Contract Anomalist

Biodata

Power Progression

Background

A Contract Anomalist is a person who forms a contract with a Weird and receives a portion of its power. The Anomaly Containment Association possesses a unique contracting method that demands the smallest known price and carries the lowest likelihood of backlash; people who merely coexist with or control Weirds outside this system are not necessarily considered Contract Anomalists. 90

The profession is distinct from that of an Anomaly Tamer. Tamers forcibly seal and suppress Weirds within their bodies, suffering continuous erosion that worsens whenever they use supernatural abilities. Contract Anomalists instead maintain a contractual, cooperative relationship with their Weirds and are not constantly threatened by direct backlash in the same manner. 93 743 765

The exact details of the Association's contracting process are an ultimate secret. Those who successfully contract a Weird lose memories relating to the process, with some memories blurred or replaced. 948

Membership in the Anomaly Containment Association is a prerequisite for recognition as a Contract Anomalist. Although many people seek the profession, its selection process is extremely strict, and only a handful of the numerous annual applicants succeed. 58 830

Contract Mechanics

Forming a Contract

A successful contract depends on the candidate's mental strength, physique, willpower, conviction, and compatibility with the Weird. 862

• The contract establishes a connection through which the Weird transmits anomalous energy to its contractor. 658
• This energy tempers the contractor's body and gives them an innate awareness of anomalous energy. 787
• Successful contracts can be attempted again with a different Weird after a failed attempt, provided the candidate recovers physically and mentally; failure against one specific Weird prevents another attempt with that same entity. 144
• A contract may be dissolved by the Chairman, but removing a deeply bonded Weird can cripple or kill a high-ranking Contract Anomalist. 1051
• Recruits may undergo foundational training and tests before suitable candidates are sent to Headquarters to contract Weirds. However, some newcomers recommended by existing Contract Anomalists have not undergone talent testing, indicating that conventional aptitude tests do not fully explain successful selection. 317 948
• Candidates are advised to consider a Weird's abilities rather than simply its current strength. Raising a weaker but suitable Weird takes longer, but can produce greater compatibility and easier use of its abilities. 545

Borrowed Power

Contract Anomalists can use the abilities of their contracted Weirds, but mastery is not automatic. They require practice, insight, and talent to fully develop an ability. 774

• Their bodies gain resistance to Weird energy, pollution, and many supernatural effects after contracting. 545
• A Contract Anomalist and their Weird can fight together, making them stronger than a lone Weird of comparable level in certain engagements. 1145
• Higher compatibility allows the contractor to receive a greater share of the Weird's energy and wield its power more effectively. 617
• Contracted Weirds can be raised by supplying Weird energy and captured Weirds with similar abilities; personally raised Weirds can develop greater compatibility with their contractor. 545
• Ghost Domains are among the profession's high-level capabilities. They impose rules jointly controlled by the Contract Anomalist and their Weird, inherently shield external interference, and consume substantial anomalous energy to open and maintain. 1477
• The contractual energy distribution is illustrated as an even split between contractor and Weird; sufficiently high compatibility can allow the Weird to supply more than half its energy at critical moments. 617
• Talent can limit a contractor to understanding only one or two of their Weird's abilities. Practice and sudden insights can improve proficiency, but contracting alone does not grant complete command of every power. 774
• Some abilities temporarily manifest Weird-like body parts that disappear when the ability is withdrawn. These manifestations are distinct from permanent bodily mutations. 787
• Skilled control can keep destructive effects away from selected areas, as demonstrated when a Contract Anomalist isolated intense heat outside occupied buildings without harming the people inside. 821
• A Ghost Domain can isolate a system-bearing host without injuring them, blocking outside connections while researchers investigate the system. Xu Li used this method to transport Du Rutian to Headquarters. 1477

Advancement

A Contract Anomalist's rank is not based solely on completed missions. The practical combat value of their Weird's abilities is also assessed; for example, Du Jiashi remained E-rank because his Weird Courier had storage but no offensive capability. 312

