Nankang City, night.
The rain poured down.
Under the cover of night, at the entrance of a grand four-story building.
Gao Yi, wearing a white shirt, was being shoved out the door by several burly men.
Just as he stepped over the threshold, a pair of large hands behind him suddenly pushed with force.
This push caused Gao Yi, who was already unsteady, to stumble and fall into a puddle in front of the gate.
"If I see you again, it won't be as simple as just a beating!"
The burly man, whose name tag read "Gold Medal Salesman," finished speaking, pulled a voice recorder from his pocket, and smashed it hard onto the waterlogged ground.
Immediately after, he lifted his heel and crushed the voice recorder's already fragile metal casing into two pieces.
Gao Yi did not try to stop him; he just lowered his head and silently gathered the items that had fallen out when he stumbled, amidst the taunts and ridicule of the men.
Several pens, his phone, an empty wallet, and half a box of business cards fortunately hadn't gotten wet, but the notebook he used to record various reporting materials wasn't as lucky.
The white shirt he was wearing, which he had borrowed specifically to infiltrate this Deception company, was now half-covered in mud and water stains.
What to do? He didn't have money to go to a laundry service now... Did he have to wash it himself?
Compared to these, the scrapes and broken skin on his elbows and palms were minor issues.
Gao Yi hunched his back, cradling his belongings, trying his best to shield them from the rain to prevent further damage.
Seeing that there was no more fun to be had, the thugs from the Deception company uttered a few threats and went back inside the building to avoid the rain.
Gao Yi shook his head helplessly, looking at their arrogant retreating figures.
It was at this moment that a system prompt sounded in his ear.
【"Reporter" tag, experience +30】
【Tag upgraded: Reporter Lv2 → Reporter Lv3】
Well, at least there was some gain.
Gao Yi had been a reporter for two years, and this wasn't his first undercover investigation.
In most cases, he could get out unscathed, bringing back reports to claim credit from his Chief Editor—although a large portion of the content couldn't be directly published as news.
But what about today?
Today's failure was mainly due to extremely insufficient preparation.
Gao Yi had no idea that this fraud group had a collective chanting activity every night after dinner.
Chanting was one thing, but several "executives" would also patrol in the middle, singling out "negative employees" who couldn't remember the slogans.
When they chanted, "The company is my home, my superiors are my parents."
Gao Yi, who was just there to make up the numbers, couldn't hold back and was quickly caught.
Now that he thought about it, the problem was clearly not with him, but with the system that suddenly appeared last week, issuing tasks without any preparation time.
After packing his belongings, Gao Yi found a sheltered spot under an eave to temporarily avoid the rain, then slightly focused his consciousness.
【Name: Gao Yi】
【Equipped Tags (1/1): Reporter Lv3 (Normal)】
【Tag Abilities: ① Nightwalker: Higher chance of encountering various unexpected events and breaking news; ② Truth Above All: Randomly obtain one confidential document per week】
【Daily Tag Mission: Undercover investigation of a criminal group with over a hundred members, and obtain their criminal evidence (Completed)】
【Unequipped Tags: Debtor Lv1 (Normal), Heartbroken Person Lv1 (Normal), Good Person Lv1 (Normal), Internet Surfing Professional Player Lv1 (Normal), Friend of Elderly Women Lv2 (Rare)】
【Possessed Traits: None】
"Why do my life tags look so pathetic...?"
Complaining, Gao Yi's mind stirred slightly, refreshing the screen in front of him.
【Tag Mission Completed】
【Obtained Trait: Deception (Normal)】
【Obtained Normal Item Lottery Chance * 1】
【Do you want to use it?】
He looked up at the sky; the downpour continued.
"Let's draw it. Maybe I'll get a Batmobile, and I can drive it home."
Telling a joke to no audience, Gao Yi waved his hand, spinning the transparent wheel in front of him.
Of course, as always, Lady Luck never favored Gao Yi.
