Ark Simulator: Don't I Have a Physical Form?

Patriot's walking speed was perfectly normal in non-combat mode. His strides were merely a little longer than those of an ordinary person.

FrostNova caught up with Patriot after only a short while, then casually made a snowball and tossed it at his shoulder to get his attention.

"Yelena? You..."

Sensing someone behind him, Patriot turned around and unexpectedly saw FrostNova following him. Just as he was about to ask something, he saw her cross her arms, turn her face aside, and look off to the side.

"Su Rui said you seemed to be going to see an old friend. He said it would be more appropriate for me to come along."

That was indeed the case. Letting an old friend meet his adopted daughter was a good idea. Still, there was something Patriot couldn't quite make up his mind about.

"Then, Su Rui..."

"I won't show myself directly. After all, Hellagur and I don't know each other. I merely happened to find his information."

After saying that, Su Rui fell silent. Instead of speaking again, he displayed the scene of Patriot and FrostNova moving together in Talulah's field of vision.

Talulah also had something to do now. "Even though I know you're very strong and can escape from here, you'll have to play the role of a captive for the sake of the plot~"

Su Rui spoke by Talulah's ear, then displayed the route for her again. "For now, go back to the hotel. Alina is still waiting for you there. She doesn't really know our plan. She might be terrified by now."

"Wasn't she wearing headphones? You didn't tell her what happened?"

Talulah wasn't worried by Su Rui's alarmist words. She understood him well enough to know what he was thinking.

"Of course not."

Su Rui answered casually, sounding somewhat pleased with himself. "I definitely wouldn't forget something like that. Alina is safely staying in her room. At my request, Reunion Movement's people haven't made any rash moves. They've only taken control of the hotel."

In other words, Talulah would have to be taken into custody when she returned as well. As a duke, she would certainly be treated well, but she still couldn't escape the status of a prisoner.

There weren't really any spies capable of avoiding the surveillance of Snake Scales and the Inner Guard to record Talulah's movements. Trying to gather intelligence through the internet was even more absurd, but they had to put on a complete act.

Before long, Talulah returned to her room under the watch of the guards assigned to monitor her. She was then placed under house arrest in the suite, but neither she nor Alina was nervous, because this had all been planned in advance.

Sitting on the soft bed in the warm room, Talulah rubbed the soft sheets beneath her a few times and chatted with Alina for a while. Then she happened to notice the System Materialization Progress in the corner of her vision. For some reason, it had already risen to thirty-seven percent.

What was going on? Talulah froze. For a moment, she didn't even have time to keep chatting with Alina. She stared fixedly at the System Materialization Progress in her vision and thought carefully.

What exactly had happened? Su Rui probably hadn't done anything particularly enjoyable with me lately, right?

Talulah had already realized that this System Materialization Progress only increased when Su Rui's impression of her improved. But why had it suddenly risen so quickly?

When they had first arrived in Chernobog, hadn't the System Materialization Progress still been in the single digits?

Talulah didn't understand. The simplest and most direct method now was to ask Su Rui, so she chose her words carefully before asking tactfully.

"Su Rui, has anything happy happened recently?"

"Of course!" The moment the subject came up, Su Rui brightened. "If you hadn't mentioned it, I almost would've forgotten to tell you. When Reunion Movement attacked last night, it was so much fun!"

As he spoke, Su Rui displayed a video in Talulah's vision. He didn't play it immediately, merely letting her see the cover while introducing it.

"If it weren't for your support, I probably wouldn't have gotten to experience something this amazing!"

As Su Rui spoke, Talulah turned her gaze toward the video before her. Was this why Su Rui's impression of her had increased as well?

Talulah didn't quite understand, but she still nodded and urged him, "Then let me see what happened."

"Alright, wait a moment. I'll share this video with Alina too."

As Su Rui spoke, Alina looked at the video cover. From the cover alone, she could tell the viewpoint was rather high up. It was probably the view from some vehicle, or perhaps from atop a tall individual.

As Talulah made her guess, Su Rui instantly shared the video to Alina's phone and started playing it.

The video was naturally footage of Su Rui "piloting" Patriot in battle last night. There hadn't been any evenly matched opponent for him to fight in a visually spectacular battle, but this one-sided slaughter was pretty good too.

However, Talulah was very concerned about one thing: the line Su Rui had said at the start of the video.

