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

Meanwhile, Talulah was still hung up on Su Rui's words and couldn't help asking inwardly, 'Su Rui, what did you mean by what you just said?'

"Which part? Wasn't taking out the supplies something we'd already agreed on?"

'Of course I don't mean that! I mean when you said you thought Patriot was handsome!'

Talulah was getting a little flustered. She cared a lot about what Su Rui had said. Could he possibly have some kind of feelings for Patriot? Besides, no matter how she looked at it, only the word terrifying suited Patriot's face, didn't it?

And! Su Rui's tone at the time had sounded like he genuinely liked it. He really thought Patriot's face was handsome! He'd even sounded a little embarrassed! He'd never been embarrassed around her!

"Oh, that."

Su Rui wasn't particularly nervous and patiently explained to Talulah:

"It's actually simple. I just think his face has a lot of presence. For us guys, thinking something is cool doesn't necessarily mean liking it in that kind of romantic way. I think tall robots are cool too. It's more like liking something as an interest or hobby."

"Really?"

"Of course it's true. I don't like men. What exactly are you thinking about?"

Talulah couldn't help letting out a sigh of relief. That was good. Mainly because she felt that once Su Rui gained a physical form, he really might come into contact with quite a few women.

Su Rui's attention really could be drawn away from her.

But Alina was fine. She was very gentle. And FrostNova, who was right in front of them, was acceptable too—a cold beauty, but someone Su Rui could get along with.

Even the maids back home were more or less acceptable. After all, Su Rui was a normal boy.

But Patriot was absolutely not acceptable! That would be an insult to Talulah's charm.

No matter how she thought about it, Talulah couldn't accept losing her beauty to a man—especially a man with such a terrifying face.

"All right, you're overthinking it. I just think Patriot looks imposing and cool."

Seeing Talulah seemingly start to let her imagination run wild again, Su Rui couldn't help calling her back to her senses.

Then Su Rui couldn't help thinking of Ren Dong and his daughter Suzuran. That was the kind of liking that came from love.

Since the matter was settled and their exchange with Patriot and FrostNova was over, Talulah had no intention of staying any longer. She greeted them and prepared to leave.

Even though Su Rui had said it was only the kind of interest one had in a hobby, Talulah still felt he shouldn't stay here any longer.

However, Talulah still told Patriot and FrostNova:

"Su Rui's voice can travel infinitely far through electronic signals. He can stay in contact with you at any time. Please make sure you have at least one functioning device. I think FrostNova's radio is suitable."

Talulah looked at FrostNova, the cold beauty.

"I understand."

FrostNova nodded and took out her radio in front of Talulah, turning it on.

"Well then, I still have things to do. Until we meet again."

After saying that, Talulah turned around, activated High-Speed Holographic Camouflage, and left the Guerrillas' camp.

This was pretty good. It was better for Su Rui to talk with FrostNova than with Patriot.

After Talulah left, FrostNova glanced at the Guerrillas still moving supplies, then looked at Patriot with a hint of dissatisfaction in her voice. She still remembered Patriot's tone when he'd spoken with Su Rui.

"What do you think of that Su Rui?"

"A... good child."

Patriot awkwardly expressed his thoughts. "He... didn't intend... to truly... make demands."

"I can see that. That's not what I'm asking... Forget it. I'll go arrange the work."

FrostNova hadn't gotten the answer she wanted. She rolled her eyes at her adoptive father and turned to leave.

Patriot watched his adopted daughter's retreating figure in confusion. However, his attention soon shifted to his own mask.

Patriot's mask was actually an electronic device too, though it lacked maintenance and had some functional issues.

But Su Rui could solve those problems. By using the mask's self-diagnostic function, he could at least get Patriot's mask working normally.

Then Su Rui's subtitles appeared before Patriot's eyes:

[All right, Operator. These are some strongholds I found where you can rest and camps that can serve as targets. When you set out is up to you!]

