Ark Simulator, Am I Not Without a Physical Form? Chapter 9

Therefore, the best approach was to say a few nice things and stall those absurd ideas.

But this time, Su Rui was not planning to stir up trouble.

Seeing that Ren Dong still would not get out of bed, Su Rui directly activated the alarm on her phone.

"Is it already time to get up?"

Hearing the alarm, Ren Dong instinctively sat up and reached for her phone, only to discover that there was still half an hour until the alarm she had set.

Su Rui! I need adequate rest. If you have some plan, can't you at least wait until I'm rested before bringing it up?

Ren Dong was genuinely a little angry this time and even wanted to argue things out with Su Rui.

But before she could continue fighting for her sleep time with reason, Su Rui slapped a newspaper in front of her eyes.

What is this? Seeing the report about the Venice Family in the newspaper, Ren Dong's expression turned serious as she carefully read its contents.

The article was simple. It broadly described the two completely opposite sides of the Venice Family.

One part described a lady from the Venice Family resolving a farce in a gentle and appropriate manner, guiding the children to mend their ways under their parents' care. The article was full of praise for her.

The other part described a man from the Venice Family who had been crude and rude while handling a problem, causing considerable losses for many innocent people.

The article compared the woman and the man, praising one while condemning the other. In the end, it commented that it had never expected such a large family to produce both people of admirable morality and rude barbarians.

How did a newspaper dare to do this? That was Ren Dong's first thought.

Was this Su Rui's doing? That was Ren Dong's second thought.

Then she heard Su Rui's rebuttal. "First of all, this wasn't my doing.

"Second, you should be glad that I set up an automatic filter online. Any photo involving you becomes very blurry, including photos of that Little Venice. Otherwise, this really would have been hard to explain.

"You might have been seen as someone who used underhanded tricks, but that problem hasn't happened now."

So, do you know who did it?

Ren Dong's tone turned serious. As she asked, she began getting dressed.

This was serious. A newspaper had actually dared to openly praise and criticize such a powerful family. That could mean some family was preparing to take action against the Venice Family.

Otherwise, those little newspapers would never have had such courage.

Secondly, the writer of this article would undoubtedly become a target.

"The article doesn't list the writer's name. They used anonymity."

You can find the information, right?

"Probably. If they left traces online, then yes."

That's good. Ren Dong smiled instead.

Anonymity is actually beneficial for the family's actions. Finding the person behind this won't be difficult. And anonymity means that when he is killed, he can't be connected to this article.

"Just as expected of you."

Su Rui agreed, then displayed someone's identity.

"Found him. A down-and-out writer. He probably took money and had no choice but to do this for a living. A guy who got carried away, though he really would starve to death without any income. The difference now is probably that he can have one last good meal before dying."

This sort of situation is common. Usually, this impoverished writer will be used as a sacrifice and die in some sewer. And he won't get paid, either.

"Just as expected of the mafia. You bury people directly after they finish the job, huh?"

Ren Dong showed no shame at Su Rui's words. She merely twitched her ears.

But if you tell me more about him now, he still has a chance to live.

"You're planning to save him? Feeling like a champion of justice today?" Su Rui did not understand what Ren Dong meant.

No. Saving him will benefit the family. Hurry up. Once we deal with this, I'll explain it to you.

"Alright, alright, stop rushing me. I'm already going at full speed."

Su Rui casually answered Ren Dong's question, then displayed an address.

"He's on this street, near the dump. That writer is living in the worst little shack there. You could say no one would remember him if he died there, so I suggest you move quickly."

Got it.

After swiftly getting dressed, Ren Dong hurried out of the room and grabbed the driver lady who was approaching to greet her.

"No time to explain. Drive, quickly. We'll deal with everything else afterward."

Ren Dong pulled the driver lady all the way to the family parking lot, got into a car, and ordered, "Quickly, go to this address. Move!"

Ren Dong's stern voice startled the driver lady, but she had the skills expected of a driver. Though nervous, she quickly started the vehicle and sped away in the sedan.

