Mr. Rat of the Steam World

Chapter 6 The Mouse Speaks

"Boss... wake up."

A voice seemed to pierce through space, coming from afar. Lu Ran sat up abruptly from the straw bed, looked around, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he realized he was back in his territory.

"Damn it, how can a dog talk?!"

After Lu Ran finished speaking, he unconsciously repeated what he had said.

"Yes, why can dogs talk?"

Lu Ran recalled the details of the dream. In the past, the dream was always fragmented. This was the first time he had such a complete process. This guy was not like a vicious hound chasing him. He could rule out the enemy option he had suspected before. Based on what he said, he was more like a pervert.

If it were just a dream, that would be one thing, but if it was a personal experience...

"No way……"

Lu Ran's expression was somewhat complicated.

Was there another time traveler, or did the dog experience some kind of accident with him... or perhaps both?
Lu Ran dared not think any further and turned her gaze back to the ear that had woken her up. Just as she was about to speak, she felt something was wrong. She vaguely remembered who had woken her up earlier.

Until the guy in front of me spoke again.

"Boss... it's time."

Lu Ran was startled, rubbed his eyes, and then lay down to sleep again.

"I must not be fully awake yet, I'll sleep a little longer."

This is unbelievable! It's one thing for a dog to talk in a dream, but now even my own hamster is talking!

Lu Ran rolled around on the ground like a caterpillar twice before sitting up again. He first opened the system to check his savings. He had 93 pounds left, having already spent about 14 gold pounds. Based on a total of 50 pounds, he had already made about a quarter of the progress in language enlightenment.

"It's true, I'm not dreaming!"

Lu Ran excitedly grabbed the paw of one ear.

"How did you learn to speak? What did that process feel like?"

"Did I suddenly have an epiphany, or did my mind suddenly gain more knowledge?"

One-Ear was a little flustered by Lu Ran's excited appearance. Plus, it had only learned a few words, so it stammered and couldn't come up with anything for a long time. Lu Ran burst into laughter.

"Never mind, I won't make things difficult for you."

The language One-Ear just spoke was neither Chinese nor a language created by the rat tribe, but Britannian, a common language spoken by the locals. As the common language spoken by everyone in the area, this is the language the rats hear most often when they go out, which may be why their enlightenment consumption is so low.

Now that they have this ability, the mice will be much more adept at gathering intelligence in the future.

The unexpected good news slightly dispelled the gloom in Lu Ran's heart, and he simply turned all his attention back to the medium shop.

The system's enhancements included not only collective intelligence but also collective physical fitness. The rats not only looked better but also moved more nimbly, meaning he had more assurance when visiting the medium's shop.

The target is suspected of being involved with the supernatural, so Lu Ran must be extremely cautious. If there is a problem, there is no need to risk further investigation. He should simply submit this clue to Sheriff Edwin and let the professionals handle it, then take the money and leave.

……

That night.

Under the cover of night, New Baker resembled a panting beast. Black smoke from factory chimneys mingled with the moisture from the Manchester River, swirling in the glow of gaslights to form a thick yellow fog that enveloped the streets and buildings in chaos.

Just then, Lu Ran, along with One-Ear and eight clever sentinel rats, quietly left the house. Under the cover of night, the group of rats swaggered along the road unnoticed. Occasionally, a night patrolman would pass by with a lantern, but Lu Ran could easily fool them by simply remaining still and disguising himself as a clod of mud in a pothole.

Of course, even if they were discovered, Lu Ran didn't think that these night patrolmen would be bored and waste their time playing a mouse-catching game in the middle of the night.

Turning into a small alley along the damp stone path, the fog seemed to thin out a bit. As they approached the medium's shop, Lu Ran heard the faint sound of silver bells jingling in the breeze. Looking up, he saw a half-open door to a psychic divination shop, its name gilded and covered in red velvet. A faint light could be seen inside.

"Still open so late?"

Lu Ran hadn't looked into these things in detail before. He just assumed that the spiritual medium shop must also be closed since most of the shops were closed at night. He thought he would sneak in and take a look when no one was in the shop.

"Boss, is this...the place?"

One-Ear asked stammering questions, but his face showed an unusual seriousness as he carefully observed his surroundings, trying to remember the route he had taken.

"This is the place. You guys familiarize yourselves with the way first, let me think about how to get in."

The plan had gone slightly wrong. Lu Ran stroked his chin when he suddenly heard slow footsteps behind him. He quickly pulled the other mice to hide.

Tap...tap...

With slow, elegant steps, a middle-aged man dressed simply emerged from the shadows. The light from the streetlamp shone on his face, revealing a warm and familiar face. Even more unsettling was that this man actually stared directly at Lu Ran and his group, who were hiding in the shadows. "Hello everyone, good evening."

