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

This capricious god once again snapped his fingers, sending Li out of this pure white world. Well, one can imagine how Li will belittle herself when she wakes up, but the goddess doesn't care about that. She's just following a promise she made to someone. As for who that person is, she doesn't remember, or rather, they've completely disappeared from the depths of her memory.

All she remembers now is that she was supposed to take care of this girl in place of someone else.

"However..." the goddess said to Li, who was no longer there, "time travel isn't that simple..."

She herself had traveled through time and space, which was no simple matter. Perhaps Li now thought she had a good grasp of the power over that time and space, but in reality, she was still far from it. This power was a force that could cover any world, and she herself had stated that this was true.

There is more than one God (world).

This means that the scope of Li's power is exceptionally vast. She must find the world that belongs to Earth within countless dimensions of time and space before she can use her power to establish a passage from that world to that world. Keep in mind, the goddess herself spent thousands of years finding Earth's existence among countless worlds and getting to know the gods of Earth.

Regardless of the people around her, the goddess believed it was unlikely that she could find the Earth world smoothly. Therefore, she offered a shortcut: to meet the gods of Earth.

"Hmm... I need to make some preparations before I can see her..."

Chapter 7 The Tree Guardian

Didn't you sleep well?

"That must mean I didn't sleep well... Every time this goddess comes to me in a dream, I can't get a proper rest."

"It's that guy again."

"No one else could have done this..."

Because of what happened last night, Li didn't sleep well and had a headache all night. When she woke up from her dream, it was already morning, so Li had no choice but to get up, since she still had things to do. During breakfast, she explained the situation to Ning, because of this, the matter of time travel might have to be postponed for the time being.

“So,” Li said apologetically, clasping his hands together, “the plans to return to Earth and go on my honeymoon may have to be changed a little, because I don’t know when I will be able to communicate with the gods of Earth.”

"Hmm, I think I understand now." Ning rested her chin on her hand on the table. "But this goddess is so annoying..."

"What I really want to complain about is..." Li complained, "Have we unknowingly gotten involved in the root of this world, or even something at a higher level?"

"You mean God, right?" Ning waved his hand dismissively. "Heh, forget it. We've only scratched the surface at best. I'm too lazy to even think about things outside this world."

"Um……"

Beyond this world, there are multiple worlds and gods who govern them. Although it sounds like boasting, Li can sense that this is the truth. At the same time, Li's current thoughts are the same as Ning's: no matter how many gods and worlds there are, she doesn't want to pay attention to them anymore.

They were really tired and didn't want to do anything troublesome anymore. Neither Li nor Ning wanted to deal with things beyond their understanding, because it would only make them feel like they had learned something they shouldn't have. This would not only increase their workload, but also unconsciously bring these things into their considerations.

Since even Ning had said that, Li felt even less interested in these matters and didn't want to get involved. She just wanted to travel back in time to Earth to visit her biological parents, so why make it so complicated?

"Then, we'll have to put this matter on hold for now." Ning rubbed her temples. "Do you have any plans for today?"

"No..." Li said with a wry smile, "Because I've basically done everything I can, so there's not much work left to do. What about you?"

"Hmm...yes." Ning thought for a moment and said, "I want to go and debug that thing again."

"Is that thing still not finished?" Li asked.

"It's done, but there are still some problems with its use," Ning packed up her things and prepared to leave. "In order to ensure that there won't be any major problems when it's used during the harvest festival, I still need to do some more checks and optimizations. The more troublesome thing is that although the product is finished, the picture is still very unclear."

"Well... then... good luck?"

"If you didn't sleep well last night, you can sleep in today."

Ning tidied up the breakfast dishes, cleaned them with magic, dried them, and put them back in the cupboard.

Everyone else left for work early. Xiao and Salid had to rush to their morning training session. Finoer was now a teacher in the same position as Kuroba and also had to take care of the children. Chuchu was busy improving the quality of the seeds, and her workload was no less than that of the others. Neki was working on two large projects at the same time and left home early to catch the earliest teleportation portal to the Empire.

So, only Li and Ning were left at home; everyone else had gone to work. Originally, their plan was to spend the day attempting time travel back to Earth, and then use that day to find out the problems they needed to solve in the process. Unfortunately, due to some special circumstances, they couldn't do the test today.

