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

Finally, Nightingale, clutching a pile of medicine bottles she had knocked askew, ran out of the medical department, her face flushed. She jogged back to her dormitory, locking the door three times before collapsing to the floor.

"Now...is it okay now?" she asked breathlessly, her fingers nervously twisting the hem of her skirt.

Suri's voice held a sigh of indulgence: "Are you sure you want it now? What if someone knocks on the door—"

"I'll seal the door shut with Originium Arts!" Nightingale declared confidently, raising her staff with sparkling eyes. "Hurry up, I've been waiting for so long..."

Suri was silent for a moment, then finally relented: "...Okay. But let's make it clear first, no laughing."

Nightingale nodded solemnly, took a deep breath, and raised her staff once more. This time, she carefully controlled the flow of Originium energy and softly chanted the complete incantation.

The blue light gradually coalesced into a human shape, becoming clearer as it went. The nightingale kept its eyes tightly shut until it heard a soft cough.

"You can open your eyes now."

A familiar voice, but this time not from her mind, but truly coming from right in front of her. The nightingale cautiously opened one eye, and then—

"puff!"

She quickly covered her mouth, but her shoulders were already shaking uncontrollably. The Suri before her had indeed materialized successfully, but...

He was only wrapped in a sheet that Nightingale had hastily tossed to him, revealing large patches of his wheat-colored skin. The usually composed electronic ghost now showed a rare look of embarrassment, one hand gripping the sheet tightly as it was about to slip off.

"Don't laugh." Su Rui said sternly, but his reddened ears betrayed him.

Nightingale bit her lower lip and nodded, but her eyes were already curved into crescents. She cautiously approached and gently touched Suri's arm with her fingertips—a warm, real touch.

"It's really... out..." Her voice was so soft, as if she didn't want to disturb a sweet dream.

Looking into her bright eyes, Su Rui smiled helplessly. He released his grip on the sheets and gently pulled the girl into his arms.

"Yes, I'm here."

The sound of the sheets slipping off was drowned out by the nightingale's exclamation, the staff clattered to the ground, and the light of the Originium gradually dimmed.

Outside the door, Shining, who was passing by, stopped thoughtfully, watching the blue light suddenly seep out from under the door. In the end, she simply hung the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the doorknob and quietly left.

As the automatic door to the medical department slid open silently, Warfarin was rummaging through a blood bag for clotting agents. The moment she turned around, the blood bag fell to the ground with a "thud."

"you...!"

Her finger trembled slightly as she pointed at the black-haired boy standing behind Nightingale. His scarlet pupils contracted sharply, as if he had seen something unbelievable.

Su Ruiping glanced back calmly, a familiar electronic glow gleaming deep within his dark eyes. He leaned casually against the medicine cabinet, his long, slender fingers toying with a sedative, his movements chillingly precise.

"Long time no see, Warfarin." His voice had a distinctively electronic quality. "Is the blood pack still type O?"

Nightingale nervously tugged at Suri's sleeve; she hadn't expected to be recognized so quickly. Warfarin's gaze swept back and forth between them, then suddenly an expression of realization dawned on him.

"I see!" She clapped her hands suddenly. "I was wondering why Nightingale has been talking to herself and blushing lately!" She leaned closer to Su Rui, examining him as if he were a rare specimen.

Suri sighed and pressed down on the woman's face, which was getting closer and closer: "Didn't the doctor teach you to maintain social distancing?"

"Ha! That tone is definitely from your mother." Warfarin straightened up smugly, then suddenly narrowed his eyes as if remembering something. "Wait... does Kal'tsit know you've materialized?"

Nightingale's breath hitched. Suri, however, remained unfazed: "She'll find out soon enough."

The moment the words left her lips, the atmosphere in the medical department suddenly plummeted. Everyone turned to look at the doorway in unison—Kal'tsit stood there with her arms crossed, her white coat fluttering even without wind.

"Explanation." A simple word, yet it made Nightingale unconsciously shrink back behind Su Rui.

Suri gently grasped Nightingale's trembling hand, meeting Kal'tsit's gaze directly.

Warfarin suddenly interrupted, "Wait a minute, can you two stop arguing in the medical department? These precision instruments are very expensive!"

Nightingale then noticed that Suri's shadow was indeed fainter than that of ordinary people, and the sunlight could even penetrate his body slightly. But when she held his hand tightly, the touch was so real that it brought her peace of mind.

Kal'tsit was silent for a moment, then suddenly looked at Nightingale: "You know he's the Doctor's..."

"I know," Nightingale interrupted softly, her golden eyes gleaming with unwavering determination, "but he is first and foremost Suri."

An eerie silence fell over the medical department. Warfarin looked left and right, then wisely kept quiet.

Finally, Kal'tsit sighed almost imperceptibly. "A full physical exam every week." She turned and gave Suri a meaningful look. "Don't let your father know I used his authority to authenticate your identity."

After the automatic door closed, Warfarin immediately leaned in: "So you're now considered Nightingale's...?"

