Mr. Rat of the Steam World

Chapter 55 General Lud
"Squeak~"

Lu Ran is trying to reconnect with Miss Afra, who is sulking.

To avoid losing face in front of his subordinate mice, he deliberately sent the other detective mice away, and then walked in resolutely with the newly written letter in hand.

To be honest, Miss Afra's tutu was fragrant and soft, and it was really comfortable to lie on.

Lu Ran tilted his head back and watched Afra intently reading the letter, until she picked him up with a slightly surprised expression.

"What do you mean by asking if I can help you check the accounts at the machinery manufacturing plant?"

Looking at Lu Ran's innocent face, Afra raised an eyebrow and poked Lu Ran's head with her finger with a slightly teasing tone.

"Oh, you only give me a few perfunctory greetings when there's nothing wrong, but you only remember me when you need something, right?"

"You traitorous rat, tell him for me that you can ask me for help."

He picked up his pen and quickly wrote a letter, without even bothering to seal it, and simply folded it up and stuffed it into Lu Ran's hand.

"But I want to see him!"

"No matter how much I want to maintain mystery and protect privacy, my help makes me a friend... It shouldn't be too much to ask friends to meet, right?"

Afra looked serious.

“I can even help first, and then meet with you.”

"If I break my promise again at that time... I will really be angry."

……

"What kind of mess is this?"

Inside the stone house, Lu Ran clutched the letter in his hand, his brow furrowed, sighing repeatedly.

If he hadn't known that this young lady was unaffected by magic, he probably would have agreed immediately.

But if you're unaffected by magic, how can I disguise myself and meet you?

Lu Ran rubbed his head, and for a moment he couldn't think of a perfect way to handle it. It seemed that the only option was to find another person to help him.

"Boss, boss, this is the situation in the territory yesterday."

Seeing that Lu Ran had finished reading the letter, the foodie came over at the opportune moment. Lu Ran casually put down what he was holding, took the documents handed to him by the foodie, and began to process them.

"A new magic, meditation?"

Lu Ran sat up slightly, and his face showed more interest.

This sounds like something that can greatly increase the upper limit of mental power.

"Quickly explain the principles of runes."

Upon hearing this, the foodie quickly explained, "This magic is very simple. The other mice are still struggling to learn the other two magics, but there are already several successful cases of learning this meditation spell. It was discovered by the greedy mouse who suddenly had a flash of inspiration while learning magic."

Lu Ran's eyes lit up: "What about the money-grubber?"

"He's been busy recruiting rats lately. Winter is almost over, and the rat breeding season is coming soon. He also needs to formulate reasonable breeding regulations to prevent the rat population in his territory from overpopulating. There's also the matter of the rat station. He has a lot on his plate, so he asked me to relay the message about the meditation technique."

"Cough cough."

Lu Ran chuckled dryly, feeling somewhat embarrassed upon hearing this, as it seemed that the entire operation of the territory's basic functions rested on that greedy rat's shoulders.

“Then teach me the meditation technique first. After I’m done with this busy period, I’ll try to find some mice to help him with the workload.”

"This rune is very simple; it's just a dot. Focus your attention on that point, and then expand it like you're writing. You can expand it randomly or systematically to outline the shapes of other runes. Then draw and rewrite it repeatedly..."

Lu Ran closed his eyes and began the simultaneous experiment while the foodie was explaining.

I don’t know if it’s because he’s talented, but so far, all the magic that his rats have been researching can be mastered by him almost without any difficulty, and he can learn it on the first try.

After meditating for about ten minutes, Lu Ran slowly opened his eyes. A few doubts arose in his mind, but when he met the foodie's gaze, he quickly explained, "Mental fatigue is normal. You'll feel the change clearly once you're back to your normal state."

Lu Ran suddenly realized and exclaimed in admiration.

"nice one."

Lu Ran then opened the system, and sure enough, the Magic Inspiration course worth 250 gold pounds had ended. He had exchanged it for three useful spells, which Lu Ran felt was quite worthwhile.

It's mainly for enlightenment. Even without relying on the system, Lu Ran felt that some interesting basic magic would be born by slowly accumulating experience over time.

With the first phase completed, Lu Ran began to consider the next development path.

There are currently two approaches: one is to continue focusing on increasing the quantity of magic—

Although there were no potions this time, Lu Ran already had a basic understanding of magic, so his second Enlightenment attempt was somewhat reduced—it only cost 400 gold pounds.

This thing is more like a powerful inspiration buff, and it should be quite useful if used repeatedly.

However, Lu Ran guessed that as more and more mice learned about the basic concepts of magic and mastered the existing spells, the requirements for the system to re-enlighten magic would likely decrease.

Therefore, he was somewhat conflicted about whether to first digest the three existing minor spells, popularize them within his territory, and then consider spending gold pounds to re-enlighten them.

Another method was to use that revolver as a tool to aid industrial development and initiate research into firearms.

Lu Ran tried out the weapon enlightenment. After the deduction, it would only take 1000 gold pounds to open the door for the rat swarm to manufacture firearms. With the current quality of the group, carrying some simple weapons was no problem at all.

The only problem is that if things go this way, Lu Ran will be a little short of money. After all, he doesn't know the factory's profit and loss situation yet. If he spends all his money recklessly, the cost of buying food for the rats, paying the factory workers' wages, and maintaining the machinery could crush him instantly.

Just as Lu Ran was struggling with this decision.

With a clang.

A muffled sound suddenly came from inside the pneumatic tube mailing device. Lu Ran was stunned for a moment, then immediately put down what he was holding and hurriedly ran over.

It looks like a letter has come from Sheriff Edwin.

Previously, it required two mice to operate the machine, but now Lu Ran can handle it with just one mouse. With a powerful jump, Lu Ran pressed down on the mechanical joystick, and the mechanical opening opened.

Lu Ran jumped in, grabbed the mailbox, threw it out, and then took out the contents.

In addition to a letter, there was a scroll of documents specially sealed with sealing wax.

Lu Ran quickly disassembled it.

The letter contained only simple pleasantries, while the other document contained specific information about the commission—the current situation of the industrial zone.

Lu Ran quietly finished reviewing the known causes and consequences, and her expression became increasingly serious.

……

The specific issue should be traced back to the "Private Land Reclamation Act" that some large landowners and farmers applied to the parliament for. The problem with this act was that ordinary small farmers had to bear the huge surveying costs themselves, which forced many small farmers who could not afford it to give up their land.

However, this is just one of many amazing maneuvers.

Then there's the "Vagabond Law," which doesn't allow people who have lost their land to stay in their original territories, forcing them into cities.

Originally, many factories could have accommodated these workers, but recent frequent accidents have led to their re-release.

Just then, a secret organization that chanted the name of General Lud appeared.

They blended in among the workers, and those involved would not reveal any information, nor would those who were not involved, even if they knew, reveal any information.

All I know is that they seem to be preparing for something big.

It's currently just a small-scale, word-of-mouth organization, and many workers are still unaware of it. The real fear is that once this issue breaks out, the masses will get involved and things will spiral out of control.

(End of this chapter)