Phobos felt good at this moment. The ease with which he improved the inverter was very pleasing. He put almost no effort and everything was flowing smoothly and his ability was filling in gaps in his designs automatically.

It took Phobos no more than ten minutes to finish improving the inverter. Although it wasn’t that much different from the original product it was more refined. The loss of energy was minimized and the chance of shorting was diminished.

Phobos then went into the van and when he saw Hera give him the OK sign he started it. When he did there was an obvious sign that power was flowing in as one light that had survived being destroyed lit up.

He got out of the car and went to the light switch to turn off the light. After all, it was still a little bright outside and they didn’t have the energy to waste.

He went all around the restaurant to disconnect unneeded electronics. The electric panel had electricity flowing only to the light and the cooling unit area but he double-checked just in case. Lastly, he went to the cooling unit and calibrated it so that it would have stable power even if at a higher temperature.

The car battery was just a temporary fix. And although he could leverage his ability to make it a long term solution, Phobos felt that finding solar panels and battery packs would be way more efficient and trouble-free. He wouldn’t have to find fuel to let it run and could just leave it on its own. The only problem it could cause is breaking but his ability had that covered.

Phobos got out of the van and went to a corner table where all of the women had gathered. They were drinking tea that Diana had prepared for everyone. Phobos wasn’t much for tea or coffee but could drink it if he overloads it with sugar.

They just stayed and relaxed. There was nothing really to do except wait for tomorrow. They could start searching for supplies and needed components to build the solar generator but Phobos always had the worst possibility of what could happen in his mind. He did hope for the best most of the time but he realistically prepared for the worst. Going out when the sun was almost setting was unadvisable if even a snippet of his imagination was real.

Just when they were finishing the second cup in silence, which Diana found awkward but the three thought as the norm, someone came to the front door. They could see the red from the setting sun and three female figures showing up at the door.

It was Anna, Alice and another female that looked similar to Anna but younger. They looked visible weary and depression covered their faces. It seemed that they found bad results. Phobos and the women in the restaurant looked at them but the only one who reacted was Diana.

Only she had someone to lose outside of this restaurant. Phobos could empathize but couldn’t sympathize. He could emotionally understand them but he could also logically understand that loss is inevitable. Whether it happened sooner or later. Eve and Hera on the other hand mostly only cared about Phobos. They wouldn’t pay much attention to anyone else.

The three of them were carrying various sizes of bags and luggage. Anna had thought a lot about whether to return or not. After all in reality the restaurant wasn’t a place to live in and her apartment was a perfectly feasible safe house until they were rescued. However what she saw outside dissuaded her. She thought that if she was in a group it would deter some of the things that were out there.

Of course, being in a group presented its own problems. It being the majority of females did help her in making the decision. What Anna didn’t expect was how much they had accomplished in such a short time. She felt that the time they were gone was long because of it being worldview bending but she knew that it was nothing more than a few hours.

Eve stood up and beaconed them in. She had an amiable smile that had a natural attraction. Eve ushered the three of them to sit down and started making a new tea for them. Eve started explaining before they had the time to start talking.

“Anna, you don’t have to worry we will share the food that is the restaurant with you. Although we technically own the building and the business, after all, it was you that had stocked it. However, in subsequent food, we find or harvest you would have to invest an equivalent amount of effort to gain it. Or you could search for food on your own.

Also, you can choose one of the private rooms upstairs as a residence or you could find another place to stay. We don’t know how dangerous the following days would be. It could be perfectly safe to travel from your apartment to here no problem.”

Eve declared the most important points before they could be brought up and negotiated upon. Eve didn’t bring up any of this to Diana because she had already read her and knew that she would mostly follow directions. Anna had a different mentality, however, so Eve had to be firm and squash any unfounded expectations before they even bud.

Anna nodded before she even knew what was going on. Eve said nothing wrong however so she could only do so. She could mention that she technically built the restaurant but without their financial investment it would never happen. Moreover, she didn’t want to fight for rights but a fair deal. She would of course work for her food. It was one of her core beliefs.

“We will stay here for now. We shall see about the future.” Anna calmly answers as Alice and the other girl were a little flustered. “By the way, this is Megan, my little sister.”

If Anna had the bearing of an alluring female boss then Megan had the vibe of a city girl. Both beautiful in their own way. Alice on the side was projecting innocence. If not for the heavy depressing air surrounding her she would feel like a white flower. The sisters had brown hair and Alice had blond hair. All of them possessed light brown eyes.

