Only Human Here 3

Not long to live?

 

Wei Huan paused for two seconds, furrowing his brows as he looked at Leia. “Are you kidding?”

 

Even Azu was puzzled. “Yeah, he’s perfectly fine, isn’t he?” After saying that, he rubbed Wei Huan’s arm and patted his thigh. “He’s not missing any limbs or anything.”

 

“This.” Leia threw a syringe at Wei Huan. “I tested it; it’s demonic poison.”

 

Demonic poison?

 

Wei Huan brought the syringe to his nose and smelled it. It did indeed carry the scent of a demon, almost like…

 

Hook Kiss.

 

And it was the essence of a Hook Kiss, one that was a hundred years old at least; it was so strong that it was probably extracted from an entire plant. Suddenly, the hand holding the syringe lost strength. Humans might not fully understand it, but Wei Huan, being a demon, was all too familiar with the toxicity. His teachers had warned him countless times back in school about how dangerous Hook Kiss poison was. It could mildly paralyze the body or cause severe injuries that were hard to heal. For humans, encountering it was a death sentence.

 

He had no demon power left now; wasn’t he just a human?

 

“Don’t think about it; you have at most two weeks left.” Leia took the syringe back and tossed it into the medical kit.

 

“Hey, hey, hey, don’t throw that.” Wei Huan reached out to take the syringe back but spotted a mirror inside the medical kit. The small mirror reflected his face.

 

Wei Huan froze in place.

 

How was this even possible?

 

He anxiously took out the mirror, staring at the face reflected on it, feeling utter disbelief.

 

It wasn’t his face. It wasn’t Wei Huan’s face. Even though he’d always preferred maintaining his human form, the person in the mirror was entirely unfamiliar. He looked like a 16 or 17-year-old human teenager. 

 

His breathing became uncontrollably heavy. He assumed that he was resurrected temporarily without his demon powers, but at this moment, Wei Huan realized that this wasn’t his body at all. This was, undeniably, the body of a regular human being!

 

No way. Wei Huan opened his shirt and his heart sank.

 

The blue Nine-Transforming Phoenix mark that had been imprinted on his collarbone since birth was gone.

 

Indeed, this was no longer the body of the Nine-Transforming clan.

 

“What are you doing?” Leia’s slender eyes were filled with suspicion as she looked at Wei Huan. “Stop pretending here; just confess. What’s your connection to Research Facility 137?”

 

Azu also found Wei Huan acting strangely and sighed, “Research Facility 137’s people have no conscience. They experiment on live subjects. If you’re their experiment, there’s no need to cover anything up for them.”

 

“I’m not covering for anyone.” Wei Huan’s mind was in chaos at the moment. He held up the mirror before his hand fell limp at his side. “I truly don’t know. When I woke up, I was in that Research Institute and they were chasing after me.” He recalled the details of that night: “Yes, their alarm broadcast did indeed call me an experimental subject. But I don’t know what they were experimenting on.”

 

“Had you just escaped when I encountered you?” Azu asked.

 

Wei Huan nodded. “That’s right, I’d only been out for a short while.”

 

“That night, an earthquake occurred in the Dark Zone,” Leia scrutinized Wei Huan, “Did you know that?”

 

Wei Huan suddenly remembered the moment he woke up in the Research Institute and felt the strong demonic aura; however, he kept his guard up. “I only know that once I awoke, the lab was about to collapse; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to take advantage of the chaos and escape.”

 

Such a powerful demonic aura was clearly his. What exactly was going on?

 

After his rebirth, everything seemed illogical. He was dead, so how…?

 

Dead.

 

Wei Huan frowned. Was his death logical? 

 

Even though he was surrounded by human enemies, even though there were bombers and mechas, with his healing power, he shouldn’t have died so quickly. 

 

He’d been dead for seven years. Where was his original body? The Nine-Transforming Clan’s mausoleum? Or had he been dismembered by the humans? 

 

What happened back then…?

 

Wei Huan attempted to recollect his memories of the day before his death, but no matter how hard he tried, all that surfaced were fragmented imageries. 

 

Azu was quite trusting of Wei Huan. Seeing him suffer like this pulled on his heartstrings, hence he looked up and said to Leia, “I think he’s telling the truth. It’s possible that the earthquake damaged the Research Institute’s facility, giving him the chance to escape. Moreover, he was being chased to kill.” 

 

“I’m the one interrogating him. You shut up,” Leia responded, “Then what did you do before? Do you have a household registration? In what Zone?”

 

This stumped Wei Huan. He glanced into the mirror at his unfamiliar appearance. He actually wasn’t sure what the original owner of this body did before this – even his name was randomly made up. 

 

“I don’t remember.” It wasn’t as if he couldn’t come up with lies, but Leia seemed to be a very cautious person. In addition to the fact that he wasn’t even human, it was too easy for lies and deceit to fall apart. “I only remember the things that happened after I woke up in the Research Institute.” 

 

Azu whispered, “Could he have been brainwashed…?” 

 

Leia glared at him without a word. 

 

Wei Huan fell into silence. In truth, he still hadn’t fully recovered his senses. His mind was a jumble of thoughts and he didn’t know how to describe his current emotions. He had genuinely believed that he died and the Nine-Transforming bloodline had ended with him.

 

Ever since his parents’ death, Wei Huan knew he had to bear the burden of the Nine-Transforming Clan on his own. He didn’t regret dying on the battlefield seven years ago. Now he’d been resurrected. Although he was borrowing someone else’s body, in the end, he was back. It was like a spark emerged from a pile of ashes.

