CH 158

Chapter 158 - What do the letters on the tags mean? (2)

Early next morning, everyone woke up.

They had just arrived on the island, and the situation on the island was still uncertain, so they were more lowkey with their breakfast.

Bei Nuan plugged the toaster into the generator and toasted slices of bread until they were a golden brown before taking them out.

Jiang Fei hid in his tent, laid out the chopping board, sliced ham, added the sliced ham and pre-sliced cheese to the toast to make sandwiches, and distributed the sandwiches.

After they had eaten enough, they packed up. With their bags on their backs, they headed to the lively place where the night market had been held. They wanted to look around and inquire about news.

Seeing the market for the second time, Bei Nuan saw that it looked even more crude and congested under the sunlight. There were still many people gathered in the narrow streets. She noticed that many people's gazes would furtively drift towards their team. But, as soon as she met their eyes, they would quickly look away in panic.

Bei Nuan vaguely made out their whispering.

"Are those the new arrivals that got ranked A?"

Bei Nuan was puzzled. Have they never seen strong men before?

As the team walked forward, a thin young man suddenly appeared from the side of the street and blocked their way.

Even as he mustered up all his courage, it took him a long time to gain the determination to ask them, "Excuse me… Are you the new arrivals that got A tags?"

The young man's eyes were full of longing. "Can I… Can I see your tag? Just a glimpse."

Du Ruo was the most generous one. He pulled out the metal tag and showed it to him.

The young man stared at the A on the tag and sighed enviously. "So that's the A tag."

Bei Nuan was utterly baffled. What was so great about that shabby tag?

Bei Nuan simply pulled out her tag. "Look at mine, it's F."

Startled, the young man glanced at the crookedly engraved F on the tag. He looked at Bei Nuan with overflowing pity. He seemed to be rejoicing - finally, he had found someone even worse off than him.

He looked at Bei Nuan as if he was looking at a dead person.

"F? So pitiful, even worse than me."

It was only then that Bei Nuan saw the E tag that was half hidden in the young man's pocket.

He was sallow and thin. His dirty clothes were almost in tatters. Just like Old Hu, it looked as if vitality on his face had been sucked away. If physique was the only assessment criteria, assigning him an E rank wasn't unfair at all.

But now, judging from the abnormal reactions of these people, Bei Nuan realized that she had gotten it wrong. The letters on the tags meant something else.

After viewing everyone's tags, the young man turned around to leave, but Bei Nuan stopped him.

"Wait a sec, what does the letters on the metal tags mean?"

The young man glanced at her F tag. "It's better that you don't know."

This time, Bei Nuan didn't have to stop the young man from leaving. Lu Xingchi suddenly grabbed the young man by the collar.

He easily carried the young man by the back of his collar. The difference in strength between Lu Xingchi and Bei Nuan was more than a magnitude.

Being lifted up by his collar, the young man had a hard time breathing.

Lu Xingchi said, "She asked you. What do the letters on the tags mean?"

The young man trembled in fright. "Don't hurt me. I'll tell you. Old Hu has a special ability. In one look, he can tell if people will be able to peacefully live out the rest of their lives or if they'll easily die."

Lu Xingchi frowned and concluded for him, "Do you mean their chance of survival?"

The young man quickly nodded. "Yeah, that's it. The letters on the tags symbolize your chance of survival."

Chance of survival? That answer completely exceeded Bei Nuan's expectations.

The young man explained, "A is the highest grade. Very few people have been able to get an A tag from Old Hu. But so far, no matter what happens on the island, no one with an A tag has died."

The young man added, "Not many people have been able to get a B tag from him either. People die on the island every day, but no one with a B tag has died. C tag is also okay. That's why people with C tags will do dangerous and lucrative work."

Bei Nuan understood. The head conmen had a C tag. That's why he had the courage to leave the island and brave the zombie-infested outside to trick people back.

The young man continued, "D tag is barely okay. People with E tags like me might as well have one foot in the grave."

He glanced at Bei Nuan. "As for an F tag… So many people with F tags have died on the island. Starvation, illness, murder, freak work accidents…"

Bei Nuan disapproved of his mumbo jumbo.

After wasting so much time, these tags were just deliberately and unnecessarily mystifying. Of course younger and stronger people were more likely to survive on this lawless island at the end of the world.

No matter how she looked at it, people like Lu Xingchi and the others were the type that stood at the top of the food chain and would live well.

Someone like herself, who had a petite figure and might not even be able to win a fight against a big goose, was obviously not suitable for survival. At any time, she might easily meet the king of the underworld.

Tang Tang was another example. While he wasn't as strong as the other men in the team, he was still much better than Bei Nuan, so it was normal that he would get a C.

"That's nonsense," Bei Nuan said, pointing at Lu Xingchi. "There's a huge gap between our physiques. Of course his chance of surviving is higher than mine. What's the use in wearing a tag to show that?"

The young man saw that she didn't agree and shook his head.

"It has nothing to do with physique," the young man quietly said. In a somewhat scary tone, he said, "The letter on your tag represents whether you'll live or die."