Deviant: No Longer Human

[A/N: This chapter was posted early by error and bridges Wang Xiao's return from the Graveyard of Gods to Xianthera. Skip it and the upcoming chapter to continue with the main story. You can read them later if you wish.]

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9th Feb, 2027!

Switzerland, Binntal Valley.

The headquarters of the Pantheon Network pulsed with a heavy, somber atmosphere.

Beneath its sleek, angular exterior lay Gaia's facility, a maze of secrets housed within a rectangular, two-story structure.

On the second floor, Wang Xiao stood, his piercing gaze fixed on the world beyond the glass.

The vast expanse of the facility hummed in his ears, a whisper of life and industry.

"Hey, what do you think the new Eighth Prince is like?"

"I heard he's already here. Think we could catch a glimpse of him?"

"Uh-huh, but you'll probably have to beg the general for that!"

"Sheesh, such a letdown..."

Wang Xiao's eyes, now shimmering with a faint, ethereal blue, glowed as a sly smile curled his lips.

The hushed whispers echoing through the facility fed his amusement.

Just a few days ago, he had shaken the heavens above Frostholm, defending the skies from a barrage of antimatter missiles.

His declaration of Aether, a force that was here to stay, had left the world in awe.

But the voices—those endless murmurs—did not stop.

They drifted beyond the facility, carried on the winds through the vast, untouched valleys.

Every buzz, the delicate fall of leaves, even the faintest rustle in the wind…

All of it echoed within him, yet this was only a fraction of his true strength.

At first, he had been unable to silence the noise, the ceaseless buzzing that haunted his senses.

This strange power had awakened after he lost his eyes in the graveyard of gods, a result of that eerie, mysterious fountain he had encountered.

The haunting faces of angel statues, their expressions frozen in eternal sorrow, still flickered in his memory.

As Wang Xiao dwelled on these thoughts, the soft click of approaching footsteps reached his ears.

Tap...

Tap...

Tap...

"Sir?"

After several attempts to draw his attention, a blonde-haired woman, dressed in a lab coat that clung to her hourglass figure, sighed softly, her ruby-red sexy lips parting in frustration.

Wang Xiao remained as still as a statue, hands clasped behind his back, his aura commanding.

To be frank, he cut a striking figure, and Rebecca, the lead scientist and doctor overseeing Gaia's facility, found herself irresistibly drawn to him.

Her golden locks cascaded down her shoulders, framing a face of delicate beauty, while her eyes sparkled with intelligence and maturity.

Yet, it was his aura—an almost divine presence—that set him apart from mere mortals, making her pulse quicken in ways she couldn't quite understand.

The previous Eighth Prince, as Rebecca recalled, had been someone she could challenge, someone she could debate with. But this one... this one left her utterly subdued.

Her towering scientific achievements felt insignificant in his presence.

"Umm... Prince?" After a long moment of hesitation, she finally extended a pale, trembling hand and gently touched his shoulder, her touch light as a feather.

"Yeah...?" Wang Xiao blinked, his gaze shifting as he turned around.

The moment he noticed Rebecca, memories of their brief conflict last December over Anran's matter surfaced, but he brushed them aside.

Such trivial disputes were of little consequence to him.

Rebecca, shorter than Wang Xiao by several inches, stood before him with her wavy blonde hair cascading around her shoulders.

Though she typically exuded a slightly bossy aura, it seemed to shrink in his presence, leaving her appearing almost meek.

"The General is calling you back," Rebecca said, her tone more measured as she adjusted her mood.

Wang Xiao gave a brief nod, beginning to leave before suddenly pausing mid-step.

He glanced back, a thought lingering in his mind. "Rebecca, was it... Do you have any family members you miss?"

"Ah?" Rebecca, surprised by the unexpected question, hesitated before shaking her head. "No, sir."

She had long since sacrificed everything for her work at Gaia's facility.

"Alright," Wang Xiao replied with a fleeting smile.

For a brief moment, Rebecca felt an inexplicable chill run down her spine, as if she had made a grave mistake in answering.

But before she could react, Wang Xiao had vanished, leaving only an unsettling silence.