Patriot's build and armor really did resemble a cool mech. That was why Su Rui thought he was cool.

Unfortunately, he couldn't pilot Patriot.

PS: Happy New Year! Wishing everyone success in all things this year!

Follow Me Inside

On the way back from the Snowfield Guerrilla Team, Talulah had gone some distance before Su Rui deactivated High-Speed Holographic Camouflage. Then she heard Talulah's teasing laugh:

"So those supplies were exchanged for such a simple condition? Just to see Patriot's face?"

In Talulah's view, that request was a little too childish. Looking back on it now, she had several things she wanted to complain about and didn't even know where to begin.

But Su Rui didn't care about Talulah's teasing. Besides, he had his reasons.

Su Rui retorted irritably:

"What do you know? Sure, part of it was personal interest, but it also lets them lower their guard against me. Which AI is better for cooperation: a terrifyingly powerful AI that can seemingly control everything, or a reliable AI that occasionally does dumb things?"

"That makes sense, but you're not an AI."

Talulah smiled as she strolled across the snowfield. The heat spreading from her body dispelled the surrounding chill. To her, even an environment this cold merely felt a little cool.

"After all, I'm handling logistics. That's just how logistics works. Those Guerrillas only need to enjoy fighting according to the intelligence I provide, but I have a lot to consider. I need to make them trust me, provide supplies promptly, and make sure the information I give them isn't wrong."

Su Rui paused. "I also need to ensure that all the matters on your end run properly. Honestly, I'm handling all the government affairs in the duke's territory right now. You should learn how to do it."

"Of course I know how to handle those affairs. It's just that, for now, I'm accompanying you, aren't I?"

Talulah silently shifted her gaze away. Although Su Rui didn't have a physical form to look at her with anyway, a guilty feeling still kept her from facing forward.

"It'd better be. After all, I can't keep handling government affairs for you forever."

Su Rui yawned and urged her, "All right, hurry back to Alina. Nothing should happen, but I hate it when something that was supposed to be certain gets forced to change because of some accident."

But Talulah's attention had already been diverted by Su Rui's words. She couldn't help crying out, "Are you planning to leave? Why did you say you... can't keep helping me?"

Handling government affairs wasn't the point. Talulah could handle that herself. The important part was that not being able to help with government affairs meant Su Rui might leave.

Talulah immediately grew tense. She stopped where she was and anxiously waited for Su Rui's answer.

"Because my time here is limited. I don't know how long the Upper System has arranged for me to stay, but there is definitely a limit. I don't know when I'll leave either. So you need to learn to handle government affairs yourself."

Su Rui didn't hide it. This was something Talulah would have to be told sooner or later.

"...All right, I understand."

Talulah fell silent for a moment and nodded. Then she resumed walking, continuing along the route Su Rui had given her toward the village where Alina was.

Then she asked the Upper System inwardly, 'How long can Su Rui stay here?'

Whether Su Rui had lied or not, he wouldn't tell Talulah when he would leave. At a time like this, the only one who might know the answer and tell her was the Upper System.

Talulah stared fixedly at the view before her, waiting for the Upper System's response.

After seemingly giving it some thought, the Upper System's subtitles appeared before Talulah:

[The time Su Rui remains by your side is fixed. It consists of the time before he gains a physical form and the time after he gains one. The sum of the two is a fixed number. If you can help Su Rui gain a physical form sooner, you can spend longer with him after he has one.]

'Then how do I increase Su Rui's physical manifestation progress?'

Talulah glanced at the physical manifestation progress before her. It had reached one percent, finally becoming positive after the time they had spent together.

But why did it feel like positive physical manifestation progress was advancing so slowly after the negative progress had been cleared?

Talulah was confused and wanted an answer, but this time the Upper System only displayed:

[...]

It was clearly refusing to tell her, wasn't it?

