Chapter 499

A mansion in Buckinghamshire.

Grace Rothschild, at a loss for words, watched the spaceship leave the atmosphere. The mark and the letters CNSA on the fuselage indicated that the spaceship belonged to the China National Space Administration.

Grace Rothschild, who had been convinced of victory just a moment ago, quickly assessed the situation.

When the Fat Phoenix exploded, the hedge funds poured out short sales to finish it off, and as intended, the market was plummeting. But as soon as China announced the successful launch of Chang'e 8, the market began to rebound.

They poured out short sales again to create a downward trend, but the market recovered its losses and turned to a wait-and-see mode.

Grant's eyelids trembled faintly.

[Did he know that SpaceX would fail?]

"Could he have seen this in a foresight as well?"

[Or he could have read our moves.]

He probably started planning it when he went to China before. That means he knew that a situation like this would arise even before then.

China was pouring all its efforts into defending its foreign exchange market. But to think that they were preparing something like this behind the scenes.

They had been keeping a close eye on China. But the continent is vast, and the financial market is even more closed, so there was a limit to the information they could obtain.

Seeing how they had carried out the work in complete secrecy, it was highly likely that Chairman Zhang Pinghua had personally ordered it. If the project failed, he would not be able to avoid political responsibility.

'Did he trust Kang Jin-hoo enough to take such a risk?'

Grant closed and opened his eyes.

[We need to consider the possibility that we will fail.]

At those words, Grace bit her lip slightly.

All the conditions were perfectly met. It was a plan that could not fail. But a completely unexpected variable had shaken the market.

In the market, the side with more money is absolutely advantageous. Rothschild used its capital to create a huge flow and drew numerous capitals into that flow.

But Kang Jin-hoo, in response, succeeded in creating a new flow.

It is the individual participants who move the market. People now began to think about the possibility of Kang Jin-hoo succeeding.

Grace muttered to herself.

"Can an individual really beat the market?"

***

Breaking news was pouring out every moment.

The world was in an uproar. Fortunately, the stock market and the yuan's fall had temporarily stopped.

I had done everything I could.

Now everything depended on Chang'e 8. Can it really find Geratinium in the Sea of Tranquility, mine it, and return to Earth safely?

As I was taking a breather, a call came from the Kremlin.

President Vysotsky spoke in a tired voice, and the interpreter immediately relayed it in Korean.

[How much more are you going to surprise me? If you knew, you should have told me in advance.]

"I'm sorry."

With the economic crisis and the fear of war overlapping, the ruble and the stock market had fallen endlessly.

If I hadn't released dollars in the foreign exchange market to block the offensive, Russia would have already declared default.

If that had happened, a full-scale war might have really broken out in Ukraine.

[But is there really a Geratinium mine on the lunar surface?]

"You will find out in a short while."

It takes about four days for the spaceship to reach the moon. And after arriving at the Sea of Tranquility, it has to explore and mine, and then come back with the samples.

"Russia must also hurry. Geratinium will become the gold of the 21st century."

[Are you saying we should also go to the moon and mine it?]

"Yes."

If Chang'e 8 succeeds, a gold rush to the moon will begin. There is a Geratinium mine in the Sea of Tranquility, and this mine has no owner.

All you have to do is go and mine the mineral that is more expensive than gold first.

If there is certainty that it will be profitable, all countries and companies will jump into Geratinium mining.

SpaceX will launch a spaceship again, and other private space companies such as Red Origin, Science Orbital, and Virgin Galaxy will also hurry to launch. Europe, India, and Japan will also jump into this competition.

But those with the technology and capital to go to the moon are limited.

From Russia's perspective, a new opportunity has opened up.

The Russian economy has a large proportion of resource exports, to the point where it is virtually no different from OPEC. Its manufacturing competitiveness is generally backward, and it relies on imports for most of its advanced products.

But in the space field, the story is different.

The Soviet Union, the predecessor of Russia, once engaged in a space race with the United States, and Russia, which inherited that technology, is still a space power, launching the most satellites and spaceships after the United States and China.

"If you had started a war, you would have missed this opportunity."

After Russia declared war on Ukraine, the eastern small towns with a large Russian population declared independence and fought a civil war with the government forces. Volunteer forces to support the independence of Novorossiya also joined this battle.

Fortunately, the Russian regular army stopped at the border and did not enter Ukrainian territory, and the same was true for the NATO forces.

At my words, President Vysotsky burst out laughing.

[It seems there will be many things to cooperate with OTK Company in the future.]

In the case of Russia, it has the technology, but it lacks capital and manpower. OTK Company and South Korea will be able to fully support this.

Naturally, I have no intention of relying on China alone for the most important resource, Geratinium. If we are to continue to take the lead, the more suppliers, the better. That way, we can make them compete with each other and lower the price.

***

Seosung SB Suwon Production Plant.

After being released from the detention center on bail, Chairman Im Jin-yong went home without even stopping, and instead lived and slept here with the researchers, working hard to create a battery pack and a mass production line using the JN Battery.

Professor Kim Ho-min and the researchers from the OTK Research Institute also cooperated here.

The creation of a technology and its commercialization are completely different problems. It can take a few years at the shortest, and decades at the longest.

