Dawnless Sovereign-Chapter 79: Lone Wolf

Everyone was perplexed.

If it's really such an urgent matter, then why are you back so soon?

"In light of Administrator Fang's significant contributions, the southeastern headquarters has decided to award him with... some merit points."

On the stage, Fang Che blinked in a puzzled manner, then asked the question that was on everyone's mind: "How many is some?"

"You'll know when you go back and take a look for yourself," An Ruoxing replied, doing his best to maintain a composed smile.

"This is a moment of personal glory for me, so I have to share it everyone," Fang Che insisted.

Having been backed into a corner, An Ruoxing finally revealed, "Chief Supervisor Zhao Shanhe of the southeastern headquarters has awarded Administrator Fang with... twenty merit points!"

Twenty?!

The entire hall instantly fell deathly silent.

Many of them had heard that Zhao Shanhe had a bone to pick with Fang Che, but they had never taken it seriously. After all, Zhao Shanhe was the chief supervisor of the southeastern headquarters, while Fang Che was just an administrator. How could Zhao Shanhe possibly go out of his way to target him?

However, they were now being faced with irrefutable evidence.

An Ruoxing watched as Fang Che's face turned deathly pale before going purple with rage, and he couldn't help but feel sympathetic to the young man.

"Has there been a mistake, Deputy Supervisor An?" Zhao Ying'er asked, her voice filled with disbelief and indignation on Fang Che's behalf.

"No, I can confirm to you that this is the reward assigned to Administrator Fang by the southeastern headquarters. Us Protectionists must earn merit points through the weight of our feats and contributions, so this is only a symbolic reward. You have to earn your merit points through your own efforts rather than relying on rewards, Administrator Fang. I'm sure a bright talent like you has an equally bright future ahead."

Fang Che took a moment to compose himself, then smiled as he replied, "Thank you for your kind words, Deputy Supervisor An, and please pass on my gratitude to Chief Supervisor Zhao as well. I am truly honored right now."

"I'm glad you feel that way," An Ruoxing said with a nod of approval. "You're still not even twenty years old yet, and you're already a second-rank administrator. I don't think it'll be long at all before you become a first-rank administrator!"

"Thank you, Deputy Supervisor An. Your words have really resonated with me, and I have decided that I cannot accept this reward. It wasn't earned through my personal efforts, so I'll have to ask you to take these twenty merit points back to Chief Supervisor Zhao."

"Are you sure?" An Ruoxing asked in a meaningful voice.

If Fang Che were to refuse these twenty merit points, then that would be an open act of hostility and dissension toward the chief supervisor of the entire southeast!

"Nonsense! You can't just return a reward from a superior, Fang Che! Take a moment to reconsider before you speak!" Song Yidao interjected.

"There's no need for that, I've made up my mind," Fang Che declared without any hesitation, and the entire hall fell silent once again.

"Alright, I'll take the reward back for you," An Ruoxing relented after a brief silence.

"Thank you, Deputy Supervisor An," Fang Che said, then extended a grateful bow before departing from the stage.

Instead of returning to his seat, he left the hall altogether, choosing to take no further part in the celebrations.

"Fang Che!" Zhao Ying'er called out after him.

Her heart ached for his misfortune, and she rushed out of the hall, but by then, he was already gone.

She stood at the entrance of the hall, looking into the surrounding darkness with a lost and pained expression.

Zuo Guanglie stepped out of the hall behind her and sighed, "Administrator Fang needs some alone time right now, so let's just stay out of his way."

"You're right," Zhao Ying'er replied, then took one final glance behind her before returning to her seat in the hall.

***

Following Fang Che's departure, a promotion ceremony was held for Zuo Guanglie, marking his promotion to a first-rank gold star administrator.

Everyone gathered around him to offer up congratulations, but Zuo Guanglie didn't feel any joy.

This was a promotion that he had been yearning for for a very long time, but the mood had been completely soured by the injustice that had just befallen Fang Che.

Even as he underwent his promotion ceremony on the stage, his mind was elsewhere entirely. Where is Brother Fang right now? He must feel terrible...

However, one man's misfortune was ultimately not enough to completely dampen everyone's mood, and before long, the celebrations were back in full swing.

An Ruoxing turned down Song Yidao's invitation for him to stay for the celebratory banquet, declaring, "Tonight belongs to all of you, so I'll be taking my leave! Congratulations, Hall Master Song!"

"Thank you, Deputy Supervisor An."

An Ruoxing wanted to say something more, but ultimately held his tongue and gave Song Yidao a nod and a smile before departing.

A chorus of raucous cheers instantly rang out within the hall.

Meanwhile, An Ruoxing had already risen high up into the night sky, releasing his spirit sense to search for Fang Che.

He felt really sorry for the young man, and he wanted to console him.

In his eyes, Zhao Shanhe had completely stepped out of line!

Not only had he denied Fang Che his rightful reward, the paltry reward literally added insult to injury, humiliating him in front of all of his colleagues.

How was Fang Che supposed to face everyone after this?

Despite An Ruoxing's best efforts, he was unable to find Fang Che, and in the end, he could only heave a forlorn sigh before setting off back to the southeastern headquarters.

***

As it turned out, Fang Che had already arrived at the Unmatched Escort Agency under the guise of Starlight.

The reward of twenty merit points wasn't weighing on his mind at all, but he had an objective for putting on that display of indignation and disbelief.

He knew that the decision hadn't been made by Zhao Shanhe, and he knew why this arrangement had been made.

Even though he didn't truly care, and he knew that all of this was being done to serve a higher purpose, he still couldn't help but be struck by an overwhelming sense of loneliness as he made his way through the night.

He made his way through the darkness, a guardian of the light, but one that was completely alone and misunderstood.

However, he quickly shook off that train of thought. This was an important night fro the branch helm, so he had no time to dwell on pointless melancholy.

***

"Master, all of the churches of the other factions were destroyed last night, including even the Night Demon Church branch helm. Right now, our One Heart Church branch helm is the only one left in the White Cloud Prefecture. However, I also have a piece of bad news to report. In fact, I feel really lost and alone right now."

Yin Shengong was constantly keeping an eye out of Fang Che's messages, and he immediately asked: "What's wrong? Did something happen to the branch helm?"

"No. Everything is normal in the branch helm, and the escort agency will soon receive a status of full legitimacy, allowing us to operate on a completely above-ground basis. The establishment of our branch helm has been a resounding success, and as long as we don't try to take any excessively big steps, we should be able to go from strength to strength from here."

Yin Shengong was very relieved to hear this.

"That's good to hear."

Only after taking a moment to bask in blissful joy did he recall that Night Demon had mentioned a piece of bad news.

"Why are you feeling lost and alone then? Does it have something to do with your work at the Hall of Protectionists?"

"That's right."

"What happened? You've been making some massive contributions to the Hall of Protectionists of late, haven't you? Surely they should be really thankful to you."

"I'm starting to feel a little remorseful, Master. Initially, I didn't really feel this way. Even though we're all aligned with the Church of the Self-Righteous, those people posed a threat to my safety, so I killed them in exchange for merit points, and I saw nothing wrong with that. Do you think I'm a little too heartless, Master? Or perhaps too willing to backstab others?"

"That's what's gotten you in such a bad mood? Since when did you become so emotional? You said it yourself! Even though we all serve the Church of the Self-Righteous, those people posed a threat to your life, so of course it was the right decision to kill them! Feeling remorse in a situation like this is utterly absurd!"