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

“These places have relatively large ley lines compared to other parts of the city,” Ning explained. “If we can set up the portal there, the magic power of the ley lines will be used to support the portal’s operation, so we won’t need to go through the trouble of repeatedly replenishing magic power and paying attention to other issues.”

“I understand. Thinking about it that way, it does make sense.” Lihua nodded. “So, you two want to know more about these neighborhoods, right?”

"Um..." Ri gave an awkward smile, "We don't usually go anywhere else besides Akihabara..."

To be honest, Li and Ning only got a general understanding of the city situation in the principality before throwing themselves into the construction of Akihabara, leaving no energy to care about the specifics of other places. No matter how amazing Ning is, he can't possibly know everything about every place, every time, and every person in real time. So, they had to rely on the locals to save time.

Lihua nodded without speaking, staring at the map, deep in thought. Neither of them was in a hurry to reach a conclusion, since they were the ones who had made the request; there was no need to rush, and they certainly didn't have the right to say so. After a while, Lihua closed the map.

“I understand the general situation,” Lihua said, her expression turning serious. “Could I first confirm when this map was created?”

“Of course, we just made this map based on the situation inside the city,” Ning said. “We were able to make this map because of Yan’s help.”

"So you mean the map was made on the spot, right?" Li Hua nodded to indicate that she understood. "In that case, I'm sorry, these four places cannot be used."

Lihua removed the feather headdress from her head, which turned out to be a quill pen she always carried with her. She used the quill pen to black out the four crosses. Li and Ning leaned closer to look and confirm the four places that had been ruled out.

“Let me explain my reasons,” Lihua said. “First, these two places are now concentration camps, areas with large populations. If we were to set up a teleportation portal there, there probably wouldn’t be enough space for us. Second, these two places are where the Duchy houses its elderly… I don’t really want the teleportation portal to be set up in those kinds of places…”

"Hmm... I understand." Li nodded in understanding.

If the portal is set up there, that place will definitely become very noisy in the near future, which will affect the rest of the elderly people living there. Li and Ning don't know about this, so it's really good that they can ask Li Hua in advance.

"Luckily, you called out to me..." Li Hua sighed. "If it had been my brother, he definitely wouldn't know the situation in these four places, and it would have caused a lot more trouble later..."

"Thank goodness that's how it is..." Riya breathed a sigh of relief, then asked, "What about the remaining four?"

"Hmm... let's talk as we walk..."

The remaining four locations weren't easy to choose either, because Lihua herself couldn't be sure if the residents of these four places would be able to accept them. These four places were all in the inner city, which was the residential area of ​​the nobles. Sometimes, these people could be particularly difficult to please, and even if the duke spoke, they probably wouldn't obey willingly...

Lihua's concern was precisely this: would the nobles residing there agree to allow them to set up a portal in this location? The portal was intended to serve as a bridge for future good relations between these nations, so it would be open to everyone, including commoners and nobles.

Compared to other countries, the relationship between nobles and commoners in the duchy is relatively good. This is because the duchy was established after multiple settlements and tribes successfully resisted oppressors. The nobles are mostly from powerful tribes that made significant contributions. Most people still hold the primitive mentality of the time, where the strong prey on the weak, and there are also people who look down on commoners.

However, since most of them were meritorious contributors, Li Hua and Saiwei couldn't really say anything, after all, the establishment of this country relied on their strong support. However, they have recently begun to plan to rectify this issue.

Afterwards, they visited all four candidate locations, but none of them were suitable. They also tried to look around those places and negotiate with the nobles there, but they did not receive a positive answer; most of them refused.

"These are really tough to deal with..." Lihua squatted down by the roadside, completely losing her composure. "Ugh!! These barbarians are so hard to handle! I definitely have to find a chance to teach them a lesson!!"

"Oh dear... what am I going to do..." Li looked at the map with worry.

They've already checked out the remaining four slightly better candidate locations, but none of them are suitable for setting up a teleportation portal. Ning leaned against the wall, lost in thought. Judging from her expression, it was impossible to tell what she was thinking. One could only hope she wouldn't make any rash choices.

Now we're in a predicament because of this problem; it's not that we can't set up a portal without doing it this way.

However, if this could solve many problems, things would be different. They would be willing to invest some time and effort, but right now, no matter how hard they try, they can't achieve results in a short time, at least not peacefully. Given the situation just now, it wouldn't be surprising if those people suddenly drew their knives at any moment.

These nobles gave her the impression of being uncivilized barbarians. If Lihua hadn't told them about the nobles of this country beforehand, she might have slapped them with her dragon-transformed hand.

“Sigh…” Li Hua sighed, “I think I should go see my brother. I think we should let the people know about this first and get their support. That way, those people will have to consider the pressure from the masses.”