• A B-rank breakthrough requires the contracted Weird to advance from Malignant Curse to Blood Robe rank. 313
• Blood Robe advancement requires major Weird-energy accumulation plus an understanding or breakthrough in a relevant ability. 313
• Devouring several Weirds of similar rank and ability can improve the chance of advancement, but potential and luck remain decisive. 313
• A contractor whose Weird reaches its potential limit may remain at their current rank or abandon that path and begin again with another Weird. 313
• Containment missions provide opportunities to improve combat experience and compatibility with one's contracted Weird. High-ranking members generally develop through repeated missions and battles. 1374
• Promotion assignments can include specific containment targets. Luo Ping and his companions were assigned to contain ten Wraith Class Weirds and three Green Faces to qualify for C-Class advancement. 713
• Mental resilience remains important to further growth. Unresolved trauma can obstruct advancement, while both physical and psychological strength are necessary to progress deeply into the profession. 1132

Duties and Organization

Contract Anomalists are members of the Execution Department, the core department of the Anomaly Containment Association. The Association's other departments exist largely to support their containment work. 983 617

• Containment — Their primary duty is to locate, restrain, and deliver Weirds to the Anomaly Containment Facility. The process is complete only after the captured entity is delivered in its Anomaly Cage and secured in a containment room. 144
• Deployment — They are generally dispatched after a Weird has been discovered rather than stationed permanently in every threatened area. 227
• Training — Newcomers remain at Headquarters, train under stronger members, and join senior Contract Anomalists on missions before operating alone. 422
• Team leadership — B- and A-rank members commonly act as squad captains, while S-ranks serve as the Association's major strategic force. 1172
• Private commissions — The Association permits individual members to accept side jobs so long as they do not target ordinary people or violate the Humanity Code. 560
• Exploration and conquest — Members explore unfamiliar worlds and participate in the Association's efforts to conquer them. Candle Shade directly addressed a branch's lack of conquest progress after three years of operation. 356 424 1099
• Operational reporting — The normal mission cycle consists of accepting an assignment, carrying it out, completing it, and writing a report. Rest periods are mandated between operations. 1374
• Limited law-enforcement role — Contract Anomalists are not a general law-enforcement unit and do not automatically intervene in disputes between Awakened and Anomaly Tamers. 1078

Mission Priorities and Teamwork

The Association prioritizes containing Weirds and preserving humanity's civilization rather than guaranteeing the survival of every individual. Headquarters does not require contractors to save everyone caught in an anomalous incident; rescue is undertaken where feasible without displacing the containment objective. 314 370

This priority does not mean contractors must sacrifice themselves to complete containment. Instructors repeatedly emphasize survival, retreat, and requesting support when an enemy cannot be defeated. The Association values a member's potential to grow and contain many more Weirds over dying for a single unsuccessful operation. 727 1421

• Members below B-rank are advised to work in teams of two or three, though those who prefer solitary operations are permitted to act alone. Powerful members commonly undertake missions independently. 312 315
• Newcomers are taught to hold out for approximately ten minutes after requesting assistance. High-ranking members responding to emergency requests are expected to arrive within that interval. 727 1374
• Weirds captured during accepted missions must be surrendered to the Association rather than kept or fed to the contractor's Weird. The Association does not impose the same restriction on Weirds encountered privately outside missions. 311
• Mission rewards are generally fixed and divided among participants, making solo missions more lucrative but riskier. If an unexpectedly stronger Weird requires outside assistance, the original team's compensation remains tied to the original mission rank, while the additional reward is allocated to the assisting contractor. 1014

Training and Command

Only the strongest SSS-rank Contract Anomalists become Executors; reaching SSS-rank establishes eligibility rather than automatically granting the position. The Execution Department has three Executors, and Candle Shade is explicitly identified as a direct superior of its Contract Anomalists. 1099 1172

• Security Department personnel usually teach uncontracted newcomers basic skills, while newly contracted members are generally guided by senior Contract Anomalists. Wang Qing also gives newcomers instruction when available. 985
• C-rank and higher members can receive assignments to guide new recruits, while some newcomers are placed directly under A- or S-rank seniors. 314
• Instructors teach members to understand firearms and other modern weapons even if they do not choose to use them. 635
• The upgraded Green Leaf Shelter serves as a realistic, comparatively safe Weird-containment training tool. Reaching its maximum level was included in the year-end assessment for Contract Anomalists and other relevant employees. 658
• Beyond mandatory missions, the Association does not force every member to remain continuously active. Some members voluntarily accept few assignments, while others seek frequent missions to improve. 713 1205

Support and Privileges

Contract Anomalists receive priority treatment because the Association considers them irreplaceable containment personnel. 617

