Ark Simulator, don't I have no physical form?

"Boring." Lin Yuxia kicked aside the hard drive array blocking her way. "You could have easily done all this at the hotel pool."

Suri smiled and placed his palm on the core server. Suddenly, the LED lights inside the chassis began to tap dance, their blue light spelling out "HELLO" along the ventilation holes. The terrorists' meticulously encrypted operational plans, financial flows, and member lists were now scrolling across the monitor in the form of emojis.

Hoshiguma, chewing gum, leaned against the doorframe: "Seriously, you don't even use a USB drive?"

"Downloading." Suri pointed to his temple. The emergency lights on the ceiling suddenly began flashing Morse code in sync with his words, and the airflow from the ventilation system formed the prelude to the Dosoles city anthem.

The backup generator on the third basement level suddenly started.

In an instant, all the lights in the building turned a warm yellow. One by one, the explosive charges hidden by the terrorists in the load-bearing walls lit up with small red lights, obediently detonating their fuses like Christmas tree decorations. Suddenly, the coffee machine at the end of the corridor started running, the sound of grinding beans wafting out latte art, with the mayor's requested information summary floating on the milk foam.

"Done." Suri caught the mug that was thrown to him and took a sip of the perfectly balanced double shot of espresso.

Chen Huijie's sword tassel moved automatically without wind: "You should have said earlier that it could be used remotely..."

"But this is more ceremonial." Su Rui stomped on the ground, and all the unconscious terrorists suddenly rolled over in unison, revealing the handcuff keys tucked into their waistbands.

Lin Yuxia's nails dug into her palms: "So you deliberately made us—"

"Look." Hoshiguma suddenly pointed to the monitor screen.

All the monitors switched to live footage of the four of them at the hotel pool this morning: Chen Huijie used a sword tassel to fish out Su Rui's sunscreen, Lin Yuxia stuffed a listening device into his chilled lemonade, and Xingxiong was hiding a miniature tracker in his slippers.

Suri blinked: "A sense of ritual needs an audience."

As the server finally buzzed, all the windows in the building suddenly fogged up, and water vapor condensed on the windows to form the gambling record of the four people last night—an odds table about whether Suri would discover the trap.

On the way back in the SUV, Hoshiguma gripped the steering wheel and laughed wildly: "So you knew Old Chen installed a sonic weapon in the sword tassel?"

In the rearview mirror, Chen Huijie's ear tips were so red they looked like they could bleed. Lin Yuxia was frantically deleting something on the terminal; the "Eavesdropping Records" folder on the screen was automatically shredding.

Suri gazed at the neon lights flashing past the window; the rain in Dosorres had stopped sometime earlier. His retina still held the last data he'd received—a thank-you letter from the mayor containing the itinerary for the "double underwater volcano diving" trip that the four of them had secretly booked that morning.

"Are you going out on fieldwork again tomorrow?" he asked softly.

A bounty has been placed on chapter 653 of volume 11.

In the early morning in Dossolès, the sunlight spreads across the streets as softly as melted butter.

Su Rui walked alone along the seaside promenade, the sea breeze gently ruffling the hem of his clothes. He wasn't wearing his glasses today, and his amber eyes looked exceptionally clear in the morning light, like honey pierced by sunlight.

"Um, that..."

A faint voice came from the side. Suri turned his head and saw three girls in swimsuits looking at him, their faces flushed. The one in the lead nervously clutched the hem of her skirt: "Excuse me, could we take a picture together?"

Suri smiled gently: "Sorry, I'd like to take a walk alone today."

"Just one, just one!" another girl hurriedly pulled out her phone. "You're so beautiful... oh no! It's just that the background is perfect for taking pictures!"

Just as Su Rui was about to politely decline, she suddenly heard a flurry of footsteps.

"I'm so sorry!"

A silver-white figure stumbled and squeezed between them. Rafiela—the Liberian girl codenamed "Feather"—was clutching her scythe, almost as tall as herself, her pale purple eyes glistening with tears: "He...he's off today..."

The three girls were stunned. The girl in front of them, who seemed even more nervous than them, was clutching Suri's sleeve with trembling fingers, like a small animal guarding its food.

"I...I'm his..." the quill's voice trailed off, "Bodyguard..."

The sickle fell to the ground with a clatter.

Suri bent down to help her pick up her weapon and noticed that the girl's ears were already bright red. He suppressed a laugh and handed the sickle back, saying, "Thanks for helping me out."

The quill pen hurriedly took the sickle, almost dropping it again: "N-no problem..."

