Mr. Rat of the Steam World

Chapter 86 The Mimic’s Stomach
A second-tier potion from an invisible hand, a diffusion-level relic...

To be honest, Lu Ran was tempted.

The former corresponds to his advancement in deception magic. By obtaining the potion and being re-enlightened, he will have a much higher probability of acquiring higher-level magic of the same system.

Whether used as a personal backpack or to upgrade the system, the latter is something Lu Ran urgently needs right now.

In particular, Anthony did help him during their first meeting, and during their second meeting, it was clear that his main objective was to capture the enemy, without revealing any overly obvious murderous intent.

However, Lu Ran still looked at Anthony with some suspicion.

"So how did you originally plan to get the potion?"

Anthony sighed: "I originally had this guy as my target, and I was planning to see if I could find an opportunity when he hosts a salon party in the middle of the month."

"salon?"

A memory flashed through Lu Ran's mind.

"What is the target's name?"

"Pal Perez".

A look of surprise flashed across Lu Ran's face.

Anthony noticed the change in Lu Ran's eyes and nodded, saying, "You should have heard of this guy's name. He's from the Perez family, one of the largest farming families."

Fortunately, Lu Ran's fluffy little face wasn't big enough to observe so many details.

He had indeed heard it, but it didn't come from the news. If he remembered correctly, the invitation Miss Afra received seemed to be from a family called Perez.

It can't be the same place, can it?

However, Lu Ran didn't seem inclined to explain. Instead, he hesitated for a moment before saying, "Deal. But... your strength far surpasses ours. To ensure a fair transaction, you'll have to pay for one item first, the relic or the potion."

Anthony chuckled upon hearing this: "Honestly, sometimes I feel like you're more human than a human being."

He abruptly changed the subject, glancing at the calico cat Sang Biao, who was yawning beside him, completely oblivious to what the two were talking about.

"On the contrary, it seems much more normal."

Anthony stroked his stubble and pondered for a moment: "Alright, but the potion is still in someone else's hands. However, I have clues and can help you get it soon. I can give you the mimic's stomach first."

Before he finished speaking, he calmly reached into the inside pocket of the faded old wool sweater. With a flick of his wrist, a palm-sized, grayish-brown leather wallet was already between his fingers. Its surface was plain, without any patterns or decorations, and showed no unusual features.

"Here, take this." Anthony didn't get up, but tossed it directly to Lu Ran.

Lu Ran's eyes lit up, and she accurately caught the wallet that flew towards her with her little paws. The leather felt peculiar to the touch, cool and with a rough yet resilient texture. It seemed to be empty inside, very light.

"This is the mimic's stomach?" Lu Ran weighed the bag in his hand and squeezed it with his paw. "It looks pretty ordinary."

“Don’t worry about the appearance. This thing can change its shape on its own. Just adjust it to suit you.” Anthony grinned, pulling at the scars on his face from Sang Biao’s scratches, which made his gentle smile look a bit more ferocious.

Upon hearing this, Lu Ran's heart stirred slightly. The next moment, a miraculous scene unfolded!
The surface of the gray-brown leather wallet in his palm seemed to flow with life. In just two breaths, the rough wallet had disappeared, replaced by a light-colored crossbody cloth bag that fit perfectly on Lu Ran's small body!
"So magical?"

Lu Ran's eyes lit up, and she lovingly stroked the new cloth bag with her little paws, suddenly feeling a little reluctant to feed it to the system.

There are definitely more than one type of diffusion-level relic, but there aren't many that can perfectly fit his small size. With this thing, he can carry that revolver with him at all times, which is much more convenient.

Lu Ran hurriedly asked, "How do I use it? I remember you said this thing has some problems."

Anthony gestured with his chin: "Try putting something in there."

Lu Ran did as instructed, looked around, picked up a small, perfectly round pebble from the nearby grass, untied the knot at the opening of the bag with her paws, and carefully stuffed the stone inside. The bag opening seemed to have a slight suction, and the stone easily slid into the bag.

Lu Ran immediately tightened the bag's opening, but it didn't bulge out significantly; it remained deflated. He opened the bag again and peered inside, but it was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything. "Where's the stone?"

“It’s hidden by this thing.” Anthony said, casually taking out a penny and tossing it to Lu Ran, then pointing to the bag, “Throw this to it, and it will give the stone back to you.”

Lu Ran was stunned for a moment. He first reached out his paw and rummaged around inside. Sure enough, he quickly felt the bottom and confirmed that he really couldn't find the stone. Only then did he take the penny and throw it in.

Sure enough, the next moment, the previously lifeless gray-brown leather surface suddenly rippled very slightly, like a sleeping creature breathing.

Immediately afterwards, an extremely faint gurgling sound came from inside the bag. The originally rough texture on the surface seemed to come alive, slowly revealing several wrinkles, vaguely forming a shape that looked like it was trying to swallow or pouting in dissatisfaction!

"Meow, what's this?" The stunned cat was startled and quickly took a step back. "How come this bag is alive?"

Lu Ran was so frightened that he almost threw the thing away.

“Because it is a living relic,” Anthony explained. “It is expressing its dissatisfaction. It was very disdainful of the penny you just put in, thinking it wasn’t a treasure. But the pebbles you put in earlier were indeed not very big, so a penny was too much.”

Lu Ran immediately understood: "So you mean that for every item you put in, you'll have to pay that amount when you retrieve it, otherwise..."

“Otherwise,” Anthony chimed in, a playful smile on his face, “it will digest what you put in as food. So when you store items, you'd better also put some treasures for it to digest.”

Gold pounds, jewelry, pocket watches, anything goes. The requirements aren't that high. The more things you store, the more valuable items you'll need. Of course, with your current net worth, maintaining one of these things will be a piece of cake.

Lu Ran choked, then looked at the small crossbody bag on her body again, as if she had just learned something new.

Or is it a money-devouring beast?

However, after much deliberation, he happily slung the small cloth bag across his waist.

Despite its flaws, it's a valuable item that can store things. He also has quite a few gold watches and jewelry he acquired before, which he hasn't had a chance to sell yet. He might as well keep them to slowly feed this guy.

Lu Ran suddenly remembered: "How can I contact you after it's done?"

"Norton Furniture Store on Copper Wire Street, I think the owner ran away. The landlord has rented the place out again. It's a pretty good place. If you want to find me, just go there."

Lu Ran was taken aback: "Norton Furniture?"

Anthony asked curiously, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with this place?"

Lu Ran quickly shook his head, somewhat amused and exasperated: "No problem, it's a great place. I've been there a few times before. I'll come find you then."

"I hope we have a pleasant working relationship, Mr. Sherlock." Anthony stood up briskly, waved to Lu Ran, and then slowly left.

Watching Anthony's departing figure, Lu Ran suddenly leaned against the Sangbiao Cat beside him and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Boss Cat, aren't you getting a little bored here? How about we go to Baker City?"

The cat's body behind him twitched with the sound.

"Meow, I'm not going."

Lu Ran tilted his head back and chuckled, offering a different reason that the other party could accept.

"I've already managed to get about a hundred humans to work for me. Boss Cat, why don't you go check out our own territory?"

The cat behind him paused, but did not respond immediately.

Lu Ran crossed his paws and rested them behind his head on the Sangbiao cat's body.

"After all, I still have quite a few little mice around here. Boss, you can help keep an eye on the unruly local cats so they don't bite my mice, right..."

(End of this chapter)