"I don't care about science right now!" The outburst cracked his voice into that girlish register again, and Alex flinched at the sound.
A tear slipped down his cheek, tracing the edge of a scale pattern before dripping onto his bare chest.
She quickly grabbed a few towels she already prepared together with another set of new lab associate clothes for him.
Mira sighed softly, she stepped closer and gently pushed the stack of fluffy white towels and folded lab clothes into his trembling hands.
"Go wash up, you can't stay naked all the time…" she said, her voice dropping to a softer, more comforting tone.
She gave him a small, reassuring smile. "I'll turn to the maintenance robots to clean up the mess you created here… Hurry up, by then I'll go through your current medical report."
Alex nodded weakly, his throat too tight to speak. He clumsily pulled one of the towels around his waist.
Just the simple friction of the soft cotton brushing against his waist and thighs made his breath hitch.
A hot shiver ran straight to his groin. It was too much. Everything felt too intense, even more so than before.
He turned around and quickly walked to the lab's private bathroom, locking the heavy door behind him.
The bathroom was spacious and modern, with a large glass shower in the corner.
He dropped the towel, shivering as the cool air hit his damp, sensitive skin, and stepped into the shower stall.
He turned the knob, letting the warm water spray down.
When the water hit his body, Alex let out a loud gasp, his knees buckling slightly.
Every single drop of warm water that struck his shoulders, his back, and his chest felt like a tiny, electric massage.
His new skin drank in the heat, the micro silvery snake scales slowly vanished under his carefree control as the water cascaded over them.
It felt very magical, but he could recall them whenever he wanted. And these silver scales aren't just for show, they could improve his body's defense.
He leaned against the wet tiles, trying to steady his breathing.
He reached up to wash his face, pausing as his fingers ran through his hair.
It was so long now, heavy and incredibly silky under the water.
As his hands trailed down his neck, he accidentally brushed against his newly forming chest.
"Ah... mmn..." Another high-pitched, soft moan escaped his lips, echoing in the tiled room.
His budding breasts were so painfully tender.
The warm water running over his perky, pinkish-red nipples made them harden instantly, sending tight, pooling waves of warmth down to his lower belly.
He hated how good it felt.
He was a guy! He shouldn't be feeling this weird, melting pleasure from touching his own chest.
He quickly grabbed the soap, trying to distract himself by scrubbing his arms and legs.
Alex quickly cleaned up himself, trying his best to ignore the confusing, shameful heat building up inside his body.
While cleaning, he took a deep breath and mentally called out to the system.
He wanted to check what was actually happening to him.
He scanned his attribute panel from top to bottom for any new changes.
A sleek, dark-mode screen instantly projected in his vision, floating right in front of the wet tiles.
[ Name: Alex]
[ Age: 19/121]
[ Race: Human / Snake Demon Hybrid (Mutating)]
[ Feminization Progress: Phase 2/9 (Ecdysis) 0.9% (+)]
[ Profession: Civilian (no level)]
[ Cultivation Level: F - Rank (+)]
[ Cultivation Techenique: None]
[ Cultivation Aptitude: Good ]
[ Genes: Ancient Naagin (Enchantress) (+), Recovery (+)]
[ Gene Abilities: Shedding, Feral Gaze, Empathic Resonance, Void Yin Constitution ]
[ Skills: Thermal Spirit Sight Lv-2, Serpentine Musculature Lv-2, Cold-Blood Optimization Lv-2, Scaled Dermis Lv-2, Pheromone Secretion Lv-2, Yin-Serpent Mana Circuit Lv-2]
[ Source Power: 153 ]
Looking through the glowing attribute panel through the heavy steam of the shower, Alex's breath caught in his throat.
He reached up, wiping the warm water from his eyes to make sure he was reading it correctly.
[ Age: 19/121 ]
"One hundred and twenty-one?" he whispered, flinching again as that soft, girly voice echoed over the sound of the running water.
His maximum lifespan had jumped from a completely average 72 years to 121.
