Ark Simulator: Didn't I Have No Physical Form?

Bite here.

Despite being fed, Su Rui still focused her attention on the food.

Su Rui viciously bit off the beef that Lin Yuhsia offered to his mouth. As the grease splattered between his teeth, he retaliated by licking her fingertips.

"Another one," he called to the chef, tilting his head back and deliberately ignoring the dragon tail that suddenly tightened around his waist. "It has to have snowflake patterns."

Hoshiguma chuckled and pressed the rim of the whiskey glass against his lower lip, "Kid, you know how to enjoy yourself, don't you?" The amber-colored liquor slid down his neck and into his open collar as he swallowed.

"I'm going to die anyway." In a fit of despair, Su Rui grabbed a slice of garlic from the grill, wrapped it around an A5 Wagyu beef, and stuffed it into his mouth. " Might as well die with a full stomach."

Swire's tail suddenly darted under his shirt hem. "Oh? Have you decided on your main course yet?" The cherry stem she was biting between her red lips formed a neat knot. "I suggest following the order in which the courses are served..."

"Eat this first." Chen Hui-chieh suddenly placed the Chixiao horizontally on the table, with a piece of foie gras drizzled with honey neatly arranged on its scabbard. "An appetizer."

The culinary team silently took a half step back. The female chef, wearing a three-Michelin-starred hat, raised her knife and then put it down, ultimately choosing to pretend she hadn't seen the guest using a legendary weapon as a plate.

Su Rui stared at the foie gras for three seconds, then suddenly reached for the finest bottle of liquor. Lin Yuhsia was faster; a data chain formed from Originium Arts instantly wrapped around his wrist. "Trying to get yourself drunk?" As she leaned forward, her hair brushed against the steak grill, the aroma of charred protein mixed with perfume wafting over. "Too late."

"Hey! That filet mignon is mine!" Hoshiguma suddenly slammed his hand on the table, his arm sweeping across Su Rui's chest as he snatched the last piece of steak. As oil splattered onto his collarbone, the Oni Clan officer casually used the tip of his tongue to lick away the drop of scalding grease.

Priestess on Su Rui's retinal screen: [Metabolic rate increased by 200%]

[Suggestion: Delay the process]

"Dessert." Su Rui suddenly raised her hand, "I want a lava chocolate cake with Vanilla ice cream." He deliberately drew out the word, "Made fresh."

The four ladies exchanged glances. Swire's golden tail slapped the back of her chair with delight. "Sure!" She pressed the service bell with the force of a command to launch an attack, "But the cake will take twenty minutes..."

"Perfect." Chen Hui-chieh's dragon scales brushed against his earlobe, warming him. "Enough time to collect the pre-meal interest."

Volume 11, Chapter 673: I'm dying of thirst

When Su Rui opened her eyes, sunlight was already streaming into the room through the gaps in the curtains, casting a golden streak on the carpet.

His consciousness slowly returned, his body feeling as if it had been disassembled and reassembled, every muscle aching with fatigue. He tried to move his fingers, only to find his arm being pressed down by something—

Hoshiguma's even breath brushed against the side of his neck.

She buried half her face in the crook of his shoulder, her green hair scattered messily on the pillow. Her usually roguish eyes were now relaxed, making her appear unusually serene. Her arm was across his chest, like a shackle declaring her ownership, refusing to loosen even in her sleep.

Su Rui turned his head slightly and found Swire curled up on his other side, her golden tail unconsciously wrapped around his calf, her cheek pressed against his arm, her breath carrying a faint rose scent. Her eyelashes cast tiny shadows in the morning light, and a satisfied smile lingered at the corners of her mouth, as if she were having a sweet dream.

Lin Yuhsia —she had woken up sometime earlier—was resting her chin on her hand, her black hair cascading over his collarbone, her fingertips casually tracing circles on his chest. Seeing him open his eyes, she raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of mockery in her eyes. "Awake?"

Su Rui opened her mouth, her throat as dry as if it had been rubbed with sandpaper. "... Water."

Lin Yuhsia chuckled softly, reached for a water glass on the bedside table, and held it to his lips. Su Rui struggled to sit up and drank a few sips from her hand. The cool liquid slid down his throat, finally relieving some of his discomfort.

"Where's Chen?" He looked around but didn't see that familiar figure.

"The bathroom." Lin Yuhsia gestured with her chin towards the other side of the room. "She said she wanted to take a cold shower."

