[Alliance] Anomalous Being Classification

He opened the post and glanced at the comments out of habit.

[Why is this trending again? I remember this summary already went viral ages ago, didn't it?]

[It goes viral every time there's an awakening ceremony. It's all the little Younglings and their families searching for it.]

[Oh, little Younglings? Where are the little Younglings? Come on out and let uncle have a look.]

[A friendly reminder: even though we're hard to kill, if you dare lay a hand on a Youngling, the Alliance's rules really will punish you until your bones are ground to dust and your soul is scattered.]

[Why bother telling him all that? He's a walking five-hundred-thousand reward!]

You anomalous beings sure are up on the trends...

Ren Yi turned back and began reading the guide in earnest.

"Hello, everyone. I'm an Alliance-certified guide writer, and today I'll give you a quick introduction to our anomalous being classification system."

"Modeled after the classification systems of most of the technological worlds we've encountered, the Alliance divides us anomalous beings into ranks F through S based on how dangerous we are."

"As you know, we anomalous beings are individuals with 'rules' at our core and 'abilities' as our means."

"The principles behind the rankings are therefore rather complicated, involving the conditions for triggering rules, the number of rules, the strength of abilities, their range of influence, and so on."

"But don't worry. The Ghost Net will assess everyone using a unified standard and display your progress numerically after your rank."

[Screenshot: Rank E (progress 1/100)]

"Note that newborn Younglings won't have this yet. It will appear after the assessment results from your awakening ceremony are announced and you learn what your 'food' is."

Ren Yi's fingertip paused.

Food.

The word seemed far too unnatural in this context.

"Now for an introduction to the ranks."

"F-Rank: anomalous beings who have just awakened after an emotion was triggered. They have no abilities, cannot control their form or senses, and depend on their families to survive. They can be squished and molded however you like."

"This state lasts only seven days. Seven days later, after their first meal, they advance to E-Rank."

"E-Rank: anomalous beings with a special ability and their first rule. After advancing, their form stabilizes, and their true body gains a certain degree of combat power. Note: this is not a recommendation to fight using your true body. Please make your own judgment based on your abilities."

"Rank D: true body combat power increases and range of influence expands. Upon advancing, one rule or ability can be enhanced once."

"The three ranks above are collectively known as 'Younglings.'"

"Rank C: a new basic rule is gained, and the true body undergoes an essential change, such as becoming intangible, indestructible, and so on."

"At the same time, rank C anomalous beings can have their own 'Instances' and actively summon 'participants' into them. For details, see this post [link: Learn about Instances in five minutes]."

"Rank B: abilities and range of influence are strengthened further, and they can have a 'Ghost Domain' in energy form. For details, see this post [link: Learn about Ghost Domains in five minutes]."

"Rank A: they possess a materialized Ghost Domain that exists in a separate space, and can establish Instances within their own Ghost Domain."

"Rank S: a new basic rule is gained."

Ren Yi read with great interest.

The Alliance's ranking system was fairly simple, though the higher the anomalous being's rank, the less information there was about it. He didn't know whether the author didn't understand it either, or whether the authorities were deliberately withholding information.

Ren Yi continued scrolling and found that the guide wasn't over yet.

"That concludes the introduction to the ordinary Weirdness Classification. Well? Isn't it simple?"

"Hehe, but I still have some really juicy information up my sleeve."

"I wonder if any of you have heard of Calamities?"

"'Calamities' are anomalous beings too—the most powerful anomalous beings."

"They're hard to describe in words. Put it this way: in some cultivation worlds, Calamities are also called 'World-Destroying Tribulations.'"

"Do you know why, whenever we open Instances in a world, there are always some 'auxiliary rules' outside the Instances?"

"Sometimes it's killing enough participants, sometimes it's causing enough suffering, and sometimes it's converting enough puppets..."

"These auxiliary rules are actually defined for the 'Calamity' targeting that world, and serve as the conditions for fulfilling that Calamity's 'world-destroying rule.'"

"Calamities pose too great a threat to worlds, so these big shots can't enter a world directly."

"Once an auxiliary rule has been carried out enough times, the Calamity countdown begins."

"Essentially, we take the place of the Calamity and contend with the target world's defense mechanisms until we open a stable 'entrance' for them."

"Our work ends the moment the Calamity descends."

"Once the 'world-destroying conditions' are met, the world is reduced to a canvas for the Calamity to paint at will, a docile orchard waiting to be harvested. Whether it is kept in captivity or annihilated then depends entirely on a single thought from them."

"By the way, since many readers of this post may be Younglings, let me add one more thing."

"Younglings, do you think we're cruel and insane, using other worlds as food and destroying worlds at the drop of a hat?"

"Younglings, the world is cruel."

"The illusions you experienced during the awakening ceremony should all have been different, but they should all have ended the same way: the sun was torn apart, the black tide flooded in, and the world collapsed."

"Unfortunately, that wasn't just an illusion."

"That was what our former world looked like before it was destroyed."

"If the Alliance hadn't been established, you, and everything you see around you, would never have had the chance to come into this world."

"And the culprits were these 'victims' you just pitied."

"They may be weak, and they may not know what's happening, but they are never innocent."

"So grow up quickly, little Younglings."

"I hope you soon become executioners, and guardians."

The post ended there. Ren Yi's gaze lingered on the last few lines for a long time.

"That illusion really happened?" he murmured softly.

The scenes from the awakening ceremony surfaced again, and his chest tightened faintly.

He had to admit, the awakening ceremony really was the worst memory of both his lives, enough to leave a psychological shadow.

Of course, he hadn't forgotten his wish either.

From the earlier news broadcast, he had learned the name of this "enemy."

"One day, I've got to punch that one called Heartmare," Ren Yi muttered.

"Fine by me." He gave a self-deprecating laugh. "I thought I was going to be the big villain, but it turns out I'm the one who suffered a terrible injustice."

Ren Yi—at least, Ren Yi at this very moment—still retained a few of the values of a twenty-first-century model youth.

This explanation gave Ren Yi, who had already decided to work hard to fit into this world, a reason that set his mind at ease.

Had this really happened, or was it a carefully packaged story from the Alliance?

It didn't matter anymore.

He just had to make sure it didn't happen again.

Ren Yi put down his phone in satisfaction, only to meet a familiar pair of eyes.

Ren Man.

"Brother—?" Ren Yi jumped.

When did you come in?

How much of that did you hear?

Wait, don't I have a 360-degree field of vision? Why didn't I see my brother come in?

He immediately realized that although he had a 360-degree field of vision, it wasn't a 360-degree field of vision "without blind spots." His phone had just blocked Ren Man from view.

Phones are trouble.

Ren Man watched Ren Yi quietly as he spoke, like a parent who had caught a child secretly playing on his phone.

Ren Yi glimpsed his own distorted form out of the corner of his eye and felt guilty for no apparent reason.

"Brother, but I just read that it takes seven days for my form to stabilize completely," Ren Yi said meekly.

Ren Man didn't dwell on it. He withdrew his gaze and once again reached out and placed a hand on Ren Yi.

The familiar pressure returned, but this time nothing strange appeared in his vision.

Ren Yi looked down and saw his hands. His human body had been formed once again.

Then Ren Man said something that made Ren Yi's eyes widen: "We're going out."