Chapter 18: Ambitions and Alliances
First day of January.
The news of Pri Minister Park Hyun-gu’s death shocked the nation.
His family insisted that he was murdered, but no evidence was found despite thorough investigations.
The National Scientific Investigation Research Institute conducted an autopsy, but the cause of death remained a mystery.
The Pri Minister had gone to bed as usual, only to have his heart stop and die in his sleep.
Many people mourned his loss, but there were also those who celebrated his demise.
―A traitor who wanted to surrender to China in the 21st century? He deserved to die.
―Damn, if I had superpowers, I would have stopped him. But we only have a guy who looks like Winnie the Pooh.
―Did Park Hyun-gu say sothing outrageous in his quotes? Did he say we shouldn’t hate the Chinese fishing boats invading the West Sea? We have to see it from an anti-cri perspective?
With such public opinion, the governnt had no choice but to appoint a social leader instead of a national leader.
He didn’t go to the funeral hall where his body was laid, but he attended the morial service as a representative of my father and mother.
“The departed had made remarkable contributions to this nation, society, and its people throughout his lifeti…”
As the ruling party representative delivered the eulogy, he felt soone’s gaze piercing from among the mourners.
It was Zhang Jiaojun, the icy-eyed actress who sat not far from .
He casually t her gaze and kept my composure.
After the service ended, he was about to get in his car when Zhang Jiaojun approached him.
“Excuse , are you Mr. Yu Ji-ha?”
She spoke Korean fluently.
Yu Ji-ha had a hunch why the actress, who starred in Hollywood movies funded by Chinese investors, was looking for him.
“And you are?”
“I’m Zhang Jiaojun. I work for NCC Group.”
“Ah… NCC Group. You must have had so ties with the late Pri Minister as well. It’s unfortunate what happened to him.”
“He was a man of great vision, but it’s sad how things turned out. By the way, can we talk for a mont?”
She seed to have forgotten about her mission to spy on Yu Ji-ha and openly asked for a conversation.
‘Well, considering you pushed to assassinate the Pri Minister and had the audacity to attend his funeral, we’re on equal footing in that regard.’
Yu Ji-ha glanced at his watch briefly before speaking.
“Speak here.”
“This place has too many eyes and ears…”
“I don’t have ti.”
“Fine, then let be direct. Do you have any interest in joining forces with us?”
“No, I don’t.”
She seed montarily taken aback, then asked again.
“Right now, research institutes in China, including LEO Research Institute, are looking for people who can manipulate Black tal samples. We have tested more than tens of millions of people so far.”
The staggering number made Yu Ji-ha bite his tongue.
Indeed, China’s scale was massive.
“That’s impressive. But what does it have to do with ?”
“We have found so people who have abilities similar to yours. The number of people who can create Black tal batteries is increasing.”
That was a lie.
In this era, the number of people exposed to Aether was extrely small, and the level of their abilities was insignificant.
There was a reason he didn’t bother looking for Researcher Park Joon-ho, who was at the Pangyo Research Institute.
Aether sensitivity was an innate trait that could not be improved by training.
Yu Ji-ha’s transcendent Aether sensitivity was a miraculous product of humanity’s adaptation to Aether over several decades.
And yet they claid to have found soone with similar abilities?
“Congratulations. Now China will be able to produce Black tal batteries.”
“It’s not fully complete yet. We need so minor adjustnts. That’s why we need your cooperation, Yu Ji-ha.”
“I refuse. I have plenty of things to do.”
Zhang Jiaojun blocked Yu Ji-ha’s way as he was about to get in his car.
“China has deployed a large number of warships to the Nan-Sa Archipelago. And of course, to the Taiwan Strait as well. Soon, we will secure a huge amount of Black tal.”
“Securing resources from the deep sea? How do you plan to deal with the opposition from the UN and neighboring countries?”
She smiled faintly.
“China is a permanent mber of the UN Security Council. And small countries cannot stand up to great powers. Even the United States is trying to withdraw from the South China Sea, right?”
Indeed, that was true.
In recent years, China’s naval power had grown rapidly to the point where it could not be ignored even by the United States.
It was recently assessed that not even the entire Pacific Fleet, let alone the 7th Fleet, could effectively deter China’s expansion.
Southeast Asian countries had been expressing their difficulty in maintaining even minimal defense capabilities, and the United States had been gradually withdrawing its presence.
Although the United States had recently sent several warships to the Spratly Islands, it was more of a surveillance move than a deterrent.
“To ignore all that and seize the Black tal from the deep sea… It’s very much in line with China’s style.”
Zhang Jiaojun ignored his criticism and spoke.
“China wants to build battery factories dostically. If Yu Ji-ha cooperates, we will reward him generously.”
“I’m sorry, but all Black tal has to go through Korea.”
“We are willing to negotiate that condition. If you visit our headquarters in China, we will welco you with a grand reception.”
He would be foolish to think that he could easily escape once he went there.
Maybe they would try to hijack him at a high level to divert his attention. Of course, if that happened, Arma would not sit still.
Currently, the Settler had over 100 gigatons of payload capacity, including 1 gigaton of reactionary shells.
It was originally designed to penetrate the Plague Fleet, which could potentially disrupt the colonization fleets’ path.
However, if Yu Ji-ha was in danger, Arma would use it based on the Codex. So it was better not to provoke unnecessary risks.
“If you want the batteries, send the Black tal to our country. We are open to any negotiations related to that. Well then.”
Yu Ji-ha gestured with his eyes, and the woman stepped aside.
Until the car left the funeral parlor, Jiao Zerun’s gaze followed the back of the vehicle.
“China is a good friend, but rember that nothing lasts forever.”
…
After the announcent of Black tal batteries, many people wanted to et Yu Ji-ha in person.
However, actual etings were very rare.
