Gao Yi had actually been thinking: what exactly did this “Tag System” on him represent?
First, what is a “tag”?
In daily life, we unconsciously tag the people we see.
Gender, occupation, personality, identity, status.
We use tags to recognize and understand others.
And the tags the system gave Gao Yi were precisely some of his most prominent “characteristics” during that period.
A reporter; a debtor who owed a large sum of money; a jilted lover; a good person in the common sense; a professional internet surfer; and even a friend to elderly women...
When concretized by the system, each tag would grant Gao Yi some ability enhancements.
Through leveling up, he could gain more abilities.
Most of these abilities manifested as passive skills.
According to the earliest system information, new skills would be gained at levels 1, 2, 4, 8, and so on.
For example, 【Reporter Lv3】 granted Gao Yi:
① Nightwalker: Higher probability of encountering various unexpected events and breaking news; ② Truth Above All: Randomly receive a confidential document each week.
The second skill, 【Truth Above All】, had not been triggered yet, but ever since the 【Nightwalker】 skill appeared, Gao Yi clearly felt that various events around him had increased.
Today's inexplicable entry into this instance and game was also one of them.
Although this system was still full of mysteries—why it appeared, why it chose him.
But for Gao Yi, the immediate priority was to gain experience through actions and completing tasks, then level up his tags to acquire more abilities.
Rather than being indecisive and hesitant, it was better to utilize everything available to improve himself first.
But the question was, how to gain experience?
Through his attempts in the past few days, Gao Yi gradually got a clue.
When he disguised himself as an employee and infiltrated the scam company, his 【Reporter】 experience increased after he was discovered.
However, when he was writing articles or collecting data in his daily life, which was also reporter's work, the experience increase notification would not appear.
To sum it up, Gao Yi believed the key was not in himself, but in others.
Only when others believed that Gao Yi's words and actions matched the persona of that “tag” would the experience for the corresponding tag increase.
Otherwise, even if he used the tag's ability, the tag's experience would not increase.
Just now, Gao Yi acted like a warm-hearted person, not stopping the actions of the few people, which was clearly noticed by others in the supermarket.
Based on this, the 【Warm-hearted Citizen】 tag gained 20 points of experience bonus.
And this tag was the product of another synthesis before.
After defeating the black-hooded lunatic in the subway, Gao Yi gained a 【Righteous Act】 trait.
From the very beginning, he had been considering which tag to combine it with.
Finally, after a moment of hesitation, Gao Yi made his choice.
【Good Person (Common)】 + 【Righteous Act (Rare)】
【Warm-hearted Citizen Lv1 (Rare)】
【Tag Ability: ① Zootopia: Makes people unconsciously feel close and reliable, making it easier to gain trust and praise】
According to the experience with the 【Reporter】 tag, the higher the tag level, the stronger the ability should be.
What Gao Yi wanted now was to first upgrade it to level two to see what the next skill would be.
Back in the supermarket, he was making his final goodbyes to the three people who were planning to leave.
The strong man Fujimoto, the middle-aged office worker, and Ms. Naiga, who was full of sorrow, were now ready to go.
Fujimoto and the office worker held their self-made weapons and shields; truthfully, they looked somewhat unreliable.
And Ms. Naiga was still wearing her sunglasses, making it hard to discern her expression.
Mr. Yamada, the store manager, had just vehemently opposed their departure, but seeing that they were determined to leave, he had no choice but to give up.
“Well... we're setting off. Don't worry, once we're safe, we'll definitely call for your rescue.”
Fujimoto nodded slightly to Gao Yi, then looked with complex eyes at the old hunter smoking a dry pipe deep inside the supermarket.
The other party showed no intention of coming out to see them off, stubbornly fixing his gaze on the cat and dog poster on the wall.
After some words like “If there’s danger, remember to run back immediately” and “Be careful,”
The three walked into the narrow passage squeezed between iron shelves and goods, entered the vast white mist, and did not look back.
Although they had just said such things, the remaining people in the supermarket quickly blocked the empty passage back.
Gao Yi squatted on the ground, waiting for movement outside the supermarket through the gaps in the iron shelves and goods.
More than a minute passed, but the expected blood and wails still did not appear.
However, the sound of a car engine starting also did not appear.
The inside and outside of the supermarket once again fell into an eerie silence.
Gao Yi recorded again in his small notebook, listing possible conjectures.
“Are the monsters not very aggressive?” “Does the fog have soundproofing effects?” “Will entering the fog lead to unconsciousness or poisoning, making it impossible to call for help?”
He sighed, flipping through his notebook again.
The problem was the information; there was simply too little of it.
If this were a virtual game, Gao Yi would have saved his progress and tested things one by one.
But this strange game Gao Yi was in clearly contained the danger of death.
No matter what, he couldn't put himself at risk.
This was also why he was willing to let the three people in the supermarket leave—to let them take on the role of scouts.
Aside from that, Gao Yi actually had some new conjectures.
Just like the various video games he had played in the past, this strange game he was participating in had its focus.
Perhaps this instance, named 【Heart-Ghoul Mist】, did not test the player's combat power.
And this instance itself still held deeper secrets.
He turned his wrist, summoning the light screen.
【I: Survive twelve hours in “Hui Rong” Supermarket (Countdown 10:36:55)】
An hour and a half had passed; he couldn't delay any longer.
Gao Yi turned to look inside the supermarket. The people who had just been focusing on the outside had now relaxed again, returning to their previously dispersed states.
His notebook held the next step of his plan.
“1. Gather intelligence as much as possible, understand what happened before I arrived, how the ‘man who died before’ mentioned by the townspeople died, and then obtain information about the monsters and the fog.”
If he wanted to ask about this, who should he ask?
Gao Yi scanned the room again and made his choice...
Near the supermarket cashier, Store Manager Yamada was telling an embarrassing dirty joke to the gas station employee named Xiaohong.
“So, that’s the difference between a cucumber and a finger... Hahahahahahahahahaha.”
The chubby store manager would laugh for a while after telling the joke, making the fat on his face jiggle.
Xiaohong awkwardly laughed along, for some reason not refuting or leaving.
But it was clear she was uncomfortable, occasionally turning her head to sigh when Yamada wasn't looking.
“Excuse me...” Gao Yi timed it well, walking slowly between the two, then continued:
“Ms. Xiaohong, I'd like to ask you some questions. Can we talk privately?”
Xiaohong, whose eyes were unfocused, seemed to grasp at a lifeline, nodding repeatedly to indicate it was no problem, and quickly left with Gao Yi.
【“Warm-hearted Citizen” tag, Experience + 50】
To gain so much experience at once, it seemed he truly was performing a “Righteous Act.”
Before leaving, Gao Yi clearly noticed a murderous resentment flash across Store Manager Yamada's face.
Along with it, the light inside the supermarket seemed to dim by a fraction.
Never mind, being a warm-hearted citizen certainly made one prone to resentment.
The question now was, how much did this Xiaohong know?
........................................