that it still had a faint dark luster, but no longer had any evil aura.

"This dragon scale... it doesn't seem to have been intended to harm us from the beginning," Xi said softly. "On the contrary, it seems... it's protecting us."

Su Rui paused for a moment, then suddenly realized. "Could it be... because of my relationship with Sister Xi and Sister Nian?"

"Very likely." Nian nodded. "Your form of existence is unique; your scales are tainted with our aura, so the evil spirits tried to use them to curse us, but instead were instead consumed by it."

Just then, Miss Du let out a soft hum and slowly opened her eyes.

"Hmm... what happened..." She looked around blankly, her cat ears twitching.

"Miss Du! You're awake?" Su Rui exclaimed in surprise.

"I..." She rubbed her temples, then suddenly remembered something, her expression changing. "Oh no! Did I... do something wrong?"

"It's alright now," Xi said calmly. "You were being controlled, but it's all over now."

Miss Du lowered her head and said guiltily, "I'm sorry... I only meant to help..."

"Don't blame yourself." Nian patted her on the shoulder. "Now, we need to find the base of the wine cup quickly and resolve this crisis completely."

Miss Du nodded and pointed deeper into the wine cellar. "The base... is on the altar at the very back."

The four acted swiftly and soon located the bronze base. Nian and Xi exchanged a glance and simultaneously reassembled the Broken Wine Vessel and its base.

In an instant, a soft light spread out and enveloped the entire city.

The Artifact Wraith on the street turned into wisps of smoke and vanished, and the residents who had been under control gradually regained consciousness.

"Success..." Su Rui breathed a sigh of relief, her tail wagging happily.

Looking at the city gradually returning to life, Xi smiled slightly, "It's finally over."

Nian stretched and said, "Alright, now it's time for a good drink!"

Su Rui grinned and moved closer to Xi: "Sister Xi, I did a good job this time, right?"

Xi glanced at him and gave a soft snort, "Barely passing."

"Eh--?" Su Rui's ears drooped, looking aggrieved.

Xi sighed helplessly and reached out to rub his head, "... Well done, though."

Su Rui's eyes lit up, and she wagged her tail even more enthusiastically.

Miss Du looked at them and couldn't help but smile, "You two have such a good relationship."

"Of course!" Su Rui proudly puffed out her chest. "Sister Xi is my wife!"

Xi's face flushed instantly, and she pulled Su Rui's head into her arms. "Shut up!"

Su Rui nestled in her arms, her voice muffled, "Mmm... Sister Xi... do you want me to stay in your arms forever...?"

Xi's ears turned even redder, but her grip on her hand didn't loosen at all.

The crowd burst into laughter, and the afterglow of the setting sun shone on the city, which had returned to peace, as if everything had returned to its original beauty.

As the sun set, the city streets gradually returned to their usual hustle and bustle. Nian stood on the roof of the winery, hands on his hips, watching the dissipating blue mist in the distance with excitement.

"Fantastic! This was absolutely perfect!" Nian suddenly turned around, her eyes sparkling. "Xi! We have to make a movie about this!"

Xi was sitting on the veranda, holding a cup of tea in her hand. Upon hearing this, she frowned and said, "... Huh?"

"Look!" Nian gestured excitedly, "The mysterious wine cup caused a city-wide upheaval! An army of Artifact Wraith! A valiant dragon boy and a cold, beautiful painter team up to save the world! And that cat-eared girl who's being controlled—this plot is absolutely amazing!"

Xi put down her teacup expressionlessly. "No filming."

"Why?!" Nian exclaimed, her eyes wide. "This is rare material!"

"Because all your movies are terrible," Xi said coldly. "Last time, ' Hotpot Hero Saga ' flopped so badly that even your sister couldn't stand it."

"That's because the budget was too small!" Nian retorted indignantly, "But this time is different! This time we have ready-made special effects— Artifact Wraith! And ready-made actors—"

"And the movie that Su Rui participated in last time was very successful!"

"That's because the audience was drawn to Su Rui!"

Certain scenes in Volume 9, Chapter 560 are quite worthwhile.

Nian's gaze suddenly shifted to Su Rui, who was lying on Xi's lap.

Su Rui was lazily swishing its tail when Nian stared at it, and immediately perked up its ears. "... Sister Nian, what do you want to do?"

Nian grinned. "Of course, I'll make you the male lead!"

"No way." Xi refused decisively, pulling Su Rui even tighter in her arms. "He won't participate in your lousy movies anymore."

"Eh--" Su Rui blinked, and although she was a little breathless from Xi's grip, she still muttered softly, "Actually... making movies seems pretty interesting..."

Xi glared at him. "Have you forgotten that last time we filmed a movie, Nian made you soak in lava for three hours?"

Su Rui shrank back. "... It seems a bit tragic."

Seeing this, Nian's eyes darted around, and he suddenly leaned close to Xi's ear, lowering his voice to say, "Xi, actually... I have a suggestion."

"What?" Xi looked at her warily.

"Didn't you really like hugging Su Rui?" Nian grinned mischievously. "If it were in the movie, I'd deliberately arrange for your scenes to be extra intimate... like hugging, holding hands, or even..."

Xi's ears turned red instantly. "... Shut up."

"How about it? Think about it?" Nian raised an eyebrow. "Anyway, I'll arrange the plot. You can hug me however you want, and I can even get Su Rui to stick to you on her own—"

Xi remained silent for a few seconds, her eyes wavering slightly.

Su Rui looked up curiously. "Sister Xi? What did Sister Nian say to you?"

"... It's nothing." Xi turned her face away, but her hand unconsciously rubbed Su Rui's head.

Seeing this, Nian knew there was a chance and immediately pressed her advantage. "And! The investors this time are very rich! After the movie is finished, the box office revenue will be enough for you to buy a lot of things!" Although Xi wasn't interested, she could tell that Su Rui was very interested in those strange little gadgets.

Xi's fingers paused slightly.

Lots of money. Enough to make Su Rui happy. Enough to... make Su Rui a model.

Her gaze gradually deepened.

"... Can we really arrange the scenes however we want?" Xi asked in a low voice.

Nian grinned triumphantly. "Of course! You're the art director, you can change it however you want!"

Xi took a deep breath and finally relented. "... Okay."

"Great!" Nian cheered, immediately pulling out her phone and frantically typing, "I'll contact the production team right now! Filming starts tomorrow!"

Su Rui looked bewildered. "Sister Xi? Are we really going to make a movie?"

Xi looked down at him, a barely perceptible smile playing on her lips, "... Mm."

"Then... will I have to soak in lava again?" Su Rui asked pitifully.

Xi gently pinched his cheek. "No."

"So... will there be any action scenes?"

"Have."

"Won't it be tiring?"

"Meeting."

Su Rui drooped her ears. "... Why did Xi agree to that?"

Xi paused for a moment, then suddenly reached out and pulled him into her arms, resting her chin on the top of his head, and whispered:

"... because of certain scenes, it's worthwhile."

Su Rui: "???"

Nian frantically took notes. "Yes, yes, yes! That's the pose! They used this as the poster for the movie!"