“Hmm… but that will take some time…” Ning said. “It’s quick to let the public know about this, but whether they can accept it is another question.”

"Speaking of which..." Lihua suddenly remembered something, "Why don't you all take a look at the place where Akihabara used to be?"

“There…” Li was somewhat speechless.

“Akihabara is still empty,” Lihua said. “It’s been empty ever since you left the principality. Now there’s almost nothing there except some withered grass.”

Akihabara left nothing behind. They left nothing after that, almost as if Akihabara had simply vanished from the place. The ruins of the houses were all used in that battle. All that remained were some stone-paved roads and clean, tidy grass. It was as if Akihabara had never been there at all, which even surprised Lihua.

Now she was a little confused as to why they hadn't chosen the original location of Akihabara immediately. There should have been nothing there by now, so setting up the portal there would have been perfect.

"Is the dragon vein in Akihabara not good enough?" Lihua suggested. "If we use Akihabara as the location for the teleportation portal, no one should have any problems. You don't need to worry about my brother and me. Akihabara is currently unused, and we haven't had time to deal with the empty land there. It's the perfect location for the teleportation portal right now..."

"Hmm..." Li nodded and looked at Ning.

"That's it..." Ning sighed. "You heard what Li Hua said, right? If you keep dawdling, it'll be your own problem."

"I understand..." Li smiled wryly as she put away the map. "Let's go take a look over there."

Ultimately, Li was only concerned about what Sevi and Lihua thought, and now it seems it was just wishful thinking on her part. Because of her actions, she still feels some guilt, making her hesitant and restrained. Ning decided to let her figure it out herself and didn't interfere. In fact, the original site of Akihabara can be considered the most extensive area of ​​the entire duchy's ley lines.

Moreover, it was an empty, undeveloped plot of land, uninhabited nearby. Just as Li Hua had said, it was the perfect location to set up a portal, without having to worry about so many things or problems. So, the problems were basically all solved.

Now, all that's left is to go and confirm the situation, prepare materials, and brainstorm designs. The workload is actually quite large; maybe we should open a small portal beforehand and have someone from Akihabara come and lend a hand. Right now, Ri's mind is filled with ideas for setting up the teleportation portal, utilizing the ley lines, and dealing with all sorts of different situations… In short…

Work has begun.

Chapter 20 setup complete.

They might not be familiar with the roads within the current principality's city, but if it's a road leading there, they can find their way no matter where they are. That's the original site of Akihabara where they were struggling not long ago. After passing through some broken buildings, they finally arrived at a wide-open, withered meadow that looked somewhat deserted.

Unable to obtain any decent nutrients from the current soil, the grass looked yellowish and listless. Besides the grass, some broken stone paths were scattered throughout the meadow. The scene was quite evocative, with a strong sense of desolation. Li couldn't resist taking out a Polaroid camera from her treasure chest and capturing the moment in a photograph.

Click.

"What are you doing?" Li Hua asked Li curiously.

"Ah...you mean this?" Li took the photo out of the Polaroid camera. "This is called a Polaroid camera, it's a type of camera, um...it's something that can instantly turn the scene in front of you into a small picture, look."

Li handed the photo to Lihua. Lihua looked at the still completely black photo, frowned in confusion, and then her expression turned to surprise. The blackness gradually faded on the small piece of paper, then slowly turned into color, finally becoming the scene the three of them had just seen. She picked up the paper in disbelief and compared it to the scene in front of her; to her, it was exactly the same.

Ning leaned over and took a look: "Hmm, this photo is not bad."

A cloudless, clear sky, the symbolic red and blue double moon, and broken stone paths scattered like stars across the withered grass—all of this is real. However, if such a photo were taken to Earth, it would probably be seen as a high-budget CG production, since such a scene is impossible to find on Earth.

Well, let those who can understand this feeling have it.

"Wow, amazing... So this is called a photograph..." Li Hua exclaimed in admiration. "I never knew such a powerful thing existed... If I had this, I could use it to record so many things."

“Hmm,” Li said, snapping a picture of Lihua. “Look.”

"Huh?! Wait a minute," Lihua asked in a panic, "did you just use it to hit me?"

"Sorry... I couldn't help but take a picture of you when I saw you like that."

Li smiled apologetically and showed the photo to Lihua. It was taken from behind and to the side of Lihua, who was holding the photo and comparing it to the scene in front of her, her eyes filled with emotion. Li thought she looked beautiful in it, so she couldn't resist taking the picture.

Lihua blushed and snatched the photo away. She looked a little childish in it and felt slightly embarrassed to be photographed like that. Although she thought about just tearing it up, she also felt it was a pity.

"Hey?" Lihua asked, "Can I keep this photo?"

