Mr. Rat of the Steam World

Chapter 49 Powder Keg

On the new day, after resting, Lu Ran finally managed to coax Bella into heading towards Baker City.

This time, however, Lu Ran didn't let Bella go to the abandoned factory on Oak Street alone. Instead, he had her take him directly to their destination—Copper Wire Street—openly and legitimately.

It's not like we're infiltrating to gather information, so it's fine to bring this big dog along.

Furthermore, since Lu Ran already knows that there's something wrong with that abandoned factory, it's probably best to be on the safe side and let Bella go there less often. Who knows what kind of personality those unknown creatures have? They might just end up cooking this idiot dog one day...

Especially when Bella said that the strange man in the black robe would give him something delicious, Lu Ran didn't even dare to ask what kind of delicious food it was at first. It was only when Bella herself said that it was some kind of fruit that he breathed a sigh of relief.

But then again, how delicious can a single fruit be?

……

Copper Wire Street.

This is the industrial area of ​​Baker City, and to avoid impacting the city center, it is located on the western side of Baker City, near the suburbs.

It is precisely because it connects a large number of factory areas that it presents a scene completely different from other places.

Lu Ran sat on Bella's back and looked around. A few red brick factory buildings were squeezed at the end of the street. The chimneys were like rusty iron needles piercing the gray-purple sky. Every ten minutes, they would spew out a ball of thick black smoke, which turned into fine coal dust when it fell.

The street signs were mostly blackened by smoke, and workers were sitting around taking a break everywhere. Women in coarse cloth aprons walked by quickly, carrying rattan baskets and making rapid tapping sounds.

Everyone felt stifled and rushed, and the pervasive coal smoke in the air even made them habitually hold their breath, as if they couldn't breathe properly.

"Why does the atmosphere feel wrong?"

Lu Ran covered his nose with his paws as he rode on Bella's back, passing through the gray and black crowd and buildings. Bella's white fur, which was unusually eye-catching on the dirty street, attracted a lot of attention. Suddenly, he noticed something, tugged at Bella, and leaned against a gray exterior wall.

"Stop the tyranny of machinery and guarantee the livelihood of workers..."

Before Lu Ran could even see the full content of the poster, a policeman in uniform rushed over, roughly pushed Bella aside, and tore it open with force.

"Get out of my way, you damn dog!"

Bella stumbled from the push, then abruptly turned her head, her eyes instantly turning extremely fierce. Her snow-white fur stood on end, revealing her massive, gleaming white canine teeth, and a low, menacing growl rumbled in her throat: "Woof! Woof—!"

Even Lu Ran was somewhat surprised to see Bella like this for the first time.

The young policeman was clearly taken aback when the dog blocking his way not only didn't tuck its tail and run away, but also dared to bare its teeth in a threatening manner, which immediately enraged him.

"You've gone too far! You beast, how dare you be so aggressive?!"

Without hesitation, he yanked the heavy oak baton from his waist, raised his arm high, and with a fierce whoosh, was about to smash it down on Bella's head!

Just as the baton was about to fall...

"Stop! Stop right now!"

An older policeman's expression changed drastically. He almost lunged forward and grabbed the younger policeman's wrist as he swung his baton, which barely stopped in mid-air.

"Are you fucking crazy?!" the older policeman shouted in a low voice, while subtly pointing with his other hand to the gold-plated oval nameplate around Bella's neck.

[Biden] - plus a small cross of guns.

"It's alright, it's alright." The older policeman then smiled and squatted down to pat Bella's head, but Bella dodged away. He stood up naturally without embarrassment and warned the younger policeman again.

"Tear it up and leave, don't cause trouble."

The young policeman belatedly realized what was happening, his hands trembling slightly as he put away his baton. He looked at the older man with gratitude and hurriedly followed him away.

Watching the two policemen leave, Lu Ran gently patted Bella's head.

"Alright, alright, stop grinning. Show me around some more."

……

In front of the tavern, several workers rolled up their sleeves and drank cheap liquor with dejected expressions.

"The wages in the factory are getting lower and lower, and it's not as comfortable as going back to the countryside to farm."

"What can we do? We've lost all our land, we can't go back. That stupid homeless law—if you don't have land in the countryside, you can only stay in this wretched place. If you go back without permission, you're considered a homeless person, and if you get caught, you're in big trouble." "Oh."

A few workers, half-drunk, gestured towards Bella as she passed by.

"See that? It's a rich man's dog. I'm covered in black soot from head to toe, even in my nostrils, but it's clean."

They exchanged a glance, their eyes flashing with a fierce light.

"Come here, doggy, I'll give you something yummy."

Lu Ran sensed something was wrong, and suddenly tugged at Bella's fur, whispering in its ear, "Run!"

Bella was startled, then suddenly darted away before the burly workers could reach her.

"There's a gray rat on its back, that's strange."

"Running so fast."

The workers muttered something and then plopped down on the ground, which finally made Lu Ran, who had run far away, breathe a sigh of relief.

He could tell that the other party's hostility wasn't directed at him or Bella, so even though the other party was looking for trouble, Lu Ran didn't really want to fight back. He just felt particularly uncomfortable along the way.

"I remember the two brothers' last name was Wright, and they lived at number 68..."

Since he was already there, Lu Ran had no choice but to bite the bullet and go find the person at the address he had noted in the newspaper last time. However, as soon as he arrived, he heard a sound of smashing and cursing from afar.

"I told you to stop messing around with these junk machines! I'm unemployed, you get the picture!"

"It's because of what you have that if you lose your job and have no income, you'll all starve to death, and you're still thinking about some dream of flying?"

The clanging and smashing sounds made Lu Ran too afraid to approach.

He also planned to first get a general understanding of the family's living situation before considering what identity and attitude to adopt when approaching them. In any case, he could use deception magic to put on a disguise in advance, and even Afra had helped design the disguise image.

"Dad, don't you think our lives are so much more convenient after industrial development? Why resist it? Why can't we adapt to development and manufacture more..."

"Bullshit! You think machines are convenient because you haven't done any work. I'll let you starve for a couple of days and you'll know what hardship is... cough cough cough, my cough has been getting worse lately... cough cough cough."

"Dad, don't be angry, have some water."

……

Lu Ran, who was eavesdropping at the door, was stunned. On the one hand, he realized that the person who proposed the concept of flight seemed to be very young. On the other hand, he realized an even more important issue along the way.

The replacement of traditional industries by industrial machinery has led to unemployment for some workers.

The problems at Conrad and Zell led to the shutdown of some factories, resulting in the inability to pay wages and causing some workers to lose their jobs.

Another group consists of unscrupulous bosses who know these workers have nowhere to go due to the homelessness law, and they excessively exploit their labor, leaving the remaining workers still suppressing their anger.

I remember the scene of the police hurriedly tearing down those posters...

If the Sacred Sanctuary of Plenty has continued to act in the past, wouldn't this place have already become a huge powder keg ready to explode at any moment?

"Bella, go take a walk around that alley first."

Lu Ran gently tugged at Bella, and the dog and mouse circled around in a deserted corner before transforming into a detective wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a trench coat, accompanied by his white sled dog.

"Second brother, how did you turn into a two-legged beast?"

"Shut up."

"I want to change too."

"I'll teach you next time. Shut up for now."

Lu Ran walked to the door and was about to knock when he suddenly realized that his humanoid disguise was just an illusion, so he had no choice but to speak.

"Excuse me, is this the home of the Wright brothers?"

(End of this chapter)