Two Realms Shuttle Gate: Don't Call Me a Demon!

Every day, a huge amount of money flows in. Besides the transit fees, the ships passing through the Kra Isthmus Canal also bring enormous profits by docking, repairing and maintaining their vessels, replenishing resources, and through crew expenditures at the canal docks. In the past, several countries around the Malacca Strait made a fortune this way.

Temasek, a small country with a population of just a few million, attained a per capita GDP of 90,000 US Dollars, surpassing many developed countries, thanks to this.

But now, with the Malacca Strait blocked, all this money is going to Jieke Group.

With the loss of maritime income, the three countries surrounding the Malacca Strait, Johor, and Jawa are still managing. After all, Johor has a population of over 30 million, and Jawa has over 200 million people with land areas in the hundreds of thousands to millions of square kilometers. They do not solely rely on the Malacca Strait for their livelihood since they have other domestic industries providing income.

But Temasek is different. With a population of only a few million, relatively weak industries, scarce domestic resources, insufficient freshwater supply (relying on Johor for water), it is an isolated small island country.

The prosperity of Temasek's most important industries, such as oil refining, trans-shipment trade, and goods storage, all depend on the Malacca Strait. Now that the Malacca Strait is blocked, they have immediately lost most of their economic income, making it difficult to import resources from outside.

Being an island country, Temasek relies almost entirely on maritime transport for resource imports. Many cargo ships fear entanglement with mutated seaweed around the propellers, resulting in shipping being disrupted and immediately leading to shortages of essential goods in Temasek. Food shortages have started to appear.

With its small and poor land unable to support its few million citizens, the limited land is not enough for buildings and factories. In previous years, they have relied on land reclamation to expand their territory, and all food supplies were imported.

As a result, ten days after the Malacca Strait was blocked, prices of essential goods in Temasek skyrocketed, with food prices increasing tens of times, completely dependent on supplies from Johor to the north.

Temasek is located at the southern tip of Johor, separated by a narrow strait with a one-kilometer-long land bridge, created by land reclamation from the seabed. Johor's materials are transported to Temasek via this land bridge.

However, Johor showed no consideration for Temasek being its neighbor or a member of the Thousand Island Strategic Alliance, ruthlessly increasing prices. Prices of essential goods were raised more than tenfold to satisfy the capitalists within Johor.

Soaring prices and the blocking of the Malacca Strait led to extreme dissatisfaction among Temasek's millions of citizens with the incompetence and cowardice of the government, prompting massive protests that soon spread throughout Temasek.

Under the manipulation of vested interests, the protests quickly turned into riots, with not only civilians but also the military defecting and rebelling.

Within a few days, the original Temasek government fell, and the new leadership immediately shifted its full allegiance to Beautiful Country.

Politically, economically, and militarily, they heavily depended on Beautiful Country, openly inviting Beautiful Country's military to station on their land to build bases.

Simultaneously, previously suppressed public opinion in Temasek resurfaced. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

Under pressure from Jieke Group, the former Temasek government had issued a ban against pointing fingers at Jieke Group for blocking the Malacca Strait.

But with the new government in power, all controls were lifted, and Temasek officials publicly criticized Jieke Group. The newly appointed President spoke to the media: "To control the international golden waterway, they maliciously released genetically mutated seaweed, causing a navigation paralysis in the Malacca Strait. Jieke Group must give us justice."

Temasek's boldness in voicing such statements was beyond what a small country should dare to exhibit.

The real source of Temasek's courage came from its backing, Beautiful Country.

Almost simultaneously, Beautiful Country announced a large-scale military exercise with the Thousand Island Strategic Alliance, dispatching two aircraft carrier battle groups toward the Indian Ocean sea area.

Even before the military exercise began, international criticism of Jieke Group surged, with attacks on Jieke Group's polity, economy, and practices from all sides.

It was evident to any observer that Beautiful Country couldn't tolerate the loss of the strategically vital Malacca Strait and was taking action.

The interests tied to the world's golden waterways are too significant, involving not only economic profits but also critical geopolitical strategic benefits.

In July 1956, Egypt announced the nationalization of the Suez Canal Company, which was actually controlled by Great Britain and France. In October of the same year, Great Britain and France launched a military operation against Egypt.

In 1989, as the time approached for Panama to reclaim control of the Panama Canal, Beautiful Country invaded Panama under the guise of human rights and anti-drug efforts. The so-called Operation Just Cause was a lightning war that, in just 15 hours, overthrew the Panamanian government, aimed at seizing control of the canal, disregarding any pretense of American-style justice.

It can be seen that golden waterway canals are such strategic points that great powers are willing to use force to compete for them.

The Malacca Strait is the world's largest and busiest golden waterway. Now that it is blocked, replaced by the Kra Isthmus Canal, this maritime lifeline being controlled by Jieke Group is something Beautiful Country cannot accept.