Chapter 291: Seventy-Fourth Floor, Prison Break (9)
[Overcome the conditions presented and escape. Time remaining: 125 hours 20 minutes.]
The sharp click of Phiri’s heels faded into the distance, trailing upward to the floor above.
I couldn’t tell where she was headed, but it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Even on the first day, I had seen Phiri walking the halls without much ceremony. Guards coming and going weren’t exactly rare in a place like this, especially not upstairs.
Though I had only been here a short time, judging by the foot traffic during meal times and the general pattern of patrols, it wasn’t hard to guess.
There were more prisoners on the upper floors.
Seems she is doing a surprise inspection.
Phiri was technically assigned to this floor, but still patrolled a larger area. Unlike the other guards, her presence was immediately recognizable—always announced by the sharp, deliberate rhythm of her high heels. It was likely a byproduct of her higher rank.
The same trend held true here. Unfamiliar guards would occasionally appear without warning, usually once or twice a day. Based on that pattern, I could reasonably assume that senior officers rotated between floors as part of some internal oversight structure.
A deterrent, perhaps, to prevent floor managers from becoming too familiar with, or too sympathetic toward, the prisoners under their care.
Whatever the rationale, once the sound of her footsteps disappeared up the stairs, I turned my thoughts away from Phiri and returned to the task at hand.
Caught between ambiguity and what little I could predict, I quietly reassessed my options.
I didn’t know how long had passed when—