"Tell me, what do you remember about Dr. Loghan?" asked a woman, wearing the typical attire of the Society.They had returned to Safe City, and now Dim-Dim found himself being interrogated by the Society. They also interrogated Clarinassa, who claimed that Mr. Loghan suddenly appeared outside the window on the night she stayed at Dim-Dim's house.Clarinassa admitted that the old man suddenly appeared at the window of the room where she was staying."The old man told me that he had heard rumors that there were Venators in the city, and he asked if I was one. I said, 'yes, I am a Venator,' and then he told me that he had superpowers to see the future and he was very anxious if there were monsters that would appear in front of his house.""Was there already a rumor circulating at that time that people with superpowers would be chased by monsters?" asked a Society member, and Clarinassa nodded."Yes, Dim-Dim told me that he heard rumors at his school about it, right, Dim-Dim?"And since t
At the end of March, the Venators and Illicitors held an event to honor the fallen Venators during the winter season and those Venators who would retire.The tradition was only done four times a year and held privately. On that day, there would be no training, and all Venators and Illicitors would go to the cemetery in their best uniforms, carrying bouquets for the team leaders, and cakes or drinks for team members. Later, each team leader of the fallen members would present the bouquet to the grave of the fallen member, then give a kind of simple speech about the deceased. Then, after honoring the fallen Venators and Illicitors, they would hold an event to honor the retiring Venator, something that rarely happened because Venators had contracts almost for life, unless the Venator suffered a serious injury or illness that forced them to retire.Today, Damian was retiring. The Venators gave him small cakes along with greetings, "Thank you for being willing to spar with me all this time
The next day..."Wow, it's an honor for us to vacation with you," said Mrs. Parenzee, as Dim-Dim rushed to grab his bag and climb the stairs toward the jet's entrance."I also feel very honored, Mrs. Parenzee—" Damian began, but the woman suddenly placed her index finger in front of her lips and smiled."You don't need to address me so formally. But if you're not comfortable calling me 'mother', that's okay too. Although I must remind you that you're like a son to me. You're our son's dear friend.""Thank you for your understanding," Damian replied. He helped lift Dim-Dim's heavy bag, instantly relieving Dim-Dim of the burden that had been bothering him since earlier. He entered the jet with Damian and Mrs. Parenzee, and was surprised to see that only Oriyan's father and Oriyan were inside."Where's Amma?" Dim-Dim asked, while Damian inquired, "Isn't Amaliah coming?""Yes, she's coming... I think," Mr. Parenzee said, hesitating. "She never liked family vacations. Always felt left out.
"Get ready to be amazed by the Safe City of Five Countries located on the island of Borneo," Oriyan said, playing the role of a tour guide to his family who listened in awe, including Dim-Dim who had never been to that place before. "Borneo Island is the third largest island in the world, and it seems to be the largest Safe City in the world. Our Safe City is only 6.3% the size of this one. Additionally, this Safe City was established by five countries, including Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, and Singapore.""There you will feel like you're back in the past when monsters hadn't invaded the earth yet," Damian exclaimed excitedly, and Amaliah and Oriyan's parents immediately applauded.Amma and Dim-Dim didn't quite remember the time before monsters invaded the earth, but they were also excited... and their excitement grew even stronger a few hours later when they arrived on the island.*****"Welcome to the Safe City of Five Countries!" exclaimed a woman dressed in a cas
"The fact that Damian can no longer be a Venator saddens him. Before this, being a Venator felt like the perfect destiny for Damian. Before he acquired superpowers—which, by the way, he still can't control—Damian was content with the power he had as a Venator member. The life of a Venator was very similar to military life, and such routines and identities are not easily forgotten.Oriyan noticed Damian's sadness and quickly redirected their attention from the Venators running along the roadside in neat formations to his phone playing a video titled 'Enjoying a Vacation in the Safe City of Five Countries.'"Okay, first, we should try scuba diving," Oriyan said to Damian. "Then we'll go see the exotic sunset in Kinabalu city, maybe even hike Mount Kinabalu. And the day after that, we'll go to Tusan Cliff Beach, and—""What makes Tusan Cliff Beach special?" Dim-Dim and Amma asked simultaneously, but Oriyan just smiled at them."You'll see later," he said mysteriously.Amma rolled her eye
And they both ran out of the holiday home, and kept running through the highway and then through the small alleys, continuously until they reached the city center."I'm tired," said Amaliah, panting, "and... thirsty..." she added, difficulty."In that case, we should find a place to rest," Dim-Dim decided. Dim-Dim spotted a sugarcane juice seller and quickly bought some for Amma. Fortunately, the seller accepted dollars. While waiting for the seller to squeeze the sugarcane, Dim-Dim and Amma sat on plastic benches, both looking tired."Okay... first, we can see the sugarcane juice seller," said Dim-Dim. "Then across the street, there's a satay seller, and...""Stop, I'm not talented in cooking or selling," said Amma. Her face was pale. But when she finally got the sugarcane juice, her face looked slightly brighter, and she immediately felt better. "This is so sweet," she said. "Want to try, Dim-Dim?" Amma handed her cold sugarcane juice to Dim-Dim, and Dim-Dim took a sip."It's very s
Dim-Dim and Amaliah continued cycling until they reached the border. They bought burgers, two each, and ate while cycling leisurely along the road. Ahead of them, in the distance, peeking through the coconut trees, was a beach with blue and luminated water.As they got closer to the beach, they found out that it was called Tusan Beach.*****"Where's the wall?" Amma asked, gazing at the sea spread out in front of them. She dropped her bike on the beach and took off her sandals. Dim-Dim did the same.The beach was deserted when they arrived, and they both ran towards the sea as far as possible. There was no wall.As the waves grew bigger, they retreated back to the beach, both soaked with seawater. "Okay, let's document this place," Amma decided. And she turned on the camera and aimed the lens at Dim-Dim."Do I visible on camera?" Dim-Dim asked."You're visible," Amma replied. "Just start speak.""Okay..." Dim-Dim saw Amma giving a sign that the camera was recording, and quickly said,
The islands Dim-Dim saw last night were Labuan Island, the largest one, while the six other small islands around Labuan Island are named Daat, Burung, Kuraman, Big Rusukan, Small Rusukan, and Papan.Around these islands is where people usually engage in scuba diving. But Dim-Dim and Amma didn't go there for scuba diving; instead, they were documenting how the Safe City of Five Countries protects itself from monsters. So, they focused on going to the venator defense building on the island.The building was tall and sleek, with a kind of observation balcony at the very top. Amma recorded the building with her video camera, and then they went inside, finding the interior bustling with venators having coffee with ordinary civilians."Excuse me," Dim-Dim said to a man sitting behind a computer desk. "I'm Dim-Dim, and this is my sister, Ams, and we're from Safe City New Jersey. We came here to do a geography assignment on the types of protection used in the Safe City of Five Countries. If I