Although Xiao Wu couldn't drive for the time being, he still sat in the front passenger seat, switching places with Lu Feiguang who was originally there, just in case.
From the rear passenger seat directly behind the driver, and then to the right, sat Xiao Wenqiang, Zhu Yan, and An Xin in order. Therefore, the first person to notice that something was wrong with An Xin was Zhu Yan, who had been sitting beside her.
"An Xin, why are you so hot? Do you have a fever?" Zhu Yan asked with concern, touching her burning arm.
"I... I don't know... I seem to be quite hot, but I don't feel uncomfortable at all." An Xin was already a little groggy.
Xiao Wenqiang remembered that the original setting of the novel was that ordinary people would suddenly develop a high fever before transforming into ability users. However, this fever wasn't like a normal fever where one would feel body aches. Not everyone could survive this high fever; those who did would immediately gain abilities, while those who didn't would have their cells burned to death by the fever, leading to death.
"Everyone, don't disturb her for now. An Xin might be in the process of transforming."
"Boss, what kind of ability am I getting..." An Xin mumbled drowsily, hearing Xiao Wenqiang's words, and asked happily. Her entire face was flushed red, and her lips were starting to peel and crack.
"When I first developed my strength-based ability, I also had a high fever, but it was shorter then, and I was asleep, so I didn't feel it intensely. An Xin's current situation is very similar to mine back then." Xiao Wenqiang spun a lie; in reality, she had no idea when her strength-based ability had manifested. However, according to the original novel's setting, this was how ordinary people developed abilities.
Lu Feiguang glanced into the rearview mirror with concern as he drove. Seeing this, Xiao Wenqiang reminded him, "Xiao Lu, focus on driving. There are still many wandering zombies on this stretch of road."
Lu Feiguang's face turned a little red. He nodded and replied, "Okay, Boss."
Xiao Wenqiang switched seats with Zhu Yan again, quietly picked up an empty mineral water bottle, and poured some spiritual spring water from her space into it. Then, she helped An Xin, who was on the verge of losing consciousness, and said, "Here, drink some water, you'll feel better."
An Xin was indeed severely dehydrated at the moment. She leaned forward and drank greedily from the bottle. Whether it was because she desperately needed water due to the fever or her own illusion, An Xin felt that this bottle of water was sweeter and more refreshing than any water she had ever drunk before. In her daze, she seemed to feel a force, as the water entered her, spreading through her limbs and bones, making her feel refreshed and invigorated.
Within five minutes of drinking the water, An Xin's fever rapidly subsided, a hundred times more effective than any antipyretic. As the last trace of heat disappeared, An Xin discovered that her control over her body had improved qualitatively.
As if guided by an unseen force, she opened her eyes and slowly extended her right hand. With a mere thought, a few arcs of electricity surged above her palm, making one's scalp tingle just looking at them.
"Boss, I've really become an ability user!" An Xin exclaimed excitedly.
"Yes! And judging by your condition, you've likely developed an electric ability. You'll be in charge of all our power generation from now on!" Xiao Wenqiang teased.
"Oh my goodness! An Xin, you're amazing! Our team now has two ability users!" Zhu Yan was also very happy.
"Yeah, that's great! Is this electricity related to when An Xin was electrocuted by Old Master Pei before?" Lu Feiguang suddenly remembered.
"Possibly! An Xin was in the process of transforming, and at that moment, her body absorbed a lot of electricity, which then transformed into an electric ability." Xiao Wenqiang replied.
"Then if we all get electrocuted, will we all develop electric abilities?" Yang Ning mused fancifully.
"Probably not!" Xiao Wenqiang poured cold water on his idea. "This is likely just a coincidence. I think An Xin might have been developing a fever for a while already, right?"
"Yes. When we arrived at the Pei family's place and had dinner, I already felt a bit unwell, sensing my temperature rising. But at the time, I just thought I was tired from the past few days and would be fine after a good sleep, so I didn't say anything." An Xin confirmed.
"That makes sense. An Xin's situation was clearly a stroke of luck. Ordinary people shouldn't try to replicate this casually." Seeing Yang Ning's clearly disappointed expression, Xiao Wenqiang comforted him, "Don't be discouraged. Even though you don't have abilities now, seeing An Xin, you still have hope for mutation!"
"Yeah, Boss is right!" Yang Ning brightened up again.
"Alright, Xiao Wu, you should drink this water!" Xiao Wenqiang picked up the remaining water An Xin had drunk and handed it to Yang Ning.
"This... Boss, I have water. It's not good to drink from the same bottle as An Xin..." Xiao Wu blushed slightly. Wasn't the Boss implying he'd be indirectly kissing An Xin?
"Just drink it if I tell you to. This isn't ordinary water. Ask An Xin if you don't believe me." Xiao Wenqiang chuckled at Yang Ning's blushing ears.
"Yes, yes! Xiao Wu, you should drink it. After drinking Boss's water, I felt completely refreshed!" An Xin realized then that it wasn't her imagination earlier.
Hearing this, Yang Ning's eyes lit up again. He quickly took the bottle. "Boss, what kind of amazing water is this? Where did you get it?"
"Just drink it if you can. Don't ask questions you shouldn't be asking!" Xiao Wenqiang feigned mystery.
"Okay, Boss!" Yang Ning tucked the mineral water bottle between his legs and made a zipping motion with his uninjured left hand towards his mouth. This made the members in the car burst into laughter.
He also laughed and picked up the mineral water bottle, drinking it down in gulps. There wasn't much water left, and after a couple of drinks, the bottle was empty.
Then, just like An Xin had felt earlier, Xiao Wu felt a sense of comfort spread through his body. In particular, a warm current, originating from nowhere, gathered in his injured right arm. The arm, which had been excruciatingly painful since it was broken, seemed to gradually become less agonizing.
Yang Ning willed his arm to move, but found he still couldn't. "Boss, why isn't my arm healed yet?"
"What do you think this is, a miracle elixir? How could it have such immediate effects? It's good enough that it's alleviating some of your pain!" Xiao Wenqiang couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"Heh heh... I thought it would be healed after drinking it!" Yang Ning rubbed the back of his head sheepishly with his left hand. "But seriously, it doesn't hurt as much. Boss, do you have any more of this water? Can I have some more?"
"No, I'll give you more next time I find some!" Xiao Wenqiang remained reserved.
"Oh, okay. Thank you, Boss, for thinking of us with such good things!" Xiao Wu was even more touched.
An Xin, sitting beside him, was also touched and felt a pang of regret. "I'm sorry, Boss, I didn't know this water was so amazing. I drank so much just now..."
"It's alright! It's good that you all benefited from drinking it!" Xiao Wenqiang reassured them. "We're all a team. Whoever needs it the most gets the good stuff. Any objections?"
"Of course not!" Lu Feiguang and Zhu Yan quickly chimed in.
The members of the "Sunshine Squad" shared a tacit understanding and burst into laughter, a sense of camaraderie growing in each of their hearts.
Suddenly, several roadblocks appeared on the highway ahead.