"Main system, combat mode activated!"

From his tone alone, Talulah could tell how happy Su Rui was. It seemed he really liked this sort of thing. As for exactly what sort of thing, Talulah was still trying to figure that out. In any case, Patriot was huge, frightening, and clad in heavy armor.

Was this Su Rui's aesthetic preference?

Talulah stared fixedly at the battle in the video, yet she wasn't drawn in by Patriot's flashy, high-tech equipment and tactical movements. Instead, she focused on Su Rui's prompts to Patriot and his cheers throughout the battle.

Su Rui was really happy. She should have been glad about that, and the increase in System Materialization Progress was worth celebrating too, but Talulah felt a little unhappy at this moment.

Because the rise in System Materialization Progress had actually come from Patriot. The improvement in Su Rui's impression of her—or rather, his affection for her—was only incidental.

Su Rui was thanking her for letting someone else take him to experience something enjoyable... That made Talulah very unhappy.

"Talulah, what's wrong? You seem a little unhappy. Don't you like this? I think Patriot looks really cool in it."

Su Rui noticed that Talulah seemed to be in a bad mood, so he paused the video before her and asked worriedly.

"It's nothing." Su Rui's concern warmed Talulah's heart. She raised her head and smiled at him.

"I was just a little sad. We've spent so much time together, but it seems I still don't understand your hobbies very well..."

As she spoke, Talulah deliberately put on a somewhat self-pitying expression.

Of course, Talulah, who possessed Black Snake's long memories and knowledge, couldn't possibly be weak. She had merely noticed that Su Rui was gentle toward a timid girl like Alina, and that he trusted FrostNova, who had an illness and weaknesses, often helping her as well.

In other words, Su Rui was softhearted. As long as someone appeared vulnerable, he would become concerned, and then... she could deceive him.

Talulah secretly chuckled to herself, though her face still wore a slightly sorrowful expression as she looked at the empty air before her.

"Su Rui, what exactly is your liking for Patriot like?"

"Oh, that? First of all, it definitely isn't the kind of liking involved in an intimate relationship. It's an appreciation of beauty."

Su Rui emphasized that point first. Though he didn't understand why Talulah had suddenly become upset, he had nothing to hide regarding this matter.

"My liking for Patriot ultimately comes from the fact that, as a man, I like things full of power—things like giant warships and massive cannons!"

As Su Rui spoke, he showed Talulah pictures of tanks, warships, and even fighter jets.

Those things didn't exist on Terra. Su Rui had displayed them to Talulah based on his own memories.

Of course, Terra still had interesting and cool things now, such as the magnificent mobile cities and landships.

After bringing up those pictures, Su Rui continued his introduction.

"Then, from that love of steel behemoths, along with an extension of the self, a new concept emerged: humanoid mechs."

As Su Rui spoke, he displayed pictures of exoskeleton armor as tall as humans or only two or three meters tall before Talulah.

"Cool, right? There are actually even cooler ones!"

Talulah silently listened as Su Rui's tone grew more and more excited. Then she saw the final set of images he displayed.

Thirty-meter-tall humanoid mechs—or rather, vaguely human-shaped mechs. Humans looked as tiny as ants before them.

These creations of steel contained unimaginable power. Standing before skyscrapers, their very presence carried an incomparable sense of oppression.

Talulah roughly understood Su Rui's hobby and nodded. "...Can these mechs actually be made?"

"Of course! I actually have the blueprints and complete technical production lines here!"

Su Rui sounded even happier. "Why not consider it? Terra's materials science is pretty good. It'd probably only take two or three years for me to put together the entire technology set and build such cool mechs!"

Moreover, Talulah truly had the wealth and authority needed to carry out such a plan. Su Rui felt that she would probably like this sort of thing too.

"...Could we start by trying something like exoskeletons? Or this kind? The other weapons are too far beyond Terra's current standards."

Becoming a target for everyone wasn't wise. Talulah's current goal was still merely to secure a place for the Infected.

So, from the images Su Rui had displayed, she selected one type of exoskeleton.

Rather than an exoskeleton, it looked more like high-tech armor.

Only the chest and limbs were armored. In practice, it looked more like a stylish outfit.

"This kind? Sure. This armor would be easier to make too."

