I returned to my room. Once there, I found Desmon reading a book.

"So, how was your date?" Desmon asked, his tone flat, but I could tell he was teasing me with a faint smile on his face, even though I couldn't see it entirely.

"Shut up!" My energy was used up after chatting with Chloe. I headed straight for my bed to lie down.

"But seriously, what did you guys talk about?" This time Desmon's tone wasn't flat but felt more intense. His face didn't display that thin smile anymore.

I thought Desmon had listened in on our conversation. Especially when Chloe went to the restroom, he had teased me, mentioning he knew that Chloe could see ghosts like me.

"Weren't you listened in on me and Chloe?" I asked to confirm.

"That was before you said you didn't need me anymore. After that, I preferred to read a book in a room." Desmon leaned closer to me, "So, what did you guys talk about?"

"Not much, just about vengeful ghosts, phantom, death aura, and life aura." I said, trying to shut my eyes to sleep.

"Hello... Robert." Desmon said, this time I could feel the air coming out of his mouth when he talked. "You've realized this is the information we were looking for."

"Yeah."

"Then why aren't you excited? What exactly did you talk about? Don't make me curious. You know I could haunt you because I was curious." His breath felt colder against my face, bothering me.

Bothered by the air coming from his mouth, I slowly opened my eyes.

"Shit!!"

Why was his face so close to mine? The distance between us might have been just three or four cm.

I pulled my hand then aimed it at Desmon's body, pushing him away with all my strength to distance his face from mine. "Why are you so close, bothering me?"

Desmon didn't resist at all. He finally moved his chair away and sat further from me.

"That's what happens when you ignore me. Tell me what you talked about." Desmon replied.

As I didn't want him to come close again, especially to touch my face, I reluctantly told him what Chloe and I had talked.

I wasn't sure where to start, but I clearly told everything Chloe had told me. This included how Chloe had developed her ability, gaining a stronger death aura the more she interacted with the ghost world.

Then, my story shifted to Chloe being haunted by a vengeful ghosts and the phantoms trying to protect her. Later, one of Chloe's phantoms disappeared, and it turned out to be a ghost girl named Leina, who had haunted us all this time.

I also explained why Leina haunted me. According to Chloe, I had a life aura that attracted Leina's attention. So, that was the end of my story to Desmon.

"Done, aren't you asking anything else?" Desmon asked.

"There are a few things I want to ask, but she had to leave urgently. That's why she asked me to meet again the day after tomorrow."

"At what time? Where? Can I come with you?" Desmon always flooded me with questions.

"In the late afternoon, around four or five. At Maneuvers Coffee in the Ventus sector. Honestly, I do need a friend, especially a human friend, as you know, it's the Ventus sector." I said.

"Are you sure? I mean, Ventus sector?" His voice weakened at the end when he said 'Ventus' I knew he was concerned about me.

After all, who wouldn't be worried if someone close to them, whether a friend or family member, went to the Ventus sector?

Among the eleven sectors in my city, there was only one that was known for its danger, and the entire nation was aware of its danger it is the Ventus sector.

The Ventus sector had gained several nicknames, none of which had positive meanings, they all referred to violence and crime, criminal activities. One of its famous nicknames was the 'lawless sector.'

However, that was a few years ago before the government decided to revamp the Ventus sector. Started by forming a special unit to crack down on criminals there and secure the Ventus sector. Until four years ago, the government reduced the Ventus sector area, leaving only the central part of the Ventus sector.

During this transformation, the Ventus sector was isolated from the outside world. But after the transformation was completed about two years ago, Ventus sector began attracting people, especially curious individuals who wanted to see the results of the government's work and the majority of them were teenagers.

In today's social circles, there's a term, "Live soaring high like the wind, die motionless like a stone." It roughly refers to two opposing sectors —the Ventus sector, which means wind, and the Highrock sector, which means stone. Ventus was full of adrenaline-pumping activities, while Highrock was full of luxury, which some people, especially teens, found boring.

