Chapter 158
Chapter 158
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 158
Chapter Title: Heavenly Kingdom (3)
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J-Coco, renowned as a prime gem among Silicon Valley companies.
Seeing it firsthand with my own eyes, it was definitely... beyond my expectations. At least when it came to the technology.
“This is our touchscreen prototype. Care to give it a touch?”
The smooth sensation at my fingertips. Natural screen swipes, followed by no touch errors even when touched by foreign objects.
It felt remarkably similar to the times before my regression when I'd occasionally borrow a smartphone from a friendly prison guard and get a taste of the internet.
To have this level of tech in the current era. It was definitely 4 to 6 years ahead of the curve.
“If you head down this hallway... Ah, here we are. This is the AI center.”
A pristine white space filled with tangled bundles of wires, complex beyond belief.
At the center of that almost eerie mechanical setup was something shaped like a human brain, encased in a tank.
“This is the core work of our developers. We call it the 'Brain in a Vat' among ourselves.”
“Brain in a Vat.”
I glanced beside me to see Kim Won-cheol grimacing. It was the kind of sculpture that stirred some aversion. I felt a bit of it myself.
Not wanting to stare any longer, I shifted my gaze to the equipment attached to the periphery of that strange machine.
“Handle with accelerator, clutch... So you're researching autonomous driving integrated with AI?”
“It's still in the early stages, but we see cars eventually becoming smartphone peripherals. Just a bit larger, with the machine handling the driving automatically.”
AI combined with autonomous driving.
It was... pretty good. No, I was quite impressed. Beyond what I'd hoped for.
The kind of technological leap that Ammunition Group, still shackled by its manufacturing mindset, couldn't achieve easily.
Whether by acquiring the whole company or just snapping up the patents, absorbing even a portion of J-Coco would secure a top spot in the global IT industry.
“And there's something else I think you'll like, Chairman.”
The Black man seemed to have read my expression and thoughts. Flashing teeth white against his skin, he continued.
“Ammunition Group started as a defense contractor, right? Tanks, self-propelled guns, submarines, aircraft... Imagine combining all that with our tech.”
He spoke fluidly, like a waterfall. I didn't respond to his question.
It wasn't about bluffing before price negotiations. Someone else had said exactly what I wanted to.
“A new era where wartime casualties can be minimized.”
Thud, thud. Footsteps echoed from down the distant hallway.
A man with slightly thin curly hair, wearing black horn-rimmed glasses. He stood before me, matching the profile from the USB my sister Seo-hee had given me.
“Wouldn't that be the perfect fit for Ammunition Group, Chairman Han Seo-jun?”
“You're...?”
He extended a hand greedy with ambition toward me. With a smile made for shaking hands, he was none other than.
“It's an honor to meet you like this. I'm Dick Johnson, CEO of J-Coco.”
* * * *
Back in his office, Dick Johnson calmly scanned the two men seated before him.
First, the middle-aged man with a shiny forehead like well-boiled octopus.
“I'm Kim Won-cheol. I serve as secretary chief of staff to our chairman here.”
Kim Won-cheol scratched his forehead. Dick Johnson's first impression of him was this:
Outwardly lax and optimistic, but a man of considerable insight.
But that was it. A man who shone only in the role of advisor or aide, never rising above.
And then.
“I'm Han Seo-jun.”
Remarkably young... no, looking far younger than a white man his age due to his East Asian features—so young he could almost be called boyish.
Though he'd seen the face a few times in the media, in person, he looked like a total novice.
'A pup boss paired with an advisor who can't be the real power.'
That was why Dick Johnson quickly concluded—wrongly, based only on what he could see.
'Yeah, that bald advisor is highly capable. Pushing a kid to the front while pulling strings from behind like a regent. Meanwhile, the other one...'
Dick Johnson narrowed his sleepy eyes. Stroking his short goatee, he continued his thoughts.
'Puppet president... no, a marionette? Come to think of it, there were rumors of womanizing. So, the bald one is the target to work.'
Does changing the lens alter what you see?
The chairman accompanied by a rabbit-masked advisor, the Thai prime minister's daughter, Saudi's young princess. His eyes saw a degenerate chaebol third-gen playboy.
And into that distorted view crept a foggy haze. The poison mist of ambition exceeding his station.
“No need to waste time—straight to the point. Five billion USD, about 5.5 trillion KRW. The tentative agreement with SA Group.”
“5.5 trillion won...!”
“If you're skeptical, feel free to verify. Though I'm sure you've done your basic due diligence.”
The two East Asians twitched.
