Collecting Corpses Is Dangerous

"Money or food?" The man in charge of handing out the "bricks" glanced at the cart behind Feng Xue and immediately asked.

But it was merely a routine question. Before Feng Xue could answer, he had already picked up three Bran Bricks—representing the three corpses on Feng Xue's cart.

Feng Xue had no intention of wasting words either. His Golden Finger's appraisal function swept over them, and after confirming that each contained at least 100 Ta of [Cognition], he immediately took the Bran Bricks and stuffed them into the backpack he had crossed over with. Then he pulled his cart after the Corpse Collectors ahead of him.

What gave him a headache, however, was that after walking roughly five or six hundred meters, the people in front suddenly split up.

"Uh... do they all have different destinations?" Feng Xue immediately frowned, hesitating over whom to follow. After a brief moment of thought, his gaze settled on a middle-aged man who looked to be in his thirties, with an artistic ring of beard around his chin, though he wore an ancient-style tunic.

This was the guy who had cheated him out of a brick on the day he first crossed over.

Slipping his hand into his sleeve and gripping the short blade hidden there, Feng Xue was immensely glad that he had been visiting a convention before crossing over. Although this Assassin's Creed outfit offered no actual protection, the sheath used to secure the Sleeve Blade at least gave him somewhere to hide a weapon.

Perhaps hearing the scrape of cart wheels behind him, the man immediately turned around warily. At the same time, Feng Xue Noticed that his left hand had already slipped into his clothes. There was no need to say it—he definitely had a weapon hidden there.

But upon seeing Feng Xue, he suddenly relaxed somewhat. As he continued dragging a cart carrying six or seven corpses, he spoke in a mildly admonishing tone:

"Isn't this the new kid? Collecting corpses isn't work for newcomers!"

"Oh? Isn't it just collecting corpses? Is there some trick to it?" Feng Xue put on a half-genuine, half-fake look of innocence. The man narrowed his eyes slightly, took out a Bran Brick, and tossed it up and down before saying:

"Of course there is. Otherwise, how could it be worth this price? But this is the kind of knowledge that keeps you alive. Give me a brick, and I'll tell you!"

Although he had just earned 300 Ta, Feng Xue still hesitated. After all, that was only enough for three days. Adding what little he had left, if he failed to find new work within four days, he would still die.

But his hesitation did not last long. The three days since crossing over had already made him realize that finding work in this strange place was Far More Than difficult than he had Imagined.

He carefully pulled a brick from his bag, but did not immediately throw it to the man. Instead, copying the other man's movements, he tossed the half-palm-sized brick up and down as he said:

"You talk first. I'm right here, after all."

As he spoke, he focused his consciousness. A warm current flowed from the Bran Brick into his body, and he clearly felt the time he could remain in this world extend by another day—as if the countdown in the upper-right corner of his vision had gained another twenty-four hours.

"That works." The man was surprisingly agreeable. He merely deliberately tightened his expression and spoke in a somewhat eerie tone:

"These corpses could turn into Omens!"

"Omens? What are those?" Listening to his ghost-story-like tone, Feng Xue was momentarily baffled. The man froze at his question, then seemed to remember something.

"I forgot you were new here."

As he spoke, he patted his head and explained:

"Omens are malignant urban legends. Almost everything in this world is made of [Cognition], but only the [Cognition] contained in [True Things] can be consumed. The [Cognition] in False Things is almost solidified and can't be absorbed at all. And the [Cognition] in the bodies of living creatures carries imprints. If someone eats [Cognition] with an imprint... Mm, To Put It Simply, if they eat a person, their [Cognition] will become contaminated and settle. In the end, they'll become a mindless monster. That Thing is called an Omen."

Realizing that the dog shit that had caused the bloodshed when he first crossed over was likely a [True Thing], Feng Xue continued, "So these Bran Bricks are [True Things]? Then what are False Things? And what are imprints?"

"Everything that isn't a living creature and isn't a [True Thing]—the soil, walls, air in this world, even the clothes On the Body—those are all False Things. As for imprints..."

At this point, the man gave a somewhat disdainful smile.

"That isn't information you can buy with a few bricks."

"Fine. Back to the corpses, then. Why do these corpses turn into Omens?"

Feng Xue was very good at restraining his curiosity. Without the slightest hesitation, he steered the conversation back. The man did not particularly care and naturally continued from Feng Xue's question:

"Not 'will turn into,' but 'might turn into.' Any living creature that dies from causes other than having its [Cognition] depleted retains some [Cognition] in its body. During the settling process, that [Cognition] may form [Elements]. Mm... you don't need to know about that either. Anyway, if certain conditions are met, they become Omens. The odds are low, but they still exist. And in a small Landfill Area like ours, one Omen can destroy the whole place."

"Elements..." Feng Xue could not help thinking of the entries displayed by his Golden Finger's appraisal function. He silently memorized the term before asking:

"So collecting corpses means transporting them somewhere that specializes in dealing with them? But why isn't everyone taking the same road?"

"Dealing with them?" The man snorted, then shook his head.

"What dealing? We Corpse Collectors just dump the bodies out in the wilderness. Once they're outside the city, even if they undergo Corpse Transformation and become Omens, they can't cause much trouble. As for why we split up? Obviously, the more corpses there are, the higher the risk of Corpse Transformation! All right, it's time for us to part ways too. Give me the brick."

Feng Xue nodded, took a brick from his bag, and tossed it to the man. After receiving it, the man paused in surprise, then said somewhat unexpectedly:

"I thought you'd try something clever."

"You dare haul that many corpses and know so much. Even if you're not some hidden master, you've definitely got some skill. There was no need to fall out with you over one brick." Feng Xue answered calmly, though he had also prepared himself to hand over everything and beg for mercy.

In the brief time they had spent talking, he had already drained two bricks. Even if the other man developed evil intentions and robbed him, there was nothing much to gain.

The man clearly had no intention of doing something so thankless. He merely nodded. "You're a clever one. Looks like you'll live a few more days. My surname is Li. Just call me Old Li. If you've got anything to ask in the future, come find me. Naturally, there'll be a fee."

"Then you can call me Xiao Feng." Feng Xue nodded in agreement. Seeing Old Li turn away, he hurriedly asked:

"Uh, which way am I supposed to go?"

"See the city wall? Follow this road toward it, then pick any gate and head out. Just remember to avoid the gates with guards. There are farmlands outside those." Old Li waved without looking back and turned onto a side road. Before leaving, he suddenly seemed to remember something. Turning back, he added, "Outside the city is Omen territory. If you plan to keep doing this work, you'd better not keep dumping them in the same place."

Old Li's sudden turn startled Feng Xue. Only after the other man truly disappeared from sight did he let out a breath, then turned his gaze back to the corpses on his cart and frowned. As his eyes focused on one of the bodies, two lines of small text appeared again—

Name: Corpse (Man)

Elements: [Human], [Male], [Suffocation], [Death],