The girls looked at each other, then suddenly burst out laughing: "You guys are so cute! We won't bother you then~"

Once they were out of sight, Feather Pen finally breathed a sigh of relief, almost shrinking into his oversized uniform jacket.

Su Rui looked at the tuft of hair sticking up on top of her head: "Did Chen Huijie send you?"

"Mmm, mmm..." She lowered her head and rubbed the ground with the tip of her shoe, "Tell me, tell me you'll be harassed..."

"Is what you just did considered harassment?"

The quill pen suddenly looked up, its eyes a little red: "The way they looked at you..." Its fingers tightened around the sickle, "Like...like they wanted to devour you..."

A sea breeze blew by, and her silvery-white hair brushed against the back of Su Rui's hand, tickling her.

In the café, Quill held a cup of hot milk in both hands, sipping it slowly. Suri noticed that before each sip, Quill would take a deep breath as if summoning courage, then quickly pull it back after burning her tongue.

"Would you like some honey?" He pushed the sugar jar towards him.

"Th-thank you..." She timidly scooped up half a spoonful, then suddenly looked up in a flustered manner as if remembering something. "N-no, it won't affect the mission! I-I'm perfectly alert!"

Suri couldn't help but chuckle: "I didn't doubt that." But Chen and the others are quite thoughtful... It seems that taking a walk alone is out of the question.

Sunlight streamed through the glass window, casting dappled shadows beneath her eyelashes. It wasn't until the third tourist who tried to strike up a conversation was deterred by her gaze that Suri realized how surprisingly intimidating those pale purple eyes could be when they stared—if one ignored the fact that she was nervously biting her straw.

"You don't need to be so nervous."

"I...I'm not nervous!" In her excitement, the quill tipped over the sugar jar, and in her frantic attempt to steady it, she spilled milk all over her skirt. "Ah..."

Su Rui handed her a handkerchief, her fingers trembling as she took it: "I'm...I'm so sorry...it's my first time on a solo escort mission..."

"Well done," Su Rui said, pointing to another man leaving the window, looking rather embarrassed. "Much gentler than Chen Huijie."

The quill pen's eyes suddenly lit up: "R-really?"

"Yeah, last time she just threw the guy who tried to pick her up into the fountain."

The girl suddenly burst out laughing, then quickly covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking. Su Rui looked at her smiling eyes and noticed a faint dimple on her right cheek.

On the way back, as we passed an ice cream truck, the quill pen's gaze lingered on the strawberry-flavored poster for a couple more seconds.

"Want some?"

"No, no!" She shook her head frantically, "During the mission, I can't..."

Suri had already bought two ice cream cones and handed her the pink one: "It's break time now."

Anyway, Suri came here to relax, and there aren't really any truly threatening individuals here.

She carefully took the quill pen, tentatively licked it with the tip of her tongue, and her eyes instantly narrowed into crescents. Cream smudged on the tip of her nose, but she was completely unaware.

"There are thugs!"

The sudden shout made the quill pen tremble, and the ice cream cone nearly slipped from its grasp. Five masked men rushed out of the alleyway, the leader brandishing a crossbow and shouting, "Mr. Suri! Please come with us—"

"Please, please wait a moment!"

Quill hurriedly shoved the ice cream cone into Suri's hands, nearly tripping over her own scythe as she turned. When she finally got into a fighting stance, she cried out, "N-Don't touch him!"

The thugs were stunned—the tearful girl was holding a weapon with trembling hands, and strawberry ice cream was slowly sliding down the blade of the sickle.

"I...I'm very powerful!" She sniffed, and accidentally pressed the sickle mechanism. The blade "whooshed" and flew three meters away, directly slicing the lamppost in two.

silence.

The thugs silently put away their weapons and turned to leave.

The quill pen stood frozen in place, and finally, a drop of cream dripped from its nose. Suri stepped forward, took the "weapon," and wiped the ice cream off her face with a handkerchief: "Really impressive."

"Ugh..." She buried her face in her hands, "I messed it up..."

A sea breeze carrying the scent of flowers wafted by, and Su Rui gently patted her trembling shoulder: "But the protection was successful, and that's the most important thing."

However, Su Rui frowned slightly as she watched the group of thugs flee in panic.

"Do they...know me?"

He gently raised his hand, a faint blue light emanating from his fingertips, and invisible data flowed through the air. In an instant, his consciousness spread along the city's electronic network—street surveillance cameras, the Wi-Fi in cafes, even the communicator dropped by the thugs… information flooded into his mind like a tidal wave.

