Bernie was quite tall, weighing over one hundred eighty pounds.
Yet the man in black easily lifted him with one hand, showing his immense strength.
"Huh~ huh~"
Bernie's throat emitted an eerie sound, and his face quickly turned purple-black.
He wanted to struggle, but his whole body felt paralyzed, unable to even move a finger.
A minute later.
Bernie's body softened, and his pupils froze.
The man in black laid the corpse down, placing it on the chair.
He squeezed the mic clipped on his collar and said in a low voice, "Number six dissident has been cleared."
"Excellent!"
Immediately, a male voice rang out in the earpiece worn by the man in black.
The voice paused, then complained slightly, "Damn Heaven Reaching Tower, it's brought us too much trouble."
The man in black turned and walked out, not making the slightest sound as he moved.
Many knew that before the Age of Calamity, Bernie was a somewhat famous news commentator.
Often critical of the authorities, he was not well-liked by the officials.
After the Age of Calamity hit, the Asia-Oceania Union tightened their media control, and Bernie's voice grew quieter.
The emergence of the Heaven Reaching Tower network suddenly offered Bernie a chance to speak out.
But before he could express his opinions, he was murdered.
After a while.
A middle-aged woman walked in, calling out, "Honey..."
Before she could finish, she suddenly noticed her husband's head sagging to the side.
The middle-aged woman was startled and hurried over, reaching to feel her husband's nostrils.
At that moment.
"Boom!"
A loud explosion.
Violent flames instantly engulfed the room.
All the glass shattered from the shockwave, and thick smoke billowed out of the windows.
A corner of the house completely collapsed, and the rest was teetering.
This scene seemed to foreshadow the future of the Asia-Oceania Union.
When all rational voices are brutally silenced, then everyone can only continue down the wrong path.
At the moment of Bernie's death.
The Great Xia officially announced their measures against the rising prices of iron ore: "In light of the Asia-Oceania Union's opportunistic behavior, all trade between the two nations is suspended."
Stop buying!
Stop selling!
After this news was released, the Asia-Oceania Union was instantly unsettled.
This was something the Asia-Oceania officials never expected.
Originally, they thought the Great Xia would at most implement equivalent retaliation, like raising the prices of certain goods by 80% or more.
But exports of domestic ores were enormous, so it would still be profitable.
Who knew the Great Xia would flip the table entirely.
Soon.
Various personnel from the Asia-Oceania Union came out one after another, giving numerous statements.
"This practice severely violates trade principles."
"The Great Xia are using their industrial advantage to bully other countries recklessly, it's extremely vicious behavior."
"The Eastern Evil Dragon is rudely disrupting the global trade order."
These statements had a single tone—criticism and accusations.
With no introspection.
As if only the Australasians were allowed to act this way, but not the Great Xia to retaliate.
This behavior perfectly echoed Bernie's words—these idiots' heads are filled with Caucasian arrogance.
Prices in supermarkets across various Asia-Oceania Federation cities shot up comprehensively within a short time, with increases of four to five times being common.
A large number of angry Australasians furiously lambasted the government online.
This was the most typical phenomenon of the Age of Calamity, where supermarkets adjusted prices extraordinarily quickly.
Whenever there was the slightest movement, price tags would be swiftly replaced with higher figures.
Therefore, in many countries, supermarkets and stores were often the hardest-hit areas for looting and vandalism.
However.
Regarding the foolish statements from the Asia-Oceania Union.
The Great Xia paid no heed, as if these people didn't exist at all.
Because the Great Xia high-ranking officials' attention was focused on another more important matter at this time.
*
Primordial World.
Sea of Death Black Sand.
"Boom!"
The roaring wind sounded like thunder.
The entire world was in a state of darkness, as if doomsday had arrived.
The wind speed in the Black Sand Sea had reached an astonishing 200 meters per second, equivalent to over 700 kilometers per hour.
This approached the flying speed of a jet plane.
All creatures active in the Black Sand Sea, whether monsters or the Evil Race, dared not stay on the sand's surface, hiding deep within the sand layers.
To various Civilization Worlds, this was a terrifying calamity.
But in the Black Sand Sea, it was just an ordinary meteorological event.
It was called—a sandstorm.
The Black Sand Sea nearly stretched endlessly, with the sandstorm occurring continuously.
In specific regions, it could last as long as half a Primordial Moon, equivalent to a month and five or six days on Canglan Star, or as short as seven or eight Primordial Days, surely triggering a sandstorm.
And this was what Yang Fan called the "window period."
At this moment.
He seemed like a true ghost, drifting through the air.
Countless black sands sped past; he appeared as if transformed into a phantom, with sand sweeping through his shadow.
This was the new ability of the Treasure Space Pearl—Dimensional Projection.
Yang Fan's real body was actually hidden in the Realm Gap Dimension, with his shadow just a projection of supernatural power.
This technique had two advantages.
First, the Dimensional Projection served as his avatar, which could move around freely, offering a greater observational perspective.
Second, if the Realm Gap Dimension was attacked, his real body could instantly shift to the location of the Dimensional Projection.
