Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Smart Shells
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Both men’s eyes widened at the same time.
Their gazes urged me to continue, but instead of answering, I looked at the café owner.
A nod.
“What do you mean? The U.S. is selling us GPS? Why?”
General Lee Dong-wook, looking frustrated, spoke up.
Just then, the large TV nearby turned on, and the recorded footage I had given the café owner earlier began to play.
Boom! Kaboom!
“Excuse me, could you please turn off the TV for a moment…”
General Lee Dong-wook, who had been shouting at the café owner in annoyance, found his gaze fixed on the TV screen.
It was only natural.
After all, that was footage I had carefully selected and recorded for this very purpose.
The scene showed the U.S. military unveiling its ‘precision-guided bombs’ to the world for the first time.
Dumb bombs, costing less than ten million won, were fitted with guidance kits to replace missiles.
“My God!”
Stunned by the sight of the dumb bombs striking their targets with pinpoint accuracy, the two men forgot they had been pressing me just moments before and fixed their eyes on the TV.
“What was that just now?”
“Sir, did you see that? It looked like a conventional dumb bomb, but how could it strike a target with such precision?”
Judging by their reactions, it seemed they hadn't paid much attention to this particular scene before.
Well, it was understandable, since most news reports had focused on sensationalizing the incredible price and performance of the B-2 stealth bomber.
Anyway, the timing couldn't have been more perfect.
The basic concept of these ‘precision-guided bombs’ was not much different from the ‘smart shells’ I was developing, which made it easier for me to argue for their effectiveness.
“That’s called a JDAM. It’s a general-purpose bomb fitted with a precision-guidance kit to replace a missile.”
“Replacing missiles with bombs?”
Lieutenant General Kim Tae-ik’s expression was one of particular greed.
Considering the cost-effectiveness, it was a natural reaction.
Historically, our military was so taken with its cost-effectiveness that they ended up acquiring a large number of JDAMs around the time they introduced the F-15K.
“My goodness... The Air Force would be drooling if they saw this.”
“Not just the Air Force, sir. I'm getting greedy for it myself.”
Gasps of admiration escaped both men's lips.
This was the perfect opportunity to emphasize the need for ‘smart shells.’
I took out the documents I had prepared and discreetly handed them over.
“Actually, the reason I asked to meet with you today, Lieutenant General Kim, was because of that.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“As you can see, that scene declares a paradigm shift in weapons history. Frankly, when a ten-million-won bomb can replace a missile, calling it a paradigm shift isn't much of a stretch.”
“Well…”
“But what if we were to possess a weapon like that?”
“…”
“For example, what if self-propelled howitzer shells and naval gun shells had that kind of precision-guidance capability?”
“Huh?”
“And what if it had a range of over 150 kilometers, allowing it to destroy North Korea’s long-range artillery like a missile from a safe position in the rear? Oh! And it would be even better if it had a gliding function to annihilate enemies positioned on the reverse slope of a mountain, wouldn't it?”
“…”
The two men stared at the documents I'd handed them, their expressions asking what kind of nonsense this was.
After a moment, they looked up at the same time, their gazes shifting back and forth between the footage of the precision-guided bomb drop still playing on the TV and my documents.
“What! The delivery system is different, but this is the same concept as that JDAM! You're developing something like this?”
“That’s right. We've already succeeded in developing the core material, so you'll be able to observe the testing process in a few months.”
“…”
Their wavering gazes were quite a sight.
But what I was about to say would be an even more welcome topic for them.
“Actually, to increase the precision of the smart shells I'm developing, they must be equipped with military-grade GPS.”
“…”
“That's why I plan to demand their military GPS as a condition for selling this to the U.S. military. Then there would be no reason to sell them our armor-piercing shell manufacturing technology, would there?”
“Oh!”
Major General Lee Dong-wook let out a gasp.
For some reason, Lieutenant General Kim Tae-ik, who had initially shared his surprise, suddenly pointed at the TV screen and tilted his head.
“But if that and this smart shell started from the same concept, doesn't that mean the U.S. military could eventually develop it themselves? Wouldn't a deal be impossible then?”
As expected, Lieutenant General Kim Tae-ik had accurately grasped the core of the issue.
But just because the concepts were similar, putting the two things on the same level was like treating a Lamborghini and a compact car as equals.
“No, they won't be able to. The basic concept is similar, but the details are completely different. For one, they don't have the ability to cram precision instruments into a small shell, nor do they have the core material technology to protect those instruments from muzzle pressure.”
At those words, the two men stared at the documents for a long time.
At the part indicating that the development of the core material was already complete, their fists clenched simultaneously.
“If this is possible, the military will secure it by any means necessary.”
With that, my objective was achieved.
From now on, they would likely become my trumpeters, even without me having to step in.
The moment a project worth trillions of won finally raised its flag.
***
Sometime later, a requirements process for smart self-propelled howitzer shells began, centered around Lieutenant General Kim Tae-ik.
As I had expected, the military's top brass, astonished by the cost-effectiveness of the precision-guided bombs demonstrated by the U.S. military in the Kosovo War, immediately established a committee. The new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Oh Joong-geun, took the unprecedented step of confirming the requirement in just two months.
-The top brass is aware that it's not cost-effective to fire expensive missiles to destroy the North's cheap long-range artillery. Besides, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is from the Army, so he understands the importance of precision-guided shells better than anyone. That probably had the biggest impact.