When everyone was settled Eve and Hera stood up and went towards the kitchen.

“We will cook only for the boss and Diana because we don’t know your taste. Feel free to prepare the food to your liking.”

Eve said that as she was going away. Before anyone could answer Diana quickly stood up and followed behind them. Diana was a little helpless. Eve and Hera are too in sync. They just stood up at the same time and started going to the kitchen. She would of course help but they didn’t give her the chance to react.

Phobos watched as the three that were left had question marks floating around their heads. He knew that Eve was segmenting the group on purpose so that she could bring it under control easier later. He also knew that she was just playing with the intrigue, she didn’t really need it but was having fun. Eve could convince them to follow in two sentences but chose the route where they volunteer to follow her instructions.

Phobos didn’t pay attention to the games Eve was playing and went to the storage place where tablecloths and other fabrics would be. He grabbed the most he could carry and got up to the second floor where the private rooms were. He chose the one which would be the most soundproof.

Phobos moved the furniture inside to one side and started layering tablecloths one by one. In about three runs he made a nice futon one the ground. Although it wasn't the best place to sleep it would have to do for tonight.

He chose the next room and started building another. This time it was way faster. If there were a lot of sofas he could have taken the cushions from them but there were just a few on the first floor. Taking them wouldn’t be enough and they would serve a better purpose if left untouched.

Phobos was done and when he went downstairs so was the food. At least for the four of them. The other three had gone to make their own at this moment.

While eating Phobos was wondering where they would get their food from. Even if there is a large amount of stock in the restaurant. Even more in the supermarkets around. It would take from 60 to 90 days to get a staple crop. On top of that, they didn’t have much space. The back garden was big but it wouldn't feed even 1 person.

It was a big problem. Phobos would have to to think about it. He could always toss it to Hera and Eve.

As they were in the middle of the summer growing season was ending fast. They would have time for one growth cycle if they don’t find a way to grow in winter.

But the most problematic thing was space. There is no land to grow on in a cityscape. The most feasible option was to build a vertical farm. The problem was that it was hard to do when all infrastructure was working. It would be even tougher now. The first thing they would have to do however was to find enough staple food to last them at least three months.

They finished the food fast. When they were getting up the other three girls were ready to eat. Phobos waved them goodnight when passing them but they were wondering if it wasn’t too soon to go to bed. The sun had just set.

Phobos, Eve, Hera and Diana stood in front of the room that Phobos had prepared. Phobos gave a little cough to Eve. She seemed to realize something and turned to Diana.

“Diana, you can use the room next door. You can join in when you feel comfortable. For tonight however it would be better that way.”

Diana just looked puzzled when Eve said that to her but she didn’t do much but just nodded. Phobos entered in with Eve and Hera while Diana went next door. He had already prepared a futon for her there.

When they entered Eve stuck the door so that it can’t be opened. Phobos and Hera were already stipping. Of course, what would follow was obvious.

Phobos had to remind Eve to exclude Diana because he didn’t like getting intimate with someone if they would be in contact long term. For Eve it was natural for Diana to join but Phobos preferred if someone were to join it be a one night stand that they would likely never meet again. Complicated relationships were not for him. However, both of them forgot to factor if Diana would even want to join.

In reality, he never had any idea to have a physical relationship with Hera when she was brought to him. It was not until Eve came later that the relationship became a bit tangled. However, as they were technically his subordinates he didn’t feel the unneeded weight that came with a normal relationship.

At first, it was Eve who came to him and then brought in Hera to be taught how to “properly” serve him. However Phobos never had a big sex drive. He even questioned what the big deal was. He didn’t experience much pleasure from the act of sex. At most, it rivaled a nice massage.

However, Phobos did find the female body fascinating. Especially how Eve and Hera have almost the same build but were entirely different when they disrobed. Hera had a slim waist and delicate body. Eve had a model's body with nice subtle muscle lines. They each had a unique charm.

After Eve analyzed what he liked she started recruiting different women to his bed. Phobos didn’t complain as he did want to explore the female body further. However, he restricted people who could be recruited. Those he would have long term contact with and people who were in a committed relationship were not welcome. He didn’t like complications and the break of trust.

At some point, his fascination with the female body dwindled but he found new joy in sex. Phobos found it thrilling to bring females to completion. He even had a small sadistic steak. Most of the time he would take it a little far. He would give them immense pleasure until they were incapacitated or delirious.

