Me, The Sovereign of the World? [Modern Evolution]

Although bewildered, Zoe Carter continued her initial observations, experiments, and meticulous note-taking. This peculiar issue with food could not be ignored.

Upon returning from the Orel Province, where she had celebrated the New Year, far away from her home in Hamilton, Zoe promptly sampled the foods she had on hand. Her pantry wasn’t particularly well-stocked, but there were a few basics left—staples like bread, rice, and instant noodles, which were high in starch; a modest selection of vegetables and fruits from the fridge, rich in dietary fibre; and a smattering of protein sources, including meats and eggs. Yet, without exception, every bite tasted like wax.

A faint wave of nausea accompanied her attempts to eat, though it wasn’t overwhelming. It lingered, enough to be unsettling but bearable. Oddly, tap water did not bring about the same queasiness, though she didn’t feel thirsty either.

This realization turned her face pale.

Her body’s instinctive response seemed to be to reject these foods, as though they were no longer necessary. If this were true, from a survival standpoint, it could mean she might never need to eat again. On the surface, this sounded almost like a blessing.

But from a more personal, indulgent angle, it was a curse. The thought of never enjoying the pleasures of fine dining again felt like an immense loss.

Zoe found it hard to believe, yet her body’s signals were not something to be easily dismissed. Instincts rarely lied; they were far more trustworthy than the machinations of the brain, which often overcomplicated matters.

Could it be? Would she truly no longer need to eat? Such a thought seemed absurd, yet plausible. But then, what would happen if she ceased to intake external energy entirely? Could her body continue to function normally?

Theoretically, the universal principle of energy conservation still applied. The absence of eating didn’t mean her body would no longer require energy. To suggest otherwise would be too fantastical, too good to be true. Zoe leaned towards the idea that while she no longer needed to eat in the traditional sense, her body had perhaps developed some unknown, more advanced means of energy absorption—something more efficient, something far beyond her current understanding.

Judging by the speed at which her physical strength seemed to recover, this mysterious energy replenishment method must be far more effective than eating. It allowed her to regenerate at an accelerated pace, seemingly bypassing the need for external fuel altogether.

This merited further investigation.

Zoe formulated two new plans. One, she would explore this unknown method of energy absorption. And two, she would search for foods that didn’t induce that unpleasant wax-like sensation.

The first plan was for her own peace of mind. The second? Purely for the love of food.

Until she could clarify the nature of this newfound energy source, Zoe had no intention of pushing her limits. Her original idea of testing her physical recovery abilities would have to be postponed. After all, without understanding this new energy system, she dared not push herself to the brink—lest she unwittingly exhaust this mysterious resource.

There was a very real fear lurking in her mind: if she overtaxed herself and the unknown energy source ran dry, halting her rapid recovery, she could very well die mid-experiment.

No, caution was imperative.

Having reached this conclusion, Zoe turned her gaze to the inky, moonlit night outside her window. Her eyes shifted to her phone, where the screen displayed the time: "The twentieth day, half past midnight."

She exhaled deeply.

For now, the preliminary observations and experiments would have to suffice. There was no doubt more to uncover, layers of this mystery yet to be revealed. But what she had discovered already was astonishing: she no longer felt hunger, nor did she feel fatigue.

It was as though she was slowly, steadily transcending the realm of humanity.