The so-called dog tag is actually an employee ID badge, similar to a guest pass at a conference, with a photo, name, department, and position sealed within the card.

In recent years, the badge has added a QR code, which can be scanned for restaurant access, and in some major companies, the badge even has an embedded chip to unlock office doors.

The company has rules that employees must wear their badge while working and even while dining, facilitating inter-departmental communication. Otherwise, with so many employees, it’s indeed hard for everyone to recognize each other.

In company settings, you must carry your badge everywhere, so people can easily identify your ’breed’, hence everyone jokingly calls it a ’dog tag.’ Yeah, it’s named the same as the ones worn by U.S. soldiers.

The guy was wearing Huang Xiaopang’s dog tag on his chest, with Huang Si’s photo and name on it.

If the employee badge is lost, it needs to be reissued, and there’s a deposit that far exceeds the cost price, reminding everyone to take care of it.

The company also prohibits lending employee badges, but it’s not strictly enforced. For instance, if someone’s relatives or friends visit, they might borrow a colleague’s badge to swipe at the dining hall.

He Kao casually asked, "Are you friends with Huang Si?"

The guy shook his head, "I don’t know him. I just took the badge randomly. Since he’s your colleague, could you return it to him? I heard losing a badge here comes with a hefty fine."

He Kao: "Who are you?"

Turns out this guy stole Huang Si’s employee badge to come here for a buffet. Swiping for a meal is one thing, but admitting it so boldly is quite another.

He seemed to have a strong psychological resilience, with no hint of embarrassment on his face. Yet his next move left He Kao stunned.

He took out an object and placed it on the table, "Do you recognize this?"

It was a polished curved beast claw, resembling a small chili pepper, with a hole at the top threaded with a worn red string.

He Kao instinctively pulled out the beast claw hanging on his chest from under his clothes and compared them repeatedly. It wasn’t just similar; it was identical!

"How do you have this too?" he asked, his voice betraying his unease.

Upon seeing the identical pendants, He Kao imagined something far-fetched—a thought that perhaps the guy was his long-lost brother whom he had never met.

Given his modern recluse lifestyle, influenced by films and literature, he had seen all sorts of melodramatic plots, inevitably leading to such associations.

These identical beast claw pendants were obviously tokens! Perhaps their ancestors were brothers or had some special connection, each handing down one. If the guy were a girl, there might’ve been a betrothal!

Too bad it was a guy. A girl would’ve been nice!

Unfortunately, the guy seemed unaware of this narrative. Seizing He Kao’s moment of distraction, he uttered an even more clichéd line, "If I tell you I’m a traveler from another world, would you believe it?"

He Kao: "What did you say?"

The guy repeated himself, and He Kao waved it off, "Forget about the time travel story. Tell me who you are, where this pendant came from, and why it’s just like mine?"

The guy smiled without responding, removed Huang Si’s badge, handed it to He Kao, and then took out another badge to wear. This badge was almost indistinguishable from the company’s, at least at a glance, even the QR code was hard to visually verify if genuine.

Upon closer inspection, the photo was indeed the guy’s, with the name "Wu Yanjun" written, department "Micro Realm Sect", job "Tier Two - Scholar".

He Kao: "Wu Yanjun... Did you make this badge yourself? What does it mean?"

Wu Yanjun spread his hands on the table, "You could also call me Xiaowu, but I’m not surnamed Wu..."

He Kao: "Then what’s your surname, Xiao?"

Wu Yanjun: "Compound surname Wu Yan, given name Jun."

He Kao pressed down on the table as if organizing his thoughts, "Alright, Wu Yan, my mind’s a bit messed up now. Can you tell me slowly, first, what’s the story with this pendant? Where did it come from, and why is it identical to mine?"

Wu Yanjun: "It’s simple. My pendant is genuine, the original, the same pendant you originally wore. The one you have now is fake; someone swapped it while you weren’t paying attention."

He Kao: "I understand every word you’re saying... Someone swapped the thing I was wearing with an identical one, what’s the point?"

Wu Yanjun: "This pendant material is a cheetah’s claw, how long have you worn it?"

He Kao: "I’ve been wearing it since I was a kid, given by my grandfather, says it wards off evil, over twenty years."

Wu Yanjun sighed, "NPCs, just NPCs... Wore something for over twenty years but didn’t notice when it was swapped!"

He Kao frowned, "Let’s speak seriously."

Wu Yanjun: "Alright, seriously speaking, your beast claw was manufactured less than a month ago. Smell it closely, the scent hasn’t faded, there’s still a bit of a fishy aroma.

The cheetah died unjustly; besides the scent, there’s resentment in the claw. It’s not good to wear it closely. Can I ask if you’ve recently dreamt of being chased by monsters, unable to wake up?"

He Kao was startled, took a bite of food thoughtfully and nodded, "Recently, there have been dreams, not monsters, just a cheetah. I hide, and it seeks me, sometimes chasing from behind..."

Wu Yanjun: "Scary?"

He Kao thought before replying, "Not really scary, either hiding or running, I’ve even fought it with a stick. It’s not every night, maybe three or five times lately, and then the alarm rings... How do you know?"

Wu Yanjun: "Saw your beast claw, then knew. Every item has its properties. This one’s been made less than a month, how could you have worn it for over twenty years?"

He Kao: "Really swapped, did you do it?"

Wu Yanjun shook his head, prideful, "Of course not me, if it were me, how could there be such an obviously fake, shoddy thing?"

He Kao: "Right, your badge looks real, but our company doesn’t have such departments and titles. Can you tell me why someone swapped it, is my original pendant treasure?"

If the other hadn’t shown the pendant or known about his recent dreams, He Kao might’ve suspected meeting a lunatic today. But now he suspected Wu Yan’s intentions were related to Hidden Moth.

In that recording, a man and woman mentioned Jianghu Magic Sect and various sorcerers, claiming to come from some "Official Promotion Sect." Today, Wu Yanjun was more direct, clearly writing it on his badge.

Micro Realm Sect should be a so-called magic sect, as for "Tier Two - Scholar," He Kao didn’t understand for now, but could infer based on years of gaming experience.

Wu Yanjun picked up the pendant, "It’s an old item, processed with special techniques, its dating is highly inaccurate. As for its evil-repelling abilities, let’s say it’s true, believe as you wish.

Looking at your belongings, this pendant is most suspicious, thus was swapped... He Kao, have you heard of Hidden Moth?"

This question was sudden, yet fortunately He Kao was prepared, "Moth, what moth?" His surprised expression seemed natural.

Wu Yanjun stared at him for several seconds then nodded, "As expected, you’re not Hidden Moth! So many sorcerers from various sects mistook the target, their actions are so irresponsible."

He Kao: "Who, how many people, what are you talking about?"

"No harm in telling you!" Wu Yanjun had an air of arrogance, speaking as if a great expert explaining to a novice, his words unexpectedly carrying an artistic flair—

"The so-called Hidden Moth is just a person’s code name, a symbol. Have you seen moths in the dark? When you light a fire, there are always moths, some fly into the flames, others return to darkness.

You can see moths in the firelight, but not know their origin or destination. They’re symbols of what the fire illuminates, yet also represent the unknown—similar to our understanding of the world..."

**

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com