Mr. Rat of the Steam World

Chapter 31 War Correspondent

"It's no use coming to me."

Lu Ran was somewhat helpless. Most of his mice were currently moving to the manor to dig underground territories. Not to mention that almost ten days had passed, and with so many people and so many eyes watching, Lu Ran didn't think a little girl who had disappeared for so many days still had a chance.

After a brief moment of reflection, Lu Ran continued to flip through the relevant issues of "Mechanical Gear Newspaper" according to his memory. He glanced at them and it seemed that he still hadn't secured investment. He found the contact address left by the two brothers and quickly skipped over that section.

After all, Lu Ran had to get the Magic Enlightenment sorted out before he could even think about the plane. It seemed that the system was consuming a lot of gold pounds, and it was unlikely that a single agency could support it.

Having read enough, Lu Ran packed up the newspapers, neatly stacked them, cleaned up the remaining traces, and then dashed out to Oak Street to find Bella the dog.

Having learned everything he needed to know, he had to go back and submit the commission as soon as possible. Although Oak Street was a bit far, the roads in New Baker were wide, and there was no shortage of transportation.

Along the way, Lu Ran would jump onto any horse-drawn carriage or steam-powered car he could find, and after changing vehicles repeatedly for about half an hour, he finally arrived at his destination.

As for the exact location of the abandoned factory that Bella mentioned, Lu Ran didn't know. Because of his small size and low perspective, Lu Ran wandered around for a while before finally arriving at the place. At the same time, he prayed that he wouldn't see anything disgusting as soon as he got there.

"I don't know how this silly dog ​​found this remote corner."

Lu Ran looked him over and made some comments.

"Bella?"

Lu Ran looked around the empty factory. The stone slabs in the factory area were cracked like spider webs, and every crack was filled with dark green moss. You could hear a muffled thud when you stepped on them. Most of the wooden windows in the workshops were missing their glass, and the window frames hung crookedly on the brick walls. Sunlight shone through them, illuminating the dust that had exploded and spread in the air.

"Where is that stupid dog hiding?"

Lu Ran didn't dare to shout loudly, lest someone jump out and ask how there could be a talking gray rat before she even finished shouting that the dog hadn't been found.

Following the wall, Lu Ran finally found some signs of activity in front of an abandoned warehouse, but the door was locked with a brass lock and didn't seem like it could be opened.

Is this place really suitable for playing hide-and-seek?

Lu Ran frowned, and the next moment he suddenly heard a dog barking urgently. He turned his head and saw an excited dog rushing towards him.

"Second brother, second brother, you're here to play too? Those two-legged beasts just hid, it's a pity you saw them if you had come earlier."

"Hide?"

Lu Ran looked around and sensed that something was wrong.

"Who are you playing with? Isn't it a female dog?"

Bella quickly shook her head: "No, no, this is a place to play hide-and-seek. I've just made a lot of new friends here."

"A new friend?" Lu Ran glanced at the empty factory buildings around him and shivered involuntarily.

There are people in this godforsaken place; is this dog playing with ghosts?

"Stop talking nonsense, let's go, let's go."

……

Inside the manor, the first thing Lu Ran did upon returning was to run back to the stone house, quickly write down the results of the commission, and then activate the pneumatic teleportation device to send it out according to the address on the letter.

Although Lu Ran guessed it might be the butler, he had no evidence and couldn't just send a letter randomly.

However, sending it to the post office first and then redistributing it to the designated location would take a lot of time, and it's unclear whether the machines in the manor have an internal expedited service.

The letter reads as follows: Conrad, residing at No. 25, a wealthy villa in the Mayfair district, appears to be in contact with the Church of Abundance, hoping to use his reputation as a steel tycoon to publicly condemn industrial pollution…

……

"what!"

On the third floor of Biden's estate, Biden almost spat out his tea.

"You mean the investigation results came out tonight for a request that was submitted in the morning?"

Even with his vast experience, he was somewhat dumbfounded at this moment and couldn't help but complain.

"Even if I had Zell tell me where his father is himself, it would only take this long. Is Sherlock sleeping with Conrad?"

Butler Philip gave a wry smile: "I don't know how he did it, but now that we've found Conrad's location and it does involve the church, what should we do next?"

Earl Biden, still somewhat unsatisfied, simply waved his hand dismissively upon hearing this: "Do I need to teach you this? Get your guns ready, mobilize your troops, and be quick. Bring them all back, and while you're at it, take back all the factories they control. Don't let them cause any more trouble."

He paused slightly after speaking.

"But Sherlock is quite interesting. Hmm... After this is over, you can ask him later. He has a batch of low-priced factories for sale. Do you want to buy one to play with?"

"Understood." Butler Philip nodded slightly, then hesitated for a moment and said, "Do we still need to investigate this Sherlock detective? Although there are signs of activity at the stone house, no one has actually seen what Sherlock detective looks like yet. Should we send someone to keep an eye on him 24 hours a day?"

"Keep an eye on a detective?" Earl Biden chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. "Let him be. Even if we need to send more people, we won't put them here. You know where they are..."

"Okay, sir."

……

Tapping.

Before the last rays of the setting sun had faded, the cavalry's hooves had already trampled through the Mayfair district of Baker City. Shops and passersby on both sides watched the soldiers hurrying past with awe, and only breathed a slight sigh of relief when their figures gradually disappeared from sight. Immediately, their gossipy hearts burned brightly, and they began to inquire about the situation from the people on both sides.

"Where did this army come from? Who committed this crime? Why is there such a commotion?"

"You don't even know that? You can tell it's the Biden family just by looking at the family mark on the knight's body."

"It looks like they're heading towards the wealthy area; someone's going to be in trouble."

Reporters from various newspapers, big and small, reacted quickly, rushing towards the military's location like sharks smelling blood. However, upon arrival, they discovered that the area was completely sealed off, preventing them from recording or conducting interviews.

No one noticed that in the corner of villa number 25, a mouse was writing furiously.

I am very honored to be stationed here by the lord to keep records. I am really touched. It's just a bit boring. I really want to go in and take a look.

They're here! There are so many people outside! A group of soldiers in shiny armor rushed in, broke down the door, and forced their way into the room. Immediately afterward, a scream came from inside the room, followed by a series of gunshots. A green monster rushed out of the villa. (Addendum: It looks terrifying.)

"The potion-making process was interrupted and went out of control, so they were shot dead."

"Use a flamethrower."

As dusk fell, several tongues of fire erupted, scorching the green monster in the center and emitting a sizzling, burnt smell.

The novel rat's eyes lit up: "But it's so exciting!"

(End of this chapter)