Ark Simulator, Am I Not Without a Physical Body? Chapter 40

She only wanted this girl Su Rui had praised to get out of Su Rui's sight as soon as possible.

"But please, let us thank you..."

Alina found it a little strange and wanted to keep Talulah around, but Talulah had no intention of paying her any attention—unless...

Su Rui spoke up to stop Talulah. "How about waiting a moment? Could you take this Alina away?"

Why? Did you take a liking to her? Talulah instinctively tightened her grip on the sword in her hand, but she did not make a move.

"Because she's interesting. She can paint, she's an Infected, and her Originium Arts are related to the mind. I noticed that your mental state is still a little unstable. It seems that, given your experience, trying to understand Black Snake's long memories was indeed a bit too reckless."

Su Rui paused. "Even though I've removed all kinds of influences from those memories, your personality has become a little extreme."

I feel perfectly normal. It's like I watched a lot of movies.

"Of course I know that. But watching so many movies with extreme viewpoints will definitely have an effect. Take her with you. I have a way to make you feel better."

I'd feel better if she weren't by your side.

Thinking that, Talulah still decided to agree to Su Rui's request.

There was no special reason. It was simply because this was what Su Rui wanted.

So, the girl stopped and turned to look at Alina.

"I need a place to rest, if you don't mind."

"No problem. My room is large enough for us to rest together. There isn't much food left, but there should still be enough for us."

Alina nodded in delight and led Talulah back to her home under the gazes of the other villagers hiding inside their houses.

"So, she really does like painting."

Su Rui showed Talulah the paintings that had been hidden away, as well as the one Alina was currently working on.

Not bad.

Talulah only gave them a glance before offering a simple assessment. What do you think?

"I don't understand art, but why not just kidnap her directly? That'd be much more convenient. I can talk to her afterward and make her behave."

Talulah could not help laughing, drawing Alina's puzzled gaze. "May I ask what's wrong?... My room really is quite shabby. I've made a fool of myself in front of you."

Alina thought Talulah was laughing at her room and immediately became somewhat embarrassed.

But Talulah merely smiled. Then Su Rui's voice sounded from the phone.

"Actually, she was just chatting with me."

"Huh?! Is someone else here?"

The girl immediately looked like an alert little deer, which Su Rui found rather amusing.

"Of course. You can't see me, but I'm right here. I'm also the one who asked Talulah to help you."

This Person, I'm Buying

His voice sounded arrogantly smug but was actually a little innocent, and the way he sought credit was like that of a child. Rather than finding him arrogant, Alina could not help covering her mouth as she smiled, her eyes curving into crescents.

Even Talulah had to tense her cheeks, her shoulders trembling slightly.

"What are you two laughing at? Was I wrong?" Su Rui asked in confusion.

"Right, right, you're right. Cough, cough."

Talulah choked on her own laughter and coughed twice in discomfort before raising her head to look at Alina, her gaze turning serious.

"To make a long story short, Miss Alina, I want to hire you. The pay and benefits will be generous. How does five gold coins a month sound?"

"Gold coins?!"

Alina had only wanted to hear what Talulah had to say, only to hear the words "gold coins." For a girl living in a border village of Ursus, gold coins were something that existed only in her mind, something she would almost never have the chance to use.

But Alina had never expected to hear such words for real today.

The girl's eyes widened into perfect circles as she stared fixedly at Talulah.

"That's a good idea," Su Rui said in Talulah's mind. "But how are you planning to make her believe you?"

Just show her the money. Didn't I save some in your System Space?

"So that's what you prepared it for?"

Of course not. I just didn't expect it to come in handy.

As Talulah spoke, Su Rui took five gold coins from the System Space and placed them in her hand. She gently set them down before Alina.

"Please rest assured, it isn't dangerous work. I simply think you're suited for it. However, you'll need to leave with me."

Even though they had only been set down lightly, the sound of five gold coins was practically deafening to the girl before them.

Alina stared at the gold coins, feeling as if she were dreaming. Her mind went blank, and she felt dazed.

"She looks like she's about to faint. Hey, Alina, wake up~"

Su Rui's voice pulled Alina out of her daze. She looked at Talulah, the seagull, and the place where Su Rui might be, then took a deep breath and nervously placed a hand over her chest.

"I... What do you intend for me to do?"

Someone who could casually produce five gold coins had to be some important figure, right? Alina instinctively grew nervous.

Talulah did not care about Alina's increasingly reverent, even wary, gaze. She merely lifted her chin somewhat arrogantly.

"Your Originium Arts are related to the mind, correct? I need you to help me with some things."

"I'm sorry, I..." Upon hearing Talulah's words, Alina instinctively shuddered and wanted to refuse.

Fortunately, Su Rui's voice interrupted her in time. "No need to be nervous. Actually, I should be the one hiring you. Simply put, you only need to listen to me."

"Is that so?" Alina froze for a moment and looked at Talulah. Talulah nodded expressionlessly. Whatever Su Rui said went.

Hearing Su Rui say that, Alina instead breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.

"I'm willing to accept this job. Then, when will we depart?"

Before Talulah could speak, Su Rui laid out the arrangements.

"Talulah and I still have things to do, so we'll take you away when we return. You can keep the gold coins for now, but don't think about running away."

"Please don't worry. I wouldn't run away over five gold coins. By following you, I can obtain even more, can't I?"

The girl gave Su Rui a playful smile, but Talulah merely stared at her expressionlessly.