Therefore, within two years, many restaurants, coffee shops, stores, and other entertainment venues emerged in Ventus, all designed to attract teenagers. Almost all these businesses could be considered successful.

So, I completely understood why Chloe chose a coffee shop in Ventus as our meeting place. Especially considering Chloe was a social butterfly, had many friends, and probably one of her friends had invited her to that coffee shop, making her like the place. There was nothing wrong with that as it was a current trend.

However, Desmon and I, who might be considered antisocial because to our lack of socializing, still found the Ventus sector terrifying. The sector's image as a lawless sector was still firmly rooted in our minds and was hard to erase.

"Yeah, that's why I said I needed a human friend." I replied.

"But you don't have one, and neither do I." Desmon responded. "Why don't you change the location to somewhere closer and, most importantly, safer?"

Desmon's words were correct, and I had already considered them. But I didn't want Chloe to feel uncomfortable because we chatted somewhere she didn't like.

Maybe that was just my opinion, but better be careful, right?

"That's what I wanted, but I'm also curious about the Ventus sector. Is it safe or not? Besides, if I go to the Ventus sector, I might make more human friends." I replied, trying to look at the positive side of going to the Ventus sector.

"Okay, it's up to you. But I'll definitely come with you. This is not a request."

I smiled at Desmon. Desmon was indeed a caring friend.

We continued our conversation about something else, something that could distract us for a moment from the issues of ghosts and phantoms, especially if it was a movie.

But our conversation lasted less than half an hour before I became too tired and wanted to fall into a deep sleep.

###

The journey from my home to the Ventus sector took more than an hour and a half, at least according to my map app. So, I decided to get ready and leave by 2 PM.

I —and Desmon— went using a car from the Let's-Ride online transportation service. The safety was pretty good, so it made us feel calm at least during the journey.

I don't know if we felt calm or not when we made it to the Ventus sector.

We traveled through the inter-sector bridge, the same one where the incident involving Ryan and the mysterious figure happened. However, this time, we took a different route than the one leading to my school.

Actually, it took only forty minutes for us to reach the sector border and enter the Ventus sector.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

The entrance gate to the Ventus sector appeared very tall and solid. As far as I knew, it was only the Ventus sector in my city that had an entrance gate and one of six sectors across the country to have one.

The Ventus sector entrance gate looked old despite its new equipment and paint. This was because the gate had been revamped two years ago, at the same time with the government's completion of the transformation process.

Before the revamp and during the government's transformation process, as far as I knew, there were news about checkpoints to enter the Ventus sector. But the checkpoints were indeed left out during the transformation, and the isolation policy was implemented by the government.

Turns out, to this day, there are still no checkpoints to enter the Ventus sector. Who knows until when, or perhaps there will never be checkpoints again because the government now considers the Ventus sector to be safe. Who knows what policies the government will implement? I don't know.

Since there was no checkpoint, I could enter the Ventus sector without any trouble. Perhaps this is why many teenagers consider the Ventus sector as their hangout spot. No inspection means freedom, that's what teens like.

But that doesn't mean my trip was entirely without any trouble. Although I entered the Ventus sector without a security check, but the traffic here was terrible.

If you want to imagine how terrible the traffic is in the Ventus sector, imagine teenagers from ten other sectors in the entire city coming together towards at the same place, was it jammed?

Therefore, since it was a holiday, many teenagers came, plus tourists who wanted to enjoy the now 'cleaned' Ventus sector.

I should have realized this from earlier.

This traffic was much worse than the previous one I had experienced on my way to school. It was so severe that many teenagers decided to leave their vehicles and walk.

Didn't they think ahead? Indeed they could command their vehicles, either continue their trip or turn back home or to another destination. Their vehicles weren't the problem, in a sense.

