Phantom Objects

Looking at the prompt on his phone, Feng Xue felt a headache coming on. Even if it was for work, he still intended to keep his Corpse Collector profession hidden.

After all, he had been transported here for less than a week. Obtaining a profession so quickly was unusual enough, not to mention that the gangs serving as managers themselves tended to block off avenues for advancement. It would be troublesome if they thought he had mastered some special job-changing technique.

Of course, he was quite curious about what an Omen's corpse could be smelted into. That was also why he had not left immediately. If those gang members started looking for someone to collect the corpse, he could pretend to be an ordinary civilian short on cash and take the job.

However, Feng Xue stared from the alley for several minutes, yet the gang members showed no intention of hiring anyone to collect the corpse. Instead, they threw small knives, short swords, leather armor, and cloth garments into the pile of minced flesh.

"What's going on here?" Feng Xue watched the scene in bafflement, feeling as though he were witnessing some strange cult ritual.

The process lasted roughly ten minutes. Only after a familiar figure appeared did the Electric Donkey Knight—though the donkey was already gone—finally have his subordinates pick up the items they had thrown into the chunks of flesh.

Watching Old Li interact with the manager, Feng Xue could not help baring his teeth. He could clearly see that the manager was in a very foul mood, which made him curious about what exactly had happened.

Seeing Old Li, with the gang members' help, toss the chunks of flesh onto a flatbed cart one by one, Feng Xue immediately turned and left. There would be no gain from staying here, so he chose to wait for Old Li to return at his home.

About half an hour later, Old Li returned to his door while whistling. He then spotted Feng Xue, who had been waiting for quite some time, and asked curiously:

"Why didn't you just call?"

"Who knew whether collecting an Omen's corpse came with any taboos?" Feng Xue spread his hands, looking like someone who preferred doing nothing over doing something wrong. Old Li immediately understood what had happened. He took out his work badge and swiped it at the door, then turned his head and said:

"Anyway, come in and talk."

Inside the same lavish room as always, Old Li brewed tea and casually said:

"You saw that Omen's corpse earlier? What do you want to ask?"

"Mm... what exactly was that Omen? Why was the scene so brutal?"

Feng Xue asked somewhat haltingly, pretending that he had only arrived after receiving the notification. Old Li did not suspect a thing and replied casually:

"Omens transformed from corpses generally possess a certain degree of Undying Nature, and different Omens have different ways of being killed. For example, a Zombie-Type Omen can be killed by smashing its head, while a Mummy-Type Omen has to be burned with fire. The most troublesome Specter-Type Omens are even immune to physical attacks."

"Today's one was a Stitched Monster. It was easier to deal with than a Specter-Type Omen, but there was no particularly effective method Targeted At it. To kill it, you either need a Phantom Object with a trait that counters Undying Nature, or you have to cut it into sufficiently tiny pieces."

"Come to think of it, cutting them up finely enough works on most Omens transformed from corpses. As long as the density of [Shi] inside an Omen is reduced to the point where it can no longer form traits, it can be eliminated. Mm, that knowledge is included in the Tag granted by the Corpse Collector. Didn't you read it?"

"How could I finish reading that much knowledge in half a day?" Feng Xue rolled his eyes, but he had caught the term he wanted. He skipped over the subject and asked instead:

"Phantom Objects? What are those?"

At Feng Xue's question, Old Li's hand paused for a moment as he poured tea. Only then did he shake his head and say:

"A Phantom Object is a Phantom Object. Just as living beings like us can become [Weird Tales] after accumulating enough Tags, inanimate objects can become so-called Phantom Objects after gaining enough Tags. Even the lowest-grade Phantom Objects possess a durability ordinary False Things Do Not Possess. Other than Phantom Objects or Weird Tales of the same kind, they rarely wear down for any other reason."

Hearing Old Li's words, Feng Xue immediately recalled the Stitched Monster's outrageous defense against ordinary gang members. He could not help frowning. "So by your logic, Weird Tales can't be harmed by anything other than Weird Tales and Phantom Objects either?"

"Not exactly." Old Li shook his head, poured Feng Xue a cup of tea, and took a sip himself before explaining:

"All durability is relative. The durability of Phantom Objects feels more like a game item with no durability stat. It simply has no setting for being damaged, so it is very difficult to destroy."

"And that is also where the difference between Weird Tales and Phantom Objects lies. A Phantom Object is just a Phantom Object; its own Elements determine everything about it. But besides Tags, Weird Tales also possess the aspect of a 'living creature.' Even if you do not destroy their [Element], as long as you kill that living creature, the Weird Tale will collapse on its own."

"That is what makes Omens transformed from corpses troublesome. They are already dead, so you have to 'kill the corpse.' That is far harder than killing a person or an animal."

"Of course, Phantom Objects are not indestructible either. At the end of the day, they are merely products of accumulated Elements, so as long as you possess the corresponding Elements, you can affect them."

"Got it. Rules trump everything; hard counters make gods." Feng Xue nodded in summary. Old Li's eyes immediately lit up. He felt that saying was exceptionally apt and promptly wrote it down in his Novice Guide handbook.

Seeing Old Li seriously taking notes, Feng Xue could not help laughing. He lifted his teacup and took a sip, feeling his mouth fill with saliva. How should he put it? Although he no longer needed food or drink after being transported here, perhaps precisely because of that, this cup of tea after so many days stirred a powerful sense of happiness within him.

After draining the tea in his cup, he looked up at Old Li again and asked the question he had long wanted to ask, yet had worried might arouse suspicion:

"How exactly are Phantom Objects created? People can obtain traits through Acting Methods, but Phantom Objects are inanimate objects. They can't possibly use an Acting Method too, can they? Are there blacksmiths who can forge Phantom Objects?"

"This..." Old Li paused briefly, as if organizing his thoughts, before speaking after a moment:

"There are three main channels through which Phantom Objects are born. The first is what you mentioned: artificial manufacture. But that relies entirely on luck. The trait composition of a Phantom Object is a matter of probability. No one can guarantee that something they forge will definitely possess the corresponding traits. In fact, most people with the blacksmith profession can only produce two or three Phantom Objects over Decades."

"The second is Companion Phantoms. Simply put, they are items highly bound to a Weird Tale in the legends possessed by the Weird Tale Itself. For instance, a mummy Weird Tale's burial wrappings, or Kuchisake-onna's scissors and mask. Such items appear directly alongside the Weird Tale when it takes shape, but their functions and varieties are very limited."

"The third is Element enrichment. In environments with a high concentration of free Elements, some objects can become contaminated with small amounts of Elements. If they are lucky, those Elements will settle and accumulate, just like a corpse turning into an Omen, transforming from a False Thing into a Phantom Object."

"Actually, many people feel that, Compared To Weird Tales, Omens are more like animated Phantom Objects. Mm, you probably saw those gang members throwing things into the corpse earlier, right? They were just trying their luck to see whether they could get one or two Phantom Objects out of it."