Everyone Is Non-Human Except Me [Rebirth] Chapter 89

As soon as the words fell, Yun Yongzhou reached out his hand toward Wei Huan. It was a familiar scene—just like that time when Wei Huan had fallen into despair after being framed, and Yun Yongzhou had extended his hand to him like this.

Back then, they’d had a dagger between them.

“This time, I’ll go with you to find the truth.”

Wei Huan smiled. “Mm!”

This time, their fingertips were intertwined, without distance or hesitation.

Worried that any leaks might let Yang Shu escape early, they assembled a small team in the shortest time possible. Yang Sheng, knowing the stance of the government army, didn’t assign this mission to his students recklessly. Instead, he called in Group Seven—who already knew Wei Huan’s true identity. Everyone gathered in the underground garage at his house, waiting for the task briefing.

“If we’re just looking for a human, Sister Shanyue and I are more than enough.” Yang Ling strapped on her wristguards. “Why the big show?”

Wei Huan counted heads. “This doesn’t count as a big show. It’s just our Group Seven plus the non-roster members—Qing He, your brother, and Instructor Yun. That’s not many.”

A little furball squirmed out from the back of his neck, bouncing. “Ying~ ying~ ying~”

“Okay, okay, you too.” Wei Huan gave it a rub. No one wore their Shanhai uniforms for this operation—none of them wanted trouble. Yang Sheng and Yun Yongzhou were also in rare casual wear: one in a leather jacket, the other in a black trench coat. Both looked sharply stylish.

“Is everyone here? Shall we head out?” Wei Huan looked around. Just then, Yang Sheng, who was conjuring a gust of wind for Jing Yun to play with, suddenly looked up. “Wait—there’s still…”

“Sorry I’m late.”

Before they even saw him, Wei Huan heard Su Buyu’s voice. A vortex of water appeared mid-air, and he stepped out of it with an apologetic look. “I was suddenly called away for something, it delayed me.”

Wei Huan turned to Yang Sheng, who shrugged and said, “I figured we might need Buyu’s abilities.”

Not bad—Big Seven and Little Seven joining forces.

Su Buyu walked over to Wei Huan and gave a gentle smile. “I asked him to bring me. I know you’re afraid I’ll get hurt, afraid I’ll be a burden, but I’m not who I used to be.”

Wei Huan looked at the shimmering scale at the corner of his eye. He didn’t say much—just smiled sincerely and openly. “Thank you.”

Yan Shanyue finished tying her ponytail and glanced at Yun Yongzhou, who was leaning against the wall. Seeing that, Yang Ling also turned to look. Jing Yun, who had been playing with the wind ball, followed their gazes and glanced over.

“Tsk, juicy,” Qing He muttered first, standing beside Jing Yun. Jing Yun turned to him. “What is it, Qing He?”

“You dummy,” Yang Ling also turned back, tapping Jing Yun’s forehead with a finger. “Just look at Instructor Yun.”

Jing Yun blinked. “What about Instructor Yun?”

“Look at that ‘don’t-come-close’ aura, that black trench coat, and that ‘dead wife’ face… pfft, pfft, pfft—” Yang Ling spat to ward off bad luck. “Anyway, doesn’t he look terrifying?”

Jing Yun nodded, then muttered softly, “But Instructor Yun has always been scary…”

Yan Shanyue looked back toward Wei Huan and Su Buyu, and added blandly, “Let’s also see how this brotherly harmony plays out.”

Jing Yun’s eyes darted around between the three of them, trying to piece something together—but before he could, Yang Sheng came up behind him, ruffled his hair, and smacked him in the face with a ball of wind. “Quit spacing out.”

Before entering the dark zone, Qing He activated the digital map. A full holographic projection of the power control plant and its underground structure appeared before them.

“This used to be one of the five largest power control plants in Fanzhou. Later, when the dark zone became a lawless area, this place was abandoned too.” As Qing He spoke, he tapped a red dot at the center. It expanded to show more detail. “Fang Cheng and I calculated—this location has the highest signal shielding. That means it’s our target: Yang Shu’s hiding spot.”

Yang Ling cracked her knuckles, sparking little mini fire lotuses one after another—snap, crackle, pop. “Then let’s just head there already.”

“No, the tricky part is…” Qing He double-tapped the red dot. The point immediately extended in all directions across the hologram, revealing a complex web of routes. “The power plant’s underground is basically a maze.”

Wei Huan stepped in for a closer look. Many of the paths were interconnected, but many were dead ends. Just looking from this god’s-eye view was already dizzying—getting stuck in there in person would be a nightmare.

