Ark Simulator, Wasn't I Supposed to Have No Physical Form?

Jessica smiled softly and placed the terminal on the coffee table. She was alone in the large villa—or rather, just her and Su Rui.

[Su Rui,] she curled up in the soft sofa, hugging a downy cushion, [What conditions did you say were needed for materialization again?]

A gentle ripple spread through my Sea of Consciousness, like someone chuckling softly. "Enough energy has been accumulated, plus a suitable opportunity."

[How much energy has been accumulated now?]

"About 65%." Su Rui's voice carried a hint of helplessness. "Can't you see that?"

Jessica buried her face in the cushion and gave a muffled reply. She knew she should wait patiently, but the urge to actually see Su Rui became especially strong whenever she was alone.

The aroma of baking cookies wafted from the kitchen. Jessica, wearing an apron with a cartoon cat paw pattern, was carefully piping the batter from a piping bag into bear shapes.

"[My family's cook taught me when I was little,]" she said to herself as she worked, "[but back then it was always crooked and uneven.]"

"You're doing very well now," Su Rui commented. "The one in the top left corner is especially perfect."

Jessica's ears twitched with delight. When the oven beeped, she hurriedly put on oven mitts, but nearly knocked over the baking tray in her haste.

"Watch out!" Su Rui's warning and her own exclamation rang out at the same time.

The baking tray finally landed safely on the counter, except a few bear-shaped cookies had their ears bumped together. Jessica looked at the golden-brown cookies and a thought suddenly popped into her head, "If only you could taste them..."

A few seconds of silence lingered in my Sea of Consciousness.

"Jessica," Su Rui's voice suddenly became very soft, "Look out the window."

She turned her head and found that the rain had stopped sometime earlier. Sunlight pierced through the clouds, refracting through the moisture to create a rainbow that stretched across the villa's garden.

In the underground training room, Jessica was practicing moving target shooting. Sweat dripped down her temples, but her eyes were focused and determined.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

All three bullets hit the bullseye.

"How was it?" she asked, putting down her weapon with a hint of smugness in her voice.

"The progress is obvious," Su Rui commented, "But there's still a bit of hesitation when reloading."

Jessica stuck out her tongue, about to retort, when she suddenly heard the intercom notification sound for the training room. The butler robot slid in. "Miss, your order of the holographic version of <The Sargon Wilderness Survival Guide> has arrived."

[Ah! I almost forgot!] She jogged over to take the package. [You said you'd teach me how to distinguish between venomous snakes and edible plants...]

As she turned the holographic projection page, a desert scene immediately unfolded in the training room. Jessica sat cross-legged on the floor, watching various holographic plants grow around her. When a projection of a king cobra suddenly darted out from the sand, she was so startled that she leaned back and almost bumped into the equipment rack behind her.

Su Rui's laughter echoed in her Sea of Consciousness: "That was an overreaction. The alert distance for this kind of snake is two meters."

"But... but it suddenly jumped out...!" Jessica blushed and protested, her tail fur standing on end.

In the stillness of the night, Jessica soaked in the jacuzzi, the aroma of lavender essential oil filling the steam. Looking at her hair floating on the water, she suddenly asked:

[Su Rui, what will you look like after you materialize?]

The water rippled gently. Su Rui seemed to be thinking about how to answer.

"It should be similar to before," he finally said. "Black hair, black eyes, and probably cat ears like yours..."

Jessica imagined the scene, her heart racing: [So... what kind of clothes would you wear?]

"What, is Miss preparing clothes for me?" Su Rui's tone was teasing.

"I... I was just curious!" She suddenly submerged half her face in the water, blowing out a string of bubbles.

The bathroom's smart system suddenly issued a warning. "Miss, the water temperature is about to drop below the comfort threshold. We recommend adding hot water."

Jessica then realized she had been soaking for a long time. As she dried herself and changed into a soft nightgown, she heard Su Rui whisper:

"The first thing I'll do after it's materialized is probably try your cookies."

Moonlight filtered through the gauze curtains, casting dappled shadows on the floor in front of her bed. Jessica snuggled into the covers, burying her face in the fluffy pillows, but a smile involuntarily crept onto her lips.

"It's a deal." she whispered to herself.

Jessica, clutching a game controller, curled up on the beanbag chair in the living room. The holographic projection screen emitted a soft blue light, reflecting on her slightly flushed cheeks.

"[Su Rui...]" she asked softly in her mind, "[Do you like playing video games?]"

