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

"This is...Chinese...?"

Even Lian Ning was so surprised that she couldn't maintain her usual cold expression. The language used in the book was undoubtedly Chinese, indicating that someone had recorded something in Chinese.

“Not just these!” Li picked up several other books. “These too! And they’re signed by Serik!”

"It's actually the old bald man's notebook... "

Ning almost laughed out loud. They probably made the right choice this time. As an old bald guy who had played through two playthroughs, Seric must have some deep understanding of this world. Ning also glanced at the various information recorded in these notes. Basically, they were some special theories about this world and a comparison table of items from another world.

They must have really struck gold this time.

Chapter 46 The Current Sanko Workshop

The numerous paper books piled up here were probably all notes written by Seric. The two casually flipped through these notes, and most of the content was Seric's deeper exploration of the world during this period. Unfortunately, all of this was to prepare for launching the destruction of the world.

It seems this person wasn't just talking about destroying the world; he'd made extensive preparations, albeit through the simplest and most brutal method: direct, artificial destruction of all life on Earth, rendering it ecologically ineffective and eradicating civilization. He even prepared a method to shatter the planet in one blow. He's really gone all out.

"Is this King Seric's notebook?" Senno asked incredulously.

“Yes.” Li nodded. “I may not have told you yet, but Seric should actually be from the same world as me. However, he lived much earlier than me. In his previous life, he was a hero. I don’t know what happened in between, but he used a special method to reincarnate as Seric. And then the things that happened later occurred.”

“These are all Serik’s own notes,” Ning said. “The handwriting is handwritten, and the script used is one that ordinary people in this world cannot understand; it comes from another world.”

“No wonder.” Alice picked up a book and flipped through it. “These books are all in his handwriting. What did he write in them?”

“They are basically questions about the root causes of the world,” Ning explained. “Although this theoretical knowledge is too early for you at this stage, I will still give you these books.”

Serik's notes, these numerous books piled up deep within the church, would be considered by even Ning to be a treasure trove of spiritual and intellectual wealth.

Serik was an ambitious and capable man, but unfortunately, he used all his talents elsewhere. And this knowledge was superfluous to them.

The reason for giving it to Alice and the others was that Ning wanted to do them a favor physically, to show their sincerity. On the other hand, it was also because these were things they didn't need.

Like Serik, they basically knew about this world; in fact, they were even more knowledgeable than Serik, so it was meaningless for them to possess these books.

The contents of these books are all written in Chinese, so if they are given to people in this world, they will not be able to understand them. Unless they have the help of Kuroba and the others, it is almost impossible.

So even if it's handed over directly to Alice, it will still take Alice some time to truly make good use of the knowledge. But these things are beyond Ning's jurisdiction.

These books are a large number of notes and intelligence that Serik wrote in preparation for destruction. He probably used Chinese to avoid having spies around him.

In that battle, Serik gave it his all, probably thinking that when everything came to an end, this world would be erased, and these notes would disappear with it, so he simply left them behind... It's a pity that he encountered the time when the three sisters were active, but well, none of that matters, let's just consider it one of the unexpected gains.

"Is this alright?" Alice asked. "This should belong to war criminals, shouldn't it?"

"Is there a problem?" Ning smiled. "Shouldn't you inherit your family's belongings? Besides, these aren't bad things. If you can manage them, they can play an important role in the future development of the kingdom."

After listening to Ning's words, Alice held her notebook in silence for a long time, as if she were having an intense internal struggle. Finally, she nodded.

“Okay, thank you,” Alice said. “Consider it a favor I owe you.”

"Well, you'll have to repay this favor later," Ning urged. "It's getting late, and we should probably head back to discuss the follow-up cooperation. If possible, I'd like to get it done as soon as possible. You really need Akihabara's support right now, don't you?"

"Ha, so that's what you were planning," Alice said with a wry smile. "I give up. You two are always pulling the strings. Well, what can we do when we need your help?"

Although Alice said that, when the negotiations actually began, she was determined not to easily relinquish any benefits she could secure, so Ning didn't gain much advantage. She also tried her best to adjust the plan so that Akihabara could help the new kingdom's revival with minimal pressure, without affecting Akihabara's own revival.

The exploration of the church came to an end. After leaving the church's underground area, Alice instructed the guards to handle the issues in the basement and also asked someone to help her move all the notes back to her study. They returned to the palace with their unexpected finds. This time, perhaps because Alice was with them, no one dared to make a move against them.

However, the three sisters could still sense the malice and ill intentions directed at them. Putting everything else aside, once they completed their cooperation, these guys would soon be too exhausted to keep jumping around.

This conversation was incredibly boring for Li and Xiao, as it involved skills completely outside their grasp. Alice and Ning kept throwing in a bunch of terms they couldn't understand, making it feel like they were watching aliens converse. Finally, Ning couldn't stand it anymore and sent them off to wander around the Sanko Workshop.

