Mr. Rat of the Steam World

Chapter 71 The Lifespan of Mice
"How could you forget that!"

Lu Ran cursed loudly, then scratched his head in self-reproach.

"My problem is that the workload I assigned you was too heavy."

The money-grubber was stunned for a moment. Looking at Lu Ran's reaction, a hint of emotion flashed in his eyes, but he still smiled and shook his head.

"What are you saying? Even without you, my lord, I would still grow old, perhaps even living a muddled and confused old age in the sewers. I am very satisfied with my current life."

Lu Ran was feeling irritable at this moment, and even began to realize that the glutton, One-Ear, novel rat... a large number of rats, and even himself, would gradually grow old due to the lifespan of the rat race.

"No, no, we're already in the extraordinary world, how could we worry about lifespan? There must be a way!"

Lu Ran clenched his claws tightly and began to think quickly.

"Transform the physique... Yes!"

Lu Ran suddenly looked up, remembering the research materials he had collected from Dane's house.

Those scales, claws, plants, and even the scales of the enormous creature before us—so many amazing creatures, if they could transform a cat into such an exaggerated form, there's no reason they couldn't solve the problem of the gray rat's lifespan.

Even a slight improvement would give him more time to explore the world.

Inspiration: Biotechnology related to enhancing the racial potential of rat populations.

Submissions: biological experiment data, plants, remains of exotic animals, giant scales...

(Whether to determine whether biotechnology related to enhancing the potential of the rat swarm is the direction of enlightenment requires Collective Intelligence lv4 and a total cost of 5000 gold pounds. Enlightenment will automatically stop if the wealth is insufficient midway.)

(Reference materials or items may influence some of the enlightenment's direction; their use can be used to offset 3899 gold pounds.)
"Yes!"

Lu Ran swung his claws forcefully, quickly calculating the amount of money he had on him.

The money from the original savings plus the money taken from Zell earlier, which was two thousand three hundred, plus three hundred gold pounds found in Dane's house, hadn't been used yet.

The factory has about £1,200 in working capital.

The system displays a total balance of 4063.

However, the factory's working capital cannot be used, especially since it has been shut down recently. He still needs to save three hundred gold pounds from his own savings for the Wright brothers to study, but this money is not urgent for the time being.

That means he actually only has 2663 at his disposal.

Half of it will be taken away at once, and the remaining thousand or so should be enough to barely keep the territory running.

After all, once the rats are settled in the factory, Lu Ran certainly can't let some of the lower-level rats solve their own food problems anymore. With thousands more mouths to feed, food and other necessities will be a considerable expense.

As for the work arrangements for the rat swarm at that time, Lu Ran is still considering it.

"Confirmed inspiration."

……

That night.

The night was as dark as ink, enveloping the entire city of Baker.

When the bars closed, the hotels shut down, the streetlights went out, and there wasn't a soul on the street... it was the quietest time of day.

Suddenly, countless tiny figures emerged silently from every corner of the city. These gray figures each dragged packages or odds and ends of varying sizes, and some even worked together to push and pull simple devices resembling miniature carts, all heading toward the same destination.

Because the integration of the main territory took a long time, the mice's individual strengths were selected and allocated accordingly.

Currently, most of the gray rats in Baker City are newly recruited, and some have only recently received the territory's group buff and are still gradually getting used to the language.

Therefore, it will take some time to fully convert the power of these rats, especially in the research on biotechnology. Lu Ran can only hope that the system can step in and see if it can quickly make those rats interested in the experimental data and then quickly screen out those with talent in this area.

As for the selection and allocation of the remaining scout rats, sentry rats, and mechanical rats, the money-grubber was already very familiar with managing the territory, and since he volunteered, Lu Ran could only let him continue to manage them. However, Lu Ran also assigned the group of elite rats he had selected from the territory to this guy. These selected rats all had a good foundation and should be able to get up to speed quickly with a little guidance, reducing the pressure on him.

The whole night was spent receiving and dispatching mice from outside. In the end, apart from the main territory and a few mice that were on missions outside, almost all the rest came here.

Thousands of mice gathered together, many of them seeing each other for the first time, and seeing their lord, Lu Ran, for the first time.

Inside the massive factory of the Black Gold Factory, a large number of gray rats filled the entire floor, even clinging to the piled-up machines and supports, clutching their tattered cloth bags and looking around, chattering away.

On the high platform of the factory, Lu Ran glanced down at the chilling gray tide for the first time, his heart surging with emotion, and when he opened his mouth, his voice felt dry.

"The mice."

The first sound was a little soft, drowned out by the chattering below, all of which was about discussing random things.

"Squeak~ Is that the lord? He's so handsome."

"Squeak~ Our new house is so big! Are we going to live here?"

"I'm hungry, squeak~"

……

Listening to the murmurs below, Lu Ran took a deep breath, scanned the entire room again, and then suddenly raised his voice.

"Mice!"

The loud voice instantly silenced the entire area, and all the mice curiously tilted their heads to look at the figure at the top.

"I am your lord. If you don't like calling me that, you can call me 'boss'!"

"I know you've been traveling for so long with your belongings, and you must be exhausted. Thank you all for your hard work today."

Lu Ran paused slightly as he spoke, giving everyone time to process what he was saying.

"But this is far more than just moving! What we're leaving behind is that sunless sewer! What we're leaving behind is that humiliating life of scavenging for scraps and living hand to mouth! What we're leaving behind is a fate that can only be described as mere survival!"

Lu Ran raised his claws and clenched them tightly.

"But the mission is not over yet. I'm sorry, we still can't be completely exposed to the sunlight. Next, we need to open up a second territory underground in the open area behind the factory as a living area."

However, once the new territory is established, everyone will no longer have to live in the sewers or scavenge for food in the city. I will provide all the food, and the rats' lives will get better and better!

Beneath the Black Gold Factory! A new kingdom, orderly, abundant in food, and brimming with the hope of the rat race, will rise!

Lu Ran's words were firm and resounding, and he suddenly raised his claws.

"Long live the Rat Clan!"

The mice were taken aback; for most of the little ones who had just learned to speak, it seemed that it would take some time to understand these words.

The atmosphere was silent, but Lu Ran remained motionless, giving them ample time to think.

finally--

"Squeak, long live!"

"Squeak, long live!"

With the first mouse's response, a continuous stream of chirps converged until Lu Ran raised his paw and pressed down.

"Until then, get some rest today."

"See you tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)