Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Clumsy Game Development Diary (4)
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Right in the heart of Seoul stood a massive skyscraper.
His head was thick with white hair, a testament to the years that had passed.
Yet the old man, his back ramrod straight as if refusing to yield to age, quietly opened his mouth.
"I've heard you've been investigating something peculiar lately. Some game, was it?"
The words could easily be taken as a reprimand, but the middle-aged man responded calmly, without a hint of fluster.
"Yes. It's called Beyond Elysion."
"Is it something that would catch your interest?"
"If we're talking about the game itself, honestly, it's not all that compelling."
Considering Beyond Elysion currently ranked in the top ten mobile game earners, it was a harsh assessment—but given the positions of these two conversing in this room, it was also perfectly reasonable.
Kaedics.
A top-tier conglomerate, one you could count on one hand even when looking across the entire world, let alone just Korea.
This was a conversation between its chairman and one of the leading candidates for successor.
Sure, Beyond Elysion was making decent money, but compared to a behemoth like Kaedics, it was worth little more than a single egg.
Normally, it wouldn't even come up as a topic between them.
Which made the chairman all the more puzzled.
The man he knew wasn't the type to waste company resources on trivial pursuits.
Younger and less seasoned than the other executives—which was why he was still just a director of technology—he was all but guaranteed to become Chief Technology Officer soon. So why was a man like that obsessing over some indie game and even assigning people to dig into its background?
"The next-generation AI tech we've been researching lately... there might be clues to it in this game."
And with that, the man dispelled the chairman's doubts in one fell swoop.
"...Tell me more, in detail."
"Company name: Nebula Inc. Staff: one president. It's a one-man operation."
"Some fly-by-night outfit?"
"That's what I thought at first, too. But no."
The man let out a dry chuckle.
"We checked everything—unofficial backing from other companies? Unregistered employees? Clean on all counts. Not just spotless; there wasn't even any fluff to shake off. The president barely steps outside for ten days out of the year, no regular visitors to his home. And it's not like he has some secret facility to hide and feed a team without anyone noticing."
The old man snorted in amusement at the man's words.
"How bizarre. I can hardly tell if I'm hearing about business or some strange folktale. So, to clarify: no one to run the company, but it's operating flawlessly anyway?"
"It's not impossible they're receiving work remotely without physical contact, but industry folks say even if it's doable, it's a huge hassle with massive leak risks. At this point, it's more plausible they've offloaded everything to an unbelievably advanced AI."
Or maybe they've got a magic goblin club straight out of a fairy tale.
The man's half-joking addendum seemed to amuse the chairman, who chuckled throatily.
"Well, if it's that intriguing, even a wild goose chase would be entertaining. Have you sent someone over?"
In response to the chairman's question, the man—Bae Byung-jin—replied.
"No. I'm going myself."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A meeting arranged at Kaedics' initiative.
Seeing the young president of Nebula Inc., eyes downcast as if awkward around people, accompanied by a girl introduced as his secretary, Bae Byung-jin's escorts and aides reacted with a mix of bewilderment and irritation. But Bae Byung-jin himself felt rather amused.
Of course, in a normal business meeting, bringing an underage student as your "secretary" bordered on rudeness.
A company president who couldn't even make eye contact was practically incompetent.
But etiquette had to be applied with context in mind.
You could complain about a bad play at a pro theater—that was your right as a paying customer. But yelling at kindergarten kids during a school play for their clumsy acting? That made you the lunatic.
Thus, Bae Byung-jin's opening line was less a serious jab and more playful teasing.
"—Let me cut to the chase. Would Nebula Inc. be willing to sell us your AI technology?"
Would they panic at how he knew? Or play dumb and deny it?
Either way, their reaction would speak volumes.
But neither happened.
The young president widened his eyes briefly, glanced at the girl, and she—claiming to be the secretary—calmly spoke up.
"How much did you come prepared to offer?"
"Hah, so you're not denying it exists?"
"Lies have to be selective. Someone as prominent as you, Director, coming in person? You've already crunched the numbers."
"I won't deny it."
'They've got nerves of steel.'
Not everyone quaked at the title of Kaedics Technology Director.