A gentle ripple spread through my Sea of Consciousness, like someone chuckling softly. "Why are you suddenly asking this?"

Jessica's tail curled up involuntarily: [I was just thinking... if you like, we can play together...]

Volume 14, Chapter 763: Online Games

Her voice trailed off as she spoke, her fingers unconsciously tracing the buttons on the controller. The idea had been swirling in her mind for days—if she could play games with Su Rui, perhaps it would make him feel more real, rather than just hearing his voice in her head.

"Of course I like it." Su Rui's voice was filled with nostalgia. "Back in Rhodes Island, I often played online games with Exusiai."

"Really?!" Jessica's ears perked up instantly. "Shall we play now?"

Before Su Rui could answer, she ran barefoot to the game shelf. The dazzling array of game cartridges made her hesitate for a moment. "[Su Rui, what kind of game do you want to play? Shooter? Adventure? Or...]"

"Just choose what you're good at," Su Rui said gently. "I can be your off-court coach."

Jessica eventually chose a two-player co-op adventure game. As she returned to the sofa and placed the other game controller on the empty seat beside her, a strange sense of anticipation welled up inside her—as if Su Rui would actually pick up that controller.

After the game started, Jessica quickly discovered that Su Rui was an extremely good "teammate".

[There's a trap on the left!]

She hurriedly brought her character to a sudden stop, and sure enough, she saw the ground ahead suddenly collapse, revealing sharp spikes.

"Jump to the right now and grab the vine."

Jessica's fingers flew across the controller, her character gracefully swinging across the abyss. When her character landed safely, she couldn't resist giving a small jump on the sofa: [Success!]

Su Rui's laughter echoed in her Sea of Consciousness: "Well done, but watch out for the rolling stones above."

[Huh?!]

Before she could finish speaking, the giant boulder above the screen began to rumble down. Jessica frantically tried to dodge it, but was still grazed, and her health bar immediately dropped.

[Ugh... I almost got it right...] She pouted, her tail drooping listlessly.

"That's already very good," Su Rui comforted her. "To have such reaction speed on your first time playing..."

He suddenly paused. "Wait, did you secretly practice this level just now?"

Jessica's body visibly stiffened: [N-no...]

"A beginner would usually jump 0.5 seconds before the boulder lands," Su Rui's voice held a knowing smile, "But you jumped at the perfect moment."

Caught red-handed, Jessica shrank back into the sofa, burying her face in a cushion: [... practiced seventeen times...]

She felt a warm ripple spread through Su Rui's Sea of Consciousness, shimmering like the surface of a lake under the sunlight.

Three hours later, Jessica slumped on the sofa, the controller slipping to her side. The word "Level Completed" on the screen was flashing.

"I'm exhausted..." she rubbed her aching fingers. "But I'm so happy!"

"You've improved very quickly," Su Rui commented. "That combo in the final level took even Exusiai half a month to master."

Jessica's eyes lit up: [Really?]

She suddenly sat up, grabbed her terminal, and started typing rapidly. "[Let's play this new online game! It's supposed to be super fun...]"

"Jessica," Su Rui interrupted her helplessly, "It's already two in the morning."

[Ah...] Only then did she notice that it was already pitch black outside the window, with only the courtyard lights of the villa still on.

As she reluctantly turned off the game console, she suddenly whispered, "[Su Rui... after we materialize, can we play games together like this?]"

The fluctuations in my Sea of Consciousness paused for a moment.

"Of course," Su Rui's voice was softer than usual, "Don't blame me for bullying you with the controller later."

Jessica rolled around on the sofa, hugging a cushion, her face beaming with undisguised joy: [It's a deal then!]

Jessica stood in the private shooting range in the basement of the villa, her hands gripping a custom-made gun, fine beads of sweat forming on her forehead. The specially designed silencer made each shot only produce a slight "thud," but the recoil still made her wrists go numb.

"Relax your wrist a little more." Su Rui's voice rang clearly in her mind, "You're too tense, treating the gun like an extension of your arm."

Jessica took a deep breath, trying to relax her tense shoulders. Under the soft lights of the shooting range, the metal bullseye 25 meters away looked only the size of a coin. She adjusted her breathing and pulled the trigger halfway through her exhale—

Bang!

9.8 rings.

[Just a little bit more!] She stomped her foot in frustration, her cat ears drooping dejectedly.

