Ark Simulator: Don't I Have No Physical Body? Chapter 287

Volume 11, Chapter 632: Holiday Dragon

Chen said thoughtfully, "The reward is indeed considerable... and it's easier to gather intelligence in places with many people."

The competition was a lively affair, with colorful water guns glittering in the sunlight. Participants, dressed in cool summer clothes, were eager to try their luck at the starting line.

"The first round is a timed competition." Lin Yuhsia quickly reviewed the rules, "You need to find three marker points in the maze, and the 16 teams with the shortest time will advance."

"I've hacked into the system and looked at the map," Su Rui said, displaying a maze map on the terminal. "This route is the fastest."

Chen raised an eyebrow. "Does this count as cheating?"

"That's called making good use of resources~" Su Rui replied, adding a tongue-out emoji.

The starting whistle blew, and the two quickly moved through the area following Su Rui's directions. While the other participants were still searching blindly, they had already found all the markers with practiced ease.

"Marker point A complete."

"Marker point B complete."

"Marking point C complete."

As they crossed the finish line, the referee looked at the timer in astonishment. "3 minutes and 28 seconds! A new race record!"

In the rest area while waiting for the next round of matches, Lin Yuhsia dried her wet hair. Chen leaned against a parasol, showing a rare sign of relaxation.

"I didn't expect it to go so smoothly." Chen took the chilled drink that Lin Yuhsia handed him.

The terminal screen lit up. "This is only the first round~ There are still team battles, water polo attacks and defenses, and the ultimate showdown to come."

Lin Yuhsia gave a light snort, "You've certainly made thorough arrangements."

"Of course!" followed by a proud emoji, "But you two coordinated really well, just like..."

Chen suddenly interjected, "Just like when we went on missions together in Lungmen before."

The terminal was silent for a few seconds, then a line of text slowly appeared. "... Yes, just like back then."

Seeing the awkward atmosphere between the two, Lin Yuhsia changed the subject, asking, "What's the second round?"

"Oh! It's a water gun shooting accuracy challenge! We need one person to be the 'shooter' and one person to be the 'observer'."

The second round of competition was set up like a miniature battlefield, with various moving targets moving around the field.

"I'll be the shooter." Chen flexed his wrists and picked up the water gun for the competition.

Lin Yuhsia nodded. "Then I'll be in charge of observing."

"I've hacked into the target control system!" Su Rui proudly displayed, "But I believe you can win without cheating."

After the competition began, Chen displayed amazing shooting talent. The water jets accurately hit every moving bullseye, eliciting gasps from the onlookers.

"45 degrees to the left, red moving target," Lin Yuhsia calmly reported.

"Received." Chen flicked his wrist, and the water jet traced a perfect arc.

"Beautiful!" A series of fireworks emojis popped up on the terminal.

On the final scoreboard, they were far ahead with a perfect score. The organizers whispered among themselves, clearly not expecting such professional contestants.

While receiving her advancement medal, Lin Yuhsia noticed several suspicious individuals recording participants' information. She pretended to fix her hair and used her terminal to take pictures of them.

"What did you find?" Chen asked in a low voice.

"Let me check... Aha!" Su Rui quickly pulled up the information, "These people are Mayor Candela's private security detail. It seems the mayor is quite interested in this match."

Lin Yuhsia and Chen exchanged a glance. This was exactly the information they needed—the mayor's unusual attention suggested that this competition might be more than it seemed.

"Let's continue the competition." Chen adjusted the water gun strap. "Let's see what else we can discover."

"The next round is the team water polo battle tomorrow morning," Su Rui reminded them. "How about we try out the game machine we won tonight?"

Lin Yuhsia looked at the flashing text on the terminal, a slight smile playing on her lips, "You just want to play games, right?"

"I've been found out~" followed by a mischievous emoji sticking out his tongue.

In the hotel room, Lin Yuhsia leaned against the headboard, the game screen that Su Rui projected onto her visual nerves appearing before her eyes—a pixelated character navigating a maze.

"Left! There's a treasure chest on the left!" Su Rui's excited voice rang directly in her auditory cortex.

