Deviant: No Longer Human

"This is… m-my fault…"

Left behind, Naomi stuttered.

But a second later she shook her head violently. No, she wasn't one of them. Not really. One of the earliest Chronomasters had once been her friend… but that friend was long dead.

She thought maybe, just maybe, the race could be saved. But it seemed that wasn't in their destiny.

Naomi sighed, tilting her head like a child trying to piece together a puzzle.

"Wa-ang Xiao…" she muttered his name, soft, curious, not angry, not fond. More like whispering the name of a strange creature she couldn't quite understand.

The last she remembered, he was almost… kind. Back when he had nothing. In captivity, he was willing to share, to endure, to give. She had thought well of him then.

But people only reveal their true nature once they have power.

Most hide their impulses, their greed, their cruelty, because consequences exist. But what if there aren't any consequences?

Would they all end up like Wang Xiao? Or worse?

She didn't know.

Instead, Naomi turned her head slightly, voice low, calling: "Aurora... Look at this mess."

Aurora appeared briefly, eyes sliding over the blood-drenched floor, then back to Naomi. She only asked one thing, voice impatient: "Where is he?"

And without waiting for an answer, she left in haste.

Naomi blinked. Even Aurora was chasing him. But for different reasons. She'd seen Aurora's flushed cheeks, the awkward way her hands fidgeted. That red face wasn't anger. It was something else. Something she didn't want to admit.

Aurora bit her lip as she stormed away, a memory flashing unwanted: her body pinned, touched, harassed in every way possible. She knew, she knew, that hadn't been there originally. So where the hell had he gone? What did he do to her?

Her fists clenched.

She was furious... She was uncomfortable.

She wanted answers.

She wasn't alone.

Velkhara was worse off. She felt as though she had been waiting for someone, heart restless, nights long. Why? The feeling… it resembled the silhouette she once glimpsed while spying on the man Ning Xue had gone with.

She needed to confirm it.

____

Back in Shanghai, night draped the city in neon shadows.

Knock. Knock.

"Where is your father?"

The door flew open, revealing a woman with messy hair, as though dragged from bed. On the threshold stood another woman, white wavy hair tumbling around her shoulders, sapphire eyes blazing with fury.

The first froze. Wenxi blinked, confused. "Where's… what?"

But the stranger didn't wait for an answer. She turned and rushed down the stairs.

"Aunt Sera?!" Wenxi gasped, eyes widening. Seraphine? How the hell did she free herself?!

She bolted after her. "Aunt Sera, come back! You can't just run around like this... you'll be discovered! Ugh"

Too late...

Seraphine was already sprinting down, barefoot, face wild.

She had been tied, trapped, starved for days. She couldn't take another second. Screw everything. She'd rather die than live another day in chains.

"Where is he?!" Seraphine's scream echoed as she stumbled through the hall. "Where's my tormentor?! Where's Wang Xiao?! End me already!"

She didn't expect to see someone else to be awake.

In the dark kitchen, Xinyue Zhilan was drinking from a glass of water, calm as always, when Seraphine rushed past the doorway.

Xinyue Zhilan blinked. Once.... Twice.

Her gaze dragged over the foreign woman's hourglass figure, the flushed red cheeks, the stormy fury filled eyes.

And then her lips parted in disbelief.

"Pffttt!"

Zhilan spat the water in a messy spray across the counter, coughing.

"…Another one?!" she blurted, voice rising.

At first she only frowned in confusion. But then her face flushed red with rage. "That brat… What kind of mess has he dragged home now?"

Her anger was justified. The villa already had more women than she could count, and now, some rare foreign beauty, who even looked like her age, suddenly appeared?

The commotion drew the rest of the house.

Wang Xueying peeked in, smiling awkwardly. Seraphine was already in Wenxi's grip, but too late, both of them were now caught in Xinyue Zhilan's fiery glare.

A second later, Josephine came down the stairs as well, slipping free of wherever she'd been held. Yue facepalmed at the terrible timing.

Wang Mei took one glance at the situation, muttered something about calling later, and went straight back to bed. Her brother's life was simply too messy to bother with.

Qian Yaoyao yawned, then blinked in surprise beside her sister. "Wow…" she muttered, stunned, almost impressed.

Xin Meifang glared, elbowed her, and hurried over to soothe Zhilan's fury.

But all of them had the same question:

Where was the man who created this mess?

So many were looking for him.

So many, for so many reasons.

_____

Back near the Tianjin port, the midnight filled with the howl of engines.

