Chapter 179: saved by the call

"That's all I know about that place. I'm not involved nor do I want to be involved with it." She finished.

"That's enough, I guess. Thank you." He stretched the hand that was holding his cup. "Cheers," He said and Arabella touched the tip of the wine bottle with his cup.

"Aren't we going to eat something, or do you want us to just sit, drink and talk like this? If it's what you want, I don't mind." She sounded tipsy as she spoke.

"True, let's see what Camron prepared for us." Al was about to remove the cover that has been on top of a silver tray, at the middle of the table.

"Wait, before we start eating, I just want to say something and make it known to you. I am sure that you are wondering why I asked you to join me for dinner." Now Al was sure that she was being influenced by the alcohol that she had been drinking.

"No, not really. I kinda know why you did. Even I would find it hard to resist myself." Al whispered.

"Here's why. I think… I think I like you." She stared into his eyes as she confessed her emotions for him.

['Be wise about this Al.'] Alex cautioned.

"You think you like me? Meaning that you are not sure yet. It might just be a misunderstood emotion in you, right?" Al began swaying his cup gently, turning the wine in his cup. He then brought it down to his lap, using the table to shield what he was about to do away from Arabella's eyes.

['Time to check how the poison is going to react with other substances.']

Al brought out the powdered poison that he kept in a paper, in his pocket. He poured a little bit of it into his cup and watched as it entered.

"Yes, and no. To be honest I don't know how to explain what I'm feeling. I get jealous when I think about the fact that you have female teammates that can choose whether or not they want to stay in your suite. You guys spend a lot of time together. Lately, I find myself thinking about you frequently.

I have never felt this way before and I don't know what to do, that's why I decided to confront it with you. I am not asking you to like me back, or force yourself to, what I want is just a chance to win your affections." Arabella spilled.

['She's the type that drinks and spills.'] Al commented. ['What do you want me to do now, rabbit?'] Al asked.

['I don't know, let her down gently. If you are too harsh about this, Camron might get angry at me.']

['As I thought, you are doing this for him. Well let me break it down to you, there's no way to do this gently. It's either yes or no, and yes is not an option, is it?'] Al pointed out.

['Then how do you want to this?'] Alex wondered.

['Well, we can always ditch her. It's a good thing that the food is free, she wouldn't have to pay when she realizes that I won't be here to finish dinner with her.'] Al mentioned.

['Ditch her then.'] Alex agreed.

-Fwoosh!

Suddenly, a blue flame the size of an egg appeared and hovered right in front of Al. Alex could recognize the flames, and so could Al, it was the same one that Xiao En used to contact him when Duna came to the inn and claimed to be a friend of Alex.

"Alex, it is ready, meet me in the lobby of the reception." Xiao En's voice reached their ears.

['Saved by the receptionist,'] Alex rejoiced.

"Wasn't that the receptionist?" Arabella asked.

"Yeah, it's her. Um, I'm sorry, I have to go now. It's very important, how about we continue this dinner another time?"

"Sure, sure. Don't worry about me." She shook her head and cleared her throat. "If it is important then you have to get to it quickly." She added.

Al smiled and bobbed his head. He picked the cup that he poured the poison into and drank its contents.

['The hell!?'] Alex exclaimed.

['Don't worry about it. Just didn't want to leave any shred of evidence of this poison, at least not yet.'] Al mentioned.

He collected the wine bottle from Arabella's hands and poured more wine into his cup. Then he brought out the antidote and poured it into the wine. Al drank it and left the suite.

Arabella was a little heartbroken that he left without giving her an answer. This was the first in her life that she was making such a confession. Although Al didn't give her a reply, she felt like she had already been rejected…

…

Al quickly made his way down to the reception. Upon arrival, he saw Xiao En standing and waiting for him.

"First things first, payment," She stretched her hand out. "That will be 1 green LD-EC." She demanded.

"What!? Isn't that outrageous!? Come on." Al complained as soon as he heard the price that she asked for.

"Outrageous!? Have you forgotten that this substance is illegal? She showed him 5 yellow pills. Just getting it alone wasn't easy." Xiao En retorted.

"Why did you have to get 5 of em? Couldn't you have gotten just one?" He argued.

"You cannot buy it that way. It's either you get 5 or you get 10. Now stop complaining and pay, it's just a measly green low-density energy stone, why does it mean anything to you. You are filthy rich, why do you have to be stingy on top of that?"

She eyed him and clicked her tongue.

"If you keep on trying to negotiate the price with me then I'll return the pills and you can find somewhere else to get them." She threatened.

"I've never seen anyone as outrageous as you. Just because I'm rich doesn't mean that I enjoy spending my money." He muttered to himself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Al quickly said.

"Good, you better hurry before the steward comes back. He's pretty stuck up and he wouldn't let me give you these to you if he finds out. I estimate that he'll be here in a few seconds." Xiao En pointed out.

"Damn it, here." Al handed the green energy crystal to her.

"There, was that so hard to do… you can have the pills now." She handed the 5 pills over to him.

Al quickly stored them in his storage ring and looked around to see if the steward was anywhere to be seen.

"Is there anything else that I'm supposed to know about these pills?" He asked.

"Yeah, there are a few."

"Are they side effects?"

"No, not really. They are like the cons of using this particular pill, after all, they are the cheapest ones out there.

If you wish to change your appearance into that of another person, you will have to get a drop of blood from the person that you want to change into. Remember, this will only change your outer appearance, it will do nothing to your voice or height.

So I suggest that you get someone that doesn't have much height difference from yours. After consuming the pill, the changes to your outer appearance will last for only 30 minutes. You will have to complete what you have to do within that time."

"Wait, hold up. I'm getting the feeling that you have an idea of what I plan on doing." Al frowned as he reasoned. The way Xiao En spoke was too direct for him to not notice that she had an idea of what his plans are.

"Of course I have an idea of what you want to do. That's one of the reasons why I got the pills for you even when they are illegal. Aren't you planning on killing some people? I support you," Xiao En smirked at him she replied.

['Do we still continue with the plan?'] Alex asked his alters.

['Of course, nothing is stopping us.'] Al answered.

['But she knows, wouldn't it still be risky for us to do something like this?'] He questioned.

['It is, but she is also an accomplice to the crime, will she rat herself out?'] Xander replied.

['She did provide us with illegal pills.'] Lex pointed out.

['I guess not.'] Alex reasoned.

"Is that all?" Al asked sternly. Although he wasn't worried that she knew what he was about to do, he was still uncomfortable that someone was already able to catch on to his plans.

"There's still something else. Your disguise could be destroyed if water touches you or you get soaked. Where ever water touches, that place will turn back to normal. And if there is a strong person around, then your disguise is done for. That person will be able to see through you."

"How strong does the person have to be?" He questioned.

"Nah. Nah. I'm not going to tell you that, if you know everything then where will the fun and thrill come from? Just go with the flow, your luck will decide for you." Xiao En refused to give him information about that and started walking back to her seat.

"Goodnight, daredevil. Entertain me." She stated with her back facing him.

Al sighed ['Crazy b*tch,'] He cursed and left for the suite…