Infinite City and Weird Tales

Seeing Feng Xue remain silent for so long, Old Li assumed he had been stunned by the shocking news and immediately waved a hand.

"Actually, you're not at the point where you need to consider these things yet. The reason I told you so much was mainly to explain your original question."

"You mean taking office?" Feng Xue rubbed his brow and waited for Old Li to continue. Old Li did not keep him in suspense and said directly:

"That's right. In truth, the entire Infinite City is like a massive server, and everything inside it is data. Those with occupations are individual programs, while Tags are the 'comments' attached to programs like us that have specific functions. What you called 'formally taking office' actually represents a program's first execution after being recognized. Simply put, finding a job is like uploading a program to Infinite City, but only after you perform that program's intended function will Infinite City truly acknowledge that you are that kind of program."

"By your logic, corpses that might turn into Omens are redundant data that can generate bugs, and Corpse Collectors like us are basically data-cleaning software?" Feng Xue felt more and more like a Digimon. He even wanted to find a Digivice or a D-Ark and see whether he could evolve into something—well, maybe he would also have to go to the Real World and find a Tamer?

Unaware of what Feng Xue was thinking, Old Li was quite pleased with his analogy. He committed the explanation to memory, deciding to use it on other newcomers next time. Outwardly, however, he merely nodded without changing expression and continued:

"Just as you said, once Infinite City confirms that we truly possess the appropriate functions, it has to allocate some computing resources to keep programs like us running. Employee badges are the medium through which we receive those resources. Mm, you can think of them as wages and a payroll card."

As he spoke, Old Li tapped his employee badge a few times, and several coins fell into his hand.

"Once you complete work, Infinite City issues a certain number of Tower Coins. You can use them to buy equivalent amounts of food or other things. Those gang members will be more than happy to take them."

When Old Li said that, Feng Xue could clearly see displeasure surface on his face. However, since it likely involved some personal grudge, he could not exactly ask about it. Instead, he changed the subject and asked the question he cared about most:

"You seemed surprised by how quickly I condensed a Tag earlier. Isn't a Tag automatically condensed once you take office?"

"How could that be?!"

At Feng Xue's question, Old Li glared as though his hackles had risen.

"If taking office were enough to condense a Tag, Tags wouldn't be so rare!"

After saying that, he took two deep breaths to calm his agitation before continuing:

"Didn't I tell you? We're all 'trash' discarded by other worlds. We are [Nothingness]. Condensing a Tag is a process of creating something from nothing. Tags make us feel more real, changing us from 'that guy' into 'that Corpse Collector,' then 'that street-loafer Corpse Collector,' then 'that street-loafer Corpse Collector who likes guiding newcomers'... Little by little, we gradually gain a complete sense of existence, until we can be fully and independently recognized by others..."

"Weird Tales?" Feng Xue raised an eyebrow, seeming to understand something. At those words, Old Li immediately nodded, and a trace of longing inevitably appeared in his eyes—

"That's right, Weird Tales. To become a Weird Tale, you must first become an independent individual. That requires a great many Tags. According to the older veterans, when Infinite City first appeared, it was much easier to condense Tags. But later, as Infinite City's population grew, the major gangs cut off the routes from the Landfill Area to the Residential Area and completely monopolized important facilities like banks and libraries. That made it increasingly difficult for Landfill Area residents to condense Tags. By now, only one option remains: the Acting Method."

"Acting? Not taking office?" Feng Xue keenly noticed the difference in Old Li's wording. Old Li nodded at that.

"That's right, acting. Simply put, you imitate the behavior of a certain occupation until you develop the appropriate tendencies. Over time, you can condense the corresponding Tag. We call this method the 'Acting Method.'"

"Acting Method, huh... So could my Corpse Collector job advance into a Grim Reaper?" Feng Xue rolled his eyes upon hearing the term, but Old Li nodded solemnly.

"Of course it can, but that's not something one or two Tags can accomplish!"

At that, Old Li shook his head sadly and brought the topic back around.

"In short, when Infinite City had first appeared, condensing Tags was relatively easy. Back then, if you wanted to take office in a certain occupation, you had to possess the corresponding occupational Tag.

"But once the routes to the Residential Area were cut off, those high-quality occupations were basically monopolized by gang forces. As for jobs like Corpse Collector, which were dangerous, exhausting, and had little profit in them, few people lived long enough to condense the Tag.

"Later on, the Employment Agency gradually lowered its standards for taking office. As long as someone possessed the corresponding [Element] for a profession, they could take office."

"Elements? What are those supposed to be?" Feng Xue heard this term again, one that overlapped with his Golden Finger, and immediately asked. Only then did Old Li realize he had not explained it yet, so he could only add:

"[Elements] are the basic units that make up [Tags]. If [Shi] is zeroes and ones, and [Tags] are complete programs, then [Elements] are lines of code. The so-called Acting Method is actually the process of acting in a way that makes the [Shi] inside your body form the corresponding [Elements]. But aside from a few professions with special Tags, most people can't see other people's Elements."

"That Is To Say, moving corpses last night gave me some Element needed for the [Corpse Collector] Tag, and after taking office, collecting corpses condensed other Elements that happened to form the [Corpse Collector] Tag?" Feng Xue felt that explanation was far too absurd. If it really was such a coincidence, then he ought to wonder whether some Russian priest was squatting in a corner somewhere.

Fortunately, Old Li merely shook his head at Feng Xue's words, then said seriously:

"How could there be such a coincidence? Didn't I say that Tags are comments? So aside from condensing them ourselves, it's also possible for Infinite City to issue them directly. You can understand the Employment Agency lowering its standards as Infinite City lacking useful cleaning software and deciding to use some random program with cleaning functions instead. Conversely, if it discovers a piece of software that cleans exceptionally well, it can directly attach the 'cleaning software' comment to it. I think you did especially well both times you collected corpses, so Infinite City decided you had what it took to be a Corpse Collector and directly issued you a Tag, telling you to keep up the good work..."

"That works too?" Feng Xue asked with widened eyes, unable to believe it. Old Li, however, wore an expression that said, What's so strange about that?

"This is actually the most proper way to acquire Tags. Decades ago, everyone could directly obtain Tags simply by honing their skills. Compared to that, the Acting Method is a crooked path among crooked paths. If the library hadn't been monopolized, it wouldn't have come to the point where this was the only path left. But once you have a Tag, you can use the knowledge within it to draw inferences about other things. You've already obtained the hardest first Tag. From here on, you just need to study hard."