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

She had just heard Ning's words, and while she wasn't sure how much she understood, she could sense that she had done something wrong. Her unease wasn't about being blamed, but rather about the kitten. Li gently patted her head, trying to soothe her anxiety.

“It’s alright,” Li said softly. “Olitzo isn’t angry, and Akatsuki didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just that we’ll take care of the cat, okay?”

"Ok!"

After hearing Li's words, Xiao An felt relieved, and her eyes began to sparkle. She then turned all her attention to the sleeping kitten. She stood guard beside the box, staring intently at the kitten, deliberately lowering her breathing, becoming so quiet that it was unlike her usual self.

Children become very quiet once they have something to focus on, so that doesn't seem to be a problem. Let Xiao take care of the kitten, and if there's anything he doesn't know, Li can teach him.

"It looks much better." Ning came in from the back door and checked on the kitten's condition.

"Where did you go just now?" Li asked.

"I went to get a few things, but it seems we won't need them." Ning picked up a porcelain jar of milk. "You've all taken care of it, haven't you?"

It seems that Ning not only went to Olito to explain things, but also went to find milk. She must care about the kitten a lot.

“Instead of that,” Ning placed the porcelain jar next to Xiao, “we should get down to business.”

"Okay." Li nodded, and then reminded Xiao, "Xiao, don't disturb the kitten's rest. We're in the warehouse. You can come find us if you need anything."

Xiao didn't react much, probably because she was too focused on the kitten. Hopefully, she listened to some of what was going on and didn't cause any trouble. Li and Ning pushed open the warehouse door again and went inside. The treasure chest that had been inside had already prepared what they needed.

"Ha...what do you think I went through all this trouble for...?"

"Good job, other 'me'." Hakoniwa Osamu comforted Treasure Hako Osamu. "Well then, here's everything I've collected during this time. It's not as much as what I collected in the dungeon back then, but it should be useful, right?"

"How would I know if I didn't take a look?" Ning casually picked up the materials and looked at them.

These mountains of materials were obtained by sending Treasure Chest Li to hunt monsters in the wild. However, since most of the monsters in the wild were quite weak, it was impossible to expect to obtain the valuable materials like those from the dungeon era. Ning roughly estimated that the materials here were mostly low-level, with only a small portion being valuable.

Only a portion of them are actually usable.

“That’s enough.” Ning glared at Li again. “So why didn’t you organize it? All sorts of materials are mixed together. It was like this in the maze too.”

"Uh hahaha..." Li could only laugh awkwardly.

"So, let's begin. To recreate Earth's civilization."

Ning unfolded her magic circle, decisively performing one of her special skills while tidying up.

『Creator Lv.EX』.

A unique skill belonging only to Ning, described as: "Granted to the omnipotent craftsman." Only Ning herself knows its specific effects.

Now, they must use what they have at hand, knowledge of Earth, and magic from another world to recreate some things about Earth. Although this is Rin's own wish, Ning seems to be interested in life in Earth's civilization, which is why she helps her recreate it.

First goal: To recreate life on Earth.

Chapter 19

Since the goal is to recreate life on Earth, they certainly can't rush things, and besides, they never intended to complete such a thing so quickly.

“So,” Ning glanced at Li, “what should we do first?”

"Let me think about it..."

When Li began to imagine what her home would need, her first conclusion was, unsurprisingly, electricity, followed by light sources.

To recreate life on Earth in this world, what's needed isn't Earth's furniture or anything like that, but rather the development of robust infrastructure. While it's a bit early to consider these things now, building things that can provide energy shouldn't be a problem for now.

Furthermore, the lighting in this world mainly comes from all sorts of strange and unpredictable sources, making the light intensity highly unstable. This led Li to decide to solve the light source problem first. After all, their room only used candles as a light source at night, and nothing else.

Orito's situation is better; he has a precious prop that can glow in his office. Without it, his work efficiency would probably drop significantly.

The light bulbs were all broken in the maze, so it's better to make some new ones, and they should be the kind that can be reproduced using things from this world.

The effects of "Gathering Treasures" are currently quite unstable, and it's impossible to know what will appear, so it's best not to expect to obtain Earth's raw materials from it.

"You mean something like a power source?" Ning nodded. "Then, the material we need here is the Scorching Thunder Heart."

The Scorching Heart is an organ that can convert magic into stored lightning and can survive independently for a long time.

This thing is somewhat ironic, as it's mostly used as a hand grenade. However, it now has other uses, and relatively respectable ones at that.

"Then let's modify the previous design." Li recalled the battery they had made before. "Is there any room for modification to that previous battery?"

"What do you think I had in mind when I created it?" Ning smiled confidently.

"Then I'll have to leave it to you. I'm not familiar with this field, so you're the only one who can handle things here."

"You too, if you notice anything that's different from what you see over there, remember to let me know."

The two reached an agreement: Ning would increase his magical output, causing the magic circle to spin at high speed, instantly illuminating the entire warehouse with various colored magical lights. Li stood beside Ning, observing the operation of the magic while simultaneously using his magic eye to retrieve information.

These materials were categorized by Ning Expressway, and then only the materials needed were retained.