Shaking her head in annoyance, Talulah came back to her senses and continued speaking with Su Rui:

"Su Rui, what are our plans next?"

"Keep developing the duke's territory, then secretly support the Guerrillas' growth. I'm planning to give them a name: the Reunion Movement."

As Su Rui spoke, he also showed Talulah the emblem of the Reunion Movement. Its extremely simple modified X shape left Talulah a little puzzled.

"This symbol is a little too simple."

"You need to consider what kind of people the Reunion Movement's members are!"

Su Rui retorted irritably:

"Most of them are just ordinary Ursus citizens, you know! I don't deny that there might be some intellectuals among them, but are the vast majority of Ursus citizens really that well educated?"

"..." Talulah fell silent for once. Given the current state of the Ursus Empire, although it had a complete education system, many students neglected their studies.

In other words, she truly couldn't refute what Su Rui had said.

Su Rui snorted and continued, "So for ease of production and recognition, this is the best choice. Otherwise, do you expect them to draw a bunch of complicated designs?"

Even if an occasional down-and-out artist became Infected, an artist couldn't prepare armbands for every member. For an Infected organization without support—at least without any visible support—that would be far too much.

And Su Rui couldn't simply print the armbands and give them to them.

Weapons and supplies would be one thing; they could be disguised as spoils of war. But if he gave them armbands, something so obviously partisan, wouldn't that be openly telling everyone that someone was backing the Reunion Movement?

Talulah nodded as well and didn't continue bickering with Su Rui.

After traveling for a long time, Talulah finally returned to the camp where Alina was before sunrise and lightly knocked on Alina's door.

"Talulah? You're back? Come in and rest for a while."

Alina, who had been awakened in the middle of the night, was wary at first. When she saw Talulah, she froze for a moment, then hurriedly pulled her into the house.

I Don't Eat This

Although Talulah had only found Alina's residence close to dawn and rested for a few hours,

when Alina got up, Talulah woke up as well and wanted to climb out of bed.

"You only slept for a few hours last night. Get some proper rest. We're not in such a hurry. I was only worried that Alina might run into danger while we were away."

Su Rui spoke in Talulah's mind, trying to persuade her to rest a little longer.

But Talulah merely smiled and shook her head, getting dressed and sitting up.

"Once we return to my territory, I can rest properly."

Alina, who was still busy nearby, was somewhat surprised when she heard Talulah's words. But after her eyes flickered for a moment, the girl didn't ask further and continued making breakfast.

Talulah watched busy Alina. She wanted to help but was refused, so she began talking with Su Rui instead:

'Since I rushed back overnight to make sure Alina, whom you care about so much, was safe, shouldn't you reward me properly?'

"What reward? Making sure Alina is safe is for your sake too, isn't it?"

Although Su Rui said that, Talulah saw the physical manifestation progress rise by one percent, reaching two percent.

Why was the physical manifestation progress rising so slowly now? When it had been negative, it had unknowingly risen by thirty percent.

Still, Talulah had more or less figured out a trick: as long as Su Rui was happy, the physical manifestation progress would increase.

Although Su Rui's tone just now sounded like he didn't want to give her a reward, Talulah could still hear the pleasure in his voice.

Su Rui simply didn't want to admit it.

With that thought, the corners of Talulah's lips couldn't help curving upward. If she wanted to make Su Rui happy, there were plenty of ways. She only needed to cater to his preferences, didn't she?

With that thought in mind, Talulah let her imagination run wild until she heard Alina call softly:

"Talulah, breakfast is ready. Talulah?"

Talulah heard her, but she was still immersed in her fantasies and didn't come back to her senses until she heard Su Rui speak through her phone:

"Time to eat, Talulah~"

"Huh? Oh, okay~"

Talulah froze for a moment, then hurriedly sat across from Alina and picked up a spoon. Just as she was about to bring it to her mouth, she realized something.

'Su Rui, aren't you going to use my body to eat?'