Alien world

Chapter 1854, Section 487: The Ratman Elder's Three Letters

Two hours later, Losi returned, bringing a letter covered in dirt and a money bag.

The money bag was full of gold coins, and Rossi said there was another money box outside, which was filled with gold nuggets.

Annan opened the envelope. The relatively clean letter paper was covered with crooked, crawling characters written in Common Language.

[Annan bastard, I don't believe you'll have the luck to find what I hid. And neither will the dragon find it; I've hidden it very well!]

Therefore, there's only one possibility: I've disappeared, and my child has gone to find you.

That bag of money and the gold nugget were meant for my children. I know you're more despicable than the ratmen, more greedy than the dragons, and more shameless than the devil, so I'm offering this information in exchange for you not touching that money!

[You wanted to know what the Holy Race was doing in the north? A McKenna rat discovered ruins where there were traces of a Great Horned Rat! So the High Priest has arrived. The McKenna rat doesn't know yet, but it will eventually! The High Priest must find the Great Horned Rat before the McKenna ratmen find out!]

If I've hurt you, you must forgive me! I couldn't help it! The High Priest is a higher-ranking ratman, capable of controlling all ratmen! My blood isn't as thick as his, yet he can still control me!

My death had better not be related to you, you Annan bastard, otherwise I can only beg you to take good care of it.

You have to believe me! Look, I've left my most cherished child to you! Why? I can't give him to the tribe; he's black, he's deformed, he'll be bitten to death, and I'll be questioned. It can only be you, you Annamese thing, only you! Please, take good care of him, my child!

[If you agree, go to the bedside table compartment in the third room on the second floor of the Dawn Tavern in Liberty City. There's a second letter there, one I left only for you!]

Both the messy handwriting and the chaotic content indicate that the Ratman Elder was in a state of extreme anxiety at the time.

Annan held the letter, sighing deeply. Who could have imagined that the rat-man elder, whom he had always thought was unreliable, actually cared about this mole child?

Unfortunately, the letter came a little too late... They already knew what the ratmen were looking for in the far north.

Annan asked Losi to make another trip, and was just thinking about how to tell Jerry when Jerry suddenly said that he also had a letter: "Uncle asked me to give it to you after you finish reading the letter."

Another one?
The Ratman Elder is truly a cunning rat with three burrows.

Where did you put the letter?

"I was afraid of losing it, so I tucked it inside Cathy's book."

Annan looked at Cathy, who was still bewildered and hadn't expected him to be involved: "Does Cathy know about the letter?"

The black mole honestly replied, "Big Sister doesn't know."

"Then why did you hide the book with her? Was it for safety?"

"Hmm! The eldest sister never opens that book."

Cathy tried to cover her mouth, but it was too late.

Annan sneered; there was an unexpected bonus.

Annan instructed the head maid to retrieve the letter from the dejected Cathy and take it to her eldest sister for a scolding. He then lowered his head and opened the rat-man elder's second letter:

【Annan bastard, I know you're after that money, that share of the Broken Mountains, but don't even think about it!】

Unless... you do something for me!

My child isn't a mole, it's a deformed rat. It's already eight years old, and it can grow into the Rat King by absorbing evil energy!

Eight years old?!

Annan looked at the black mole in disbelief. It was smaller than Lily, but looked sturdy because of its thick fur.

It has no identity, no clan, I can't let it grow up. But I'm dead, so it doesn't matter anymore! I've stored the fel potion and its recipe in the vault. With the recipe, you can make the potion and turn it into the Rat King of Free City!

[Annan wretch, you've got ambitions, haven't you? The gold mine is yours now, no ratmen will fight you for it. Just give the potion to my child, and let it avenge me!]

【If you don't dare, just throw away the formula, and the gold mine is yours too, as long as you raise my child well!】

After reading the letter, Annan said to the black mole, "Jerry, you know that the Ratman Elder is your father, right?"

"Uncle... Father forbade me to say it." Black Mole's tears welled up again.

Annan stopped lying and placed the rat-man elder's letter in front of it.

"Your father gave you two choices."

"The first option is to live in Liberty City, continue to follow Cathy, and be a carefree and happy black mole."

"The second way is to avenge your father and become the Rat King by drinking the potion."

The black mole lay on the letter and read it word by word. Tears welled up in his eyes again, and he sobbed, "Uncle Annan, I... I want to choose the third option."

"The third type?"

The black mole pleaded, "Can I become the Rat King to avenge my father and stay in Liberty City with Sister Cathy?"

I never imagined Cathy had such a charming personality.

"of course can."

Annan patted the black mole's head, then patted Lily, who was leaning closer.

If the black mole is indeed a deformed rat like the Rat King, then he has the right to seize control of the Stern Rat King!
No one can break the strong friendship between Annan and the Stoun ratmen, not even the Stoun ratmen!

He picked up the potion left behind by the ratman elder. Calling it a potion was a stretch; it was really just a bottle of fel energy mixed with some minerals and magic potions—it certainly didn't look like something drinkable… But surely the ratman elder wouldn't harm his own flesh and blood?

The rat-man elder dared to put this thing in the savings bank, and the savings bank dared to store it for him...

Annan didn't know whether to admire the Savings Bank's prowess or its audacity. He summoned Lilith, handed her the formula and potion, and asked the Mage Tower to examine them first.

The Ratman Elder wouldn't give up his share of the Broken Mountains, and Annan certainly wouldn't either—there's no need for him to—Jerry will be a Free City Rat from now on. Unlike the two-faced Ratman Elder, he's a true-blue Free City Rat, even closer to Free City than the Rat King.

As for the bag of gold coins and gold nuggets he left to his children...

Annan squatted down in front of the black mole and asked gently, "Jerry, you're still young. How about I keep these things here for now? I'll give them back to you when you grow up."

At that moment, the treasury guardian, Elimoas, who was lying majestically amidst the pile of money, let out a deafening sneeze.

The naive, innocent black mole, unaware of Annam's treacherous nature, obediently said "Okay."

Patting Jerry on the head, Annan wondered if the first letter was to expose the high priest's conspiracy, the second letter was to settle little Jerry, and the third letter was perhaps for himself.

Just as I was thinking this, a sharp whistling sound suddenly came from the direction of the port.

The townspeople looked in surprise toward the sound, but then became used to it. They were almost accustomed to black bread floating in the air, two-wheeled bone carts driving on the roads, and the ever-changing wonders of Freedom City.

Shortly after, Losi returned, saying she had found the cubicle Annan had requested. Just as they took out the hidden letter, it suddenly emitted an incredibly piercing noise, temporarily deafening Losi and the others.

(End of this chapter)