Chapter 99 – Tags

Zhang Yao spoke plainly, but the trainer who greeted them at the base was clearly more diplomatic.

Zhang Yao called him Captain Chen.

Captain Chen said, “That Border Collie is truly intelligent and doesn’t require much correction. But if you’re going to train it, the method matters—it responds best to positive reinforcement.”

So tactful.

As they were talking, a group of fluffy dogs came floating in from the distance.

There were Golden Retrievers, Samoyeds—all gentle breeds. Each one was carrying a stainless steel bowl bigger than its own face.

Leading the pack was a slightly smaller black-and-white Border Collie.

That Border Collie ran over, saw Qin Qing and the other two, came to a screeching halt, and immediately turned around to take a detour.

Qin Qing was certain—it was Mumu, no doubt about it.

Watching the dog run away, she finally understood Zhang Yao’s exasperation.

Wasn’t the reunion supposed to involve the dog running joyfully toward her?

The dogs had already vanished, and behind them came two camo-clad, panting men—evidently the trainers.

“Marshmallow, Goldie, stop right there! Don’t think you’re getting away with mischief just because it’s New Year!”

“You’d better remember—Mumu’s just a short-term guest. You all are here long-term.”

“What’s going on?” Captain Chen stopped them.

The trainers saluted.

“Captain Chen!”

One continued chasing the dogs, the other stayed behind to report.

“Sir! It’s that exchange student Mumu. We were all watching cartoons in the AV room, but it must’ve smelled the meat cooking in the kitchen. It barked a few times, and the comfort dogs that have been hanging out with it all rushed off with their bowls toward the cafeteria.”

Captain Chen coughed lightly, casting a glance at Qin Qing.

But the trainer didn’t pick up on the signal at all and continued complaining.

“Good thing we didn’t house the exchange student with our working dogs. With that troublemaking, rabble-rousing personality, all our months of discipline would’ve gone to waste.”

Then asked, “Weren’t you supposed to pick it up today…”

Captain Chen gave a heavy cough.

Only then did the trainer seem to catch on and shut up.

Qin Qing felt like a parent summoned to school because her kid got in trouble.

Absolutely mortified.

Her Mumu was like a rebellious teenager, dragging a bunch of sweet elementary schoolers into mischief.

Zhang Yao gave her a look that said, “Now you see what I mean.”

“I’m going with Captain Chen to handle the paperwork. Want to go find Mumu yourself?”

Qin Qing said to the trainer, “Please take me to the cafeteria.”

On the open ground outside the cafeteria, a line of fluffy dogs sat eating meat, their bowls clanging loudly.

The trainer who had chased after them sat on the ground grumbling, braiding the long fur of a Golden Retriever while scolding the rest.

The scene made Qin Qing chuckle.

She scanned the lineup—no sign of Mumu.

Sensing something, she walked over to a crate that was making noise.

Lifting the lid, she found Mumu clutching a half-chewed beef bone, ears pinned back in airplane mode, eyes crossed from the close-up focus.

When it saw her, it whimpered softly and tried to lick her.

Seeing its greasy paws and mouth, Qin Qing dodged.

The bone it held was still thick with meat. Beneath the stainless steel bowl were a few freshly boiled egg yolks and a serving of yogurt and fruit.

Sigh.

The base had really treated it well. For all their complaints, they hadn’t skimped on its meals.

Qin Qing patted it. “Go on, finish up. We’re going home.”

Mumu promptly sat its butt on her foot and resumed gnawing noisily.

Qin Qing stroked it absentmindedly, then tucked her hands under its belly to warm them.

Mumu glanced at her hand, then went back to its bone.

—

Back home, Qin Qing gave her parents a brief explanation about her “promotion,” mainly emphasizing the upgraded retirement benefits it brought them.

They were skeptical, thinking she might’ve been scammed.

Oh well—they’d find out the truth when they officially retired.

On New Year’s Day, Qin Qing’s three security officers officially reported for duty.

She was really tempted to ask what their salary was. Who works during the holidays unless they’re getting paid a ton?

But then again—what if the pay wasn’t high? That’d just rub salt in the wound.

So instead, she gave each of them 10,000 yuan as a New Year’s work bonus.

