Only Human Here 1

I am the indomitable phoenix that cannot be vanquished.

 

Wei Huan always liked to say this, saying it with a smile, lifting his chin, and exuding an air of fearless youthful spirit that knows no bounds. Whether it was his first time stepping onto the campus dueling arena or the moment he fought back against the besieging forces at the Immortal City, he remained ever thus.

 

Even in the face of death. Despite being riddled with wounds and having his wings shattered by human bombers, he lay on the ground, unable to rise, yet he defiantly gritted his teeth and proclaimed, “I shall not die.”

 

But in the end, he did.

 

Unlike humans, demons lack an afterlife. Demon souls arise from the essence of the heavens and earth, and when their demon hearts are destroyed, their souls disperse, returning to the cosmos. This is their irreversible fate, a fact known all too well to Wei Huan.

 

Therefore, when he once again opened his eyes—eyes that should have been closed in eternal slumber—he believed he was dreaming.

 

His mind was in disarray. His gradually focusing gaze met the precarious ceiling through a glass canopy. Wei Huan, lying supine amidst shattered glass, raised his hand, attempting to remove the breathing apparatus from his face. His arm, however, was bound by something, and upon turning his head, he noticed a slew of strange tubes and connectors attached to his body.

 

If this were a dream, it was far too vivid.

 

He turned his head to survey his surroundings. It was a small room, and he appeared to be lying on a sickbed, surrounded by shattered screens and instruments. Just then, a section of the ceiling collapsed with a deafening crash. Wei Huan promptly pushed aside the glass canopy and got out of bed. His eyes fell upon the fractured glass partition, dividing the entire room and revealing a row of workstations beyond.

 

Wei Huan couldn’t fathom how he had come to be here; he was certain he had already died. Furthermore, he couldn’t comprehend why this decrepit laboratory, exuding such a strong aura of the supernatural, was suffused with a familiar demonic energy—his own. Logically, after a demon dies, both its energy and soul should disperse completely.

 

Given that the demonic energy remained, Wei Huan took a deep breath, endeavoring to invoke his spirit to manifest his wings, yet his body responded with complete inertia.

 

How could this be? Wei Huan frowned.

 

Placing his palm over his left atrium, he closed his eyes. The heart of the Nine Phoenix, once easily sensed, was no more. In its place was an entirely unfamiliar heartbeat.

 

What mockery was this? Where was his demon heart?

 

The room jolted once again, and a cavity appeared in the collapsed corner, becoming the sole exit from this sealed chamber. Wei Huan leaned against the wall, stumbling his way out through the opening, only to find darkness on the other side. He had never imagined he would be afraid of the dark. The corridor was profound, and yet his heartbeat was irregular, even agonizing.

 

In the post-awakening world, nothing made sense.

 

Not long after his departure, the sepulchral corridor suddenly resounded with a piercing alarm: “All departments, take notice: An incident is suspected in Lab 236. Subject 7494, designated ‘experiment,’ has escaped the lab! Seal all exits immediately, and deploy armed personnel to recover the subject!”

 

Recover… the subject?

 

A sharp pang shot through Wei Huan’s right shoulder. Turning his head, he noticed a faint red glow beneath the white fabric of his lab coat. Pulling at the cloth, he revealed a black identification number imprinted on his right shoulder.

 

“7494…”

 

There was no time to inspect closely as the alarm sounded again, the pain in his shoulder growing more pronounced. Hastening his pace, Wei Huan reached the end of the corridor. The dim light made it difficult to discern his surroundings accurately, forcing him to rely on his hands to navigate.

 

Despite the intense tremor, the main door remained unaffected. Wei Huan stretched his hand toward the door, his fingertips touching a cold, palm-sized screen. The screen lit up momentarily, prompting him for a password. He tried pressing a few numbers, and from somewhere emerged a metallic-toned human-like voice: “Incorrect password!”

 

Damn, it even has a voice!

 

Wei Huan immediately withdrew his hand, but it was already too late.

 

“Someone is inside the door! Unlock it quickly!”

 

“Report; the explosion damaged the system’s functionality, and we’re awaiting a response!”

 

Wei Huan’s heart raced. They had come to apprehend him so swiftly.

 

A faint glimmer pierced the oppressive darkness. Wei Huan turned his head and followed the light to a hole in the wall. Guards’ flashlight beams were emanating from the opening!

 

He rapidly keyed in random numbers on the screen, but the metallic feedback seemed to stutter, continuously reporting errors, “Incorrect password! Incorrect password! Incorrect password! Incorrect password…”

 

“The person inside is still attempting to crack the code!”

 

“Quick! Go fetch the technicians!”

 

Buying some time was crucial; he needed to find an escape route within this timeframe.

 

Wei Huan struggled to steady his out-of-control heartbeat. To be pursued immediately after his resurrection was truly exhilarating. He reached the translucent exit. The opening wasn’t very large and required him to displace some stones. However, he was worried about alerting the guards, so he only managed to move a few, gradually widening the aperture.

 

Even at this point, Wei Huan persisted. If his demon powers could be restored, no matter how many people were outside, they wouldn’t stand a chance against him. He attempted to summon his powers once again, but his lifeless body remained unresponsive.

 

He couldn’t even sense his own demonic energy anymore; it had vanished completely after leaving the previous laboratory.

 

“They’re here? Hurry and unlock it!”

 

Wei Huan pressed himself against the opening, waiting for the opportune moment. Darkness brought numerous blind spots, and if he timed it right, he could escape from their line of sight.

 

“It’s open!”

 

Now was the time. He pushed the final large stone with all his might, escaping through the shattered hole just as the guards forced their way in, evading their grasp.

