Mr. Rat of the Steam World

Chapter 72 Special Advisor
"Yawn~"

The next morning, Lu Ran had just peeked out of the makeshift shelter made of old canvas when he vaguely sensed a gray shadow hopping around outside the window. Each time a head peeked out, a word could be faintly heard coming in.

"Squeak... Lord... a letter... urgently needed."

"Holy crap, there are mice that can't open the door."

Lu Ran shook his head and immediately woke up. Because some strange plants and animals in the office had not yet been dealt with, and there were also many gray rats sleeping on the floor, he had to avoid touching or stepping on them when he jumped down. He tiptoed around to the door and finally managed to open it.

He stretched out his paw, looked at the dusty gray squirrel, hurriedly went back into the house to get some water and crushed nuts, settled it down, and then picked up the letter.

"A letter from Sheriff Edwin?"

Lu Ran was taken aback.

It seems that Sheriff Edwin remailed a letter to the Stone House at the previous address, and then the Mouse relayed it to the manor overnight.

Lu Ran took the letter and opened it. There were only a few sentences inside, which could be summarized in just two words.

"Meet?"

Lu Ran scratched his head. Fortunately, this matter was not a troublesome thing for him at the moment. He probably had too many things to do recently and wanted to talk about the details of the case.
Remember the time and place in the letter, which is tomorrow, Friday, at a pub.

Just to be on the safe side, Lu Ran first sent Shushu to thoroughly check the area around the Rolling Stone Tavern to see if there were any police officers who had been deployed and lying in wait.

He continued to work on the detailed planning of the territory within the Black Gold Factory, and then occasionally used the pneumatic mail system within the Black Gold Factory to send a reply to Miss Afra, saying that the rats and dogs were having a great time with him and that there was nothing to worry about.

However, as Lu Ran became more and more frequently away from home and busier, he also began to consider whether he should break free from Afra.

Of course, the agency is still open, mainly to find a reason to recall "Detective Number One Mouse".

……

The following day, Friday.

After Lu Ran scouted the rats and confirmed that there were no suspicious people around, he quietly arrived at the Rolling Stone Tavern.

Evening was the busiest time at Rolling Stone Tavern. He squeezed through the gap as the person before him opened the door, and was immediately hit by a wave of heat mixed with the smell of cheap tobacco, the sour odor of cheap malt liquor, and machine oil, along with the deafening noise of the crowd.

"There are a lot of people."

Pneumatically driven food delivery devices move along ceiling tracks, precisely delivering trays filled with food and beer to every corner.

The interior was dimly lit, with the glow of kerosene lamps and pipe wall lights mingling in the smoke.

The entire hall was practically overflowing; every table and bar stool was crammed with people. Judging from their attire, most were factory workers, dockworkers, drivers, etc., who had just finished their shifts.

Rough laughter and curses, the violent clinking of glasses, shouts suddenly rising in volume from playing drinking games...

Lu Ran's gaze quickly swept across the area against the wall in the hall. There were several private booths there, enclosed by dark wooden planks.

Beneath the partition of each booth, near the tabletop, is a cleverly designed semi-open metal track. This track connects to a sophisticated pneumatic duct system that runs through the ceiling or walls.

With a soft hiss, a pneumatically driven metal tray slid along a track into a serving slot beneath one of the private booths. Several glasses of drinks and snacks rested securely on the tray.

Then the tray slides back out, removing the food and drinks. Throughout the process, waiters do not need to approach the inside of the partition, and guests inside do not need to come out to get their food, perfectly isolating them from outside sight and disturbance.

"I vaguely remember it being a private booth in the corner..."

The tavern was dimly lit, and everyone's attention was focused on the clinking of glasses. No one noticed a gray rat scurrying about on the floor amidst a flurry of hurried footsteps.

While dodging the light stomp of the previous high heel, Lu Ran fixed her gaze on a private seat where a food tray had just slid out.

Sure enough, when they arrived at the destination, Lu Ran peeked through the crack and saw a familiar figure already waiting there. Sheriff Edwin wasn't wearing his uniform today, but rather a dark civilian coat, with a half-smoked cigarette between his fingers, the smoke curling upwards.

He sat upright, his eyes, even in a relaxed state, carrying a professional scrutiny, as he silently observed the entire hall.

