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Chapter 32: Wise Choice - 1
Chapter 32: Wise Choice - 1
Chapter 32: Wise Choice - 1
Less than an hour after the incident occurred, the world was abuzz with China’s anomaly.
Countless photos and videos captured the chaos in Beijing, leaving no room for doubt.
However, it took a considerable amount of time to uncover the truth.
And it was the United States that came closest to unraveling the mystery.
—A plane terror attack occurred in Beijing.
—The Hall of Supreme Harmony, acting as the White House, vanished, and the top nine ranks of the Communist Party, under the rule of the President, died simultaneously.
—This is an unprecedented event in Chinese history, and there are concerns about a significant power vacuum in the meantime.
—The passenger plane, which was the cause of the terrorist attack, is a business jet owned by the Chinese NCC Group, but many aspects of it remain unexplained.
—Most of the passengers are Chinese, with a few Koreans, but it’s difficult to determine their connection to the incident.
—Currently, Beijing is under lockdown, but there is no clear chain of command, and the airspace has not been sealed off.
—In short, China is currently in a state of utter chaos and confusion.
The fact that China did not seal off its airspace despite the plane terror attack spoke volumes about how tumultuous the situation was.
Following the United States, other countries also mobilized their intelligence agencies to uncover the truth behind the incident.
Global stock markets trembled and rapidly plummeted, reminiscent of the speed at which the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded in 2020.
All flights to Beijing were suspended, and shipping companies also halted their cargo vessels.
In this turmoil, South Korea and North Korea found themselves in the same predicament.
The South Korean government immediately convened crisis meetings, and companies hurriedly enforced site inspections.
However, there was little they could do from the outside.
At best, they could dispatch advanced surveillance ships to monitor the situation’s progress.
Until now, there hadn’t been significant concerns.
After all, China was a large country, and everyone believed that they could quickly recover from a terrorist attack.
However, when news broke that not only the President but also the top nine ranks of the Chinese Communist Party had died simultaneously, South Korean society was struck by an enormous shock.
—So, the business jet that took off from Incheon Airport was involved in the incident in Zhajin City?
—It’s not Zhajin City, it’s the South Central Sea. That’s where the Hall of Supreme Harmony is located. It’s like the Blue House of South Korea.
—Hey, aren’t we in big trouble? They said it took off from Incheon Airport.
—It belongs to a Chinese group, what does it have to do with us? The captain and passengers are all Chinese.
—But didn’t they say that Lee Hong-sik and other pro-China lawmakers were on board and escaped?
—Ah, we should have caught them and executed them. I wanted to see those bastards standing in the photo line.
—They’re powerful people, can we really do that?
—Anyway, it feels refreshing that they all died at once.
However, the blow to the Korean economy from this incident was not insignificant.
With Beijing under lockdown and China in nationwide turmoil, imports and exports were brought to a standstill.
The daily trade volume between South Korea and China amounted to nearly 200,000 tons in weight.
With all of that coming to a halt, there was bound to be damage.
Chinese food products started disappearing from the shelves of supermarkets, and many business owners who relied on China were in trouble.
As time went on, increasingly alarming news started to emerge.
Rumors even spread that the Western Front Commander, who had been arrested for the hijacking incident, had instigated a coup.
Numerous unidentified videos, seemingly taken in China, were uploaded on YouTube, showing dozens of tanks and armored vehicles in motion.
—A coup in Beijing, is that what happened?
—Hong Kong closed down, and now Beijing is in the same situation.
—Isn’t the current uprising due to the Northern Front Commander’s death, which angered his subordinates?
—If the Deputy Commander takes command, shouldn’t his subordinates be fine with that?
—Well, they’re different from us. The Northern Front Commander is a real heavyweight, even among the elites. He’s a politician who can even make waves in the central government.
—In short, the local king is dead. And the rural king was arrested but has now escaped and is believed to be instigating a coup.
—Crazy… How are they going to resolve this?
—They can’t. The surviving officers are all on a similar power level, so there will be an intense power struggle.
—Please, let the chaos continue like this!
—China is such a great country. I hope there’s more of this.
And they were walking along the corridor of the Settler Ship, the vessel that maintained and perpetuated the state of affairs that had led to the current state of China’s future.
…
They walked around the ship’s interior with Arma, receiving reports.
“We’ve completed repairs up to 43%.”
“That’s fast. It was originally projected to take three years.”
