Chapter 294 The Red Lotus Lounge (1)
Erik moved stealthily through the corridors of the Red Palace, his senses heightened and his heart pounding in his chest. If he were caught trying to leave, people would start asking questions. Why was he going outside this late in the night?
ραпdα n?νa| сom With his hood pulled low over his face and his footsteps muffled by soft-soled shoes, Erik left his apartment, closing the door behind him, and moved silently, trying not to attract attention through the brightly illuminated corridors of the Red Palace.
<System, send loop videos to all the cameras I will encounter. I’ve already deactivated them too many times, and I can’t risk them finding patterns. Make it so they can’t see I’m leaving the Red Palace.>
[UNDERSTOOD. CONNECTING TO ALL NEARBY DEVICES. SENDING LOOP VIDEOS.]
As Erik moved stealthily through the corridors of the Red Palace, he heard the approaching footsteps of a group of students. He quickly hid behind a corner, weirdly calm despite the situation. Peering out from his hiding spot, he observed the students passing by.
They were two male and female students, all dressed in the standard Red Palace uniforms: red pants with golden stripes on the sides and a jacket embroidered with the golden Red Palace Dojo logo on the back. They chatted animatedly, their voices echoing in the corridor as they walked side by side.
The first student was a tall, athletic-looking male with short, dark hair and a confident stride. The second student was a petite female with brown hair that matched her eyes. She walked with a determined gait; her eyes focused ahead as if she had a goal in mind.
“So, I told her to mind her business, and she got angry despite being the one who put her nose into my business,” the girl said.
“Leave her be; it doesn’t bring you anything to get angry because of her…”
“Yes, but-”
After the two went past him, Erik started going ahead again. He quickly turned right, moving with cat-like grace, minimizing any noise or sudden movements that might alert the other people to his presence.
He quickly arrived in front of the elevator, went in, and pressed the button for the ground floor. Soon, the doors closed, and the machine started its descent. The first thing had been done; now, he needed to get to the main entrance.
The elevator quickly arrived, and Erik stepped out of it and hid behind one of the many couches the ground floor had. From his position, Erik could observe that the reception was empty. Apparently, Miss Smith ended her shift, and the place was left unattended.
However, many guards were around, and Erik had to go undetected by them if he wanted to sneak out of the institution. However he could see the exit from his position, but he knew there were two guards outside, and he needed to get rid of them.
<System, I need you to send a message to the outside guards. Tell them to head to the first floor immediately. Hopefully, they will be questioned by the other guards, and I will have enough time to sneak out.>
[UNDERSTOOD. CONNECTING TO THE DEVICES. MESSAGE SENT.>
Shortly after, the two guards received the messages and went inside, heading for the elevator. As Erik predicted, the other guards were puzzled.
“Hey! Where are you going?” one of them asked.
“We got told to head upstairs.” 𝒃𝒆𝒐𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝙘𝙤𝒎
“Uh? Why?”
As the guards kept talking, Erik sneaked his way past them unnoticed; however, at one point, he found himself trapped between two guards walking toward him from opposite directions.
He quickly ducked into a nearby janitor’s closet and held his breath, listening to their footsteps as they passed by. Once they were out of earshot, he slipped out of the closet and continued his stealthy journey.
Finally, after what felt like hours of nerve-wracking evasion, Erik left the building and reached the garden, where he could see the night sky peeking through the trees.
He knew the most challenging part was over, but he couldn’t let his guard down just yet as he had to get out of the Red Palace’s property.