Mr. Rat of the Steam World

Chapter 44 How short is he? Very short...

An unexpected ending.

With the witness who knew the shipment number taken care of, Lu Ran felt that time was no longer so urgent. However, after the gunshot, it was still not advisable to stay here any longer.

Lu Ran's body immediately turned into a gray shadow, quickly rolled up the looted valuables, then casually picked up a cloth bag and put everything in it, biting the corner of the cloth and tying a crooked knot, then deliberately tugged at it with his claws to make sure it wasn't loose.

Only after confirming that the cloth bag was heavy on his back did he push off with his hind legs, hoist it onto his back, and slide outside.

Of course, he didn't forget to close the door behind him. The gunshots in front could attract nearby residents at any time. If they came over and were frightened by the two corpses, they would call the police and have the bodies disposed of, which would be terrible. He needed to use this as evidence.

Following the planned escape route, they made their way through the brick building, but hesitated at the fork in the road.
"Could it really be such a coincidence?"

Lu Ran's heart stirred, and his hurried steps began to slow down. Although he didn't feel any sense of belonging to Britannia, he was still quite curious about Earl Biden's alleged treason.

After hesitating for a moment, he turned around and ran back towards the port. Soon he returned to the warehouse at the port. The customs officer there was still fast asleep, and the cargo container had been roughly restored. However, because of the previous damage and the fact that Lu Ran's strength had just been enhanced, he could still open it with a little force.

"It should be the boxes in this area..."

Lu Ran circled around for a moment, then quickly picked out a cargo box. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that it did not bear the coat of arms of the Earl of Biden's family; it only listed the shipper as Liverpool Trading Company, the consignee as Riverlo Port, and Mr. Smith...

Where is Heluo Port?

Lu Ran scratched his head, feeling that he didn't recognize any of them, so he simply jumped up and grabbed the edge of the cargo box, and forcefully pushed against the lid of the cargo box.

Click.

Lu Ran peered through a small crack and was immediately drawn to the reflected silver light.

Upon closer inspection, the dim light revealed the meticulously polished components inside, whose smoothness clearly distinguished them from the bulky and rough steam machinery that Lu Ran had seen before.

"No wonder people doubt Biden."

Lu Ran twitched the corner of his mouth. Although he couldn't recognize what these things were, judging from the craftsmanship, there probably weren't many that the entire city of Baker could produce. One of the only two possibilities had already been burned to death, so there was indeed only one person left.

"If such precision machinery were actually transported to the Holy Orion Empire..."

Lu Ran frowned slightly. Although he didn't care whether Biden was a traitor or not, since his base was in the Kingdom of Britannia, he was worried that such a high-ranking official was openly aiding the enemy. He didn't want the enemy to attack him one day.

He wasn't familiar with the Holy Orion Empire; what he'd seen was mostly limited border skirmishes, and some rather rough, general information.

This country is located in the cold north, with a harsh climate and environment. Most of the local factories are still state-owned, resulting in slow development but strict order.

Unlike Britannia, which underwent radical industrialization reforms, Britannia, despite which significantly widened the gap in its private industrial level, still managed to develop a unique advantage in heavy industry by focusing its national resources on targeted development.

It is said that the machinery there is even more brutal, extreme, and unbelievable.

"That shouldn't be the case, given your status."

Lu Ran really couldn't understand why this count would have any reason to betray his country, or if there was some other misunderstanding. However, he still kept a watchful eye on things.

Don't talk about fighting for the country; when the day comes that they actually invade, your home will be full of your own people from the other side.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Ran decided not to leave Shushu to keep watch here.

If a mouse were to be sent on board and drift along the ship, even if the message was confirmed, it wouldn't be able to be sent back. Besides, even if Lu Ran knew, it wouldn't seem to be of any help.

As I closed the cargo box lid, I could just hear the customs officer's groaning in a daze.

"gone."

Seizing the last few seconds before the other person woke up, Lu Ran vanished into the warehouse, only to hear behind him— "Why did you fall asleep..."

……

Inside Zell's contact point, there happened to be a ready-made pneumatic conveyor system.

Lu Ran found a spare mailbox nearby, wrote the contents and address on the ready-made letter paper, put the key to the safe house into the mailbox, then inserted it into the machine, jumped up onto the lever and pressed it hard.

Buzz—Pfft!

With a hissing sound of compressed gas, the mailbox flew straight out through the metal pipe.

If Lu Ran remembered correctly, the mailboxes sent to the Biden estate seemed to have a special express channel handled by dedicated personnel.

The letter contains the following content:

At the end of Gray Street, near Blue Reef Harbor, in an old, abandoned residential building, the third floor was Zell's safe house. When the investigation found it, both of them had already been murdered...

In short, it had nothing to do with me; I just happened to run into it.

"it should be no problem."

……

Meanwhile, the butler, Philip, who had received the letter, immediately delivered it to Earl Biden and sent people to quickly seal off and clean up the place Lu Ran had mentioned.

"Dead? And it's such a coincidence that he just happened to run into him."

Butler Philip nodded: "That should just be the official story. The other two died from poisoning and shooting, respectively. There were no signs of a struggle at the scene. The one who died from poisoning is a bit strange; he was hit by three poison needles. Judging from the angle of the bullet that killed him, the killer doesn't seem to be very tall."

"Not very tall, how short?"

Butler Philip hesitated for a long time before finally saying, "Very short..."

"..."

Earl Biden choked, then didn't continue the topic, instead confirming again: "Besides Zell, was the other one who died a transcendent?"

Butler Philip nodded: "One of them is indeed a formal pastor of the Church of Abundance, and the test results show that he did take the magic potion, so there are no problems."

Upon hearing this, Earl Biden fell silent.

"What do you think this Sherlock's background is? He appeared out of nowhere, and even though he's right under our noses, no one has ever seen what he looks like."

Butler Philip hesitated for a moment: "Judging from the fighting style on the scene, it's somewhat similar to the Contract Serpent organization. Those people are also skilled in assassination and tracking. People they target usually don't show signs of intense fighting at the scene..."

"Then he has no reason to report Tamara himself..."

Philip interrupted: "The chaotic knowledge of the Contract Serpent is backstabbing. Their mission objectives are not consistent. It is not impossible for them to achieve their own goals by backstabbing their teammates."

Earl Biden paused for a moment.

"Go and talk to him about the transfer of factory ownership, see what kind of nominal title he can come up with to be listed as a shareholder, and also handle the Blue Reef Port matter..."

Oh dear, I thought the scheduled update had already been posted automatically, but it turned out it hadn't updated yet; the update was a little late.

　Thank you so much, Yuejuejue, for the 500 points! Wow, thank you so much, and thank you everyone for your monthly votes. It's almost the end of the month, so don't forget to use yours if you don't need them. By the way, I'd like to ask for your monthly votes from the beginning of the month. I was too shy to ask before, but if you have any extras, feel free to give them to me, thank you!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)