Mr. Rat of the Steam World

Chapter 82 Art is Pai Daxing

The flames from the burning tarpaulin danced on Norton's face as he stared intently at the talking gray rat, his pupils contracting violently in shock. After a few seconds of deathly silence, he suddenly calmed down, released the steel pipe, and his right hand trembled as he reached for his pocket.

"Can I have a cigarette..."

Whoosh!
His response was a sharp whooshing sound! The steel pipe held by Lu Ran swung down with tremendous force!
boom!
The heavy metal slammed into Norton's leg, the dull thud of bones shattering clearly audible. He screamed in agony and tumbled to the ground in a sorry state.

Lu Ran seemed to realize what was happening and said somewhat embarrassedly, "You should have said you wanted to smoke earlier. I didn't hear you clearly. I saw you touching your pockets, wondering what you were going to do."

"Cough cough... Ugh..." The excruciating pain contorted Norton's face, and large beads of sweat instantly seeped from his forehead.

The strength of this gray rat is simply terrifying.

Even so, he still trembled as he pulled another pack of cigarettes from his pocket, looked around, found the match he had just thrown on the ground, and lit it with a snap.

"hiss……"

A thick plume of smoke billowed out, billowing in the air.

Norton, enduring the pain, sat back on the ground, marveling at the furry gray rat in front of him.

"I'm more curious about what you are than what ashes are. Why don't we exchange information? Maybe we're even on the same side?"

“Me?” Lu Ran smiled and thought for a moment before saying, “Have you heard of the Church of Abundance? I am the strongest agent in the Natural Enlightenment – ​​Rat Rat Extreme Individual Soldier Project, codename 007. One sentence each, it’s your turn.”

"Cough cough cough."

Norton coughed as if he had suddenly choked, staring at the expressionless gray rat in front of him with some surprise, before managing to force a smile after a long while.

"Logically, there shouldn't be any conflict between us, right? Your bountiful believers live in the countryside, while our Brotherhood's believers are mostly the wounded, desperate workers, or extremists, arsonists... We are completely two different groups of people. Isn't there some misunderstanding?"

"Misunderstand?"

Lu Ran's heart stirred, and he suddenly sneered.

"If the workers can't make it in the city, we'll find a way to bring them back to the farms. You kill them all, and that's what you call no conflict?"

Lu Ran's little paws were still pressed against the steel pipe as she glared fiercely at Norton: "You still use immortality as a lie to trick people into dying, and the oath you made earlier was about never betraying us. You guys are quite humorous, aren't you? Do you even abide by this bullshit yourselves?"

"Nonsense?" Norton paused, his eyes suddenly narrowing. He took a deep drag on his newly lit cigarette, exhaling smoke mixed with the smell of burning, and burst into laughter.

Why do you think I won't comply?

Norton lowered his voice, leaned forward, and said earnestly, "If I say I won't betray you, I won't betray you. What's there to be afraid of about death? Aren't you curious about what ashes are?"

The cigarette embers flickered in the dim light, and Norton's tone suddenly softened: "Ashes... of course, are—"

Without warning, he ripped open his striped shirt!

"—It exploded!!!"

With a roar, his chest was revealed to be riddled with yellowish-brown explosive tubes, each wrapped with a fuse! A burning cigarette was shoved hard against the hissing fuses, sparks leaping wildly! Norton, arms outstretched, lunged at Lu Ran like a martyr, his roar echoing through the ruins:
"Witness the true ashes!!"

boom--! ! !
The expanding fireball instantly engulfed the figures, and the shockwave, carrying fragments of wood and iron filings, burst forth, turning the burning tarpaulin into a sky full of golden and red fluff.

"Cough...Ptooey!" A dozen meters away from the explosion site, a gray squirrel suddenly spat out the smoke and grit it had inhaled. It raised its little paw to rub its beady eyes, which were slightly blurred by the bright light, and looked with lingering fear at the corner of the ruins that was still gushing out flames and thick smoke.

"Luckily, my original body ran fast. These ashes are a bunch of lunatics."

He glanced up at the still somber and oppressive night sky of Baker City, faintly illuminated by the firelight, and then lingered. His small figure transformed into a gray shadow that blended into the night, disappearing into the darkness in a few flashes.

the other side.

