Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator : M.N 1391
Chapter: 92
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Kim Maria opened her mouth.
“Getting straight to the point, we have equipment that can find the kidnapped woman. The problem is, to use this equipment, we need an esper-type ability user.”
“Aren’t espers more common than you’d think?”
“Just any esper won’t do. Their ability has to be exceptional. Yes, exceptional enough to immediately pinpoint a sniper’s position. Like you.”
“I’m not a psychic, though?”
“Oh my? Let’s not play word games. Time is precious.”
Kyung-wan exchanged a silent gaze with Kim Maria, who wore a faint smile. There wasn’t a shred of doubt in her eyes. She looked completely convinced that Kyung-wan was a psychic.
“Well, let’s say that’s true. But can I really trust your side? Honestly, I can’t help suspecting that you’re using cooperation as an excuse to run human experiments.”
At Kyung-wan’s words, Director Hong looked at Director Kim Maria with startled eyes.
But she didn’t look flustered at all.
“Do you know what our institute researches?”
“Uh… I’d rather not.”
Kyung-wan replied after sensing something bothersome in her gaze, but she wasn’t an easy opponent.
“Our institute researches the development of psychic abilities and related equipment. In other words, psychics who cooperate with our research can develop their abilities faster than anyone else. Psychic powers will become the paradigm that leads the era, and the more you cooperate with the institute, the sooner you can climb the ladder to the top of that era.”
Kim Maria’s words were extremely appealing to inmates who possessed psychic abilities.
But Kyung-wan, who had little interest in worldly values, didn’t find them particularly enticing. Noticing his lack of enthusiasm, Kim Maria quickly continued.
“People in our country tend to have an inferiority complex about international standing. Because of that, there’s also a fixed notion that our technology lags behind global standards. But in reality, our technological capabilities are recognized worldwide.”
“I’ve heard that basic research is weak.”
“If you reflect on our history, that’s only natural. But think about it. There are already places that have an iron grip on basic research. Wouldn’t it be more efficient to go there and study if needed?”
There were countries that had invested heavily in basic research and built fortresses so formidable that challenging them head-on was unrealistic. For a latecomer like South Korea, investing in basic science the same way would only lead to falling behind in competition.
To put it bluntly, you need money to invest in research in the first place. So they prioritized applied research and commercialization technologies that generated revenue. In a situation where holding core technologies was difficult, pursuing cost-effectiveness was the only option.
Scholars worried about and criticized such policies, but as a result, South Korea managed to rapidly revive its economy and build a foundation that allowed sustained investment in research, at a speed rarely seen anywhere in the world.
Of course, the country still depended heavily on advanced scientific nations and paid massive royalties, but the significance lay in having created enough leeway to invest not only in applied science but also in basic science.
Moreover, focusing on applied science rather than basic science allowed South Korea, as a technological latecomer, to reach this point without drawing excessive ‘checks’ from others.
Kim Maria continued.
“But psychic abilities are a completely new phenomenon. Everyone has to start from scratch. That’s why our country is making major investments here.”
All countries were lined up at the same starting line. It was an opportunity that wouldn’t come again within the next hundred years.
“For such a big investment, isn’t security a bit lacking?”
Kyung-wan pointed out the fact that the woman, supposedly a research asset, had been kidnapped, but Kim Maria didn’t seem embarrassed at all. In her mind, it was simple.
“We maintained the best security possible within the resources we could use. But you have to keep in mind that there are many parties coveting our research achievements.”
Was she implying foreign countries? Kyung-wan asked bluntly.
“North Korea, China, Japan, Russia, the United States. Which one is it?”
“At least not the United States. And it could be all of them, or none of them.”
“Why exclude the U.S.?”
“Because the U.S. evaluates your value far more highly than you think. A man who’s like an onion, you peel him and peel him, and there’s always more…”
In short, there was no reason to pick a fight with an allied nation that was effectively ‘housing’ Kyung-wan.
“If you peel an onion all the way, there’s nothing left…”
Kyung-wan cracked an offbeat joke, but Kim Maria’s smile, like someone savoring fried chicken and beer, didn’t change.
He continued.
“Then does that mean yesterday’s incident could escalate into a diplomatic issue?”
“That’s something we’ll only know after we find Han Yeong-mi, right?”
“Hmmm…”
As Kyung-wan pondered, Kim Maria asked,
“What do you want? I may just be a director, but I have quite the backing. I can grant most requests.”
“Hmmm.”
At those words, Kyung-wan’s contemplation deepened, but he didn’t keep her waiting long.
“Is a chaebol-level emperor single cell possible?”
“A chaebol-level emperor single cell? I can’t really picture that.”
“I’m not asking for commuting to the visiting room or sleeping at a hospital. Just install a PlayStation and an Xbox in my cell, and also, ”
“Hey! Is that even possible?!”
Director Hong jumped in, dumbfounded, but Kyung-wan wasn’t finished.
“And put in a plush sofa. That’ll take up space, so I’ll need a bigger room, right?”
“That much won’t be difficult. If you’re transferred to our institute, it’s entirely possible.”
That was Kim Maria’s answer to Kyung-wan’s demands. She said she’d do it?