Thinking he'd seized the initiative, Dick Johnson crossed his legs arrogantly on the sofa and pressed on.
“Of course, that money all goes to the company, so my dividend would be less than a tenth.”
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
“Let's tweak the deal a bit. Something off the beaten path, more comfortable for both sides.”
Kim Won-cheol, whom he saw as the real decision-maker, spoke up, and Dick Johnson inwardly rejoiced.
No need to drag it out. He had no patience for drawn-out negotiations with underlings. Besides, right here and now... not for J-Coco the company, but for Dick Johnson himself to reap more profit.
He slowly pulled a slip of paper from his inner pocket and placed it on the table.
“A secret personal account in a Bermuda tax haven. Deposit one billion dollars here, and I'll adjust the official acquisition price to 1.5 billion.”
“......”
A total of 2.5 billion USD. Tight for Ammunition Group's finances, but doable.
And an illicit deal that SA Group's Executive Vice President Im Jae-ho had refused.
But perhaps this Kim Won-cheol next to the puppet chairman might bite.
After all, he was just a proxy, not the owner bearing the full weight.
“Take your time to think it over. If you need space to decide, I can step out.”
“No need for that.”
Dick Johnson's footsteps halted as he turned toward the door.
Not the middle-aged voice he'd expected, but a still-youthful yet low tone.
“Let's wrap it up right here. Doesn't seem like something to agonize over long.”
The Ammunition Group chairman, whom he'd dismissed as mere figurehead foam without a second thought.
He scribbled something on the blank back of the contract with a fountain pen and thrust it in Dick's face.
Along with a straight middle finger.
“This is my answer.”
-Fuck You.
“Chairman Han Seo-jun? What did you just...!”
“Negotiations are over. Even if things get rough, I won't sign a shitty deal like this.”
* * * *
Back at the hamburger joint near the Golden Gate Bridge. Kim Won-cheol's face bore writing only I could see: Mental breakdown in progress—handle with care.
Just this morning he'd been grinning ear-to-ear, chomping into a juicy burger patty. Human affairs are truly unpredictable.
“Arghhh... Chairman, even so, firing off a fuck-you beam right there was too much.”
“Have the rest of your burger first. Order another if it's not enough.”
“Tasted great earlier, but not now. Feels like chewing rubber from a scrap tire? Even Ammunition Burgers sound better.”
The same guy who'd once freaked out calling Ammunition Burgers fit for disposal. Kim Won-cheol's taste buds changed with his mood.
He must've felt really stuffy inside. He downed the entire large Coke in one go, then finally seemed to snap back and addressed me.
“No, no. Let me ask straight up. What the hell were you thinking? He looked like a vessel overflowing with greed—seemed like we could've sweet-talked him easy.”
“Depositing a billion into a Bermuda tax haven secret account is a no-go anyway.”
“Not that. Do the deal more legally. Like, snag just the patent shares instead of company equity.”
The wounded middle-aged man rattled off options.
A lifetime of negotiation skills laid out before me, all highly plausible... but I marked them all wrong in red pen.
No matter how I thought about it, they fell short of what I'd envisioned—and what I'd achieve going forward.
“No way that greed vessel would go for it. The moment he mentioned SA Group's five billion, this game was dead. Not someone I like anyway. And above all.”
“Above all?”
“Dick Johnson. Meeting him in person, he's no big shot. Just a petty small-timer with big greed.”
Dick Johnson, a man who couldn't live up to his name.
My sister Seo-hee's intel checked out.
Not a tech genius himself, but a slippery eel exploiting gaps in law and finance for fat profits.
And soon... he'd choke on the profits he planned to swallow.
“So I saw the solution. Because of his size.”
“Wait, Dick Johnson's size isn't the issue here.”
Kim Won-cheol was misunderstanding something.
With a light chuckle, I got to the point.
“Not his size. The whole board's scale. Better to blow it up massively.”
“What... do you mean?”
“Five billion USD, about 5.5 trillion KRW, right? Pump it up to 6 trillion, 7 trillion—keep scaling it bigger.”
Soon, unbeknownst to all, the US-China hegemony war would creep up like a thief.
A dangerous method, like tampering with a bomb's fuse, but its effect would be explosive.
“Make SA Group reach for Chinese capital. Then... if the US political sphere takes notice.”
America wouldn't sit idle watching core national IT tech leak to a potential adversary.
They'd pull out a hefty switch from the drawer. A sharp, painful one from the Heavenly Kingdom.
“So that greed vessel's blood bursts—boom!”