After five minutes of discussion, they decided to have breakfast. When everything was completed fifteen minutes later, Axel suddenly asked at the table, "Everyone is awake, but the Emperor has not left his room yet. Did something happen?"
They paused. Their eyes widened, staring at each other. Indeed, the Emperor stated last night that he would exercise, perhaps overnight, and should have left his room by now. However, he had not—the room remained as quiet as yesterday.
They fell into panic. Even Zoe lost her composure. In the end, everyone turned their heads and stared at Zoe with hopeful eyes. They wished for her to check on the Emperor herself, as they all recognized her as his secretary.
Zoe nodded and hastily arrived in front of the Emperor's door, anxiously knocking…
…
Eric was startled awake but remained in his posture. Of course, he was struck by pain and numbness, but it was endurable. By slightly moving his body, he relaxed his muscles one at a time before returning to the same position.
Another knock echoed on the door. From its beat and rhythm, he suspected it might open without his permission if he continued to remain silent.
He calmly said, "Come in."
The door opened, and Zoe was stunned. The Emperor was basically sunbathing while performing a plank exercise. However, she would never believe that he had remained in the same position since last night.
So, he is only exercising. She heaved a sigh of relief.
She said, "The others were worried since it is already eight in the morning, and you have not gone down yet. I just came here to check on you."
Eric nodded.
"Now that you know. I will leave in three hours. I'm still full, so don't worry about me. You can all start breakfast."
Zoe was stunned. She hesitated, but since the Emperor had already given his order, she had to comply despite worrying about his health.
"Alright, but if you want to eat, there will always be food waiting for you downstairs."
Eric nodded. "Thank you."
Zoe smiled. At the same time, she could not help but fall into a daze while staring at the Emperor's bare upper body.
It's growing… it's shaping… It appears his hard work is bearing fruit.
When she realized she had been staring at the Emperor for a while now, her cheeks reddened. She bowed in a panic and quickly fled.
Eric smiled and did not dwell on it. Although he was proud that not only did his handsome face charm women without using charm arts, but his slowly growing muscular body as well, his mind was quickly distracted by the thought of almost completing the mission and preparing to write the blueprint.
Furthermore, he did not forget that he needed to train his subjects in martial arts and might even give them breathing techniques to aid in completely assimilating the foreign energies in their bodies.
This is just the beginning. I can't dare to imagine the responsibility of a true Emperor. However, there was no turning back. His ambitions could easily topple any problems, much less negative thoughts…
…
11:30 a.m. February 1, 2028.
A day had officially passed since the apocalypse. The water was slowly getting contaminated. The electricity was cut off. In the world of the third-world country, the citizens slowly accepted their new life—at least, the subjects of Emperor Eric did.
At this time, Zoe and the others had already finished eating, so they attended to their own matters. Michelle and Samantha had their respective tasks, while Zoe sat on the sofa in the living room, where she could easily hear the call of the Emperor.
However, like the boys who all stayed inside their rooms, she was meditating. They had discussed that, despite not yet receiving instructions from the Emperor, they could slowly assimilate the foreign energy in their bodies by meditating—closing their eyes and visualizing.
The visualization was taught by the Emperor to Jasper, who then shared his experience. As expected, the foreign energy was slowly assimilating as they tried to establish an affinity with it—treating it as if it were alive and convincing it to be absorbed.
Such a strange visualization actually succeeded, leaving Zoe amazed.
When she opened her eyes to rest her mind, she could not help but glance upstairs.
She mumbled, "I wonder, when will he finish exercising? I hope he doesn't overdo it, lest he becomes over-fatigued." Her tone was filled with concern.
She shook her head and restrained herself from checking on the Emperor.
When she closed her eyes and meditated once again, her mind unexpectedly drifted to the scene of meeting with the Emperor earlier.
The Emperor's face was actually not bad—above average, at least. Furthermore, she noticed that his face was also shaping, similar to his body. It was becoming refined and striking, seemingly attempting to exude his masculinity.
What attracted Zoe the most, however, was the Emperor's aura. His disposition was unmistakable.
"!!!"
"What am I thinking?!" Her face blushed.
The heat on her cheeks made her slap them softly, her eyes wide open. At the same time, she noticed Michelle walking towards her with a mischievous smile.
She said, "You're thinking about him, aren't you?"
Zoe was taken aback and quickly composed herself.
She said, "Naturally, he is our Emperor. His well-being is always our priority, as he always does the same for us."
Michelle stared at her for a while in a teasing manner, making Zoe turn her head away.
Michelle shook her head and sighed.
"Whatever. Anyway, he said we have to wait three hours before he comes down. I think more than three hours have already passed."
Although all of their phones were shut down due to low battery, they still had wall clocks that might last… for months.
Zoe nodded. She was about to reply when they perceived a noise coming from above.
The door creaked open and closed, and footsteps echoed on the stairs.
Michelle and Zoe were startled and hastily stood up, waiting in front of the stairs. The stairs in Filipino houses were one-way, with half concealed by the ceiling of the ground floor. Since they were not standing directly in front of the staircase but on the side, where it was covered by the extending walls of the ceiling, they could not see the Emperor yet.
However, once they saw his legs—conveying that he was wearing shorts—they remained quiet and waited for the Emperor.
Eric saw them and smiled, grasping a folded paper.
After he descended the stairs and faced them, he said, "Go gather everyone at the table."
Michelle and Zoe nodded solemnly and acted according to his instruction.