Mr. Rat of the Steam World

Chapter 20 Communication Established

"Don't you remember?"

Lu Ran was taken aback. Looking at Bella's simple and silly expression, she didn't seem to be lying.

But the talking dog in the dream reflected reality, which doesn't make sense...

Despite having many questions, Lu Ran had no intention of digging deeper or questioning the result; he simply changed the subject and moved on from the matter.

A mouse and a dog strolled leisurely around the manor. Lu Ran planned to finish his lunch of scones and then find a way to go out and inform the mice outside the manor. Otherwise, if he simply disappeared, he was afraid he would get a lecture from Afra when he came back.

The servants along the way were all surprised to see this harmonious and magical scene—it was the first time they had ever seen a dog and a rat get along so well; normally, shouldn't the latter just be the former's toy?

This surprise lasted until Lu Ran arrived at the roasting room. Afra, who was waiting for the beans to roast, happened to look up and catch a glimpse of him, her mouth slightly agape.

Lu Ran jumped off Bella first and quickly ran to find Detectives Two, Three, and Four, who were standing nearby, and whispered to ask about the situation.

"So, what happened while I was gone?"

Chew chew chew.

Detective Mouse No. 2 was happily munching on scone crumbs: "It was pretty harmonious, except that we were talking about how Tamara's older sister is sick, so she was asked to fill in for her for a while. If we weren't short-handed, I would have liked to check on her sister's situation."

Lu Ran casually snatched some cookie crumbs from Detective Mouse No. 2 and tasted them: "Any more?"

"That's all, just some casual chat. Oh right, we also talked about some really effective psychic rituals that can help with divination. Miss Afra seemed quite interested in it."

Lu Ran was taken aback, then frowned and asked, "The topic Tamara brought up?"

Detective Rat Number Two swallowed the rest of his food and shook his head, saying, "It was Afra who brought up the topic first, saying she was curious about what a detective looked like and wondered when she could meet him. Then Tamara brought up the spirit communication ritual."

Lu Ran choked, but still felt something was wrong. Just as she was about to ask more questions, she heard the sound of approaching footsteps and quickly shut her mouth.

Afra came running over with a plate of slightly cooled scones, her face beaming with excitement: "I knew you were so smart that you'd get along well with Bella!"

After all, Lu Ran was so scared when he met Bella on the first day that he hid under the bed. This made Afra think that the gray rat was particularly afraid of dogs, and because of this, she repeatedly emphasized to Bella not to bully the five rats.

Bella, drawn by the aroma, eagerly pounced on the dog, only to have her head pinned down by Afra. Afra waited until Bella's excitement subsided before slowly releasing her, taking a few scones from the plate and tossing them to Bella, then breaking one into pieces and handing a small piece to Lu Ran.

Lu Ran took it with his paw and then chewed it.

The taste was indeed excellent. Even when he rented an office in human society, he only ate ordinary dried fruit and bread. This was the first time Lu Ran had eaten such a delicious dessert since coming to this world.

"My cooking skills are pretty good, right? If it tastes good, then eat more."

Afra smiled and squatted down, carefully placing the plate on the edge of the grass beside her. She looked at the group of rat-dogs eating with great satisfaction, then suddenly stretched out her fair finger and poked the mud that Lu Ran had deliberately smeared on his body.

"Why are you so dirty? I remember you're quite clean. Do you want me to help you take a shower later?"

Lu Ran subconsciously wanted to shake her head, but then suddenly realized something and simply continued eating her cookies in silence.

"Huh, why isn't there any response?" Afra poked Lu Ran's head again, somewhat puzzled.

Tamara stood behind Afra, watching the scene unfold with great interest, but she didn't see any miraculous signs. The doubts that had just arisen in her mind vanished instantly.

Seeing that Lu Ran was not giving her any face, Afra stood up angrily. "Pretending to be stupid again, I won't give you any more. Tamara, let's go, let's take some scones to Father."

"Okay lady."

Lu Ran watched the two figures leave, his eyes flashing with thought.

If it were a normal person talking about channeling, it might just be a joke, but for someone who knows about the existence of the supernatural to talk about channeling doesn't seem like a coincidence. Could there be some purpose behind it?
It was precisely because he knew that this guy had been involved in matters related to the supernatural that Lu Ran dared not appear too clever in front of him.

After finishing the remaining cookie crumbs, Lu Ran hurriedly pulled the other four mice to a secluded spot: "The stray cat problem outside the manor is solved. Which of you go and inform the gluttons?"

Detective Mouse No. 2 looked left and right, and hesitated for a moment before saying, "The road is a bit far. If we set off now, we won't have enough time to make a round trip today."

Lu Ran said helplessly, "We need to get the communication lines working. You've all experienced the trouble of not having enough manpower. It makes us feel restricted and unable to even take turns monitoring."

Detective No. 3, who had been silent all along, suddenly said, "Boss, if we rode that stupid dog, wouldn't we have a lot more time?"

Lu Ran was taken aback and suddenly turned his gaze to Bella, who was frolicking in the distance.

……

Swish!
A white figure, as swift as a whirlwind, swept past.

Bella stuck out her tongue: "Second...Second Brother, I'm a little tired."

"Do you know why you can't get the other dogs to obey you? It's because you're too weak. Let me ask you one question: do you still want to take back the position of Second Brother? I'm giving you a chance, so don't be ungrateful."

"But didn't you want me to run errands and tell the other mice to come over?"

"Huh? You know that too."

Lu Ran coughed lightly: "So this is called a win-win situation. We're all doing this for Brother Sang Biao, so don't be too concerned about it."

Bella whimpered twice, and before Lu Ran could react, she suddenly pushed off with her hind paws, propelling her body forward with a powerful thrust. Her entire body taut in the air like a bow ready to be released. Lu Ran was startled and quickly grabbed her fur tightly.

To be fair, this guy's physique is actually pretty good. Although he's not as abnormal as Sang Biao, who can run with afterimages, he's still much faster than the carriage we rode in before.

Lu Ran took a moment to check the system. The number of people in the territory had grown to 466, almost reaching the current territory's limit of 500 units. It seemed that the foodies and money-grubbers had not stopped growing in the new place.

The rat and the dog raced all the way, from the manor through the forest, across the farmland, and then two miles south before finally reaching a town.

The town is surrounded by crooked stone walls, with a few thatched farmhouses huddled on the outside. The smoke from the chimneys is torn into thin lines by the wind. The town looks a bit old and there is no drainage system. It is a semi-abandoned town with only a few elderly people living there. The rats must have found an empty house nearby to settle down temporarily.

"Don't go here, I'll be right back."

Lu Ran quickly traversed the corners of the town and soon encountered a patrolling sentinel rat. After greeting it, he asked the rat to lead him to a slightly secluded empty house. From the outside, it seemed to have been abandoned for a long time. Lu Ran followed the sentinel rat and quickly found a passage and crawled inside.

Crawling along the passage at the base of the wall, the view suddenly opened up.

"Foodie!"

"Boss!"

　Thanks to my friends Good Luck Loyalty, Woody Tree Forest, Covered Ears, and GodHao for their generous donations, haha, although I tried my best to decline... And then thanks to reader Envy for the donation. Not counting the friends mentioned above, this is my first donation from a reader today, thank you so much!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)