After being dismissed by Ning, Li and Xiao followed behind the Royal Guard Knight, Seika, who led them to the current location of the Sanko Workshop. To be honest, the atmosphere among the three had been rather awkward, especially with Seika, who seemed to be deliberately keeping his distance from them. Being treated with such formality left Li with a somewhat complicated feeling. Fortunately, they quickly arrived at the Sanko Workshop's location. After a brief explanation, Seika quickly left.

"Sister Li?" Xiao looked at Saika's departing figure with a puzzled expression. "That person seemed to be afraid of us."

"Ahhh... Why is this happening...?"

She didn't say it outright, and she wasn't stupid enough not to understand the other person's feelings, so she just ignored the other person's strange behavior.

"Let's go in..."

"Manager!!!"

"Whoa!?!"

After Saka left, Rina was thinking of taking Akira inside when a heart-wrenching scream suddenly came from behind them, and someone rushed over and tackled them both. They were startled. Based on the soft touch behind her, Rina judged that the person was a girl, and coupled with the strange address, she could already picture that person in her mind.

"Kana, don't do this." Ri struggled to push Kana away. "Haa...you're still the same as ever, you don't pay any attention to your surroundings."

"Ah! It's the real store manager!!! Ahhh!! The living store manager!!!!"

"So what exactly happened to this child? Has no one come and explained it to me?!"

Unable to do anything with Kana, Ri had no choice but to protect the somewhat frightened Akatsuki and call for help from the others in the workshop. Soon, people began to emerge from the workshop, and several men approached the three of them, then skillfully lifted Kana and pulled her out. After breaking free from Kana's control, Ri and Akatsuki were finally able to stand up with great difficulty.

"Gentlemen, it's been a long time." An elderly gentleman who looked a bit frail stepped forward on behalf of everyone to greet them, extending his hand.

“Old Man Evan, it’s been a long time.” Rin also shook hands with him in a friendly manner.

Old Man Evan is arguably the most senior member of the Sanko Workshop. He had dealings with Risa back when the workshop was still in the Duchy. He's a highly respected elder, holding a high position within the workshop and deeply respected by the other members. Alice also considers him her right-hand man, but it's unclear why someone like Kana was chosen as the temporary leader.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you were coming, so I didn't make any preparations," Evan said apologetically. "Please excuse my poor preparations."

"No, no," Ri said with a wry smile. "We just couldn't get involved in what was going on over there, so we came to Sanko Workshop to check on things. We're sorry to have troubled you. By the way... what's wrong with Kana?"

As Li spoke, everyone's gaze shifted to Kana, who appeared to be a living corpse. Kana, who had been lifted up, was radiating endless, visible resentment, and her half-open mouth was muttering some strange incantation. She looked absolutely terrifying. What on earth had happened to her during the time that Alice had taken her away...?

No one gave an answer. Old Man Evan just gave Li a meaningful look and then shook his head.

"Huh? Wait a minute?" Li was a little confused. "Um, could you explain this properly?"

“Oh, of course,” Evan invited. “It’s not convenient to talk here, let’s go inside.”

"Ah."

Without hesitation, Riko agreed. They had been partners with Sanko Workshop before, so there was nothing to be wary of. The group entered the new Sanko Workshop. Compared to the previous Sanko Workshop in Akihabara, this Sanko Workshop felt somewhat different. If there was anything different, it was probably the scale.

The Sangu Workshop, which has moved here, is significantly smaller in size, resulting in a very cramped interior. Just now, we could even see a lot of equipment placed outside, which is quite concerning.

“Old Man Evan…” Ideal wanted to say something, but couldn’t bring himself to say it.

“I know what you mean,” Evan said with a wry smile. “There’s nothing we can do. We were trained by Lady Alice. Her country needs us, so we will help her without hesitation. This is, of course, part of the process. Heh, it was definitely more enjoyable to be free and unrestrained in Akihabara.”

At this point, a shadow fell over everyone's faces. They all knew that now that Alice had become Queen, the interests of the nation were more important than the Sanko Workshop, which she had personally nurtured. She was unlikely to give Sanko Workshop special treatment, and as one of the Queen's forces, the people of Sanko Workshop were already mentally prepared for this.

But... I still feel something's off...

As an outsider, Li couldn't say anything. She silently followed Evan with Xiao, leading them into a relatively spacious room. The others brought them chairs and invited them to sit down. Everyone then casually found places to sit; they were all used to this arrangement and didn't feel uncomfortable at all. Those with seats sat down, and those without simply sat on the floor. This relaxed style was truly befitting of the Sanko Workshop that had left Akihabara…

"It seems like everyone's got nothing to do..." Xiao tilted her head and counted the people in the room.

