Chapter 65 — Sunlight on Copper
S.C. 1510 — Mid September
Foosha Village — Forest Streamside & Underground Lab
Ren sat beside the shallow forest stream with Zemo curled beside him, tail flicking lazily but ears alert. The morning sunlight shimmered on the water's surface as Ren studied the handful of copper-stained stones he'd collected yesterday.
He turned one over, examining the reddish patches.
"Not pure copper… but this oxide layer might still work."
He recalled a simple method from his old world—one he had only seen in experiments and documentaries, never attempted by himself. But it was simple enough for a boy in a forest.
Heat copper until black oxide forms.
Let it cool slowly.
Remove the black parts.
Expose the reddish layer underneath.
Add a second plate.
Add saltwater.
Electricity from sunlight… in a very tiny quantity.
He felt Zemo nudge his elbow.
"Yeah," Ren whispered, "let's try it."
Heating the Copper
Ren set up a small fire pit concealed between rocks where the flames wouldn't be seen from the village. He placed the flattest copper-stained stone onto a blade of thick green branch.
The flames licked the surface, slowly turning it dark.
Black.
Sooty.
Crackling.
Zemo watched with narrowed eyes, tail twitching. Fire always made him cautious.
Ren rotated the stone carefully using long wooden sticks. The heat radiated strongly even at a distance.
"Just a bit more…"
When half the stone turned fully black, he pulled it from the fire and set it on a flat rock to cool.
Slow cooling was important.
The dark layer would loosen naturally.
Zemo sniffed the stone and recoiled from the heat.
"Don't touch," Ren warned.
Zemo glared as if insulted by being told something obvious.
A Fragile Solar Cell
Once cooled, Ren gently scraped the black layer off. Underneath, the reddish surface glowed faintly in the sunlight.
He had no glass plate, so he improvised.
He rinsed a broken bottle's flat shard he had found behind Makino's bar days ago. Carefully, he placed the reddish copper piece against the glass.
A second piece—just plain copper-stained rock—went beside it.
He mixed saltwater in a small wooden bowl and dipped two cloth strips into it, pressing one against each copper piece.
Then he tied the strips together with a thin vine to hold the pieces tight.
It looked ugly.
Primitive.
Fragile.
But it just might work.
Ren connected the makeshift copper cell to yesterday's battery.
The wire trembled as he tightened it.
He held his breath.
Zemo crawled closer, staring intensely.
The sunlight struck the reddish copper surface.
For a moment—nothing.
Then—
tk… sss…
The battery emitted a soft hiss.
A tiny pulse.
A faint vibration in the wire.
Ren felt the heat—very slight but present.
His eyes widened.
"It's charging…"
Zemo barked in surprise.
Ren couldn't contain the grin spreading across his face.
"It's really charging!"
A primitive solar panel.
Barely functioning.
Too weak for any real use yet.
But sunlight was turning into electricity.
In this little forest.
In this small underground lab.
By the hands of a seven-year-old.
Ren swallowed hard.
"…This changes everything."
Underground Lab Upgrade
Back underground, Ren set up the solar slab at the ladder's top where the sunlight streamed in the afternoon.
He placed the battery beneath it.
The battery's wire warmed slightly as the trickle of current entered it.
A tiny spark.
A faint glow.
But enough.
Ren placed a thin metal dish near the heating wire again.
Heat spread—more evenly this time.
He placed a blade of the strange grass onto the dish.
Again, it curled slightly.
Firm.
Elastic.
Almost… responsive.
Zemo growled softly.
Ren recorded everything in his notebook.
"This plant… reacts differently to heat, light, moisture…"
He tapped the page gently.
"It's special."
He didn't know why yet.
He didn't know what it meant.
He didn't know what it could lead to.
But the discovery felt important.
Like a door had opened.
Like he was touching something the villagers would never notice.
Like he had stepped onto a path that would take him far from this small island.
The Watcher Returns
As Ren cleaned the tools, a soft thump landed on the shed roof.
Zemo's fur bristled instantly.
Ren froze.
A shadow passed across the thin wooden ceiling.
Slow steps.
Light but heavy with intent.
Not a bird.
Not a villager.
Zemo silently moved to the pit entrance, claws ready.
The sound lingered for a moment…
…then vanished into the forest again.
Ren exhaled slowly.
"We need more security," he whispered.
He looked at the grass, the solar slab, the battery.
If the forest was watching him—
Then he had to grow faster.
Smarter.
Quieter.
Because whatever was out there…
It wasn't going to leave him alone.
Not now.
Not after the discoveries he was making.
End of Chapter 65