• Logistics, Medical, Sales, Supervision, and Research all provide support centered on Contract Anomalists. 617
• They receive priority medical treatment over other departments' personnel. 144
• Members have access to most Association facilities, with restricted areas requiring additional authorization. 144
• Benefits include housing, food and lodging, mission compensation, and transportation support; threatened family members may be relocated and housed by Headquarters. 787 1014
• Their benefits are framed as compensation earned through repeatedly risking their lives against Weirds. 787
• Each rank increase substantially improves benefits and doubles base salary. 713
• Contract Anomalists receive early access to Research Department products, with many expenses deducted from their reimbursement allowance. Yi Gui Company generally covers property damage caused during legitimate containment or combat. 617 930
• Their employee IDs can cloud ordinary people's perceptions, allowing access to otherwise restricted venues and causing guards to forget the encounter. Ordinary employees' cards do not possess this effect. 695
• Logistics personnel stationed in other worlds protect contractors from local schemes and human threats in addition to coordinating missions and reinforcements. 1341 1381
• Headquarters provides extensive entertainment facilities because relaxation and companionship help relieve the mental strain of missions and ongoing Weird influence. 312
• Logistics personnel often address them as “lord” out of genuine admiration for their dangerous work; this is not an official requirement. 983

Risks and Limitations

Despite the Association's comparatively safe method, contracting a Weird does not leave a person unchanged. Weird influence can intensify a contractor's existing traits, pushing stubbornness, malice, irritability, or other extremes further. 7 72

• Contract Anomalists can lose control when prolonged anomalous influence overwhelms their humanity and self-control. 750
• The stronger the Weird and the deeper the contractor's control, the more severe the erosion of personality can become. 72
• Anomalous energy physically alters a contractor over time; some become aberrants with partially inhuman bodies while retaining human reason. 795
• Unknown Weird abilities remain exceptionally lethal, even for trained personnel, and the profession has a high mortality rate. 405 422
• A Time Reversal device can restore deaths within its range, but a Contract Anomalist killed outside that range dies permanently. 405
• When a Contract Anomalist dies, the contract becomes invalid. Their Weird may be freed, seized or devoured, or—rarely—rampage in grief if a genuine bond had formed. 424 425

Physical Vulnerabilities and Treatment

Enhanced physiques do not remove all human weaknesses. A shattered heart, severed brain, or crushed cervical spine can still kill a Contract Anomalist, and most remain far inferior to Weirds in regeneration. A Weird's low energy grade also does not make its abilities harmless: a Malignant Curse-level entity with an unknown lethal power can potentially kill an A-rank contractor. 356 371 1145

• Novices remain vulnerable to sniper fire, explosives, poisons, biochemical weapons, and other modern threats until their bodies and reflexes develop sufficiently. 635
• Increasing compatibility and prolonged bodily transformation can make ordinary medicines and toxins ineffective. Special Association-developed medicines may still work, but higher-ranking members have fewer usable treatment options and often recover by replenishing and consuming Weird energy. 287 422
• Special weapons can threaten lower-ranked contractors, while the physiques of sufficiently powerful members can withstand such weapons even without activating their abilities. 276
• Inhuman contractors can greatly exceed human contractors of the same rank in physical strength and recovery. Ao Qu can withstand same-rank anomalous attacks and heal with sufficient energy at a rate approaching that of a Weird. 824
• Human schemes remain dangerous, particularly to careless members. Contractors often refrain from using Time Rewind devices against fellow humans, reducing the margin for recovering from such attacks. 1341

Mental Stability and Loss of Control

The contracting method prevents the direct hostile backlash associated with Anomaly Tamers, but does not remove a Weird's inherent distortion or its influence on the contractor's emotions. Loss of control therefore often originates in the contractor's own altered emotional state rather than the Weird breaking free. 742 765 1196

• Contractors must hold onto humanity through friendship, kindness, gentleness, firm convictions, or other stabilizing beliefs while resisting violent and cruel impulses. 750 919
• Guilt over failed rescues and wavering convictions can worsen instability. Members are cautioned not to assume personal responsibility for every life they cannot save. 841
• A contractor may remain conscious during a loss-of-control episode. If the state is interrupted before a major disaster occurs, confinement and daily psychological counseling can allow recovery. 742
• Severe madness that destroys the contractor's sense of self cannot necessarily be undone by Time Rewind. Even erasing memories may fail to remove emotions engraved deeply in the soul, allowing the same collapse to recur. 1196
• A small number of contractors are described as unaffected by Weird influence. Bai Zuo is one such exception because his personality was already saturated with malice before contracting. 72
• Partially mutated members may despise their altered bodies while continuing to identify firmly as human and contain Weirds on humanity's behalf. 1342