Reconstruction—

The magical light emitted by the magic circle continuously created a workshop-like environment that looked quite futuristic. The workshop contained the necessary materials, and then manufacturing began under the influence of magic.

It took Ning a little time to restore the large electrical box.

“It’s finished.” Ning paused the magic for the moment. “Just like before, now I’m going to try to make it lighter. Do you have any ideas?”

"Hmm... let me think." After considering for a moment, she asked, "Ning, do you think a regular mage's magical power could fill a Blazing Lightning Heart?"

"You're considering its practicality, right?" Ning immediately understood her meaning. "Ordinary mages can't fill a Blazing Thunder Heart completely; they can only fill about one-fifth of its capacity. That amount of magic power is probably only enough for a mass-produced energy-saving light bulb to burn for one night. By the way, we also have to consider how much magic power can be transmitted into the heart, which is related to the conductor used."

"Haa...this must have at least twenty hearts."

Li gave a wry smile. If things continued this way, this type of electrical box would never become widespread.

First of all, anything made by Li Hening is definitely top-grade. The materials and craftsmanship are incomparable to mass-produced items. According to the valuation given by the Magic Eye, the electrical box in front of us is worth ten gold coins.

Ten gold coins represent almost the average annual income of an average family in this world. It's likely that only nobles would want to buy them.

In addition, given the limited capacity, it's nearly impossible for an average family to fully charge it, significantly reducing its practicality.

Nobles might be able to find a court magician to fill them with magic, but considering the plans ahead, even that wouldn't be enough for a day.

Not to mention that it takes several days for a magician who has used up all his magic to fully recover.

Although the Magic Eye's estimate is ten gold coins, if it were actually put into the market of this world, even if it were priced at one hundred silver coins, probably no one would buy it.

So we need to start thinking about how to mass-produce this electrical box. Or, how to make it self-charging... like a solar panel?

Li Xiangning offered his idea: "Ning, is there a way to make it replenish its magic power on its own? Or to make it generate magic power on its own..."

"Let me think..." Ning thought for a while and said, "It's impossible to generate magic power out of thin air, but if we want it to replenish its magic power on its own, it needs another stable source."

"How's the air?" Li said. "I used my magic eye to check the magic around here. There's a lot of magic in the air."

“That was the magic I released…” Ning suddenly had a flash of inspiration, “That’s right, there is magic in the air too.”

"Huh? Huh? Didn't you just say that was the magic you released?" Ry was already in a state of confusion.

“Sigh, listen to me.” Ning patiently explained to her, “In fact, the magic we usually use also comes from the magic generated by this world itself. This magic is generally scattered in the air, and some of it is concentrated on certain things. The magic we recover comes from the air. Since that’s the case, we just need to apply something to the electrical box that can simulate our magic recovery.”

"Is that so?" Li didn't understand at all, but she knew that all she needed to do now was nod.

"Let me think about it..."

Ning immediately set about modifying it, then used magic to inscribe a spell on the electrical box that could simulate absorbing air magic power, and then made a simple electrical appliance to experiment with it.

“…No way.” Ning shook his head after looking at the results. “The magic concentration in this area is not enough. Without the magic I released, let alone making this simple appliance work, it would take forever to absorb enough magic.”

The experiment results were far from satisfactory; it couldn't even achieve the most basic objective. The magic of the air here was so thin that it was impossible to absorb much of it.

That's probably an environmental issue. There are too many people in the city, and the magic in the air is basically absorbed. Maybe we should consider moving the electrical box to a different location.

Chapter 20

If we're talking about places with relatively high magic concentration, then the outskirts of the city are probably the best. As long as it's not set up too close to human settlements, it should function normally.

“A place with a high concentration of magic…” Ning thought for a moment, “It would be fine to set it up in the forest. There are usually no people there, and it’s a place with a high concentration of magic.”

"Put it in a forest?" Li tried to imagine the scene. "Wow... a power plant built in a forest..."

If development goes smoothly, these power boxes could probably be widely distributed and then collectively installed in forests. It already gives off the feeling of a power plant, a power plant hidden in the forest!

“Wait a minute.” Li suddenly remembered something and asked, “Is it okay to just set it up in the forest like this? It’s not just about safety; is it also okay to let it absorb magic from the forest like this? Will it affect the ecosystem there?”

"Safety issues shouldn't be our concern; it's Olitto who needs to worry about this." Ning first passed the safety issue to Olitto. "As for absorbing the forest's magic, that's not a big problem. The forest has a high concentration of magic, and it replenishes very quickly. Most of the monsters that spawn outside the labyrinth were originally ordinary creatures; they just became monsters because they stayed in an environment with a high concentration of magic for a long time. By taking away the excess magic, we can also reduce the number of monsters in the wild."

No monster is born out of thin air; they gradually transform into monsters in an environment with a high concentration of magic. Of course, this transformation is not absolute. There are also rather unusual beings like dragons, who are born and raised as dragons.

Labyrinths like the one in Rielfa are environments with a high concentration of magical energy, so there are quite a few monsters in them. Dungeons have even more; there are countless high-magical-energy entities inside that replenish their magical energy.