Instead, it was those who walked that caused the problem. They left their vehicles in the middle of the road, walked at a slow pace, without any sensors or AI systems to calculate their direction. As a result, other vehicles would give way, slow down, or even stop as long as they detected pedestrians in the middle of the road.

In the end, their wild actions caused a severe traffic jam. Purely selfish.

Honestly, It's not that I didn't want to get out either. But seeing the crowd of walking teenagers, I was afraid something might happen. Plus, if I got out of this vehicle, Let's-Ride's safety assurance would no longer apply.

So, I could only patiently wait inside the car. Besides, I still had plenty of time.

Firstly, I played on my smartphone while waiting for the traffic to clear, but my curiosity about the scenery within the Ventus sector made me leave my smartphone and focus on observing everything.

Not far from the Ventus sector entrance gate, although it took me fifteen minutes to reach, I could see the only skyscraper remaining in the Ventus sector.

If my count isn't wrong —I counted it three times— the building had forty-eight floors. These forty-eight floors symbolized the twelve months in the four cardinal directions, according to one of East Asia's beliefs. I knew this after looking up the information on the internet.

The skyscraper, once called Ventus Tower, was now renamed Surveillance Tower and served as the Special Unit's center during the Ventus sector cleanup operation. Based on rumors, the skyscraper still stayed some members of that special unit or intelligence members.

Whether the rumors were true or not, I felt something odd about the building. The same feeling I experienced whenever I visited my father's grave. It was as if the building was a mass grave.

"Do you feel it too, Desmon?" I wanted to confirm whether this was just my feeling or if Desmon sensed the same thing.

"Deaths and corpses. Yes, I sense it." Desmon confirmed that my feeling was totally right. "But this one is much stronger than an ordinary graveyard. It's better not to go there, whatever happens."

I nodded in agreement.

Whatever it was. Whatever had happened in that building, especially when the Ventus sector was isolated, I didn't want to know or come near it even a bit.

I shifted my attention to another corner of the sector. There was nothing special about this area, except that all the equipment and paint looked new, even though the buildings themselves seemed old.

It seems like the government really cleaned up this sector and made it more beautiful.

After having a good look around, I returned my attention to my smartphone. The time on my phone was almost 5 PM, and our trip still seemed to need more than half an hour.

Way off from the initial guess, seems like late afternoon is when teens start gathering.

I understood why Chloe had suggested 4 or 5 PM.

Since I had already seen every part of the sector that I could see, I just continued playing games on my smartphone. What else could I do?

###

Not long after, we finally arrived. It actually took about an hour to reach Maneuvers Coffee Shop, but that hour seemed short if you spent it playing games, right?

Without waiting any longer, I entered the coffee shop. Fortunately, this place didn't operate on a reservation basis, so I could just walk in, although I couldn't spot any empty seats. Many people were standing while drinking and chatting.

There were so many people that it was hard for me to find Chloe. I started to doubt whether Chloe would come or not. Or maybe she had come and left because she waited too long for me.

Realizing I was already late and not wanting to keep Chloe waiting even longer —if she had come and was still waiting for me— I decided split up from Desmon.

Luckily, Chloe could see Desmon and had seen what Desmon looked like, so she could recognize Desmon if she saw him.

Desmon went to the second floor while I checked the first floor. If I were to count the number of people on the first floor, I'd need a calculator because there were definitely more than a hundred.

Maneuvers Coffee Shop was actually spacious enough to make room for more than seventy or eighty people per floor. I could tell by the number of tables multiplied by four chairs for each table.

However, even with that capacity, it wasn't enough to make room for its customers. How the shop owner enjoyed the profit and how stressful it must be for the employees to serve so many customers at once.

I ran out of places to look and couldn't find Chloe. I should've gone upstairs to check, but Desmon had already checked the second floor, and I let Desmon handle the third and fourth floors as well.

At least Desmon could fly and see from above, which would save time searching. Besides, he could pass through floors, making it more efficient.

