Deviant: No Longer Human

Her words, absorbed intently by all present, were suddenly shattered by an explosive interruption.

Boom!

"SHUT UP!"

A massive, booming voice thundered through the facility, causing the workers on the facility to swivel around.

Their gazes were sharp, their expressions stoically unfazed by the outburst.

"HOW CAN YOU SAY ALL THAT WITH SUCH A STRAIGHT FACE!?"

"DO YOU HAVE NO HUMANITY LEFT!?"

Takashi, overwhelmed by emotion, couldn\'t contain his anger. His hand slammed against the glass with such force that it thundered through the chamber.

Boom!

Tears welled up in his eyes as he stood, trembling with rage.

Behind him, the other commanders and Li Zhiming appeared equally unsettled, unsure how to respond.

Despite the commotion, Mary did not modulate her tone or pause her discourse, her voice continuing to echo clearly across the room, compelling everyone to listen.

Takashi, unlike the others, couldn\'t contain his outrage.

While the rest of the group listened with bitter resignation, he felt an uncontrollable urge to react.

"I see you have quite the notable hand there..." Mary\'s lips curled into a subtle smirk as she observed Takashi\'s hands, which seemed unusual, almost as if they had been enhanced in some manner to cause such uproar. "However, this glass is reinforced to a degree that even I cannot break it. You should give up."

"!"

Takashi\'s eyes bulged with disbelief, "Yo—"

"Take him away," Mary commanded briskly before he could finish his sentence.

Two figures swiftly approached from behind, seizing Takashi firmly.

"ARGH!— LEAVE ME!"

"LET ME GO!"

He shouted and struggled vehemently, his protests echoing through the large space, but it was futile.

The guards dragged him resolutely back towards the stairs, forcing him to ascend to the surface against his will.

Meanwhile, Mary clapped her hands sharply, snapping the attention of everyone back to her.

"Let\'s put that matter aside for now. You might all be pondering the necessity of such a project," she announced, capturing the curiosity of the room with her commanding presence.

Mary\'s lips twisted into a knowing smile, revealing a hint of the depth of her strategy. "Have you ever considered what happens when two Deviants have a child?" Her words dropped like a bomb.

"!"

However, Mary\'s next words were even more startling. "What happens when a Deviant pairs with a normal human? Would such a union be successful? And the resulting child—would they be a normal human, or would they possess the powers akin to those of the original Deviant? Do genders play a role? And critically, what are the chances of inheriting powers from the Deviant parent?"

The whole place went silent.

The group exchanged puzzled glances, overwhelmed by the complexity and implications of her inquiries.

Wang Xiao glanced at Luna, seeking any hint of understanding, but found her gaze locked on Mary, tinged with subtle yet growing anger.

Seeing their confusion, Mary\'s eyes sparkled with a mix of pride and mischief, and she leaned in slightly as if sharing a confidential secret. "Perhaps I should clarify what exactly a Deviant is—Deviants are not merely individuals with abilities; they are the next step in human evolution, through a series of enhancements, they undergo tough trials beyond this space.

They possess capabilities far beyond those of an ordinary human."

Her voice grew more animated as she continued, "The purpose of Project Transcendence was to ensure that humanity would not just survive, but thrive, transcending our biological limitations."

"And we have already achieved remarkable success with Deviants. Each one that emerges from the tunnel is treated with a specially developed solution, a culmination of years of research. This solution enables them to reproduce normally with humans. However, the probability that their offspring will inherit these enhanced abilities is still less than ten percent."

Her enthusiasm was evident, even as it bordered on fanaticism, revealing the depth of her commitment to her vision—a vision that reshaped the very essence of human potential.

She continued, "Thus— our goal has been to produce so many Deviants that, after ten, no, a hundred years, humanity as we know it will change once we begin to release them en masse, rather than merely using them as soldiers."

"As per our projections, we need to release only one million Deviants a year, and within eight hundred years, the entire population of the world will have achieved Transcendence, in some form and the project would reach singularity!"

"Our new solution, which aims to increase the chances of inheriting superpowers, is also under development."

"All of this could significantly shorten the timeline for the completion of Project Transcendence to within the next hundred years!"

"The project is scheduled to finally conclude on the 27th of May, 2247." Mary\'s voice carried a hint of relief as she announced the final conclusion date, suggesting the immense weight of the centuries-long plan she was orchestrating.

"..."

"..."

Crack...

The silence that had enveloped the hall, punctuated only by the faint hum of machinery and Mary\'s confident declarations, was shattered by an ominous yet abrupt cracking sound.

"Huh?"

Mary paused mid-sentence, the colour draining from her face as she turned sharply towards the source of the disturbance, her eyes widening in stark disbelief.

"What—," her voice caught in her throat as she stared in horror at the once impenetrable glass, now webbed with fractures.

The pristine barrier she had so proudly proclaimed unbreakable was now filled by a spreading network of cracks.

The instigator of this unexpected chaos was a girl who seemed scarcely sixteen.

She stood calmly, contrary to the escalating tension in the room, her light rainbow-colored hair shimmering subtly.

Wang Xiao blinked, taken aback by the surreal turn of events. "Mimi?" he whispered surprised, recognizing the girl.

The last time he had seen her, she was just like a ghost; this might be him witnessing her properly for the first time!

Naomi\'s index finger rested lightly yet defiantly against the glass, the epicenter of the fracture radiating outward as if her touch alone had unleashed the damage.

Her eyes locked on Mary, filled with a calm defiance that bordered on challenge.

Gasp!

Ignoring the stunned murmurs around her, Mimi\'s lips curled into a slight, knowing smile.

Her gaze did not waver from Mary\'s, who now faced her with a mix of shock and calculation.

"This... this is impossible," Mary stammered, struggling to maintain her composure as she assessed the young girl who had just turned her world upside down.