_____

Outside the interrogation room, a few female guards stood on duty, their posture stiff with professionalism.

But as soon as they saw Wang Xiao approaching, they stepped aside, giving him a respectful, almost hurried, nod.

It was as if they were trying to avoid getting caught in the crossfire of whatever serious business was going on inside.

However, the "serious business" under such tight security turned out to be two adorable babies, sound asleep in a cozy crib, wrapped snugly in a small white blanket.

Wang Xiao paused, his typically stern expression softening as he laid eyes on his descendants for the first time in what felt like ages.

A series of emotions passed through him, though his face barely betrayed anything beyond a raised eyebrow.

Both babies had the same snow-white hair, a feature that made them look like they'd been kissed by winter itself.

Of course, Wang Xiao didn't knew that in a few years, the one on the right—Yue—would insist on dyeing her hair to match her mother's.

The result?

Everyone would think she was a natural.

Everyone except him, that is.

Only he knew the truth: his daughters' true hair color was white as freshly fallen snow, a secret that gave him no small amount of amusement.

He couldn't help but chuckle softly at the sight of their tiny hands, smaller than even his fingers.

The babies seemed to be enjoying their dreams, smiling contentedly as if the weight of the world meant nothing to them.

Secretly, Wang Xiao had a hidden talent that no one in this world knew about: the ability to control dreams.

Morpheus, the God of Dreams, hadn't just handed over an amulet of protection to him— he'd also slipped Wang Xiao a hefty chunk of dream-related wisdom condensed into a book.

All of it was tucked away in a corner of his soul, like a book he didn't know he owned until one day he stumbled upon it while tidying up.

Why Morpheus decided to gift him this particular skill set was anyone's guess, but Wang Xiao wasn't complaining.

Now, he was effectively the new God of Dreams, capable of not only shaping dreams but also—if he felt like it—knocking someone off while they snoozed.

A rather convenient, if not slightly terrifying, power.

With a final glance at the peacefully slumbering babies, Wang Xiao turned his attention to the interrogation room.

The scene inside, however, was anything but peaceful.

On one side of the room, Li Zhiming sat looking as if he'd rather be anywhere else.

On the other, Anran was in full dramatic mode, flinging retorts at him like they were daggers.

Wang Xiao didn't even need his divine sense to know what was going on.

Anran, her foot boldly propped on the table, was jabbing an accusatory finger at Li Zhiming.

The poor man looked like a kicked puppy, nodding feebly as she tore into him.

Wang Xiao stifled a grin.

Li Zhiming had just revealed his true identity, and Anran was having none of it.

She was in the middle of a tirade about how, instead of living the cushy life of a princess, she'd been thrown into a military camp.

And did he have any idea how grueling the training was?

Li Zhiming, for his part, looked like he'd prefer to melt into the floor.

He nodded along, clearly outmatched.

Wang Xiao found the whole thing rather funny, but judging by the fire in Anran's eyes, it was clear she wasn't letting Li Zhiming off the hook anytime soon.

There was a lingering resentment in Anran's heart.

If Li Zhiming had never come back into her mother's life, maybe her family wouldn't have been blasted in that attack.

But all those thoughts vanished the moment she spotted Wang Xiao standing in the doorway.

Her face lit up with a bright smile, and she began jumping around like a child, eagerly waving him in.

In fact, she had convinced herself that her parents almost deserved to be bombed.

After all, if they hadn't been, how else would she have met Wang Xiao?

Her young mind had become a bit obsessed with him recently since waking up, but then again, she wasn't exactly all that mature.

At an age when most girls were just graduating high school, Anran was already daydreaming about sending her own daughters to school.

Her attachment to the parents she barely remembered was nothing compared to the man who had saved her from death.

In her mind, it was clear as day—Wang Xiao loved her!

Of course, this was a conclusion that Anran had arrived at entirely on her own.

Wang Xiao, for his part, had no idea of her feelings, and if he did, he might very well have sent her flying through the air again just to shake some sense into her.

As he stepped into the room, Wang Xiao exchanged a few brief words with Li Zhiming about the existence of Fairy Island, the mysterious place they had been searching for over half a decade.