But Kyung-wan felt something was off. A prisoner being transferred from a prison to a research institute? That didn’t look right at all.
Looking at Director Hong, Kyung-wan asked,
“Director Hong, can’t this be done here?”
To the question of whether the prison side could meet those conditions instead of the institute, Director Hong exploded.
“Hey! If we give that kind of preferential treatment, do you think we can manage the other inmates?!”
No matter how untouchable Kyung-wan was treated, there was still a superficial formality being maintained.
Covering your eyes and pretending, it still left room for excuses. And that mattered a great deal to a public official like Director Hong.
But Kyung-wan tilted his head.
“Why not? Chaebol chairmen do it all the time.”
“Are you on the level of a chaebol?”
At that, Kyung-wan tilted his head the other way.
Strange. He thought he was, but it seemed the world didn’t agree yet.
Then again, in an institutional society ruled by capitalism rather than barbaric violence, someone like Kyung-wan, who didn’t have a penny to his name, expecting chaebol-level treatment could indeed be called presumptuous.
With Director Hong refusing, a wave of annoyance washed over Kyung-wan. Cooperation or not, he was tired of haggling, and getting further entangled with Kim Maria sounded even more bothersome.
“Forget it. I’m not doing it. I want to go back.”
“I’ll do it.”
What stopped Kyung-wan’s butt from leaving the chair was Kim Maria’s response.
Kyung-wan was puzzled. Director Hong was the one in charge of the prison, so how could Kim Maria say she’d do it?
Kim Maria turned her gaze to Director Hong.
“Director Hong. Do you understand how important this matter is?”
“…Important enough to give that guy special privileges?”
“The world sees him only as a criminal, but if you think about him excluding the crimes he committed, he’s an extraordinary talent.”
“...”
Could you really exclude that part? The doubt arose, but considering a judicial system where people who embezzle and breach trust on a massive scale receive light sentences for contributing to the national economy, where the separation and merging of merit and fault depends on a judge’s whim, Kim Maria’s logic fit reality all too well.
She continued without leaving room to interrupt.
“If Kyung-wan had even a slight intention of living quietly, the U.S. would’ve tried to naturalize him by offering a massive salary.”
Director Hong’s eyes widened slightly as he looked at Kyung-wan, clearly thinking, ‘Seriously?! That lunatic?!’
Seeing that, Kyung-wan gave Director Hong a pitying look and said,
“That’s what happens when all you watch are trot audition programs. You don’t know how the world works.”
Director Hong protested indignantly.
“Hey! I don’t only watch that! I do care about what’s going on in the world!”
Kim Maria came to his defense.
“It’s not strange that Director Hong doesn’t know much about Kyung-wan. The media tries hard not to mention him, and people’s memories aren’t that great.”
What a blessing it was for those at the top that the masses had memories like livestock.
And with new incidents happening constantly, what Kyung-wan had done gradually faded from public awareness.
Still, as a civil servant, Director Hong hesitated to grant Kyung-wan privileges that clearly violated regulations. That could cause far greater backlash than the usual under-the-table favors between guards and inmates.
So Director Kim Maria presented a new proposal.
“We’ll provide a small plot of land on our side, right along the boundary between the prison and the institute. And using our institute’s budget, we’ll build a private single cell just for Kyung-wan.”
“But… the… regulations…”
“I’ll get approval from the higher-ups. So? What do you think of my proposal?”
Kim Maria looked back at Kyung-wan.
“From what I can see, you’ve grown rather attached to this prison. And given that you’re suspicious of us enough to refuse a transfer to the institute, this seems like the best way to build mutual trust, don’t you think?”
Huh? She was willing to go this far?
At this point, even Kyung-wan, who had been sick of negotiating, couldn’t help but be tempted.
“You’re not going to do anything weird in that room, right?”
“Wouldn’t you be able to tell if we did?”
At the implication that they wouldn’t shoot themselves in the foot by doing something suspicious while seeking his cooperation, Kyung-wan decided to accept her offer outright.
And as the price for that, Kyung-wan was taken straight to the institute to use the so-called detection device.
The interior of the institute was entirely white, giving it the feel of a cutting-edge hospital. Traces of the plunder and fighting from last night still remained, but not enough to ruin the impression of a high-tech research facility.
Kyung-wan followed behind Kim Maria with a guard. Security personnel wearing vests labeled ‘Ilseong Security’ stood throughout the facility, glancing at Kyung-wan as he walked behind the institute director.
“This is it.”
Kim Maria led them into the first basement level. In a wide space that looked like several rooms combined, there stood a device resembling an MRI machine tilted at a forty-five-degree angle.
“This is our institute’s pride, the Cheonrian device.”
“Cheonrian?”
At Kyung-wan’s puzzled look, Director Kim Maria explained directly. It was a masterpiece that used cutting-edge neural engineering, including brainwave stimulation and scanning technologies, as well as big data processing. The basic idea was to use an esper-type psychic as a kind of four-dimensional telescope, magnifying glass, or antenna.
It supposedly leveraged the property of S-particles being influenced by the human mind, but beyond that, it entered highly specialized territory and involved many classified details, so Kyung-wan only grasped it in broad strokes.