Chapter 839: A New Friend? (2/10, Request Subscription)

Fang Yue's expression froze: "You mean… the Emperor will strip him of his status? Or…?"

The First Prince grinned, showing his gums: "The latter!"

Fang Yue fell silent; the infighting among the imperial family was truly brutal.

But this First Prince clearly had no good intentions either.

The Fourth Prince schemed against me—I can no longer harbor any goodwill toward him; I must not join his faction, and in fact, I've already aligned myself against him.

The First Prince revealing this information to me was surely meant for this purpose.

"Even so… I won't join your side. No—I won't join any prince's side."

"Well, don't speak too definitively; there's plenty of time ahead."

The First Prince laughed loudly, rose, grabbed the wine flask, drank as he walked out.

Suddenly, he stopped, turned, and smiled: "Brother Ye, tomorrow I'll host a grand banquet at my residence. I expect you to come personally and thank me."

Come to thank me?

What do I have to thank you for?

Ignoring Fang Yue's dazed confusion, Qing Qianyang laughed and left.

Fang Yue pondered for a moment, told Lin Ling to stay nearby, then logged out on the spot.

He opened his eyes—still the same familiar room.

He glanced at the door; it was open, and two guards stood outside.

Ignoring them, Fang Yue directly opened his phone, pulled up a contact, and tapped the call button.

The words "【Tail】" appeared in the center of the phone screen.

Beep… beep… beep… beep…

After a long silence, a mechanical voice prompted him to leave a voicemail.

"Tail, I've arrived in Jingcheng. Reply my call immediately when you see this—I need to talk to you."

He put away his phone, rubbed his brow, and walked out—only to be blocked by both guards at once.

"Mr. Fang, where are you going?"

"... Get out of my way."

The two guards stared at each other in shock.

"Mr. Fang, please don't make things difficult for us—we're just following orders."

"... Fine."

Fang Yue pulled out his phone again and dialed Qiu Dugu's number.

Unlike Tail, Qiu Dugu, this workaholic, was always active in real-world duties for the Alliance, and his phone rang straight through.

"Fang Yue? You finally logged out? Something happen? Wait a moment—I'm coming right over."

"No need. I'm just letting you know—I'm going to Hai Yu City. Tell Jiang Wanchun, the Alliance Chairman, I'll leave tomorrow with Yuan Jie."

"So soon? I'll go with you—the Chairman's been pressing me for weeks; this is a perfect chance. But don't rush—this requires procedure. Wait until I return."

Fang Yue smiled faintly.

Fang Yue knew Qiu Dugu could have left for Hai Yu City long ago—he'd only delayed because he worried leaving Fang Yue alone here might cause complications.

Fang Yue felt nothing for the other Alliance members, but he trusted Qiu Dugu.

"Where is Yuan Jie? I'll wait for Qiu Dugu there."

"Mr. Fang, this way, please."

The two claimed to be guiding him, but in truth, they were merely covert surveillance.

Fang Yue paid no mind, simply following them forward.

But as they walked, his expression gradually darkened.

After these days of observation, he was no longer clueless about the Alliance's headquarters.

He instantly recognized—the direction they were taking him was toward the Alliance's experimental zone.

Tap. Tap.

Fang Yue stopped walking; the two guards halted with him.

"What's going on? Why are you taking me this way? Is Yuan Jie really ahead? If you dare harm her… I can't guarantee what will happen!"

Fang Yue looked up coldly—not at the guards, but at the surveillance camera along the corridor.

…

Alliance Headquarters Meeting Room.

"He's threatening us."

"He has the leverage to threaten us."

"But he seems to have forgotten who truly controls this world!"

"Enough! He's not our enemy—push him to the opposite side, and none of us will fare well! That day draws nearer; whether it's the potential awakening of the Cheaters or what comes after, we need his strength."

"Chairman, this will only embolden him!"

"Correct. A tool must be tempered before it can be used well."

"Chairman, rest assured—his weakness is in our hands. He won't cause trouble."

Jiang Wanchun's face darkened, his voice icy: "If that day comes and that man is driven to desperation with no weaknesses left, you know exactly what will happen. The lesson of 【Creation-Annihilation Day】 is still fresh!"

Upon hearing the words "【Creation-Annihilation Day】", the other chairmen fell silent.

The room sank into silence for a long while—until the Second Chairman broke it: "Alright, alright—it's not that dire yet. Let's talk with him, find mutual benefit."

"Hmph! Let's hope so."

"I hope that man has some self-awareness—or that woman will suffer."

……

The United-Strength Association, experimental area.

Fang Yue stared at Yuan Jie, who was sitting on a hospital bed in a white patient gown, squinting her eyes with cheerful abandon and happily taking big bites out of an apple, and felt a bit dumbfounded.

"Ah-Yue! How did you get here!"

The moment she saw Fang Yue, Yuan Jie's eyes lit up; she hopped down from the bed and trotted over.

After these days of recuperation, Yuan Jie's condition had gradually recovered, and she no longer carried that low-spirited mood from before.

"Yuan Jie, why are you here?"

"Huh? Pao Ru said they do free check-ups here, so she told me to come get examined with her."

"Pao Ru?"

Fang Yue followed the direction Yuan Jie was pointing and only then noticed that on the bed next to Yuan Jie, there was another woman in her early twenties lying there.

Long straight black hair, a slightly chubby face, looking rather pitifully endearing.

"Right, you two haven't met yet. She's an accountant in the United-Strength Association's accounting department. Ah-Yue, let me tell you, Pao Ru is really pitiful…"

As she spoke, Yuan Jie's eyes misted over.

But to Fang Yue's ears, it didn't stir much feeling.

Probably because he didn't know her, they weren't familiar with each other — other people's tragic stories really are just stories.

That girl called Pao Ru seemed to have witnessed her parents' "bizarre" death, and was then taken in by the United-Strength Association.

As an ordinary member of the Association's accounting department, she happened to bump into Yuan Jie in the cafeteria, and through repeated encounters, they became friends.

And all of this happened… in the period after he had killed that cheater.

Just like what Fang Yue had been doing lately — he had been holed up in the game recently, raising his strength, seeking ways to grow stronger.

He paid very little attention to real-world matters.

Because he was now at the United-Strength Association's headquarters, where it was basically impossible for anomalies to target him, and Qiu Dugu was outside keeping watch, Yuan Jie shouldn't be in danger — which was why Fang Yue could focus on his own affairs with peace of mind.

But Yuan Jie had made a new friend at headquarters…

(End of chapter)