 

His right shoulder scraped against the jagged edge of the opening, and crimson blood gradually soaked his sleeve. Wei Huan clutched his shoulder, hastening his pace to elude the guards. A new set of voices echoed around the corner, and his heart was pounding fiercely. He glimpsed a damaged ventilation duct in the wall, a result of the explosion.

 

“Location shows it’s nearby!” A young guard exclaimed excitedly as he ran to the corner. “Right here… where’s the person?”

 

“Could the tracking be malfunctioning?” Another guard arrived.

 

“It can’t be…” he stared at the monitoring device in his hand. “We need to find them quickly, or the doctor will have us for dinner.”

 

Wei Huan huddled against the ventilation duct’s partition, his chest rising and falling rapidly and cold sweat trickling down his back. The pain in his wounded shoulder intensified, and he couldn’t help but glance at the injury.

 

Wait a moment, tracking?

 

Wei Huan stared at his right shoulder, the numbered pattern still flashing red. He endured the pain and pressed the numbered spot with his fingers several times. Indeed, beneath his skin, he faintly felt a small, thumb-sized protrusion, its edges distinct, like a chip.

 

This was it. Wei Huan retrieved the surgical scalpel he had taken from the lab earlier and took a deep breath. Gripping the handle with his left hand, he clenched his teeth and plunged the blade into his right shoulder. The intense pain made beads of sweat form on his forehead; his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down; and the sharp tip of the blade cut through flesh and skin, coming into contact with the hard chip.

 

Blood flowed down the blade, and Wei Huan furrowed his brow, biting down on the handle with his teeth. He maneuvered his right arm as much as he could, extending his trembling left hand toward the wound. With determination, he inserted his fingers into the cut made by the blade and extracted the chip.

 

A tense string within him finally loosened. Wei Huan leaned against the partition, taking deep breaths and staring at the blood-stained chip in his hand.

 

He never thought he would come to a day when he’d be manipulated by humans using something like this.

 

Destroying the chip and discarding it, he tore a piece from his clothes and tightly bandaged the wound, wrapping it around and securing it. Wei Huan crawled through the passage connected to the ventilation duct, realizing that he was underground. The enclosed structures of the underground ducts led him on, and he pulled open a valve, climbing up a ladder.

 

Upwards, upwards.

 

Finally, Wei Huan emerged from the underground research facility after lifting the manhole cover. He had barely gotten out of the sewer when he nearly collided with an oncoming bicycle. His naturally heightened reflexes allowed him to swiftly evade, and as the human cyclist cursed and rode away, Wei Huan retraced his steps, using his foot to lift the manhole cover and seal it.

 

“Lucky you didn’t fall in…” he muttered to himself.

 

Raising his head, Wei Huan finally took in his current location. His gaze fell upon a dirty and chaotic street block, with crowded buildings squeezing into the already limited space. Neon signs of various colors mingled and flickered, creating an otherworldly scene.

 

Tattoo parlors and barbecue shops on both sides of the road played their respective songs. One emitted stimulating electronic beats, while the other played outdated dance music. Wanted posters with peculiar faces covered the walls, one overlapping the other, like an incurable ailment. Red-painted letters, bold and mottled, proclaimed, “Oppose Demon Violence; Join the Resistance Movement.”

 

Could there be such slogans?

 

Indeed. Wei Huan suddenly realized that only one place could have the audacity to openly display such rebellious messages.

 

This was the hidden enclave of the “fringe humans,” those discarded by human society and referred to as the “high-risk population” by demons—the Shadow District.

 

Night had fully fallen, and there weren’t many people on the street. A pink-haired girl walked towards him, cigarette in hand. Nose rings, ear studs, lip rings—she had them all. Fishnet stockings matched tall boots, and as she came closer, she blew a smoke ring in Wei Huan’s direction, her tongue stud sparkling.

 

This place was full of humans, but they seemed more like demons than actual demons.

 

Before Wei Huan could fully relish his newfound freedom, the sound of a motorcycle engine roared past him. Initially, it had nothing to do with him, yet somehow, his lab coat got caught!

 

The motorcycle sped away, dragging Wei Huan along the ground. His shoulder grazed the surface, and his skin nearly rubbed raw, causing excruciating pain. The wind howled in his ears, mixed with the rider’s voice.

 

“Geez, who the heck are you?”

 

“Well, I was just about to ask you the same thing!” Wei Huan, enduring the pain, grabbed onto the person’s leg. Leveraging his formidable combat skills, he pushed off the ground, flipping the motorcycle owner over, and sat astride the rear seat of the bike, gasping for breath. “You sure know how to ride! You nearly took half my life away with that stunt. Are you riding a motorcycle or a tractor?”

 

The young man in front muttered, “I was riding a tractor. I pulled you up. So, what are you then?”

 

Wei Huan replied, “Wow, your logic is truly impressive.”

 

The pain from his wound was too much to bear, leaving him little energy to continue bantering with this person. In theory, it shouldn’t be like this; he used to have remarkable regenerative abilities.

 

Seeing Wei Huan silent, the motorcycle owner pushed up the visor of his helmet with a snap and turned to look at him. “Hey, buddy, your moves just now were amazing!”

 

Wait, was this guy actually praising him?

 

“Stop the bike!”

 

“Why would I stop when you’re already on? Where do you want to go? I’ll give you a ride.”

 

“Don’t act so smug. Who asked you to give me a ride?”

 

Wei Huan halted abruptly before completing his sentence as the familiar alarm resounded once more from behind him.

 

“Successfully tracked Subject 7494! All units, pursue with full force!”