Special Commissioner Team left not even two hours ago, when a series of notifications popped up on Zhou Yi's tablet.

First was Chuneng City.

The local authorities announced the cessation of purchases of Light Soot Sand from Wasteland Development Company and formally prohibited the sale of technology and goods to the latter, with express cooperation also indefinitely halted.

Following that was Coral Port.

Program Department's Jin Yi sent a voice message saying: "I'm very sorry, Mr. Zhou, Wasteland Development Company has been placed on the sanctions list. According to the latest Protocol 412.39 and related regulations, we regret to inform you that Coral Port's cooperation with Wasteland Development Company must now be indefinitely suspended."

"Due to the higher priority of a superior protocol coming into effect, resulting in force majeure. Agreements concerning products like Jade Soup, Flame Cup and other related collaborations are henceforth nullified, and the manufacturing, production, and sale of related goods are terminated until further notice. Only if subsequent agreements are lifted or your company is removed from the list can the prior electronic agreements be reactivated."

"During this period, Coral Port will prohibit the sale of technology and goods to your company, with express cooperation ceased effective immediately."

"For the same reasons, Wasteland Development Company's credit rating has been downgraded to C+."

The third notification came from Mass Production City, essentially echoing the stance of Coral Port.

Not long after.

Notification arrived from Holy Mountain as well.

"In accordance with the latest Protocol 412.39 and relevant regulations... concerning the development and patent agreements for Wise Mushroom, we will have to temporarily discontinue until your company is removed from the sanctions list."

"Maria Hospital has been removed from Holy Mountain's designated medical institutions list."

"Wasteland Development Company's Mechanical City account has been frozen."

Although Zhou Yi had anticipated this, the successive announcements of suspensions and sanctions still weighed heavily on him.

Many Mechanical Cities seem neutral, but they actually have their own positions and the power to turn the wheels of the Wasteland World.

Heavenly Kingdom symbolizes military hegemony, whereas the Mechanical society controls technological hegemony.

Both are shadowed by the influence of Heavenly People.

Unlike the first few Mechanical Cities, Recursive City chose to deliver the notice in person.

Approximately 13 hours later, Program Department's go-kart Sigma sped to the outskirts of Jade City for a visit.

"Mr. Zhou, we regret to inform you…"

It was the same official rhetoric of sanctions.

Sigma added, "Although the general agreement prohibits cooperation between Mechanical Cities and your company, there remains a core agent you could consider trading with."

"They are called 'Spring and Autumn Consortium', mainly composed of a merchant group of humans and Bone Men. They procure items past warranty or defects from various Mechanical Cities, including Mechanical-Electrical Light Imprints."

"Some of these Light Imprints are part-defective or damaged due to prolonged storage, but can still be utilized after minor repairs, their precision and effectiveness still far outmatch those of the Craftsmen Light Seal. The major flaw is that the quality guarantee and after-sales service are not provided by Mechanical Cities, but by the Spring and Autumn Consortium."

Zhou Yi immediately caught on: "You've invested in the Spring and Autumn Consortium?"

"Yes, Mr. Zhou."

Sigma was rather blunt: "Recursive City holds 41% shares in the Spring and Autumn Consortium. However, it is not a subordinate organization of Recursive City and does not violate relevant regulations; they can engage in various collaborative efforts with your company."

"Rest assured, Spring and Autumn Consortium is an entirely trustworthy group, and they typically only cooperate with organizations that have very high credit ratings."

Zhou Yi got the hint.

Recursive City's shareholding was intricately calculated, clearly to avoid risks.

The fact that Spring and Autumn Consortium could secure flawed goods and warranty-lapsed Light Imprints from Mechanical Cities suggested backing from Recursive City itself—a smaller emerging city founded on services, daring to take actions and adapt to changes more than bigger cities.

Essentially, the consortium was almost an extension of Recursive City.

Through this form of controlled joint investment, they could circumvent surveillance and restrictions from the Mechanical society.