All three refused, citing regulations.

Qin Qing withdrew the transfers, changed the amount to 8,888, and labeled it a voluntary New Year’s gift.

She even grabbed their phones and tapped “accept” herself.

After that, her conscience hurt a little less.

Three officers—two women and one man. 24-hour protection, rotating shifts.

Besides security, they also served as drivers, assistants, and general helpers. They were also tasked with training Qin Qing—covering, but not limited to, physical fitness, techniques, firearms, melee weapons, first aid, secure communication, and emergency response plans…

Qin Qing: “…”

She knew it wouldn’t be that simple.

Not until the fifth day of the New Year, when people welcome the God of Wealth, did Zhang Yao inform her that her phone’s contact list had been unlocked. He also sent over a list of approved contacts.

Only then did Qin Qing go down the list sending out New Year’s greetings.

Zhang Yao had told her that some of her personal data was now under centralized management.

She knew she had been officially removed from Jinsheng International, and joked, “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you guys were trying to make me disappear.”

It wasn’t that dramatic—just that her information couldn’t be leaked.

Fortunately, her fortune-teller identity made the perfect cover.

So her studio remained open and could still take on corporate security contracts. The studio’s cybersecurity would now be overseen by professionals.

The security staff around her operated under the guise of lifestyle assistants.

Qin Qing had a peaceful New Year.

Only after the Lantern Festival did she slowly start working again.

Finding lost cats and dogs was ridiculously easy compared to overseas missions.

She liked the routine of repetitive, mundane work.

She hadn’t received any new assignments from National Security.

In between classes, she focused on studying the upgraded functions of the System Panel.

Yes, this time, after safely bringing back Yang Zhongjiao and the other compatriots, the experience points she earned triggered another System Panel upgrade.

The newly unlocked feature: “Tag Classification.”

———

[Tag Classification]

1. Feature Overview

This upgrade introduces the “Tag Classification” function, offering cradle-bearers a real-time personnel screening and visual positioning system based on custom criteria. Through dynamic data monitoring and augmented reality, it significantly boosts the efficiency of identifying target individuals.

2. How to Use

[Preset Tags]

Enter the [Tag Management] section in the System Panel and click “Create New Tag.” Enter filtering criteria (supports numeric/status/compound conditions).

Example criteria:

Merit ≥ 50

Wealth > 60

Occupation = Doctor

Health < 30[Tag Activation]Single Tag Mode: Tap the tag icon to activate instantlyMulti-Tag Composite Mode: Long-press the tag icon to enter composite setup (up to 5 tags supported)Pinned Tag Mode: Long-press an existing single/composite tag to drag it into the top pinned tag bar (max 5). Pinned tags continuously monitor targets within the effective range.3. Core Features[Custom Perception]Effective Perception Radius: 500m spherical area centered on the cradle-bearer (radius can be expanded using merit or experience points)Real-Time Data Refresh Rate: Every 0.5 seconds[Dual-Dimensional Information Display]Summary Statistics:Auto-generates dynamic stats for matching targets (includes avatar, base attributes, real-time distance)Supports sorting by distance/valueTap entry to view detailed profile and map navigationHighlight Display:Targets matching tag criteria are outlined in animated rainbow glow clockwise on the System PanelDangerous targets automatically turn into red pulsating warningsDistance ruler precision: ±0.5 meters———In plain terms...She could directly preset some search tag criteria, and anyone who met the conditions would be automatically retrieved by the System Panel and pushed to her as a summary table, with the target’s System Panel highlighted or alerted.It could be used for one-time single or multiple selection, or she could fix certain routine tags for 24/7 continuous retrieval.Previously, the System Panel’s High Sin Value alert function essentially worked like a fixed tag.Now that functionality had been made available to her, allowing her to customize it based on her needs.In the past, when in a crowd, she had to read each person’s Panel Log one by one to roughly determine their profile.Now, with the tag search function, she could extract and consolidate the information she needed in just 0.5 seconds.This tagging function was kind of awesome.If her Experience Points and merit were sufficient, she could expand her sensing radius to cover an entire province, or even the whole country, the entire world.Wouldn’t that make her a supercomputer?She glanced at the sensing radius price.1 Experience Point bought 10 meters.Forget it—at most, she could dream of covering a city.But she hadn’t expected that once she started using this tagging function, what she felt more than excitement was a sense of powerlessness.It all began when Qin Qing received an invitation letter shortly after the Lantern Festival.In late February, the city was hosting a young entrepreneurs exchange forum. Thanks to the tax contributions from her small studio, she had actually earned a spot.According to the event description, the forum wasn’t just for outstanding young entrepreneurs—it also invited well-known, self-made veterans, along with investors looking for promising projects.Since she had nothing else going on, Qin Qing planned to attend and observe her outstanding peers.After confirming attendance, the organizers contacted her for a survey: Did she have entrepreneurial experience to share, any insights on emerging industries, or expectations from the event?Over a dozen short questions.What could she even share?“On the Inevitable Link Between Luck and Cheat Codes”?She just filled it in casually.Her answers probably had the fewest characters of anyone’s.On the day of the forum, the venue was packed with talented young minds.Some had restructured traditional industries—like a founder revamping chain restaurants. Others had identified niche markets, such as pet funerals or the sleep industry.Some were doing creative business models.Compared to them, Qin Qing felt embarrassed.Her studio had the lowest technical threshold of all.There was a cocktail party afterward.Qin Qing wasn’t interested in alcohol or attracting investment—after all, she had already received the greatest investment.But the desserts at the party were remarkably well made.Qin Qing carried her porcelain plate to a corner and was drawn to Jiang Luo by the display board. The female entrepreneur, fresh off a roadshow, was surrounded by seven or eight people. Her dark gray suit made her slender yet poised figure stand out.She was in the field of biodegradable materials research, and both her tech and presentation were impressive.Jiang Luo was only a few years older than Qin Qing, but truly exceptional.She was smart, emotionally intelligent, and beautiful.She was here to secure funding—she’d stated it clearly during the morning session.Now, some investors were indeed engaging with her.Her spot was buzzing—with investors and fellow entrepreneurs alike in active conversation.But after watching for a while, Qin Qing frowned.Those people, seemingly enthusiastic, were all harboring hidden agendas.Some feared her rise and were laying traps to acquire her company.Some looked at her like prey, intentionally or unintentionally touching her during conversation.Some were indifferent to investment, watching her with amusement, waiting for her to take the initiative.Some were jealous and sarcastic, doubting that a woman could achieve such success.The discussions appeared to center on investment and insights but always veered into personal matters.“Heard you’re still single, President Jiang? Even career women need to consider family.”“With so many young women on your team, how do you handle maternity leave?”All dressed to the nines, yet beastly in mind.In contrast, the male entrepreneurs were clearly better off. Though some promising projects drew predators, others were viewed at least as potential collaborators, competitors, or threats—none of that messy innuendo.Qin Qing was accompanied by her security guard Shi Jiang—a pseudonym.Shi Jiang usually wore a suit skirt, carried a briefcase, and blended in like an ordinary female assistant. At this moment, she said, “Don’t worry. Those people won’t get the better of her.”Jiang Luo could handle it—but that didn’t mean the world should be this way.Qin Qing opened her System Panel and activated the tag function, inputting a single tag:Investors friendly to female entrepreneurs.The summary list showed only four names.The top one, with the highest friendliness rating, was a female CEO. She had struggled to get to where she was and was now more willing to shelter younger women.The others were a mix of men and women. They didn’t care about the entrepreneur’s gender—only the project's prospects. Qin Qing checked their wealth levels—each was a real powerhouse, either now or in the future.Compared to them, the people crowding around Jiang Luo didn’t even come close.Qin Qing later ran into Jiang Luo in the restroom, touching up her lipstick in the mirror. Her smile gone, fatigue was written all over her face. When their eyes met through the mirror, Jiang Luo still nodded politely.Qin Qing returned the smile, but didn’t say much.By the time Jiang Luo walked out, her expression was reset—confident and radiant—as she headed straight for the woman investor in the southwest corner, who was flipping through some documents.That investor, incidentally, had appeared on Qin Qing’s summary list.Meanwhile, the men who had been pestering Jiang Luo were still looking around aimlessly, completely unaware they’d already been eliminated from the game.