Chapter 23: The Cat Box

Two days later, when Fu Lan stepped into Shi Ningyu’s loft apartment again, he was carrying a dark gray briefcase.

Shi Ningyu glanced down at it, confused. "Didn't you say you were going to use a cat carrier yesterday?"

"This is the cat carrier." Fu Lan unzipped the briefcase and expanded the internal frame, quickly setting up a small, house-like pet enclosure that was even larger than the one originally in the apartment.

Shi Ningyu remarked, "It seems like 'cat crate' might be a more appropriate name."

"It’s actually a dog crate, but they’re universal for pets. It’s usually for car use, so it might be a bit bulky to carry by hand. I chose it mainly for its folding function," Fu Lan explained.

That night, he had spent a long time researching before deciding on this model. He specifically chose a vendor that shipped from nearby, spent a day waiting for the delivery, and then spent another day and night modifying it, finally managing to finish the project before the weekend ended.

"The color is a bit ugly," Shi Ningyu said, though she squatted down with great interest, poking and flipping through it. "How do you use it?"

Fu Lan picked up a puppy doll from the sofa to demonstrate. "When transporting, you use it like a regular cat or dog carrier. The breathable mesh layers all have switchable blackout curtains, so you can't see inside—just like yours.

"This is the largest size; it can hold two unconscious ball-dogs, or you could squeeze in four if you really tried. You could technically stack two more on top, but it would get too heavy and the bottom of the bag might not hold up. It’s best to stick to two or three."

He placed the doll inside to give her a rough idea.

"Once you reach your destination, take the ball-dogs out to clear the space, and then open these sections."

As he spoke, Fu Lan set the doll aside, removed the blackout fabric from the inside of the transparent window, and pulled open two zippers on the side, revealing access ports leading to the interior.

"This way, you can look inside through this small window, and the steps for mixing gases can be completed within."

The entire structure resembled a model painting booth—a very low-end, budget version.

Considering that their hands were different sizes, Fu Lan didn't use the fixed glove style of a sterile operation box, but instead opted for elastic rubber ports, requiring the user to provide their own gloves.

Shi Ningyu reached in to try it. The space was cramped and her view was obstructed, but it was barely functional.

She looked back and asked, "This isn't airtight, is it? And what about heating? It’s hard to light an alcohol lamp in here."

"I took that purification spell we used last time and solidified it into a magic circle drawn on the inner surface. You just need to inject magic power to activate it before operating. I’ve tested it; it doesn't leak. It’s even safer than negative pressure. The spell doesn't consume as much power as refining does; one drawing lasts for about five uses.

"As for heating... I’ll teach you a variant of the flame spell later. It can heat from the inside like a microwave, with no open flame. It just requires a higher level of precision in your mana output than before."

Fu Lan opened another side pocket that had clearly been sewn on separately. Inside was a partitioned pencil case salvaged from a cosmetic bag, and the remaining space contained cushioning pads for storing test tubes and other glassware.

He pulled some circular paper discs from the side pocket. They were marked with red magic circles and emitted a faint smell of matches.

"Considering you won't be skilled at it initially, I solidified this spell as well. Once activated, you just place it underneath like an induction cooktop. The temperature is already preset to match an alcohol lamp."

"As for the refining magic circle..."

He pulled a folding reflector from the inner pocket of the cat carrier and clicked the fasteners to unfold it. The original silver surface had been replaced with some unknown black coating.

"If you don't have a suitable space, or don't want to leave traces, you can draw on this. Once the experiment is successful and the formula is fixed, I plan to make a base plate and mass-produce stencil cards for the magic circles, so you can just spray them on without having to spend time redrawing every time."

Shi Ningyu looked at him with a complex expression as he pulled out a spray paint pen. "You’ve completely stripped all the aesthetic beauty out of this..."

Fu Lan disagreed. "Don't you think there’s a beauty to high-efficiency assembly lines? Honestly, sticking to the 'artisan spirit' is a bit outdated."

