Mr. Rat of the Steam World

Chapter 104 The Strange Corpse Thief
Inside the Morse factory office.

Lu Ran suddenly opened his eyes, and an unprecedented sense of power instantly surged through his body, as if every muscle under every hair was filled with explosive energy.

He subconsciously raised his front paws, the furry paw pads slightly protruding, seemingly concealing an unimaginable sharpness.

"The medicine has taken effect?"

Lu Ran felt light and strong, and his senses became incredibly sharp, even able to clearly detect the subtle grinding sounds of gears deep inside the workshop.

“Those protective scales and claws…”

Lu Ran focused his mind and sensed the sound; the next moment, there was a click.

Three claws shot out, followed by a continuous burst of dense scales.

"That's more like it..."

Lu Ran couldn't resist trying to wave it in the air, but the sound of the wind it created was unusually sharp, far exceeding that of before, and he couldn't help but feel excited.

This body finally has a decent means of attack.

"If this player were to face Anthony, would he be able to beat him?"

Suddenly, an idea popped into my head uncontrollably.

The main reason is that he currently has a Bountiful Elixir that can advance him to the third tier.

Now that we've already obtained the Mimic's Stomach, a relic of the diffusion level, wouldn't it be more profitable to keep this Tier 3 item instead of going to Anthony to exchange it for the Tier 2 item?
But then Lu Ran thought again, Anthony must have his own way of protecting himself since he was able to hide from the church's search for so long. If he were to turn against him rashly, he might not be able to take him down easily.

Furthermore, when he faced Perez that time, Perez was already out of control and his body had become clumsy and sluggish, far less agile than when Anthony was chasing him, not to mention that he would occasionally freeze up.

Therefore, Lu Ran was not sure if he could defeat a second-tier extraordinary being in a real fight, and perhaps he should find a way to improve his individual strength to be on the safe side.

"Never mind, never mind." Lu Ran stopped and sighed.

Since not many people know its true identity as a mouse, and it can still maintain a non-hostile attitude under these circumstances, let's treat it as an ally for now. After all, there are some things that are unavoidable and require communication with people, or even asking for help.

Carmelo Anthony is a good partner, at least for now.

Furthermore, Lu Ran was also hoping to rely on Anthony to learn more about the secrets of the church behind this world.

at this time--

"Quack quack quack—!! You stupid mouse! Be gentle, be gentle! You're strangling me!"

Amidst a flurry of chickens and dogs flapping about and the chirping of birds, a gust of wind suddenly swept into the office.

The enormous black-feathered raven, Bobo, appeared disheveled at the doorway, its head feathers ruffled by the wind, and its claws bearing the marks of a struggle. Following closely behind him were the greedy mouse and the scout mouse.

"My lord, you're awake? How are you feeling?" the money-grubber asked respectfully, though his face already wore a beaming smile of congratulations.

"Better than ever before!" Lu Ran responded, his gaze immediately falling on Bobo, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes: "So this friend is the talking crow?"

Bobo flapped its wings, broke free from 007's grasp, and landed on the corner of the desk, squawking in a high-pitched voice: "Gah! So you're the one who caught that stupid woman? Let me tell you, Lord Bobo is not someone to be trifled with! Gah!"

Lu Ran ignored his bluster and asked directly, "Don't be nervous, Janna is fine. I just asked you to come here to understand the situation... for example, how did you learn to speak human language?"

He remembered a crow-like creature that had come into contact with the Seed of Abundance, and he guessed that this must be that creature.

However, he still habitually wanted to try to see if he had any recollection of that period of memory.

Bobo was momentarily stunned and became completely bewildered.

"Yeah, how did I learn to talk... Uh, I don't remember... No, how did you guys learn to talk?"

Lu Ran ignored Bobo's questioning, looked the guy up and down, and couldn't help but stroke his chin.

A flying bird seems like a better mount than Bella, but we can't rush things at first meeting; we need to win her over slowly.

“Now it’s my turn to ask you, not the other way around,” Lu Ran said curiously. “Even if you don’t remember, do you have any other special abilities?”

"special power?"

Bobo paused, raised his head, and began to boast as usual.

"Just kidding, Lord Popo is a famous prophet in Baker City. He actually anticipated tonight's situation."

