Building on his experience awakening as a Gene Fusion Expert and the advice Graces had just shared, Smelian was more mentally prepared for the second injection of the gene fusion agent.

When the familiar burning sensation arose, he knew the drug was taking effect.

Pristine white feathers sprouted from his exposed forearms. Their pure white color made them look incredibly sacred.

Those once-small feathers grew at a rate visible to the naked eye, becoming larger, harder, and sharper until Smelian’s arms vanished completely, replaced by wings.

To Lu Xia and the others observing, the process seemed to happen in a flash, but for Smelian, it was an eternity.

Even though he had braced himself, knowing the process wouldn’t be easy, he had still underestimated the pain—a feeling like every bone in his body was being shattered and reforged.

"Smelian, you’re 50% of the way there! Keep going!" Lu Xia’s voice came at just the right moment, jolting Smelian, who was dazed with pain, back to his senses.

He bit the tip of his tongue, forcing himself not to pass out. ’Lu Xia is still watching me!’

"The Beastification Gene inherited by the Rafaelde Family is also a High level Gene, making the transformation much more difficult than with an ordinary one. However, according to our assessment of Mr. Smelian’s biodata, he is capable of a perfect evolution. The process will just be a bit more painful." A researcher to the side handed the data analysis to Lu Xia to look over.

Lu Xia took it and glanced at Smelian’s biometrics so far. All his vitals were still within the safe range. As long as Smelian didn’t lose control and could endure, there wouldn’t be any problems.

Graces stood quietly to the side. But as he stood there, watching Smelian endure the painful transformation on the other side of the room, he suddenly thought back to the day of his own transformation. ’When Lu Xia stood here alone, watching me, what was she feeling?’

’She must have been nervous for me back then, right?’

At this thought, a slight smile touched Graces’s lips.

Smelian’s transformation continued. His lower body had fully transformed, and his upper body, obscured by massive wings, was also changing bit by bit. From their perspective, he already looked like a large, immaculate white bird.

Suddenly, the figure that had been crouched on the floor vanished. Everyone cried out in surprise, "Did he succeed?"

The answer came with Smelian’s reappearance. But contrary to the enormous figure they’d imagined, his complete Beastification Form was as small as a hummingbird. He was snow-white all over, and his fluffy feathers made him look as round and plump as a little snowball.

He was now fluttering his wings against the glass of the observation room. Lu Xia noticed that even his sharp little beak was white.

"Well, that’s not what I imagined. He’s surprisingly cute." Lu Xia truly hadn’t expected Smelian’s complete Beastification Form to look so adorable.

Graces stood to the side, looking at the little white fluffball. He thought for a moment about his own beast form. ’Good. I only have scales, no fur at all. And even if I did, it would be stiff!’

With that thought, his good mood soured.

He couldn’t help but wonder, ’Does Lu Xia prefer fluffy things?’

Lu Xia, unaware of Graces’s thoughts, had already entered the adjacent room with a paper cup of Spiritual Spring Water. "Smelian, drink some water. I’ve had a fresh set of clothes prepared for you. There’s a bathroom inside; you can go rest and clean up in a little while."

The little white fluffball flew over to Lu Xia. Perhaps because he’d just gotten his wings and this was his first time flying, Smelian hadn’t quite mastered the skill. He wobbled erratically through the air, and a few times, Lu Xia worried he was about to nosedive. After all, the little bird looked rather chubby, though she couldn’t tell if he was actually fat or just puffy from all the feathers.

After a great struggle, he made it to Lu Xia and extended a tiny white claw from his fluffy body, intending to perch on the rim of the cup. But perhaps unable to find his balance, he tumbled headfirst right into the cup. Lu Xia gasped and quickly fished him out.

Smelian was now soaking wet and had choked on some water. Cradled in Lu Xia’s hand, his tiny body was sneezing and shaking its head. He looked utterly bedraggled, yet still very cute.

Lu Xia could finally feel that the little fluffball wasn’t truly fat, just puffy. His feathers were incredibly soft and pleasant to touch.

"Are you okay, Smelian?"

Smelian responded by nuzzling Lu Xia’s hand, as if to reassure her he was fine.

Once he’d recovered, Smelian hopped back onto the rim of the cup. He finally found his footing this time and lowered his head to drink the water.

Standing behind the glass and taking in the scene, Graces wondered, ’Why didn’t I ever try interacting with Lu Xia in my beast form?’

’Maybe Lu Xia would have liked my Beastification Form, too?’

He felt like he’d missed a very important opportunity, and it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

After drinking some of the Spiritual Spring Water, Smelian seemed to regain his strength. He flapped his wings and headed toward the bathroom Lu Xia

had pointed out to him.

Lu Xia knew he was probably going to transform back, so she didn’t stop him, just reminded him again, "I’ll leave your clothes by the bathroom door."

"CHIRP!" A somewhat fledgling-like cry was her answer.

Lu Xia paused for a moment, then laughed. She didn’t know if that sound was unique to Smelian’s Beastification Form or if he was doing it on purpose. Regardless, she thought it sounded rather nice.

When she came out, Graces was leaning against the wall, waiting for her.

Lu Xia walked over with a smile. "If you’re not in a hurry, let’s wait for Smelian to recover and we can all go home together."

Graces stepped in front of her and lowered his head slightly. "Xiaxia, do you like his Beastification Form that much?"

Hearing this sudden question, Lu Xia raised an eyebrow. She looked at the man whose expression was calm, but whose words were laced with jealousy, and laughed. "Don’t you think Smelian’s Beastification Form is adorable?"

Graces fought the urge to sneer, but still said with clear annoyance, "So you don’t like mine, Xiaxia?"

Lu Xia looked at the man forcing himself to stay calm and nodded. "Your Beastification Form is cool, Graces, but it’s a far cry from ’cute.’"

"Is it... because I don’t have soft feathers?" That was the only reason Graces could come up with. From his perspective, the only thing his Beastification Form lacked compared to Smelian’s was white feathers. ’But I have beautiful, jewel-like scales,’ he thought. ’Smelian doesn’t have that!’

Lu Xia couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. "Hahaha, Graces, are you jealous? Don’t be jealous of Smelian. I love your Beastification Form, too. You’re both beautiful, just in different ways. I’m not going to dislike you just because you don’t have soft feathers. Your scales are gorgeous, too!"