Chapter 34: Whatever happens, happens
???????????????????????!—Noah took a long sip of his tea, allowing the warm liquid to soothe his nerves as his mind meandered around something that perplexed him.
He placed his cup down, his fingers tapping nervously on the ceramic surface, before finally breaking the silence.
"If it would bring any solace to your concerns, I do have a certain propensity. But, I must apologize that I cannot disclose what it is," Noah stated stoically.
James interrupted him with an exclamation, his voice rising in excitement. "A propensity! You have a propensity!" he shouted, capturing the attention of the other patrons in the café.
An embarrassed James slumped back into his seat, taking a moment to compose himself before apologizing for his outburst.
All the while, Noah remained focused on his thoughts.
"Why would you disclose such an information? It's a big deal!" Anastasia interjected. Her expression serious as she tried to figure out Noah's motives. "Either you are too naive or there's something else going on here."
Noah dismissed her concerns with a wave of his hand. "My propensity is hardly noteworthy enough to be considered a great asset", he lied smoothly, hoping to alleviate any further suspicion.
James shot Noah a glance, his expression unreadable.
After a moment of contemplation, he spoke up. "If you insist, I believe you. But having a propensity is so rare...you're a lucky guy. Wish I had one too."
Noah raised a curious brow. "Oh? And what would you do if you had one?"
"I can only imagine the endless possibilities", James replied with a grin.
Anastasia checked her watch. "Well then, I should get going. I need to do some shopping to prepare for tommorow, you know- getting a tent and stuff," she declared.
Noah checked something on his phone and made a decision.
"Let's meet up early tomorrow morning at 5 AM, before sunrise", he suggested to the group.
James questioned Noah's reasoning. "Why so early bro?" he asked.
Noah took another sip of his tea, his eyes glinting with determination. "We need to prepare for the dungeon trial, and getting an early start is good",he explained confidently.
Anastasia chimed in, "There's no need to rush. We will get an entire day to prepare."
As the group carried on with their discussion, the arrival of four students at the café commanded their attention.
Takahashi, Aurora, Emily, and Aeravat — the top rankers of their class.
James chuckled as he observed the group. "Heh, those guys..." he remarked aloud.
A curious Noah looked over to James, asking nonchalantly as he sipped his tea, *????????????*-"What about them?"
With a cryptic look in his eye, James replied, "Aren't they like some main characters? And we're just some random side characters in some story?"
"Khuhk!",Noah did a spit-take with his tea, inhaling and splattering the hot liquid all over the table.
James rushed over to comfort him, rubbing his back as he asked, "Hey, are you okay?"
"Ah-h, no need to worry, haha" Noah replied, coughing and laughing at the same time. "I just gagged on my tea, that's all."
Anastasia offered a glass of water to Noah.
But Noah hastily excused himself, citing a sudden urgency and promising to contact them later.
...
Left behind, Anastasia commented, "That was strange."
She glanced over at James, "But your friend definitely seems like an interesting guy."
As Noah hurriedly left the café, James watched his friend's departing figure with a perplexed expression.
"James?" Anastasia spoke up, interrupting his thoughts.
He snapped out of his daze and turned to face her, smiling softly. "Uh, yeah?"
"Is everything okay?" she inquired, picking up on his disoriented state.
James shrugged it off with a dismissive wave. "Yeah, everything's fine?" he replied, though his expression belied a sense of unease.
***
The electric cab rumbled and buzzed as it transported me to the shopping plaza.
As I rode along, James' words from earlier echoed in my mind.
"The hell was that?" I muttered under my breath.
"Coincidence? Prescience? Deja vu?" I asked myself, my heart pounding and my brows furrowed in thought.
My mind wandered back to James, wondering if there was something he wasn't telling me.
'Was there more to James than I originally thought?'
I shook my head, telling myself it was probably just a chance encounter.
'Probably he just casually said that without thinking too much...yea, I am overthinking. This is stupid'
Suddenly, the driver's voice broke through my thoughts,"We have arrived at the shopping plaza."
"Oh, can you take me to a hardware store?" I asked.
"Sure, no problem," the driver replied as he began to head towards my requested destination.
***
After arriving at the hardware store, I quickly scanned the aisles for a nerf gun.
Unfortunately, I came up empty-handed.
Frustrated, I realized that I would have to try a general merchandise store next.
I made my way to the checkout counter and asked the attendant, "Could you please check the price on these items?"
"Sure, no problem",the woman behind the counter replied as she scanned each item with a handheld laser gadget.
????????!-She scanned the items one by one.
????????!
With each beep, I felt my frustration grow.
"Screw-in tire valve, one mechanical pencil, metal syringe plunger, PVC pipe, metal straw, elastic band, metal switch... it will be around 60 credits", she informed me.
My jaw dropped at the exorbitant price. 'What? Are you kidding me? Sixty credits for this junk is outrageous!'
Despite my frustration, I plastered a smile on my face and replied politely, "Thank you. I'll come back if I need anything else."
My next destination was a general merchandise store.
***
As I stepped towards the bustling merchandise store, my senses were overwhelmed by a symphony of sounds
"Nano," I murmured, my voice barely audible among the cacophony.
"Suggest me some sedative which could cause unconsciousness."
[Affirmative, there is a chemical
called scopolamine, which is also known as 'Devil's Breath.'
Then there is BZ which stands for
3-quinuclidinyl benzilate, which is a potent anticholinergic and antimuscarinic agent. They can cause symptoms such as disorientation, confusion, hallucinations, loss of consciousness also cause paralysis and respiratory failure in high doses. Even death.]
"Yeah, except that I am not trying to assassinate someone here. I need something which is non-lethal but can cause unconsciousness."
[Affirmative. There are only a few, but it depends on the dosage whether it is lethal. Fentanyl and other medications like barbiturates and benzodiazepines can cause unconsciousness as a side effect of their sedative properties. And if handled properly, won't cause death.]
I considered the options for a moment before deciding to reach out to Edward, my friend who works in the chemistry field.
Pulling out my phone, I scrolled through my contacts until I found his number and hit the call button.
"Fentanyl it is then", I muttered to myself.
Click!— "Hello!"
"What do you need now?" Edward asked in a frustrated tone.
I could only raise my brow at his antics. 'Why is he acting so rude?'
"Yea, Edward, can you prepare Fentanyl and a dimensional bracelet by tonight?"
"Fentanyl? What the hell do you need that for?" Edward asked in a confused tone.
"You don't have to know," I replied in response. "Also, get me two vials of Mana Enhancer ready, along with CO2 canisters, small enough to fit in a sharpener. By tonight."
"What the hell? CO2 canisters? Small enough to fit in a sharpener? Do you even know how hard it will be to make it in a chemistry lab?! Are you insane?!" Edward's voice grew louder with each passing word, and I had to pull away my ear from the phone.
Ignoring his outburst, I gritted my teeth and barked back, "Oye, I don't care. Just do what you are told." With that, I cut off the phone.
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