"Prophet bird?"

Lu Ran was taken aback, then suddenly realized something. "You can do divination?"

"Gah! Of course!" Bobo was about to nod smugly when he saw the round, gray rat's face reveal a malicious smile, and three sharp, gleaming claws slowly rose, pointing at him:
"Ha, is that so? Then you can calculate now... and see if you can walk out of this door alive tonight?"

"Gah—!!!!" Bobo was terrified by this blatant threat! It fluffed up its feathers, trying to flap its wings and fly away, but crashed into the closed window with a thud, then fell awkwardly onto the table. "It doesn't count! It doesn't count no matter what! Bobo doesn't count! Gah gah gah!"

"Haha." Lu Ran chuckled, having figured out his new friend's personality a bit better. He retracted his claws, his tone becoming more casual:
"Alright, I was just kidding. But since you're so capable, how dare you reveal your ability to speak in front of that human woman? Aren't you afraid she'll expose your secret?"

Raven Bobo paused, still shaken, only then realizing that the other party had just been playing a trick on him. However, since the matter concerned the life and safety of that stupid woman, Bobo still honestly explained.

"That woman is kind, even though she's stupid. She wouldn't do something like that."

Lu Ran nodded, indicating that he understood.

"That woman, we can let her go," Lu Ran said, then changed the subject.

"But after all, she was the one who broke into our territory and caused trouble first... Since Lord Bobo is so capable, does he know anything about the hidden and unusual things in Baker City?"

Because the Sangbiao Cat had encountered some supernatural-related events back then, and this creature named Bobo, being the only flying creature at present, hovers above Baker City every day, Lu Ran took the opportunity to inquire about it.

"Is this the trade-off?" Bobo's beady eyes darted around, as if weighing the options. He scratched his head with his paw, deep in thought.

"Gah! I've got it!" He suddenly puffed out his chest. "Although Lord Bobo's brain doesn't remember too many trivial things, he's seen a lot by flying around! Gah! What's really strange lately is that dilapidated and smelly cemetery!"

"Which cemetery?" Lu Ran pressed.

"Which other place could it be? The cemetery behind the workhouse, of course! Caw!" Bobo flapped its wings vigorously, as if trying to drive away the bad luck.

"Lately, I've been seeing people sneaking in at night! Ha! They're not burying people or stealing burial goods, but what good stuff could be in those poor bastards' coffins? They're just stealing corpses! Ha!"

Lu Ran was slightly taken aback: "Steal... a corpse? Just for the corpse itself?"

“Gah! Yes! Gah!” Bobo was certain. “I saw it clearly! Those guys tiptoed around, pried open the pit, and only dragged away the body. They didn’t even bother to properly put the coffin lid back on! Gah! They stole and ran away, so secretive. What a dirty and strange hobby! Gah!”

After listening, Lu Ran nodded thoughtfully, but he couldn't understand anything from this information alone. However, he suddenly realized something the next moment.

"Wait a minute, what are you going to the cemetery for?"

He suddenly remembered some of the habits of ravens and subconsciously took two steps back.

"You're not going there to find food, are you!"

Bobo immediately became anxious upon hearing this.

"Don't talk nonsense. I just went there for a stroll. There were stupid women making food for Lord Bobo, but I don't eat that filthy stuff."

Lu Ran looked at the raven in front of him with suspicion, but he was still slightly relieved, since eating corpses was always a bit disgusting.

"Alright, alright, go pick them up yourself. We can keep in touch."

"Hmph!" Bobo looked at the opened door, flapped its wings, and flew back out, seemingly still somewhat unconvinced. "Lord Bobo doesn't want to keep in touch with you all!"

Watching the money-grubber leave the office with Raven Bobo, Lu Ran waved to the 007 Detective Mouse who was still there.

Tell me about what you saw.

……

half an hour later

"Can that bird really tell fortunes?"

Lu Ran was somewhat shocked.

Because of the bird's eccentric behavior, he thought it was just talking nonsense.

The scout rat scratched its head: "I just saw it pick up a card and mutter something ominous, but I don't know anything else."

Lu Ran was silent for a moment, then his eyes flickered: "Alright, then you can go and rest."

……

……

(End of this chapter)