"Miss Ren Dong, what are we going to do? I came to notify you about the family meeting!"

"I know what I'm doing. Just drive."

Ren Dong sat in the back seat with her weapon in hand, watching the shops and trees race past outside the window. Her tone was icy.

"Okay, understood."

Startled by Ren Dong's tone again, the driver lady trembled, accelerated once more, and did not dare ask any further questions.

Su Rui's voice sounded in Ren Dong's mind at that moment.

"That meeting she mentioned should be about this newspaper. They're probably planning to discuss this matter, but it's fine. Once you catch that writer, you'll be the greatest contributor."

Mm, you already guessed what I want to do? This was Ren Dong's first time skipping a family meeting, and she was a little nervous. Still, Su Rui's words did help her relax.

"Of course! Even though I always like solving problems by making blood flow like rivers, my brain works just fine. As long as we find this writer and prove he was forced into it, the Venice Family will take the initiative!"

It seemed Su Rui knew himself quite well. Even though she was nervous, Ren Dong could not help smiling knowingly.

The Wild Side

"What are you smiling about? Forget it, it doesn't matter. We're here. I marked the route in your field of vision. Tell the driver to slow down, and let's hurry over. I can see that the down-and-out writer seems to be getting ready to collect his payment."

I know.

Ren Dong nodded and directly climbed out through the car window, which had already been lowered. She leaped from the speeding sedan, rolled several times across the ground, then rose to her feet and sprinted toward the location Su Rui had marked.

Ren Dong's actions gave the driver lady a fright. She hurriedly braked, but could only stare helplessly at Ren Dong's retreating figure.

Su Rui was equally shocked. "...Whoa. I didn't think you could be this... wild."

Because time really is urgent right now.

Ren Dong responded to Su Rui while running. Jumping from the car had torn a few holes in her clothes. Though she looked somewhat disheveled, the glimpses of fair skin revealed through them only made her seem more delicate and alluring.

"Good, they've met. Unfortunately, that down-and-out writer still has no idea what he's about to face."

Those assassins won't succeed.

Ren Dong had already reached the top of a building and saw the assassins vaguely surrounding the impoverished writer.

The golden Wolper woman leaped down from above, her blade piercing straight through an assassin's throat and sending blood spraying everywhere.

"Woohoo! Amazing! Let's dance together!"

Su Rui cheered happily in Ren Dong's mind, then marked the enemies around her. "I suggest taking a step back and turning around here. Thirty-five degrees to the upper left, one-hit kill!"

Following Su Rui's reminder, Ren Dong avoided the assassins' blades, swiftly turned around, and slit another assassin's throat.

Then she reached out, grabbed the down-and-out writer who was crouching on the ground with his head covered in confusion, and pulled him behind her.

The impoverished writer immediately fell onto the dirty, muddy ground behind Ren Dong.

"Oh, his clothes are filthy. It'll be hard for him to sit in the car later. Though his clothes weren't that clean to begin with."

This isn't the time to think about that. Focus, Su Rui.

Having grown accustomed to Su Rui's tendency for absurd trains of thought during tense moments, Ren Dong casually blocked an assassin's blade and took another life.

"Of course. Even while chatting with you, I've been marking and giving you pointers the whole time."

Su Rui responded to Ren Dong, then said, "This is the last assassin. And they really did prepare a suitcase of payment. Watch out for the hand crossbow he has hidden. Jump left, then kick his shin."

Ren Dong nimbly avoided the bolt fired from the assassin's suddenly drawn hand crossbow, charged toward him, and kicked his shin, only to hear a crisp crack of bone.

"That was an old injury. Alright, cripple his hand. He's a minor leader and knows some things. We can interrogate him for information, so take him back with us."

Su Rui paused. "Oh, right. Left hook, right at his lips. Put some force into it, then grab his jaw."