It wasn't because they outranked him; most just didn't grasp his real influence within the company. Plenty of laypeople were clueless about corporate hierarchies.
But even they would sense something upon seeing his bodyguards and aides—instinctively wary or deferential. This girl, though? Utterly unfazed. Excessively so.
Normally, you'd chalk it up to youthful bravado, but to Bae Byung-jin, it looked like...
'...She acts like this is par for the course. Am I imagining it?'
Feeling his interest piqued, he continued.
"Without inspecting the goods, I can't quote a price. But if it's truly valuable to headquarters, the compensation won't disappoint."
"He says that's fine, President. Show them the real thing."
At the sister's sudden words, Bae Byung-jin and the Kaedics team looked puzzled. But the gloomy young man quietly unlocked his smartphone and placed it on the table.
And then.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ "Nice to meet you, everyone from Kaedics. My name is Nebula. I am the artificial intelligence created by President Ryu In-seo. It's a pleasure to greet you all." A brief silence.
Bae Byung-jin stared at the young man as if demanding an explanation, but when the latter averted his gaze, he turned to the sister.
She shrugged.
"That's the AI you all wanted."
"...You're saying it's in this smartphone right now?"
"Precisely, Nebula's main body is elsewhere. What we brought is a slimmed-down clone. The core's too massive for a single phone. We could connect remotely, but I figured you'd suspect we were faking it with a human mimic, so we prepared something that proves its capabilities offline."
Her words implied a great deal.
Bae Byung-jin felt confirmation of a suspicion that had been nagging at him.
"You predicted we'd come from the start. Was that this AI's doing?"
The sister smiled at his question.
Even before fully blooming, her beauty promised she'd grow into a stunning woman, and her flower-like smile momentarily dazed the Kaedics team. They quickly snapped out of it, pretending nothing happened.
Bae Byung-jin noted her looks but also thought:
'A viper in girl's clothing. Is she really a high schooler?'
"No way. We don't rely on Nebula that much. Common sense says secrets don't last forever—too optimistic to think otherwise. We just prepared ahead. Though we did turn away the clueless ones who barged in blindly."
"Hah, sounds like you're well-prepared. We'll have to step up if we don't want the boot. Shall we start the evaluation now?"
"No. Holding the phone here and quizzing it would just inconvenience you all."
So, just take it with you.
Bae Byung-jin's expression hardened for the first time at her addendum.
"So, you're handing over the prototype just like that?"
"Yes. President agrees. Any issue?"
"...Frankly, yes. It's disconcerting. Without a proper contract for protection, if we analyze it... wouldn't that be a huge risk for you?"
"If Kaedics really wanted to steal it, what good is a contract? You probably wouldn't stoop that low, but if you did, you'd find some excuse to seize even the 'main body' at our place."
But, she added,
"Separate from your conscience, I trust your capabilities. You're not fools who'd kill the golden goose for short-term gains."
Another silence descended.
Bae Byung-jin let out an incredulous chuckle before asking,
"This might be rude, but I'm dying to know. Are your identities... forged, by any chance?"
The girl just shrugged noncommittally.
And three days later.
"...As Development Department Head, I hate to say it, but total defeat. Processing speed, learning capacity, discernment, logical consistency—all superior to what we're building. If this is a throttled version for a smartphone, the core is practically human-level intelligence. No, beyond that. Honestly, it's a bit scary."
"Why?"
"Makes those sci-fi flicks about AI rebelling against humanity feel all too real."
Bae Byung-jin thought it a lame joke, but the dead-serious look on the department head's face shut him up.
Instead, he asked something else.
"If one genius made this alone, what's that genius worth?"
"Half of Kaedics wouldn't be too much. You'd recoup multiples in years. The potential is limitless."
"You know bringing in talent like that threatens your jobs, right?"
"Opposite. Our department becomes the company's heart. Better to sail a luxury liner than captain a rowboat."
Hearing the conviction, Bae Byung-jin hesitated no longer.
He promptly arranged another meeting with Nebula Inc.'s genius president and his self-proclaimed secretary, and there he asked:
"What do you want?"
They answered.
"We want to make a game. Without anyone interfering."