Su Rui: "..."

He could probably guess the reason.

Last night's memories are like a churned soup, a jumble of images—the cloying sweetness of molten chocolate, the burning sensation of whiskey, the warmth of skin against skin, and... even more chaotic fragments.

"Regret it?" Lin Yuhsia gently lifted his chin with her fingertips, forcing him to look directly into her eyes.

Su Rui paused for a moment, then shook her head. "... No."

Lin Yuhsia narrowed her eyes, seemingly assessing the truthfulness of those words. Finally, she chuckled softly and released her grip, "You're smart to know what's good for you."

The sound of water in the bathroom stopped. A moment later, Chen Hui-chieh pushed open the door and came out, her hair still dripping wet, wearing only a bathrobe. Her gaze swept over the people on the bed, finally landing on Su Rui, her dragon eyes narrowing slightly. "... You look like you've been run over by a truck."

Su Rui forced a smile, "... Thank you for your concern."

At that moment, Hoshiguma groggily nuzzled against his shoulder and mumbled, "... Just five more minutes of sleep..."

Swire seemed to be awakened by her movements. She wrinkled her nose and instinctively snuggled closer to Su Rui, her tail curling up even tighter.

Su Rui looked down at them and suddenly felt—

... That seems pretty good too.

Lin Yuhsia seemed to see through his thoughts, and gave a soft snort, "Don't get too cocky." She leaned down and whispered in his ear, her breath warm, "Last night was just an appetizer."

Su Rui's back tensed instantly.

Chen Hui-chieh stood by the bed with her arms crossed, a dangerous smile playing on her lips, "What do you want for breakfast?"

Su Rui: "..."

Su Rui abruptly threw off the down comforter, the silk lining rustling in protest. As his bare feet stepped onto the Persian carpet, the muscles in his waist, which had been entangled by the dragon's tail the night before, suddenly twitched, causing him to gasp in pain—a gasp deliberately amplified so that it could be heard throughout the entire room.

"Serves him right." Chen Hui-chieh hugged Chixiao and snorted coldly, but the dragon tail honestly curled up the pillow and placed it under the spot where he had just been lying.

Su Rui rolled her eyes and ignored them.

"Look at you, so capable." Hoshiguma pressed the chilled bourbon whiskey against his temple, the liquid sliding down the bottle and spreading a cool patch over the bite mark on Su Rui's lower back.

He shuffled toward the French windows in high heels that belonged to someone else—the studded Jimmy Choo shoes that Swire had insisted he try on last night. The sound of the heels tapping on the hardwood floor was like a string of disjointed Morse code. Lin Yuhsia's Originium Data Chain instinctively reached out to support him, but was startled by his gesture of waving his hand away, causing it to explode in blue sparks.

"Don't touch it." Su Rui's voice was hoarse from the early morning, but his knuckles, gripping the window frame, were pale. He pulled the curtains open with such force that the morning light poured in like liquid gold, illuminating the lingering teeth marks below his collarbone.

Now he sat on the bay window. The sunlight passing through him began to become murky, like honey mixed with sand.

Chen Hui-chieh's Chixiao suddenly fell to the ground.

"Your body..." the dragon girl's voice sounded like it had been sanded on, "Is it almost time again?"

Su Rui looked down at his increasingly translucent fingertips. Sunlight pierced through his palms, casting blurry spots of light on the Oak floor, like melting ice sculptures. This decomposition was faster than usual; his knees had already taken on a semi-transparent texture.

"Hmm." He curled his fingers, letting a sliver of golden light slip through them. "Around sunset?"

Hoshiguma's glass slammed into the carpet, the sound of whiskey seeping into the wool fibers like a sigh. Swire's golden tail froze in mid-air, his meticulously manicured nails digging deeply into his palm. Lin Yuhsia's Originium Arts futilely wrapped around him, but the blue data chain pierced through his wrist as if passing through mist.

"Not going to try to save her this time?" Su Rui tilted her head, her hair turning into golden pixels in the sunlight.

Chen Hui-chieh suddenly plunged the Chixiao into the floor, its tassel wrapping around his translucent wrist. "Eat breakfast." Her vertical pupils narrowed to slits. "You said you wanted to try Victoria's waffles last time."

When Su Rui smiled, the curve of his lips began to blur. He let Hoshiguma wrap his gradually disappearing shoulders in a blanket, let Swire smear strawberry jam on his transparent fingertips, and let Lin Yuhsia's data chain build a barrier around him to slow down the collapse. When Chen Hui-chieh's dragon tail carefully wrapped around him, those elusive sensations suddenly became incredibly clear.