“I suppose having the core of a Titan-class plague makes a difference.”
“We should be able to resurface around the end of this year, right?”
“Yes, it will have been almost a year since we submerged underwater.”
Once the Settler Ship resurfaced, they would be able to commence full-scale mining operations.
The moon was heavily monitored, making it difficult, and they would likely have to utilize the asteroid belt.
The first outcome would probably be the establishment of a space base at a Lagrange point.
However, they might have to revise the roadmap while observing humanity’s expansion into space.
The current state of humanity was not completely oblivious to the possibilities at the Lagrange points, so there was a sense that something was there to be discovered.
“However, there is one issue.”
“It’s about the appearance of the Settler Ship, right? It might be completely different from what was originally planned.”
“As long as the functionality is fine, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
The United Human Federation successfully replicated most of the systems excluding the core while fighting the plague and incorporated them into the construction of their warships.
The most recent outcome was the spacecraft Settler Ship.
To put it a bit exaggeratedly, this spacecraft was essentially an artificial plague itself.
So, even if it was influenced by the core of a Titan-class plague, there shouldn’t be any significant issues…
That’s how they saw it.
“If anything strange happens, immediately halt the repairs and remove the core. Let it serve only for corrosion.”
Although it would extend the timeline, it was better than becoming a space monster.
“Yes. And the output of the ether fusion reactor has increased by 25%, and the main bridge repairs have been completed.”
The main bridge was the command center for the entire expedition fleet, including the Settler Ship.
The captain was Colonel Yu Ji-ha, and the fleet admiral was Major General Vasili Gorskikh.
However, neither of them had the chance to properly sit in their seats or even see the Settler Ship.
They were too occupied with urgently defending against the large-scale onslaught of the plague fleet.
Entering the maintained main bridge, they approached the admiral’s seat.
‘Major General Vasili… You mentioned that we should go together to the Prophet’s homeland.’
Major General Vasili Gorskikh was a close friend of Colonel Yu Ji-ha and a charismatic and entertaining person.
He had a great interest in the Warp Gate located on the ninth planet, Nox.
“They say that beyond the universe, there is the Prophet’s homeland. Personally, I don’t think there are ordinary aliens.”
“Do you know anything about that place?”
“It’s an unknown part of the universe. But considering the kindness the Prophet showed us, it shouldn’t be a gloomy place like the solar system. Maybe, who knows? Perhaps there are fiery aliens waiting for us.”
“If they’re fiery enough to attack us, that’s a big problem.”
“Then we’ll embark on a great conquest war! You’ll lead the vanguard. With your skills that can defeat metal space monsters, you should be able to handle any aliens that come our way.”
With a mischievous twinkle in his eye, Yu Ji-ha couldn’t help but smile.
In fact, it was speculated by various organizations that there was a civilization in the Prophet’s homeland, even if they weren’t fiery aliens.
The Artifact Analysis Agency, ARK, in particular, had released reports suggesting the existence of a proper civilization based on their analysis of various artifacts.
“It takes about 50 years to reach that place at the cruising speed of the Settler Ship. By examining this navigation chart, we can see that there is a planet around the star, which is likely the Goldilocks Zone.”
Coming back from his reminiscence, Yu Ji-ha asked, “When will the Golden Record arrive on the Moon?”
The Golden Record referred to the records of Earth sent out into the beyond aboard Voyager 1, which had left the solar system.
After discovering Voyager 1, the Prophet left behind an extensive record on the Golden Record and sent it back to the solar system.
The United Human Federation discovered this fact late and secured the record but lost it during the war with the plague.
Parts of the navigation charts were also lost, so at present, they had no idea how to reach the Prophet’s homeland.
“It’s estimated to be around 2030, give or take.”
“Then we should have already established a presence on the Moon before that.”
“According to the roadmap, Lunar Exploration is planned for the fourth quarter of this year.”
Starfield.
It is the name of a company dedicated to space exploration and also refers to the project itself.
The company had recently acquired Narrow Space Center and signed contracts with various component manufacturers, absorbing their workforce.
The CEO, an android named Park Hyun-su, is directly controlled by Alma.
Having already gone through numerous press releases and interviews, he masquerades as a talented foreign scientist in the public eye.
“We’ll have a tight schedule for Lunar exploration in the fourth quarter.”
“Since the ion thruster is a single-burst type, the combustion test will be straightforward. The problem is that once this gets revealed, everything will be turned upside down again.”
