Alex's hands shook as he grabbed the corner of his oversized gray hoodie.
He had no way out. You should know that except for casual friendship, they didn't build any strong bonds between them.
If he refused, Mira might actually call the Association Security or refuse to help him fix the terrifying situation with Lily.
Although he felt Mira was not that kind of a person to refuse to help a friend, what if?
Squeezing his eyes shut, he pulled the heavy fabric over his head and tossed it onto a nearby counter.
He stood there, completely exposed, wearing nothing on his upper body but the tight, white women's bra Lily had lent him.
The stretchy material firmly compressed his soft, pale chest, visibly pushing his swollen, puffy pink nipples against the thin white fabric.
For a few seconds, the lab was dead silent.
Then, Mira blinked. Her sharp eyes scanned his chest, taking in the sight of the boy she knew standing awkwardly in women's underwear.
"Pffft..." Mira slapped a latex-covered hand over her mouth, but she couldn't hold it back. "Hahaha! Oh my god, Alex!"
Her clear, ringing laughter echoed off the surrounding walls. She leaned back against the counter, her shoulders shaking.
"It's not funny!" Alex whined, his entire face and neck burning a dark, furious red.
He crossed his arms defensively over his chest, trying to hide the bra.
"My skin is peeling! The old clothes were rubbing against my chest too much. It... it hurts, okay?"
"A sports bra? Really?" Mira giggled, wiping a tear from her eye. She stepped closer, her professional demeanor completely broken for a moment. "Where did you find one anyway?"
"I have to admit; it really brings out your pale skin. You look like a very confused tomboy. Let me see."
Without waiting for permission, she reached out and flicked her latex-covered finger directly against his right nipple through the fabric.
"Ah!" Alex let out a high, breathy squeak, his back arching instantly.
A sharp jolt of electric pleasure shot straight down to his groin.
He stumbled backward, his knees going weak. "Mira, please don't touch me like that... it's too sensitive."
Mira's smile slowly faded as she watched his extreme reaction.
Her sharp eyes darted down to his cinched waist, the soft flare of his hips, and the flushed, feverish look on his face.
As she stepped deeper into his personal space, the heavy, sweet scent of his pheromones completely enveloped her.
Mira was a high-level researcher.
She did build up a natural resistance to all sorts of chemical and biological odors, but Alex's scent was different.
How could ordinary chemicals compare to the blood of the Ancient Enchantress.
It wasn't just a smell; it was pure, concentrated Yin energy mixed with raw lust.
Unknown to her, the pheromones immediately bypassed her mental defenses.
Mira's pupils dilated slightly, the cold air of the lab suddenly felt incredibly warm to her.
Her breathing grew just a fraction heavier, and a strange, heavy warmth began to pool low in her own stomach, which even she didn't notice.
"Fascinating," Mira whispered, her voice dropping low. It sounded hoarse, completely lacking its usual crisp authority. "Your body is in a state of absolute biological overdrive."
She couldn't tear her eyes away from his flushed, panting lips.
Her scientific curiosity was rapidly blurring with a deep, primal hunger she didn't even recognize.
She abruptly turned around, her high heels clicking sharply against the floor as she walked over to a sterilized glass cabinet.
She pulled out a wide-mouthed, clear glass specimen beaker and walked back to him, shoving it roughly against his chest.
"If this 'nectar' of yours is potent enough to trigger an instantaneous secondary mutation and cellular optimization in her," Mira said, gesturing toward the unconscious Lily, "then I need to study it immediately. Maybe we can find a solution for your current situation."
Alex stared at the glass beaker in his hands, his brain short-circuiting. "You... Do you really want a sample?"
"Yes," Mira commanded. She crossed her arms, her tight black pencil skirt hugging her hips perfectly as she shifted her weight. "Fresh. Right now. In front of me."
Alex felt the blood drain from his face. "Mira, no! I can't do that here! You're... you're watching!"
"I am a medical professional, Alex," Mira scoffed, though she licked her dry lips, her gaze completely locked onto his waist. "Do you think I haven't seen male anatomy or never had sex before?"
"Stop wasting time. If you want my help, produce the sample. Or do I need to call security and have them extract it from you forcefully?"
"Look at you, cornered like a frightened little mouse," the Empress purred maliciously in his mind, her phantom laughter vibrating through his skull. "Go on, my sweet vessel. Put on a good show for the good doctor. She's practically drooling over you."
"Shut up," Alex gritted his teeth, unsure if he was talking to the ghost or to Mira.
He had no choice. He was completely trapped.
"Can you at least turn around… it feels embarrassing to do it in front of you…," Trembling uncontrollably, Alex placed the glass beaker on the edge of the metal table beside him.
"No way, I want to watch my little assistant do it in front of me… Or else I won't help you." Mira interrupted him and warned Alex back.
"Why? You don't think I don't know your little thoughts about me… I know that you always had a secret crush on me."
"You…You, how do you know that?" Alex was completely shocked and became even more panicked.
"And your mind is filled with dirty thoughts about me, right?"
"Every time you come to meet me, you always secretly lust over my body… You think you can hide your feelings and nasty inner thoughts from me?" She paused for a second and smiled wickedly.
"Now it's my turn to take revenge…"
"Well, you won… I'll do it, but don't laugh… Or else I won't," With his heart hammering against his ribs, he reached down to the waistband of his black silk pants and his tight spandex shorts.
He pushed them down to his knees.
His half-soft cock, still slick with a faint layer of sticky residue from his intense climax in the washroom, sprang free into the cool lab air.
It looked deeply flushed, incredibly sensitive, and twitched helplessly the moment it was exposed.
Mira's breath hitched audibly.
She didn't look away; instead, she took a half-step closer, her eyes glued to his exposed, throbbing little brother.
The heavy dose of his sweet pheromones was slowly scrambling her mind.
"Hurry up," Mira ordered, her voice thick and commanding. "Stroke it."
Whimpering softly, Alex wrapped his soft, pale hand around his own shaft.
Schlick.
The sound of his hand sliding over his ultra-sensitive skin echoed loudly in the quiet lab.
"Nnngh..." Alex bit his lower lip, throwing his head back.
Maybe it's because he was doing it right in front of Mira or not. Unknowingly he felt even more excited than facing Elena or Lily.
It felt way too good. His body was still stuck in the hyper-aroused Ecdysis phase, and the lingering heat from the Ember-Leaf extract was still burning right under his skin.
"Damn it he's really doing it… I was just trying to tease him a little..." Mira secretly exclaimed in her heart as she watched him stroke his dick in front of her.
It's not wrong to say that she also had secret feelings about Alex, but she had never expressed them.
To her, he was just a hardworking delivery boy, a struggling F-rank kid trying to survive, while she was a highly respected researcher.
The gap between them was too big. She always told herself that she just found his shy, blushing reactions cute, nothing more.
Not to mention, she's not that naive and young anymore, now she's completely focused on improving her own strength and reaching higher professional levels.