A large amount of colorless, odorless yet highly toxic carbon monoxide silently flooded into this nearly sealed holding cell through the ventilation system...
Ayanokoji sniffed, then quickly walked over to the window and gave it a hard push.
The window did not budge, as though it had rusted shut from years of disuse.
"Is this Final Destination?"
Su Wei looked up at the ventilation duct and gave a soft laugh.
"Yeah, it smells a little burnt. Looks like they're planning to let us die of carbon monoxide poisoning in here... What a pathetic little trick."
Before he could finish—
"BOOM—!!!"
A deafening explosion rang out, accompanied by violent shaking!
Dust rained down from the ceiling.
Outside immediately descended into chaos, alarms blaring everywhere.
A sweaty, fat police officer came scrambling over.
He gave them a cursory glance, then tossed the keys from his belt toward Su Wei.
"An out-of-control fuel tanker crashed into the gas station next to the police station... I don't have time for you two. Open the door yourselves and get home, quickly!"
With that, the fat officer fled for his life without looking back.
Yet in that very moment that decided life and death, coincidence struck again.
That ring of life-saving keys—
By sheer ill luck, it was struck by a loose chunk of stone falling from the ceiling!
"Clang!"
The keys changed trajectory.
They bounced twice across the floor before finally coming to rest in the middle of the corridor, a full three or four meters away from their cell door.
It was the absolute limit of their reach—no matter how far they stretched their arms, they could never touch them.
I did the math on what I owe from this bounty: eighteen chapters, or 36,000 words. I should be able to finish paying it