Raging Waves' Full-Scale Sanctions!

Just then, Shancheng Kojirō rushed in.

"Mr. Itō, this is bad!"

"The Arsenal is in chaos. The challengers have all lost the will to fight."

"What should we do?"

Itō Hidetaka let out a long breath, the anxiety and tension in his heart dispersing like mist.

As the commander, he had to stay calm. He absolutely could not throw his own ranks into disarray, much less let his emotions affect the other challengers.

If he did, he would have fallen straight into Lin Ye's trap.

For now, the mission had only become more difficult. That did not mean there was no hope.

But if every challenger was too frightened to keep working, the mission really would fail.

So he went straight to the loudspeaker in the Command Room and addressed everyone in the Arsenal.

"Everyone, have you forgotten the oath you swore when you entered the instance? Have you forgotten our Bushido Spirit?"

His booming voice echoed throughout the Arsenal.

"Was everything you said before about doing this for the Emperor just a joke?"

Itō Hidetaka paused for a moment, visibly stirred up himself.

"If you give up now, you will surely die. Only by pressing on will you have a hope of survival."

"You have no other choice now. You can only believe in me and believe in the Emperor!"

Itō Hidetaka's words were indeed stirring, and after that rousing speech, the challengers settled down.

"In truth, our chances are very good. Even with the mission time cut in half, our chances are still very good."

"As long as everyone puts their minds to it and does their utmost to squeeze those NPCs on Eastern Ocean Island, we can definitely do it!"

"So... stop being afraid. Learn to face your fear, and learn to overcome it!"

"As long as we clear this instance, every one of you will be a hero of our Dahe Settlement!"

After another impassioned speech, the challengers' blood boiled once more.

"For the Emperor!"

"For Mr. Itō!"

"For Aircraft Carrier Technology!"

After brainwashing themselves, they quickly threw themselves back into their work.

Itō Hidetaka sent Shancheng Kojirō away first, then slumped onto the sofa.

It was too hard.

It was truly too hard.

He had to admit that Lin Ye was indeed a genius at playing with other people's emotions.

Especially when it came to using the mission's setup to put the challengers under endless mental pressure.

Under such immense pressure, every challenger's abilities were bound to suffer.

"It's no use, Lin Ye!"

"I won't fall for your tricks a second time!"

"Although the mission's punishment has increased, the reward has doubled as well. I will lead these twenty thousand people to conquer your Raging Waves."

But before Itō Hidetaka could fully catch his breath, the world before his eyes was instantly dyed blood-red!

It was as though the entire universe had been flooded with spilled blood, a red so glaring it was blinding, so red it was suffocating.

Countless invisible red lights flashed wildly all around him. The sharp, piercing alarms sliced at his eardrums like razor blades, stimulating his nerve endings.

"Wh-what is it this time?"

Immediately afterward, another Firmament notification appeared!

[In response to your actions, Eagle Sauce Country will now impose full-scale sanctions on Eastern Ocean Island!! You will face Eagle Sauce Country's true "Raging Waves"!]

"Sanctions?"

"What the hell is that supposed to be?"

On Azure Star, everything was controlled by the Firmament, which held the highest authority.

Whether it was the resources of the various settlements or their economies, everything was subject to the Firmament's centralized macroeconomic regulation.

So Itō Hidetaka had no idea what these so-called "sanctions" meant.

But his confusion did not last long, because the Firmament answered him directly.

[Challenger, Eagle Sauce has declared Eastern Ocean Island an Enemy of the World! You will now face the following sanctions:]

[1. Energy sanctions: Most oil-exporting countries on the planet will cease trading with your country. The few exporters willing to continue trading with you will also raise their oil export prices to more than thirty times their current level!]

[Please bring your country's oil under control as soon as possible. Otherwise, given your oil reserves, they will be completely depleted in a very short time!]

[2. Technology sanctions: Eagle Sauce will stop sharing technology with you. However, most of your country's industries rely on Eagle Sauce technology as their core. Without technological support, production efficiency in the vast majority of your country's industries will fall by more than 50%!]

[Please find alternative technologies as soon as possible. Otherwise, production across your country's industries will grind to a halt within two days!]

[3. Trade sanctions: The vast majority of countries on the planet will cease bilateral trade with you. Your country's exports of goods will fall by 90%, and it will lose 50% of its channels for importing goods.]

[Please bring your supplies under control as soon as possible. Otherwise, your country will face severe shortages of all kinds of supplies within one day!]

[4. Financial sanctions: Your country will no longer be able to use the US dollar, a major currency. All US dollars held in your country's reserves will be rendered invalid, and your country's local currency will also be frozen worldwide!]

[5. Administrative sanctions: Eagle Sauce Country will infiltrate your country's political party system, fund resistance forces in your country, and incite widespread unrest. The challengers' control over Eastern Ocean Island will become precarious!]

[6. Public opinion sanctions: Eagle Sauce Country will spread word of your country's long list of crimes throughout the world. Your country's international reputation will plummet, and the trust values of all the people on Eastern Ocean Island will be affected!]

In an instant, countless Firmament notifications scrolled rapidly before Itō Hidetaka's eyes, making him dizzy.

But the Firmament showed no sign of stopping, and notifications continued to pop up.

At last, Itō Hidetaka counted them. There were actually hundreds of sanctions! A dizzying array of debuffs had all been piled onto the challenger faction.

Itō Hidetaka felt dazed and slumped onto the sofa once again.

Then Eastern Ocean Island's various statistics began plummeting. The gross output he had finally managed to raise was now showing negative growth!

"Why?! How can you play like this?!"

"This instance's setup is far too unreasonable! What gives Eagle Sauce Country the right to directly control all sorts of things on Eastern Ocean Island?!"

"Firmament, this is completely unreasonable! With a hostile force that can forcibly control my actions, there's no way I can overtake it!"

Itō Hidetaka roared, his voice growing much hoarser from anger.

[Firmament notification: Every setting in this instance has been reviewed by the Firmament to ensure its reasonableness! There is no doubt about that!]

[Challenger, your actions triggered the subsequent chain of reactions. If you had controlled Eastern Ocean Island in an orderly manner from the beginning, or chosen to make concessions during the Eagle Sauce's Anger event, none of what followed would have happened.]