Mr. Rat of the Steam World

Chapter 10 The man behind the scenes
The puddles on the stone pavement reflected the rusty wrought iron sign, and the murky sewage was littered with coal dust and tattered newspapers, vaguely resembling the headline of the Manchester Times, "The Balance Coin Murders."

After leaving the wall of the First Detective Agency, Edwin stopped at the street corner, took out two cigarettes from his cigarette case, put one in his own mouth and handed the other to his friend next to him, took out a match and struck a flame, smoke billowing around him.

"What do you think?"

“Stand and watch, laugh and watch, smoke and watch.” Morrick, standing to the side, exhaled deeply. He had been walking very quietly and hadn’t made a sound, just listening to his friend’s conversation with the detective. When his friend asked him a question, he had only intended to laugh it off, but seeing Edwin looking at him seriously, he slowly replied.

"He uncovered the extraordinary behind the balance coin in just a few days. Few of the clues he submitted were based on hearsay; they seemed more like discoveries, in-depth investigations, or even firsthand observations. Even though he provided clear enough information, I could sense his urgency. Some unknown reason made him want to end this case as soon as possible."

Edwin paused for a moment: "What is he worried about?"

"Who knows? Maybe they found out about something that threatened their personal safety, or maybe their rent is about to expire and they want to move out. But what does it have to do with us? Let's just find out the information about that female receptionist. We need to get an explanation."

Edwin sighed. "It's tough."

"Difficult?" Seeing that his friend still didn't understand, Morrick chuckled: "What could be more difficult than commanding gray rats to go out and work?"

Edwin paused, then saw his friend Morrick speak casually.

"A gray rat's brain accounts for only 0.5% of its body weight, and it needs to be trained 50 times to learn to pull a lever to retrieve food. Even such a simple action can be forgotten as soon as it turns the corner. You don't think it's normal for such a stupid animal to accept money and be polite."

After finishing his cigarette, Morrick put his hands in his pockets and casually shuffled his leather shoes.

"I always feel that things that are beyond our understanding can be categorized into a certain type of people. Since they have explained it so clearly, let's not get involved. Let's verify the authenticity of the information. If we confirm that there is no problem, let's find an opportunity to close the case."

"You don't seem surprised."

“Otherwise, why would I have brought you to this store?” Morrick sighed softly.

"The world has changed, and I also want to know where things went wrong. At least we won't end up as a string of numbers in the newspaper when the truth comes out. If we can get in touch with people and understand the situation, we'll have a place to ask for help when we encounter something strange."

……

"That's what they said?"

Lu Ran looked at the rat that had followed them back and stroked his chin.

The mice are now speaking more and more fluently, and can even clearly repeat the content of the conversation almost exactly, which is becoming more and more convenient for Lu Ran's intelligence system.

"So the police don't seem to have any major malice towards me. It looks like there might be an opportunity to continue cooperating with them."

Lu Ran put away the remaining payment from Sheriff Edwin. It was originally 4 pounds 8 shillings, but the other party simply rounded it up, leaving 5 gold pounds in banknotes. He glanced at the system and saw that Enlightenment was still gradually consuming gold pounds, with the progress already about two-thirds complete. Lu Ran continued to play with the balance coin in his hand, and finally suppressed the urge to make a wish, submitting it directly to the system.

[Consuming one Corrupted Relic to upgrade the Talent: Collective Intelligence?]

"Yes."

——System Panel——

Lord: Lu Ran

Race: Rat
People: 367/500
Happiness level: Good
领地天赋：群体智慧lv4（智力+4）、群体体质lv1（力量+1、敏捷+1）

Enlightenment: Language (In progress, 32 gold pounds already consumed, estimated total consumption 40 gold pounds)

Faith: Not unlocked (can be unlocked by interacting with miracles)

Wealth: £80 (excluding units below the gold pound)
Lu Ran was taken aback and looked at it again with some uncertainty.

"Why has the consumption changed?"

The total cost was initially estimated at 50 gold pounds, and based on the rate of consumption, it was expected to take about three days. But now... Lu Ran's eyes lit up.

"Consumption of energy is related to intelligence!"

Lu Ran tried filling in the Magic Enlightenment form he had tried before, remembering that the estimate was 500 gold pounds, and now he was testing it again...

"Why is it still 500!"

It seems that only when high intelligence inspires low intelligence will there be a reduction in the number of items, because magical enlightenment itself requires level 4 intelligence, and the 500 gold pound is also set on the basis of level 4, which is just the threshold.

Lu Ran was somewhat discouraged. Right now, this only source of income, the detective agency, was about to be abandoned, and he didn't know when he would be able to raise the huge sum of five hundred.

Is it possible to hold onto Afra's coattails?

One-eared creature crawled in from outside.

"Boss, there's definitely something going on around the firm!"

"what?"

Lu Ran felt a chill and quickly got up to grab one ear.

"Our entrance is in a side alley, where there are relatively few people, so the sudden appearance of one or two extra people is very noticeable. Then, following the shift change of the two people at the back door, we found the people observing at the front door as well. There were four people watching us in total. The rats we overheard seemed to be looking for the time when Detective Sherlock finished his work and left the agency, but we haven't been able to find him."

After another intellectual enhancement, One-Ear's two black bean eyes looked more intelligent, and its speech became quite fluent. After listening, Lu Ran immediately began to recall when he had offended someone.

Not many people know the name Sherlock; it's mostly a pseudonym used by those who have contacted her for help, when replying to her letters.

"Find Mrs. Joel's dog? That's definitely not it."

"Found the Black Snake Gang's ledger? Weren't they all arrested? Could there be some who escaped?"

“Investigating Zell Birmingham…won’t ruin his good time with Afra, he’s been caught red-handed.”

Many things will inevitably leave clues if you investigate them thoroughly. These clues may not necessarily be Lu Ran's fault; they could also be leaked by Afrana. Not to mention, the son of a tycoon like Zell Birmingham has enough wealth to drive other detectives to work for him.

"so troublesome."

Lu Ran cursed under his breath and ordered One-Ear to send more men to find out who this guy was meeting and who was behind him.

Unexpectedly, before Lu Ran could even go there, the other party came looking for him first.

"Is Mr. Sherlock here?"

A middle-aged man's voice came from outside the cave, followed by a letter of entrustment being handed in through the cave entrance. Lu Ran gestured to the foodie next to him to go and get it, and the man outside the cave continued.

"The request is quite complicated. If Mr. Sherlock is here, would it be convenient for us to come out and discuss it?"

Lu Ran was taken aback and did not respond immediately, but quickly glanced at One Ear beside him.

One-Eared quickly understood Lu Ran's meaning, kicked off with its hind legs and went around through another entrance. After a while, it returned and nodded affirmatively.

It really was that group of people keeping watch.

Lu Ran chuckled. It seemed that these people were getting impatient because "Sherlock" hadn't left the agency.

(End of this chapter)