As soon as Castle returned to New York, he dove straight into his mechanical lab, using the world-class equipment he had sourced from across the globe to modify the satellite ground receivers. With the help of Big Ivan and his team of muscle-bound Russian bodyguards, the installations and final adjustments were completed. After rigorous testing confirmed that everything was functioning as intended, more than a month had passed yet again!
Feeling satisfied, Castle finally allowed himself a break. This whole project had consumed nearly three months of intense mental and physical effort, from the moment he and Harry first arrived at Hughes Aerospace with their hidden agenda to the final successful installation of the ground systems.
For Castle, this had been a grueling process.
That said, he hadn't been completely isolated from the world during this time—he had been keeping an eye on global events as well.
As expected, Duhovich's Eastern European country had fully descended into war, with civil conflict raging uncontrollably. But what piqued Castle's interest even more was how Moz had orchestrated a response to Japan's involvement in the White House attack, avenging the insult suffered by President Benjamin Arthur.
Castle had to admit—there was a stark contrast between how he and Moz handled things. If Castle had been in Arthur's position, he would have stormed in guns blazing for immediate revenge.
But Arthur, as President, didn't have the luxury of acting on personal vendettas so openly.
Fortunately, he had Moz.
Now serving as National Security Advisor, the short, bald schemer had devised a particularly sinister strategy that left Japan in an even worse predicament than before.
What did Moz do?
Simple.
He had President Arthur use his executive authority to propose a total ban on all Japanese seafood imports to the U.S., citing concerns about radiation contamination following the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
And the excuse?
It was perfect—both righteous and convenient.
The U.S. simply couldn't be sure whether Japanese seafood was radiation-free.
What? The tests show no contamination?
Well, maybe our equipment isn't sensitive enough.
And even if the radiation levels are within safe limits, who can guarantee that consuming those fish won't lead to mutations in the long run?
This move alone was already a devastating blow to Japan's struggling economy, which was still recovering from the earthquake and nuclear meltdown.
But Moz wasn't done yet.
His real objective wasn't just to cut off Japan's seafood exports to the U.S.—those were insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Instead, he used this pretext to justify broader trade restrictions, effectively blocking many of Japan's key exports to America.
To make matters worse, Moz also ensured that the U.S. formally notified European allies of the seafood ban, further damaging Japan's export market.
The fallout was brutal.
Of course, under normal circumstances, even a U.S. president wouldn't be able to push such a drastic trade restriction through Congress without facing significant opposition. But after the White House attack, key lawmakers on Capitol Hill had already been briefed on Japan's behind-the-scenes role in funding and supplying Amir Barkawi's group.
The response?
Congress had gleefully used this as an opportunity to shift the full financial burden of U.S. military bases in Japan onto the Japanese government.
For the first time in years, the Pentagon was thrilled—military budgets had been tightening, and now they had successfully offloaded the cost of stationing troops in Japan onto the very country they were supposed to be protecting.
Even Japanese lobbyists in Congress knew better than to interfere this time. The political winds had shifted, and no one wanted to be seen defending Japan in the aftermath of the White House attack.
As a result, with little resistance, Arthur's administration passed a temporary executive order severely limiting imports from Japan.
Was this a self-sacrificing move on Arthur's part, hurting Japan without any direct benefit to himself?
Not quite.
Arthur knew Castle had an unresolvable grudge against Japan, and after nearly losing his own life due to their schemes, he was determined to make them pay. He stubbornly refused to negotiate with Japanese envoys sent to plead their case, rejecting all attempts at diplomacy.
He wasn't interested in personal gain—he just wanted to make them suffer.
But Castle knew better.
Moz would never propose a plan that didn't offer some kind of long-term benefit.
The key detail? The trade restrictions were temporary.
This wasn't about permanently crippling Japan—it was about leverage.
Politicians, especially those at Arthur's level, never let an opportunity go to waste. They would milk this situation for all it was worth before eventually renegotiating terms in a way that maximized U.S. interests.
Right now, they were simply making Japan desperate.
Castle had no complaints. He despised Japan, both in his past life and his present one. Whatever Moz and Arthur planned to do to them, Castle would happily sit back and watch.
With his satellites now fully functional, Castle turned his attention to fine-tuning their operations.
Unlike a consumer-grade smartphone, which just needed to be charged and switched on, satellites required extensive post-launch calibration and testing.
This was especially true for Castle's heavily modified units.
His three "communication satellites" were now fully capable of reconnaissance and surveillance. If he weren't so valuable to the U.S. military-industrial complex, there was no way he'd be allowed to own such advanced equipment.
Of course, the Pentagon had already taken an interest in him.
Hughes Aerospace, with its deep ties to the defense sector, had undoubtedly informed the military about Castle's activities.
After all, Castle had spent months inside their facilities, modifying satellites using their own tools and personnel. Hughes would have to be blind not to notice.
But there were three key reasons why they hadn't intervened:
Ownership – Castle had paid in full, making the satellites legally his. Legal Safeguards – Castle had signed a waiver, forfeiting all post-sale support, meaning Hughes wasn't liable for whatever he did with them. Technical Intrigue – Hughes' engineers suspected that Castle's modifications had turned these into next-generation multi-role satellites, possibly even featuring low-orbit synchronization capabilities—a level of technology they themselves had yet to master.
Naturally, they were eager to find out how he had done it.
They had even approached Castle, proposing a partnership for his next batch of satellites.
Their pitch? Instead of modifying the satellites after production, why not collaborate from the design phase and integrate his technology directly?
That way, he wouldn't have to go through the trouble of making manual modifications later.
Castle hadn't outright rejected them, but he also wasn't foolish enough to accept immediately.
And since Hughes was so desperate to uncover the secrets behind his work, they had already started leveraging their contacts within the Pentagon.
The military was now fully aware of what Castle had done.
What happened next would depend on how the Pentagon decided to play their hand.
______
(≧◡≦) ♡ Support me and read 20 chapters ahead – patreon.com/Mutter
For every 50 Power Stones, one extra chapter will be released on Saturday.