Yu Ji-ha was extrely busy, and most of the work was handled by his staff.
However, a few countries requested the opportunity to et Yu Ji-ha through the South Korean governnt.
Among them was Martin McLain, the Deputy National Security Advisor of the United States.
He was a middle-aged man with a cheerful smile, and he extended his hand for a handshake when he saw Yu Ji-ha.
“Nice to et you. I heard you speak English well, so can we proceed with the eting in English? My Korean is not that good.”
“Of course.”
Both of them had no ti to waste, so they started the substantive discussions as soon as they sat down.
“Let be clear upfront that the White House is not particularly interested in the batteries themselves. While the energy density that is three tis that of solid-state batteries is revolutionary and quite impressive, the White House has more important matters to address.”
“Can I process Black tal exclusively?”
“Of course, as long as it’s not China, the United States doesn’t have a major concern about it yet.”
Deputy National Security Advisor Martin emphasized the word “yet.”
Even without China, the relationship between the two countries was quite tense.
South Korea began to doubt whether the United States would provide a nuclear umbrella against the threat of North Korea’s nuclear weapons.
During a eting with U.S. officials, a politician even said sothing like this: ‘Can the United States tolerate New York being targeted in a nuclear attack instead of Seoul?’
The reaction of the U.S. officials at that ti was unknown.
However, one thing was clear: South Korea had serious concerns about the unstable health condition of Kim Jong-un’s North Korea.
To deal with this issue, South Korea was making various efforts. One of them was the push by so political figures to engage with China.
Ultimately, it ended up attracting hyenas instead of lions, so to speak.
Martin, the deputy national security advisor, lowered his voice.
“The White House is very interested in weaponizing black tal.”
“For example, like armor-piercing rounds for tanks?”
“Indeed, black tal has exceptional penetration power compared to depleted uranium or tungsten. It has a low density, which is rather peculiar. But anyway, that’s not the important part… What the White House is interested in is sothing else.”
“Railguns.”
When Yu Ji-ha ntioned the na, Martin, the deputy national security advisor, twitched his eyebrows.
He was surprised by his insight, but he showed little signs of wavering, displaying his characteristic cold and bureaucratic deanor.
Despite his appearance as a middle-aged man with a protruding belly.
“I’ll skip the railgun… No, never mind. You are the person who knows black tal better than anyone else. You know that we ultimately failed in railgun developnt.”
“That’s common knowledge even among military enthusiasts.”
The United States discontinued the railgun program in 2021 and finally declared it a failure in 2022.
There were various reasons, but the main one was related to issues with the barrel and the power supply.
The barrel that fired six rounds per minute lted in just ten minutes with the current material, and the limited range was due to the inability to create high-capacity batteries.
Ultimately, the railgun that was built had a range of only 180km and a pitiful firing rate of two rounds per minute.
In such a situation, it consud as much electricity as a dium-sized cruiser, so it was much better to use missiles instead.
But what if they replaced the barrel with black tal?
The production cost would increase, but at least the barrel would not lt anymore.
If they also replaced the batteries with black tal, they could expect an increase in range as well.
It was simply about completing the dream weapon called a railgun with just one material.
Deputy National Security Advisor Martin spoke with a serious voice.
“As for power, we can solve that by using a nuclear reactor. I will now represent the White House and ask you, Mr. Yu Ji-ha. Can you make railgun barrels? Can you create high-capacity batteries?”
“No, rather than that… I want a part of the Artemis program that NASA discontinued.”
“What?”
Deputy National Security Advisor Martin furrowed his eyebrows.
The highlight was the RS-25 engine.
Even NASA had struggled to find uses for such a massive engine, to the point of almost considering it obsolete. Why would he want it?
‘Does he just want to have it? Like a toy?’
If that was the case, it would be rather absurd.
It was clear that Shin Energy would make a lot of money in the future. But to spend that money on unrealistic space toys?
Martin concluded that the young Asian man in front of him had ambitions to beco the next Elon Musk.
“Looking at the list, you’ve certainly hit the core. Are we going to see the ergence of a Korean version of SpaceX soon?”
“I want the blueprints and one sample of each item. They will never be leaked to the outside, and there will be no additional requests. Martin, how are you going back to the US?”
“I’ll be using a C-17 transport plane from this base. It may be a bit bumpy, but it’s fine.”
“Well then, I’ll arrange for you to take one sample of the railgun with you. Of course, it’s on the condition that we get the exact design specifications.”
“…Mr. Yu Ji-ha, I hope you understand that my schedule-“
“If you can have everything ready within two days, would that be enough?”
Martin, taken aback by Yuji’s casual remark, looked at him with disbelief. Could the core component of a railgun be prepared so quickly?
With a calm smile, Yu Ji-ha replied, “If you accept this condition, the US military won’t have to worry about railgun barrels or capacitors anymore. You can even make design modifications as you please.”
It ant that it could be easily adapted to other platforms. For example, a railgun for ballistic missile defense…
“I’m sorry, I need to make a quick call before giving you an answer.”
“Take your ti.”
An hour later, Martin returned with a longer delay than expected.
“I have good news to share. The White House has given the green light to proceed. Soon, a technology transfer manager from NASA will contact you.”
“Thank you.”
And so, the deal was done.
Yu Ji-ha and the Arican personnel finally completed several pages of the agreent after tedious negotiations.
As promised, the C-17 transport aircraft, carrying Martin and the NASA manager, was loaded with a Black tal cannon.
Passing soldiers looked in awe, and the officer checking the LIR raised an eyebrow.
“I’ve been curious since they loaded it. What’s this huge thing?”
“Well… it’s sothing that our Navy friends will really appreciate.”
“Wow.”
The transport aircraft carrying the Black tal cannon sped down the runway at Osan Air Base.
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