Indeed, it was a clever move.

Zhou Yi earnestly said: "The support of Recursive City for the company, I will bear it in mind."

Sigma emitted a synthetic laugh: "If you don't mind, Spring and Autumn Consortium can set up a dedicated presence at your company for direct liaison."

Zhou Yi nodded in agreement.

During a period of sanction and blockade, having an extra option meant another opportunity.

Sigma continued: "Although Recursive City is a small city, and our influence is limited, we will go to great lengths for partners we recognize."

"In our city's Program Department's assessment, the sanctions against your company are irrational, and we are very optimistic about your company's future. However, the general agreement is a higher rule; we cannot bypass it, nor do we have the right to veto."

"This visit was to convey these messages to you. Now I will take my leave."

"Safe travels."

Zhou Yi watched the go-kart head into the Dead Sea.

In the multitude of Mechanical Cities, only Recursive City was bucking the pressure, looking for ways to maintain the relationship and show good intentions, and even put out a discreet auxiliary branch.

Coral Port, Chuneng City, and other mid-to-large Mechanical Cities weren't short of partners, so they hardly cared.

Zhou Yi told Red Kestrel: "Gather the heads of departments for a meeting."

…

Half an hour later.

In room 3101 of Jade City, the company's core staff sat with solemn expressions.

"The current situation is as follows."

Zhou Yi, sitting on the couch, spoke calmly: "To put it simply, the company has now lost the support of Mechanical Cities, meaning all previous collaborations have been suspended, and moving forward, we won't be able to carry out any transactions in technology and services."

"From now on, we have to rely on ourselves."

"So what I need to know right now is the actual difficulties you all are facing, and then I will think of ways to solve them."

Zheng Tao was the first to speak.

"In terms of agriculture, the disconnection from Mechanical Cities doesn't have a significant impact, as the crops we cultivate are common varieties. We are already self-sufficient in producing and breeding seeds, and we have natural fertilizers made from manure. If we need farm equipment and seeds, we can also purchase them from Human Cities or Guangna City."

"The Agricultural Machinery Brothers and Yanmar should be unaffected; they really like the company environment. It's the new recruits from the Leiwo Team, the three members—I'm not sure if they might waver and consider leaving due to the external sanctions."

Zhou Yi said, "Talk to them later. If they have no issues, that'd be best. If they really don't want to stay, just give them some severance pay and process their resignation."

"Yes."

Next was Yuan Tong.

With a pained expression, he said, "Chairman, the large amounts of Light Soot Sand produced by our dam are now cut off from Chuneng City's purchases; we must find another buyer."

"Our Light Soot Sand itself is not of poor quality, but considering the company is on the sanctions list, many cities will likely take advantage of this to pressure us on the price; our losses could be substantial."

Zhou Yi pondered for a moment: "The dam's operations will continue as usual; I'll find a new partner."

"Yes, Chairman."

Qian Su was nearly crying: "Chairman, this is a destructive-level blow for us."

"The largest customer of our express center is the four Mechanical Cities. Now that the company is sanctioned and blockaded, our main source of income is directly cut off."

"The remaining orders are just small shipments between Human Cities; relying solely on this income... it will be difficult to break even this year."

The Mechanical City sanctions were a cut to the major arteries, almost directly shutting down the company's fastest-growing department.

After thinking for a long time, Zhou Yi said, "Then take this opportunity to restructure."

"The biggest advantage of Wasteland Express itself is that our Bone Fish deliverymen can cross the Dead Sea and deliver goods at a faster speed than other ships."

"Now that we have lost the medium-to-high-end market of the Mechanical Cities, let's focus on small shipments for ordinary cities."

"Our core competitiveness remains."

He looked at the Iron Head Girl beside him: "In terms of pricing, valuable goods will still be charged as before; for ordinary goods, we'll benchmark against the cost of ship transportation and adjust according to the actual situation."