According to Ning, they placed the power box in the forest to absorb excess magic power generated by the forest, reducing the probability of monster spawns. But if that's the case, can the magic power circulating in the forest's air replenish itself at a rate that the power box absorbs?

"Wouldn't it be better to test it in person?" Li suggested. "How about we take this over and try it out first? We can run an extension cord back, and make a light here while we're at it?"

"Is practice the sole criterion for testing truth...?" Ning nodded helplessly. "I give up. Let's test it in practice first. So, stupid box, I'll leave this to you for now."

"Calling me a 'stupid chest' while I'm looking at a treasure chest is an insult to me, isn't it?!"

As usual, Hakoniwa Osamu made a couple of sarcastic remarks, carefully stored the power box inside her body, and then teleported away using spacetime magic. Ning had already explained the installation method in detail; if there were any questions, she could just ask Hakoniwa Osamu.

The electrical wires here are temporary, made of durable insulating vines and copper wires, because we still need to install lights here, so this is the only option for now.

Ning channeled her magic once more to activate the spell, and then began to recreate it using the limited materials available. The magical light enveloped the materials, guiding them according to Ning's instructions. Li, who hadn't actually witnessed the creation of this so-called light bulb, remained silent, simply finding it fascinating.

“…Glass is a tricky thing to work with.” Ning frowned. “Let me see if there are any alternatives…I’ve got it.”

She finished the light bulb in a short time, but unlike the lights on Earth, this light was like a cotton ball and floated in mid-air.

Ning casually picked up the lamp and roughly rubbed it in his hands, indicating that the lamp's material wasn't fragile. After Ning released it, the lamp floated back into the air and gradually returned to its original shape.

Although it floats in mid-air, it doesn't go too far off the ground; it's just within Li's reach. She casually picked up the lamp and then, imitating Ning, started rubbing it randomly. Surprisingly, it felt quite nice to the touch.

"What is this made of?" Li asked as she rubbed it. "Why isn't it shiny?"

“This lamp is made from the magic core of a plant-type monster.” Ning made another one as well. “Because the magic cores of plant-type monsters are usually like this, they have the effect of storing magic power, and they can glow when there is enough magic power. Since it is relatively light, I added an anti-gravity spell to make it like this.”

"Hey~ that sounds fun. How do we turn it on?"

"You can grab something relatively hard, right? Grab that and infuse it with magic. Don't infuse too much."

Li was so fond of the lamp that she followed Ning's instructions, and the cotton lamp indeed lit up.

Because the warehouse was illuminated by Ning's magic light, it was impossible to determine exactly how bright it was.

"Ah, it's destroyed."

The cotton lamp went out after only a short while. The magical power she had infused into it wasn't a lot, nor a little, but she hadn't expected it to go out so quickly.

Looking closely at the magical power I had injected, it was roughly 100 points. That was a 'distorted' burst of magical power! Not long ago, during a test at the Adventurers' Guild, the fire magic I used only used 10 points of magical power; the consumption was enormous.

"I'm asking, is it really going to work?" Li asked worriedly. "Can that electrical box really absorb as much electricity as it consumes?"

"We'll only know after we try it." Ning adjusted the cotton lamp in her hand.

"I've installed it. Check it out and see if it works."

Perfect timing! The installation of the treasure chest in the forest is complete. Why don't we just try it out and see?

"Let's try it first."

Li used spacetime magic to create a portal of light, and the treasure chest returned from the other side, pulling an electrical cord along the portal. Ning grabbed the cotton lamp and plugged the cord directly into it. The cotton lamp responded, emitting a very faint light.

"...It seems like there's a shortage of supplies."

"Let's take another look. If it doesn't work, I'll go over and adjust the absorption power again."

To make the cotton lamp's light more visible, Ning first dispelled the magic, returning the warehouse to its original dim state. She released her grip, letting the cotton lamp float up on its own, and then observed the situation. Gradually, the cotton lamp's light intensified.

"Did it work?" Li looked at Ning.

"I guess so... I'll go take a look first."

Ning passed through the portal to the electrical box, first looked around to see if there was anything suspicious, and then squatted down to inspect the electrical box.

"Maybe we should make a meter... after all, not everyone can sense the amount of magic power stored."

Ning casually dismantled the electrical box, then passed through the portal back to the warehouse. He could say he'd accomplished his goal for the day. Well, recreating that kind of life would have to be done gradually.

This kind of thing will soon come in handy in the new home.

Chapter 21

They finally made the final adjustments to the electrical box and cotton lamp in the warehouse, and modified it for mass production. Thanks to their efforts, they managed to reduce the manufacturing cost of the electrical box to below one gold coin. However, because the manufacturing process is very complicated, mass production will probably take a long time.

They quickly packed their belongings, stuffing them all into the treasure chest to dispose of later. After doing this, they left the warehouse. Just as they stepped outside, they saw Xiao.

Xiaoyi remained squatting there, watching over the kitten in the box. Fortunately, the sun wasn't too strong today, otherwise she would have gotten a tan.

"Xiao?" Li approached her cautiously. "It's afternoon already?"