Three seconds later, Su Rui withdrew her hand, her expression somewhat subtle.

"I see."

The quill pen, who was frantically putting away the sickle, looked up when he heard this: "W-what's wrong?"

Suri smiled. "It's nothing, I just discovered..." He paused, his tone casual, "...that my name seems to have been on the black market bounty list for a week now."

"A bounty?!" Quill's eyes widened, and the object in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter. "That's...that's very dangerous—"

"And the price isn't cheap either," Suri added, as if amused. "Enough to stay in the most expensive hotel in Dosoles for half a year."

Volume 11, Chapter 654: Have a drink, taking a break today.

The quill pen frantically searched for the communicator: "I...I have to notify Commander Chen—"

"No need." Suri gently pressed her hand down. "It's a day off today, right?"

The girl's fingers froze. His palm was warm, and the touch made her forget to move for a moment.

"But...however..."

"Moreover," Suri said casually, gazing at the shimmering sea in the distance, "this isn't the first time I've had a bounty on my head."

The quill pen opened its mouth as if to say something, but in the end it just lowered its head and muttered softly, "At least let me follow you..."

Su Rui looked at the tuft of silver hair sticking up on the top of her head and couldn't help but reach out and ruffle it: "Then I'll leave it to you."

They walked slowly along the coastline, the sunlight casting long shadows of the two. Quill, clutching the sickle like a giant cane, occasionally stole glances at Suri's profile.

"Okay, are you curious?" she suddenly asked.

"Um?"

"Why...why don't you care..." she twisted her fingers, "It was so dangerous..."

Su Rui stopped and looked at a wisp of cloud where the sea met the sky.

"You know what?" he said softly, "in the world of data, fame is like the ocean waves—it surges in today and recedes tomorrow." He turned to the quill and smiled. "The scenery before us is more worthy of our attention."

The quill pen nodded as if it understood, then suddenly noticed that Su Rui's gaze was fixed on her.

"For example?" she stammered.

"For example," Suri pointed to the tip of her nose, "you have ice cream on here."

"Waaah—!"

She frantically tried to erase the quill pen, forgetting she was still holding a sickle, which clattered to the ground at her feet. Su Rui smiled and handed her a handkerchief, her ears turning bright red as she took it.

As evening fell, they sat on the harbor pier, watching the sunset turn the sea golden. The quill pen's sickle leaned to one side, gleaming warmly in the afterglow.

"Actually..." Suri suddenly spoke up, "a good reputation also has its advantages."

"Huh?"

"For example," he pointed to several furtive figures in the distance, "they run away as soon as they see you."

Sure enough, the suspected stalkers immediately scattered, pretending to be passersby, as soon as they saw the sickle on the quill pen.

The quill blinked, then suddenly straightened its back: "I...I will protect you!"

Her voice was louder than usual, startling a flock of seagulls. Looking at her serious expression, Suri couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"Yes, I believe you."

The waves gently lapped against the rocks on the shore. Suri's name might be repeatedly mentioned in some dark corner, but at this moment—

In the sunset, only the quill pen's silver hair, ruffled by the sea breeze, and her fingers tightly gripping the hem of his clothes were visible.

The quill pen gently tugged at Su Rui's sleeve.

"Um, that..." she said, her head bowed, her toes tracing small circles on the ground, "There's another place... I'd like to take you there."

Suri raised an eyebrow: "Hmm?"

A faint blush rose to her cheeks in the twilight. "I...I actually..." she took a deep breath, "...run a small bar here."

Suri was somewhat surprised: "A bartender?"

"Mmm, mmm!" She nodded, her eyes sparkling. "Although... although we mainly do intelligence exchange... we're closed today." As if afraid he'd refuse, she quickly added, "Just... just the two of us..."

A sea breeze blew by, carrying a salty, damp scent. Suri looked at her fingers, which were twisted together nervously, and suddenly smiled: "Okay."

The bar was tucked away at the end of an inconspicuous alley, its sign a simple wooden board with a quill pen and a wine glass painted on it in fluorescent paint. As you pushed open the door, a wind chime tinkled softly.

"W-Welcome..." Feather Pen blurted out the professional term unconsciously, then quickly covered his mouth, "Ah, no..."

Suri looked around. The bar wasn't big, but it was decorated warmly—warm yellow wall lamps, a dark brown solid wood bar counter, and various kinds of glasses and several hand-drawn cocktail recipes hanging on the walls. There was even an old-fashioned piano in the corner, with a half-finished glass of lemonade on the lid.

"Do you usually manage everything by yourself?"