Chapter 116
Chapter 116
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Attack
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With a look of resignation, he spoke and then took the pen and paper that were in front of me.
He quickly scribbled something down and then slid it toward me.
[We abandoned development for three reasons. First, the unnecessary increase in cost. Second, our environment is such that medium-altitude UAVs are sufficient for reconnaissance missions in neighboring countries. I suppose this point is essentially tied to the first reason.]
[…I can accept that. What’s the third reason?]
[Actually, the third reason was the biggest blow. In the end, it was that problem that led the government to halt development.]
[…]
[Jamming. The first prototype crashed after being hacked by Iran.]
[…]
That was news to me.
There had been plenty of rumors, but no concrete details about the development status of the IBIS had ever been released.
But if that was the key reason Israel gave up on developing high-altitude reconnaissance UAVs, something felt off.
If they couldn't solve the jamming issue, then the medium-altitude reconnaissance UAVs they were currently operating wouldn't be immune to its effects either.
[But…]
I immediately raised my objection.
As if he’d been expecting the question, Adam replied with a faint smile.
[A valid point. Medium-altitude UAVs aren't immune to jamming either. We're doing our best to resolve it, but a perfect solution hasn't emerged yet.]
[…]
[If the risk is the same, why give up only on the high-altitude reconnaissance UAV… That’s what you want to ask, isn’t it?]
I nodded silently at his words.
Adam set the pen down with a click, crossed his arms, and let out a long sigh before speaking.
[The difference in unit cost.]
[…]
[The cost of producing one high-altitude reconnaissance drone could build dozens of medium-altitude UAVs. And as I said before, we have no reason to insist on high-altitude drones.]
His words could be summed up in one sentence.
If something was going to crash anyway, it was better for it to be the less expensive one.
It wasn’t exactly wrong, and I was about to let out a dry laugh when a thought flashed through my mind.
They were convinced that even if we pursued joint development, we wouldn't be able to solve the problem.
So, they figured they might as well sell the technology and make some money.
“Hmm…”
But there was something they didn't know.
Quantum cryptography communication technology.
The fact that we could be completely immune to jamming through it.
“If jamming is the problem, isn’t this something we should be concerned about too?”
CEO Ahn voiced his concern just as my thoughts were settling.
I subtly raised a hand to silence him and spoke directly to Adam.
[Alright, we’ll just buy the technology.]
In the end, I readily agreed to their deal.
If they were going to kick their own good fortune to the curb, I had no reason to stop them.
Adam's face brightened, and at that moment, I threw out the figure I had in mind.
[Let’s agree on 100 million dollars.]
The smile on Adam’s face vanished, replaced by a look of bewilderment.
After all, Israel had spent a staggering 15 years on its development. On top of that, they'd invested over ten times that amount. Handing over the technology for a mere 100 million dollars was probably a stretch.
But they were also trying to sell something incomplete, so expecting to get the full price was just greedy.
[You don’t seem happy with the price, but frankly, the jamming issue is a problem that will cost us an enormous amount to solve later. You need to consider that.]
His eyes darted back and forth.
He stared at a notepad he pulled from his pocket for a long moment before finally letting out a long sigh and nodding.
[Alright, let’s do that.]
The moment I heard his words, I breathed an internal sigh of relief.
Of course, 100 million dollars was no small sum, but compared to the money and effort they had poured into it, it was a mere drop in the bucket.
“Secretary Kim. Could you please bring the contract template here?”
I wasted no time in pushing the contract forward.
But what was the problem now? Adam’s expression grew cautious again.
[What is it? Is there another issue?]
[It’s not that… but would it be possible to add one more condition?]
[…]
[It's about the armored vehicle the Chairman uses. I was wondering if you could provide a few of those…]
[…]
*******
[Safe travels.]
The next day, after signing the official technology export agreement, Adam departed from Incheon Airport.
The events of the past twenty-four hours felt like a dream.
As we watched him disappear through the gate, CEO Ahn and I both broke into smiles, almost simultaneously, and high-fived.
“Things are looking bright right from the start, wouldn't you say?”
“It seems so. Honestly, joint development with them wouldn't have been bad, but if we can develop it independently, that's even better. There won't be any complications with future exports.”
CEO Ahn nodded in agreement.
Then, as if something occurred to him, he paused and brought up a rather critical issue.
“Wait, but aren't high-altitude reconnaissance UAVs impossible to export anyway? The U.S. designated them as strategic items and won't sell them, so there's no way our government would approve their export.”
“That’s probably true.”
I replied as if it were nothing.
CEO Ahn stared at me with a bewildered expression.
I glanced back slightly before speaking again.
“The goal of acquiring high-altitude reconnaissance technology isn't for export. We're developing it because it’s the culmination of all UAV technology.”
“…”
“To put it simply, developing it would establish our manufacturing technology for nearly all types of UAVs, including medium-altitude reconnaissance drones. We can make plenty of money with those, don't you think?”
“Ah…”
CEO Ahn finally grasped my intention and burst out laughing.
By the time we reached the parking lot, our car was already waiting.
As the door opened automatically with a soft click, I was suddenly reminded of Adam’s desire for this very vehicle.
‘Has an Israeli prime minister ever been assassinated in a terrorist attack?’
******
Vrooom!
The car left the airport and soon entered the highway.
The snow that had started falling before we left had grown much heavier, and with few cars on the road, it was beginning to accumulate.
“By the way, how do you plan on solving the jamming problem?”
CEO Ahn asked casually as I was lost in the scenery outside the window.
