Mr. Rat of the Steam World

Chapter 5 Inspiration
"Be patient and take it slow."

Lu Ran forcibly suppressed the impulse in his heart, and finally obediently set the enlightenment part as the most important "language" at the moment.

Now, as the mice have become more intelligent, they have gradually learned to communicate with body language and different syllables of pheromone scent. However, even so, they are still limited by the limited number of syllables of squeaks and can only express a limited amount of information, which still troubles Lu Ran in most cases.

Enlightenment: Language (Whether language is determined as the direction of enlightenment requires meeting the condition of Collective Wisdom level 3, estimated cost of 50 gold pounds, enlightenment will stop if wealth is insufficient)

"Luckily, it's not too much."

Lu Ran stared at the system and breathed a sigh of relief. A complete language system can contain so much, and can even give rise to writing, culture, systems, and so on.

With language, many technologies can still be researched under Lu Ran's guidance, even without relying on the system. It's just unknown to what extent this 50 gold pound enlightenment can achieve.

"Money doesn't last long."

Each month, the territory costs over ten pounds for food, rent, and other expenses. In addition, he also needs to save money to activate the system. Lu Ran's life has always been tight. The only way he can relieve the pressure is by picking up some dropped coins and jewelry in addition to the income from the agency.

Having sorted out the system, Lu Ran finally had time to examine the coin in his hand. Coming back to his senses from his impulsiveness, he felt a bit annoyed.

What's behind the balance coin?
Could the power of wish-granting really have given an ordinary porter a sudden burst of luck, allowing him to dominate the casino?

Are those serial murders in the news a price to pay or a curse?
Lu Ran toyed with the coin in his hand, feeling both apprehensive and reluctant.

People always tend to have wishful thinking, especially when it's an extraordinary item they've come into contact with since coming into this world.

Even though Lu Ran knew that using it might come at a price, he couldn't help but try to compensate himself—the so-called price might not be a rule that meant certain death, but simply a change in luck.

After all, what Lu Ran witnessed was just a guy who was killed because he didn't know how to restrain himself from showing off his wealth, and such a deliberate killing could have been avoided.

If the cost can be avoided, wouldn't this coin become the first extraordinary skill he has mastered?
"Squeak, squeak?"

Lu Ran was interrupted by the foodie's question about why he was troubled. He was stunned for a moment, then suddenly fixed his gaze on the coin in his hand, his eyes filled with lingering fear.

"Nothing's wrong, I wasn't thinking about anything."

After explaining this to the foodie, Lu Ran took a deep breath.

No wonder everyone who gets the balance coin is unwilling to cooperate with the police. This coin is too eerie, giving people the illusion that as long as I'm careful, I can control it.

Even if they didn't find out the harm this thing caused, they no longer intended to hand it over as a clue.

"This thing can't be given to Sheriff Edwin, but it can't be used either."

Lu Ran forcibly restrained himself and put the coin away. At least he couldn't use it until he understood how it actually worked. But if he wanted to understand it...

"file."

Lu Ran's black bean eyes flashed with light.

"Police station files."

If we could get the complete case file of the Balance of Balance case, things might become much clearer. But to get the case file, we can't just point to a dead person and say that this is the clue. Langdon is dead, and he took the coin. We need to find a new direction for the investigation.

Lu Ran blurted out: "A medium shop!"

This should be the only direction that can be connected at present.

Based on the actual situation of the coin case and the information currently available, he already had a rough guess. Once he found some more information and re-compiled it, he could confirm it immediately.

Even if Lu Ran does nothing now, he can submit enough clues, but he still wants to obtain some more crucial evidence to prove his professional competence so that he can rightfully ask for the case file.

As Lu Ran was pondering how to explore this place, the machine beside him suddenly made a clanging sound, like a mailbox. This couldn't be for a newspaper subscription.

Lu Ran quickly stepped forward and, following the usual procedure, retrieved the mailbox and opened it. Inside was a letter and a 10-gold pound note. He opened it, and the letter's contents were as follows—

Dear Detective:

Hello! As I write this, my heart is filled with gratitude. Since receiving your reply regarding the investigation of that gentleman, I have been deeply moved. I apologize for not immediately accepting it, as I needed to be fully responsible for the authenticity of the results. I consulted more than one detective agency, and you, as the least well-known among them, delivered a judgment that was completely opposite to others. Please forgive me for having doubts about your abilities before this.

My opinion of you changed because of your statement that "observing a person's behavior when no one is watching is much closer to their true nature than their attentiveness at a ball." After that, I began to investigate personally, following the clues you mentioned in your letter. I found that he often said things he didn't mean when he interacted with others, lacked due respect for his servants, and even seemed to have a gambling addiction. All of these behaviors coincided with the results of your investigation. Perhaps it was his other merits that made other detectives overlook these things, but such a person is certainly not a good partner for me to spend my life with.

So I explained the situation to my family and turned down the marriage. It was your investigation that saved me from a possible misfortune. As an apology for my doubts about your abilities several times, I have increased the final payment. I am very grateful.

Your ability to see the essence from the smallest details is truly admirable. I wish you all the best on your journey to discover the truth, and I look forward to exchanging more letters with you.

Afra Biden.

"This is... Earl Biden's daughter?"

Lu Ran looked surprised.

He remembered the commission, but it wasn't signed at the time, and even the address for the reply to the investigation results had nothing to do with the manor where Earl Biden lived. He could only guess that it was a noble lady based on the person being investigated. Even when he saw that the marriage between Afra and Zell had problems, he didn't dare to think in that direction.

"Wouldn't that give me a chance to get to know the Earl's big white dog?"

As for the big white dog that often appears in his dreams, Lu Ran has been pondering whether to see it or not, and how to see it. He always felt that seeing the dog might stimulate him to recall more memories.

In an instant, an interesting idea popped into Lu Ran's mind—

Dear Ms. Afra Biden:

My gray mouse wants to see your dog. Could you please protect it from harm?

"That's so stupid."

Lu Ran shook his head.

Even if it's believed that Afra couldn't possibly guess that the detective himself was a gray rat, such inexplicable behavior can easily arouse suspicion. If the target overinterprets the situation during the thinking process, causing their thinking to veer in an unpredictable direction and becoming alert, then the hard-won opportunity will be wasted.

I'll put the letter aside for now, pretend I'm busy, and reply later.

I'll check out the psychic shop tonight to see what's going on; I need to get some sleep first.

I stayed up all night last night, and I'm still highly focused and excited. I fell asleep quickly and soundly.

Perhaps it was a case of what one thinks about during the day manifesting in one's dreams at night, for Lu Ran had another dream.

He actually dreamed that the big white dog started talking!

"Brother, you smell so good."

"What the hell!"

Lu Ran was terrified and ran away, but it seemed to spur the big white dog behind him to chase even more excitedly. He wanted to question the white dog behind him, but found that he couldn't open his mouth for some reason. Unable to talk his way out, Lu Ran looked around and finally spotted a sewer. He suddenly accelerated and jumped into it.

"so close."

……

(End of this chapter)