【Item: super anti-wolf spray】
【Quality: Normal】
【Type: Weapon】
【Effect: Press the nozzle to spray an irritating mist at enemies.】
【Remarks: Are you still worried about encountering bad people when walking at night? Are you still worried about the pervert in front of you? Come and buy this anti-wolf spray, not 998, not 688, only 199, and you can take it home!】
"Wow, what a great item. My completely soaked appearance does seem to attract perverts..."
Gao Yi squinted his eyes, teasing himself in a half-dead voice.
This was one of his few strengths: in situations where others would be pessimistic or even despair, Gao Yi could always adjust himself well, remaining calm and mentally stable.
He turned his head to look; the four-story building was still lit, and he could faintly hear the excited preaching of the host inside the venue.
This group of fraudsters had seized on recent public safety issues, targeting middle-aged and elderly people, specifically selling various "self-defense underwear" and "health-boosting teas."
After seeing his tag mission for the day when he woke up, Gao Yi instantly thought of this place, which he had initially investigated, and quickly took action.
It was also because the mission refreshed daily, and he had no preparation time, which led to the oversight and getting caught by several "executives."
But thankfully, the mission was completed.
He looked down; the crushed body of the voice recorder lay in the puddle.
This voice recorder, bought online, had used up Gao Yi's last savings, solely for its automatic cloud upload function.
Those people surely wouldn't expect that their words and criminal evidence had already been saved to Gao Yi's cloud drive.
Based on this, the system also judged today's tag mission as complete.
"I'll organize it when I get home. The Chief Editor should be off work by now... Sigh, I should have brought an umbrella..."
Looking up at the cloudy night sky, the rain was getting heavier.
With a long sigh, Gao Yi hugged his satchel to his chest and hurried towards the subway station.
........................................
"A mass hysteria incident occurred at Chengnan Hospital, and the attending physician committed suicide by hanging before the Police arrived."
"A green strange fish was caught in the river and boasted about online, and the fisherman's entire family mysteriously disappeared."
"Eleven bizarre suicides have occurred in Xingfu Community, and Experts recommend that citizens do not go unless necessary..."
Gao Yi painstakingly separated the stuck-together pages while reading the recent investigation content blurred by the rain.
Since three months ago, Nankang City had suddenly experienced frequent strange occurrences.
Ordinary people might not feel much, but Gao Yi, as a news worker, naturally had a deeper understanding.
He was now sitting in a subway car, wearing a short-sleeved shirt on a winter night, flipping through his water-soaked notebook, while his drenched shirt was folded and placed beside him.
This sight was a bit strange, but fortunately, there weren't many passengers on the last train, and no one noticed Gao Yi's anomaly.
Or rather, another more obvious anomaly in the carriage attracted the attention of all passengers.
At the end of the carriage, a man in a black hoodie, with his entire face hidden within the hood, was restless.
From the moment Gao Yi entered the carriage and sat down, he had been shaking his leg, interspersed with unintelligible mumbling.
Half a minute ago, the man's agitation grew more severe; he clasped his hands behind his head, burying his entire head in his knees.
His final murmurs gradually grew louder, and listening closely, one could distinguish strange phrases like "I don't want to," "Why me," and "I don't want to go in there again."
"What the hell, did someone from the mental hospital escape...?"
Gao Yi muttered under his breath, watching an Aunt carrying a vegetable basket cautiously approach, pat the man's shoulder, and ask with concern:
"Young man, what's wrong? Do you need me to call a doctor for you?"
But the next scene turned the situation from "strange" to "terrifying."
The man let out a roar, seemingly very displeased at being disturbed.
He suddenly lifted his right arm, "flipping" the entire Aunt away.
She flew directly from the back of the car to the other side of the carriage, like a piece of sirloin slapped onto a dough, the Aunt fell heavily on her back to the ground, instantly becoming motionless.
The remaining dozen or so curious passengers let out a scream, turned, and ran to the next carriage.
Gao Yi, equally startled, quickly decided to move away with the crowd—this person's combat power was clearly not something he could handle.
But just then, the annoying system voice abruptly sounded in his ears.
【Special Mission Triggered: Subdue the out-of-control player and seize their game qualification.】
【Reward: Carriable Tags +1, Rare Trait *1, Normal Item Lottery Chance *3】
【Time Limit: Five minutes】
........................................