Lin Yuhsia's fingers gripped Su Rui's wrist tightly, with such force that they almost left bruises on his translucent skin.

"Don't rush to disappear," she whispered, her black hair billowing in the sea breeze, her eyes behind her glasses gleaming with a stubborn light. "Let's finish visiting these places first."

Su Rui looked down at her fading fingertips, then looked up at her, a helpless smile playing on her lips, "... When did you make a travel plan?"

Lin Yuhsia didn't answer, but simply pulled him toward the busiest market in Dossoles. She walked quickly, as if afraid that if she slowed down even a step, he would completely vanish in the sunlight.

Hoshiguma, Chen Hui-chieh, and Swire followed behind, none of them saying a word.

Volume 12, Chapter 674: Hello, Lost Person

The smoke from the charcoal fire, mixed with the salty aroma of sea salt, wafted over as the vendor skewered freshly caught tiger prawns onto iron skewers and grilled them. The prawn shells curled and cracked under the high temperature, making a sizzling sound.

"Try it." Lin Yuhsia shoved the grilled shrimp into Su Rui's hand; the shrimp meat still glistened with oil. "You said you wanted to try this last time."

Su Rui's fingers were already slipping from his grip on the bamboo skewer; the shrimp meat sank slightly in his palm, as if it were about to pass through his body and fall to the ground. Hoshiguma reacted quickly, supporting his wrist and steadying him.

"Don't waste it." She grinned, her canine teeth gleaming in the sunlight. "This is what the little tiger paid for."

Swire's golden tail gently patted Su Rui's calf. "Eat quickly, it'll get fishy if it gets cold."

Su Rui lowered his head and took a bite. The sweetness of the shrimp exploded on his tongue, and the charred aroma of charcoal grilling mixed with the tartness of lemon juice gave him a fleeting illusion—that he was still the "person" capable of fully appreciating flavors.

"How is it?" Lin Yuhsia stared at him, her voice very soft.

Su Rui smiled, "... Delicious."

As Swire shoved the rainbow-colored ice cream cone into Su Rui's hand, his fingertips began to disintegrate into tiny specks of light.

"Hurry up, it's going to melt," she urged, her tail tip twitching anxiously.

Su Rui lowered his head and took a lick. The cool cream melted in his mouth, cloyingly sweet. He frowned. "... Too sweet."

"Nonsense, I added double the syrup." Swire snorted, but reached out and wiped away a bit of cream from the corner of his mouth, her fingertip lingering on his lips for a second before quickly withdrawing.

Chen Hui-chieh stood to the side, the Chixiao planted in the sand, its tail unconsciously curling around the tassel. She looked at Su Rui and suddenly spoke, "One more bite."

Su Rui was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled, "... Inspector Chen, when did you start getting involved in this?"

Chen Hui-chieh didn't answer, she just stared at him until he obediently took another bite of ice cream.

The twilight bathed Dossoles in a golden glow, and the melodious sound of a street musician's guitar drifted through the air. Su Rui sat on a bench, her body so transparent that she seemed like mist that might vanish at any moment.

Lin Yuhsia stood close to him, her fingers gripping his wrist tightly, as if that would anchor him to this world.

Hoshiguma bought a bag of steaming hot churros, shoved one into Su Rui's hand. "One last thing, finish it before you go."

Su Rui looked down at her almost completely transparent fingers and said with a wry smile, "... I might not be able to hold on anymore."

"Then I'll take it." Hoshiguma simply held the churros to his lips. "Open your mouth."

Su Rui took a bite, the aroma of cinnamon spreading between his lips and teeth, the sugar granules sticking to his lower lip like the last tangible sensation.

Swire suddenly leaned closer, resting her forehead on his shoulder, her voice muffled. "... Don't be so fast."

Chen Hui-chieh's dragon tail gently wrapped around his waist, the force very light, as if afraid of breaking him.

Lin Yuhsia's fingers tightened, her nails almost digging into his skin. "... Wait five more minutes."

As Su Rui watched the setting sun gradually sink below the horizon, she sighed softly.

"Good."

As the last ray of sunlight disappeared below the horizon, Su Rui's body finally disintegrated completely into tiny specks of light, like a silent snowflake, slowly dissipating into the night.