When he asked Li Zhiming if he wanted to see it, the older man's eyes lit up with excitement.

He quickly excused himself to go prepare, nearly tripping over his own feet in his hurry.

"Humph..." Anran pouted, crossing her arms as she wondered what role this old man played that Wang Xiao would actually invite him along.

But the moment Wang Xiao patted her head, the sulking cat turned into a purring kitten, smiling and forgetting all about it.

Even Wang Xiao was taken aback by the sudden change.

Had she… evolved?

He couldn't help but wonder.

They chatted for a while, Wang Xiao lounging in a nearby chair as Anran sat beside him, practically glowing with happiness.

Out of the blue, he asked her, "So, why don't you ever ask me about things like marriage or stuff? Don't most women with kids push for that?"

Anran smiled mischievously and shook her head.

Without missing a beat, she stretched out her hand to grab a grape from the bowl of fruit in the center of the table.

As she popped it into her mouth, savoring its sweetness, she declared with a blissful grin, "They're foolish! The life of a wife is too hard! The life of a concubine is easy — eat, sleep and repeat!"

"!"

Wang Xiao nearly choked on his own breath.

He couldn't tell if she was a genius or simply a product of her wild imagination.

"Oh," Wang Xiao finally nodded, then casually placed a piece of paper on the table. "Then it shouldn't be needed."

Anran's eyes followed his every move, and when she glanced at the paper, her heart nearly skipped a beat.

"!"

The heading read Marriage Certificate.

To Wang Xiao, this was just a trivial document—something he could easily acquire with his status, and frankly, he didn't care much for such formalities.

He figured that mortals placed some importance on these things, so he had grabbed one for her, thinking it might help her explain things to others.

After all, he understood how the mortal world operated.

His daughters shouldn't live without their mother's name, especially in a world where identity mattered.

In Xianthera, Amelia hadn't bothered with this, since everything operated under Eleanor's command.

But this world was different, and Wang Xiao knew his daughters would need proper identities in the future.

However, since Anran herself had said she didn't care, he shrugged and was about to put the certificate back when—

"!!"

Whoosh!

Anran, her eyes wide with excitement, snatched the pen and paper from the table with the speed of a jet.

With a mischievous giggle, she scribbled her name down in record time. "Ehehe~ it's already done!"

"..."

Wang Xiao was momentarily speechless.

"Anran...Didn't you just say you didn't care?" he asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

Anran, still grinning, shook her head so vigorously her hair bounced. "Obviously, the life of a concubine is easy, but do you think this lady is a slacker? Absolutely not! I'm a hard worker, you know! Now that I've signed this, I can officially make your life easier. I'm very reliable!"

She struck a pose, standing on the chair and flexing her non-existent biceps as if to prove her point.

Wang Xiao raised an eyebrow, more out of curiosity than concern. "Reliable? You? So, signing this makes you reliable now?"

"Of course!" Anran nodded enthusiastically, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Think about it! Now that we're married, I can officially take care of you. You won't have to worry about a thing! Need someone to plan your day? Done!

Need someone to make sure your socks match? I'm on it!"

"Socks?" Wang Xiao echoed, struggling to follow her logic. "I don't even wear socks."

"Exactly! See how much I've already lightened your load? You're welcome!" Anran beamed, clearly proud of her reasoning.

Wang Xiao sighed, rubbing his temples. "But didn't you just say being a concubine was better because it's easier?"

"Well, yes," Anran said, her tone turning a bit more defensive, "but that's only because wives are supposed to do all the boring stuff. But if I'm your wife — and — I do the easy stuff, then it's like getting the best of both worlds! Plus, imagine the bragging rights! 'Oh, yes, I'm married to the great Prince, no big deal!' Everyone will be so jealous!"

Wang Xiao blinked, trying to process her increasingly convoluted logic. "So… you want to be my wife to avoid work and for bragging rights?"

"No, no, no!" Anran waved her hands dismissively. "It's not just that! It's also because, well, I love you!" She declared this last part with such a sudden burst of sincerity that Wang Xiao actually paused for a moment.

"And you're sure that's not just because I saved your life?" he asked, half-expecting another round of nonsensical reasoning.

