True and False (Part 2)

Hearing Feng Xue's question, Old Li took a sip of tea and said with a relaxed expression:

"Aren't real-life True Thing also inedible?"

"But the principle is different, isn't it? I remember the reason we can't eat things in reality is because True Thing are perceived by people, so the [consciousness] on them is fixed..."

Feng Xue recalled the information she gleaned from the Tag, while Old Li wore an expression that said, "It's rare to see a smart person act foolishly."

"Just think about what you'll become after you go through the portal, and you'll understand."

"Ah..." Upon hearing this, Feng Xue suddenly slapped her forehead, realizing what had happened.

"So that's how it is! When the 'Nothingness' and 'Weird Tale' enter reality, they can only be transformed into suspected proteins, not real proteins. And when True Thing enter the Infinite City, they also become suspected data, not real data?"

"To be precise, it's a matter of recoding. When True Thing and real people enter the Infinite City, their matter is rewritten in the form of data. This process itself is equivalent to breaking them down from a solidified state."

Old Li explained slowly and methodically for a few minutes, then revealed a knowing look on his face, smiling as he said:

"Now you know why True Thing become False Thing?"

"Forehead..."

Feng Xue frowned, summarizing the issues Old Li had mentioned earlier. Although there were still some parts she didn't quite understand, she had a general idea and tried to explain:

"Because there is no corresponding transcoder?"

"Oh, right, that's it." Old Li clearly hadn't realized there was such a simple and easy-to-understand term as a transcoder, but he quickly caught on, nodding approvingly as he jotted down the analogy in his mental Little Notebook, and said:

"Generally speaking, items in the Fantasy World are False Thing, while items in the Benchmark World are True Thing. However, since most of the Garbage Dump in the Infinite City consists of randomly collected Junk Information, the majority of cases do not have a transcoder. Therefore, the vast majority of items in the Garbage Dump are False Thing. But it is precisely by digesting the data in these False Thing that the Infinite City has been able to grow."

"The worlds connected to the Tower of Babel are mostly Benchmark World that have already established sufficient connections with the Infinite City, which is equivalent to having corresponding transcoders. Therefore, most of the True Thing brought back from these worlds can maintain their True Thing state."

"However, in the present world, some data still lacks corresponding transcoders. Therefore, when such items are translated, a large amount of dirty data is generated, causing them to fall from the True Thing to False Thing. Moreover, once they fall, even if they are taken back to the original world, they cannot be transformed back into the True Thing, because the dirty data is lost after the translation fails."

"I see!" Listening to Old Li's explanation, Feng Xue suddenly recalled the Omen gate incident she had witnessed when she was at that destroyed Landfill Area.

At the time, I only thought that those Omen would be cut off by the garbage chute because of some principle of spatial annihilation, but now it seems that there is probably no "transcoder" from the other world, so the part of the Omen that passed through the door directly turned into dirty data and dissipated.

But as one question was answered, another, even bigger question arose in my mind—

Why can Phantom Object ignore this problem?

According to what Old Li said before, even in worlds that aren't closely related to the Infinite City, Phantom Object can still be used universally. Phantom Object can even be found in places like the Garbage Dump where data is randomly collected. So why are Phantom Object so special?

"This is beyond my knowledge!" This time, Old Li didn't put on his know-it-all act as before, but instead shrugged and said:

"I can tell you this with such certainty because the issue of True Thing and False Thing has already been settled, and relevant information can even be found in libraries or taverns. However, regarding Phantom Object, there are currently only a few speculations, and the fact that they haven't been included in the library or tavern of Infinite City shows that these speculations are inaccurate."

"However, it is generally accepted that the underlying architecture of Phantom Object is fundamentally different from that of True Thing and False Thing. Although it is similar to Phantom Object, it is more essential. To use the computer example you mentioned before, the rules between different worlds are like different computer languages. A computer cannot recognize a language that is not installed."

"The underlying architecture of Phantom Object is more fundamental, similar to a program built directly with 0s and 1s. So no matter what kind of computer it's on, as long as it still uses binary, it can run."

"Oh ho~~" Feng Xue let out a sigh in his heart, the emotion of which was hard to explain, because he suddenly realized that his Golden Finger seemed to be more special than he had imagined.

Although the Infinite City's Manufacturing Type Tag allows the creation of Phantom Object, the subtle difference between using his powers to rub coins and using his Golden Finger to create items made him realize that the underlying principles of the two methods seemed to be subtly different.

"I couldn't possibly have transmigrated with some kind of World Modulation mode or administrator privileges, could I?" Feng Xue thought to himself, but he immediately dismissed the idea. He had never heard of anyone having a world modulation mode with any chance of being modified.

Banishing unrealistic fantasies from her mind, Feng Xue took a deep breath, pulled her thoughts back, and focused the problem back on its original position—

What's at the top of the Tower of Tower of Babel?

"Why are you coming back to this again? Didn't I tell you I don't know?" Old Li sighed, but in the end, Haihui Temple gave in to Feng Xue's "Don't try to fool me" look, spreading his hands and saying helplessly:

"It's said, really just a rumor! The Infinite City, this 'Innate Supernatural Tale,' is waiting for a master... Hey, don't give me that 'how cliché' look!"

"Otherwise what? You're telling such a cliché story in such a mysterious tone, why can't I show that kind of expression?" Feng Xue rolled her eyes, and Old Li could only abandon all rhetoric and state his thoughts plainly:

"As you know, the Innate Supernatural Tale it's lewd, then it's a Lustful Ghost; if the rules say it's heartless, then it's truly heartless. But the problem is, the Infinite City isn't a person, or even a living being."

"Actually, no one knows exactly how this thing became Weird Tale. But you have to understand that as Weird Tale, it must be a living thing. Therefore, Infinite City has a consciousness that belongs to the city. It wants people to live there, it wants people to manage it, and it wants to function normally."

"But it can't do it on its own. According to the speculations of the older generation, the reason why the Infinite City was brought over from another world, and why it established a management system and set up challenge projects, was to select a true manager of the Infinite City."

"So this old-fashioned idea is just speculation, not the true intention of Infinite City?" Feng Xue immediately grasped the key point, and Old Li nodded in agreement.

"That's why I said it's hearsay, because nobody knows what the Infinite City is really thinking. But according to some seniors on the 60th floor, from the 50th floor upwards, the worlds connected by the Tower of Babel begin to show signs of Weird Tale, and the higher you go, the more affected you become. And according to a big guy named Surtur, there's a public door between the 101st and 120th floors, which only the floor owner can enter. He doesn't know what's inside, but everyone on the 60th floor says it might be the key to obtaining access to the Infinite City..."