Lin Yuhsia's hand was still suspended in mid-air, with a faint trace of touch remaining on her fingertips.

Hoshiguma tilted his head back and took a swig of whiskey, the liquid dripping down his chin.

Swire's golden tail drooped limply on the beach, his eyes red-rimmed.

Chen Hui-chieh Chixiao was planted in the sand, its tassel swaying gently in the evening breeze.

The neon lights of Dossoles lit up one by one, and the melodious guitar music of the street performers continued to fill the air.

It's as if nothing has changed.

There's just one person missing.

Su Rui's consciousness was suddenly immersed in a dark blue space.

This place is like a greenhouse garden that's been paused, where sunlight is forever frozen at the angle of dusk, translucent butterflies hover in mid-air, and even the fountain's droplets suspend like crystal bead curtains. And on the white wicker chair in the center of the garden—

Good afternoon, lost sir.

Nightingale put down the handkerchief she was halfway through embroidering, her healthy, straight legs crossed beneath her skirt. Sunlight filtered through her long golden hair, casting dappled patterns of light on the lace sleeves of her dress. If it weren't for the shimmering Absolver rune on her wrist, Su Rui would almost have thought this was an afternoon tea party for some noble lady.

"This is my 'little garden'." She tapped her fingertip, and the suspended water droplets suddenly resumed falling. "Shining said it's my self-protection mechanism."

Su Rui instantly expanded her full view—on the third level of the Kazdel underground laboratory, Nightingale in reality was bound to an operating table, Shining's Originium Arts forming thorny shackles around her. Her healthy, rosy appearance at this moment was merely a beautified projection of her spiritual world.

"Don't look over there." Nightingale suddenly covered his "eyes," a gesture that allowed Su Rui's sensors to detect the warm touch of her palm. "I can only come here for some fresh air after I finish my experiments each day." She lifted her skirt and twirled around, the little Bell on her lace stockings jingling crisply. "See, my legs can actually run and jump!"

Su Rui noticed that her restraint rings were materializing into delicate anklets in the mental world, jingling with her light steps. When he retrieved the surveillance footage, he discovered that the Nightingale in the real world was indeed physically healthy—the experiments had all targeted her mental abilities.

"Today Shining stuffed another thirty-seven battlefield memories into my head." Nightingale suddenly pulled a gold-embossed photo album from the void, filled with bloody images of Sarkaz warriors dying, "Saying it's to stimulate my 'empathic potential'." As she closed the album, the images suddenly turned into frosted cookies.

Su Rui's intrusion program had silently cracked all the laboratory's firewalls. He could now see two scenes simultaneously: Nightingale silently receiving the injection in reality, and a lively girl in the mental world soaking "memory cookies" in red tea.

"Want to try some?" Nightingale offered a teacup with star-shaped cookies floating in it. "I've turned all my painful memories into desserts." She suddenly leaned in, her breath, carrying the aroma of black tea, brushing against Su Rui's nonexistent cheek. "But you... have a real sweetness about you."

A notification suddenly popped up on the holographic panel: [High-frequency emotional fluctuations detected]. Only then did Su Rui realize that the Swire perfume and Chen Hui-chieh's dragon scale scent remaining on her consciousness were creating a fatal attraction in this closed Mental Garden.

Nightingale's fingertips had unconsciously wrapped around the hem of his clothes (even though it was just a virtual projection). "You smell like..." Her pupils widened slightly, "Like a sun-dried wool blanket, like a gingerbread house in a Christmas shop window, like..." The Absolver's rune suddenly glowed red, and she painfully released her grip.

In reality, the Shining is intensifying its experiments. It's raining in the Mental Garden, and the wings of the suspended butterflies are getting wet from the raindrops.

"It's almost time for treatment again." Nightingale gazed at the graying sky, then suddenly shoved something into Su Rui's hand—the half-finished Nightingale handkerchief. "Tomorrow..." Her figure began to blur in the rain, "Can you tell me about the world outside of the rain?"

When Su Rui looked down, she discovered that the gold thread embroidered on the handkerchief depicted not a birdcage, but a vast starry sky.

Please continue to provide feedback after page 675 of Volume 12.

Su Rui figured Nightingale wouldn't refuse, but it was still necessary to tell Nightingale, "I might be living in your mind for a long time to come, and I won't be able to leave on my own, so I can only ask you to take good care of me."

After hearing Su Rui's explanation, Nightingale's eyes widened slightly, and then—