Ren Dong did as Su Rui instructed, throwing a vicious punch into the assassin's mouth and making him cough up blood. Then her slender hand seized his jaw, and a tooth dripping with black liquid fell from his forcibly opened mouth.

Poison for suicide? These people really came prepared.

"Yep. Now break all his limbs so he can't escape. We'll take him and the writer back together."

...There's no need. Dislocating them will do.

Ren Dong changed methods instead, stopping the instinctive reaction her body had after hearing Su Rui's demand.

She needed to stay calmer. At this rate, Su Rui would truly influence her into becoming more cruel.

Su Rui treated everything with the attitude of a game, but Ren Dong was not like that. She was still planning to retire later, have children with Su Rui, and could not become cruel enough to affect the children.

"Tch, fine. That works too. Oh, the third black suitcase on the left. That's the money meant to buy the writer's life. The others are weapons."

Got it.

Ren Dong grabbed the suitcase containing the payment and tossed it into the impoverished writer's arms, giving him a warning look.

"Come with me."

"Y-Yes, I'll do anything you ask. Just don't kill me. Just don't kill me."

Terrified out of his wits, the impoverished writer bent over and nodded timidly. Ren Dong then picked up the assassin, who had one broken shin and all four limbs dislocated, and headed out of the alley. At the same time, she glanced at the trembling writer.

"Keep up."

Ren Dong's tone was calm, but to this bewildered, impoverished man, she sounded like a death-dealing demon. He shuddered and hurriedly hugged the suitcase as he followed Ren Dong.

As they were getting into the car, Su Rui suddenly spoke. "Take off that assassin's coat, then have the poor guy throw away his own coat and sit on the assassin's. Don't dirty the car."

Su Rui was giving people nicknames again. Ren Dong had long grown used to it, but she was still a little puzzled.

Why do you suddenly care about the car?

"I don't care about it. If the car crashed, I'd only think it was fun. I just feel a little uncomfortable if it gets dirty."

So he had compulsive tendencies too. Ren Dong nodded inwardly. It seemed she would not need to worry about their children being unhygienic in the future.

After pulling the assassin and the poor man into the car, Ren Dong checked the System Materialization Progress. It had already reached twenty-six percent.

Why had it suddenly risen so much? Ren Dong was confused, then recalled what she had done earlier.

Could jumping out of the car have caught Su Rui's attention?

Remembering how even Su Rui had been surprised by her actions, Ren Dong felt a little helpless. She would not dare do such a thing often. She had only done it this time because the situation was truly urgent.

Under normal circumstances, Ren Dong was also very cautious.

Still, it was good that the materialization progress had increased. There would be other methods to raise it, so there was no need to risk her life.

Though she felt a little regretful as she gave up on trying dangerous actions to attract more of Su Rui's attention, Ren Dong leaned against the car window, watched the scenery outside, and considered what she should say after returning to the family.

"Thinking about the family meeting? Don't worry. I've already prepared different plans. Everything is under control."

He already understood her so well, even though she had not said anything. Ren Dong nodded. Then I'm relieved.

A Great Contribution

Upon returning to the Venice Family, Ren Dong knew the way well. Together with the driver lady, each carrying one person, she brought the captured impoverished man and subdued assassin to the family conference room.

Without knocking or announcing herself, Ren Dong directly pushed open the conference room door, immediately drawing everyone's attention.

Standing beside Ren Dong, the driver lady shrank back under the gazes of the important people in the solemn conference room. Still, she remained beside Ren Dong and waited for her superior to speak.

"Ren Dong, you're late. Do you know how important this meeting is? Could it be that you were behind this?"

Little Venice was the first to attack. Ren Dong merely glanced at him, then turned her gaze toward Mr. Venice, seated at the head of the table.

"Let's hear Ingrid's explanation first. What's with the two people you brought back?"

"I had already been investigating the possibility that someone was targeting the Venice Family."

Ren Dong glanced at the keywords Su Rui had given her, rearranged the wording according to her own preferences, and dragged the assassin with dislocated joints inside.