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

Alina had no idea what Su Rui was thinking, but the gentle girl still began acting according to his instructions.

Think of something pleasant... What things were pleasant?

Alina instinctively recalled how she had felt when she met Talulah, when she first heard Mr. Su Rui's voice, and whenever his voice sounded through her headphones.

All those happy emotions were conveyed by Alina to Talulah, and a pleased smile involuntarily appeared at the corner of her lips as well.

However, Su Rui did not have Alina continue for long and soon told her to stop.

"All right, this is enough. After Talulah falls asleep, give her ten minutes of psychological treatment every day. That's your job, understand?"

"Okay, I understand."

Alina nodded, lightly stepped down from the bed to the floor, and glanced once more at Talulah, who was smiling in her sleep.

Though the girl was exceptionally kind, for some reason, she felt jealous of Talulah.

Mr. Su Rui cares so much about Talulah... He's clearly an existence I can neither see nor touch, so why do I care so much about him?

Alina quietly closed the door, but she did not return to her own room.

After all, Su Rui had said that she could freely explore anywhere in the castle.

So, Alina instinctively wanted to find somewhere high up to take a look.

After arriving at a high point in the castle, Talulah looked out at the magnificent Mobile City, the towering buildings, and the bustling, glittering streets. For a moment, she was stunned by the sight before her.

She occasionally went into the Mobile City to trade for paints or exchange her paintings for money.

But Alina had never seen such a magnificent Mobile City, nor had she ever had the chance to observe the entire city from such a high place with such a good view.

"Magnificent, isn't it?"

Su Rui's voice sounded through her headphones. Alina froze for a moment, then a smile involuntarily appeared on her lips.

"Mr. Su Rui, do you want to chat with me?"

"What else would I do? I can't sleep right now, Talulah is asleep, and I can only find something to do. I don't have the patience to play games either, so talking to you is the most suitable option."

Su Rui casually explained his train of thought, while Alina could not help raising a hand to cover the corner of her mouth.

There was no need to explain the process in such detail during a normal conversation. Mr. Su Rui really had no guard up at all.

Unfortunately, Su Rui could not hear Alina's thoughts. Otherwise, he would definitely argue that he was invincible anyway, so there was no need to be vigilant.

At that moment, however, Su Rui could use Scanning Vision to see the Mobile City in its entirety. He could even see every detail within it, every person, and the transient population constantly entering and leaving aboard vehicles around the city.

It made him sigh. "This city is like a giant beast, breathing in and out life..."

"But this beast protects people's lives too, doesn't it?"

Alina smiled at the distant scenery as she spoke with Su Rui through the headphones. Though she did not understand why Mr. Su Rui saw a Mobile City that way, Alina instinctively chose to view things from a more optimistic angle.

"Yeah, you're right... Wouldn't it be great if this Mobile City could stand up or transform?"

"Huh?"

Alina could not quite keep up with the leaps in Su Rui's thinking. In truth, Su Rui was not being sentimental; he had merely made an offhand remark.

"It's a pity I can't show you the concept art. Otherwise, a standing Mobile City could, with the same amount of building materials, be made into an enormous robot instead. And with my design, this giant robot could keep its residents alive while moving. Converted by population capacity, it could hold even more people than the current city!"

Alina listened to Su Rui's cheerful introduction. Though she did not quite understand, she still smiled and went along with him, infected by his enthusiasm.

"Come to think of it, you don't have a phone yet, do you? If you did, I could at least show you. The screen resolution might not be that high, but you could still see a rough image."

Su Rui found that somewhat regrettable, but Alina did not think it was a problem.

"You can show me later. We have plenty of time, don't we?"

"That's true, but not being able to show it to you right away is making me restless."

Su Rui sounded somewhat dissatisfied, unaware that Alina had also been made restless by the way he complained.

For some reason, the kind little deer licked her lips.

The Person in Sarcophagus Eighty-Nine

The next morning, Talulah woke up in her bed, clutching her head. Something felt off, but she could not remember what exactly was wrong.

She felt as though she were in a good mood, perhaps because something had happened last night.

But Talulah was vaguely confused. It seemed that Su Rui and Alina had done something together.

But what exactly had they done? If Su Rui and Alina had secretly done something... Talulah felt that she ought to be angry.

Unable to remember or figure it out, Talulah decided it would be better to ask Su Rui directly.

So, while tidying her clothes and getting up to wash, Talulah began calling for Su Rui in her mind.

Su Rui, did you do anything last night?

"Mm~ Haaah~ Last night? No, I don't think so. What happened last night?"

Su Rui had also just been awakened by Talulah's call. For the moment, he could not remember what had happened the previous night that Talulah was referring to.

Talulah fell silent for a moment and did not press Su Rui to tell her. She merely nodded and asked, "Then what are our plans from here on out?"

"Mm... As for plans, as Duke Zero, you just need to follow the previous plan and gradually improve the policies toward the Infected. There's not much else you need to do. But there's plenty to do with the Reunion Movement, and if you cooperate, the efficiency will be very high."

As Su Rui spoke, Talulah had already gotten dressed, risen to her feet, and stepped outside her room.

And then? How am I supposed to cooperate with the Reunion Movement?

Talulah still intended to find out what had happened last night, so she planned to find Alina. Alina should be able to give her an answer. That girl was kind, and she probably would not dare lie.

With that thought in mind, Talulah arrived at Alina's door and knocked.

"Coming~"

Alina's voice came from inside. Then the door was opened almost immediately. Talulah looked in surprise at the neatly dressed Alina standing before her.

Alina smiled sheepishly.

"I usually get up rather early, so I was reading in my room for a while."