"Why do you suddenly want to meet me?"

Edwin had just turned his gaze away from the commotion outside when suddenly a handsome detective in a trench coat appeared out of nowhere in front of him. He was first taken aback, then breathed a sigh of relief. "This is the first time I've seen your true face. Your entrance is even more unexpected than I imagined."

He paused after speaking.

"I mainly wanted to thank you. Thanks to your help with this case, someone from above promoted me and I'm now a police inspector. I've indeed come into contact with some things."

Lu Ran smiled and gently pressed down the brim of his hat.

"Each of you takes what you need, no need to be polite, but judging from your expression, you probably have something else to say."

Edwin stubbed out his cigarette and nodded. "The Dane thing is over. I called you here to talk about another job."

He looked up and stared directly at Lu Ran. “My new position also brings new responsibilities and a little extra budgetary authority. The city hall has also greatly appreciated your previous collaborations, so they hope to establish a long-term, stable partnership… for example, as a special consultant.”

"Consultant?" Lu Ran was taken aback, repeating the word without immediately refusing.

Official status is indeed extremely valuable, especially when housing increasingly large swarms of rats in city factories. Certain additional privileges can save countless potential troubles, such as inspections.

In addition, the police department's resources and information network are also important sources of intelligence. Just like when Lu Ran asked Sheriff Edwin to find out the home address last time, it would be difficult for him to continue to ask others to access this information if he did not have a clear identity in the future.

But what is the price of all this? To be more deeply involved in the city's power struggles? To lose some of one's absolute freedom of action?
“Long-term cooperation…we can give it a try.” Lu Ran thought for a while before finally speaking, “But the word ‘long-term’ is too broad. We need to clarify the scope of the consultant’s responsibilities, the degree of constraint on my personal behavior, and the compensation I can receive.”

Edwin nodded slightly, picked up a large, rough earthenware wine cup, and gestured to Lu Ran: "You can have a drink. The signature dish here is quite good."

He paused after speaking, his tone slow but his enunciation clear: "A base salary of 100 pounds a month, with additional bonuses ranging from several hundred to over a thousand pounds for extra events. In addition, if you need the city to assist you with some personal publicity and administrative conveniences, there will be no restrictions on you. When a task comes up, you decide whether to accept it yourself. It's not mandatory, but try not to refuse too many times."

Lu Ran looked up in surprise.

It's just a nominal position, and it's still the same cooperation model as the old detective commissions?

Its autonomy is unusually great.

Lu Ran smiled and said, "That sounds pretty good. Do we need to sign any contracts?"

"Thank you, a verbal agreement will suffice." Edwin breathed a sigh of relief and habitually lit another cigarette. "Apart from that, there's nothing else. We can use the remaining time to talk about Ludd's matter. May I ask if you have any progress? This case can be counted as your first engagement after becoming an advisor."

"We have a lead, but we'll have to see if we can catch them."

Lu Ran shook his head.

"I initially thought that Dane's matter might be related to Lud, but now it's clear that it isn't."

Chi!
A plume of white steam emanated from the huge brewing steam valve behind the bar, briefly engulfing the figures of several drunkards nearby.

"I'll tell you when I have the results..."

Edwin had just been drawn by the noise and glanced at it slightly, but when he turned back, the Sherlock detective had already vanished.

"How mysterious." A hint of envy flashed in Edwin's eyes, then he noticed that the signature drink he had ordered for the other person seemed to be slightly lower in the water level.

"I thought this guy didn't drink. He didn't touch his glass for ages, and he didn't even say how the drinks tasted before he left."

……

"It's a bit intoxicating..."

When Lu Ran dispelled the illusion cast on him, the human figure in the trench coat vanished silently like a reflection on water, and he was forced to awkwardly weave back and forth among the chaotic crowd.

This was Lu Ran's first time drinking alcohol since arriving in this world. Perhaps due to his physical condition or the depletion of his mental energy, he became slightly tipsy after only tasting a little wine.

"But the taste is not bad."

Of course, he couldn't just swagger down the street; after leaving Rolling Stones, he slipped away along the wall to a shady corner.

"But as a gray rat, I guess I've left some trace in this world."

(End of this chapter)