Starfield’s planned engine does not use conventional liquid fuel.
They intend to use an ion thruster modeled after Plague’s propulsion system.
They utilize black metal in various states of phase transition using a core and accelerate and expel the resulting gas element.
Although the ion engine operates on a similar principle, it is an entirely different piece of equipment.
Once this propulsion system is unveiled, including all existing engines, they will be completely obsolete.
Not only is the efficiency incomparable, but the unit cost is also much cheaper, and the production period is shorter.
“They probably won’t want to be dependent on me for space industry needs…”
“If you dislike that, you’ll have to accept inefficiency.”
“I might even consider giving up on the space industry. For that, I want to have a sweet candy on the Moon.”
“Well… How about Unoptenium? It can be linked to future diamond semiconductors. Of course, it can also enable nuclear fusion.”
“Room-temperature superconductors are too much for now. Let’s start with high-temperature superconductors.”
Although they’re called high-temperature, they will operate at around minus 5,60 degrees relative to the environment.
With just a small investment, it meets the conditions to be widely used in the industry.
Unoptenium is a substance found on Jupiter.
It was discovered by the United Human Federation during their fight against the Plague and their exploration of Jupiter’s atmosphere.
Although it appears to be metallic at first glance, it is not a metal and exhibits superconductivity at room temperature.
Its true nature is likely the excrement of the Plague.
At that time, Lucia speculated that the excrement left by the Plague underwent phase transition under Jupiter’s immense atmospheric pressure, turning into Unoptenium.
“It seems even space monsters have impressive excrement. Who knows if they pee as well. It could be useful.”
“In that case, let’s mix Unoptenium with other elements to create compounds.”
“Let’s bury it on the Moon and pretend we discovered it.”
“That’s a childish idea, like a little kid finding treasure in an amusement park.”
“Well, compared to the Prophet, we could be considered little kids, right? We’re just young children taking our first steps into this vast playground called the universe.”
“Maybe more like babies who fell out of the cradle.”
“But we’re back now, so it’s fine.”
For the first time, he sat in the Admiral’s seat.
It felt awkward at first, but as time passed, it became familiar, as if it were his rightful place.
Sitting in this seat, his role would be to rebuild the United Human Federation and eradicate the Plague.
However, his tasks were not entirely gone.
The Prophet’s homeland.
He must go there.
For the future of humanity lies there.
…
The site for the first foreign black metal battery factory was announced.
It was peculiar that the locations chosen were Sacheon in Gyeongnam Province and Yeosu in Jeonnam Province, not in the metropolitan area.
Recently, companies preferred to establish themselves in the metropolitan area due to the efficiency and concentration of management.
Various speculations were made, such as political judgments based on their southern locations or excessive bleeding of local governments.
But the real reason was the proximity to the ports.
Even if they didn’t know about black metal batteries, it was more convenient to transport the ores by ship, and for that, a port city was necessary.
Additionally, they had to consider the connectivity with the future megacity to be constructed in the Pacific.
It was more convenient to connect via a hyperloop train if it was a port city.
In fact, the battery factories being built in these two cities were not owned by Yu Ji-ha or affiliated with the Silla Group.
It was a joint venture between Germany’s renowned automobile companies, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Volkswagen Group, which formed a partnership to create the company AutoBattery Co., Ltd.
Both the establishment and operation of the factories were the responsibility of AutoBattery, so it had little to do with Yu Ji-ha.
However, since they provided the crucial high-resolution disassemblers and collected fees, it was difficult to completely draw a line and say they were completely separate.
Therefore, he had to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for a factory he had no intention of maintaining, along with soulless applause from politicians and businessmen.
Clap, clap, clap, clap…
‘What a fuss this is.’
The legislature of the United Korea had treated the maintenance of the country’s dignity as something trivial.
But he swore he could hardly find an event as meaningless as this groundbreaking ceremony.
‘Why all this grand stage without actually starting the construction?’
‘Why did the participants gather for a commemorative photo?’
‘Why were half-naked women shaking their hips, calling it a pre-show performance?’
‘Why should they applaud when the honorable guest was entering?’
‘Why would a politician who had nothing to do with it give a speech…’
‘Let’s quit…’
He thought he was quite familiar with the politics maintained by the Republic of Korea, but that was a big misconception.
He bit his tongue during the nearly four-hour inauguration ceremony.