A series of cars drifted past, the first a blue Bugatti Mistral SS, all Aether-fueled, grey paint shinning under the neon, carbon fiber chassis, a W16 throwing out 2,450hp, graphene supercapacitors dumping instant torque into the street.

Every roar shook the ground.

Chasing it, tire smoke curling, came a red Koenigsegg Ragnarok, a next-gen Freevalve V8 hybrid, spitting out 2,500hp, its growl snapping at the Bugatti's heels.

They weren't just driving... They were racing.

By the time they neared the nightclub, the Bugatti took the lead. Through the windshield, the driver came into focus, a glamorous woman with a dragon tattoo curling around her neck, blue-orb eyes glittering like gemstones, chest-length ashen-gray hair tumbling in waves.

A black outfit hugged her thin waist, daring, sharp, impossible to ignore.

In the passenger seat sat a man grabbing tightly to the handle, knuckles white. Luo Yang. He cursed under his breath, eyes darting to the mirror, then back at her.

"This woman drives like a lunatic… no wonder her family banned her after the last crash."

The driver smirked. Long Qimeng. Daughter of the Minister of State Security, infamous, dangerous, and very much unbothered by her passenger's terror. She also happened to be Xin Ruoling's best friend, aka Luo Yang's girlfriend's best friend.

So why was he here with her?

Simple... She couldn't have her own car. He lent her his.

And now… she'd just offended the wrong person.

The Bugatti screeched to a halt outside the club, and Long Qimeng stepped out first. A long leg, wrapped in a stiletto black heel, hit the pavement, drawing every eye on the street.

The Koenigsegg slammed in behind her. Its driver, a boy in a grey suit, kicked the door open furiously.

"Fuck! This trash is so slow!" he roared, smashing his foot into the car's bumper.

Long Qimeng didn't even care. "You're slow. Stop blaming the car. Now, where's my—"

Before she could finish, the boy flung a black card at her chest. "I lost, okay?! That's ten million on it. Take it!"

He was Wang Lingtian, son of Tianjin's mayor. People called him the King of Tianjin.

Long Qimeng caught the card effortlessly, lips curving into a dazzling smile. "Drinks are on me tonight." She tossed her hair and strode into the club, Luo Yang trailing after her.

Wang Lingtian glared at her back, cursing under his breath. The woman stuck to his arm tried to soothe him. "Shao Wang-"

SLAP!

Her head snapped sideways, shock flashing across her face. She didn't dare say another word

That was when more cars screeched to a stop.... The second generation Rich heirs of Tianjin had arrived.

A golden Pagani Huayra Tempesta slid sideways, barely avoiding the curb. From it stepped a lanky boy in a silk shirt, shades still on at night.

Chen Yufeng.

He smirked, tossing his keys to a valet without looking. "Heh, Lingtian, losing to a woman again? Pathetic. At least she's pretty enough to make you look less humiliated."

"Chen Yufeng, shut your mouth before I rip it off," Wang Lingtian growled.

From a purple Lamborghini Terzo Millennio, the door lifted up and out stepped Zhao Yichun, a chubby heir in a diamond-studded jacket, chewing gum.

"Yo, yo, yo. Who's the goddess with the dragon ink? Damn… Tianjin's nightlife finally got upgraded." He winked at Luo Yang. "And you, who the fuck are you? Her driver?"

Luo Yang's frowned, but he said nothing.

Another car pulled in, a silver Ferrari SF90, with Tang Wei, sharp-eyed, stepping out, adjusting his tie. He clicked his tongue. "Ten million lost on a street race? Tch. You idiots embarrass Tianjin." His gaze slid to Long Qimeng's back, smile curling. "But I'll forgive it tonight. She's… worth the spectacle."

Every brat hated losing... Every brat wanted Qimeng.

But none dared to step too far. She was Long Qimeng, daughter of the Minister of State Security... Untouchable.

Still, their eyes flicked toward Luo Yang. Who the hell was he?

Luo Yang, however, wasn't staring at Qimeng anymore.

Inside the bar, they settled into the lounge seats reserved for them in the VIP section. Yet as Luo Yang sipped his drink, his gaze drifted toward a shadowed corner. There, in the dim glow of red, he caught the silhouette of a lone woman seated in the ordinary section.

Dark hair spilling like ink, her waist curving like a serpent's hiss, every shift of her body a hiss and a call. Mature... More dangerous than Qimeng's fiery thunder.

If Qimeng was lightning, this woman was venom.

"...Hnh?" Wang Lingtian caught his gaze, then turned, his eyes widened.