"Well…" Anran tilted her head, thinking. "Maybe a little, but that's just proof that you're a good husband material, right? You save lives, you're super powerful, and you've got this whole mysterious, brooding thing going on. Who wouldn't fall for that? Plus, I need someone to blame if anything goes wrong. 'Oh no, my husband didn't protect me properly!' It's perfect!"

Wang Xiao could only stare at her, utterly baffled by the leap in logic. "So, let me get this straight—you want to marry me because you can do less work, brag about it, and blame me for any problems?"

"Exactly!" Anran clapped her hands, delighted that he was finally getting it. "See, it's a win-win! You get a reliable wife, and I get to do everything I want!"

Wang Xiao sighed, feeling the weight of her words settling in.

But before he could respond, Anran, without missing a beat, continued with renewed enthusiasm. "And that's not all! If I'm your wife, I can oversee all the concubines, making sure they're doing their job properly! Someone's got to keep things in order, right?"

Wang Xiao rubbed his temples again, feeling a headache forming. 'Oversee the concubines?'

"Anran, that doesn't really—"

"And!" she interrupted, clearly on a roll, "As your wife, I can negotiate better deals for us! Imagine how much stronger we'll be as a team! You can go off being the powerful, invincible Wang Xiao, and I'll handle all the boring stuff like paperwork and… and managing household affairs!"

Wang Xiao's eyebrow twitched. "But you said you didn't care about marriage because it was too much trouble…"

"Exactly!" she exclaimed, her reasoning becoming even more ridiculousness. "That's why I'm doing this! I'm saving you from all the trouble! If I'm your wife, then you won't have to worry about anything! I'll handle it all! You just have to be awesome like you always are!"

Wang Xiao watched her as she hopped down from the chair, looking way too pleased with herself.

This… this girl…

He sighed inwardly, finally accepting that trying to understand her logic was like trying to catch smoke with bare hands.

"So… you signed it because…?"

"Because I'm not a slacker!" Anran declared, as if that explained everything. She beamed up at him charmingly, proud as ever. "And because I'm going to make your life super easy, just like I said! Trust me, you'll see! This was the best decision ever!"

Wang Xiao stared at the new self-proclaimed wife of his, and for the first time, he genuinely wondered if he had made a bad decision.

____

"This... is amazing..." Li Zhiming muttered in awe as he stood at the entrance of Silvertide City, his eyes wide with wonder.

He had never seen anything like it in his life. Xianthera was truly a fairytale realm. Everywhere he looked, the landscape seemed to exist in a harmonious blend of seasons.

To the north, icy landscapes glittered like crystal; to the south, the warm hues of autumn leaves danced in the breeze.

Even the very ground beneath his feet defied normalcy—children floated effortlessly in the air, and ethereal creatures of various species mingled in the vibrant streets.

The air was crisp and pure, the clouds bright and fluffy, as if the sky itself had been painted by a divine hand.

Not once during their journey had he seen a single act of violence.

*After all,* Li Zhiming reminded himself, *the people of Xianthera are cursed—they can't harm each other.*

"Okay, Old Man, your ticket's up! Move along now!" Anran's voice cut through his thoughts. She waved her hand dismissively, clearly unimpressed with his lingering amazement.

Li Zhiming sighed, feeling a pang of reluctance, but he obediently turned to leave.

He knew Wang Xiao had brought him here for a reason—to familiarize him with this incredible place so they could coordinate more effectively in the future.

As Li Zhiming departed, Luna, who had been silently observing everything with wide, smiling eyes, continued to take in the wonders of Xianthera.

"Mmph... Mmmph!"

Meanwhile, Rebecca stood nearby, her hands bound and her mouth sealed with tape.

Wang Xiao had kidnapped her.

Why?

Because he needed someone who could help this place grow, and naturally, someone to keep an eye on Anran, who was still under medication.

Rebecca, at this moment, regretted every decision that had led her here.

Wang Xiao, after ensuring everyone was settled at Amelia's, prepared to leave. There were still a few days left until Amelia's delivery, and his next destination was clear: the house of the Ethics Committee Chairman!