Mr. Rat of the Steam World

Chapter 26 Airplane?

Bang!

The oak wine cabinet that had just been repaired was vandalized again.

"Four words, he tricked me and replied with four words?"

The middle-aged man Lu Ran recognized was keeping his head down, cautiously asking, "Could he have figured something out, and that's why he made this commotion to warn us?"

"Warning my ass." Zell blurted out, but then swallowed the curse that was stuck in his throat. "Forget it, let him think what he wants. Since he still has the intention to cooperate, let's ignore him. This guy does have some ability. Since he got on my side and that old man Biden's side, it's always a good thing that he's willing to help."

The middle-aged man said at the right moment, "But if it weren't for his interference, you and Afra might have already gotten married, and we wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble."

"Alright, alright, no need for this pledge of loyalty." Zell waved his hand impatiently. "What's Conrad's attitude now? If this doesn't work, I'm losing patience."

The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment: "That's your father after all. I hope you can give him a little more time. I will do my best to persuade him..."

Zell chuckled upon hearing this, then suddenly looked at his subordinate with a half-smile: "You're quite loyal to my father, so are you his man or mine now?"

The middle-aged man immediately knelt down: "Your people."

"I'll give you another week."

"Yes."

While the two were talking, neither of them noticed the ventilation duct above their heads. A sneaky little mouse was writing down all the information in a self-made notebook. Of course, it left blank any words it didn't know how to write, as long as it could roughly understand the meaning.

This was also Lu Ran's instruction. Although the mice can talk now, literacy education is still a long and arduous task.

……

Outside the manor, in the woods, there are stone houses.

A sharp gasp escaped his lips.

"Unbelievable..." Lu Ran stared in shock at the notebook in his hand, his gaze repeatedly locking onto the foodie's expectant eyes and the lyrics in the notebook. Finally, in a fit of anger, he gave the guy a hard flick on the head.

"Ouch!" The foodie quickly covered his head.

Lu Ran was both angry and amused. Looking at the pitiful-looking foodie, he still grabbed the boy's ear without hesitation.

"Come on, foodie, tell me loudly what the hell you're doing?"

"Did I give you a smart new brain just so you could think about this? Do you know how many people in the entire territory can even write? And you're wasting your talent on this?"

Lu Ran said with exasperation, "If you waste any more of your rat energy, next time I'll hang you on a kite and let you fly up to the sky to slowly embrace the sun, understand?"

"Okay, okay," the foodie said, clutching his head and shrinking back. After a moment's hesitation, he mustered his courage and asked, "But what's a kite, boss?"

“A kite is a kite, you didn’t…” Lu Ran paused, an unexpected thought suddenly popped into his mind.

He recalled the newspaper he had read some time ago. It seemed that no airplanes had been built at this point in time, and everyone was dismissive of the idea that humans could fly in the sky with machines.

"Yeah, then why do I keep thinking about making money through the firm? I can invent things!"

Lu Ran's eyes lit up. If this could be used to build an airplane...

"Let me think, let me think... An airplane... An airplane needs two wings, and it also needs an engine... No, no, I don't know how to build an airplane."

"Then can Qidi... no, my goal is to make money. The strength of the materials needed to manufacture airplanes according to the size proportions of mice is different. Humans still have to do their own research, so we still need to find investors."

Lu Ran immediately thought of the two brothers who had asked for investment in the newspaper.

"Being able to grasp the concept of heaven is enough to prove their genius. I wonder if they've secured any investment yet."

Lu Ran paced back and forth, growing increasingly excited.

"First, find the person, and then learn about the level of technology in this era."

I just don't know how much investment I'll need. Will my 150 gold pounds be enough? If I throw it all in and don't even make a ripple, wouldn't that be laughable? Dear Miss Afra, although I have a free place to live, I'm still a little short of money. Could you give me some to spend...?

"No matter how many times we go around in circles, we're still short of money."

Lu Ran rubbed his head and then lay down on the ground with a thud.

"But I really don't want to be a kept man. I should focus on getting the Magic Enlightenment sorted out first."

"Please hurry up and open for business, I beg you."

The foodie held his head and watched Lu Ran talking to himself, blinking but not disturbing him, mainly because he didn't understand what the lord was muttering.

The new territory involves too much, and it will take a lot of time to replan and rebuild it from scratch. Lu Ran didn't have time to keep an eye on it all the time, so after giving some detailed instructions, he prepared to leave.

"Especially you foodie, kid, you're not the money-grubber, so you better keep an eye on things here."

After threatening them, Lu Ran led about ten rats back to the manor.

Finally, I can keep an eye on that female assassin 24/7.

It was the same familiar spot, the same white dog, and the same familiar melancholy.

Looking at the somewhat desolate figure behind her, Lu Ran found it inexplicably funny. Noticing Lu Ran approaching, Bella turned around with a wronged expression, her mouth trembling with grievance.

"Second brother..."

"Stop talking, your second brother understands." Lu Ran placed his paw on Bella's paw, looking serious. "So, will you listen to your second brother from now on?"

Bella's expression changed, and she hesitated. Seeing this, Lu Ran turned around without hesitation, and sure enough, Bella's urgent voice rang out behind him: "I believe you!"

Lu Ran nodded in satisfaction and gently beckoned Bella to come closer.

"Then your second brother won't treat you badly. Do you want to come out with me later to make some ill-gotten gains?"

Bella looked bewildered: "What ill-gotten gains?"

Lu Ran raised an eyebrow: "Have you forgotten the guard who tricked you last night? Every time you took a can of food, he embezzled it. I can't even imagine how much of the people's hard-earned money he has embezzled."

The worry in Bella's eyes vanished instantly, and she jumped up excitedly again.

"Damn it, you wretched two-legged beast!"

"You should rest and recharge first, and follow my instructions tonight."

Lu Ran cheered up the emo dog again before leading the other mouse followers back to the main house. He called out a few detective mice from afar to help them hand over their duties and familiarize themselves with the work. Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught sight of Afra rushing over. He looked around and quickly shooed away the mice around him.

"call……"

Afra jogged over, resting her hands on her knees as she looked Lu Ran up and down. When she saw that Lu Ran had nothing on him, a look of surprise flashed in her eyes.

"Did...did they not send the message?"

Lu Ran hesitated for a moment, then shook his head, deciding it was best to respond this time.

"I sent it..." Afra gripped the hem of her skirt with her fingertips: "But Mr. Sherlock didn't write back?"

Lu Ran nodded this time.

"Alright then." Afra smiled and gently patted Lu Ran's head. "Never mind if you don't have any. Thank you for your hard work. I prepared some food for you."

Grabbing Lu Ran by the back of the neck and holding her in his hand, he quickly went upstairs, lifted her skirt, and placed her next to a plate of still-warm desserts.

Watching Lu Ran happily chewing, Afra suddenly rested her chin on her hand and looked out the window. She didn't know what she was looking at, but she just wanted to daydream like that.

"Ugh."

(End of this chapter)