Deviant: No Longer Human

Chapter 199: Qi Convergence Program: Dharma Council!

Wang Xiao's assertion was unexpected. "You're a kid, a little scared kid," he proclaimed, catching Luna completely off guard.

"..."

Luna, always primed for confrontation, found herself at a loss for words. Wang Xiao's accusation hit a nerve, suggesting vulnerability where she had always projected strength.

His words were a mirror reflecting an image she didn't recognize—or perhaps, one she was reluctant to acknowledge.

"You are scared, all you Deviants are just scared children in disguise. You seek punishment and disdain as if craving validation for being above others. There must be someone superior among your ranks, orchestrating this facade," Wang Xiao mused, his voice laced with a mix of curiosity and accusation.

Luna's composure cracked, her face a mask of defiance turning to stone. "What are you talking about?" she demanded, her voice a mix of anger and disbelief as she swatted away his hands.

But Wang Xiao's grin only widened, fueled by her reaction.

He had harbored suspicions about Luna's true identity for some time, her strange presence a puzzle he was determined to solve.

Now, he felt closer to the truth than ever before, convinced she was a key figure among the so-called ghosts, perhaps the 'founding' member, her earlier stories merely fabrications to obscure her true nature.

As Luna attempted to regain her composure, her usual confidence wavered, revealing a moment of genuine discomfort.

Wang Xiao seized this opportunity, whispering provocatively, "I've always been curious about the effect of being thrust into hell from a young age... It appears I now have my answer."

"You're becoming a nuisance," Luna managed to say, her voice strained as she attempted to rise, her heartbeat thundering in her chest like a drum of war.

"Shut up and sit," Wang Xiao commanded sharply, his sudden outburst startling her into submission. "Don't move until I say!" His words were a command, leaving no room for negotiation.

Luna took a deep, shuddering breath, her cheeks flushed with a mix of anger and embarrassment. She bit her lip, a gesture of frustration and containment, as she was forced to comply.

"Now, answer me one by one," Wang Xiao demanded, his voice a mixture of intrigue and command. Before Luna could even muster a response, he silenced her with a firm pinch, pressing her lips together with his fingers. "What's your real name?" he queried, finally releasing her.

Luna paused, a flicker of irritation crossing her features before she responded with a hint of defiance. "Luna Marquez. How many times must I repeat it?" she shot back, her eyes rolling in exasperation. The discomfort of the situation was palpable, wrapping around her like a suffocating cloak.

"And your age?" Wang Xiao probed further, his curiosity unsatiated.

At his insistence, Luna's eyebrows arched, a silent question in their curve. Wang Xiao, unsatisfied with the lack of response, rephrased his inquiry, delving deeper.

"At what age did you enter the tunnel to hell?" His tone carried a weight of skepticism, clearly doubting any notion of redemption or paradise at the end of such a journey, especially one that had shaped Luna into who she was before him.

Memories, faint and elusive, flickered behind Luna's eyes. "1975," she finally whispered, her voice a mere breath in the charged air.

Wang Xiao, though somewhat prepared, couldn't mask his surprise. '1975?' His mind raced, trying to piece together the implications of her answer. "And your age at that time?" he pressed on.

"Around ten," Luna replied, a smile playing at the corners of her lips, as if amused by his persistent interrogation.

"Your parents? Alive or dead?" Wang Xiao's questions continued, relentless.

Luna's response was swift, yet it carried a hint of evasion. "I don't know," she confessed, turning her head away as if the question unearthed feelings she'd rather keep buried.

"You don't know?" Wang Xiao echoed, puzzled by her ambiguous answer.

Luna's composure returned as swiftly as it had faltered, her mischievous smile reappearing. "I don't remember," she clarified, her gaze steady. "It's been decades. Their names, their faces... they're all lost to me. To you, it might seem like fifty years, but none of you can fathom the time spent in that wretched place," she revealed, a shadow of fear momentarily darkening her expression.

"How long, then?" Wang Xiao pursued, sensing the depth of her trauma.

Luna's response was a chuckle, a sound that seemed out of place amidst the gravity of their discussion. "Forget the count," she dismissed.