This is what he did that night as well. Phobos knew Eve and Hera from top to bottom. He knew what they wanted and when. Tonight he even utilized his new ability. First, he analyzed them to find if he had missed something through the exploration in the past few years. There were some small bits but not much.

Then he started utilizing the boosting aspect of his ability and improved the pleasure they were receiving. When he did the noise levels suddenly jumped. Even if the insolation was proper the sound could still pass through. Diana in the next room could clearly hear them. The three females were below eating but they could still hear them. Anna wondered if she had made the wrong decision.

Different women respond differently to immense pleasure during sex. Eve was the type to get delirious from pleasure without knowing where she was and her mind blank only filled with sensual gratification. On the other hand, Hera became debilitated. She experienced great exhaustion but at the same time, she was in the most relaxed state possible.

Phobos at this moment was both happy and surprised. He loved bringing women to euphoria but it usually took too long. Leveraging his ability however shorted the time to only five minutes apiece. Phobos normally had to invest an hour at least for only one of them and that being only because he knew them so well. If it was someone unknown it would take even longer.

They knew that it generally took a bit of time until they really went to sleep so they got up so early. Phobos just laid down between the perfect glistening bodies and started to relax. His pleasure did not diminish because it became easier. It even intensified as he derived it not from the act itself but from the helpless state he puts women under.

At this time he was in his most relaxed state he has been since he could remember. Phobos deliberated if losing the vast fortune and worry-free future he had was worth for the pleasure he felt at this moment. For now, he was not sure but believed that if they even had a semblance of civilized life thereafter it would be.

In truth, this was one of the few pleasures he experiences as he had an unfeeling disposition. The other pleasures being food and calmness. Phobos could most likely improve the unemotional aspect of himself but he doubted that his improved version would even be himself anymore.

Phobos didn’t mind natural change but if he were to deliberately improve his character that would be like changing personalities. It was the reverse dilemma of resurrecting with the same memory and emotions but a different body. Are you still the same person?

As he saved a lot of time that was usually dedicated to the girls he didn’t know what to do. There was no electricity to find something to waste time with. So Phobos started messing around with his ability. He began improving his skills as that was the least power-hungry aspect he could improve.

First was general mobility. He created a virtual representation of himself in his mind and started with the most basic stretching exercises. After repeating them a few times he achieved standard gymnast flexibility.

He could feel that in reality, his body followed the changes in the simulation he had created. It was curious that there was a real physical change but for some reason was way less expensive than if he had intentionally improved his flexibility.

The physical enchantment as a byproduct of training a skill was way less expensive than direct improvement. He could even feel that it would be even less if he did the exercise in reality. However for now there is no reason to get up and do that while the girls were sleeping.

Second, he started running exercises. In about a thirty minute simulation he felt that he improved his body overall with just simple running. The most obvious change was the muscles used while running. After that was the balance he gained and the bigger lung capacity. The most subtle but still obvious was his blood circulation and even his brain activity improved.

Thanks to the amount of food Phobos had eaten during the day he was still brimming with energy. So he started other exercises. From general punches and kicks to building a simulated parkour field in his mind and running it. He polished his use of the spike and even practised his shooting ability with the revolver he had analyzed earlier.

After playing around for a few hours Phobos remembered that he had to fix his code of conduct. Here he was really careful. After all, he didn’t want any major changes to himself. He just wanted to return to the way he was before his alteration.

His demeanour before was not that complex. He would be more categorized as an observer without any outstanding characteristics. He had the same attitude towards everybody that could be classified as polite at best and cold at worst.

His most distinctive feature was that he almost always took the path of least resistance. Of course, some people said that he was just lazy. They wouldn’t be wrong but wouldn’t be right either.

The improvement he had to make turned out to be easy. He just needed to turn his aggressiveness and impulsiveness down. He hadn’t changed much. Only because of the high stress he had temporarily changed the order of think and act. It would have resolved itself in a couple of days.

As Phobos was dialing down because he was at the limit of his energy and getting ready to sleep he felt an enormous change in the atmosphere. It was already around midnight but all of a sudden it felt like the world lit up. There was no real light but for some reason, Phobos felt that way. As if the world started breathing.

And with that breath he could feel a lot of different energy flowing through the air. In the beginning, there was one big wave of energy and as time passed it felt like he was submerged in it.

Phobos looked to the girls but they showed no signs of feeling anything. As he was concentrating on all the energy around he started slowly being able to absorb it. He automatically started improving his absorbing ability and more and more energy started flowing into him. It seemed that he would have to forgo sleep for now.