In the experiment with the plastic ball, the reaction was much stronger compared to the previous ones with metal and stone.
Dong Junwei also felt it herself. When she opened her eyes, she saw a dazzling light. Subconsciously, she threw away the plastic ball.
The plastic ball, like a light bulb, rolled some distance on the ground with a faint orange light that remained undiminished.
Chen Mu approached, reached out, and touched the plastic ball. He found that it wasn't hot, so he carefully picked it up.
At this moment, the plastic ball was completely transparent and emitted a slightly orange light, illuminating the faces of everyone present clearly.
If one had to describe it, it was like a light bulb.
"So, plastic can emit light?"
"For now, it seems so."
"The class monitor has such strong abilities."
"Mainly because it's very practical."
"So, do we have a light source for the night now?"
"..."
At the moment, Dong Junwei's ability was indeed fascinating, and more importantly, it perfectly solved various current problems.
When they couldn't cook, a metal plate appeared.
When they needed to fight, explosives came out.
Now, when they needed illumination at night, they had a light bulb.
If Chen Mu's abilities addressed the technological aspect, then Dong Junwei satisfied their energy and power needs.
With these two combined, given enough time, they could completely rebuild a large part of civilization.
Chen Mu turned to look at Tang Jing, and as expected, he saw the female prodigy's face filled with excitement and enthusiasm, maybe even a touch of madness. She was probably planning another major project.
"I wonder how long the light can last."
"We'll find out tonight with the experiment. Besides, for now, we can't use the light." Tang Jing remained silent for a moment before explaining.
"Why?"
"The bright light will attract all kinds of moths and insects. Although most of them are herbivores, we won't be able to stand them bumping into us."
"That makes sense."
"But then, wouldn't it be meaningless?"
"How so? When we build proper houses or villas in the future, or during winter, won't it come in handy?"
"Villas? Is that possible?" Zhao Xiaoyan asked weakly.
"It's not impossible. Not to mention villas, as long as we have enough time to develop, we can build skyscrapers, cars, airplanes, factories... everything that humanity had before, we have hope of having them again."
As Tang Jing spoke, her voice grew louder, and everyone began to indulge in fantasies. However, among the people present, no one could connect a light bulb and a metal plate to an entire industrial civilization. They were just surprised to see Tang Jing, who was usually composed, showing such excitement and enthusiasm.
Tang Jing probably realized that she was getting carried away and quickly regained her composure, smiling, she said, "In any case, our lives will only get better from now on."
Everyone believed in this, or rather, they held strong hopes for it.
"So, what do we do with this light bulb?" Du Jiajia asked.
"No need." Chen Mu replied and stuffed the plastic ball under a towel.
The light instantly dissipated, and beneath the towel, a faint glow could be seen, giving a touch of ambiance to the mattress where they had all slept for two days.
...
Early the next day, after returning from the public restroom, Chen Mu immediately started working on building houses.
Everyone else was still asleep.
Chen Mu glanced at Tang Jing, who was breathing steadily on the other side of the towel, and decided not to wake her. Following the blueprint on the ground, he began processing the plastic sheets.
To his surprise, as soon as he started, Chen Mu felt an exceptional delight.
His mental power had increased significantly compared to yesterday, even surpassing the combined growth of the previous few days.
Why was that?
Chen Mu pondered, apart from using his ability more intensely yesterday, the most significant reason seemed to be that he had fought a fierce battle.
Could it be that the increase in mental power from battles was more effective than regular ability usage?
If that were true, did it mean he should go out and seek some stimulation as well?
As his mind wandered, he continued to work diligently. His efficiency was even higher today than yesterday. What had taken several hours yesterday, he managed to finish in about half an hour today.
With this, all the major materials needed for the two houses were completed.
"You... finished already?"
Chen Mu had just stopped working when he heard Tang Jing's voice behind him, tinged with surprise.
"Just because of the experience from yesterday. I told you, once I've done it once, my speed increases significantly," Chen Mu replied without mentioning the sudden growth in his mental power.
"It looks like we'll have a house to live in tonight."
Even though they had a storage room to protect them from the wind and rain, the experience was akin to camping in the open, without even a tent.
In the evening, a cool breeze blew in from under the door, but the temperature wasn't low, and they had towels as makeshift mattresses, so they wouldn't get cold even without blankets or covers.
Soon, everyone started to wake up one after another.
The restroom was quite simple, so they took turns using it most of the time. Fortunately, there weren't many people now, so there were no major issues.
Breakfast was still the rice cakes made by Du Jiajia.
Eating the same thing every day, prepared in the same way, without salt or oil, it was merely about ensuring survival.
To be honest, even Chen Mu had grown tired of it.
But for now, there was really nothing else to eat.
Besides, thinking about the people outside, they might not even have access to this kind of food. Just recalling the three individuals from yesterday...
Happiness is relative.
At least their lives were getting better.
...
By noon, the two plastic cabins had been erected.
Of course, for now, they were just shells, and many other things needed to be done.
But when the nine people stood in front of the matchbox-sized houses, chatting and laughing with each other, they felt an indescribable sense of joy.
Next came relatively detailed work.
Firstly, they needed to secure the houses to the ground, which wasn't a big challenge for Chen Mu. He simply made a few clamps on the ground, and since the weight of the houses was small, fixing them wasn't difficult.
The biggest problem, however, was the door.
Creating a door that could be opened and closed at will, while effectively blocking external intrusions and fitting seamlessly into the wall, was indeed not that easy.
Especially the precise connection between the door and the wall required a high level of accuracy.
Although Chen Mu's mental power had increased significantly now, and his control over objects' speed and weight had greatly improved, the precision aspect wasn't something that his mental power alone could entirely solve.
To give a simple example, the small Peppa Pig figurine he had made was still extremely ugly.
In this regard, it not only required mental power support but also a bit of imagination and finesse.
Eventually, they managed to make the linkages, but after installing them, the door couldn't close properly. Chen Mu and Tang Jing tried several times, but all attempts ended in failure.
Perhaps with a few more attempts, they might succeed eventually.
However, Chen Mu's mental power had been heavily depleted at this point, and he had to take a rest.
Dealing with the intricate details of small objects clearly took more toll on him than the large-scale transformations.
"Let's leave it like this for today. We'll think about it tomorrow. Actually, this is already quite good."
Even though they didn't have a proper door, after everyone crawled into their houses, they still felt a sense of joy.
The enclosed environment provided a sense of psychological security, and they could probably have a restful night's sleep.