“…Ugh…sleeping in.” Li frowned. “It feels like I’ve just wasted a whole day…”

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it..." Ning shrugged. "Besides, this is what it feels like to be over. You know, not long ago, even rest was a luxury."

"Hmm..." Li still felt it wasn't quite right, "I have this feeling that if I fall asleep, I'll just end up back with that bastard goddess, Jian."

"Anyway, you should go and rest today," Ning urged. "The remaining problems are beyond our ability to solve now, no matter how much you think about them."

"OK then……"

Finally, after Ning's persistent pleading, Li obediently returned to the second floor and went back to her room. Ning had planned to give her a hint if she didn't listen, but in the end, Li was too sleepy to resist, so she went back to sleep. Ning waited downstairs for a while, observing her until she was sure Li was sound asleep before leaving the house.

Stepping out of her house, Ning glanced at the glowing Perseus Tree. The light seemed to converge beneath the tree into a familiar shape. Ning withdrew her gaze and headed towards Akihabara. The feeling wasn't very clear, but she had a feeling that something was under that tree. Although she had considered whether it was the reanimated form of the buried Black Moon Raven, if it were that tree, the surrounding area was already filled with the aura of Heroic Spirits, and such a thing couldn't possibly arise in a place like this.

What exactly is it...?

Ning wasn't sure what it was, but she vaguely sensed that it was someone she knew. Aside from the two whose chances of resurrection were slim, it could only be that guy. Although she didn't know the reason for his resurrection… he seemed to have said something… that he was a Tree Guardian.

Tree guardians...

Ning thought for a moment. It seemed that she didn't know much about the tree. She only knew that the tree carried the souls and achievements of many heroes and great men, and that was all she knew.

"Let's go check on Kuroba..."

Ning's first thought was of Kuroba, the author of the Hundred Principles Magic Book, who possessed extremely comprehensive knowledge of the old world. She figured Kuroba would know about any gaps in Ning's knowledge. She decided to stop by Kuroba's place on her way to the workshop…

After returning to Akihabara, Ning headed towards the school. However, Kuroba was so engrossed in the new book that Rin had given her yesterday that she completely ignored the changes in the outside world and left all of today's classes to the other teachers.

"Sorry, I saw Kuroba like this when I came over this morning."

Although it had nothing to do with her, Finoer still apologized to Ning.

"It's okay, or rather, you don't need to apologize to me at all..." Ning smiled wryly, "I only just found out that this guy delivered the book yesterday..."

“Speaking of which,” Fino asked, “weren’t you supposed to be at home with Rie doing experiments today? Why are you here? Did something go wrong?”

"Well, I guess so," Ning explained. "Li met with the goddess again last night. Or rather, the goddess forcibly dragged Li there. The basic conversation was that with our current approach, there's no way we can succeed."

"Even if the two of you cooperate, it won't work?" Fino asked.

"What exactly do you take me and Li for?" Ning asked back.

“Of course, it’s an existence that surpasses even gods,” Finoer said matter-of-factly.

"It can't be that exaggerated..." Ning didn't know what to say.

The various abilities they had previously displayed to the people of this world were beyond their imagination. Things that seemed only possible for gods were accomplished effortlessly by the two of them. If one couldn't do it, the two of them would work together. In their eyes, it seemed there was nothing that Li and Ning couldn't solve when they were together.

Ning's public image is that of someone who is omnipotent, but her mindset has changed somewhat. At least she is no longer as arrogant as before.

“So,” Fino asked, “what problem did you encounter that you need to talk to Black Feather about? You can tell me about it too. Although I don’t remember as clearly and in detail as the Book Spirits, I am still the eldest of the Dragon Kings.”

maybe……

Ning had an idea. As the eldest dragon king, Finoir probably knew quite a lot, and perhaps she could ask Finoir about the tree. Considering this, it wouldn't hurt to ask.

“Actually, it’s not about time travel,” Ning said. “We haven’t done any related experiments, so there’s not much of a problem. What I want to ask is about the Perseus Tree next to our house. Finoir, do you know anything about it?”

“That tree?” Finoir thought for a moment. “The Perseus Tree… I think I know quite a bit about it. What do you want to know?”

"Then, do you know what a tree guardian is?"