Forget it. In any case, Su Rui can only communicate with me mentally, Talulah thought. Besides, Su Rui said he was hiring Alina for the sake of her mental state, so there was nothing to overthink.

Now that the matter had been settled, Talulah planned to make dinner and then get some proper rest.

Then she heard Alina make a somewhat bashful request.

"Excuse me, may I... give these five gold coins to the old father and old mother who have always taken care of me? They've been very kind to me... I promise I won't run away, and I don't need payment for the first month. Just give me a little food!"

The concern and kindness in the girl's eyes for her family involuntarily made Talulah think a little more highly of her. She nodded. "You may."

"Wait."

Su Rui's voice rang out again, stopping Alina just as she delightedly prepared to go find the two elderly people.

Then several dozen silver coins appeared on the table.

"These are silver coins equivalent to those five gold coins. If you want to give them something, give them the silver coins instead."

"Mm, all right. Thank you."

Alina immediately understood something as well. She nodded gratefully, then looked at Talulah.

"Then please take back these five gold coins. Thank you very much for your generosity."

"It doesn't matter. Consider it money for settling your family. Those five gold coins are yours as well."

Talulah nodded and watched Alina's surprised figure leave.

You care about her a lot.

"Not really. I just think that if she's unhappy, it'll affect her work efficiency."

So he was worried about my condition? Talulah's mood improved somewhat. Su Rui had hired Alina for her sake, so there should not be any problem.

Besides, even if Su Rui had thoughts about Alina, Talulah believed that she absolutely would not lose. With her special relationship with Su Rui and her own excellence, Talulah was very confident in herself.

However, Talulah did not say any of this. Instead, she walked over to the stove and prepared to cook dinner.

"What do you want to eat tonight? We have time, so we can make a little extra."

Letting Su Rui use her body to eat was also something Alina could not do. Talulah could not help smiling.

"Let's see. We'll make some simple pasta. I'll give you the recipe and ingredients."

As Su Rui spoke, he placed the ingredients on the table beside Talulah, then displayed the cooking method within Talulah's vision.

Of course, he did not forget to remind her, "We're already very close to the Snowfield Guerrilla Team. My Scanning Vision has found them."

"Mm, and? That's a good thing."

Talulah nodded and began chopping vegetables to prepare the meal. In preparation for traveling with Su Rui, he had trained Talulah's cooking skills some time ago, so they would not have to eat nothing but heated canned food.

"What I mean is, if you want to build a relationship with them, you can't gorge yourselves in front of the Snowfield Guerrilla Team when they're short on food and clothing. So this should be our last meal like this."

The Black-Hearted Upper System

Talulah's hand paused as she chopped vegetables, then she softly murmured in acknowledgment.

It was a pity that she would not be able to eat delicious food, but it was not unacceptable. It would only be for a short while, and it was also for the sake of helping people who needed help.

Talulah felt that she could endure it, and she remembered something else.

"I recall that the food and supplies you had me prepare earlier should be enough to provide for many people. Once the Guerrillas meet with us, their situation should improve, right?"

"Of course it will. But we have to wait until we gain their trust before giving them those supplies. Otherwise, if you give them things without saying anything, you'll just look like a fool with more money than sense."

Su Rui paused, then showed Talulah his plan again.

"I told you before that I can find quite a few black mines through scanning. We'll use that information to earn their trust, then discuss cooperation. We'll use those supplies as the terms we offer, so we'll have more bargaining chips."

"I thought you considered them all your own people."

Talulah had already begun cooking the vegetables and meat in heated oil. The corner of her mouth lifted slightly as she chatted easily with Su Rui.

"They will be our own people, but not yet. Only after the cooperation gradually deepens will they become our own people."

Su Rui drew a clear line in this regard. He could not misjudge the relationship between the two sides just because of the favorable impression he had formed of the Snowfield Guerrilla Team.

Talulah nodded. At the same time, she felt that Alina had been gone a little too long and asked Su Rui with some concern.

"Where's Alina? Why hasn't she come back yet?"

"Don't worry, she didn't run away. She's probably talking to the two elders about leaving. From what I can see, she seems to have cried."

As Su Rui spoke, he displayed Alina and the elders embracing within his Scanning Vision.

"Aren't we only taking Alina away after some time?"

Talulah was somewhat confused.

"That's right. So after crying like that, Alina still has to wait several days before leaving with us. Won't she be embarrassed during that time?"

Su Rui could not help letting out a gleeful laugh. Talulah did not care about such things, but she was infected by Su Rui's laughter and smiled as well.

After Alina spoke with the two elders and even shed tears over their parting, she finally wiped her eyes and pushed open the door to her room.

Then she saw "Talulah" sitting at the table, eating a fragrant dinner.

When "Talulah" saw Alina, she nodded casually and pointed to the other side. "There's a portion prepared for you. Hurry and eat, or it'll get cold."

"Mm, thank you very much."

Alina nodded, prepared her own dinner, and sat across from "Talulah." Yet the more she looked, the stranger she felt. The "Talulah" before her seemed like a completely different person.

Su Rui noticed Alina's strange gaze as well, since he was currently controlling Talulah's body to eat.

Without caring in the slightest, Su Rui waved to Alina across from him and casually said,

"I'm Su Rui, the person who just spoke with you. I'm borrowing Talulah's body to eat for now. Mm, delicious~"

"So that's how it is."