‘An enemy as formidable as the Plague.’
The only fortunate thing was that the end was in sight.
The inauguration ceremony ended with him wielding a golden shovel, digging a single shovel into the beautifully dressed sand dunes.
As the grandiose BGM resounded and confetti exploded, he thought it was finally over and managed to endure it.
“Finally… it’s over…”
The Chairman of the organization approached him chuckling.
“You look like you’re about to die. Well, it’s not easy for people these days to handle events like this. It’s good for you to get used to it. You’re someone who attracts attention.”
Despite the event being over, many people were approaching him.
It was for the sake of taking a photo.
Those photos would likely be used for the campaign of politicians or the promotion of entrepreneurs.
He stood up, brushing off his knees, and the CEO of Auto Battery, Joseph Bender, approached with an interpreter and extended his hand for a handshake.
“Nice to meet you, Vice Chairman. Thanks to your great attention, FoxBattery Group has become the first in the world to install Black Metal batteries.”
Of course, it was Silla Auto’s Windrunner that was the first car to be equipped with Black Metal batteries.
However, Silla Auto didn’t have a supply chain overseas except for the United States, so it couldn’t truly be called global.
From that perspective, the recent topic in the electric vehicle industry was undoubtedly about who would be the first to implement Black Metal batteries.
German automotive companies, including the Volkswagen Group, presented favorable conditions with an obviously clean attitude and were the first to wield the golden shovel.
Following closely behind were Ford and GM from the United States, pushing their initiatives at almost the same pace.
Just looking at the fact that the groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for next week confirms it.
While Germany and the United States were busy making moves, Japan was in a state of urgency.
Having trusted only their own Black Metal, they were now completely exposed, which must have been quite a shock.
Toyota, in particular, suffered a severe blow.
Due to their direct involvement in the boycott incident, their stock prices plummeted time and time again.
The only way to recover from this was to secure the supply of Black Metal, but it wasn’t an easy task.
Black Metal production within Korea was already allocated to other parties, so there was no hope for Toyota.
It wasn’t just a fire under their feet; their whole lower body was engulfed in flames.
If they made a wrong move, they risked losing their market share in the United States to German cars.
The priority here was to quickly appoint a new CEO, visit Korea, and secure at least enough supply for Lexus.
However, the decision-making process became entangled, and they found themselves stuck in a series of meetings without reaching any conclusions.
Some officials, still unable to shake off the view of Korea as a younger sibling, argued that they should invite maintenance to Japan, only to face fierce criticism.
In any case, with the situation as it was, German car companies had to maintain their composure.
If Japan were to lose its market share in the United States, who would benefit?
They maintained a slight smile.
“There’s no reason to reject a reasonable proposal.”
Japan, Apple, and Future Motors fell behind because they didn’t make reasonable proposals.
They shook hands and walked through the event venue, engaging in conversation.
“The autonomous driving car test in K-City was incredibly impressive.”
“Did you come and see it firsthand?”
“It was not me, but the Chairman who came. Anyway, the Chairman was deeply impressed and expressed a desire to test it in Germany.”
In fact, Arma’s autonomous driving algorithm had already been designed considering road conditions in various countries.
If they just imported the modules and installed them, they could be used immediately.
“Doesn’t Volkswagen’s autonomous driving module reach Level 3?”
He shook his head.
“It’s a bit awkward to say it in this setting, but something was different. Silla Auto’s algorithm.”
Because it was designed by Arma.
She utilized a portion of the billions of computation units to create a vast virtual world, allowing over 100 million autonomous vehicles to run.
In the process, even rare and peculiar situations that might occur once every ten years were reproduced and thoroughly analyzed.
At this moment, its completion continued to improve, surpassing human driving skills by far.
It could achieve Level 5 at any time, but the practical issue of liability in case of accidents held them back.
Joseph Bender looked around and lowered his voice.
“So, what I’m saying is, I would like to import Silla Auto’s SOC on a trial basis.”
“There should be no problem. If you send a proposal, we will positively review it.”
“Thank you. I should take my leave now. Many people are eager to meet the Vice Chairman.”
Bender quickly slipped away, keeping an eye on the surroundings.
The person who took his place was Lee Hyung-seok, the chairman of Future Motors Group, whom Future Motors Group’s Vice Chairman, Yu Ji-ha, didn’t particularly want to meet.