It was nearly midnight, but the Baker City Police Department building was already brightly lit. The makeshift cells were overcrowded, and the background noise of anxious shouts, painful groans, and angry curses was chaotic.

Countless documents piled up like mountains, and the faces of the hurried police officers were etched with exhaustion and tension. The military's intervention did not alleviate the pressure; instead, it brought more chaos in coordination and power struggles.

Edwin's office. The heavy oak door wasn't fully closed, and a tired, hoarse voice, though trying to stay awake, came from inside.

"...Report on equipment damage at the Manchester plant...List of medical expenses for injured police officers...And this damn thing! Statement on the overcrowding of the prison..." Edwin rubbed his throbbing temples with one hand and flipped through the pile of documents on the table with the other. Under the light, his eyes were sunken and bloodshot.

"We'll have to deal with it tomorrow."

Just then—"Squeak..."

A faint but unusually clear mouse squeak made Edwin, who was feeling a bit tired and tidying up his desk to leave, subconsciously look up.

The familiar gray mouse was crouching in the shadows where the light met the window, its two beady eyes calmly watching him.

Tick…tick…tick…

The office was so quiet that only the ticking of the wall clock could be heard.

"Your timing is quite good."

Edwin glanced at the time, and for some reason, he subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief the moment he saw the gray rat. He didn't say anything, but his movements quickened as he stood up from the chair, causing the chair legs to scrape against the wooden floor with a harsh sound.

He then grabbed the coat from the back of the chair, hurriedly put it on, strode towards the door, and quickly descended the stairs, soon arriving at the police station entrance.

Pushing open the heavy iron gate, a chilly night wind carrying heavy dew rushed in, instantly clearing Edwin's somewhat muddled mind.

He quickly descended the few stone steps leading to the entrance and grabbed a cold, rough concrete utility pole. At the top of the pole, a dim, yellowish gas streetlight with blurred edges cast a diffused glow, outlining the tall figure in a trench coat across the way.

"So, any leads?"

Lu Ran seemed to be carefully choosing his words, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "An organization that worships ashes. I don't know their intentions yet, but based on my personal speculation, it may be to make a name for themselves and promote their faith."

"Faith?" Edwin was slightly surprised.

Lu Ran nodded: "Every so-called organization seems to have a corresponding god they worship, and each so-called god has defined a group of believers within themselves, without interfering with each other. Ashes should correspond to violence, destruction, and extremists."

Edwin subconsciously reached into his pocket, only to find that he had finished his cigarette. He glanced at Sherlock, who was holding a pipe, and continued helplessly.

"So their strange regenerative abilities also come from some so-called god?"

Lu Ran shook his head: "It comes from oneself, similar to some kind of devil's deal. The powerful recovery ability is the price one pays. To be specific, it's like spreading out damage or something like lifespan. Anyway, it's not a good thing."

This reminder made Edwin recall many details about the captured workers, and he suddenly cursed.

"These bastards, don't let me catch them... So before that, shouldn't we have journalists publish articles to expose their despicable behavior and prevent more people from blindly believing them?"

Lu Ran did not agree, but instead expressed his concerns.

"I'm not sure if my judgment is correct, but since they are extremists, and their goal is likely to become famous and gather more extremists, then the content of the report needs to be carefully considered. We shouldn't end up helping them. For such people, being on the news might actually be an honor."

Edwin paused, then muttered another string of curses.

Lu Ran looked at Edwin, who was filled with resentment, hesitated for a moment, and then suddenly said.

"I'd like to ask what will happen to the workers that the army arrested. You should know that some of the workers are helpless and desperate... I also hope that those in power will come down and experience their working conditions firsthand. If life were a little better, no matter what kind of ashes or mud they were in, they wouldn't be able to gather many people."

In short, what I mean is... the municipality doesn't need to be a scapegoat for those capitalists... at least improving the working environment a little would be much more useful than simply sending out newspapers to warn about some evil organization.

Edwin paused for a moment. He had also visited the industrial area and naturally understood what Sherlock was saying. After a long silence, he spoke.

"Now that you have an advisory role, I will relay what you say verbatim, and I think you are right, and I hope they will think so too."

"Thank you."

Lu Ran smiled.

"go to bed early."

(End of this chapter)