"You seem to be having a lot of fun." Lin Yuhsia rubbed her temples helplessly. "What happened to the intelligence you were promised?"

The game screen suddenly shrunk, turning into a small window floating in the corner of the field of view. A 3D map of Dossoles unfolded in the main visual area, with several red dots flashing regularly in the port area.

"Look at this~" Su Rui switched to a surveillance camera feed showing several workers moving suspicious metal boxes into a container. "These people transported twenty tons of 'seafood' to the port area within three days, but customs records show that only five tons of seafood were imported during the same period."

Chen Cai had just come out of the bathroom, her hair still dripping wet. As she leaned closer, the scent of minty shampoo wafted into Lin Yuhsia's nostrils.

"Military weapons?" Chen's fingertip passed through the holographic projection, enlarging a blurry logo.

"Brilliant!" Su Rui popped up a thumbs-up animation, "The Bolivar Resistance insignia. They plan to make their move on the day of the ' Azure Festival '."

Lin Yuhsia frowned. "The day of the water gun finals?"

Suddenly, the game screen popped up full screen, and a pixelated character made a victory sign. "So we must continue to compete! Mayor Candela will personally present the awards on the day of the finals, and the rebels will definitely choose that time to act."

The second day's water polo match was held at the fountain square in the city center. Lin Yuhsia, wearing a blue waterproof jacket provided by the organizers, discreetly scanned the audience.

"The one at two o'clock, the one wearing a fisherman's hat," she said to Chen over the encrypted channel, "Has been watching our games for three days already."

Chen pretended to adjust his goggles, then glanced at the target out of the corner of his eye. "There's a bulge on the waist; it might be a weapon."

"Found it!" Su Rui displayed the information on Lin Yuhsia's retina, "Diego Mendes, former Bolivar Army communications soldier, joined the resistance after retiring."

The whistle blew, forcing Lin Yuhsia to temporarily stop observing. As the water polo ball arced through the air, she leaped to catch it and noticed another suspicious figure taking pictures in the stands.

"They're recording the participants' information." She approached Chen amidst the splashing water.

Chen executed a beautiful feint to get past his opponent, then whispered, "In the finals, we'll be sitting ducks."

"Don't worry~" Su Rui suddenly switched the game sound effects into their bone conduction headphones, and the cheerful 8-bit music masked the conversation, "I hacked into their communication channel and am monitoring them at all times."

In the locker room after the game, a girl with pink pigtails blocked their way.

"You're not ordinary contestants, are you?" The girl twirled the water gun in her hand, which showed suspicious signs of modification. "I'm a reporter from the <Dosoles Times>, and I've discovered something interesting..."

Just as Lin Yuhsia was about to deny it, Su Rui suddenly flashed an alarm in her field of vision. "Wait! There are encrypted files of the resistance on her computer!"

Volume 11, Chapter 633: Let's Talk to My Water Gun

Chen's hand was already on the concealed dagger. "Explain."

"I've been infiltrating the resistance for three months," the girl said, flashing her press pass. "They plan to assassinate the mayor during the finals and frame the Lungmen businessman."

"Verification successful, what she said is true." Su Rui pulled up the database for comparison. "Lisa Cortes, investigative journalist, has exposed three cases of government corruption."

Lin Yuhsia and Chen exchanged a glance. A moment later, the three of them sat in a secluded corner of the coffee shop, the terminal screen displaying the intelligence network compiled by Su Rui.

"So our goals are aligned," Lisa said, biting her straw. "I need to get decisive evidence on site."

"Perfect!" Su Rui popped up a diagram of the plan. "During the final, Lisa will provide support from the stands, I'll monitor all the electronic devices, and you two—"

"I'll be the bait," Chen replied calmly, his finger lightly tracing the trigger of the water gun. "Perfect for testing out the new equipment."

On the eve of the final, Lin Yuhsia stood in front of the hotel's floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the brightly lit harbor. Su Rui projected a map of the resistance's troop deployment into her vision, with red dots spreading across the city like veins.

"Tomorrow will be dangerous," she whispered.

Chen walked over, wiping the Chixiao Sword, its blade gleaming coldly in the moonlight. "Regretting participating?"

