Mr. Rat of the Steam World

Chapter 70 Giant Creature
A shocking scandal has rocked the Black Gold Transportation Equipment Machinery Manufacturing Plant! Plant manager Dane Fischer is suspected of causing worker deaths through illegal drug experiments.

— Baker News

Baker City police recently cracked a shocking industrial crime case. Dane Fischer, the plant manager of Black Gold Transportation Equipment Machinery Manufacturing Plant, has been formally arrested on suspicion of illegally conducting unverified human trials with drugs, falsifying medical records, and causing the deaths of multiple workers…

Currently, the black gold factory has been ordered to cease operations for rectification. It is reported that the new person in charge of the factory has taken office and claims that he will conduct a comprehensive investigation into the irregular accounts during Dane's tenure...

— Manchester Times

……

With Dane's matter settled, Lu Ran's only odd observation was that this guy didn't seem to have much connection with the restless Lud organization outside the factory.

Lu Ran had no other choice but to pin his hopes on the few rats keeping an eye on Copper Wire Street. Unfortunately, whether they were being cautious or genuinely cautious, they hadn't found a single clue yet.

Black Gold Transportation Equipment Machinery Manufacturing Plant.

The workshop, once bustling with hundreds of workers day and night, was now deathly silent. The massive forging hammer hovered in mid-air, and Lu Ran could now openly appreciate every detail of the place.

The factory is currently closed, which will result in a temporary loss of order revenue, but it is exactly what Lu Ran needs. After all, he does need to plan some things carefully before the factory reopens.

This includes, but is not limited to, the arrangement between the mice and the workers, adjustments to the working environment, and welfare benefits, all of which need to be reconsidered.

Judging from the current situation, the entire Black Gold Factory, with its 22000 square meters of space, is more than enough to house the rats. At that time, the number of rats here will definitely far exceed that of the main territory. Lu Ran simply sent Bella back to the manor to bring that money-grubber over.

It's time to give this guy some more responsibility.

Of course, Lu Ran didn't forget that he had promised to find this guy some assistants to help with his work.

Besides, closing the factory at this time can also appropriately reduce its presence. At least if that so-called Lud organization really wanted to take revenge on society, it would be unlikely to bother a factory that was shut down for rectification.

Get more in one fell swoop.

It's time to carefully take stock of the spoils from that raid on the Dane family.

During the hasty evacuation, most of our belongings were hastily packed and taken away. Now we can finally lay them out and take stock of them.

The documents and materials were piled up in a thick stack, while various cold remains of strange beasts and bizarre vine specimens were carefully stacked in the corner.

Then came the surgical instruments stained with unknown dirt—large syringes, gleaming scalpels, oddly shaped tweezers… Lu Ran suppressed his physical discomfort and gathered them together.

Currently, the most valuable items are the more than 300 pounds of gold that have been counted and several pieces of well-made gold jewelry.

Lu Ran's gaze suddenly fell on a quiet wooden box.

Its surface is polished smooth, and the edges are decorated with understated brass corner protectors. It is about a foot long and slightly narrower, and looks quite heavy.

"what is this?"

Lu Ran took it out of the house, examined it for a while, and tried to open it, only to find that it was locked. He leaned closer to examine the lock cylinder and hurriedly searched through the pile of miscellaneous items next to him to see if he had missed any keys.

The debris was quickly sifted through.

"No?"

Lu Ran was taken aback. If it couldn't be found here, then it must be something that Dane always carried with him. So it seemed to be quite important.

"We can't just call in Sang Biao to cause trouble again, can we?"

Lu Ran's gaze inadvertently swept across the window of the office, and he suddenly paused.

"How could I be so stupid!" He slapped his forehead. "With such a large machine shop under my belt, how could I be worrying about how to open a broken wooden box?"

A thought suddenly came to him, and Lu Ran quickly rushed down to the workshop, where he finally found a manual hydraulic clamp fixed to the control panel.

After a quick assessment of the feasibility, he went up and performed a simple test. Confirming it was working, he ran back to his office, retrieved the wooden box, and forcefully inserted it into the jaws of the clamps. Once Lu Ran confirmed alignment, he climbed up the support frame onto the operating handle and gave it a powerful push.

A low, mechanical hum emanated from the pressurized cylinder. The steel jaws slowly closed under hydraulic pressure.

Crack! A crisp sound of wood popping!
The brass at the latch burst open under the immense pressure, sending the internal parts flying out mixed with wood chips.

Lu Ran quickly released his grip, slid down the support, and then gently flicked the lid open, revealing the contents.

First, there's a metal disc, slightly smaller than Lu Ran's, inlaid with gemstones, with incomprehensible runes outlined along its edges.

The other was a huge scale, larger than an adult's palm. Its texture was not ordinary keratin, but had a cold, hard metallic feel. There were even some dark red, congealed bloodstains on the rough edges of the scale.

"How can it be so big?"

Lu Ran's eyes widened.

The brown scales on the right hand of the person I saw at the time were only the size of a fingernail, layer upon layer.

What kind of monster would have scales the size of an adult's palm?

Prehistoric creatures, dragons?
Lu Ran swallowed hard and carefully picked it up. He didn't know if it was because of preconceived notions, but the moment he touched the silver scale, he felt a pressure from his bloodline, which made him subconsciously let go.

"nice one."

Although Lu Ran didn't know what this thing was for, since it seemed to be related to dragons, it must be a good thing.

He then picked up another metal disc that looked like a token and examined it closely.

"Is this a token of Fengrao's identity, or something else?"

Lu Ran lifted it up to his eyes to examine it closely, and subconsciously stroked a somewhat familiar rune on the metal plate with his paw.

"It looks a bit like the magic circle and runes I saw at the abandoned factory on Oak Street."

"A receipt, or a key?"

Lu Ran's eyes grew brighter as he recalled those strangely shaped plants and animals.

“These alien creatures can’t just appear out of thin air; there must be a place where they are collected… If I had to guess, there might be one.”

"This is even better!"

Lu Ran quickly put the two treasures away. After all, the most important thing right now was to resolve the factory issue and get things back on track before investigating whether the thing was really a key.

Just then, a familiar barking came from outside the factory gate. Lu Ran looked in the direction of the sound and saw Bella's familiar white figure rushing towards him. He quickly jumped off the control panel and landed just in time to see the small gray figure slowly climbing down from behind the big dog.

"Lord Lord."

The money-grubber's voice was as respectful as ever. However, as it landed completely and drew near, Lu Ran's expression froze, his voice filled with obvious disbelief:
"Your beard...why is it all white?"

The money-grubber was clearly taken aback for a moment, then put on an indifferent smile:

"I am not young to begin with. Birth, aging, sickness and death are the natural course of life for rats. Lord, there is no need to worry."

"I'm getting old..." Lu Ran realized something.

Gray rats have a very short lifespan.

　Thank you Mu Zishu Chenglin for the 5000 points! Thank you Yuejue for the 500 points! Thank you, bro!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)