Mr. Rat of the Steam World

Chapter 60 Investigation of Departing Employees
Ryan Kelly, a regular operator, has worked at the Black Gold Factory for 3 years.

Euler Romero, a cleaner, has worked at the black gold factory for 5 years.

Hope Olsen, a precision boring machine operator, has worked at the Black Gold Factory for one year.

Lu Ran recalled the three names he had memorized earlier, which corresponded exactly to the three different positions at the Black Gold Factory: general worker, technician, and administrator.

Of course, just having a name isn't enough, but luckily I had a sheriff friend to help me.

Thanks to Lu Ran's early reply yesterday asking Sheriff Edwin for help, he had already obtained the specific file information when he returned to the stone house on Bella.

Once you have the addresses, it's simple; just search for them one by one in order.

……

Baker City
First, there's Ryan Kelly, a regular worker.

His residence was an ordinary townhouse. As soon as he approached the door, a strong stench of urine hit him. Lu Ran had Bella's tail knock on the door, and after waiting for a few minutes, knocked again.

"Who?"

A gruff male voice came from inside. The wooden door creaked open, and a drunken man swayed out. His impatient expression instantly sobered up upon seeing Lu Ran's detective attire. He first glanced at Lu Ran's figure and appearance with some envy, then snorted.

"Who are you looking for?"

"Is Ryan Kelly still living here?"

"Who?" The man paused slightly, scratching his ear. After Lu Ran repeated himself, he seemed to realize something. "Bald Kelly, he still lives here... hiccup, but he hasn't been back for a while... Did he get into trouble? That has nothing to do with me!"

When a man dressed as a detective comes to his door, he naturally doesn't think of any other possibilities.

"He disappeared and hasn't come back?" Lu Ran was taken aback. "He just vanished like that, and nobody called the police?"

"He's all alone, so what if he disappears? Who cares! It's not unusual for a few people to go missing every day in this godforsaken place..." The man rolled his eyes, then remembered Lu Ran's identity as a detective and joked.

"Of course, if you can solve all the cases here, the residents will definitely thank you properly... yawn~ I can't take it anymore, I drank too much last night and I'm still not sober. If there's no problem, I'll go back to sleep now."

"OK, thanks."

The door slammed shut.

Lu Ran frowned slightly, riding on Bella's back, resting while heading to the next house without stopping.

After all, we used to work in the same factory and didn't live too far apart.

The second one was the cleaner, an elderly woman.

After arriving at the destination, Lu Ran discovered that it seemed to be a problem with his lumbar spine that prevented him from working, and he had been staying at home to recuperate recently.

Lu Ran subtly inquired and learned that the worker care service in that medical room had only recently started. Although the old woman was still working at the factory at that time, she happened to have back pain and went to the medical room for a check-up, but was politely refused.

"Are there still restrictions on seeing a doctor?" Lu Ran pondered.

"Is it an age restriction, or a restriction based on medical condition...?"

Lu Ran continued on to the third one, still puzzled.

However, given their short work experience and the fact that they are highly skilled senior technicians, if this is just a job change, then the connection between these three people is too weak, and it would be difficult to find any breakthrough from this.

"Hopefully, I'll gain something." Lu Ran rubbed his head. Fortunately, each conversation didn't last long, and he still had enough mental energy.

Lu Ran quickly arrived at the next location according to the address.

This time, Hope Olsen's place was noticeably better than the row house in Ryan that reeked of urine. Judging from the surrounding buildings, it should be a low brick house with a separate yard.

Currently, although it looks old and the walls are peeling, it at least appears more tidy, and there is no strange smell of urine nearby.

After all, he was a senior worker in the factory, earning about 3-4 pounds a month, so he shouldn't treat himself too badly.

Just as Lu Ran rode Bella into the alley in front of the courtyard and found the place by following the house number, he saw a fat man wearing an old vest and with a protruding belly banging on the door, while holding a tattered little ledger in his other hand.

"Olson! Hope Olson! Open the door!" the fat man yelled, his spittle seemingly spraying onto the door. "You little brat, hiding, huh? Do you know how many weeks' rent you owe? Come out here!"

He yelled and pounded on the door a few more times, making the door frame flutter with dust. Then he stopped angrily, pressed his ear against the crack in the door to listen for any sound, his face full of annoyance and frustration. Clearly, there was no response from inside.

Lu Ran observed Bella's back for a moment. The identity and purpose of the person in front of him were already self-evident. After thinking for a moment, he changed into his vest and leaned closer. "Woof woof!"

Hearing the noise, the fat man turned around sharply, eyeing Lu Ran and the conspicuous white dog warily.

"Who are you? Looking for him?" The fat man gestured toward the closed door and asked Lu Ran in an unfriendly tone.

"I'm Lu Ran, a detective." Since he was using some kind of deception, Lu Ran casually produced an identification card and asked, "May I ask who you are?"

"I'm his landlord!" The fat man slammed his hand on the ledger. "Hope Olson, that tenant! The rent was due at the beginning of the month, but he hasn't shown up at all, and the door is locked from the inside! He owes me almost three weeks' rent!"

"He hasn't come back yet?" Lu Ran asked in surprise, his gaze sweeping over the doorknobs and windows covered in a thin layer of dust.

"No! It's been so long! What a weirdo, always so quiet and withdrawn, never interacting with anyone. And now, he's even dared to run away without a word, owing rent?" the landlord complained angrily.

Lu Ran thought for a moment and asked, "Does he have any bad habits? Like gambling?"

The landlord was taken aback, scratched his head, and said, "I don't know, but who knows?"

"He's all alone, with no friends or relatives who've ever visited him. He just lives here tinkering with his shabby machines. He must have gotten bored and been tricked by someone into getting involved with things he shouldn't have."

"Detective, if you have any information about him, please let me know, or even just find him and get your money back! I've seen through it all; nobody cares when these kinds of people disappear, except for this unlucky debt collector like me!"

The landlord spat, flipped through a few more pages of the ledger, glanced at the silent door, finally shook his head, turned around cursing, and muttered, "Another loss."

……

"To hide from debt collectors, or to disappear?"

Lu Ran squinted.

After all, it's unlikely that a senior worker would run away because of unpaid rent, but if he were to disappear...

Of the three who resigned, two have disappeared, and both happen to be single. The problem is obvious.

"So, if I just keep an eye on the other lone wolves in the factory, wouldn't I have a chance to find out where the problem lies?"

"But if this is related to the black gold factory, then what is the purpose of doing this... injections, recording body data, disappearances..."

Lu Ran recalled all the information and felt as if he had grasped some key points.

“Yes, why? The workers’ reactions clearly don’t match what normal medical care would provide. But if it’s related to the Church of Abundance, then this doesn’t seem to make sense…”

Suddenly, a flash of lightning streaked through Lu Ran's mind.

The Elixir of Abundance requires three portions of knowledge to be taken:
Two sets of knowledge on order: plant taxonomy and barefoot doctors.

A jumble of facts: biological experiments.

When taking this medicine, you should silently recite the name of the Mother of Life.

Thinking of the instructions for using the Natural Potion that he found in the Zell Safe House, Lu Ran's eyes widened suddenly: "Could this thing be related to the subsequent advancement requirements of the Bounty Potion?"

next moment.

Mouse-1.

Mouse-1, Mouse-1.

Mouse-1, Mouse-1, ... Mouse-1, Mouse-1.

"Damn it!" Lu Ran cursed.

……

same moment.

Behind a brick wall, a small mouse's back pressed heavily against the base of the stone wall, the rough plaster digging into its spine. It gasped for breath, its whiskers trembling violently with each breath.

Alive, survived.

(End of this chapter)