"Mm."

Talulah nodded, then straightforwardly asked Alina, "Did you do anything with Su Rui last night?"

When Talulah had first woken up, she had not noticed the blanket on her body and thought she had accidentally pulled it over herself while turning over.

But now, seeing Alina's hesitant expression, it seemed that was not the case.

At that moment, Su Rui suddenly realized. "Oh~ So this is what you meant about last night. Alina and I gave you treatment."

Talulah froze. "What treatment?"

"Treatment for your mental state. It works best when you're asleep, so we did psychological counseling in your dreams for ten minutes. Is that what you meant?"

That should be it. Talulah nodded. She was not puzzled by Su Rui suddenly remembering. In her view, he had probably just woken up and was still a little groggy, so he had not recalled it at first.

Meanwhile, Alina watched Talulah interact with Su Rui in her mind, while she herself could hear nothing at all. She kept smiling, but there was not much amusement in her eyes.

"Miss Talulah, did you need something from me?" Alina asked with a smile.

"Mm... Nothing."

Talulah nodded. She had merely wanted to find out what had happened last night. It seemed nothing had happened that should concern her.

Then, Talulah skillfully changed the subject. "Let's go to the dining room. Breakfast should be ready by now."

"Mm."

Alina nodded, while Talulah continued asking Su Rui as she left.

So, do you have any ideas for the Reunion Movement's plan?

"Don't rush me. I'm thinking."

Su Rui answered Talulah, then fell silent again, as if he were putting considerable thought into the plan.

Talulah nodded and said nothing more.

Then, at the breakfast table that morning, Talulah heard Su Rui's voice again.

"I found it! A suitable base, perfect for becoming the Reunion Movement's city. Once they succeed, you can put in a good word for them as a duke and use some superficial benefits to divert those nobles' attention. That way, the Reunion Movement can rapidly grow stronger!"

Su Rui cheered, but Talulah's confusion was not greatly eased by his explanation. Her movement with the utensils merely paused slightly.

So, which city did you choose?

"Of course, Chernobog."

As Su Rui spoke, he displayed information about Chernobog, the large Ursus border Mobile City, in Talulah's field of vision.

"But the information you're seeing isn't actually the important part. It's just basic introductions. What really matters is Chernobog's power source."

Then, some research materials appeared in Talulah's field of vision. Su Rui had specifically marked them as documents that had been destroyed but restored by him.

"Chernobog's power source comes from a Sarcophagus. A container that can only fit one person lying inside, yet it powers an entire large Mobile City. Don't you think that's interesting?"

Mm... But I don't understand what this power source means for the Reunion Movement.

Talulah asked in confusion, Are you planning to use this energy source as a bargaining chip?

"No. I just think this Sarcophagus is cool. And it seems pretty important. It feels like it has something to do with me, but I can't figure out exactly what that connection is."

As Su Rui spoke, several knocking sounds rang out in Talulah's mind, immediately making her tense.

Just as expected, Su Rui's voice rang out again. "Old man, do you know what that Sarcophagus has to do with me? Are you hiding something from me?"

Isn't it a little inappropriate to speak to the Upper System like that? Talulah's heart clenched, but she had no way to stop Su Rui at that moment. She could only hold her breath and nervously watch the exchange between Su Rui and the Upper System.

To Su Rui's surprise, the Upper System answered him this time.

[The individual inside the Sarcophagus is blood-related to you. Protection is recommended.]

"And? You already know we're blood-related, so what exactly is the person in the Sarcophagus to me?"

Su Rui's Control

Su Rui desperately wanted an answer, but the Upper System played dead once again.

That annoyed him. "You're deliberately being cryptic, aren't you, old man? Do you know that people who speak in riddles deserve a thorough beating?"

Ah, Su Rui, let's talk about how you plan to help the Reunion Movement take Chernobog instead. After all, it's a large Mobile City, and Ursus troops are stationed around it.

Talulah hurriedly helped the Upper System divert Su Rui's attention. She felt that if this continued, the Upper System and Su Rui might start bickering.

As Su Rui and Talulah's superior in a certain sense, the Upper System still held some authority in Talulah's eyes.

"Tch, fine."

Su Rui clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, but he shifted his attention away from the Upper System and began introducing his plan to Talulah.

"Actually, my plan is simple. I have Scanning Vision over all of Chernobog. When the time comes, we just need to give the Reunion Movement's forces some communicators, and I can use them to directly micromanage every team and wipe out all of Chernobog's defenders."

Su Rui's tone gradually became smug.

"And as long as we control Chernobog's walls, the army groups outside won't be able to get in at all. Since the Mobile City has been completely under my control from the very beginning, if I don't want them getting in, they absolutely won't get in."

Really?

Talulah was not entirely convinced. She had indeed witnessed some of Su Rui's control over electronic information, but she had never actually seen him control real equipment, so she still had some doubts about his abilities.

"I told you, as long as it's electronic equipment, it can't escape my control, right? Unless it has no power or is shut down."

Su Rui was somewhat displeased by Talulah's skeptical tone.

"And that shutdown can't be the standby kind. As long as it has power, I can forcibly start even electronic devices that have been shut down. Only devices whose energy supply has been completely cut off are immune to my control."

Su Rui gave an unhappy snort. "I can prove it to you right now!"

Wait, can you let me finish breakfast first? Then we can go try it together.

Talulah hurriedly stopped Su Rui, because she felt that, carried away by the conversation, he really might directly activate some massive contraption to prove his abilities to her.

"...Fine, but eat faster."

Su Rui said this somewhat unhappily, urging Talulah to hurry up.