Mr. Rat of the Steam World

Chapter 16 Old acquaintance

Lu Ran had always been aware of her own strangeness.

For example, as a transmigrator from Earth, he could still speak and understand even if he transmigrated into the body of a gray rat.

But he can speak not only Chinese, he can also speak the local common language.

What's even more outrageous is that he can also write in the local language.

It was this confusion about his identity that led him step by step to his current location at the Biden Estate.

The dog in my dream must be this one, but why doesn't this dog recognize me?

"Make sure you recognize them. You're not allowed to bite these, okay?" Afra held up Bella's head and pointed at the mice on the ground with a serious expression.

"Get along well, you know? Oh, right."

Afu suddenly slapped her forehead and looked at the five mice, including Lu Ran.

"Sherlock didn't tell me your names either, so I'll just... call you Detective One, Detective Two, Detective Three, Detective Four, and Detective Five!"

"squeak!"

Lu Ran perked up slightly and responded to Afra, but his eyes kept glancing at the big white dog that was running around excitedly.

Let's see how long you can keep up this act.

……

"It's unscientific."

Lu Ran cautiously observed the large white dog playing happily from the shadows. If he had to say which breed it resembled, it was somewhat like a husky, only a pure white one. Lu Ran had been watching this dog for over an hour, as it ran around the manor, played, dug holes, pooped, and peed to mark locations.

"It looks so much like a dog, no human could fake it that well."

Lu Ran was speechless.

A mouse approached Lu Ran, and Lu Ran turned his head to look at the little guy.

"What's the deal with that maid named Tamara?"

Detective Mouse No. 2 honestly replied, "I just worked diligently, did nothing else, and didn't mutter anything strange to myself."

Lu Ran raised an eyebrow. A professional killer reformed and became a maid? Isn't that ridiculous? And how did he even get into Biden's estate? Doesn't that require background checks?

"Have you found out where that maid lives? Take me there."

"Isn't the boss watching the dog anymore?"

"What are you looking at?!"

Lu Ran tapped the mouse on the head, and only then did the little guy obediently lead the way.

The servants' quarters are located on the west side of the U-shaped annex complex behind the main house, forming an arch around the main house along with the bakery and stables, separated by a small square paved with gravel.

The dormitory was a two-story red brick building. The first floor housed male servants, grooms, and blacksmiths, while the second floor was for female servants and cooks.

Of course, servants here are not allowed to lock their dorm rooms without permission, so that the butler can check at any time whether there are any contraband items hidden. Lu Ran, however, easily slipped into Tamara's dorm room.

Simple, clean, and hygienic.

The bed was covered with a uniformly distributed coarse linen sheet, and there was a small wooden table near the window. Apart from that, there were no other personal belongings.

Lu Ran certainly didn't expect to find it all at once. He instructed Detective Rat No. 2 to search every corner inch by inch to see if there were any hidden compartments in the walls or floors.

This woman has only been here a few days, so it's unlikely she'll have had much time to prepare.

"No?"

Just a moment later, Lu Ran frowned slightly as he looked at the empty house.

"We can't really be here to avoid the storm, can we?"

While it's true that the most dangerous place is the safest place, isn't it a bit too much to kill someone and hide in the Earl's manor? "Or did you hide them outside?"

Lu Ran's main thought was that since he had already encountered this guy and was short of money, he might as well come and do some looting to see if he could find out what this guy's "ill-gotten gains" was, or investigate what this blonde woman was up to, so that Afra wouldn't end up killing the new host she had finally chosen.

Lu Ran said to Detective Rat No. 2, "Restore this place. You go out and keep watch. I'll hide here. If there's no news by dark, hurry back. Don't wait for me."

He was certainly unwilling to give up after finding nothing. The blonde woman couldn't have spent all her money; she must have brought some with her. The fact that she wasn't in the dormitory was probably because she was worried about someone coming and going and stealing it. So, the most likely explanation is that she hid it somewhere outside, which would make the search area too large.

Lu Ran took a double precaution. He observed Tamara from inside the dormitory to see if there were any hidden compartments they hadn't discovered yet. This place was quite dangerous and required quick thinking. He dared not entrust it to Detective Number Two Rat.

Under the bed, in the corner, on the door... Lu Ran observed the places in the room where he could hide, and waited patiently, listening to the people coming and going in the corridor, until finally a footstep stopped at the door and then gently pushed it open.

crunch.

Tamara, wearing a gray cotton dress, walked in listlessly. Her eyes seemed to glance around casually before she suddenly stopped, bent down, and carefully examined the doorway. She gently touched something with her fingers, and her gaze immediately began to scan the room.

Lu Ran, hiding behind the wooden leg under the bed, saw everything clearly, but his face didn't show much surprise.

It's normal for such a professional murderer to casually set up some small mechanisms to determine whether people have entered or exited, but Lu Ran is limited by his size and can't detect these things, which is why he's determined to get results today no matter what.

If you slip up the first time and don't get caught, you might never have another chance.

Following Tamara's gaze, Lu Ran continuously adjusted his position to find the best possible hiding place. After all, it wasn't nighttime, and the room was quite spacious, so there weren't many places to hide.

"Have they left?" Tamara frowned slightly. Just then, another maid passed by outside the door, and she immediately put on a smile and went to greet them.

"Becky, did the housekeeper check the dormitories today?"

The maid being questioned yawned: "I don't know, I think so. Doesn't that guy love doing this kind of thing? By the way, isn't your sister coming back? Are you planning to keep taking her place?"

"I don't know, it's probably because I'm not feeling well yet."

Lu Ran listened intently to the conversation and saw Tamara looking helpless and distressed, her casual conversation interspersed with complaints that seemed to be heartfelt.

"Her acting skills are quite good."

After performing for a while, Tamara politely said goodbye to the other party. She stood at the door for a moment, thought about it, then closed the door and went out again.

"Are you worried about confirming the hiding place?"

Lu Ran blinked with anticipation, but he didn't dare to go out at the moment. It would be too dangerous to run out and bump into someone right in front of him. That's why he and Detective Rat No. 2 split up and waited in two groups.

He would wait until dinnertime, when all the servants would eat together, as that would be the safest time to go out. Then he would meet up with Detective Number Two to confirm the situation.

Although Afra might be a little anxious about being missing for so long, Lu Ran still wanted to let the little girl get used to this kind of thing that would inevitably happen often in the future.

In March, it gets dark early. Lu Ran closed his eyes and counted the time until the clock struck midnight again.

"Run away!"

Just as Lu Ran was about to leave, she heard rustling footsteps outside the door.

"Are you really not going to eat dinner?"

"I'm not feeling well, no need to take me, I'll just go back and lie down for a while."

Lu Ran stopped in his tracks and then retreated back inside.

Then that familiar figure pushed open the door and entered, lying on the bed under the watchful eye of another maid. The door closed, and they waited for a while.

crunch.

Tamara suddenly sat up in bed, walked to the window and looked around, then jumped down.

The second floor wasn't very high. Although Lu Ran couldn't see it, he heard a light thud as it landed.

"caught you!"

Lu Ran followed without hesitation.

(End of this chapter)