Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Chapter 61
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Dragon Plate II
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Na Gang-in said.
"We have to test whether that thin thing can stop a bullet or not."
The civilian bulletproof vest maker offered some advice.
"Fair enough. That's how you learn—experimenting and breaking them one by one."
He boasted, pointing to the bulletproof vest he'd made himself.
"I've long since passed that stage and can produce finished products like this."
AI Jeon Ji-in evaluated the man's bulletproof vest.
"By today's standards?"
"And ours?"
AI Jeon Ji-in boasted.
"How does that one stack up against ours?"
Na Gang-in said with a proud look on his face.
"So I'm wearing 2082-model body armor."
"Huh?"
Na Gang-in looked a bit flustered.
"Ji-in, aren't you making me 2082-grade defensive gear?"
"What about the materials?"
"Uh... You said you don't know how to make those materials."
Na Gang-in understood that much.
"Anyway, the vest we're making is better than that one. That's what matters."
Na Gang-in chuckled and headed into the pistol range.
"Yeah. Yours is the best."
The civilian maker asked the range manager.
"By the way, you charge for repairs if the dummy gets bullet holes, right? That thin bracelet will get penetrated 100% by a gunshot. And with a pistol, if it misses, it might hit the torso instead of the forearm?"
The manager explained.
"We'll charge for repairs because your shot damaged the dummy's torso."
"Huh? Why? I didn't make any holes."
"The impact was bigger than it looked—it cracked the dummy's torso. Needs fixing."
Na Gang-in loaded just one round into the pistol.
AI Jeon Ji-in explained the gun.
"Got it."
The moment Na Gang-in raised the pistol, he pulled the trigger at the dummy's arm. The 9mm round flew straight into the dummy's left forearm.
Sparks erupted from the impact site. They spread across the entire bracelet in an instant—so fast it looked like the whole thing ignited at once.
The sparks flashed briefly before vanishing.
Na Gang-in ejected the magazine, confirmed no rounds remained, and set the pistol down.
Lee Tae-ho worked in the film industry, but his family ran Ironclad Engineering, so he had some knowledge of defensive gear. Even he had never seen anything like that.
"Gang-in, what the hell did you make? Sparks were flying everywhere from that bracelet!"
"Let's check it out together."
Na Gang-in and Lee Tae-ho walked toward the dummy.
Lee Tae-ho peered at the bulletproof bracelet.
"Whoa. Up close, it's totally wrecked. All these tiny components are crushed."
Na Gang-in removed the bracelet from the dummy's forearm.
"But it didn't get penetrated."
"True. I figured it would've been."
The range manager, following them, unwrapped the silicone tape around the dummy's arm and looked puzzled.
"Huh? Why is this..."
Lee Tae-ho asked.
"What's wrong?"
"The dummy's forearm is fine."
"Of course it is—the bracelet blocked the bullet."
"No, there's no damage at all."
"What?"
The manager pointed to the torso where the bulletproof vest had been tested earlier. Each impact site was dented with cracks.
"Hard to compare directly since this was a rifle test, but it should've sustained some impact damage from the bullet..."
Lee Tae-ho checked the dummy's forearm again.
"Huh?"
There was a slight indentation where the bullet hit, but compared to the cracked torso, the damage was negligible.
Lee Tae-ho asked Na Gang-in.
"How is this possible?"
Na Gang-in held up the ruined bracelet.
"It absorbed the impact completely. You saw the sparks, right? The bracelet shattered instead, blocking that one pistol round."
"That thin bracelet?"
"Just the one shot."
"How?"
Na Gang-in shrugged.
"Guess the silicone tape wrapping helped."
"Uh... maybe?"
Na Gang-in had completed Ironclad Engineering's security check today and pocketed ten million won.
As a bonus, he'd even live-fired the defensive gear he was working on.
As he left Ironclad Engineering, Na Gang-in said.
"Made a killing today, all around."
"Since I made some cash, let's eat well."
Ironclad Engineering's division head Lee Tae-seong frowned slightly at the expense report.
"One hour of checking for ten million won? That's ten million an hour?"
The staffer reported.
"In return, he pointed out three issues with our server security system."
"Not that urgent, though, right?"
"Still worth more than ten million."
"I see. Pay him."
"Yes. And, um..."
"Something else?"
The staffer said cautiously.
"There was an unusual incident at the public shooting range."
