Mr. Rat of the Steam World

Chapter 80 Ashes? Relics?
As far as the eye can see, Copper Wire Street during the day looks as if it has been choked by a giant gray hand.

Although the military crackdown has ceased, the chilling aftereffects still linger in the air.

The streets were nearly deserted, with everyone hurrying along and eyes downcast. Occasionally, squads of soldiers patrolling with guns would flash by at street corners, the dull thud of their boots on the cold, damp cobblestones conveying a powerful sense of oppression.

The military's objective is very clear: to eliminate only unemployed and protesting workers deemed dangerous or unsettling, not to arrest them all. In fact, judging by the speed of their arrests, they may have already secretly investigated and identified some of them.

After all, if they really arrested all the tens of thousands of workers in the industrial zone, that would truly be an act of utter chaos.

Therefore, the living space and livelihoods of ordinary citizens have not been violently damaged, as long as they do not actively provoke trouble.

The taverns along the street were open as usual, but they were deathly silent, devoid of their usual hustle and bustle. The patrons were just silently drinking their cheap liquor. The shops selling inexpensive daily necessities and small commodities, including the furniture store Jacob had mentioned, were also open as usual.

Is this the one?

The storefront, located at a relatively conspicuous spot at the intersection of streets and alleys, is small. Inside the window are a few old-fashioned wooden tables, chairs, and benches, as well as a slightly worn wooden cabinet covered with tiny scratches and signs of use, suggesting it has been in business for many years. A wooden sign with peeling paint hangs above the door frame, reading "Norton Furniture."

Through the glass of the shop window, Lu Ran clearly imprinted the image of the furniture store owner in his mind.

The shop owner was an ordinary young man of medium build, probably in his thirties. He wore ordinary gray-brown cotton trousers and a light blue pinstripe long-sleeved shirt. He had a pair of gleaming metal-framed round glasses perched on his nose, and his gaze looked peaceful, even somewhat dull.

He perfectly embodies the image of an ordinary business owner running a small business. He is currently sitting in an old rocking chair near the shop entrance, with a white porcelain teacup on a small wooden table beside him. He is holding a copy of the Manchester Times, slowly flipping through it and occasionally taking a sip of tea.

"This person..."

Lu Ran narrowed his small, beady eyes. He didn't know why, but the person's features seemed somewhat familiar, yet he couldn't quite place them at first glance.

However, if the person being accused of being a suspect happens to look familiar, it will only deepen his suspicions.

"Where is it...?"

Lu Ran slowly merged the person in front of him with a face from his memory that he had only met once.

"Take off your glasses, put on work clothes, and make your skin a little darker..."

Lu Ran raised an eyebrow.

"It's that bastard!"

In that instant, he suddenly understood why the other scout rats couldn't find the trace of the person transmitting the information; even he himself would lose track of them. This guy's counter-surveillance ability was terrifyingly strong.

Lu Ran remained in the shadows, patiently crouching down in a dark corner outside the shop window where empty wooden crates were piled up.

They waited until the sun began to set and the light became dim. The number of pedestrians on the street dwindled, and the footsteps of the patrolling soldiers became increasingly infrequent.

Finally, the shop owner closed the newspaper, carefully folded it, and placed it on the table. He took off his glasses, wiped them carefully with a napkin, but didn't put them back on. Then he stood up, walked to the door, looked around at the outside world, and slowly closed the door.

"No, it's the back door!"

As Lu Ran watched the disappearing boss, he almost instinctively darted along the wall towards the back alley. Sure enough, a moment later, a man dressed as an ordinary citizen slowly walked out, even deliberately hunching his back.

The man first cautiously surveyed his surroundings, then identified a direction and began walking.

"Let's see how many times you can change your clothes this time."

Lu Ran cursed under his breath, tensed his leg muscles, and shot out like a gray shadow blending into the twilight, hanging steadily behind his opponent.

As darkness fell and the chaotic footsteps of the day were no longer an obstacle, he could now follow them without restraint.

The destination wasn't in the bustling city center, but rather deeper into Copper Wire Street, in a cramped area carved out by the tall, abandoned walls of a factory. The air was thick with the musty smell of discarded bricks and rusty iron. At an inconspicuous gap in a collapsed wall, the furniture store owner seemingly casually sidestepped, disappearing behind a pile of broken bricks.

Lu Ran quickly followed and slipped inside.

Unexpectedly, as soon as they entered, they saw the furniture store owner hiding behind a pile of bricks, holding a dagger in one hand and staring intently at the corner, as if he would be fatally attacked the moment a figure appeared there!
Fortunately, Lu Ran cautiously maintained his shadow spell, so the guy didn't notice anything unusual. After waiting for a while and confirming that there were no other abnormalities, the furniture store owner put away his dagger and turned to go inside.

Lu Ran followed him inside.

It wasn't the open space I had imagined, but a half-collapsed corner that could barely shelter me from the wind and rain. At some point, someone had used tattered tarpaulins and old wooden planks to create a more secluded inner room.

At this moment, this small space was crammed with about a dozen people!
Most of them looked similar to the workers on Copper Wire Street—dark, rough faces, large, calloused knuckles, and old clothes.

But their eyes were different from those of the numb and desperate people on the street; they shone with a strange, fanatical light.

Standing in the center was the furniture store owner who had just sneaked in. In the firelight, he was no longer the dull man he had been during the day; even his previously deliberately hunched back had straightened up a bit.

His gaze first swept calmly over each worker.

"You saw it all?" Norton's voice was deep and clear, echoing in the cramped space. "The army outside is the answer those high and mighty lords are giving us! Gun barrels, bayonets, cold machines! They want to break our spines completely with iron and blood!"

He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping across each face with sharp intensity, and he was pleased to see that the burning emotions were ignited even more fiercely.

"That night in Manchester, we thought we'd hit those vampires where it hurt! But what happened? You saw it yourself, they felt no pain, and instead raised their knives even more easily! Why? Because they had guns! They had armor! And what did we have? Bare hands! Just a bellyful of worthless hot blood?"

Norton's tone was full of sarcasm and disdain, directly addressing the confusion in everyone's hearts. Then, he suddenly raised his voice.

"But they are wrong. We have power, the power of ash."

As Norton spoke, he pulled out a huge folded white cloth from his pocket, covered with countless scarlet names.

Lu Ran had excellent eyesight and happened to see two bloody words with the somewhat familiar names John and Wright, but they had already been crossed out.

There were over a hundred names crossed out like that, and Lu Ran seemed to have vaguely grasped something.

"Sign this joint pledge in blood!" Norton held it high, his voice resolute. "Swear an oath to the Ashes, to live and die together, to never abandon you, and never betray you! Let this rage be witnessed by the Ashes! Sign it, and the power of immortality will be bestowed upon you!"
Once we've gathered enough strength again, we can even have an opening act that's even more explosive than that night in Manchester!

ash?

Upon hearing this word repeatedly, a glint flashed in Lu Ran's eyes. It seemed to represent not abundance, but a new power.

A suppressed gasp followed, and as the first person stepped forward, others followed one after another to sign autographs.

Lu Ran didn't act rashly; he wanted to see what was going on.

Then, after everyone had signed, Norton suddenly pulled out a knife and slashed one of the workers' hands.

Chi la.

A long, narrow cut appeared on the worker's arm.

The worker screamed in fright, but quickly noticed that the wound on his arm was healing at a rapid pace.

Norton's voice rose in excitement: "See that? You have gained the power of the Ashes! Those guns can no longer harm you."

A commotion and gasps arose from the crowd.

(End of this chapter)