Max again

Max relaxedly laid on his favourite sofa. His new job required that he'd work from home four days a week and come to the office only once a week, so he could lie down while his laptop sat on his plump belly. Suddenly, he heard a loud knock coming from his door. "Who could that be?" Max lazily got up from the sofa while gently placing his laptop down on that very same sofa. He lethargically walked to the door as the knocking continued. He was so slow that a snail may have been faster. Once he opened the door, he was greeted by none other than the son of his old friend and a former colleague who worked under him. "Ah, David how nice of you to visit me!" David did not look happy, but instead he was rather anxious. "May I come in?" Max stepped aside as he said, "Come on in." Max guided David to the living room. "Max, I need your help." "You seem stressed out. What happened?" For a moment, David hesitated, as if he wasn't sure what to say. "I seem to have accidentally offended some criminals, and they want to kill me. Do you know any way I can escape the city without them being able to find out?" Max immediately frowned however, he did not refuse to help David. After pundering for a few seconds, he said: "If you climb the fence in my back garden, you will be in the house of a man named Paul. He is one of the lead architects of this city and should be able to help you. Since this is time-sensitive, I won't waste your time. Quickly climb over the fence, and I'll phone him in order to explain the situation." "Thank you so much, Max! I'll make sure to repay you well." After giving Max his gratitude, he rushed to the back garden. With his enhanced strength, David could easily climb the fence.

Once he crossed the fence, he moved to the door of the nearby house. He could see, through the glass door, a brown-haired man with brown eyes and a stern face walking towards him. The man was holding his phone to his ear while talking to someone else. David guessed that this was Paul. The man ended the call just as he opened the door. He waved at David to follow him as he briskly walked up to the second floor of his house. "For the record, I did not talk to you, we do not know each other, nor have you ever been to this house, even after you've left. Got it?" "Yes." "Good. Now do you see that map right there?" Paul pointed at a giant map of the city that spanned the entirety of one side of the second-floor corridor. "I see it." "Go to Independence Road and enter the first manhole there, then stay underground in the sewage pipes and continue strait. Don't take any rights or lefts. Just keep going forward in a straight line until you see a black ladder. DO NOT GO UP ANY OTHER LADDER. Once you climb out, you will already be deep inside the neighbouring city and far from any immediate danger, but from there on, you're on your own." "Thank you so much, I wil-!" "If you do get captured by those criminals, don't tell them anything about this or my involvement." David nodded as he followed Paul's instructions to the letter.

David entered the sewage system and made sure to stay out of the water. There were many rats and cockroaches, but David's life was important enough for him to ignore them completely. He saw many turns and ladders on the way, but he remembered to continue moving forward in a straight line. He passed multiple ladders, some grey, others yellow, yet none were black. Though eventually he found the black ladder, he didn't waste any time as he quickly climbed up the ladder. "It looks like I've escaped, but where do we go now?"