Ark Simulator, Don't I Have No Physical Form?

Now that the proof was over, Talulah raised her glass of sparkling wine and said with a smile, "I hope everyone has a wonderful time."

Then, amid the nobles' applause, she turned and headed somewhere they could not see, sitting down across from Witte.

"You truly hold yourself to strict standards."

Witte watched Talulah set aside her sparkling wine and pick up a glass of juice instead, praising her with some surprise.

"After all, I still need to grow. It's only natural that I have restraints to follow, isn't it?"

Talulah had meant Su Rui, but Witte naturally understood it as the Black Snake's restrictions upon her.

Understanding flashed through Witte's eyes, and he nodded. "Then, Duke Talulah, what did you wish to discuss with me?"

"I will enact several laws favorable to the Infected within my duchy."

Talulah wore an arrogant expression, raising her chin as she looked at the astonished Witte. "I imagine His Majesty the Emperor would be interested in such policies as well?"

But Witte was not so quick to trust the Undying Black Snake. He looked at Talulah warily.

"What does Duke Talulah intend to do?"

"I merely thought that His Majesty would certainly be willing to promote these laws."

Talulah did not spell it out. For someone as suspicious as him, it was better to let him infer the answer himself.

Then she took out the documents Su Rui had drafted and printed long ago, pushing them in front of Witte.

I never expected you to have such abilities.

Talulah could not help marveling as well. Su Rui seemed capable of anything, and every one of those important abilities was immensely useful.

"Of course. I'm very capable."

Su Rui sounded rather pleased by Talulah's praise. Meanwhile, after reading through the proposed laws, Witte looked at Talulah with a subtle expression.

"These laws truly are generous, Duke Talulah. Your generosity toward the Infected is so lavish that it resembles raising livestock. Oh, pardon me. Livestock raised in such a manner likely would not grow very large, would it?"

Talulah agreed with Witte deep down, but she had to display disdain on the surface.

"So what? Lord Witte, the Infected have nothing right now. If I can make them gratefully work themselves to death with a few small favors, isn't that wonderful? It is a good thing for Ursus."

Witte's expression changed several times. In the end, he carefully put away the document Talulah had handed him and tucked it inside his clothes.

"I will inform His Majesty the Emperor of this matter. I trust His Majesty will carefully consider these laws and praise your generosity." Witte practically ground the final words out through his teeth.

"See yourself out."

Talulah remained seated, swirling the juice in her hand as she watched Witte's retreating figure with a smile.

In truth, Witte's condemnation had left Talulah somewhat uneasy. After all, she too felt that those terms were truly awful.

Then she heard Su Rui's voice. For some reason, Talulah felt much more at ease.

"I saw it through Scanning Vision. He secretly called you a greedy, disgusting vampire, you know~"

Su Rui's tone was full of schadenfreude, as though he wanted Talulah to get angry. Yet hearing his voice instead relaxed her, and she refuted him with a smile.

"This was your plan, so he was insulting you."

Su Rui did not care about Talulah's assessment. "This is only one part of the plan. For a better future for the Infected, present hardship and bloodshed are unavoidable. After all, no great cause has ever been achieved without bloodshed and sacrifice.

"In short, I'm a good person."

"Mm, you are a good person."

Talulah could not help laughing.

"What the hell are you laughing at?!"

Setting Foot on the Snowfield

Securing the title of duke and the identity of the Immortal Black Snake had posed no problem at all for Talulah with Su Rui's assistance.

After arranging the internal affairs of her estate and duchy, issuing her decrees, and waiting for the nobles to begin making moves, Su Rui gave Talulah some new advice.

At this moment, having secretly left her duchy under High-Speed Holographic Camouflage, Talulah walked across Ursus's frigid snowfields dressed in warm clothes and a trench coat.

"While I don't mind coming out alone to look for this Snowfield Guerrilla Team you mentioned, did I really need to come myself?"

Talulah had doubts about Su Rui's arrangement. Her biggest question was whether there was any need for her to come personally. Could she not have sent Snake Scales or the Inner Guard instead?

After becoming the Immortal Black Snake, Talulah had contacted some of the Inner Guard. Naturally, getting Them to work for her was no problem.

