Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Dragon Plate III
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Irontech headquarters chief Lee Tae-seong rode in the car of his younger brother, Lee Tae-ho, president of THO Entertainment, heading to Na Gang-in's production base.
Lee Tae-ho grumbled.
"Do I have to drive too?"
"We have to use your car."
"Is all this caution really necessary?"
"If even we, who've seen the item firsthand, can't trace the tech's origin, our competitors won't even know it exists. So we keep it under wraps."
"We could just ask the source over the phone."
"This isn't a phone conversation. There's more to discuss beyond just the origin."
Lee Tae-ho raised his voice.
"Wherever it's from, it's tied to Na Gang-in somehow. And I'm not just casually acquainted with him."
"This industry isn't like your film world. It's not about connections landing you roles."
"You're mistaken, bro. The film industry doesn't run on connections alone either. We scrutinize everything too."
They pulled into the empty lot in front of Na Gang-in's production base on the outskirts of Seoul.
Lee Tae-seong stepped out of the car and asked,
"This the place?"
"Address matches."
"The sign... Earth Union Workshop? What the hell?"
Na Gang-in had been testing his new equipment's performance and decided to engrave some letters on a steel plate too. He'd scratched "Earth Union" on it for no particular reason.
Pitying the waste of tossing it, he'd hung it up temporarily as a sign.
Lee Tae-ho remarked,
"Looks like Gang-in's into SF movies too."
Lee Tae-seong shot back,
"Earth Union? That's more disaster flick than SF. If aliens invade, Earth's gotta unite, right?"
"Aliens show up, it's SF."
"What if it's monsters instead?"
"Then it's fusion fantasy, not straight SF."
Lee Tae-ho nodded.
"See? Either way, it's a movie. Gang-in should definitely get into films."
Lee Tae-seong pressed the intercom button.
"I'll ask all my questions first. Then drag him into movies or whatever you want. Let's head in."
A moment later, Na Gang-in opened the door.
Lee Tae-seong greeted him first.
"Hello. I'm Lee Tae-seong, Irontech headquarters chief."
"Come on in."
Lee Tae-seong stepped into the production base, once a humble metalworking shop.
"Huh..."
One side housed old metal-cutting machines. They'd been broken originally, but Na Gang-in had repaired them himself recently.
The opposite side featured cutting-edge gear like laser cutters.
'The equipment on both sides is worlds apart...'
Lee Tae-seong hadn't started as headquarters chief. Sure, as the boss's son, he'd climbed fast, but he'd learned the ropes from the ground up. Plenty of field experience meant he knew exactly what these machines were.
'The left-side stuff is perfect for rough-processing big metal pieces, and the right-side gear for precision part fabrication. But why the mix here...'
Unlike him, Lee Tae-ho had jumped straight into the film biz, so production sites like this were foreign territory.
Lee Tae-ho asked,
"Whoa, Gang-in. What's all this?"
"Just messing around making stuff."
"Damn, no wonder you fixed those busted machines so slick on the CF set. Hobby like this."
Na Gang-in brewed some instant coffee mix and handed cups to the two men.
"Eh, something like that."
Lee Tae-seong offered his business card.
"Lee Tae-seong."
"Na Gang-in. Don't have cards."
"No worries."
After a few polite exchanges, Lee Tae-seong cut to the chase.
"That bulletproof bracelet we tested at our company's range. What product is it?"
It was too wide to really call a bracelet, but since it was a quick prototype, the name hardly mattered.
"Mm. Just something I whipped up."
"Here?"
Na Gang-in pointed to the back.
"Yep."
There sat a partial piece of the new Dragon Plate in progress. Still only about palm-sized.
"Ah!"
Seeing that, Lee Tae-seong scanned the interior again.
"With this setup... it's not impossible. So then."
He asked gravely,
"What company's tech went into making that bracelet?"
"Mm..."
He couldn't very well repeat AI Jeon Ji-in's exact words.
- Made using Nature Robotics' field defense equipment fabrication tech. For situations where regular gear suffers heavy losses and resupply fails, it's the skill for cobbling together downgraded versions.
"Earth Union" popped up everywhere with a quick web search, but "Nature Robotics" was a different story.
Na Gang-in simply replied,
"I made it."
"Yeah, I figured you fabricated it. But the tech inside..."
"I made it."
"Pardon? The tech too?"
Lee Tae-seong was thrown.
"Do you have a degree or...?"
"Nothing from school."
"Of course. Then..."
Lee Tae-ho jabbed his brother's side.
"Bro, he's Min-ji's lifesaver. Ease up on the third degree."
It wasn't just the kidnapping debt. He knew Na Gang-in had also shielded Irontech from a management takeover bid.
Lee Tae-seong mulled it over quietly.
'Doesn't wanna spill? Or some other reason?'
Pondering wouldn't yield answers. Couldn't force it out either.
But he could nudge an answer with the right bait.
Lee Tae-seong proposed,
"We'd like to acquire the bulletproof material fabrication tech you tested."
"What for?"
"Mass-produce bulletproof vests and sell 'em, obviously. Foreign militaries and police, plus big civilian demand. Even better if we can supply our own forces."
"Mm..."
Na Gang-in murmured softly,
"Ji-in-ah. That doable?"
AI Jeon Ji-in replied.
- Dragon Plate is personal custom-fit defensive gear, tailored per user. Impossible to mass-produce with current tech.