"Of course you can." Li smiled sheepishly. "You wouldn't want to be photographed like this, would you? So you can do whatever you want with me."

"And also..." Lihua hesitated for a moment, but finally asked, "Do you still have those Polaroid cameras?"

"This one?" Li waved the Polaroid camera in her hand. "Do you want this one?"

"Yes, I want it." Lihua made no attempt to hide her thoughts.

Normally, she should be the last person to show this emotion, but this was the one thing she really wanted. After seeing Li's demonstration, she really wanted this thing. She wanted to use the Polaroid camera to record some moments she wanted to remember, and then compile them into a book. Now she wanted to use it to record the development history of this alliance and record those key moments.

If we had this magical item, things would be much more convenient.

"Hmm..." After thinking for a moment, he said, "Actually, instant cameras aren't as convenient as you think, because they require special photo paper to take pictures. Since you want one, I'll give you this one, and then..."

Li unfolded her magic circle, connecting it to the treasure chest's spatial storage. She then found a few items she needed, organized them, and placed them in a shoulder bag before taking them out. Li put the Polaroid camera into this ordinary shoulder bag and handed it to Lihua.

“Having a bag to carry around will make things much more convenient,” Li explained. “I’ve also put a lot of photo paper and tools for maintenance in there. Ning, could you please teach Lihua how to maintain them later?”

"Okay, no problem." Ning nodded. "I'll come see you when I have time. Remember to make time for me."

"Ok!"

Lihua took the handbag from Li's hand as if it were a precious item, then slung it over her shoulder, lovingly touching the outline of the Polaroid camera inside. It was precisely because of how she usually acted that Li was fulfilling Xiao Xuan's wish, hoping that Lihua could also show some expressions appropriate for her age.

"Anyway, let's get down to business first." Ning brought the two back to the main topic. "Let's double-check that we can indeed use this place freely, right?"

Ning wanted to avoid those unnecessary questions, so she needed to first confirm whether the land could really be used as they wished, however they wanted.

“Yes,” Li Hua nodded, “Because Miss Li is still nominally our principality’s ambassador to Akihabara, and this place still belongs to Akihabara, so there won’t be any problems. Even if there are problems, my brother and I will help you suppress these voices.”

This wasn't something Lihua said to repay the two for giving her the Polaroid camera; she was simply stating the facts. Even though the people who used to live here are no longer here, this is still Akihabara, the district of the Principality. Even though Li had once left the Principality, this was still one of her positions, and she still had the authority to manage Akihabara's affairs.

This is something no one can interfere with. The privileges that Sevi granted to Akihabara and Ri even surpassed those of the nobility. However, as an outsider, she cannot possibly have rights above the nobility in every aspect, unless Ri becomes Sevi's wife, that is, a princess. In that case, the nobles probably wouldn't dare to say anything.

However, the duchy will likely face annihilation.

Of course, Li Hua wouldn't say these things to Li, and Li would understand on his own.

"Oh, I see..." Ning smiled mysteriously. "Then we don't need to worry about it too much. Lihua, please go back and explain the situation to the Duke. We're about to start work. Then, we need to give a briefing to the people about the alliance."

"Eh? Okay..." Lihua agreed, "So, how much time will it take you to set up the portal?"

"Hmm...it's hard to say." Ning looked troubled. "This is my first time using ley lines, and besides that, I also have to consider the design and size of the portal. I'll conservatively estimate it won't be ready until tonight..."

"Okay, I understand. Then, I'll take my leave for now."

Li Hua turned to leave, but then remembered something. She turned back to Li, returned the photo, and jogged away. Li glanced at the photo in her hand, a slight smile playing on her lips, before carefully putting it away.

"Let's get started," Li stretched. "Ning, what should we do first?"

“Let’s deal with the ley lines first,” Ning said. “I plan to clear all the magic around here at once and see how long it takes for the magic level to return to normal. You should have an electrical box there, so bring it out.”

"Oh."

With a wave of her slender hand, silver magical light spilled from her palm onto the ground, creating several silver magic circles that flashed and disappeared, leaving behind several electrical boxes. Li was already quite skilled in using magic, able to trigger the desired effect with a single action or gesture, just like Ning, making the magic take effect immediately. The two crouched down and modified the spells on each electrical box one by one, maximizing their magic absorption power. Then, Li used her authority to specify the effective range of the boxes before activating them.

The two sat on the lawn, waiting for the electrical boxes to absorb all the surrounding magic before shutting them off one by one.

“Alright, theoretically speaking, Akihabara is now devoid of magic.” Ning sat back down. “The next step is to see how long it will take for it to return to its previous normal level.”

