Elements

Feng Xue was not surprised by the element tag on the corpse. In fact, this was not the first time he had used the Golden Finger's appraisal function on a corpse, but it was his first chance to put one into the smelting window.

That was right. According to the Golden Finger, corpses could be smelted, and like stones by the roadside, they cost 5 towers.

More precisely, the Golden Finger's smelting range was extremely broad. So far, the only things it had explicitly stated could not be smelted were living people and Bran Bricks. He had previously assumed it was an issue of "ownership," but after hearing Old Li's explanation today, he realized that the Golden Finger could probably only smelt [False Things]—and only ownerless [False Things] at that.

As for why dead creatures could be smelted, perhaps corpses counted as [False Things] after death?

But regardless, based on his previous smelting experience, failed smelting caused the item to collapse and vanish. Could he use the Golden Finger's smelting ability to dispose of this corpse?

Feeling the "long" three-day countdown on his life, Feng Xue gained a little confidence. If he could really use this to destroy corpses, then collecting them would be far less dangerous for him than for other Corpse Collectors. That meant he had a "job" capable of keeping him fed.

Though a business that only opened when there were corpses could hardly be called stable, Feng Xue had seen more than fifty corpses in the mere three days since arriving in this world. He believed death was hardly a rare occurrence here.

After thinking for a moment, however, Feng Xue chose not to smelt the corpse on the spot. Though activating his Golden Finger produced no flashy effects, he had no idea what would happen if the smelting succeeded.

What if the elements in the corpse settled after smelting and turned into an omen? Wouldn't that be courting death?

Even if there was a chance that an omen produced through smelting would automatically recognize him as its owner, Feng Xue decided to play it safe when faced with this bare-bones Golden Finger that did not even come with instructions.

Pulling the handcart along the direction Old Li had indicated, Feng Xue finally saw the towering city wall clearly. Looking at a wall even loftier than the absurdly gigantic one in some ending of a manga from his previous life, he deeply suspected there might be some ancient giant of light or something inside.

That nonsensical thought did not last long. As Feng Xue approached the wall, his expression turned subtle, because this wall was not merely tall as he had Imagined—

The industrial-looking metal seams and the sensor lights that lit up as he drew near seemed to proclaim the wall's technological sophistication.

"I thought this was magic punk, but it's freaking Final Century?"

At that moment, Feng Xue was suddenly overcome by a sense of disillusionment. After all, the most advanced piece of technology he had seen since crossing over was an old, bulky CRT television he had found in Garbage Mountain and traded for five bricks. The gangs controlling Garbage Mountain mainly wielded swords and knives. No matter how he looked at them, they did not seem capable of making something like this.

Shaking his head to cast aside a question far beyond his reach, Feng Xue began looking for the so-called gate. But after only two steps, a section of wall suddenly made a sound like a deflating balloon. Then, the metal wall slowly slid to one side, revealing a passage just wide enough for two people to walk abreast.

"This is the gate?" Feng Xue pulled the handcart into the passage, only to find pitch-black darkness before him. The wall outside had been brightly lit, yet there was not even a single light in the tunnel.

"Is it to avoid attracting those so-called omens?" That thought surfaced in Feng Xue's heart, making him even more vigilant.

But the corpse behind him, which could undergo Corpse Transformation at any moment, urged him to hurry toward the dark opening.

The tunnel was only about twenty meters long. A dozen seconds later, the so-called wilderness came into Feng Xue's view.

Contrary to his Imagined scene of corpses strewn everywhere, the other side of the wall looked perfectly normal. Wild grass grew unchecked, woods became denser with distance, soft moonlight spilled down from the full moon overhead, and air so fresh it made one want to burst into song all combined into a refreshing natural landscape.

But Feng Xue quickly noticed something wrong. In such an environment, there was not Even a Bit of insect chirping or birdsong.

Having read countless novels, Feng Xue immediately thought of the common trope where someone lay in ambush. He tensed at once, glanced back at the passage that had not yet closed, and immediately abandoned his plan to dump the corpses in the woods. He activated [Smelting] on one of the corpses.

Seventy-two minutes of his lifespan vanished in an instant, and the corpse centered in the smelting menu's crosshair turned into a pile of ash. After a brief moment, a line of small text appeared on the panel—

[Smelting successful. This smelting yielded the element [Suffocation] and 37 towers of [Knowledge].]

"???" Feng Xue's eyes widened abruptly as he stared at the result in disbelief, practically on the verge of going mad with joy. But whether fortunately or unfortunately, when he looked further, an enormous sense of disappointment extinguished any chance of madness.

Because when he focused on the number representing [Knowledge], a brief note appeared—

[Knowledge] bearing a biological imprint can be smelted and reforged, but cannot be absorbed.

It felt like farming gold in a game and getting a top-tier piece of equipment, only to pick it up and discover it was bound on pickup...

"Tsk." With a soft click of his tongue, Feng Xue did not ponder what this might signify. He aimed the crosshair in the center of the smelting panel at the remaining two corpses.

[Smelting failed.]

[Smelting successful. This smelting yielded 47 towers of [Knowledge].]

"One failure, and one that only gave [Knowledge], with no element?" Feng Xue watched the two corpses rapidly weather away and disappear. Without lingering, he pulled the handcart into the passage and followed the road he had taken here back toward his "home."

In truth, all of Feng Xue's possessions were on his person. The only reason he was going back was because that was the only place he knew.

Though the road late at night was somewhat frightening, Feng Xue encountered no accidents at all until he returned to the free Skylight Apartment. No one had even taken away the handcart.

But he had no mind to think about such matters. He kept staring at his Golden Finger panel, at the lone [Suffocation] element displayed in the [Reforge] menu.

It was somewhat different from what he had imagined. The element had no description whatsoever. Whether he focused his mind on it or tapped it with his hand, all that appeared was a prompt asking whether he wanted to select the element, as though the two words [Suffocation] already explained everything about it.

"What should I do? Should I try it?"

Feng Xue looked at the confirm button in the lower-right corner, which had become selectable after he chose the element, as well as the crosshair in the center of the panel used to select a target. Finally, he gritted his teeth—

"If I don't try, I'll never understand!"