Lieutenant General Kim Tae-ik gave all the credit to the newly appointed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
But that didn't mean I was unaware of his efforts.
I asked to meet him several times, wanting to at least treat him to a meal, but he ultimately refused my offer, citing the example of Chairman Han Dong-hoon, who was recently ousted for corruption.
A few days later.
“Chief Jin Hyun-seung? This is Team Leader Lee Jin-soo from Samjung.”
Before I knew it, good news arrived from Samjung.
The sensor development was nearly complete.
Even so, the modularization process wouldn't begin for another three or four months, so I had bought myself some time to focus on the research institute's work.
“Welcome.”
It had been a while since I'd seen Hee-won, and his face looked like that of a living corpse.
In that time, a total of thirty-two projects across twenty fields had been completed.
Honestly, it would have been stranger if he looked perfectly fine.
But what was I to do?
I wasn't here just to offer comfort, but to drop another project on him.
“You crazy bastard! Can't you see the state we're in?”
“I know, but just bear with it for two years. There will be a handsome reward.”
“Two years? We can't even last another two months. Hey! We haven't even been able to take a summer vacation.”
I held out a sheet of paper to the complaining man.
Hee-won, who was examining it with narrowed eyes, suddenly shot them wide open.
“Stock options?”
“Yes. I plan on allocating a portion of the shares to all the researchers. In three or four years, they'll probably be worth at least a hundred times more than they are now.”
“Oh! Shit.”
The dying plant was instantly revived.
Money really is the best way to motivate people.
As I smiled and patted his shoulder, he whipped his head around to look at me.
“So, what impossible thing are you planning to develop this time?”
“Carbon fiber. T1500 grade, at that.”
“Are you crazy?! Japan's Toray Industries hasn't even managed to surpass T1000 grade! And forget that, what about the equipment? Do you have any idea how expensive the machinery for producing carbon fiber is?”
“I'll take care of that, so don't worry. Just give the relevant lab a heads-up.”
“Damn it, these guys are already screaming that they're dying… I'll be lucky if they don't just run away.”
He complained, but his expression seemed bright.
The power of money, indeed.
I was beginning to understand why the chaebol chairmen always tried to solve every problem with money.
“By the way, are you providing the core source material again, Hyun-seung?”
“Of course.”
“This is insane. Are you sure you didn't sell your soul to the devil? Maybe you *are* the devil.”
“If you're so suspicious, why don't you try betting your own soul? Now that I mention it, that's not a bad idea. Go on, make an offer. How much should I buy it for?”
“You crazy… Ten billion!”
“Okay. The deal is made. For your information, you'll be able to receive that ten billion in four years. Around the time you can exercise those stock options.”
“…Are you serious?”
“About which part?”
“Never mind, I'd rather just die than worry about it. Anyway, if we really develop T1500-grade fiber, the look on the Japanese guys' faces will be priceless.”
Priceless is an understatement. They'll probably be rotting with envy.
The carbon fiber technology needed to produce the integrated wings of a fighter jet was held exclusively by Japan.
If we were to announce that we'd developed something 1.5 times stronger, they would probably foam at the mouth and rush to confirm the facts.
“By the way, you are keeping the institute's security tight, right?”
“Of course. There are over thirty security guards on duty every day, and the building itself is a fortress.”
“What about the data storage room?”
“The servers are all under double and triple lock. Hell, you're the one who plastered the rooms with the core data in steel, making them as secure as bank vaults.”
“And internal security?”
“Same thing. We've compartmentalized the work so thoroughly that a technology leak is impossible unless someone manages to recruit an entire team.”
Nevertheless, I had to be careful. Extremely careful.
After all, the reason I died before my regression was a direct result of internal betrayal.
I had no desire to go through that experience again.
“Alright, you've worked hard.”
“What, you're leaving already? At least buy me a meal before you go.”
“Sorry, I have a prior engagement.”
“With who? Don't tell me you're out there dating while I'm stuck here.”
“Dating? What are you talking about? I hired a firm a while back to find out what happened to Jun, and they called me this morning.”
“Oh! In that case, give me a call as soon as you hear anything.”
It seemed Hee-won was also curious about Kim Jun. No, about me.
Then again, it definitely wasn't normal to have heard nothing for this long.
In fact, it was that sliver of anxiety that had driven me to hire people to look into it.
“Is this the place?”
The place I headed to was a four-story building in Sinsa-dong.
On the outside, it looked no different from any other ordinary building.
But it was a comprehensive information brokerage of sorts, run primarily by former agents of the Agency for National Security Planning, where they found people or bought and sold information.
“Mr. Jin Hyun-seung?”
I only knew of this place thanks to Chairman Lee Yong-moon.
I had asked him several times to use Samjung Group's U.S. branches, which were spread across America, to locate Kim Jun.
But the answer was always 'whereabouts unknown,' and Chairman Lee, unable to watch any longer, introduced me to this information group.
“There were some sensitive details that were difficult to discuss over the phone, so I asked to meet you in person.”
The man, who seemed to be in charge of the information group, kept hesitating.
Was there some kind of bad news?
The air conditioning was already blasting, but an unnecessary chill crept over me.
“Actually, we've found that the Mr. Kim Jun you mentioned is buried in a public cemetery in the state of West Virginia, USA.”
“…”