DreamersGN Chapter 167 The Curse of Local Ingredients
Chapter 167 The Curse of Local Ingredients
At that moment, a grand and chilling announcement of the supernatural tales resounded in the minds of all the chosen ones and on the supernatural tales live streaming channel:
[Kamidai Ryuichi, the Chosen One of Sakura Kingdom, is eliminated]
[Strange Tale Punishment:]
Japan is caught in a "curse of local ingredients."
Food produced in Japan will be permanently tainted by the taste of "concentrated nuclear-contaminated seawater".
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Studio:
"Damn it! I had already booked my plane tickets for next month, planning to go to Japan to eat the freshest sushi and Wagyu beef... Now it's all ruined!"
"They can't eat it? Then they can export it! Selling local ingredients abroad can at least recoup some of the economic losses, right?"
"The person upstairs is overthinking it. The rules are very clear—all food produced within Japan is subject to a flavor lock. This means that even if it's exported abroad, as long as the ingredients are from Japan, it will still taste like nuclear wastewater. Who would buy it?"
"Strange tale? No, it should be called the way of heaven—you dumped nuclear wastewater into the sea, and now the smell of nuclear wastewater is back on your dinner table. This is not punishment, it is cause and effect."
"If Japan's domestic food production were completely ruined, a huge gap would appear in the global food supply chain! Could the United States' agriculture seize this opportunity to rise and become the biggest winner?"
"Win my ass! Our Midwest has suffered the 'curse of wilt' three times in a row, the Corn Belt has lost 47% of its yield, and soybean pests and diseases are out of control. We're barely enough to feed ourselves, and the Black House just signed a food export restriction order last week. How are we going to supply Japan?"
"What about Korea? Kimchi with barbecue, could it steal market share from Japan?"
"Korea's food self-sufficiency rate is only 21.8%, and 60% of the cabbage used in kimchi is imported. A global food panic triggered by Japan's collapse would cause Korea's import costs to more than triple. They'd be lucky not to go hungry as a result, let alone benefit!"
"A calm analysis: The biggest beneficiary can only be China. First, geographically, it is separated from China by only a narrow strip of water, resulting in the lowest cold chain logistics costs; second, China has benefited from two consecutive rounds of national fortune boosts, leading to a 38% increase in agricultural production and grain reserves reaching an all-time high."
"So...we'll only be able to eat food from China from now on? Even miso soup will have to be imported?"
"This isn't punishing Japan; it's clearly a 'strategic gift package' tailor-made for China! By using taste rules, they're making a developed country completely dependent on China in the food sector... This tactic is more ruthless than any trade agreement."
"Hey~ You can't say that~ We just happen to have 'ample production capacity' and also happen to be 'close by.' Market selection is a natural law, and we have to respect the rules~ (drinks tea obediently.jpg)"
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The training ground remained eerily silent.
Ryuichi Kamishiro is dead; his personal suffering has ended.
But what about the land of cherry blossoms?
Thousands of ordinary people, without even realizing it, have been dragged into the abyss caused by the failure of the chosen ones.
The whip may hurt, but what hurts even more is the alarm that might sound in your hometown and the despair that might appear on the faces of your loved ones.
They are not fighting alone, nor are they suffering alone.
Their breaths are connected to the pulse of their homeland; their lives and deaths are tied to the survival of their nation.
This is the cruelest design and the heaviest chain in the world of Rules of the Strange.
Qin Yue cracked her whip, the sound of it cutting through the air jolting everyone out of their daze.
"Still standing there?" Her gaze swept across the room like an icicle. "Next set of sit-ups, get ready."
Everyone shuddered, and no one hesitated.
They quickly turned around, switched positions with their partners, lay flat, covered their heads, and secured themselves. Their movements were so fast they were almost hasty, yet they carried a precision born of fear.
The features of the weak are distorted to the extreme—some bite their lower lip so hard that blood seeps out, some close their eyes tightly and their eyelashes tremble violently, and some have veins bulging on their foreheads like wriggling earthworms.
Yet they held on with sheer willpower, no one daring to slow down, and no one daring to stop.
Falling means the end, not only for oneself, but also for the entire country behind one's country.
"Beep—!"
The whistle blew again.
A series of muffled thuds echoed across the training field as bodies slammed heavily onto the ground, followed by a chorus of heavy, almost greedy, panting breaths.
Those with weaker physical strength collapsed to the ground, like fish out of water, their mouths agape but unable to inhale enough air.
But this time, no one looked ashen-faced, and no one's gaze was unfocused.
All standards were met.
Qin Yue's military boots trod across the rough ground as she walked to the center of the training field.
"very good."
"See that?" she gestured with the tip of her whip across the crowd. "As long as you have the will to fight, there's no mission you can't accomplish!"
"Fear can crush a person," her gaze seemed to intentionally or unintentionally sweep over the spot where Ryuichi Kamishiro had once collapsed, "but it can also force out every ounce of strength from your bones!"
"Remember how this moment feels. Remember what you're fighting for!"
"Take a five-minute break. Then, next item."
As soon as she finished speaking, Qin Yue turned around and walked onto the observation platform, where she whispered a few words to Leng Meng, the deputy warden observing the training.
Leng Meng's icy gaze swept across the training field, finally lingering on Lin Feng for a moment before she nodded slightly and turned to leave the observation platform.
During those brief five minutes, the air was filled with suppressed gasps.
Several Chosen Ones, on the verge of physical collapse, collapsed to the ground, their eyes instinctively sweeping towards the sidelines—there were no water fountains, only piles of sandbags and cold training equipment.
Someone licked their dry lips and swallowed silently.
Soon, Qin Yue raised her wrist, her gaze falling on the watch face.
"Time's up."
The sharp whistling of the whip pierced the silence as Qin Yue's hand pointed towards the mountain of yellowish-brown sandbags piled up at the edge of the training field.
"The second item is a 5-kilometer weighted run!"
"Each person carries a ten-kilogram sandbag and must run 25 laps around the training field within 40 minutes!"
Her gaze slowly swept over the tired faces, and she added:
"Those who exceed the time limit will bear the 'Soul of Burden.' A ten-kilogram sandbag will turn into a puppet that will lie on your back, breathing, wriggling, and whispering... until it falls off on its own when the next training session begins."
After he finished speaking, the training ground fell into a brief silence.
Immediately, a series of suppressed gasps filled the air.
Several Chosen Ones, whose physical strength was already nearing its limit, turned deathly pale.
They glanced instinctively at the sandbags, as if the rough burlap sacks were already wriggling.
That's not just a punishment based on weight.
Imagine a doll—cold, stiff, with unknown and eerie characteristics—
It needs to be pressed against your back day and night, and it might even breathe and whisper...
This kind of mental oppression is far more terrifying than simple physical torture.
Even the calmest of the group couldn't help but tense up.
Qin Yue was very satisfied with the chilling atmosphere that permeated the deathly silence, and she suddenly lashed out with her whip.
"Now go carry the sandbags, we're leaving in thirty seconds!"