"That’s not really what I meant." Shi Ningyu pursed her lips helplessly. "Fine, it’s still pretty impressive. I didn't think Teacher Xiao Lan had such good hands-on skills."

"After years of being tormented by my kid's school craft projects, you eventually end up like this."

"The two at my place never changed..." Shi Ningyu lowered her eyes and gave a self-deprecating smile.

"I'm sorry..."

"There's nothing to be sorry about." She looked at Fu Lan as if nothing had happened. "By the way, it’s only been two days. Where did you get all these modification parts?"

"My wife was too lazy to take them when we split up. They’re all old things; she told me to throw them away, but I hadn't gotten around to it yet." Fu Lan glanced at the cosmetic bag and the reflector, a bittersweet feeling washing over him.

Shi Ningyu’s mouth twitched. "Alright, as long as it works."

"Whether it works or not, you can try it yourself." Before she could complain, Fu Lan preempted her. "I’m exhausted from making all these magic circles over the last two days; I need a break. Don't worry, I’ll be here to guide you while you operate."

It was an irrefutable reason, so Shi Ningyu had to abandon the idea of making him demonstrate.

As she went to the wall unit to retrieve the reagents, she suggested, "Don't push yourself too hard, Teacher Xiao Lan. The month has only just begun; there’s no rush to deliver the goods. If you keep pulling all-nighters like this, your hairline will be catching up to Old Tian’s."

*How do you know I’ve been pulling all-nighters? Oh, right, the dark circles are so obvious, it’s not like others are blind... wait, what was that last part?*

"I’m still a long way from Old Tian’s level, aren't I?" Fu Lan said, touching the top of his head.

To his surprise, a chilling sensation struck his fingertips and his scalp at the same time!

"It’s a fair distance, but you should start paying attention," Shi Ningyu said. "At the mall the other day, what I finally wanted to say was that I suddenly remembered you could buy a nice hat to reward yourself, but then that cop ruined it."

Fu Lan widened his eyes and stared at his fingers. "Am I... really that bald?"

He held his phone behind his head and took a picture. He tapped on the photo, and his pupils began to tremble.

He had always thought his hairline had just receded over the years, but he had never paid attention to the top of his head. When did it get so thin?

"Oh, it’s not that serious. It looks bald... it’s suddenly reflecting light because of the phone camera; the human eye has a different focal length."

Seeing this, Shi Ningyu put down the bottles and jars, called him over to the vanity mirror, and used another mirror from behind to reflect the back of Fu Lan’s head.

"Look, the reflection in the mirror is what others see. It’s actually fine. Everyone’s hair is thin around the crown."

Fu Lan sighed.

He wasn't just sad because of his hair; it was the fact that neither He Yue nor Fu Linxing had ever mentioned it to him, yet Shi Ningyu was the first to point it out.

"Never mind that, let's try the carrier first," he said, waving his hand.

Shi Ningyu didn't know how to comfort a middle-aged man suffering from hair loss, so she chuckled awkwardly and began mixing the magic circle solution.

When it came to adding the mercury, she still felt uneasy and put on a gas mask, but Fu Lan remained calm and insisted on not wearing one. As it turned out, once the purification circle was activated, the mercury vapor was indeed completely eliminated.

The heating pad also worked unexpectedly well, and the entire process went much smoother than she had imagined. They just needed to adapt to the narrow operating space a little more.

"This is just a prototype; I’ll keep improving it," Fu Lan said. "For example, I'll add a weight-reduction circle at the bottom to make it easier to carry. I also need a self-destruct mechanism to destroy evidence if necessary."

The look in Shi Ningyu’s eyes as she gazed at the carrier began to glow. "Teacher Xiao Lan, do you think we could make even more money selling these? It’s like selling water to miners at a gold mine."

"What is this, some kind of inspirational story... let's talk about it later. There’s no patent protection in this line of work."