Riku also noticed this, and the room, which was originally quite spacious, was suddenly filled with people, as if all the members of the workshop had gathered here.

"Haha, there's nothing we can do right now, it's very limited," Evan said with a wry smile. "For various reasons, the operations of our Three Ancient Workshop are basically restricted. Under the current circumstances, all we can do is repair the equipment for the Royal Guard Knights. Where would we find the extra resources to do any development?"

"So... because there's nothing to do for the time being, it turned out like this..." Rin said, expressing her conclusion with mixed feelings.

"Yeah, we're so bored." "It wasn't as fulfilling as when we were working like crazy during the war!" "Ouch, don't even mention it, my back hurts just thinking about it..." "Ha, your old injury has flared up again, I'll massage it for you later."

Everyone spoke casually, yet a hint of melancholy lingered in their words. Once, the purpose of Sanko Workshop was to advance engineering and improve the lives of more people; they strived and fought for this cause. But now, it seemed as if they had suddenly lost their purpose… Sanko Workshop had become nothing more than a repair shop with only the name of a workshop.

“Well, that child is a little different.” Evan looked at Kana, who was sprawled on the ground like a rag. “Kana is different. Maybe it’s because of our different living environments, but that child always manages to take some unusual paths, find problems, figure out how to solve them, and then continue her path as a craftswoman. Although she always comes up with unconventional methods and fails every time, there’s always one time she succeeds. Looking at her, we think that’s not so bad…”

"Is this so..."

Riya looked at Kana, this girl from the bottom of society, who seemed to have become the spiritual pillar of Sanko Workshop.

Chapter 47 Small Things That Reason Can Do

At this point, Ri realized that she knew very little about Kana. She only knew that she was a creative and proactive genius girl. Ri knew nothing about her background or family. Even though Kana was also a member of Akihabara, Ri knew very little about her.

This girl met Rie by chance and was then drawn into the vortex of events surrounding Rie... or rather, she was drawn in herself, because her encounter with Alice was due to an impulsive act where she dragged Alice away. Afterwards, the two became connected because of this incident, and it's hard to say whether it was a tragic or a blessed fate. Both of them gained something, but were also tormented quite a bit by each other.

On one side is Kana, a whimsical and unrestrained girl, and on the other is Alice, a talented and capable genius. The clash between their drastically different styles creates a fierce reaction. Alice often has to restrain Kana, who creates all sorts of gadgets and inventions when she goes off the rails, while Kana often has to skip work at the workshop to have some fun.

In every sense, these two are remarkably mismatched, yet somehow they somehow ended up together; perhaps this is what is meant by fate.

“We should probably learn from her,” Evan said with mixed feelings. “As craftsmen, we should find ways to solve and create problems when we don’t have them, instead of sitting here helplessly and waiting for our doom.”

All eyes were fixed on Kana. Indeed, this girl was someone whose creations were unstoppable. She would create the conditions she needed in ways beyond the comprehension of ordinary people, ultimately completing her creation. Craftsmen should be like that. Meanwhile, the members of the Sanko Workshop, constrained by various problems, were unable to function properly. Faced with this girl's actions, the others felt somewhat ashamed.

"Emmm, I don't quite understand..." Xiao asked, her ears twitching, "Then why has someone like this become like this?"

Rin and Akatsuki shared the same thought: they still didn't understand what was going on. They had chatted about everyday things and learned about the current situation of the workshop, but they still didn't understand why Kana had become like this, or why Kana went crazy after seeing the two of them.

"Hmm...we don't know the specifics either..." Evan stroked his chin thoughtfully, "Maybe, like Miss Ning back then?"

"Same as Ning?"

Li carefully searched her memory, looking for anything related to this keyword, and then she remembered—no wonder it felt so familiar.

"This is... out of power, right?" Li said with a wry smile.

Li recalled Ning from her memories, then glanced at Kana in front of her, and finally connected the clues. She remembered that Alice had told her about this, and Ning had also been in a similar state. She vaguely remembered that it happened during the first time Sanko Workshop was working overtime like crazy. Li seemed to have looked for her once during that time, and she remembered being held for a long time to recharge.

Simply put, it's probably because he hadn't seen Li for a while and felt a bit empty, so he desperately needed to see her to recharge before going back to work with full energy... Seriously, this kind of plot that only happens in novels actually happens... How embarrassing...

"No power?" Evan looked bewildered.

By this time, a group of people had brought over the electrical box made by Sangu Workshop, so wait a minute, are we talking on different channels? I'm not talking about electricity... and if you guys had shocked you back then, it would have been fatal, right?! Besides, how long have you guys been playing with electricity?! And you already know the concept of charging?!

