Seeing Feng Xue remain silent for a long time, Old Li thought he was stunned by the shocking news, so he immediately waved his hand and said,
"Actually, you're not at the point where you need to consider these things. The main reason I told you so much is to explain your initial question."
"You mean employment?" Feng Xue pinched the bridge of his nose, waiting for Old Li to continue, and Old Li did not keep him in suspense any longer, saying directly,
"That's right. In fact, the entire Infinite City is like a large server, where everything is data, and people with professions are like different programs. Tags are the 'comments' for us programs with specific functions. What you asked about 'formal employment' actually represents the first run of a program after it's recognized. Simply put, finding a job is like pushing a program to Infinite City, but only after you have demonstrated the function of that program will Infinite City truly recognize you as such a program."
"By that logic, those corpses that could become omens are just redundant data that can produce bugs, and we Corpse Collectors are essentially data cleaning software?" Feng Xue felt like he was becoming more and more like a Digimon, and even wanted to find a Holy Plan or Arc Light Device to see if he could evolve or something—hmm, maybe he would even need to find a Beast Tamer in the Real World?
Old Li, unaware of what Feng Xue was thinking, was quite pleased with his analogy. He made a mental note to use this explanation with other novices in the future, but outwardly he just nodded without much change and continued,
"Just as you're thinking, once it's confirmed that we really have the relevant functions, Infinite City has to allocate some computational resources for us programs to run. And the work badge is the medium for receiving resources. Hmm, you can think of it as a salary and a salary card."
With that explanation, Old Li tapped his work badge a few times and several coins fell into his hand:
"Complete the work, and Infinite City will issue a certain amount of Tower Coins. You can use these Tower Coins to buy food of equivalent value or other things. Those gang members will be happy to take them."
When Old Li said this, Feng Xue could clearly see a look of displeasure appear on his face, but since it likely had to do with personal grievances, it wasn't a good idea for Feng Xue to ask. Instead, he changed the subject to a question he was very concerned about,
"You seemed very surprised earlier about the speed at which I'm gathering tags. Isn't it automatic to gather tags after employment?"
"How could that be?!"
Hearing Feng Xue's question, Old Li's eyes bulged as if his hair had stood on end, and he said,
"If it was as easy as getting tags upon employment, then tags wouldn't be so rare!"
Having said that, he took a couple of deep breaths to calm down his excitement before continuing,
"Didn't I tell you? We're all 'trash' that other worlds don't want, we're the 'Infinite'. Gathering tags is a process from nothingness to existence. Tags can make us more noticeable, from 'that someone' to 'that Corpse Collector', to 'that Corpse Collecting street rat', to 'that Corpse Collecting street rat who likes to guide novices'... Gradually gaining a complete sense of existence like this, eventually becoming fully and independently recognizable by others..."
"Kaidan?" Feng Xue raised an eyebrow as if understanding something. When Old Li heard these two words, he immediately nodded, his eyes inevitably revealing a hint of longing—
"That's right, Kaidan. To become a Kaidan, you need to become an independent entity first, which requires a large number of labels to achieve. The old-timers told me that when Infinite City first appeared, accumulating labels was relatively easy. But later, as the population of Infinite City began to grow, the major gangs blocked the passages from the landfill area to the residential area, completely monopolizing important facilities like the bank and the library, making it increasingly difficult for residents of the landfill area to accumulate labels. Now, the only option left is 'Playing Method'."
"Playing Method? Not just employment?" Feng Xue, with her sharpness, noticed the difference in Old Li's words, to which Old Li nodded and said:
"That's right, Playing Method. Simply put, it is by imitating the behavior of a certain profession, making oneself develop the corresponding tendencies. Over time, one can accumulate the appropriate labels. We call this 'Playing Method'."
"Playing Method, huh... So could I, a Corpse Collector, even evolve into a Death God?" Feng Xue rolled her eyes when she heard this term, not expecting Old Li to nod seriously and say:
"Of course you can, but that's not something you can achieve with just one or two labels!"
At this point, Old Li sadly shook his head and turned the conversation back:
"In short, when Infinite City first emerged, it was relatively easy to accumulate labels. Back then, to qualify for a certain job, you needed to possess the corresponding professional labels.
"As the pathways to the residential area were cut off, those high-quality professions were nearly all monopolized by gang forces. Occupations like Corpse Collection, being dangerous, exhausting, and barely profitable, left few people alive to accumulate the necessary labels.
"Later on, employment agencies gradually lowered the hiring standards. As long as one carries the elements corresponding to that profession, they could get employment."
"Elements? What's that?" Feng Xue, upon hearing this term that seemed to overlap with her Golden Finger, immediately asked. Old Li, realizing he hadn't explained it yet, had no choice but to add:
"'Elements' are the fundamental units that make up 'labels.' If 'Identity' is 0s and 1s, 'labels' are complete programs, then 'elements' are lines of code. The so-called Playing Method is actually about using your 'Identity' to form the corresponding 'elements' through acting. Except for a few professions with special labels, most people can't see the elements of others."
"So you mean, last night, by moving corpses, I somehow carried some element necessary for the 'Corpse Collector' label, and while collecting corpses after my employment, I managed to accumulate other elements, which just happened to form the complete 'Corpse Collector' label?" Feng Xue found this explanation a bit far-fetched. If it was really such a coincidence, she might start suspecting a Russian priest squatting in the corner.
Fortunately, upon hearing Feng Xue's words, Old Li simply shook his head and said seriously:
"There's no such coincidence! Didn't I say that labels are annotations? Besides accumulation by ourselves, there's also the possibility of direct assignment by Infinite City. The employment agency lowering the standards can be understood as Infinite City lacking sophisticated cleanup software, so they used whatever software with a cleanup function. Inversely, if it finds a software that cleans excellently, it can directly assign the 'cleanup software' label to that software. I believe that you did exceptionally well in Corpse Collection both times, so Infinite City recognized you as material for a Corpse Collector and directly issued you a label, encouraging you to keep working hard..."
"Is that even possible?" Feng Xue opened her eyes wide, asking in disbelief, while Old Li had a face that said "what's so surprising about that," as he went on:
"Actually, this is the most official channel for acquiring labels. Decades ago, everyone could directly gain labels by honing their skills. In comparison, the Playing Method is an unconventional method within unconventional methods. If it weren't for the library being monopolized, we wouldn't be left with just this one path. However, now that you have one label, you can use the knowledge within the label to learn and adapt. The hardest part, your first label, you've already obtained. All you have to do now is to continue studying and learning."