"These are two different matters. Besides, with me carrying a huge amount of supplies for you, you won't starve to death. You can remotely control those Snake Scales and Inner Guard through the network too. What noble would dare defy you?"

In a sense, with the Ursus Emperor's orders unable to travel far beyond the imperial palace, Talulah was the uncrowned ruler of this nation.

"Of course I trust your abilities."

Talulah stopped in the snowfield, thick white mist billowing from her mouth.

"What I mean is, having me come out personally seems to be for some sort of your own amusement?"

Talulah did not mind accompanying Su Rui, because she had already noticed signs that the so-called System Materialization Progress advanced according to Su Rui's mood.

The happier Su Rui was, the faster the progress bar rose... In fact, Talulah had another theory, but she could not confirm it yet.

If it really was affection, then there was no way it could have started at negative sixty percent when she had done nothing at all, right?

Therefore, asking Su Rui what he wanted was also very important.

Su Rui did not avoid Talulah's question. "Of course it's for my own amusement. Otherwise, wouldn't it be enough to have someone else run errands? Still, you're going to cooperate with them, so there's nothing wrong with seeing them in person."

Su Rui spoke casually as he directly displayed the information his scanning function had found to Talulah.

"Patriot, a Wendigo, a three-meter-tall Sarkaz. His race has a tradition of eating people, but he himself is highly restrained. The fairy is leading some followers around him and has formed a Snowfield Guerrilla Team. To be honest, Oripathy has not left him much time to live."

"He's the leader of the Guerrillas?" Talulah nodded. He did seem like a very formidable person.

"Not just that. There's also this one—FrostNova, real name Yelena. She's Patriot's adopted daughter and commands a Yeti Squad. Her Originium Arts are related to ice and snow, and because of Oripathy complications, her body temperature is very low. She's basically a living altar for low-temperature Originium Arts, constantly running and consuming herself."

Su Rui paused, and his tone turned somewhat strange. "Though I know it's not very nice to say this, FrostNova may die even earlier than her adoptive father."

"That is how lifespans differ between races."

Talulah did not find that strange. She simply nodded. "Is FrostNova's Oripathy severe?"

"Why else do you think I specifically brought some Oripathy Suppressant with us when we set out?"

Su Rui spoke casually, displaying the formula and composition of the Oripathy Suppressant to Talulah.

"I've actually already mastered this formula, and I can set up a cheap, efficient production line. Still, I suggest making some contact with Rhodes Island. At the very least, let them know and pay some sort of licensing fee."

"You actually care about intellectual property rights?"

Talulah could not help laughing at Su Rui's words. From their earlier interactions, she knew Su Rui was somewhat unconstrained, as if he viewed everything before him through a screen.

"That's a separate matter."

Su Rui interrupted Talulah's laughter with some displeasure. "The important thing isn't Rhodes Island. It's one—no, two—special individuals there... Maybe one and a half people? Ah, whatever. In short, there are special individuals on Rhodes Island worth paying attention to, so I don't really want them to harbor hostility toward you."

Even Su Rui did not quite understand where this premonition came from, but that did not stop him from acting on it.

"Anyway, Rhodes Island definitely won't charge you much in licensing fees. When the time comes, you can cooperate with them and make money together."

"Mm, I can see a village ahead."

Talulah nodded. A village had appeared in the distance. Though it was somewhat hazy in the snowfield's wind and snow, it was still obvious to Talulah's eyesight and the Scanning Vision Su Rui displayed.

"Mm, let's go inside and rest. Pitching a tent feels troublesome. It would be great if there were somewhere to rest."

Su Rui urged Talulah to get moving.

"Will we frighten the residents?"

"No. Because you're about to save a damsel in distress. Let me check your phone... Oh, it still has battery. I'll use it to speak later."

Talulah did not understand what Su Rui was plotting, but the moment she heard there would be a fight, she drew her longsword and hurried toward the village.

When she was still some distance from the village, Talulah saw the Ursus Inspection Corps members dressed in black.

"The villagers call them black bugs. These bastards don't conduct official business properly anyway. They use it as an excuse to plunder and extort people, and the villagers have no ability to resist or appeal."