"Wait, wait, wait, I wasn't talking about that kind of electricity," Li quickly stopped them. "I was talking about that, that kind of electricity in a spiritual sense... do you understand what I mean?"

"Mental electricity?"

Evan and the others fell into deep thought. "Hey, did your IQs drop after you guys returned to the kingdom? Or are you all materialists? Show your intelligence! The generation gap is serious!"

"It's...that..." Li carefully chose her words, "It's like you're lacking something spiritually and urgently need to replenish it, like an electrical box running out of power and needing to be recharged with magic...Do you understand?"

Because these spiritual concepts are quite complicated to explain, Li gave an example to illustrate them, hoping they could understand.

"oh oh……"

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd: "Do you guys even understand now?!"

“If that’s what Miss Li said… I think I can understand now,” Evan said meaningfully. “Because this old man also has people he cares about…”

"Huh...?" Rin felt that something was off about the atmosphere.

Everyone seemed to understand, but Rin felt they had misunderstood. But upon closer inspection, it didn't seem wrong. She realized she was really bad at explaining things. Rin started to miss Ning, who was talking to Alice on the other side. She felt so helpless.

“Speaking of which,” Ri tried to change the subject, “Kana seemed fine yesterday, right? How did she suddenly become like this?”

Yesterday, Riko noticed Kana in the group. A while before Akihabara was scheduled to move, Kana seemed to have mysteriously disappeared. Everyone tried to find her but couldn't, so they temporarily put the matter aside. Riko just didn't expect to see Kana in the New Kingdom yesterday. So Kana had followed Alice to the New Kingdom?

I saw Kana in the group that Alice brought yesterday. Although Kana seemed a little unnatural at the time, her inherent mischievousness was undeniable. Judging from that, she seemed to be doing quite well. So why is she having problems today? I don't quite understand. There's no need to react so strongly.

“That’s true…” Evan asked the others, “Hey you guys, did Kana act strangely yesterday?”

"Is something unusual?" "It doesn't seem like it..." "Kana was fiddling with her lightsaber when she came back yesterday." "It seems like this happened after Ri-san appeared." "Yeah... she seemed fine just now..."

Based on everyone's accounts, Kana's situation only started after Ri came to the Sanko Workshop, so the answer is already quite obvious. Ri could only sigh helplessly.

"Oh, I see." Li gave a wry smile. "I think I know what's going on now."

"Oh? Miss Li, have you figured it out?" Evan looked surprised.

"Hmm, that's probably the case." Li stood up. "Excuse me, please wait a moment."

Reluctantly, Rin awakened the magic within her body, then constructed a magic circle, connecting it to the treasure chest within Rin's body. She then unleashed this magic, and with a "let's give it a try" attitude, retrieved the key item that would restore Kana to normal. As soon as she took it out, Kana was resurrected on the spot.

"I smell it!! It's the shopkeeper's miracle drug!!!"

"Whoa!? Don't come any closer!! And the way you're saying things makes me sound like a weird cult leader giving his followers weird medicine!!!"

Kana, who had seemingly revived on the spot, pounced on Riku like a fanatical follower, startling her. Luckily, Akira reacted quickly and subdued her in the blink of an eye. Kana, what do you take potato chips for?! It's not some strange medicine!!!

That's right, based on this series of information, Rin deduced that the answer was potato chips. And now, Kana's behavior confirmed that the culprit was indeed potato chips. After all this time, Rin never expected Kana to go crazy over something like this. Maybe she really shouldn't have given her potato chips back then, Rin thought to herself as she checked the potato chips.

Rie couldn't remember when she made these potato chips, but the only thing she was sure of was that they weren't made recently. She had made them a long time ago and then simply tossed them into her treasure chest for safekeeping. Rie wasn't sure if time would pass normally on things contained in a special space, so she took them out to check first.

But these potato chips seem to be still fresh out of the oven, emitting heat and the aroma of olive oil. No wonder Kana came to life and even pounced on them. I was originally planning to make a new batch, but now it seems that I don't need to.

“Oh…” Evan looked at the potato chips. “These tempting-smelling chips must be the potato chips that Kana has been talking about… They look pretty good.”

"Hmm... let's assume it's made from deep-fried potatoes," Li explained. "You should have seen it in Akihabara as well."

"Oh!! That's it!!" "I think they sell this in Tricolor Fantasy too." "Ah! This! I've had it! It's delicious! The kind that's addictive!"

Is it really addictive?! Potatoes in this world actually have this effect?!

Li made potato chips just to satisfy a craving, and she didn't make them often, so she didn't think much of it and just used something that looked like a potato. She really didn't know what the raw material was for. It might be something like an addictive substance in this world, which would be terrible. But other people who have eaten them don't seem to have had any such reaction...

"Kana." Rina handed the potato chips to Kana first. "Here you go."

"Thank you, store manager!!!"