That was roughly an extra fifty years of life handed to him on a silver platter.
For a normal, unawakened civilian, living past seventy was already a blessing.
A part of him wanted to be thrilled, but a darker, heavier thought immediately crushed that joy.
"What good is living an extra fifty years if I'm not even a man anymore?" He forced his eyes down to the next line, and his heart skipped a heavy beat.
[ Feminization Progress: Phase 2/9 (Ecdysis) 0.9% (+) ]
"Phase two..." he muttered, his lower lip trembling.
The shedding process in the medical pod must have been the final hurdle of Phase 1.
He didn't know exactly what major changes would occur during Phase 2, since it was only sitting at a tiny 0.9%, but a terrifying guess formed in his mind.
If Phase 1 changed his skin, his hair, and his scent, then Phase 2 had to be structural.
His hands shook as they hovered over his body. "It was going to target my skeleton, wasn't it?"
He tried communicating with the Empress in his mind, but he didn't receive any response.
It was very rare for her to not tease him in a situation like this.
His chest, his hips, his waist. He looked down at his torso. The slight, tender swelling of his breasts, the painful sensitivity of his pinkish nipples... this was just the very beginning of the phase.
'If this was only 0.9%, what would happen at 50%? Or 100%? Would I grow massive, heavy breasts? Would my hips widen out to give me a perfect, curvy hourglass figure?'
A sudden, horrifying thought struck him like lightning.
"Wait. If my body is turning into a girl's... what about my little brother?" Pure panic flooded his mind.
He frantically reached down between his legs, his heart pounding in his ears.
His soft, delicate fingers wrapped around his manhood.
He let out a shaky, desperate breath of relief, leaning his forehead against the cold, wet tiles of the shower. "Well, it didn't seem ti have decreased in size!! That's a relief!!"
But as he held himself, a new wave of conflicting emotions hit him.
The skin of his hands was so incredibly soft, and his member was so overwhelmingly sensitive, that just holding it sent a deep, buzzing thrill straight to his brain.
He wasn't even stroking it, but the simple touch of his own feminized hands made him twitch.
He quickly let go, his face burning a bright, shameful red.
"How long will it stay like that?" his mind whispered darkly. "Will it shrink?"
"Will it just... disappear one night? Or worse, will it invert and become something else entirely?" He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to fight back the tears of frustration.
He was terrified of losing the last real piece of his manhood.
Taking a deep, shuddering breath, he forced himself to look back at the floating screen, desperate for a distraction.
[ Cultivation Aptitude: Good ]
He blinked, surprised. There was an extra cultivation aptitude entry that definitely wasn't there before.
In the past, his aptitude was practically garbage, which was why he was stuck as an unawakened civilian with no clear profession.
But now, it was rated as "Good."
It didn't take a genius to figure out why.
The Ancient Naagin bloodline was aggressively rebuilding his foundation, tearing away his weak human limits and replacing them with a monstrously powerful core.
Following that realization, he looked at his skills list.
Every single gene skill related to the Naagin Gene had leveled up from Lv-1 to Lv-2.
Alex clenched his fist under the running water. He could feel it now.
Underneath his flawless, pale skin, his muscles didn't bulge like a bodybuilder's, but they felt impossibly dense and coiled, like tight steel springs.
That was the Serpentine Musculature. He felt lighter, more agile.
Deep in his chest, a cool, refreshing energy pulsed with every heartbeat.
His Yin-Serpent Mana Circuit was circulating mana smoothly through his veins, directly improving his strength, defense, and control over his own body.
It was an incredible, all-around evolution that he had gained without lifting a single finger.
He leaned back, letting the hot water wash over his sleek black hair.
He was becoming stronger, much stronger than he had ever been in his entire life.
But the price of this power was his humanity, his gender, and his identity.
"I have to get stronger," he whispered to the empty shower, his soft, high-pitched voice sounding determined despite the tears mixing with the shower water. "If I want to survive.... I have to master this body before it masters me."