"It's too late to quit now~" Su Rui playfully popped up a countdown window, "12 hours left, want to hear my winning plan?"

The game screen suddenly switched to a 3D tactical sandbox, where pixelated chibi versions of Chen and Lin Yuhsia were wreaking havoc on the screen. Lin Yuhsia couldn't help but laugh out loud, and Chen's lips curled up slightly.

"Same as always." Chen sheathed his sword. "You make the plan, we execute it."

"Then it's settled!" Su Rui's virtual avatar circled among them. "After tomorrow, I guarantee you'll win the game—and maybe save a city while you're at it!"

The Azure Festival finals concluded under the bright afternoon sun. Lin Yuhsia and Chen Hui-chieh stood atop the highest point of the podium, holding their gilded trophies, surrounded by cheering crowds and flashing camera lights. A sea breeze, carrying a salty, damp scent, swept across the deck, gently lifting Lin Yuhsia's hair. She squinted, glancing around at her surroundings. This luxury yacht, moored in the harbor, was the award ceremony venue specially prepared by Mayor Candela. The red carpet stretched from the dock to the ship's side, and waiters moved about carrying chilled juices; everything seemed normal.

"Congratulations on winning the championship!" Su Rui's voice rang in Lin Yuhsia's mind, tinged with a hint of pride. "However, the real competition has only just begun."

Lin Yuhsia tapped her fingers lightly on the base of the trophy, her knuckles making a soft sound on the metal. This was the code she and Chen had agreed upon—"Prepare to move." Chen stood beside her, his gaze calmly sweeping across the crowd. Her fingertips rubbed the rim of the trophy, as if checking the feel, but in reality, she was adjusting the miniature communicator in her ear.

Su Rui had already hacked into the yacht's surveillance system and was now projecting the real-time location of suspicious individuals into Lin Yuhsia's field of vision—several armed men disguised as waiters were quietly approaching the cabin. Their waists were bulging not with guns, but with modified water cannon launchers. They looked like ordinary beverage bottles, but were filled with high-pressure water bullets, enough to stun targets at short distances.

Meanwhile, Pancho Salas, the rebel leader, stood not far away, smiling as he spoke with the mayor, a glint of metal visible through his cuff—the trigger of a folding crossbow.

"They didn't bring guns," Lin Yuhsia whispered to Chen, her lips barely moving, "They used water cannons and crossbows."

Chen Wei nodded slightly, her gaze fixed on Pancho: "An anchor is also a weapon."

Lin Yuhsia followed her gaze and noticed two burly men standing beside the yacht's anchor winch. Their arm muscles were taut, clearly ready to release the anchor at any moment. Once the anchor was released, the heavy iron chain and hook would be enough to sweep a no-man's-land across the deck.

"Their plan is clear," Su Rui's voice was calm and clear, "Once the ship enters international waters, first use high-pressure water cannons to control the situation, then use crossbows to take out the key targets, and finally loosen the anchor to create chaos, 'accidentally' sinking the mayor and all the witnesses at sea."

Lin Yuhsia sneered, "A clichéd script."

Chen's lips curled up slightly. "But it's effective."

After the awards ceremony, guests were invited to the ship's cabins for dinner. Lin Yuhsia and Chen deliberately slowed their pace to ensure they were at the back of the group. The cabins were luxuriously decorated, with crystal chandeliers reflecting off the champagne tower and creating a dazzling halo. Waitstaff moved about, smiling, but Lin Yuhsia noticed that some of them walked with an unusually steady gait, and the strength in their fingers was far beyond that of ordinary waiters.

"Pancho's men have taken control of the cockpit and communications room," Su Rui whispered a reminder. "They plan to make their move after the yacht enters the water and moves away from the shore."

Lin Yuhsia's gaze swept over a small door in the corner of the cabin, leading to the kitchen. Su Rui immediately pulled up the yacht's floor plan. "Their weapons are hidden in the kitchen's cold storage; the water cannons and crossbows are all there."

The two tacitly split up. Lin Yuhsia excused herself to go to the restroom, but actually went around to the back door of the kitchen; Chen went to the deck, pretending to admire the sea view, but actually monitoring Pancho's movements.