To Yu Ji-ha, Lee Hyung-seok could be considered a Brother figure, but since they had severed ties 16 years ago, it didn’t hold much significance.
Besides, even his father conducted separate ancestral rites and didn’t mention it.
However, this person seemed to have a different perspective.
He stood in front of Yu Ji-ha, blocking his path, accompanied by his secretary.
Clearly, age couldn’t deceive bloodlines, as even at his age, Lee Hyung-seok stood tall and imposing.
“How long are you going to continue like this?”
“What are you suddenly talking about?”
“I heard you ignored the proposal sent by Seong Joon.”
“Well… It was an absurd proposal. I threw it in the trash.”
“What?”
The expression on Chairman Lee Hyung-seok’s face twisted noticeably.
“You think it doesn’t matter?”
“Don’t use that tone with me, the way you speak to those under you. I won’t listen it anymore.”
“You have no respect for your elders.”
Yu Ji-ha smirked.
“Didn’t you tell me not to even look at the main house for 16 years? Now you suddenly want to find your manners among those less worthy than yourself?”
“While I was away, this idiot became insolent…”
“Just so you know, stop right there. Otherwise, some intimidating individuals will restrain you, Chairman.”
Lee Hyung-seok quickly looked around and noticed four individuals who didn’t quite fit the atmosphere of the event.
They were probably agents from the National Intelligence Service.
Lee Hyung-seok spoke in a harsh, malicious voice.
“Fine. Since you’re being so straightforward, I’ll abandon my courtesy and speak bluntly.”
“We may have severed ties 16 years ago, but… anyway, I’ll listen.”
“About that Black Metal battery for Future Motors Group. I won’t be stingy with the unit price.”
“In this case, please address Chairman Shin and make the request.”
“Does it matter? Even if Future Motors Group struggles?”
“What does that have to do with me?”
He looked bewildered.
“You don’t seem to understand. Future Motors Group has over 30 affiliated companies. I don’t even know the exact number of subcontractors. It means millions of people are directly or indirectly affected.”
“Are you saying that millions of people suffer because of my wrong choices?”
“That’s exactly what we’re trying to prevent by having this conversation. I won’t say much more. Supply as much as Germany’s Big Three automakers need. That should be enough for now to catch our breath.”
“Sorry, but you should address that to Chairman Shin, not me.”
“Who?”
“Han Sung Group’s Honorary Chairman, Shin Ju-ho. He is the chairman of the committee responsible for domestic black metal distribution rights.”
Lee Hyung-seok’s face turned crimson.
He must have thought this person was making fun of him.
“What nonsense. Your words alone can change everything. Why should I care about some committee?”
“It’s important enough since I delegated the authority. From now on, have a good conversation with them.”
If it was Chairman Shin from Han Sung Group, even Lee Hyung-seok, the chairman of Future Motors Group, couldn’t act recklessly.
He was called Chairman even when he was young.
As Lee Hyung-seok turned away, his voice became even more intense.
“Make a wise choice. Are you going to ruin the domestic automotive industry? Are you willing to undermine our identity as Koreans?”
“We need to speak clearly. It’s Future Motors Group that’s crumbling.”
“I thought someone of your age would understand that it’s synonymous.”
With Future Motors Group holding an 85% market share, it wasn’t an incorrect statement.
The remaining 10% consisted of foreign cars, and Silla Auto accounted for a mere 5%.
“I suppose that’s been the case so far. But it won’t be the same in the future.”
“We’ll see how long that arrogance lasts.”
Lee Hyung-seok turned his head and raised it, facing away from Yu Ji-ha.
No matter how much he thought about it, that person was unfit to lead the Future Group.
He was merely someone who inherited it as the eldest son.
It wasn’t too strange for him to lack a sense of situational awareness, considering he was born into a chaebol and had always thrived.
“My father is much better in that regard.”
Chairman Yu Kyung-seok understood his limitations well.
He didn’t possess exceptional abilities, but from Ji-ha’s perspective, he was somewhat similar.
If that were the case, Yu Ji-ha could lead the Future Motors Group in the future.
Yu Ji-ha had no time or room to handle such trivial matters.
Note:
A Lagrange point is a location in space where the combined gravitational forces of two large bodies, such as Earth and the sun or Earth and the moon, equal the centrifugal force felt by a much smaller third body. The interaction of the forces creates a point of equilibrium where a spacecraft may be “parked” to make observations.