Mr. Rat of the Steam World

Chapter 42 Broken Dream
This guy won't use you and then discard you, will he? He'll probably kill you off.

Upon realizing this, Lu Ran became extremely anxious.

He wasn't worried about the guy's safety; he was just afraid that the guy would kill someone, loot the body, and take all the money.

Zell casually offered a commission of 500 gold pounds, so he must have at least four figures in savings on him. How could Lu Ran be willing to simply ignore such a huge sum of money?

Even if he didn't have it with him, as long as he got the key, Lu Ran could still go back to the safe house in this guy's brick building and search for the money.

"If the person leaves..."

Lu Ran had been worried about being discovered, so he didn't dare let the other mice participate in the tracking process and followed them alone from a distance.

Anyway, ever since he was able to see the natural energy floating in the air after his enlightenment magic, Lu Ran felt that his eyesight was getting better and better, and he could see clearly even from a distance. Now, as he walked back and forth, he couldn't help but get excited.

"No, no, I have to go and take a look."

After confirming it was safe, Lu Ran, carrying his crossbow, sneakily ran towards the warehouse. It was pitch black all around, and at this hour, no one noticed the gray ball that flashed by on the ground.

Arriving at the warehouse entrance quickly, Lu Ran slid swiftly through the open door, skimming along the damp, cold ground.

The dim light inside filled the air with a strong smell of mildew, rust, and a mixture of various items. To be on the safe side, Lu Ran carefully moved in, keeping close to the shadows against the wall.

Ignoring the mountain of cargo boxes, Lu Ran's two beady black eyes searched for Zell's whereabouts in the darkness, only to find a customs officer fast asleep against the cargo.

"What about people?"

Lu Ran was stunned. He thought he would see Zell lying dead as soon as he entered, but as expected, Zell was nowhere to be seen. The middle of the cargo box was a mess, as if it had been opened and then hurriedly closed again, with some camouflage wood chips scattered all over the ground.

“Zel is alright… No, something’s fishy.”

Lu Ran felt a chill run down her spine and suddenly realized what was happening. She kicked her legs and squeezed herself into the gap between the stacked cargo boxes, curling her body up tightly in the deepest, darkest corner of the gap, blinking her black bean eyes and staring intently outside.

After what felt like an eternity, about several heartbeats, the light and shadow at the warehouse entrance suddenly dimmed.

Footsteps!
Calm and unhurried, yet carrying a heavy sense of oppression.

The next moment, the flower shop owner who had left earlier reappeared at the warehouse entrance like a ghost. He did not rush to approach, but stopped in the shadows at the entrance, his gaze sweeping across the entire warehouse like a searchlight.

Has anyone been in here?

"Didn't see him." Suddenly, a cargo box popped open from the ground, revealing a somewhat disheveled Zell. "That guy got off easy. He tricked me once before. If he had come along, I could have taken him down with me."

Benn did not respond, but his tone was filled with a sense of incomprehension.

“That’s interesting. The detective personally delivered the letter, so he should have followed you. Now he hasn’t received the agreed 500 gold pounds, and he’s watched us find out the shipment number without making a single move.”

Zell spat out the wood shavings in his mouth: "Maybe that detective didn't think that much. He only decided whether to contact me based on whether there was a branch in the window of my contact point. Don't think he's too smart."

"You think you're so smart?" Ben glanced coldly at Zell, and only looked away when the guy shrank back and fell silent.

Ben reviewed his memory and realized that even when he went out, he did not feel any strangeness of being followed. After some thought, he could only give up.

"You tidy up and restore this place first. These people won't remember anything when they wake up. I'll go back and prepare to see how this works. You'll get everything you need after it's done."

After saying that, Ben left quickly, leaving Zell, who was struggling to climb out of the cargo box, and Lu Ran, who was hiding in the gap of the cargo box with a bewildered look on his face.

……

Something feels off.

What does it mean to have the product number revealed?
I, the person involved, had no idea there was a product number. How did you find it? Isn't this information I made up?

Lu Ran was looking at a cargo box and cursing something like, "Finally found it," "You've finally met your match," and so on.

An incredible idea was born in my mind.

There can't actually be a batch of precision machinery here, can there?

"What the hell."

Lu Ran cursed under his breath, then suddenly heard Ze'er mention his name again.

"The First Detective, huh?" Zell's voice was more relaxed. "This time, you won't get a single penny!" *Clang*

Zell exerted more force in his hands and pressed down hard on a wooden lid.

"He's quite talkative even when he's doing work."

Watching Zell struggle to work, Lu Ran squeezed the crossbow on his back and began to think about whether to take action now or wait until the guy went home.

After all, something has happened, and he needs to get the news back as soon as possible.

As a gray rat, and a transmigrator from another world, he didn't care whose machines they were or what their purpose was; none of that mattered to Lu Ran.

On the contrary, whether Lu Ran can secure the promised machinery factory worth 30,000 yuan and whether he can make money steadily afterward is very important to him.

From our own perspective, we certainly cannot allow this so-called Abundance Church to accomplish this.

After much deliberation, still worried that the church members might return, Lu Ran decided to wait a little longer.

Lu Ran waited patiently until Zell restored the place to its original state before quietly slipping out through the gap in the cargo box and following closely behind, still huddled in the shadows.

Zell's residence wasn't far from the port, and there were hardly any people on the streets at this time. He hurried along, the cold night wind pricking his skin like needles, but it couldn't dispel the sense of relief and secret excitement in Zell's heart, as if he had survived a disaster.

He was indeed worried that the person would break their promise, but now he has survived and has a brighter future ahead of him.

Zell tightened his slightly worn dark wool coat, pulled his hat brim even lower, and strode through the musty alley, then into the brick building, making his way to the entrance on the third floor.

He quickly and warily scanned the empty corridor behind him—the air was thick with the sound of the wind, and there were hardly any pedestrians.

Zell then took out his key and quickly turned the special lock that looked heavily rusted but was actually complex in structure. With a click, the door opened a crack.

Just as he was about to slip inside, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his ankle, as if he had been bitten by a mosquito.

Snapped.

Zell instinctively bent down and slapped it, then was stung on the neck again.

"Why are there so many mosquitoes?"

Zell cursed under his breath, but a strange unease crept into his heart. Ignoring everything else, he hurriedly got up and opened the door again, staggering inside. Before he could close the door, he suddenly felt dizzy.

As double images appeared before my eyes, a buzzing sound began to enter my ears, as if countless bees were flying around inside.

"No, no..."

Zell turned on the light, panting, and then felt as if a heavy stone was pressing down on his chest, each breath shallow and rapid.

My body began to stagger and I could no longer stand; my limbs felt weak.

"Ho...ho..."

He collapsed to the ground with a thud.

"what's the situation……"

Zell shook his head, searching around with some difficulty, trying to spot Ben's figure, but there was still no one around. He had to laboriously turn over and lean against the cabinet behind him.

My gaze was directed toward the door that was not yet closed. The light shining through the room spread across the dark corridor on the third floor, creating a dim, yellowish path that at this moment seemed almost like the gates to the underworld had been opened.

Still no one... wait a minute.

Gray squirrel?

Why did a gray rat appear at this time?

That detective agency seems to really like using this thing.

Zell's eyelids felt heavy, as if glued shut, and his speech became slurred.

“Charlie… Rock…”

(End of this chapter)