“This was designed as a defensive structure—easy to enter, hard to exit; easy to guard, hard to attack. I’ve already checked.” Qing He zoomed in on three areas and marked them green. “These are the three exits that the target must pass through if they try to escape: Point A, Point B, and Point C.”

The three exits formed a near-perfect equilateral triangle. Looking at the map, Wei Huan spoke:
“We’ll have to split up. One team will attack; the others will guard the possible escape points strictly, to prevent Yang Shu from slipping away. There are eight of us—perfect for teams of two.” At this moment, Wei Huan sorely missed his old Soul-Splitting Technique. If he still had it, he wouldn’t even need anyone else—he alone would’ve been enough.

“How are we splitting?” Yan Shanyue asked.

Yang Sheng shot Wei Huan a look. “You’re good at this sort of thing—go ahead.”

Wei Huan rubbed his temples. “Based on combat strength and attributes…”

That was what he said, and it was reasonable. But the truth was—he wanted to be paired with Yun Yongzhou.

And yet he knew very well: their attributes were exactly the same, and they were both top-tier in combat strength. That kind of pairing would be unbalanced—and possibly problematic. Yun Yongzhou was the strongest among them and should be teamed up with Qing He, the one person without any supernatural ability.

“Yang Sheng and Little Ling. Shanyue and Jing Yun. Wind with fire for both pairs—balanced combat strength.” 

Having said that, he turned around quickly. “I’ll go with Buyu.” He blurted it out and then looked to the corner—toward the golden crow.

“Yongzhou.”

Yun Yongzhou wasn’t surprised by the decision—but he was surprised that, for the first time in front of everyone, Wei Huan had called him by name. A flicker of astonishment even passed through his eyes.

“This weak little lemon spirit—I’m counting on you.” Wei Huan smiled and smacked Qing He’s back hard enough to make him nearly cough.

“Cough, cough—what did I do wrong again…” Qing He, feeling like he’d just walked into a battlefield of romantic tension, clutched his chest and used his other hand to enlarge the target zone on the map. “There are only four connections between the underground and the surface. The original staircases have all been blown up and sealed off. The only proper entry point is a central elevator that leads straight to Yang Shu’s hideout. But that elevator’s been broken for ages. The strike team could try descending through the elevator shaft—it should be the fastest route.”

Yang Sheng nodded. “If it’s a strike mission, you need strong fighters.”

Seeing Yun Yongzhou about to speak, Wei Huan jumped in first. “I’ll go. Me and Buyu. Qing He’s not suitable for the assault—he needs to monitor the map and coordinate positioning.”

Yun Yongzhou said nothing. He’d already lost track of how many times this had happened. Wei Huan—always claiming he treasured his life more than anyone—somehow always ended up charging to the front lines.

No one talked a bigger game about avoiding danger, yet no one acted more recklessly.

Once the general plan was set and positions confirmed, they arrived at the designated site. The dark zone’s power plant was nearly deserted. It was deep night now, and the vast facility was completely silent.

Wei Huan and Su Buyu stood before the long-defunct elevator. With a slight twist of his wrist, Wei Huan summoned a glowing light-point before his eyes.

The light-point affixed itself to the iron door of the elevator. As sparks flew, the door was neatly cut into a giant rectangle. Just as the metal panel dropped, it was caught mid-fall by glowing threads, hovering briefly in the empty shaft before Wei Huan pulled it up and set it aside.

“Elevator door’s open. You guys in position?” he asked into his exosuit comms unit.

The other teams were still confirming. The electromagnetic interference in the area was heavy. Even with their cutting-edge comms gear, the sound was laced with static and electric noise.

As they waited, Su Buyu spoke up. “You’ve recovered pretty well lately, haven’t you?”

“Better than ever~” Wei Huan patted his own chest. “Oh right—Yang Sheng told me that some of my personal effects after I died ended up with you. If you’ve got time sometime, bring them back to me, would you? My Xiaoyao Box should be in there, right?”

Su Buyu nodded. “I’ve kept them safe this whole time.”

“Good, I feel better knowing they’re with you.” In the pitch-dark elevator shaft, Wei Huan spread his fingers. A light-point flickered from his index finger, then from his pinky, like tiny sparks blooming from his fingertips.

“Is that so…”

Since that day in the hospital when everything was finally said, Wei Huan had felt a lot more clear-headed. He now knew what he wanted—and what he should fight for.

To him, no matter how Su Buyu changed, he was still the little brother he had promised to protect.

“Oh right,” Wei Huan looked up. “Do you still have that Nine Phoenix feather I gave you?”