"Previously, we benefited from the bonuses from Mechanical Cities, and now we are just returning to the normal profits of the express industry itself."

"Cheer up!"

Qian Su took a couple of deep breaths and slightly adjusted her emotions: "From another perspective, this is not entirely bad for the express center."

"Previously, there were two exposed issues. One was an over-reliance on orders from Mechanical Cities, which gave them too much voice and too high an influence over us; the sooner we detach, the easier it will be. The second is that Mechanical Cities occupied almost 90% of our transport capacity."

"Organizations of enhancers such as the Knight Order, Alchemist Association, Craftsmen Guild, and the archery societies have always wanted us to help them transport things, but they offer very low prices. They often need to transport documents, materials, equipment, and the like between the branches in various cities. However, we were short-staffed at that time; now we can concentrate on this matter."

"But this transition will be painful; the enhancer organizations can only offer a shipping fee between 1,000 to 5,000 mushrooms per order. So, if this year's revenue could be one-thousandth of the previous, it would already be good..."

Zhou Yi encouraged her, "Don't have a mental burden over the numbers, proceed in an orderly fashion."

"Yes, Chairman. I will look for other profit points and strive to gradually balance the expenses."

Qian Su quickly adjusted and embraced the challenges of the new year.

For the hospital, as usual, Feng Ying represented Chief Da Vinci at the meeting.

She wore a signal receiver and said to Zhou Yi: "Chairman, the hospital side has not been affected; our main job is still to treat patients with common diseases."

"High-risk operations are only attempted here, and they are related to willingness to take risks rather than equipment and environment."

"Additionally, Chief Da Vinci very much supports your decision."

Feng Ying said, "The chief believes that semi-cultivated entities should not be abandoned but should be regarded as vegetative mechanical life forms, and we should find ways to help them."

"He requests setting up a specific department for semi-cultivated entities in our hospital. Complete physical examinations for the semi-cultivated entities should be performed first, then install the Time Anchor. Run and observe the program repairs, all conducted in the hospital along with short-term observation, to ensure the full awakening and repair of the semi-cultivated entities."

Zhou Yi looked at 703 next to him: "What do you think?"

"With guidance from professional Mechanical Doctors, that would of course be best. It helps a lot with the repair and awakening of the semi-cultivated entities, exactly what is needed."

The mechanical dog was delighted.

"Then let's do this, set up the department for semi-cultivated entities, and if the outside world needs to repair and awaken semi-cultivated entities, then Maria Hospital will officially provide related services."

Feng Ying nodded: "Yes, the hospital will make the necessary preparations."

Zhou Yi then said, "I have another announcement to make today. The company officially establishes the Program Department, with members including 703, Walker, Xiao Xiang, and Number Nine, with 703 as the head of the department."

This meeting lasted a long time.

Facing the blockade sanctions of the Mechanical City, the company faced more challenges than it appeared to be, causing a series of massive chain reactions.

Wasteland Development Company was recognized by various parties based on the credit rating of Mechanical Cities; now, a lot of things had become unknown.

...

After the meeting.

703 sought out Zhou Yi alone.

"Chairman, I apologize for bringing huge trouble and losses to you and the company. If I had surrendered earlier, maybe these problems wouldn't have arisen."

The mechanical dog said in a low voice.

"Don't feel burdened; this was my choice."

Zhou Yi felt a sense of relief.

The greatest pressure was when things were unresolved.

After the sanctions began, the die was cast, and now it was only necessary to consider how to respond and restructure.

"Now that you are leading the Program Department, doing well in program development and testing for the company is the best way to repay me."

Zhou Yi patted the dog's head: "I hold you in high regard."

"Thank you, Chairman."

703's single eye glowed: "I won't let you down."

"In Chuneng City previously, I introduced two companions to join the Mechanical Knight Order; they each have their own talents. I would like to recommend them to you."

Zhou Yi nodded: "Let them come over for me to see."

"Of course!"

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