Eventually, I just ordered a drink at the counter, then, after getting the drink, I chose to be outside the coffee shop.

No, I didn't leave the coffee shop. I was just outside because it was too crowded inside, and I felt uncomfortable in the crowd.

I found one empty spot where I could sit, even though there was no seat there, but that was fine with me.

While waiting for Desmon, who was still searching inside the coffee shop, I decided to continue my game and enjoy the cool evening with the coffee I ordered.

"I've been looking for you everywhere, turns out you're sitting here." A figure behind me spoke, appearing like a ghost. "Did you meet her?"

"No, that's why I'm here alone," I replied while continuing to play the game.

"Then why didn't you look for her, instead kept playing?"

"I was actually waiting outside. If Chloe got stuck in traffic and just arrived, she would definitely see me out here. It would be hard for her to find me inside."

Desmon stayed silent for a few seconds. "Hmm... seems like you're right. In that case, I'll stay here too."

"Don't," I paused my game and looked at Desmon, "It's better if you search around here. If she's already gone home, she might not be too far away."

"Why don't you search, and I'll stay here? Why are you giving me orders?" Desmon squinted his eyes, with creases between his brows, and a rise in his tone.

I stared directly into his eyes, trying to get my point across. "Firstly, it's dangerous here for humans, you know that, and you know I'm human. Secondly, you can fly, so you can see further, and you can even pass through vehicles, so the chance of you getting hit is zero. Is that enough of a reason?"

Desmon took a long breath, whether he actually breathed or not, then let out a breath. He raised his hand, squeezed all of his fingers except his pointing finger, which was aimed at me.

"Why are you smart at times like this and stupid at school?" He said, whether it was praise or not.

I could only smile, realizing the irony between his words and mine. Like Desmon, I was also puzzled about where this intelligence came from, maybe influenced by the Ventus atmosphere? Who knows.

Desmon then agreed to my plan and left to start his search.

Meanwhile, I resumed playing my game, but before that, I put away of my empty coffee cup.

When I was enjoying playing my game, suddenly I felt something strange. A feeling I've never experienced before.

It's hard to explain, but it brought warmth and a sense of joy.

I paused my game again, curious about where this feeling came from.

I got up from my seat, looked around, but found nothing strange or suspicious.

I shifted my gaze upwards, maybe the feeling came from above. However, I couldn't find anything except for the sky turning dark, yet at the same time, it seemed bright.

Because I couldn't find anything unusual, and I was afraid to walk around in the Ventus Sector, I decided to go back and continue my game.

"Excuse me, this seat taken." Without me knowing, there was a teenage boy's voice behind me.

Since when had he been there? How did he get there? Maybe I was too focused on playing my game and forgot about my surroundings.

"Of course," I said, slightly shifting my body to indicate that he could sit there.

"Thank you." The teenage boy then sat behind me and placed his coffee next to him.

When the teenage boy sat down, I could feel an incredible warmth and my vision also seemed brighter.

Suddenly, I remembered Chloe's words about me having a life aura. If I remember Chloe's story correctly, she explained that a life aura is the opposite of a death aura.

Because the aura of death had this coldness and darkness, as far as I remember, so the opposite of that is warmth and brightness.

Honestly, I was initially puzzled by Chloe's statement that I gave off a life aura. But now, it seemed I understood what Chloe meant back then.

Somehow, the teenage boy sitting behind me also seemed to have a life aura. At least, he brought warmth and brightness.

Could he also see ghosts like me and Chloe?

Could he even see phantoms just like me and Chloe?

Or maybe he couldn't see ghosts, especially Phantoms, but he only had life aura?

Or did he know something, whether related to ghosts, phantoms, death aura, or life aura?

Whatever the answers to all those questions, he seemed like an interesting person. And hopefully, he could become my friend. At least, that way, I'd achieve one of my goals in the Ventus sector —having a human friend, besides Chloe.

####