Lin Wanshuang’s assignment to go to the prison for sampling was officially set in stone. Upon hearing the news, Qiao Yi made a special trip to the laboratory just to comfort her.
One second, Lin Wanshuang had been texting her late mentor, acting spoiled and complaining about the grievance. Yet the next second, when faced with her friend’s concern, her face turned cold and aloof. Looking exceptionally noble and frosty, she acted as though the entire matter was beneath her notice.
As a result, only Ming Jiao, who had witnessed the entire sequence of events, stood to the side with pursed lips, secretly laughing, only to receive a massive glare from the young miss.
Although this business trip to the prison infuriated Lin Wanshuang, her anger only seemed to last for a brief moment. Once Qiao Yi left, she reverted to her professional self, meticulously and painstakingly extracting Ming Jiao’s pheromones.
Ming Jiao’s gland was severely withered. Even during her previous susceptibility period, she could only secrete a minuscule amount of pheromones. Now, forcing an extraction was no different from making her relive that susceptibility period all over again.
Sweat drops the size of soybeans poured down Ming Jiao’s forehead, pasting her disheveled hair to her brow. Her hands gripped the armrests on either side so tightly that the veins on her arm muscles bulged prominently.
The intense discomfort and the instinctive threat of violation radiating from the back of her neck sent her thoughts into a wild spin. Reason told her that Lin Wanshuang was saving her, but her suppressed instincts desperately urged her to flip the other woman over immediately.
With the veins on her temples throbbing, Ming Jiao forced down her violent instincts and kept herself pinned to the chair.
Watching Ming Jiao’s face grow increasingly pale, Lin Wanshuang found the situation difficult to bear herself. It wasn’t as if she had never collected pheromones from other Alphas before, but those Alphas, even E-ranks, were capable of secreting pheromones naturally.
Only Ming Jiao, due to her withered gland, could not secrete them on her own. The collector had to be driven directly into the gland beneath the flesh.
Enduring the pain, Ming Jiao gritted her teeth and asked in a trembling voice, “How… how much longer?”
Glancing at the collection tube, which was only half full, Lin Wanshuang licked her dry lips and said, “Bear with it a little longer. It will be over soon.”
Every single second of the agonizing pain and discomfort felt like a knife carving into Ming Jiao’s gland. Because the withered gland could not produce an adequate volume of pheromones, the collector’s needle automatically plunged even deeper.
“Ah!” Ming Jiao cried out in pain, completely unable to control herself. Her spine straightened instinctively as she tried to escape the touch. “Lin Wanshuang!”
Frowning deeply, Lin Wanshuang could only hold Ming Jiao down by force to keep her from thrashing around. She turned her head toward Xiao Ba, whose expression had completely warped with worry. “Xiao Ba, open the isolation shield.”
With a series of beeps, a specially made glass wall descended from the ceiling. Within a few seconds, it completely enclosed the collection area, leaving only a single purification vent.
Then, Lin Wanshuang yanked off the necklace she wore year-round and tossed it to Xiao Ba. Immediately after, an invisible wave of pheromones began to diffuse through the tiny collection area.
Ming Jiao keenly caught the scent drifting through the air. It was a pleasant, sweet fragrance, not cloying, but carrying a rich, creamy, coconut milk like smoothness. Beneath that sweet moisture lay a trace of crisp, green bitterness that cleared Ming Jiao’s mind. Even the pain throbbing from her gland began to subside. It was a scent Ming Jiao had never smelled before; she could only tell it was likely floral.
“Lin Wanshuang, what are you doing…” Ming Jiao’s chest heaved violently as her eyes darted toward Lin Wanshuang’s figure behind her.
“An Omega’s pheromones can effectively alleviate an Alpha’s pain. Of course I am saving you,” Lin Wanshuang stated with absolute righteousness. But out of Ming Jiao’s line of sight, a wave of heat quietly rushed up, flushing the tips of her ears a faint red.
An AO’s pheromones were their most private possession. Lin Wanshuang was usually extremely careful never to let a single trace of her pheromones leak out, it was difficult to catch even a whiff of her scent in her own apartment.
Releasing her pheromones so generously now, and right in front of an Alpha at that no matter how righteously she carried herself, she still felt a deep sense of bashfulness internally.
The sharp pain in Ming Jiao’s body had eased significantly. The gland at the back of her neck even felt a numb, swollen sense of satisfaction, making her involuntarily curl her fingers. “Thank you.”
“Beep! Detected an increase in Omega pheromone levels in the air. Checking if an Omega has entered a heat cycle.”
“Target: Lin Wanshuang. Automatic scan initiated.”
“Scan results are as follows. Omega pheromones were released voluntarily, violating laboratory prohibitions. Per regulations, Lin Wanshuang’s bonus for this month is revoked, and a disciplinary notice will be circulated within this laboratory.”
Xiao Ba’s mechanical voice rang out, its core directives were taking effect. This announcement immediately drew a look of utter astonishment from Lin Wanshuang. How could she have forgotten the rules her mentor had established back when he still took on Alpha students?
“Uh…” Ming Jiao scratched the bridge of her nose awkwardly. “How about you deduct that bonus from my salary instead?”
Lin Wanshuang rolled her eyes at her in a massive, huffy glare. “Who cares about your meager salary?”
The whole world was bullying her!