"The Tree Guardian" is Zhou Tai's self-designation, and also Zhou Dong's. This person's identity has always been a mystery. In his previous life, he was a person from the Eastern Wu Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period who came from Earth. After his death, how did he come to this world? And what is gradually emerging under that tree now?

“Tree guardians… huh…” Finoir thought for a moment, then said, “In all my years, I’ve seen three Perseus Trees like this. Each tree has a person at its base who calls themselves a tree guardian, protecting the Perseus Tree behind them. These tree guardians are indeed incredibly powerful, so powerful that even I was somewhat surprised. Simply put, they’re people who specifically guard that tree, but I don’t understand why they’re guarding it. Speaking of which, the Perseus Tree next to our house doesn’t seem to have a guardian…”

“Yes,” Ning nodded, “Sister Finoir should also know about the attack on this labyrinth by the kingdom. The tree guardian died in that battle.”

“Eh…so that’s what happened,” Finoer exclaimed. “It reminds me of a saying that Rin taught me: ‘Two fists can’t beat four hands.’”

Yes, Zhou Dong died in battle under the siege of the ghosts. Although Ning and Xiao did not witness his death directly, Ning could clearly feel the burning soul fire of Zhou Dong. Later, they saw the complete Great Xia Dragon Sparrow in Xia Que's hands, which was enough to confirm many things.

"I thought the tree guardians were beyond our control."

At this moment, Fino said something that caught people's attention.

"Wait a minute? There's no way to solve it?" Ning noticed something strange. "Sister Finoer, you're saying there's no way to solve it?"

“Hmm…yeah,” Finoer recalled, “I think I was too tired and in a hurry to find a place to rest. I saw that big and conspicuous Perseus Tree and thought I would go there to rest. Then I started fighting with the tree guardian there, but no matter how I attacked, I didn’t seem to be able to do any effective damage. Especially the fact that it would heal after I was injured was really frustrating.”

Will an injury heal completely?

Now, Ning's thoughts became much clearer. She had a rough idea of ​​the true form of the figure gradually solidifying under the tree. Yes, it was probably Zhou Dong, the most likely of the three who had died at that time to be resurrected. That being said, the hope was still very slim, because Zhou Dong himself was in a disabled state, and no one could say for sure what his condition would be.

Compared to the two whose existence has been erased, Zhou Dong's resurrection is much more difficult... Ning has been searching for a way to bring the three back to this world, and has started with Zhou Dong, who is the most likely candidate, but has never come up with a satisfactory method. Who knew that he would come back on his own.

He truly lived up to the reputation of the indomitable Zhou Tai.

Without even needing their help, that person crawled back from hell on his own. If it had been a different Tree Guardian resurrected there, Li and Ning would have had a headache, but if it was him, that would be perfect. Xiao would surely be happy too; let's keep this a secret from those two for now.

Putting aside Li and Xiao, even Ning herself felt admiration for this somewhat taciturn man. She hadn't been able to pull him out of the maze back then, and now that they met, she planned to sincerely apologize to him. Zhou Dong's return held special significance for the three who had escaped the maze and returned here.

“You look very happy,” Finoer said with a smile.

"Huh? Really?" Ning touched her face. "It seems... that's true."

“Are you familiar with that tree guardian?” Fino asked.

"Hmm... I guess so." Ning didn't hide her smile. "How should I put it... this person, well, he should be considered the eldest brother of the three of us sisters..."

Chapter 8 has begun.

"Good morning, Ms. Ning."

"Yes, good morning to you too."

The Sanko Workshop has now moved from the still-unreconstructed Alyas Elf Kingdom to the Little Garden, which makes it easier for Ning to come and help. Although Ning is not a member of the Sanko Workshop, most of the magical artifacts in their Little Garden can only be realized with the help of the Sanko Workshop. However, the main problem is that Ning alone cannot handle all the work.

Besides, there's no point in hiding these technologies about Earth anymore; it's better to share them sooner rather than later and rebuild the world. Of course, the knowledge and technology that Li, Ning, and Hei Yu share are selective and suited to the current social environment. As for Xuan Ze, that person is indeed pushing the Demon Race's social progress step by step from primitive society to civilized society, and there's nothing overstepping the boundaries, so we don't need to worry about that person.