"A tenant." Su Rui replied without changing her expression, while subtly pulling Nightingale behind her.

"Oh~" Warfarin drawled, "You mean the kind of guest who climbs into the wrong bed in the middle of the night?"

Nightingale's face instantly turned red to her ears, and the Originium on her staff glowed uncontrollably. Suri gave Warfarin a warning glare, then quickly pulled Nightingale away from the medical department.

In the hallway, Nightingale asked softly, "Is Dr. Kal'tsit angry?"

Suri chuckled. "If she were truly angry, she would have had Mon3tr dismantle me into pieces just now." He stopped, his dark eyes fixed intently on Nightingale. "Thank you for being my anchor."

Sunlight filtered through his translucent body, casting dappled shadows on the corridor floor. Nightingale reached out and touched his cheek, feeling the strange sensation in her fingertips—neither purely mechanical nor entirely flesh and blood.

"Welcome home, Mr. Tenant," she said softly.

At the corner of the corridor, Shining silently watched this scene. When she saw Suri lower her head to kiss Nightingale's hand, she turned and left without a sound. The hem of her white coat swept past the security camera in the corner, just enough to block the view of the two figures intertwined in the frame.

Volume 12, Chapter 684: First of all, congratulations!

After the lights in the medical department were turned off, Nightingale grabbed Su Rui's wrist and ran back to the dormitory. As soon as the door was locked, Su Rui was pushed backward, her back hitting the wall.

"Wait, wait..." His dark pupils widened slightly, his voice tinged with a rare panic, "We agreed to sleep separately..."

The nightingale ignored him, tiptoeing to rest her chin on his shoulder. The girl's warm breath brushed against the side of his neck, and tiny electronic patterns immediately appeared on Suri's skin—a sign of system overload.

"No." Nightingale's voice was muffled at the collar of his uniform, her fingers already deftly unbuttoning the first button. "You're feeling cool..."

Suri futilely grabbed her fidgety hand: "My thermoregulation system hasn't..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was pounced on the bed. Nightingale clung to him like a giant doll, her cheek pressed against his slightly warm chest. Suri struggled in vain, realizing that this newborn body really didn't have much strength—the Doctor had clearly prioritized aesthetics over combat effectiveness in the design.

"Look..." the nightingale rubbed against her smugly, "She can't resist at all."

Suri stared helplessly at the ceiling. As a former data life form, he truly hadn't expected to be physically suppressed one day. To make matters worse, Nightingale's Originium Arts were being released unconsciously, tiny specks of light scattering in the air, causing his core processor to overheat.

"At least let me put on my coat..."

"No." Nightingale hugged him even tighter, her golden hair spreading across the bed. "This is the most comfortable way to hold me."

Suri sighed and gave up struggling. He looked down at the girl in his arms, her eyes already closed, data streams flickering in her dark pupils. Finally, he carefully adjusted her position so that Nightingale could sleep more comfortably.

Moonlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, illuminating the intertwined shadows of the two. Suri's shadow was still faint, but now it was projected with unparalleled clarity onto the wall—a black-haired boy tightly entwined by a girl, his face bearing an expression of helplessness and tenderness.

In the corridor, Warfarin, who was passing by, looked at the faint glow of Originium seeping out from under the door crack and silently hung the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the doorknob.

There's no need to guess what will happen.

"It's so good to be young~" she hummed a little tune as she walked away.

As the morning sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, Nightingale was nestled in Suri's arms, her fingers unconsciously clutching his collar. Suri had been awake for a while, but dared not move—Nightingale clung to him like an octopus, and the slightest movement would wake her.

(Last night was really...)

He looked down at the sleeping girl in his arms, his dark eyes flickering with a faint, data-driven light. The way Nightingale had snuggled against him in her half-asleep state last night was so adorable that he had softened his heart and couldn't bear to push her away.

The result is this—his uniform is torn to shreds, his collar is wide open, and Nightingale's cheek is pressed against his chest, her warm breath brushing against his skin, making his heart slightly hot.

Suri sighed softly and reached up to straighten her collar—

"Hmm..." Nightingale suddenly frowned, snuggled deeper into his arms, and restlessly wrapped her legs around his waist.

Su Rui froze.

Just then, there was a knock on the dormitory door.

"Nightingale," Kal'tsit's calm voice came from outside the door, "Bring your 'guest' to the conference room in thirty minutes."

Suri's pupils contracted sharply. He quickly retrieved last night's surveillance footage—good, under his control, all the cameras only captured an empty corridor. But Kal'tsit's tone…

(How did she know?)

Nightingale was startled awake by the knocking. She groggily opened her eyes and met Su Rui's slightly flustered dark gaze. She blinked, then suddenly realized her hand was in a very inappropriate place—

"Ouch!" She jerked her hand back, but the movement was so sudden that she rolled off the bed.

Outside the door, Kal'tsit's voice trailed off with a subtle pause: "...Be careful."

As the footsteps faded into the distance, Nightingale blushed and got up from the ground, only to see Su Rui staring thoughtfully at the doorway.