Na Gang-in explained,
"It's custom per person. Force it on without a perfect fit, and it won't stop bullets. Mass-production's a no-go."
"Pardon?"
"You precisely measure the user's build, run the calcs, handcraft every single part, then assemble. Defensive gear like that."
"So, handmade luxury goods?"
"Exactly."
Lee Tae-seong figured it was straightforward.
"Then sell us the measurement and calculation methods. We'll study 'em hard and figure out mass-production."
"Calculation method... that's..."
AI Jeon Ji-in said,
- I don't know.
Na Gang-in covered his face, pretending to agonize. Meanwhile, he whispered,
"Why don't you know? You made it."
- Nature Robotics' calculation skill lets us produce it.
"Just teach the skill's principles then."
- That calculation skill's tucked in an independent library module.
"Huh?"
"I can run the skill for calcs, but can't express it as equations."
Na Gang-in rose and paced to a corner. To onlookers, it looked like serious deliberation.
Na Gang-in asked,
"Hold on, Ji-in-ah. All those 'skills' you've called tech so far... they're all independent modules like that? You don't crunch the numbers yourself?"
- Not all, but most. I feed data into the modules and use the output results.
"Like a person punching numbers into a calculator or computer and reading the result?"
- Spot on. Though I'm way faster at input and reading than any human.
"Modules handle all the math, so what do you do?"
- I think and judge like a human. Implementing human-level cognition dwarfs simple calculation skills—it's leagues beyond.
"Right, so..."
Na Gang-in realized.
"Ji-in-ah, you really don't know jack, do you?"
- That's not true.
"It totally is."
Either way, conclusion reached.
With AI Jeon Ji-in's help, he could craft Dragon Plate. But no way to explain how. No theorizing for papers, no tech docs.
One path left.
Na Gang-in dropped his hands from his face.
"I'm keeping it to myself."
"Pardon?"
"Basic formulas exist, but the variables rely on gut feel. Can't codify it into usable equations or theory for others."
Lee Tae-seong panicked—not at the secrecy, but that it was Na Gang-in's alone.
"Hold up. You really developed that bulletproof bracelet solo? How?"
"That range is for testing individually crafted gear, right? Gotta be others like me."
"Sure, but no one's ever made and tested tech at this level solo."
"Never before doesn't mean never now."
Lee Tae-seong couldn't confirm if it was true. Couldn't deny it either.
'World's got its share of mad scientists...'
The item existed for real. That was key.
"Got it. Let's negotiate formal tech transfer then. We'll make an offer you'll like."
"Can't teach it. And even if I could, mass-production's impossible."
Lee Tae-seong didn't buy that.
'Nothing's truly impossible. Throw enough budget at it, we'll make it work.'
Not all Irontech gear was fully automated either. Some needed human hands.
But Na Gang-in's metal arm guard? Machining would boost productivity.
Lee Tae-seong pondered.
'Hates sharing the tech? Or jacking up the price? Splash cash on transfer fees, maybe he'll bite?'
Na Gang-in's smartphone buzzed on the table.
Lee Tae-seong sneaked a peek at the caller ID.
'Scarlett Kelly?'
Conversation was on pause anyway.
Na Gang-in picked up.
"Hello."
- Hi, Gang-in. It's Scarlett.
"I know."
- Heading to Korea soon. Let's meet up.
"Why go to the trouble..."
- That yacht party I mentioned. Prepping it big and flashy. Your cooking skills are the real deal. Come give some party food advice.
"Why me specifically..."
- Consulting fee won't disappoint.
AI Jeon Ji-in jumped in quick.
- Generous lady. Bit of advice gets you paid and great eats. Take the gig.
Scarlett's offer wasn't tough, even with the AI nudging.
"Alright then. Send the schedule."
- Thanks! Oh, and you gotta attend the party too, naturally.
She hung up before he could reply.
Na Gang-in tsked and set the phone down.
Lee Tae-seong racked his brain.
'What'd he chat about with Omega Tech's president? Send a schedule? What schedule? Tech transfer talks?'
Omega Tech was a U.S. firm, famous for gear, robots, military tech. Plenty of overlap with Irontech.
'Does this guy really have the bulletproof material tech?'
Not convinced yet. But the video of it stopping a pistol round was undeniable.
'We move before Omega Tech. Worst case, bail later.'
Lee Tae-seong asked carefully,
"So, what all do you plan to make with that bracelet?"
"Bulletproof vest, duh."
"Knew it. Too premium for just a bracelet. Vest design...?"
"Design's done. Range was just sample testing."
Lee Tae-seong locked in.
"Gang-in, here's how we do it. Ditch mass-production. Go handmade luxury vests."
"Dragon Plate can't be mass-produced anyway."
"We line up buyers, handle measurements—you teach the method. You design off our data, we fabricate."
"Hmm..."
Lee Tae-seong gestured at the base's equipment.
"Yours isn't bad, but pales next to our facilities. We've got the manpower too. Productivity leaps."
Handcrafting an arm guard here took ages due to the gear's precision limits.
Na Gang-in murmured low,
"Ji-in-ah. Us handing blueprints, them doing the rest—viable?"
AI Jeon Ji-in replied brightly.
- Irontech'll eat trial-and-error in production, but that's on them, not us. Totally viable.
"You're a real person now."