The person who greeted Ning was Old Man Evan, who had temporarily taken over managing the workshop after Alice and Senno's absence. Compared to when they were in the Alyas Elf Kingdom, he looked much better now. Perhaps it was because he had more access to new technologies. He also didn't look as bitter and resentful as before. Well, it's good that this man over fifty can still show such vitality.

"I remember you said yesterday that you weren't coming today, right?" Old Man Evan asked. "What happened? Why are you here again today?"

“Ah… there was a slight problem over there,” Ning explained, “so I came here first to take care of this.”

"Well, that's good." Old Man Evan smiled. "Coincidentally, we've made some new progress on our end. Shall we take a look?"

"Any new developments?"

“Yes, yes,” Old Man Evan nodded, “It was made by that girl Gana. I never thought it could be used like this.”

"Kana..."

Ning nodded meaningfully.

Kana is undoubtedly a genius in this world. She possesses talent that is unmatched by ordinary people in this world, except for certain individuals. She is also a person born in this era. However, because she is always engrossed in her research, her fame is relatively low. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that this is a deliberate act by Alice.

Kana solved the problem with her amazing wisdom this time. Ning was thinking of coming over today to resolve this headache-inducing issue, but when she arrived, Old Man Evan told her that there was new progress. Well, although it felt a bit awkward, it was much better than being stuck at the bottom. However, judging from Old Man Evan's tone, that girl had probably done something secretly again.

“Anyway,” Ning said with a headache, “take me there and see first. I don’t really know the situation just by talking to you. If Kana could really solve it by herself, you wouldn’t have told me, would you?”

“Well,” Evan gave a wry smile, “that girl has been stubbornly fiddling with it all night. If she’s going to be stubborn, she won’t give in on this easily. So I’ll just have to trouble you to solve the problem quickly.”

"Hmm... I roughly understand." Ning put on her lab coat. "Dad Evan, are there any parts you still don't understand?"

"No, no." Old Man Evan chuckled. "Don't let my age fool you, I can still learn just as well as you young people. You can leave the preparation of the replicas to me."

"Alright, then I'll leave it to you, Daddy Aiwen."

Now that Old Man Evan has figured out how this thing works, the subsequent replication and manufacturing will be much easier. Ning won't need to be here to watch the workshop make it all the time. Kana probably doesn't know how to guide others in making it, but with Old Man Evan here to support her, there shouldn't be any problems.

“Oh, right,” Old Man Evan suddenly remembered something, “Ning, that girl named Xia Que came by yesterday.”

"Xia Que?" Ning became slightly more attentive. "What's she doing here?"

If Old Man Evan wasn't mistaken, then the person who came here was most likely Xia Que, the girl who came from Earth to this world. However, what was puzzling was her reason for coming to the workshop. Xia Que probably didn't have anything she needed the workshop's help with, and besides, she was a reasonable person; she had seen the workshop's recent situation, so she wouldn't choose to come during such a busy time.

That's strange... why would she come here?

"Who is she looking for?" Ning asked.

“She came looking for Kana,” Old Man Evan said, recalling the events. “But when I told her that Kana wasn’t in the workshop at the time, she looked puzzled and then told me some strange things.”

"Something strange?" Ning pondered for a moment. "What did they say?"

"It was mostly about that priest," Old Man Evan said. "Because I wasn't very interested in the details, I don't remember them very clearly. It seemed to be mostly about pleading for that priest named Howl..."

"Should I plead for mercy...?"

Ning roughly understood what Xia Que had come to the workshop for. The content was the same as what Old Man Evan had said: to plead for Hao Er. As for why he was pleading for Hao Er, Ning did not know the reason.

but……

"Should we plead for Hale...?"

Ning muttered to herself.

Xia Que's plea for Hao Er was indeed somewhat concerning. Ning only now remembered that they still needed to consider how to deal with this enemy of humanity. After the Old Kingdom incident ended, due to various matters, they had sidelined Hao Er. Although they still used him without reservation when needed, he had been forgotten because his presence was not very strong.

However, Ning couldn't understand why Xia Que only started pleading for Hao Er at this time.

Has something happened recently?

Ning pondered what had happened recently that made Xia Que start pleading for Hao Er. The only thing she could think of couldn't possibly be the harvest festival, could it? Executing a criminal before the festival would be too inexplicable. So what else could it be? Ning could only think of one possibility: reason.