Girl in the Box: Please tell me why I was reincarnated as a mimic monster!

Sodol blinked: What should I do? I'm about to suffocate if this keeps up...

Victor's eyes widened: Suffocate? Suffocate what?

Mori half-opened his eyes and glanced at Victor: "Stop beating around the bush, everyone knows what we're talking about, right?"

Melanco shrugged: Anyway, there's nothing I can do. I don't even dare to go up and talk to that lady...

Hayes nodded in agreement and understanding: Me too, I understand how you feel, trying to talk to her... it feels like you'll freeze into an ice cube the next time you meet her...

Sodolle tilted her head back, utterly dejected: "It can't be that exaggerated, can it..."

While they were exchanging glances, Ning, who was walking at the front, suddenly stopped and closed his book. Hearing the sound of the book closing, they hurriedly returned to their seats, pretending that nothing had happened.

Ning turned around and said in a cold tone, "Be alert, something is approaching us."

"yes!!!!"

"You were too loud. I didn't tell you to answer me by shouting."

Ning spoke, which filled them all with elation. They instinctively shouted in response to Ning's instruction, not intentionally, but because they hadn't spoken for a long time and hadn't controlled their volume, it ended up sounding like they'd messed up again. However, Ning didn't seem to care.

Because of their mistake, Sodom, the adventurer, and Sen, the guard, immediately became alert to their surroundings. Their excessive noise had likely alerted whatever was approaching them. Who knew what it was? A monster? A human? Or something else? Just in case, the three youths joined in the work at the boundary, and the surroundings fell silent once more, but this time no one paid any attention to such matters.

What they were concerned about now was where that thing was approaching them from. They had unknowingly protected Ning, and although it was an unconscious action, Ning still frowned.

these people……

There were some things she still didn't say, and that was enough. She could say them later.

The five listened intently to the sounds around them. Gradually, they could hear something rapidly approaching them, a fact they were now certain of. But... where was it coming from?

"It's..." Mori recognized the source of the voice, "Up there!?"

Even she could hear the surprise in her own voice, but it was true; the sound was indeed coming from above them. But what could be so fast approaching them from above? There was no time to think about it.

"You three!" Sodol immediately reacted. "Quickly, take Miss Ning with you! We must leave here immediately! They're coming!"

The three youths turned around simultaneously, lifting Ning's astonished face, and then ran out after Sen and Sodol, who had gone ahead. Thanks to their timely action, they managed to avoid the monster's first attack. Suddenly, the ceiling of the passage collapsed, and a huge round stone crashed heavily onto the spot where they had just been. If they hadn't escaped in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"It's the Rolling Stones!?"

"Hey hey hey hey!! Then what are you waiting for?!"

Sodol and Rolling Stone, both adventurers by profession, are old friends. As adventurers, they often sneak into dungeons or explore labyrinths. Traps can be considered a good spice in the boring exploration process, bringing excitement, but also corresponding dangers. However, this is the worst situation for them now.

"...So the traps in this maze are still working..." Ning said with a thoughtful expression.

But what she was thinking wasn't important to them. What mattered was the huge boulder in front of them. This boulder was so big that it had smashed through the stone wall of the passage. Logically, it should have been stuck by now... But it wasn't stuck. Instead, it was rolling forward little by little. Sodol's adventurous intuition over the years told her that something was wrong.

"We can't stay here any longer! We should go!"

"Oh, everyone, it's time to go!"

Urged on by Sodol, the others quickly took Ning and left the area. However, when they had only gone less than five meters, the huge boulder suddenly began to spin rapidly. It broke through the rock wall that was binding it and accelerated towards them. Everyone immediately started running.

"You're right! There really is a problem!"

"That's for sure!"

"Instead of talking, why aren't you running?! You're going to get run over!"

"Wa ...

The group ran frantically, desperate to survive, with the rolling stones behind them crushing everything in their way. It was so strange that such a large stone could move so freely in such a narrow space, especially since the passage had almost no slope. What was propelling it forward?

In the direction they were fleeing, there was a sharp turn in the shape of the Chinese character "卜". They should be safe once they reached that point. The group exchanged glances, confirmed the information, and then sped towards the turn. They quickly turned into the passage on the right, but things were not as simple as they had imagined. The rolling stone seemed to follow them into another passage as if it were on its own.

"Whoa!? What is this thing?!"

There was absolutely no chance of escape. This couldn't be explained by mere coincidence; something was definitely manipulating this massive boulder to attack them. If it were a boulder of a suitable size, they could try to squeeze through the gaps on the left and right sides below, but these gaps were blocked by this huge boulder, leaving no way to get under.

"What do we do?! There are actually traps like this?!" Victor was starting to panic.

"Calm down! All we can do now is run, right?! Run with all your might! Don't waste your energy on anything else!"

Sen calmly directed the others, demonstrating a strong will to survive. The group ran faster and faster without stopping, but the rolling stones behind them showed no signs of slowing down and were even getting faster.

"Okay, okay, put me down."

In this critical moment, Ning calmly uttered some reckless words, attempting to break free from the three people's restraints and return to the ground.