Oversight and Rules

The Association grants Contract Anomalists broad latitude in mission decisions, but places severe restrictions on violence against ordinary intelligent beings. 313 1323

• The Humanity Code prohibits Contract Anomalists from targeting ordinary people. Its protection extends to intelligent beings not completely transformed into anomalous creatures, including superhumans and Awakened who retain human bodies and consciousness. 560 1323
• Greater power brings greater restrictions because a powerful Contract Anomalist can overwhelm ordinary people with little effort, including through a Ghost Domain. 1339
• The Supervision Department oversees Contract Anomalists; Supervisors are selected for their rationality and emotional stability because contracting would compromise their ability to perform this role. 7
• The Court of Judgment determines guilt, Holy Sanction pursues fleeing offenders, and the Blade of Verdict represents the Association's destructive enforcement power. These are divisions within the Supervision Department, established because ordinary Supervisors cannot physically restrain truly powerful contractors. 276
• Grave offenders may have their contracted Weird forcibly stripped away, a punishment that can be fatal for those deeply bonded to their contract. 1051
• Disciplinary assessments consider casualties, damage, and the extent of an incident. Lesser cases can result in demotion, confinement, or punishment of the responsible Supervisor; Mi Lan received comparatively mild treatment because his Ghost Domain had remained confined to a cinema. 370 742
• The prohibition is not treated as an unconditional denial of self-defense. Red Candle considered Silver Willow's response potentially justified because ordinary people had acted against him first, while leaving the final classification to the Association's elders and upper ranks. 1341
• The restrictions also preserve the contractor's mental stability: killing in the name of justice can normalize punishment and cleansing under anomalous influence, ultimately eroding the ability to distinguish legitimate targets from innocents. 1323

Relations

• Weirds — Contractual partners and the source of a Contract Anomalist's abilities; compatibility and mutual development determine much of a contractor's strength. Their relationship is symbiotic, with the contractor's death often exposing the Weird to capture or devouring by the same enemy. 425 617 765
• Anomaly Tamers — Parallel users of Weird powers who rely on forcible suppression rather than contracts; their method causes substantially greater erosion and backlash. Former Tamers can seek the Contract Anomalist path, as Uncle Ge did when asking about preparations for a contract. 93 765 862
• Supervisors — Oversight personnel tasked with monitoring and stabilizing Contract Anomalists whose personalities may be altered by their contracts. 7
• Logistics Staff — Primary support personnel who handle benefits, transport, medical coordination, equipment, and operational assistance. 617 787
• Ordinary people — Individuals whom Contract Anomalists are expected to protect under the Humanity Code, though containment and survival judgments remain situation-dependent. 314 1323
• Yi Gui Company — A public-facing Association organization through which applicants seek recruitment, clients request help, and logistics personnel support contractors. It also handles containment-related compensation and protection from local human threats. 208 450 540 930 1341
• Hostile organizations — Groups such as the Church of Birth seek intelligence on contractors and may target their families, friends, and distant relatives to exploit ties that direct attacks cannot easily overcome. 544 545 546

Public Perception

Public awareness produces both admiration and fear. Early livestreams exposed Contract Anomalists' abilities to large audiences, prompting envy, accusations of abusing power, and speculation about their relationship with Weirds. Skywing A's apparent reversal of aging also attracted wealthy and powerful people seeking rejuvenation, although the public reaction did not establish age reversal as a general professional ability. 58 59 61

Their ability to handle high-level Weirds gives them an irreplaceable status even where militaries can manage lower-level incidents with special weapons. Many people aspire to join them, while others fear that a loss of control could turn a protector into a new source of disaster. Paid accusations and hostile publicity have also challenged their reputation, including claims that they failed to protect Yi Gui Company. 450 586

Operational secrecy limits public knowledge of individual contractors and their abilities. Members may work alone or have Logistics clear an area before containment, and their Association insignia provides an identifying mark even when their exact appearance is not widely known. 544 857