“Well…” Li looked at the magic reserves of these electrical boxes, “We set up a total of ten electrical boxes, eight of which are full now, and two of which are less than half full. If we want to fully operate a large portal, we would conservatively need fifty of them to function properly.”

“I see…” Ning nodded. “Then this process needs to be repeated seven times… that’s a bit troublesome.”

"Let's see how efficient the response is..." Li retrieved the electrical box and then laid out ten more empty electrical boxes. "While we have time, let's think about what material the portal should be made of, and also the size issue..."

"What kind of portal do you want to create?" Ning asked.

"Hmm... let me think..." After a moment's thought, she said, "First of all, it definitely needs to be sturdy... secondly, it needs to save as much space as possible. If, and I mean if, this portal could function like a smart security door... well, I don't really know how to describe it, but at least it could identify the user through identity verification, preventing criminals from using it or something..."

The reason for requiring sturdiness is that during the previous guerrilla warfare, many of Li's teleportation portals were damaged and rendered unusable due to involvement in battles. These were all temporary wooden doors, and once they were destroyed, the teleportation portals could no longer be used. Li felt it was a pity that these portals were still in normal working order, as they wouldn't have to run around like this now.

Therefore, sturdiness is necessary to ensure the portal can be used for a long time.

The reason for requiring space saving is mainly to allow for the setting up of more portals in the future. Although it's not possible now, there's no guarantee that many countries will appear in the future, and then we might need to use portals to communicate. Although it would be troublesome to manage, this is not a bad idea.

Finally, there's that seemingly silly request. It's not actually unreasonable, because such a function does exist in this world. For example, the door locks on their villa are one type, though those are gems embedded in the doorknobs. Adding something like that to a portal wouldn't be difficult, and it's perfectly reasonable.

This is, of course, one of the means to guard against criminals. Alice has a list of ghosts, and after comparing it with the known ghosts, it was confirmed that the contents of this list are true. At least for now, they can rely on this list to control some guys who are trying to use the portal to do evil. If ghosts can also use the portal, that would be terrifying.

At the very least, Li doesn't intend for these people to use the portal.

Ning nodded as she memorized these simple requirements. Of course, she had these thoughts too; she just wanted to see if there were any oversights from Yi Li's perspective. After thinking for a while, she noticed that the concentration of magic in the surrounding air was gradually increasing.

"Hey~" Ning's lips curled up slightly, "The recovery efficiency is pretty good... Half an hour has passed now, and the concentration is about a quarter of what it was before, which means it can be fully replenished every two hours. If that's the case, the large portal can be used once every fourteen hours... Not bad."

"Huh? It can only be used once every half day?" Li asked in surprise.

“Idiot,” Ning tapped her head and stood up, “Since we’re going to save space, we definitely won’t use a large teleportation portal. I already have the idea, so just remove the interference from your powers.”

"Uh...right."

Li stuck out her tongue, releasing her power from interfering with spacetime. A large portal needs fourteen hours to fill with energy, so a medium-sized portal, half the size, would need seven hours. Being able to open it three times a day is quite impressive. As expected, the magic power is abundant above the ley lines... In this way, even in an emergency, the backup power box can be used to activate the portal.

Now that the problem has been solved, it's time to get to work.

“By the way,” Li asked, “you said you have an idea, what exactly is it?”

"Do you have any magic iron blocks?" Ning asked.

"Let me see..." Li looked around, "How big do you need?"

"How big are they..." Ning thought for a moment, "Just bring them all out to me first, they should be about the same size as the Jilong."

"Hey...you're not thinking of making one of those simple doors made of three big stones stacked together, are you...?"

"You think too much."

Finally, a circular stone platform appeared on the grass in Akihabara, along with huge blocks of magic iron scattered around it.

Chapter 21, The Labyrinth and the New Kingdom, setup complete.

dong dong——

Senno tapped the documents in her hand on the table to tidy them up, then placed them in the corner. Although she was busy organizing documents, her mind was actually on Alice, who was elsewhere. Originally, Senno had planned to go with the Queen for her safety, but she hadn't expected the Demon King to interfere. Alice said that with him there was no need to worry about safety, and then the two left.

Half a day has passed, but it feels like a year to Senno. No one can say for sure what the situation is like in the duchy. What if it's also surrounded by elves? Honestly, this queen has absolutely no sense of responsibility. What will happen to the country if something happens to her?

The more Senno thought about it, the angrier he became. Could that unmotivated demon king really protect others? Besides, he didn't look like he had rested properly at all. For a king, such a person was truly derelict in his duty.

bump--!

The document slammed onto the table with a loud thud, startling the guards outside the office. Without hesitation, they pushed open the door and rushed in. Senno and the two soldiers exchanged an awkward glance. The soldiers looked around perfunctorily before their gaze settled on Senno.