After roughly confirming Dong Qi's situation, Dong Hao finally spoke up.

  "Don't overthink it.

  This isn't just about you.

  Recently, cases like yours have been appearing not only in our area but all across the country.

  While this illness still doesn't have an official name, its general symptoms have been made public.

  It manifests as a severe loss of bodily fluids.

  If fluids are replenished promptly during the onset, it generally isn't life-threatening.

  However, if fluids aren't replenished in time during the active phase, it can easily lead to death from severe dehydration.

  You were just lucky your body had some extra reserves. Even with significant fluid loss during the episode, you managed to endure it because of that.

  But if you had listened to me earlier and found a wife sooner, someone would have noticed at the first sign of trouble.

  They could have called an ambulance immediately to get you to the hospital.

  Then you wouldn't have had to tough it out alone at home."

  Hearing Dong Hao steer the conversation back to that topic again, Dong Qi retorted defiantly.

  "I fell ill suddenly in my sleep.

  You said yourself this strange disease is contagious.

  If a couple sleeps together, they'd definitely infect each other. If one gets sick, both would.

  You said I endured it because I had reserves to burn.

  But you know how women are these days. Any reasonably attractive one watches her figure.

  If no one had noticed in time during the episode, she definitely wouldn't have held on.

  By the time I woke up, there might have been a corpse lying next to me.

  If that had happened, it would have been worse.

  This way, if I pull through, I'm fine and happy.

  If I don't, it's over and done with, no heartache either way.

  However it goes, it wouldn't ruin my mood."

  "Fine, you win. I can't argue with you."

  Hearing Dong Qi's twisted logic, Dong Hao was momentarily at a loss for how to counter.

  Deciding to drop it, he prepared to leave after confirming Dong Qi was safe and continue checking on other cases.

  After seeing Dong Hao off, Dong Qi finally had time to carefully assess his own condition.

  But when he truly quieted his mind, he suddenly realized he seemed to have inexplicably gained a new ability.

  This ability felt as natural as breathing. Even without any practice, he could master it instinctively.

  With focused awareness, he could precisely control each breath.

  He could briefly make himself breathe rapidly in succession or momentarily halt his breathing altogether.

  Just as Dong Qi began to intently explore this newly acquired ability, he experienced a sudden lapse in concentration.

  When his awareness returned, the new ability presented itself in his mind in the way most intuitive for him to understand.

  Item Upgrade (Unique): Select any single item.

  Consume corresponding resources to upgrade it.

  Each upgrade enhances the item based on the quantity and type of resources consumed.

  Note 1: Once an item is selected for upgrade, this choice cannot be changed.

  If the selected item is lost or damaged, this ability cannot be used to upgrade other items.

  Note 2: If the selected item for upgrade is destroyed, upgrading can continue using its remaining components.

  However, the upgrade effects and resource costs may undergo unpredictable changes.

  After processing the information that appeared in his mind, Dong Qi felt a surge of emotion, thinking that after all this time since crossing over, he had finally obtained his 'Golden Finger.'

  But just as this initial excitement rose, a second wave of information suddenly flooded his consciousness.

  'Special energy absorbed. Special ability granted by Earth to her wandering children has been activated: Manifestation from the Tide of Thought.'

  Manifestation from the Tide of Thought: By absorbing special energy, items existing within the Tide of Thought can be manifested into the real world.

  Note: The Tide of Thought represents the collective imagination of humanity on Earth.

  Whether items that exist in reality or those that exist only in fantasy, all reside within the Tide of Thought.

  When he gained the first ability, Dong Qi only felt somewhat excited.

  After crossing over, he had always assumed he would possess a Golden Finger—it was practically standard equipment for every transmigrator.

  The excitement upon obtaining the Item Upgrade ability was merely the thrill of regaining something he felt was rightfully his.

  However, when Dong Qi acquired the second ability, Manifestation from the Tide of Thought, his excitement didn't increase. Instead, he suddenly became very calm.

  From the description of the Manifestation from the Tide of Thought ability, he could confirm that this was the true Golden Finger he should have received after crossing worlds.

  If Manifestation from the Tide of Thought was the Golden Finger he was meant to have after transmigrating, then the Item Upgrade ability was the superpower he obtained on this Blue Star.

  Based on the peculiar condition he experienced these past few days, Dong Qi speculated that the Item Upgrade ability might be the 'special reward' for enduring the period of severe dehydration.

  If this speculation held true, then he certainly wasn't the only one on Blue Star to have gained superpowers.

  Although it was uncertain whether those who 'cheated' through the dehydration period by receiving fluids at the hospital gained abilities like his, there undoubtedly were others who, for various reasons, didn't go to the hospital and endured the dehydration period alone, just like he did.

  Following his speculation, those who endured the dehydration period alone should also have gained some kind of superpower.

  He just didn't know if the superpowers others obtained were similar to his, capable of upgrading a certain item, or if they were entirely different types of abilities.

  Thinking this, Dong Qi temporarily set aside pondering the effects of his own superpower.

  He opened his computer and simultaneously used his phone to search, hoping to find some clues or hints related to his speculation.

  His efforts paid off.

  After combined searching on both computer and phone, he indeed found some useful information online.

  Although much of the information was quickly erased right after he read it, or even while he was reading it, Dong Qi very swiftly jotted down key points with pen and paper.

  His findings largely aligned with his speculation.

  Anyone who endured the dehydration period without 'cheating' via hospital rehydration had gained some form of superpower.

  The superpowers everyone obtained were the abilities their subconscious desired most.

  No matter their future potential, all these varied superpowers were in their initial state when first acquired, and their effects were very weak.

  However, precisely because their effects were weak, many of the displayed superpowers appeared similar to ordinary magic tricks.

  Because of this, many videos of 'magic tricks' had appeared online recently.

  At first, everyone thought what was shown were magic effects, so there was no large-scale crackdown online.

  But as more and more of these 'magic performance' videos appeared, there were always some people who couldn't resist showing off.

  Eventually, it was proven that what was shown in the videos wasn't magic but real superpowers.

  When the authorities finally reacted, it took them only a few minutes.

  All videos related to magic or superpowers completely vanished from the internet.

  Whether videos posted just minutes ago or those uploaded years prior, all were wiped clean without a trace.