Su Rui was a little regretful, but he didn't force Talulah to do it. He simply nodded.

"Still, if we're going to make it, we'll need some preparation. I need workers and factories."

"Of course. We'll have those once we return to the duke's territory."

Talulah nodded. After understanding Su Rui's hobby, her wariness toward Patriot vanished along with it.

Because Talulah could now be certain that what Su Rui liked was the combination of steel and technology, not any particular person.

That kind of feeling wouldn't develop into love, so there was no threat.

With that thought in mind, Talulah blanked out for a moment. Then she saw Su Rui close all those pictures and open a new one.

It was of Talulah herself. Su Rui had directly created a 3D model of her and designed a set of exoskeleton armor for her.

It actually resembled armored skirts more. The exoskeleton still showed off Talulah's appearance, as the helmet had been replaced with a laurel crown. It even accentuated her figure more than her military uniform did.

"This armor..." Talulah's tone was complicated, but Su Rui sounded proud.

"Don't let its flashy appearance fool you. The laurel crown is a field generator. It can create a shield field to protect you from damage. The exoskeleton on your body can also enhance your strength while resisting damage.

"And, most importantly, this armor can fly! It even has floating cannons!"

As Su Rui spoke, he showed her what the 3D model looked like in motion. Several fist-sized, scale-shaped drones—or floating cannons—flew out from beneath Talulah's armored skirt. They fired at an extremely high frequency, and even from the demonstration alone, their destructive power was obviously formidable.

Finally, and most importantly, jet-like wings similar to those of the Sankta could emerge behind armored Talulah, allowing her to maneuver rapidly through the air on wings of light.

"Is this really alright?"

Watching the model of herself fly rapidly under the armor's propulsion, Talulah instead became concerned about her own physical condition.

"Don't worry. Even if you break the sound barrier, you'll be fine. The field inside the armor includes a life-support field that balances the blood flow inside your body and your normal physiological functions. You won't feel uncomfortable at all."

As Su Rui spoke, he also demonstrated sharp turns at supersonic speed, as well as Talulah's physiological state while performing those maneuvers.

"Everything is normal. So? My design is amazing, right?"

"Mm... What kind of opponents did your people face that you had to develop weapons this powerful?"

Talulah nodded, but the question she asked made Su Rui freeze before sinking into thought.

Just as Talulah began worrying about Su Rui's mood and wanted to comfort him, she heard him slowly say one sentence.

"It's obviously for fighting. It's awesome!"

She really shouldn't have worried about Su Rui's thoughts, Talulah thought.

Although Su Rui's exoskeleton design was very cool, and every detail suited Talulah's identity as a Drak as well as her physical characteristics.

What Talulah needed to think about now wasn't that.

Because as an important bargaining chip and Duke Talulah, she was imprisoned separately from the other nobles by Reunion Movement. Instead, she was held together with those students.

"Remember to bring Alina too. She's with you, after all. You should take her along too, right?"

Watching FrostNova come to escort Talulah, Su Rui could barely suppress his laughter as he reminded Talulah in her mind.

Mm... I know.

Talulah nodded helplessly. Looking at FrostNova, who appeared expressionless but whose eyes also held amusement, she made her request in a businesslike manner.

"I can accept your imprisonment, but my friend must be with me. She lives next door to me. Her name is Alina."

"Go take a look."

FrostNova glanced at a member of the Yeti Squad beside her and gestured with her eyes.

The two sides were only enemies on the surface and allies in truth, so the inspection of Talulah was merely a formality.

Soon, Talulah and Alina were brought together to where the students had been gathered: a large school campus.

"This place is pretty spacious. No wonder a single school can hold all of Chernobog's students... Still, this is a little excessive. Those nobles really know how to enjoy themselves. A noble school can fit an entire city's students without even feeling crowded."

Su Rui activated his Scanning Vision and displayed the state of the campus before them.

"Still, with Reunion Movement managing the place, the students haven't caused any conflicts. They even have a certain degree of freedom... What are those students doing?"

Su Rui noticed the students freely moving around and gathering in groups on the field through Scanning Vision. His tone immediately changed, and he directly shifted Talulah's view and marked the scene for her.

In the view Su Rui had marked, two groups of students appeared to be debating. At least, that was the case for now.

The students had split into two factions, each sending representatives to voice their opinions and refute the other side's arguments.