"That's already very good," Su Rui comforted her. "Now try the quick reload technique, remember the method I taught you."

Jessica pressed the eject button, and before the empty magazine even hit the ground, the new magazine slid into the slot. She had practiced this action hundreds of times, but today it unexpectedly jammed—the magazine fell to the floor with a "thud".

[Ah!]

"Don't rush," Su Rui's voice remained calm. "Keep your weight on the balls of your feet when you bend over, yes, that's it."

When she straightened up again, she found that Su Rui was projecting a holographic human figure in her Sea of Consciousness —a young man with black hair and black eyes, demonstrating how to hold a gun in a standard posture. Although it was just a blurry phantom, it was the first time Jessica had "seen" Su Rui so clearly.

"[You...]" Her heart skipped a beat. "[Is this what you look like in your physical form?]"

"Probably." The illusory figure smiled. "Focus on the movements; the wrist should rotate like this..."

Jessica forced herself to concentrate, but her cheeks burned uncontrollably. She clumsily mimicked the afterimage's movements, and nearly flung the magazine away while reloading.

"Pfft." Su Rui couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Miss, your hands are shaking."

[It's all your fault for showing up so suddenly!] Jessica protested, her face flushed, her tail puffed up into a fluffy ball.

Su Rui's illusory figure tilted its head, its cat ears twitching slightly with the movement. "My fault. But..." He suddenly pressed closer, though only on a conscious level, it made Jessica stiffen. "That reaction is cute."

The gun clattered to the ground.

Two hours Jessica slumped onto a leather sofa in the shooting range's rest area, her bangs sticking to her cheeks with sweat. She sipped her chilled lemonade, enjoying the cool liquid sliding down her throat.

"Is your wrist still sore?" Su Rui's voice rang in my Sea of Consciousness, gentler than usual.

Jessica rotated her right wrist. "[Much better...]" She suddenly remembered something, "[That quick reload technique, was that really taught to you by Shining?]"

Su Rui chuckled, "No, I learned it from a Sarkaz. That guy can reload in 0.8 seconds and peel an apple in the process."

[You're kidding!] Jessica laughed out loud and almost choked on her water.

Volume 14, Chapter 764: Making Dinner at Home

Jessica stood in front of the kitchen island, put on an apron with a cartoon cat paw pattern, and took a deep breath.

"[I'm making dinner myself today!]" she announced in her mind. "[Watch this, Su Rui!]"

"We'll see." Su Rui's voice was tinged with laughter.

She tiptoed to take a ping-pong pan from the cupboard, the clanging of the metal ringing out crisply in the spacious kitchen. The refrigerator was neatly stocked with various ingredients—fresh goods that the housekeeper replenished every morning. Jessica picked out a few of the prettiest-looking items: pink salmon, bright green asparagus, golden lemons, and a small box of cream.

"I'm going to make pan-fried salmon with lemon cream sauce!" she said confidently, arranging the ingredients on the counter. "I saw how to make it on a cooking show."

"Dry the fish first," Su Rui reminded her, "Otherwise it will splatter oil."

Jessica nodded and grabbed some kitchen paper to wipe the fish fillet. But she used too much force, and the tender fish immediately cracked.

"Ah!" she cried out in alarm, looking at the fish fillet broken in two. "W-what do we do?"

"It's alright," Su Rui's voice remained calm, "It just doesn't look good, but the taste is unaffected."

Jessica bit her lower lip and carefully placed the fish fillet on a plate. Next, she prepared the asparagus, picking up a kitchen knife and mimicking the elegant peeling motions of chefs on television.

"Wait, the angle of the knife is wrong--"

Su Rui's warning came too late. The sharp blade grazed Jessica's fingertips as it sliced through the asparagus.

[Pain!]

A drop of bright red blood oozed out. Jessica stared blankly at her finger, her eyes instantly reddening.

"Don't move." Su Rui's voice suddenly turned serious. "Rinse with running cold water first, then go get the first-aid kit."

[But dinner...]

Dinner can wait.

The cool water washed over her wound, and Jessica sniffed. The band-aid had a cat design, and she stared at the grinning kitten on it for a long time before slowly returning to the kitchen counter.

"Now turn the heat to medium," Su Rui patiently instructed. "The oil needs to be heated until it just starts to smoke."

Jessica carefully poured the oil into the pan, but her hand trembled, and she poured twice as much oil as she intended. As she placed the fish fillets into the pan, scalding hot oil immediately splattered everywhere—