In the kitchen, two "chefs" were talking in hushed tones, wiping not tableware, but the pressure valve of a water cannon. Lin Yuhsia leaned against the door, flicked her finger, and a miniature EMP device slid through the crack in the door.

With a soft "buzz," the kitchen light flickered briefly before plunging into darkness.

"What's going on? Is it a circuit malfunction?" one of them asked, looking up alertly.

"I'll go check." The other person had just turned around when he was struck precisely in the back of the neck with a chop to the neck and fell to the ground silently.

Lin Yuhsia appeared behind the remaining man like a ghost, and with a gentle press of her fingers on the acupoint on the side of his neck, he collapsed before he could even utter a sound.

"Great job!" Su Rui exclaimed. "Chen has also secured two more."

Lin Yuhsia opened the cold storage and, sure enough, found several boxes of weapons—high-pressure water cannons, folding crossbows, and even several bundles of specially made anchor ropes. She quickly took photos and sent them to Su Rui for archiving.

Meanwhile, Chen stood at the edge of the deck, the sea breeze ruffling her hair, her gaze never leaving Pancho. Pancho seemed to sense something, her brow furrowing slightly, and she gave a wink to her subordinate beside her. The man nodded and quietly retreated towards the anchor winch.

Chen tapped his fingers lightly on the earpiece, and Lin Yuhsia immediately received the signal.

"They're going to act ahead of time," Su Rui's voice suddenly tightened, "Pancho just gave the order to release anchor as soon as the ship enters deep water!"

Volume 11, Chapter 634: Fishing

Lin Yuhsia quickly slipped out of the kitchen, a water cannonball she had smuggled from the cold storage between her fingers. She silently moved to the deck, her gaze fixed on the two burly men beside the winch.

Chen walked slowly towards Pancho with a polite smile on his face, "Mr. Pancho, I've heard that you are quite knowledgeable about marine life?"

Pancho paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "It's just a hobby."

"Then you must know," Chen's voice was calm and clear, "How many fish are disturbed when the anchor plunges into the deep sea?"

Pancho's expression changed drastically. He took a step back, and a folding crossbow instantly popped out from his sleeve. "Attack!"

Chaos erupted on deck instantly. Waiters dropped their disguises and raised water cannons, aiming them at the guests; a burly man beside the winch roared and released the anchor's brake. The heavy chains rattled as the anchor hook slammed into the sea with a whoosh—

Lin Yuhsia had already calculated the angle perfectly, and the water cannonball in her hand was thrown with precision, hitting the winch's gear assembly. "Bang!" The high-pressure water cannonball exploded in the mechanical structure, the gears jammed, the anchor came to an abrupt stop in mid-air, and the iron chain hung outside the ship's side like a giant python, just half a meter away from sweeping across the deck.

Chen moved even faster; her figure swept past like the wind. Although the Chixiao Sword was not drawn, the end of the scabbard struck the wrist of a rebel heavily. The folding crossbow fell to the ground with a thud and was kicked into the sea by her.

Pancho roared and raised his crossbow, aiming at Chen's back.

"Dodge to the left!" Su Rui shouted urgently in Lin Yuhsia's mind.

Without hesitation, Lin Yuhsia lunged at Chen, and the two tumbled onto the deck. The crossbow bolt grazed Chen's hair and embedded itself in the mast.

"Who exactly are you?" Pancho's face turned ashen, and he nocked another arrow into his crossbow.

Chen rolled off the deck and said coldly, "Tourist."

Lin Yuhsia added, "And incidentally, I won a championship."

"And me!" Su Rui's voice came over the yacht's loudspeaker, tinged with mockery, "The best and most invincible off-field support."

The yacht's engine suddenly changed direction, and the ship slowly turned around. Pancho rushed to the control panel, only to find that the system had been completely locked.

"Impossible! This ship's firewall is military-grade!"

"Hmm, for me it's probably equivalent to 'easy difficulty'," Su Rui chuckled. "By the way, the Bolivar Navy is already waiting for you three nautical miles away."