It was a natural concern for him to have.
Since he needed to know eventually, I had no reason to hesitate in answering.
“CEO Ahn, what do you make of the fact that the Jaewoo Research Institute has never once suffered damage from hacking?”
“Was there a special reason for that? I honestly just thought the institute's response capabilities were that incredible.”
Heh.
I let out a faint smile at his words.
He scratched his head, looking a bit sheepish, and I turned my gaze back to the window.
“The hacking skills of Russia and the United States are beyond imagination. On top of that, China is systematically cultivating hackers. Under these circumstances, no matter how good our institute's security team is, it would be impossible to have zero damage.”
“…”
“So, we've developed a special communication encryption system in the form of a chip and are applying it to all our servers and internal computers.”
I deliberately avoided mentioning 'quantum cryptography' out of consideration for him.
It would be an unfamiliar term for him, and I had no easy way to explain it.
Nevertheless, he was clearly shocked, his eyes wide as saucers.
“So that special encryption chip can solve the jamming problem?”
I simply nodded in response.
He stared blankly, as if he couldn't quite believe it, then suddenly burst into loud laughter.
“Haha, what a bunch of idiots!”
“…”
“Ah, my apologies. I was referring to Israel. Or rather, Adam, so please don't misunderstand. I mean, if that's true, they've missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, haven't they?”
“You could say that.”
I smiled as I looked out the window, which was now a world of white.
It was practically a blizzard.
Sensing the danger, Secretary Yang seemed to ease off the accelerator. I glanced ahead and saw the car in front of us swerve slightly.
“The road looks very slippery. You can slow down more.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
Secretary Yang immediately turned on the hazard lights.
It was a signal to the security vehicles following us.
I glanced back and saw the security vehicles slowing down in response.
“I’ve never seen snow like this before.”
CEO Ahn expressed his concern about the unusual weather.
He glanced over to check if my seatbelt was fastened, then tightened his own.
“Better safe than sorry…”
CRASH!
Before he could finish his sentence, a deafening collision echoed from somewhere.
I instinctively looked ahead, but there was no accident in front of us.
I quickly turned around to see one of our security vehicles spinning wildly after being hit by a dump truck.
“Pull over to the shoulder.”
I immediately shouted to Secretary Yang and looked back again.
But what was this?
The dump truck that had just caused the accident was now ramming into the other security vehicle that had been following behind.
“What the?”
No matter how I looked at it, it didn't seem like an accident caused by the slippery road.
It felt like it was deliberately targeting only the security vehicles.
Furthermore, the fact that it accelerated after the first crash clearly indicated malicious intent.
CRASH! CRASH!
The dump truck rammed the second security vehicle again, which had already lost its balance.
Perhaps because the road was slippery, the vehicle flipped over from the two impacts, slid toward the shoulder, and came to a stop with a thud.
VROOOOM!
Suddenly, the truck started racing forward again.
I could be certain it was a deliberate attack because this time, we were the target.
“Go!”
A panicked CEO Ahn shouted at Secretary Yang, but the truck, already accelerating, slammed into our rear in an instant.
CRASH!
Our vehicle lost its balance and started fishtailing.
With the road being so slick, it lost control in a heartbeat.
After spinning several times, the car seemed to catch on something and flip, but by some stroke of luck, it landed back upright with a loud thud.
“Ugh, son of a…”
CEO Ahn cursed as he looked around.
“Huh?”
Just then, the truck charged at us again.
CRASH!
Another impact struck, and our vehicle slammed into the retaining wall on the shoulder.
“Are you alright?”
Fortunately, the impact inside the car was quite bearable.
It must have been thanks to the Polar Bear's modular seat design.
Even so, it was astonishing how well it handled such a severe external shock.
“I’m fine, but are you hurt anywhere, Chairman?”
Despite his words, CEO Ahn was bleeding profusely from his nose.
It seemed he had hit his nose on something during the impact.
Just in case, I checked on Secretary Yang, who was driving. He was also bleeding from his nose but didn't appear to have any other serious injuries.
SCREECH!
Just then, the truck that had hit us pulled to a stop, blocking our path.
A young man who looked to be in his late thirties got out of the truck.
He slowly approached us, craning his neck to peer inside the vehicle. When he saw that we were unharmed, a look of shock crossed his face.
“Fucking bastard…”
I immediately spat a curse at him.
He probably couldn't hear me, but I figured he could read my lips.
Sure enough, his face contorted in a scowl, and he slowly walked toward my side of the car.
CLANK!
His repeated attempts to open the car door failed.
The locks had engaged automatically with the vehicle's speed, but this car was designed so that it couldn't be opened from the outside with ordinary physical force anyway.
Shh.
Meanwhile, I pressed my face right up against the window. The moment our eyes met, I tapped my own face and pressed the camera button on my phone.
Click!
“What an amateur. If you're going to do something like this, you should at least wear a mask.”
Flinch!
The man flinched and started hammering the window with a crowbar he was holding.
As if that would break the laminated bulletproof glass, which was over 80 millimeters thick.
"Damn it!"
Overcome with rage, the man finally screamed just as the security guards, who had managed to get out of their overturned vehicle, came running and shouting.
Thump, thump, thump!
Startled by the approaching guards, the man immediately sprinted back to his truck.
His vehicle sped away, heading toward the Olympic Expressway.
I immediately took out my notepad, wrote down the license plate number I had memorized, and handed it to CEO Ahn.
“If you report this now, we might be able to catch him.”
“…”