Escape_14 [Shirokuma Literature Club] [lpz.89]
( Previous Episode / Characters and Table of Contents )
It feels like a long time ago that the two of us talked about our future, saying, "My dream is to keep a cat." Ryota came all the way to Leipzig, Germany, in pursuit of Nozomi, who had disappeared after being made a scapegoat as the culprit behind a cyberattack. Guided by the note "lpz.89" that Nozomi left behind, he was able to reunite with her in a ruined laboratory. However, the clutches of the Petrov Connection, an international hacker group, were closing in on them...
Ryota picked up the envelope that had been left in locker number 256. Inside was a floppy disk.
"This is it! It's the data Guido Engels left behind! This should contain the master key and the data to pinpoint his hideout!"
At that moment, a pursuer from the Petrov Connection entered the locker room. The pursuer leveled a gun at them, glaring with cold, ruthless eyes.
"Hand over that disk!" he shouted in German with a Russian accent.
"No! I won't give you this disk!" Nozomi hid behind Ryota.
"Damn it... what do we do?" Ryota looked around.
Just then, something unexpected happened. A piercing, unpleasant metallic screeching sound and a burning odor began to fill the entire basement. Another pursuer rushed in, shouting from the hallway toward the locker room.
"Run! It's going to explode!"
The pursuer inside the locker room panicked, collided with a locker, and fell over. Taking advantage of the chaos, Nozomi pulled a small self-defense tear gas spray from her pocket and sprayed it into the pursuer's eyes.
"Now's our chance."
Ryota followed Nozomi as she ran ahead. They dashed up the stairs, and when they exited the laboratory, the other pursuer was already unconscious. Erika stood nearby, holding a stun gun.
"Come on, hurry up."
The three of them quickly piled into a rental car, and Erika stepped on the gas. Erika spoke, her excitement still palpable.
"We managed to escape, didn't we?"
"Man, I thought I was a goner. What on earth was that ear-splitting metallic sound?"
"I turned on the boiler."
"The boiler?"
"I happened to find the boiler room, so I turned it on and let it run dry."
"I can't believe you thought of that on the spot."
"I figured if I didn't, we'd be caught. Thank goodness for the self-contained power supply."
"Yeah, that was a close call."
"Erika, thank you," Nozomi said from the backseat.
"Nozomi, I'm just glad you're safe."
"Thanks to you both, I'm sure we'll be able to find Guido Engels' hideout and the master key."
"I'll leave the rest of the analysis to you."
(Click here for the previous story)
I am serializing a short story. I plan to post it around every Friday. I have included links to each episode in the table of contents, so please feel free to look back.
(Click here for [Characters and Table of Contents])
I am participating in Kosuke Komaki's project.
Thank you every week.
#ShirokumaLiteratureClub
#Serialization
#lpz89
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