"What?" Wang Xiao couldn't hide his bewilderment.

Luna's demeanor shifted, a seriousness overtaking her features. "Do you have any idea what happens in that place?" she posed the question, her tone sobering.

Wang Xiao remained silent, understanding that this was a moment to listen, to let Luna unveil the truths she harbored.

"That place is a living hell," Luna began, her voice laced with a chilling certainty. "People search for paradise, but what they find is torment. You're trapped, eternally bound, not seeking escape but longing for death."

She painted a horrifying picture, one of self-cannibalization and endless despair, where death was a luxury denied. "You consume your own flesh, hoping it will end your suffering. But that place... it refuses to let you die."

"That's the true essence of imprisonment," Luna concluded, her eyes widening with the intensity of her revelation.

And then, as if the weight of her own words was too much to bear, she erupted into unrestrained laughter, a sound that echoed hauntingly within the confines of the jet.

Her laughter was a stark reminder of the abyss she had gazed into, a place where time and sanity intertwined in a dance of madness.

Wang Xiao felt an unsettling chill crawl up his spine as Luna's laughter filled the cabin, a sound that seemed to echo from the depths of a tortured soul.

Her abrupt shift from mirth to intensity, as she grasped his head, forcing him to meet her gaze, only added to the surreal atmosphere that had enveloped them.

Her eyes, pools of darkness, bore into his, her lips twisted into a smile that sent shivers down his back. "Do you want to know more? My name, in fact, I don't remember!" she whispered, her voice a blend of amusement and madness.

"Hahaha! No one remembers who they are!" Her laughter was laced with a sinister undertone, a mockery of their own forgotten identities, lost to the abyss of their shared hell.

She drew him even closer, their foreheads touching, creating a moment of eerie intimacy. "In fact, the name I've chosen belonged to the first girl among us who chewed herself to death, hoping it would end her suffering," Luna confessed, her words a chilling testament to the despair that had enveloped them in that dark place.

Her revelation was not just a sharing of her own burden but an invitation into the camaraderie that bound those who had survived the tunnel to hell.

Wang Xiao, caught in the gravity of her gaze, found himself at a loss for words. "Who was that girl?" He suddenly snapped and asked.

"Hahaha..." Luna, as if she didn't hear him, refused to reply.

"Luna! I asked, who was that girl?" Wang Xiao's voice echoed again.

"LUNA!?"

*Slap!*

The sharp slap resounded in the confined space of the jet's luxurious cabin, a stark contrast to the previously muted atmosphere.

Luna's head turned sharply from the impact, a brief moment of silence enveloping them as she regained her composure.

When she faced Wang Xiao again, her eyes blazed with a mix of anger and something unidentifiable, before her expression shifted into a sly grin. "Are you scared?" she taunted, a challenge laced within her words.

Wang Xiao's response was cool, unfazed by her provocation. "Stop projecting your trauma onto me. I was merely curious," he retorted, his voice steady.

Luna seemed momentarily taken aback, her facade slipping as she offered a self-deprecating smile. "...Is that how you see it? A bunch of traumatized children?" Her demeanor changed again, a spark of realization in her eyes. "You aren't that wrong... I think...."

Shaking his head, Wang Xiao decided to steer the conversation away from the murky waters of their past. "Forget about it. Tell me about the people who kidnapped her. Do you have any idea of their identities?"

Luna settled back into his lap, the storm of their interaction giving way to a sudden calm. "They seemed to belong to an abondened project of the Dharma Council," she revealed, her tone shifting to convey information.

"Dharma Council?" Wang Xiao's interest was piqued, his brows arching in question.

"Just like there is the New World Order, aka Zero, for European and American continents, there's the Dharma Council for the ASEAN nations. They have their own network called the Bodhi Network," Luna explained, her voice taking on a lecturing tone.

She continued, delving deeper into the council's murky history. "A few decades back, there were rumors of them attempting to bring back the ancient gods under a program called the Qi Convergence Program."

"Bring back the gods?" Wang Xiao echoed, his brows knitting in confusion and intrigue.