"I think this level of craftsmanship is still hard to replicate. These magic circles were things you researched on the spot, right? I’ve never heard of them before. Inventing magic circles isn't something just any mage can do."

Fu Lan did not answer.

*Is it still too advanced? It seems I’ll have to cancel the void-devouring function for the self-destruct, and maybe even the weight-reduction circle needs to be reconsidered...*

Shi Ningyu laid out the special black reflector on the open space of the living room floor and began to draw the magic circle. Once the solution was finished, it lost its toxicity, so she had long since taken off the gas mask and was happily humming a little tune.

Not long after, the pieces of meat in the refrigerator were completely consumed. The two weighed the magic ash; they had refined a total of over 300 grams that night—neither too much nor too little.

However, with this carrier, they wouldn't have to avoid security guards while slowly moving ball-dogs into the apartment anymore. They could simply drive to any random spot after picking up the goods and refine them on the spot. If they really couldn't find a discreet indoor space, they could even take the back seat out of their Wuling van and refine it in the car—it was much more convenient than before.

With this settled, the only thing holding them back was the supply of raw materials.

The batch in the refrigerator was something Shi Ningyu had picked up from a loose dealer in the suburbs after the incident at the mall.

Now that several days had passed, the commotion caused by the magical girl had gradually subsided at the public level, and other departments of the Magic Affairs Bureau seemed to have regained their vigilance. Such opportunities would be hard to come by again.

Contrary to the trade of magic ash, magic beast farming was loosely checked in the city but strictly monitored in suburban villages and towns.

Because it was easier to build farming sites in rural areas than in cities, it overlapped somewhat with the selection of refining sites. The Magic Affairs Bureau would patrol illegal farms there from time to time, and the intersections leading into the city were also key inspection areas.

If they only bought four or five at a time, legitimate breeders wouldn't be willing to risk shipping for such a small profit, and this was even more true for a "chef" like Shi Ningyu who refined within the city limits.

With the carrier, they could refine the magic ash outside the city, but that led to another problem: how to transport the goods into the city.

Fu Lan suggested discussing a handover outside the city with Old Tian, but Shi Ningyu vetoed it. For safety reasons, Old Tian definitely wouldn't want to accept small batches of goods multiple times. They only made 10 units a month in total; there was no reason to make someone run back and forth for such a small amount.

But if they had to transport it back after every batch, the danger of being checked at the city checkpoints would increase significantly.

The reason Shi Ningyu had set up the refining lab in this apartment was to avoid these risks; wouldn't transporting it from outside the city defeat the purpose?

On the other hand, the final step of refining magic ash required the chef to operate manually, which consumed more human energy than magic power.

Focusing on refining for long periods was mentally exhausting, so the output for each chef was roughly the same by the end of the day. Even if they had a new formula to improve efficiency, they couldn't refine 10 units at once.

And Shi Ningyu stated flatly that it was impossible for her to run to some dark shack outside the city every month for a few days to finish the work. She still wanted to enjoy her life; why should she wrong herself like that?

As for setting up points elsewhere, it just added more places to worry about exposure.

They already had enough to worry about; she didn't want to have to run out for inspections every now and then.

"And you insist on working that dead-end job. Unless we can find another trusted partner to take charge, forget it.

"But the labor cost would be too high, and we’d have to increase output just to break even. Increasing output requires more raw materials, and more raw materials require more people to manage. Once there are too many people, things easily go wrong. The business we worked so hard to build would get busted, and we’d have to scale down.

"So, the bigger the business, the smaller the business," Shi Ningyu calculated seriously. "It’s most comfortable to just go back to being a small-time operation, but unfortunately, that’s not an option."

Fu Lan rubbed the bagged magic ash, lost in thought.

In summary, to solve the above problems, what they needed was a production route that could connect several existing locations while only moving within the city.

Remembering the content regarding ball-beasts recorded on the flash drive, he mused, "Then we’ll just have to fix up the bicycle shed and raise them ourselves."