 

However, before that spark could even ignite, he was hit with another blow: he wouldn’t survive longer than two weeks.

 

What was the point of his resurrection if he couldn’t make it? He might as well have stayed dead.

 

Dead—just thinking of that word made him feel uncomfortable. Only someone who had died once could understand this kind of pain.

 

No.

 

Wei Huan couldn’t accept it. Even if it was just a tiny spark, he had to turn it into a blazing flame—no, a roaring fire, a torch, a fierce inferno.

 

He had to seize this opportunity to come back fully.

 

Seeing him bow his head and fall silent, Leia thought he finally understood that he didn’t have long to live, causing her heart to ache. She wanted to say something, but her pride held her back. Azu shot her a meaningful glance and she glared back. Wei Huan happened to catch this exchange of glances, so he lifted his head to ask, “Is there an antidote for this demonic poison?”

 

“No.” Leia’s tone was unequivocal. “In at most fifteen days, your internal organs will deteriorate completely. During these days, the veins on your wrists will gradually turn purple-black. Once they’re all black, there will be no saving you.”

 

Hearing her words, Wei Huan felt a chill run down his spine. However, he was also puzzled. If Research Facility 137 wanted him dead, why didn’t they just use an instant-fatality poison or simply blow him up along with the vehicle? Why use this relatively slow-acting demonic poison?

 

Could it be that they had an antidote? Were they trying to trace his whereabouts right now? If they couldn’t find him, they would let him die; if they did find him, they could capture and use him.

 

Wei Huan looked down at his hands. Perhaps this body was valuable to them; otherwise, why wouldn’t they want to destroy him?

 

It was an optimistic thought.

 

“Hey!” Azu suddenly slapped his thigh. “I’ve got an idea.”

 

Leia scoffed, “What idea could you possibly have?”

 

Azu’s expression grew excited, but his voice lowered a bit. He pointed his index finger towards the ceiling and said, “Up there… Isn’t there an incredibly impressive demon academy? I’ve heard they prepare prizes for every new student who tops their Entrance Exam. I also heard that one of those prizes is the fruit of the Resurrection Tree.”

 

His voice had gradually grown softer, but it was like a thunderclap awakening Wei Huan.

 

Indeed. He had nearly become the top student admitted to the Shanhai Academy in the past. If not for his nemesis…

 

Oh well, the past was in the past. In the end, there was no fruit of resurrection for him.

 

The Resurrection Fruit is a product of the Demon Realm’s sacred Resurrection Tree. There’s only one tree left and it bore fruit once every ten years. It was said that consuming the fruit would amplify a demon’s power and even resurrect the dead. Wei Huan would use not obtaining the Resurrection Fruit as an excuse every time he lost to his nemesis, thinking that the guy must have consumed the fruit and gained a power boost. Otherwise, how could he be so overpowered?

 

“Are you crazy?” Leia’s voice interrupted Wei Huan’s not-so-pleasant memories. She looked at Azu with disdain. “Even most demons can’t get through the entrance barrier of that school. Do you think he can?”

 

Wei Huan vaguely heard an arrow striking his heart. He met Leia’s gaze with an awkward smile.

 

I was the campus heartthrob of the Shanhai Academy back in the day. This ignorant human girl…

 

“But only the Resurrection Fruit can bring the dead back to life,” Azu continued excitedly, “And it’s conveniently the ten-year enrollment period at the Shanhai Academy.”

 

“Don’t you just want to join the fun?” Liya coldly snorted. “Did you forget what the boss said? Absolutely no going up there.”

 

Who was the boss? Were they some kind of weird secret organization?

 

And also, what was “up there”? Wei Huan was puzzled. Could it be that they were talking about Kunlun Xu, the place he used to live?

 

This was the first time Wei Huan had heard about a demon territory from a human’s mouth. Throughout history, humans and demons have been on opposing sides. As the demon’s power grew, the conflict between the two factions shifted from initial confrontation to demons gaining overwhelming control.

 

In this world where survival of the fitness reigned, weaker humans could only be taken over by demons. Even their original dwelling places were gradually occupied. Now, they were left with only a small piece of land, known as the Human Realm, where they were legally allowed to reside.

 

Most of the remaining territory was occupied by demons and collectively referred to as the “Demon Realm”, where different demon races united to form a federation. The Demon Realm was vast. Powerful demons with precious bloodlines congregated in places rich in spiritual energy like Kunlun Xu and the Penglai Sea.

 

The so-called “Demon Academy” mentioned by Azu was Wei Huan’s alma mater, the Shanhai Academy, located at the heart of Kunlun Xu.

 

Usually, humans couldn’t enter Kunlun Xu, but Wei Huan, being an outstanding student of the Shanhai Academy, knew of the barrier’s hidden entrance.

 

As Azu and Leia left the room, thinking Wei Huan was lost in a depressive countdown to death, he made a decision.

 

When night fell, Azu knocked on the door and entered, carrying a box of food.

 

“These are all good things. Look at the cultivated kelp and synthetic steak. Although it’s made of synthesized protein, the taste is still…”

 

Wei Huan suddenly grabbed his arm, interrupting his enthusiastic sales pitch. “Azu, do you want to watch some excitement?”

 

“Huh?” Azu put down the food, patting his buzzed head. “What kind of excitement?”

 

Wei Huan raised an eyebrow, pointing upward.

 

“The excitement up there.”