Su Buyu froze for a second, then said, “I do. But… for a long time after you were gone, I didn’t dare look at anything you left behind, so…”

Wei Huan smiled lightly. “I figured.” He raised his head, eyebrow arching. “When I reclaim my identity as the Nine Phoenix and clear my name, when I’ve made those people eat their words—then you can wear my feather again.” He added in a soft mumble, “I’ve only ever had one ling feather in my life, y’know.”

Su Buyu nodded slowly, falling quiet again.

“Ah Huan… you really don’t need to take this risk and come find Yang Shu yourself.” He seemed to have been holding this in for a long time. Finally, he said it. “This isn’t something one or two people can decide. Even if you do find Yang Shu, can you guarantee he’ll tell the truth? And besides, it’s entirely possible Yang Shu is just another pawn.”

One of the glowing dots at Wei Huan’s fingertip went out, dimming the space slightly.

“I really don’t want to see you put yourself in danger. I just want you to live a normal, ordinary life every day from now on. I…” Su Buyu’s brow furrowed slightly. “I can’t bear to see history repeat itself.”

Wei Huan’s fingertip lit up again.

“Buyu, I told you before. When I grew up, I didn’t want to join the army. I didn’t want to fight. I just wanted to be with the person I love. I wanted a little house—by a lake if possible, somewhere beautiful. I’d teach at Shanhai, become an instructor. We’d live the plainest, simplest life. Demons live long lives—we could move around, travel, go somewhere no one knows us. However long I live, I want to live it to the fullest.”

Then he looked at Su Buyu.

“But after dying once, I realized—I’m just a chess piece that could be crushed at any time. You said Yang Shu’s a pawn—but so are we. That’s why, this time… I don’t want to run anymore.”

“Even if I’m just a chess piece,” Wei Huan said, “I want to be the one that chooses its own next move.”

Su Buyu fell silent.

It seemed he could never truly persuade Wei Huan—he could only watch as he stepped deeper and deeper into danger.

“We’re all set here,” Qing He’s voice came through the communicator.

Wei Huan gave a soft reply, then descended through the elevator shaft with Su Buyu. Su Buyu stepped onto clouds, while Wei Huan used light threads to lower himself—they both left the ground behind.

In front of them were four tightly sealed walls. There didn’t appear to be any exits. Su Buyu placed his palm against the wall, and a thin layer of water spread from his palm, quickly coating all four walls within seconds.

“There’s a door seam here,” Su Buyu pointed to the wall behind Wei Huan.

Wei Huan gave a low “Mm,” turned promptly, and was just about to figure out how to break through when he suddenly heard a familiar voice. Unlike the noisy, unstable sound of the communicator, this voice came clean and direct—reaching straight into his heart.

[Wei Huan, activate your Golden Crow power.]

Though he didn’t know Yun Yongzhou’s intent, Wei Huan still obeyed. The golden dot at his brow flared, and moments later, his right eye turned gold. Since he couldn’t see it himself, he asked:

[Okay, then what?]

Yun Yongzhou’s voice came:

[Nothing else. I’m just using Xihe’s eye to see what you’re seeing. If danger arises, I’ll be the first to detect it.]

It was strange—but comforting. Even if he wasn’t physically beside him, it felt like they were fighting side by side.

His voice was in my mind. His eyes saw what I saw.

While Wei Huan was still dazed by the feeling, Su Buyu had already opened the hidden mechanism door. Light flooded in all at once.

“Let’s go.”

“Oh—yeah.” Wei Huan followed behind him, but Yun Yongzhou’s earlier words were still on his mind, so he used heart-link to speak again.

[So now you can monitor me, huh? It’s not like what you do with Jing Yun—this is real-time surveillance.]

Wei Huan said it half-jokingly. Just thinking about Yun Yongzhou giving him such a precious and powerful eye made his heart ache a little.

Unexpectedly, Yun Yongzhou answered calmly:

[Yes. The only person in the world I can monitor— is you.]

[So behave yourself.]

There he went again—treating him like a child.

Wei Huan’s ears turned red. Suddenly, a dangerous thought popped into his mind, and he asked:

[Yun Yongzhou, if I end up repeating my mistakes in the pursuit of truth… what will you do?]

He probably couldn’t handle it either, could he?

As expected, there was a long silence on the other end. So long that Wei Huan almost thought the heart-link had cut off—then finally, he replied:

[Whatever it is you want, go for it.]

The words made Wei Huan catch his breath.

[I don’t mind repeating the same path. I still have another eye. Even without the Eye of Xihe, I have my Golden Crow wings, my light power—there’s still plenty I can offer.]

[No matter how many times it takes—I’ll always bring you back.]