"Whoa?! Miss! Are you out of your mind?!"

Melanco quickly pulled her back and held her tightly. He couldn't worry about anything else now; survival was the most important thing.

"So... I'm telling you to put me down."

——!?

A chill ran down the spines of the three men. Not only the three young men carrying Ning, but also the two girls running ahead felt the intensely cold killing intent. As a result, all five of them instinctively stopped. When they came to their senses, Ning had already leisurely stepped off the ground and walked to the spot between the rolling stone and them. In the blink of an eye, a large amount of magical flames appeared around her.

"Amazing……"

Sen stared in astonishment at the magical flames that had engulfed the entire passage. It was the first time she had ever directly witnessed Ning unleash her full power, and it was clear that she wasn't using her full strength. The others also stared dumbfounded at the scene before them, their faces filled with shock.

Although Ning was working for Akihabara, she was actually only working for Li. Very few people actually witnessed her actions, and the first time everyone saw Ning in action, they were shocked by her power. She was too powerful; she was simply not on the same level as them. Such combat power could definitely rival that of a normal large country. Therefore, Akihabara had nothing to fear with such a powerful figure in charge.

“I really don’t know what you’re all panicking about,” Ning said coldly, looking at the rolling stone that had suddenly stopped in front of him. “This isn’t just any rolling stone, it’s a monster, a mountain-piercing stone boar.”

"A pangolin-shaped stone pig?! There are actually pangolin-shaped stone pigs this big?!"

Sodom cried out in surprise.

The Pangolin Stone Boar is a monster that combines the features of a pangolin and a rock boar. It possesses top-tier defense and strength, but its size shouldn't be this large. Judging by its size, it must be at least level 100 or higher. No wonder! When they saw such a massive round stone in the maze, they instinctively associated it with rolling stones, not Pangolin Stone Boars. But now that they think about it, everything makes sense.

After the magical flames spread, the rock-boar was clearly frightened. It even shed its stone mimicry and reverted to its original form, retreating step by step. Just how strong is Ning to be able to overcome such a monster in terms of pressure?

"Heh, I thought that guy's trap was still active..." Ning snorted, "What a waste of time."

Click! "It's a Word of Power!?"

As Ning's voice gradually faded away, the magical flames instantly engulfed the mountain-piercing stone boar, turning it into a giant ice sculpture. Sen could hear the mysterious power contained in Ning's words; it was probably the power of words to control magic through language.

"That's too strong..." "My god... that's a monster over level 100..." "Well... I guess it's acceptable..."

The five of them stared in disbelief at the ice sculpture before them and Ning, who ignored it and walked back slowly. After witnessing Ning's strength, they were even more speechless.

"What's wrong?" Ning glanced at them, a wicked smile curving his lips. "Aren't you going to gather some materials? Let me make it clear, you don't have much time, and don't bring too much stuff."

After saying that, Ning walked to the side, sat down on the ground against the rock wall, picked up the book she had just closed, and continued reading. The others were stunned for a moment, then exchanged glances.

She doesn't seem as difficult to get along with as I imagined...

Chapter 14 Maze Exploration / Ning (2)

The rocky skin of the pangolin is very hard, but it becomes extremely fragile after being rapidly frozen. It shatters into pieces with a single tap. What is most surprising is that the contents under the rocky skin remain intact. Dismembering it is not difficult except for the frozen blood. After taking some of the raw materials, considering that the wild boar meat is delicious, some meat is also taken.

"...? You've got it?"

Seeing that several people had returned with their things, Ning closed her book and dusted off her skirt.

“Well, that should be enough,” Sodol said. “Even though someone is responsible for the heavy work, we can’t be so unrestrained.”

"That's settled then." Ning maintained her indifferent demeanor. "Taking a little more wouldn't matter, since she's here anyway. Speaking of which, you did take some meat, didn't you?"

“Ah, yes, that’s how it is.” Victor brought the meat he was carrying to the front. “Didn’t we say before that we were going to try eating monster meat? We were thinking that if the Pangolin Pig is a type of pig, then its meat should be edible, right? So we took some.”

"I see..." Ning glanced at the carcass of the pangolin. "If you guys want some meat, I recommend these places: a thin piece of lean meat between the front of the lower leg and the belly, near the loin; meat from the thigh; and the light red meat on the rump. These parts should taste better."

"Huh? There's such a thing?"

Everyone stared blankly, judging from their expressions, Ning guessed they were unfamiliar with such a thing. Thinking this, she sighed helplessly, then walked to the corpse of the mountain-clawed stone boar, and the others followed her.

"Haa... I forgot to do the bloodletting too..." Ning weakly raised her right hand, "Extract."

Ning activated his Word of Power again, melting and drawing out the blood from the corpse, then threw the foul-smelling, dark red blood far away.

After bleeding them out, Ning turned around to face them and said, "You guys, cut off the flesh from these places I marked with my marks. It's okay to take more. Be quick, the blood will attract other monsters."

"Okay. Oh, okay!"

The men immediately put down what they were holding, took out their knives, and resumed the dismemberment work. Because of the previous dismemberment work, their knives had become somewhat dull, making this dismemberment process even more difficult.