Anthony Becker crouched down and said with a smile.

"Boss Rat, is it convenient for us to chat?"

Lu Ran's expression changed, but he didn't reply. Instead, he quietly retreated behind one of the mice and took the balance coin from one of the mice's hands. Anthony, however, seemed to have expected this and reminded him.

"It's best not to use that coin. Saying you're making a wish is actually like mortgaging your good luck for a period of time in the future. You can't withstand the bad luck that accumulates after the good luck disappears. This kind of bad luck can usually be life-threatening. Besides, I have no ill intentions. I came here specifically to remind you for your safety."

Lu Ran stopped, looking wary.

"You know me inside and out?"

Anthony shook his head: "It's not quite like that, I've just been paying a little attention to you."

Seeing that the other party wasn't surprised that he could even speak, Lu took a half step back: "Give me a reason not to run away."

In the darkness, a group of similarly sized gray rats scattered and fled. With the system's enhancement to his agility, he was confident that they couldn't catch him.

Anthony was taken aback. He smiled, then raised his hand and hooked his wrist. Without warning, lush green vines sprouted from the ground, growing as thick as an arm in the blink of an eye. The vines intertwined and entwined, quickly building a plant prison around Lu Ran.

Is this reason acceptable?

The extraordinary person I've been longing for actually came into my life in this way.

Lu Ran remained silent for a moment, glancing around before reluctantly looking at the coins in his hand, before finally speaking honestly, "Please speak."

"Haha, you're very interesting."

Anthony bowed slightly, gentlemanly extending his left hand to touch the ground. Lu Ran easily jumped onto Anthony's palm, while signaling to the other mice not to follow.

Anthony carried Lu Ran as they slowly strolled along.

“I was actually a little surprised by your appearance. This means that our ceremony was successful in a sense. Therefore, I have indeed been observing you, but I would not say I know everything about you.”

"ceremony?"

An Donghua nodded: "This involves our natural association's philosophy of breaking down the barriers between humanity and nature, creating a smart ecosystem in the city where all things are equal and nature has a harmonious dialogue. However, we misjudged the power of the ritual. As a result, not only did the ritual go out of control and explode, but it also attracted people from the Holy Light Church."

A thought flashed through Lu Ran's mind: "The explosion when extremists in the old city bombed the factory."

"That's the official explanation," Anthony didn't deny. "Some people want to be extraordinary and stay out of the crowd, while others don't; that's normal."

Lu Ran raised an eyebrow. The Manchester Daily was the official mouthpiece, so it was clear that the government didn't want the extraordinary to remain superficial. What they wanted was...

Lu Ran changed the subject: "So you risked showing yourself to find me because of this coin?"

"All."

Anthony casually picked up the coin from Lu Ran's hand and played with it.

"This coin is one of the most basic relics. Its power gradually increases through dissemination and circulation. The force behind it is the Holy Light Church. They spread it out to subtly make people accept the existence of the extraordinary. So if you continue to delve into the issue of the coin, it may implicate me as well. After all, you should be aware of your special nature. If we are discovered, it will be troublesome for both of us."

This was the second time Lu Ran had heard of the Holy Light Church from Anthony. However, what surprised Lu Ran even more was that the balance coin in his hand was actually the relic needed for the system's talent upgrade. However, he dared not show this and continued to ask questions.

"Are you afraid of this Holy Light Church?"

"I wasn't afraid before, but I am now."

Anthony led Lu Ran out of the alley and looked around at the tall buildings, with coal smoke billowing in the distance day and night.

"I believe in the Mother of Life and originally belonged to the Sanctuary of Abundance. However, their understanding of life was merely human abundance, and the price of this abundance was the excessive oppression of the natural ecosystem. So, because of this disagreement with their philosophy of life, I chose to leave. Of course, I took a sacred object from the Sanctuary of Abundance with me when I left. They are looking for me to retrieve that object. As for the Holy Light Church, they want to know what we did because of the ritual. Offending two major churches at the same time is not a problem. The issue is that after the explosion during that ritual, I can't find that thing anymore. Sigh..."

Lu Ran was speechless for a moment: "The sacred object, it's lost?"

It sounds like something very important, how could you lose that?

Anthony was also somewhat frustrated: "After the last explosion, I don't know if it was thrown into some corner of the city or picked up by the Holy Light Church. I even suspect that some of the people who arrested me are pretending to be thieves crying 'stop thief'."

Lu Ran didn't know how to respond to Anthony's complaints, so he simply changed the subject.

"So what is the extraordinary? Could you please tell me?"

Anthony paused for a moment: "What aspect do you want to start learning about?"

Lu Ran asked without hesitation, "Tell me first what the extraordinary is?"

(End of this chapter)