"The surveillance camera clearly didn't capture anything..." he muttered to himself.

Nightingale tilted her head: "Then what about Dr. Kal'tsit...?"

Suri suddenly understood, sighing and rubbing his forehead. "She doesn't need surveillance." He pointed to his disheveled collar and the suspicious red marks on his neck. "That's enough."

Nightingale followed his finger and immediately covered her face in embarrassment—Suri's current appearance would conjure up certain unspeakable thoughts in anyone who saw her. Worse still, her Originium Arts had been unconsciously unleashed last night, and lingering blue light specks still floated in the room, the sheets were crumpled beyond recognition…

"It's all over, all over, all over..." Nightingale buried her face in her hands. "Dr. Kal'tsit must think I..."

Suri sighed and ruffled her blonde hair. "Don't worry, she's more concerned about something else." He pointed to the glowing core circuitry below his collarbone. "If the Doctor knew I'd upgraded some functions without permission..."

Nightingale blinked, then suddenly realized something: "Wait, so what you said about 'upgrade' last night was true?"

Suri's ears turned slightly red, and she turned her face away: "...Let's go to the meeting first."

When the two arrived at the conference room, dressed in their best, Kal'tsit was holding a cup of coffee, her sharp gaze sweeping over them. Warfarin was trying so hard not to laugh that his shoulders were shaking, while Shining calmly pretended to be looking at documents.

"First," Kal'tsit put down her coffee cup, "congratulations on your successful materialization, Suri."

Suri nodded cautiously.

"Secondly," her gaze lingered for a second on the red mark on Suri's neck, "Nightingale's Originium Arts aptitude test will be changed to twice a week."

Nightingale's face flushed red.

"Finally," Kal'tsit stood up, looking meaningfully at Suri, "tell the Doctor that if he dares to give my medical system any more preferential treatment..."

She didn't finish speaking, but Suri could already sense Mon3tr stirring in the next room.

After leaving the conference room, Nightingale asked softly, "So...we've been tacitly approved?"

Su Rui glanced at the slightly rotated angle of the corridor security camera and chuckled, "Yeah, as long as it's not in the medical ward break room."

In the monitoring room, Kal'tsit looked at the screen showing the two holding hands, clicked her tongue softly, but still pulled up Nightingale's medical record and wrote "Excellent" in the "Mental Stability" column.

Suri and Nightingale finished their work for the day together.

The afternoon sun streamed through the glass windows into the coffee shop, casting a warm glow on the wooden tabletops. Nightingale, holding Suri's wrist, lightly pushed open the door, and the wind chimes tinkled crisply.

“Here!” Her eyes sparkled as she pointed to the two-seater by the window. “I come here often; their honey pancakes are especially delicious.”

Volume 12, page 685: A Certain Agreement

Suri was pulled down to sit by her, his dark eyes scanning the surroundings. As a being who had only recently materialized, he was still somewhat unaccustomed to this place full of life. The aroma of coffee, the soft clinking of cups and saucers, the whispers of the surrounding customers—these subtle sensory cues made him frown slightly, and his processor unconsciously began to analyze the environmental data.

Nightingale noticed his tension and gently placed her hand on the back of his hand: "Relax, it's safe here."

Suri glanced at her and tapped the table unconsciously with her fingertips: "...I was just calculating the peak customer flow and the best escape route for this store."

Nightingale chuckled: "You're here for coffee, not to carry out a mission."

She flipped through the menu, pointing to the pictures of the desserts with her fingertips, and enthusiastically introduced them to him. Suri's gaze, however, remained fixed on her face—sunlight filtered through her blonde hair, casting dappled patterns on the table, her eyelashes cast soft shadows on her cheeks, and the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned in anticipation.

(...It's really beautiful.)

He suddenly realized that he used to only be able to perceive her existence through data, but now he could truly see every vivid expression of hers.

The waiter came over to take orders, and Nightingale skillfully ordered a hot milk coffee and a honey muffin, then looked at Suri: "What would you like?"

Suri glanced at the menu: "Black coffee, no sugar."

Nightingale immediately shook her head: "No! The doctor said you can't consume too much caffeine, it will affect the stability of your core circuits." She turned to the waiter and changed her mind with a smile, "Give him a hot cocoa, with double the cream."

Suri: "...Nightingale."

Nightingale pretended not to hear, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at him with a sly smile in her eyes: "The advantage of materialization is that I can control you now."

Su Rui felt helpless, but did not refute it.

Coffee and dessert were served quickly, and Nightingale eagerly scooped up a spoonful of muffin and held it to Suri's lips: "Want to try some?"

Suri hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head and took it in his mouth. The sweetness of the honey and the softness of the muffin melted on his tongue, and he widened his eyes slightly—the taste simulation system was more realistic than he had imagined.

"Is it delicious?" Nightingale asked expectantly.

"……Um."

Nightingale smiled, her eyes crinkling into crescents, and scooped out another spoonful, handing it to her. This time, Suri didn't hesitate and obediently opened her mouth.