For example, the OLED element was invented in 1987, but the product was actually mass-produced 20 years later, and it took several more years for it to become popular.

Chairman Im Jin-yong sighed.

"It's not easy to increase the yield. Four out of five are defective."

Professor Kim Ho-min had a bitter expression.

"Only 20 percent."

"The production method is completely different from not only NCM batteries but also OTK batteries. If even a small mistake is made during the production process, a defective product is immediately produced."

This meant that five times the amount of Geratinium was needed to make one proper battery.

It would be nice if you could reuse the Geratinium by disassembling the failed product, but it was impossible as it had already undergone a chemical reaction.

With each failure, hundreds of millions of won worth of Geratinium turned into trash.

Chairman Im Jin-yong said.

"We are getting a lot of inquiries from here and there, but to start production, we have to raise it to at least 50 percent. Even then, it will be difficult to run the factory for even a day with the Geratinium we have now."

As soon as the JN Battery was announced, Geratinium disappeared from the market. Now, you can't buy it even if you have the money.

This was expected anyway. That's why they hadn't even dared to think about mass production.

"Let's hope CEO Kang Jin-hoo's plan succeeds."

As the launch time approached, the staff, who had been staying up all night, gathered in front of the TV.

The explosion of the Fat Phoenix brought sighs and groans, and the subsequent news of the successful launch of Chang'e 8 brought gasps and cheers.

Chairman Im Jin-yong laughed, as if it was absurd.

"Did you know?"

Professor Kim Ho-min also smiled and shook his head.

"I didn't know either... but it's just like CEO Kang Jin-hoo, I think."

"I feel like I'm standing in the middle of history."

"Maybe we are creating the future."

Before long, the researchers were all with sparkling eyes.

Until now, there were people who were skeptical about the possibility of mass production. But now, everyone had conviction.

Chairman Im Jin-yong clapped his hands lightly and said.

"Chang'e 8 will bring back Geratinium. Until then, we must create a production line. Seosung SB will be remembered in history as the first company to launch the JN Battery."

***

I boarded a private jet to go to China. This time, a call came from President Ronald.

"Good morning, Mr. President."

He said gruffly.

[I'm not doing so well. I was just in a NSC meeting.]

China had secretly launched a rocket, and the United States had failed to detect it. Even if it was a spaceship and not an ICBM, the United States had no choice but to take it as a serious threat to national security.

[I thought China's movements were quiet these days, but to think they were preparing something like this. They completely fooled me too.]

A hint of disappointment was in his tone.

"There's a saying, 'To deceive the enemy, you must first deceive your allies'."

From the beginning, only Taek-gyu knew about this plan. Except for China, which carried it out, no one knew.

Not Ellie, not Hyun-joo noona, not Senior Sang-yeop, not Chairman Im Jin-yong, not Allen Eberhardt...

I had already gotten an earful from them.

[You managed to persuade Chairman Zhang Pinghua. It must not have been an easy task.]

"It was easier than when I persuaded you before, Mr. President."

At my words, he burst out into a hearty laugh.

[Hahaha! In any case, you really gave those bastards a good one.]

He probably knew it too. That the people who were holding his weaknesses and blackmailing him were the same opponents I was fighting.

[How did you know SpaceX would fail?]

"I didn't know either."

I just guessed that the Rothschilds wouldn't just sit back and watch. Although I didn't expect it to explode so spectacularly.

[I've wanted to ask you for a while... both during the Big One and this time. Why are you doing such a reckless thing? Aren't you afraid?]

I shook my head.

"No. I'm afraid too."

Even now, my hands and feet are trembling, and a cold sweat is running down my back.

In a capitalist society, money is a person's status, ability, and an essential tool for survival. The more you have, the more you have to lose.

Losing a lot of money is a fear so great that you might think it's better to die.

[Then why on earth are you going this far?]

I thought about the things I had been through.

A single failure can send you off a cliff. Nevertheless, I have always risked everything and jumped in.

If I hadn't done that during the Big One, millions would have died and the whole world, including the US, would have been in chaos.

The same goes for this financial crisis.

I recalled the scenes I had seen in my dream. Protests, riots, terrorism, war, division...

What is the reason I have to stop all these things?

Is it because the Korean economy will also collapse? Is it because the People's Liberation Army will trample Hong Kong? Is it because a war will break out in Ukraine?

Was I that righteous of a person?

No, that's all bullshit.

Now I think I get it. The reason I'm doing this is...

"I'm an investor."

What an investor does is invest to make money. And investing inevitably involves risk.

What I do is far from justice.

Whether it's Chairman Zhang Pinghua or President Vysotsky, no matter how nicely you package it, they are dictators. Ronald also committed a crime worthy of impeachment.

Nevertheless, all three have no intention of giving up their power. Perhaps after they fall, a better leader might emerge.

Those with power want more power, and those with money want to make more money.

Rothschild, the hedge funds, the other investors... everyone is acting for their own interests.

The same goes for me.

There is no right or wrong, good or evil in the market. It's not that the just and the good succeed, and it's not that the greedy and the evil fail.

All that exists there is only profit and loss.

"An investor only moves for profit."

If you fail, you lose everything, but if you succeed, you get everything.

Although I couldn't see his expression because it was a phone call, I could guess what kind of expression he was making.

[Good luck, my friend.]