"Ouch... Waaah—!"

Because this piece of meat was extremely tough, no matter how hard Sen tried, she couldn't separate it from the pangolin's body. Just as she was wondering what to do next, someone approached her and tossed her a small, cool, crystalline knife. Turning around, she saw Ning distributing knives to the others.

"If you find it difficult, use this."

"Ning said calmly, "But don't use it for too long, because it's a knife made of ice. Don't blame me if your hands get frostbite."

Is it made of ice?!

The small, crystal-clear knife in his hand exuded a cold aura. Just as Ning had said, Sen's hand already felt very uncomfortable after holding it for only a short while. He should hurry up and cut off this piece of meat. Thinking this, Sen used the knife to cut through the part of the meat that he hadn't been able to cut before, and the blade smoothly sliced ​​through the meat and cut it off.

"Wow...this is so useful..."

Everyone's first impression after using it was that it was not only sharp but also felt great in the hand. Plus, its crystal-clear appearance made it a potential bestseller if made into a knife. Unfortunately, it was an ice knife. After cutting off all the marked pieces of meat, the group returned to Ning's side with the meat.

"Let's go," Ning said without asking any more questions. "We can throw those knives away. They'll melt on their own after a while."

"Huh? Will it melt?"

The person who subconsciously asked the question was Sodolphin, showing how much she liked the knife. The others had the same reaction, but none of them asked. They realized after thinking about it carefully that, "Of course, since it's an ice knife, it'll melt, right?"

"..." Ning was silent for a moment, then said, "If you really want this knife, I'll make it for you out of metal later. For now, let's keep moving forward; we still need to meet up with the others."

After saying that, she took the lead and walked back to the planned route. No one was able to react immediately to what had happened or what Ning had just said.

"Did I just hear Ning say something...?" Victor couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"She seemed to have said... she'd help us make knives, right?" Hayes asked incredulously.

“I think you all heard me correctly.” Sen nodded.

“That means…” Melanco’s eyes were shining.

"Maybe she's actually... very easy to talk to?" Sodol began to reflect on her initial remarks.

They seemed too nervous to make the right judgment. Now they realized that Ning was much more approachable than they had imagined; she was probably just the kind of person who appeared quiet but was actually very kind.

"What are you doing?"

Ning suddenly turned around, startling everyone.

"If we keep wasting time here, we'll be late."

"Oh! I'm sorry! We'll catch up right away!"

Reminded by Ning, everyone hurriedly rushed back to the exploration team. However, the atmosphere was clearly different from before. They all had faint smiles on their faces, and the atmosphere had become much more relaxed, without the tension from before. But it was their change that made Ning feel a little uncomfortable, though every time she turned around, she only saw them smiling at her.

What's going on? Never mind... it's none of my business...

Ning didn't bother with these matters. Her actions earlier were merely a matter of going with the flow, and had no other purpose. What they thought was irrelevant to her; she simply chose the most efficient and profitable method, and she didn't intend to concern herself with anything else. She had no idea that her actions would lead to the formation of a strange organization in Akihabara.

After some time, their exploration was nearing completion. Ning remembered the surrounding scenery; it was all evidence of their approach to Li and her original base. During this period, the team gradually became more talkative.

"Ah! Victor! What is this!?"

"Hehe! You didn't know, did you? This is baked cream from Three Colors Fantasy, the official dessert shop in Akihabara! Hey!? Don't steal it!"

"Oh, so this is baked butter? I remember this was a recipe the ambassador gave me, right?"

"Mmm! This smells amazing! Wow!? It smells so good!"

"Really...?! It's delicious!"

"Hey?! You guys better leave some room for me! Wow! Are you guys demons?!"

"Haha, who told you to take it out?"

"Oh no! My snacks!!!"

"Hey! Sister Ning, want a piece?"

"No thanks."

And so, as they walked, they became increasingly talkative and noisy, completely lacking any sense of tension from exploring the maze. But in reality, they hadn't encountered any monsters along the way. Including the giant pangolin boar they first met, they had only encountered three monsters, and Ning had instantly killed each of them, so the journey had been quite leisurely.

"Ugh, naonaonao (chewing)," Mori swallowed the last bit of crumble cream and then asked, "Hey, speaking of which, Three Colors Fantasy is temporarily closed because of the war, right?"

“Yeah, that’s right.” Sodol nodded. “My brother brought me to Akihabara before because of the Three Colors Fantasy desserts, but unfortunately it’s temporarily closed now.”

"Wow, if you all knew, why did you still steal my toasted butter?!" Viktor was furious because he hadn't even gotten a single piece of toasted butter.

Because Three Colors Fantasy is temporarily closed, these desserts are no longer available. In addition, due to other external factors, there are no suitable ingredients to make baked cream, making such desserts a rare commodity. Besides, being able to eat desserts in this post-apocalyptic state is an absolute luxury, so it's no wonder Victor is so depressed.

"Alright, alright, when Three Colors Fantasy reopens, it'll be my treat, eat whatever you want!"