Lee Tae-seong showed interest.
"Did they test some good gear?"
Ironclad Engineering opened its external range to civilians. If civilian-tested gear performed well, it was reported to the relevant department immediately.
That department analyzed it—if there was something to learn, they did; if the tech was good, they negotiated to buy it from the developer.
"Watch the footage first."
The reporting staffer played the video on a tablet PC.
THO Entertainment president Lee Tae-ho was summoned to Ironclad Engineering's president's office.
President Lee Jeong-min said.
"I told you to come work at the company, but you go off directing movies like some hotshot. You weren't even any good at it."
"Dad, that's old news from when I was doing indies. Now I'm a top producer in Chungmuro. Our company made bank on this film."
"That money flies away if the next one flops."
"No, if I crowdsource investors for the film, even if it tanks, it won't be that bad..."
"I know you. Good script comes along, you'll invest personally again."
Lee Tae-ho smiled awkwardly.
He was already planning to personally invest in director Son Tae-min's next project.
"Money made in movies should be spent on movies, right?"
"What about concerts? Your company plans those too. No audience, and poof—there goes your movie profits."
"Dad, why do you always focus on the negatives? Can't you say I did well for once?"
"Fine. This movie was a hit. It was fun."
"Heh, right?"
Lee Jeong-min had learned about Na Gang-in when he discovered forces gunning for Ironclad Engineering's control.
"Hey, that actor Na Gang-in? You took good care of him?"
"Had him do our company security check today. For ten million."
"What? Security check? Tae-ho, if you want to repay a favor, give him a good role—not some random security gig."
"My brother asked, so I introduced him. Na Gang-in's skills at catching hackers are insanely good."
"Really? Makes sense—an IT security expert moonlighting as a stuntman. His real job's in IT, huh?"
The office door burst open. Division head Lee Tae-seong strode in.
President Lee Jeong-min grumbled.
"That guy's not even knocking anymore. Should I fire him?"
Lee Tae-seong set the tablet PC on the desk.
"Something you need to see."
"What?"
The tablet showed Na Gang-in testing the forearm guard. Sparks flew across the entire brace the moment the bullet hit.
Lee Tae-ho, seeing it, bragged.
"Oh, that? I was there for the test—that thin bracelet really stopped a bullet. The effect's flashy like in movies. Could use it as a prop later."
Lee Tae-seong scolded him.
"A movie prop? You were there and still don't know what it is?"
"Huh?"
"That impact absorption."
"The dummy's arm had almost no damage? But that's from the silicone tape."
"Wrong."
Lee Tae-seong replayed the video and pointed at the arm.
"Watch what happens when the bullet hits."
Lee Tae-ho stared intently at the screen but couldn't spot the issue.
"Sparks flew, but it blocked the bullet fine. Why?"
"The dummy's arm barely moved backward."
"Huh?"
Lee Tae-seong showed another video.
It was the civilian maker's rifle test on the vest that day.
The dummy recoiled and swung back with each shot.
"Rifle and pistol power differ, and torso vs. arm sizes vary impact. But a pistol to the arm should've rocked it back hard."
Lee Tae-ho replayed and examined the arm closely. On impact, it barely budged backward.
"Uh... what's going on?"
"You saw it in person—you should know better than me. What was that brace like?"
"Beats me. It got wrecked after one bullet."
Lee Tae-seong rubbed his chin.
"Distributing impact across the entire defensive gear, huh?"
"Ah! Yeah, he said it was that. The composite layered structure shatters to absorb shock."
"Meaning it spreads the force not just from the hit spot, but the whole forearm wrap."
Lee Tae-ho only knew the bare basics of Ironclad Engineering's business.
Lee Tae-ho asked.
"Does that stop the arm from recoiling and absorb the shock like that? Like hitting a billiard ball dead-on?"
"Not exactly billiards, but close enough for now. Never knew they had tech to disperse impact so perfectly with such a thin structure. Where'd that come from?"
"No idea..."
President Lee Jeong-min glared at the video and ordered.
"Tae-seong, track down that tech's origin. Buy it outright if we can; license it otherwise."
"On it."
Lee Tae-ho called Na Gang-in and explained the situation.
"Mm... I'm in the middle of work, hard to step away."
"Sending the address."
Na Gang-in sent the address of his production base on the northeastern outskirts of Seoul. Ironclad's HQ was in eastern Gyeonggi, not far away.
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