Chapter Nineteen: Not free

The break was still ongoing, and Alex being in an entire different body could feel how much he required eating. Compared to before, he doesn't eat too much, but in this new body, his stomach just won't stop churning with hunger.

With nothing else to do, Alex had decided to grab a few sandwiches outside. After all, they were free, thanks to a certain sponsor. She has been of a great help, catering for the needs of all participants every year the contest holds.

When he was about to leave though, he could see Bob looking at the direction of the VIP seats which was now empty and void of anyone.

"You know I've been watching you for a while now, you seem to recognise some of these VIPs. Did they perhaps did something wrong to you, or someone close to you, 'cause you always have that angry look on your face every time you look at their direction." Alex asked.

"It's nothing you should worry about." Bob answered, before shifting his gaze to look at Alex. "Are you heading somewhere?"

"Yeah, I need to fill myself up since it might take a while before today's event ends. Besides, the snacks here are given for free. I should probably go grab some before they're all given out." Alex replied.

"Is it really free?" A voice was heard behind them. "Cause I had to pay for these after I purchased them. And I don't think others are buying theirs for free either."

When Alex turned to look at who it was, it appeared to be participant sitting right beside him; participant number 203, Tyler. In her hand was a type of snack whose contents has been eaten to only a half.

'Did that got changed too? Oh come on, what the hell is wrong with Thomas. The sponsor decided to distribute free snacks to all participants, did he made her change her mind or what?' Alex couldn't help but bit down on his lower lip.

Sighs…

"Sorry, I thought it was free, I had no idea." Alex said, while wondering what could be the reason why the sponsor stopped distributing free stuffs.

"You don't have to worry about that you know. I'll pay the bills, just buy whatever you want. I'm pretty sure I can afford it." Bob proposed which Alex agreed to. He was short of cash at the moment but he promised to pay back Bob sometime soon.

"Can I hop in with you guys? It's kinda lonely around here. And you two are the only ones I know here." Tyler asked, staring mainly at Alex for a reply.

Having one more company isn't a bad idea and it's not like any harm will come from her going out with them. Unable to resist her looks, Alex had immediately gave a reply. "Sure! Yeah, you can hop in if you want."

"Of course I want to."

With this, the three participants had decided to head out of the arena to buy a few snacks. Upon getting to the canteen, Alex noticed something straightaway. The attendants were all wearing an orange vest which was different from what he knew. On the vest was the name Park Foods; a company he had no idea where it came from.

'Did Mrs Wong's company got replaced by another company. This is not a name I recognise from anywhere.'

A lot of strange things were happening right after his death, but he couldn't figure out why. It was just a couple of days after his death and all of this had started happening. Was this all planned out from the beginning? The more he thought about this, the more Alex felt like he needed to discover the truth behind his death.

'Whoever planned this must be after something. Whatever that thing is, it can only be accessed after my death. Is it my company? My houses? My position?' Alex thought of it until suddenly he remembered something.

'The Safe! They are after the Safe. Damn it.' Alex cursed within himself as he came to a realisation of everything so far. But he was more annoyed when he realised that the only person who could have known about it was Thomas.

'Though I doubt he knew where it is, as long as he thinks I have it hidden in my house, it won't take long for him to find it. But he will have to destroy the whole house before he could do so.'

Right now, Alex couldn't head over to his mansion, he's doing something extremely important in his life. If he misses this chance he'll have to wait till next year before he could get the chance again.

Unless a miracle happens and maybe his system grants him another opportunity or he auditioned in other shows. But unfortunately, Upcoming idols is the only talent show in Chestercity, it would take a lot of expenses to audition in nearby cities, as transport fare is incredible high these days.

And there's no guarantee that he could successfully obtain the safe without anyone noticing him. There's a lot of processes he would have to go through to obtain it.

For now, he would just put the whole Thomas situation to the side and focus on today's performance. His presentation today will determine where he would be in the future.

…

Meanwhile, in a room consisting of four people, Thomas could be seen talking and discussion some things with three other people who appeared to be among the VIP participants. In their hands was a paper containing different lyrics to different songs.

"I hope you've all practiced the song very well, it's a simple song that wouldn't stress your vocals. Just a chorus and a few stanzas. All you have to do is to just sing it well and we'll complete the rest for you. I wish you all luck." Thomas said.

However, what he didn't realise was the fact that someone was busy spying on them through one of windows from the outside. And in so doing, he recorded everything that was said on his phone.

"What a great scoop I managed to get. Today is indeed my lucky day."