Mr. Rat of the Steam World

Chapter 13 The Industrial Era
The wooden staircase in the attic looked dilapidated, and ivy climbed all over the dusty window frames, filtering the sunlight into fragments of gold that fell on the waist-high stack of newspapers. This place held almost all the past issues of Baker City's newspapers, neatly stacked in square piles bound with thick hemp rope. It was where Lu Ran had looked up information before he bought a newspaper subscription—in the home of a newsstand owner.

Manchester Times and Baker Business Journal.

These were the two newsstands that Lu Ran focused on reading. The newsstand owner was still far from going home at this hour, so Lu Ran wasn't in a hurry.

I used to frequent this place, so I was quite familiar with it. I knew that the newsstand owner lived alone and didn't come back until seven or eight o'clock in the evening.

The sound of pages turning.

Lu Ran let out a soft exclamation upon seeing the crucial point.

"The Earl Biden's two largest factories in Baker City both belong to the Earl of Biden?"

Lu Ran quickly flipped through the business weekly newspapers around this time period, his expression becoming increasingly surprised.

He had long been known as a steel tycoon, so he subconsciously assumed that the largest steel mills should be in Birmingham. However, after a closer look, he learned that it was simply because the tycoon owned a large number of steel mills and was a high-profile person.

"Is this Zell's goal?"

Lu Ran seemed to be deep in thought, but when he thought of the scraps of paper in the guy's trash can, he couldn't understand why the church people would get involved. Surely a group of superpowered guys wouldn't have any designs on the steel mill, right? Lu Ran didn't think those gods were that bored.

However, after learning more about him, he became even more curious about this Earl Biden.

"It's quite interesting that he went from being a general to a steel mill entrepreneur. Could it really be a cover-up for treasonous acts?"

Lu Ran continued browsing.

[This newspaper has learned from Earl Biden that Warren Steel recently successfully produced high-strength rails using a new method. Tests by the Baker City Railroad showed that its wear resistance is nearly three times higher than that of traditional rails. This process, named cold forging, was improved by the plant's chief engineer, William Fairbairn…]

—Baker Business Journal, Industry Chronicle, July 10, 2014.

Warren Steel recently announced a decisive success in its deep hardening process, which increases steel hardness by nearly 50% compared to traditional methods while maintaining toughness. This three-year research project, through precise control of gas pressure and cooling rate within the furnace, allows metal molecules to align into a unique, dense structure. This process can be widely applied to heavy equipment that needs to withstand extreme pressure…

—Baker Business Journal, Industry Chronicle, July 25, 2014.

……

Lu Ran continued reading until the year 217 of the Industrial Revolution before finally stopping, feeling slightly tired.

“In his early years, Earl Biden and his factory were quite high-profile, but in the following years he was rarely seen. Then the name of the steel tycoon appeared in the newspaper for the first time, but there was no news about competition.”

"It can't be that Zell squandered his fortune and then blamed Earl Biden's factory for taking away his business, so he's deliberately retaliating, can it?"

Lu Ran plopped down on the wooden floor. The flood of information overwhelmed him. He closed his eyes to rest for a while, but his mind continued to analyze the pros and cons.

Zell and Biden were not close. He was just worried that Zell's actions were to retaliate against him, but since there was no indication of it, there was no need to refuse the free money.

We must accept it!
It's just investigating an earl; he's conveniently located and has plenty of opportunities. If he's really a traitor, there's no reason to sympathize with him. Lu Ran felt perfectly justified in taking the money.

However, this unexpected incident made him more wary of Afrana's life. Could this woman be a bad person as well?

thump.

Just past seven o'clock, a melodious chime filled the attic. Lu Ran sat up abruptly from the floor and hurriedly began to fold and tidy up all the newspapers. However, due to his size, it took him more than half an hour to finish.

crunch--

The door downstairs made a scraping, broken sound as Lu Ran climbed out the window.

The place is great, I'll come again next time.

……

"A reply! A reply!" The next day, Lu Ran was still busy directing operations within his territory when the gluttonous creature dragged its round body toward him, nearly causing him to fall over.

"Have you been secretly eating something? You're getting fatter and fatter."

Lu Ran gently patted the foodie's head and took the letter.

"Hehe." The foodie didn't say anything, just chuckled foolishly.

Lu Ran opened the letter, and the words were filled with excitement. As expected, it was a reply from Afra, who said that she would definitely write an observation diary carefully and that she would come to pick up the gray rat in person on Friday, hoping to meet it.

"see me?"

Lu Ran choked. The other party's agreement to raise gray rats was roughly within his expectations, but the request to meet was somewhat unexpected. What was so special about meeting Sherlock under this guise?

"Friday is the day after tomorrow, but if Afra comes over, wouldn't that be like telling Anthony that I'm going to run away... No way."

Lu Ran paced back and forth, only then realizing that he had overlooked something. He had actually forgotten to tell Afra how to get the gray rats, but replying now would be too hasty.

Although the distance within the same city is not far, the sorting of mailboxes in the post office will still take a lot of time. The work efficiency in this era is very low. If there is a slight accident and the letters are delayed, it will be terrible. Lu Ran can't put his hopes on this. Right now, he has to hurry up and think of a way to get out of trouble in one fell swoop.

“Anthony, Zell, Afra... Edwin.”

Lu Ran muttered to himself, squatting on the ground sketching a simple relationship diagram. After thinking for a long time, he suddenly clapped his paws, signaling the glutton to bring One-Ear over.

"Are the people who were keeping watch still nearby?"

One-Ear rushed over: "Yes, we're here. Only one of us went back to deliver the message; the rest of us stayed here."

"Let me write something for you and take it to them."

The foodies, being very perceptive, had already brought over paper and pen, and the two rats stood on either side of Lu Ran, watching him write.

[The order has been successfully placed. Details will be discussed in person this Friday morning.]

Since Lu Ran knew that the other party had misunderstood, he was not afraid of any further misunderstandings, so he simply sent Yizhier with the folded letter to find the other party's hiding place.

It wasn't until an hour later, after One-Ear returned from delivering the message, that hurried footsteps and a familiar voice rang out from outside the cave, still as straightforward as ever.

"Mr. Sherlock, do you have any other requests?"

“That’s right.” Lu Ran hid behind the door, speaking in riddles.

"But we can talk about it on Friday morning. I'll make all the arrangements then. You can come to the office and we can talk privately."

The middle-aged man paused, clearly surprised: "Why did Mr. Sherlock suddenly agree to meet?"

"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll disappear."

"..."

The middle-aged man said helplessly.

"Then it's a deal. Also, we'll be withdrawing from our current outpost in the area soon. Any follow-up investigation results can be sent to this address."

A new note was handed over from outside the cave. Lu Ran glanced at it casually; it wasn't related to Ze'er, so it must have been rented again.

"no problem."

(End of this chapter)