As Su Rui spoke, he marked the Inspection Corps members in red. "There's nothing else to say. Just kill them."

"If I kill them, will it bring trouble to the village?"

"What do you think your Snake Scales and those Inner Guard are for?"

Su Rui's words immediately made Talulah throw aside all her reservations, but she still had another question. "It won't be useful if I only kill these few, right? Besides, not all of them may necessarily be..."

"First, I will definitely handle this matter in Duke Talulah's name."

"Second, kill the people in front of you first. I'll explain slowly. If you don't get over there, that old man will be beaten to death. Aren't you worried?"

Su Rui was not worried, of course. He had no conscience, but he knew Talulah was worried.

Alina

The moment she heard Su Rui's words, Talulah noticed the old man he had marked out, who was being surrounded and beaten. She immediately hastened her pace.

At that moment, Su Rui's voice sounded through the Inspection Corps' radios and Talulah's phone.

"Take a deep breath. Feeling dizzy is normal."

"Who goes there?!"

Before the Inspection Corps members could figure out what was happening, Talulah had already charged forward. Her longsword swept out horizontally, and blazing flames severed every standing Inspection Corps member at the chest.

Because the old man was lying on the ground, he was unharmed.

"Enemy attack! Could it be the Snowfield Guerrilla Team?!"

The Inspection Corps members were alarmed and terrified, but they quickly noticed that Talulah was alone.

Su Rui's voice sounded in Talulah's mind again.

"All right, don't overthink it. I've already sent Snake Scales to handle the Inspection Corps matter. The village won't be searched, and you can strike without worry. Not a single one of them is innocent."

"Mm."

Talulah nodded. She had suspected as much from the start, but now that she had received an answer, she could naturally fight without restraint.

With the support of Su Rui's Scanning Vision, the Inspection Corps' sabers and crossbow bolts could not even touch the corner of Talulah's trench coat. Almost the instant they approached her, they were cleaved in two by the scorching blade and became charred remnants upon the snow.

In the end, several Inspection Corps members tried to flee. Talulah blocked their escape vehicle, forcing them to lay down their weapons and surrender.

"We surrender! We surrender! Please spare us! We'll turn over a new leaf!"

Talulah's gaze did not waver. From the Black Snake's memories, she had seen far too many similar scenes. But she was waiting for Su Rui to urge her on.

"All right, don't go soft. Whether they were coerced or not, their actions caused the deaths of many innocent people. Even if they had no choice, their hands are stained with innocent blood. Such crimes deserve death."

The instant Su Rui finished speaking, Talulah swung her blade and dealt with the remaining Inspection Corps members.

She had only been waiting for Su Rui to speak, not genuinely considering sparing them.

Then came the explanation Su Rui had mentioned earlier.

"I investigated these Inspection Corps members. They all operate like this. After all, there's no organization on the snowfields capable of supervising them. Even if a few had consciences, they were dragged along by the others into doing terrible things."

As he spoke, Su Rui displayed some investigation files in Talulah's vision and gave his conclusion.

"In short, killing them all might indeed mean killing one or two kind people who held to their principles and never participated. But if you kill every other one, some will definitely slip through the net."

"Your analogy is truly peculiar."

Talulah's expression was somewhat strange, but villagers had already come before her to thank her.

However, they naturally feared Talulah as well, since she had begun slaughtering without a word.

"Oh, she's pretty."

Su Rui curiously looked the gray-haired Elafia girl up and down.

Upon hearing Su Rui's evaluation, Talulah could not help looking over the girl as well. Then she subconsciously frowned, intending to leave immediately.

The girl's brows and eyes were gentle, and she looked at Talulah with a hint of reverence. Though somewhat afraid, she still smiled and expressed her thanks.

"Thank you for your help. My name is Alina. May I ask who you are...?"

"Just call me Talulah. I'll be leaving directly. You also needn't worry about an investigation from the Inspection Corps. I've already taken care of it."

Talulah kept a cold expression. She did not plan to speak much with the girl, instead intending to leave with Su Rui as quickly as possible. Pitching a tent outside was not troublesome for her, and with Su Rui's system storage, there was no need to worry about insufficient supplies.