Dictator From Outer Space

Chapter 9: Announcement

Shin Ha-yoon grumbled as she changed her clothes in the car.

She had managed to smooth out the wrinkles, but it was still better than wearing a wet dress.

She got out of the car and was greeted by Yu Sung-joon.

“Did you inform him?”

He was the cousin of Yu Ji-ha, the CEO of Future Automotive Group, and also the Director of Corporate Strategy.

He was married, but Shin Ha-yoon disliked his clingy attitude towards her.

“Yeah, I did. He lectured me and told me to get off the car.”

“He must be confident that he can stop the interim shareholders’ meeting. Well, let’s go ahead with it anyway.”

Shin Ha-yoon could sense his smugness from his smirk.

He and the other executives of Future Automotive Group looked down on Silla Group, which had split due to a family feud between the eldest son and the rest.

“Let’s see how it turns out.”

She entered the banquet hall, followed by a swarm of men.

She was the queen bee of this small party.

As the youngest granddaughter of Han Sung Group, she had a stunning appearance and a perfect figure that made her irresistible.

Inside, everyone was buzzing about Yu Ji-ha.

“So, he came earlier and left?”

“He didn’t even get out of the car. He must have chickened out.”

“I heard he made a lot of personnel changes. What a pity.”

“I don’t know about his personality, but he sure has grown up. Look at this photo.”

“Wow… Is that really him?”

“He used to be so skinny. Now he’s all buffed up.”

“He was just a pretty face in romance comics, but now he’s something else.”

Yu Sung-joon couldn’t stand hearing his cousin being praised and interrupted the conversation.

“What good is a handsome face if he has a rotten character? He’s ruining the company with his incompetence.”

“But oppa, he’s doing well as the CEO, right?”

A woman tried to defend him, but Yu Sung-joon laughed dismissively.

“Doing well? Is that your standard? He’s the CEO, for God’s sake. He should be responsible for the stock prices and the employees. If this happened in our group, it would be a catastrophe.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Well, he’s not getting any younger.”

“He should show some results as a leader. From what I see, he’s just making a mess.”

“The stock prices won’t last long at this rate.”

Yu Sung-joon sipped his wine and waited for someone to bring up his own achievements.

His younger brother, who knew him well, did him a favor and praised him.

“Oh, Sung-joon hyung. I heard you’re working on solid-state batteries. Congratulations.”

Yu Sung-joon’s eyes widened.

“How did you find out? It was supposed to be a secret.”

“I heard some rumors about your efforts in the Corporate Strategy Office. Are you going to be promoted to Vice President soon?”

“Maybe.”

“Wow… That’s amazing, oppa. You’ll be the first to produce solid-state batteries in Korea.”

“The Japanese would rather die than share their technology. How did you pull it off?”

“You’re incredible, hyung.”

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The compliments kept coming, and he never got tired of them.

He nodded and glanced at Shin Ha-yoon, but she seemed bored, playing with her phone.

Then, she noticed something and turned on the TV in a corner of the banquet hall.

“Why are you turning on the TV?”

“I heard Silla Energy is making an announcement.”

“Is it about their bankruptcy?”

“Hahaha.”

People laughed, and Shin Ha-yoon frowned as she watched the TV.

They wouldn’t call the reporters and announce their bankruptcy, would they?

Silla Group was not a top-tier chaebol, but they wouldn’t let their subsidiaries fail so easily.

“Does it have something to do with Ji-ha?”

Why was he so calm after she warned him about the interim shareholders’ meeting? What was his plan?

Why did he tell her to watch TV tonight?

Maybe the answer had something to do with that old, secretive director of the research institute.

After a while, Director Lee Han-jong started speaking with a nostalgic tone.

–It’s an honor for me to make this announcement on behalf of President Yu Ji-ha…

The speech of a lifelong researcher who devoted himself to science was slow and hard to follow.

But some key points were clear.

—We have developed a new battery at our Silla Energy Pangyo Research Center…

—The name… Haha, we haven’t decided yet, but President Yu will choose later. It’s his battery, after all.”

Everyone looked puzzled when they heard him mention the president. Was he talking about YuJi-ha?

“Yu Ji-ha invented a battery?”

“But he hasn’t been awake for long.”

As people whispered, Shin Ha-yoon spoke up.

“Quiet, let’s listen to the announcement.”

Everyone obeyed the queen and kept silent. The director’s voice continued.

–This new battery… has a very high energy density. It passed all our internal tests for operational conditions and is structurally stable. Um… in other words, it means it can be mass-produced right away.

“Is that a solid-state battery?”

Someone asked, and Yu Sung-joon stepped forward.

—It can’t be a solid-state battery… We couldn’t develop it ourselves, so how can Silla Energy do it? It’s not about underestimating them, but such developments require a lot of manpower, time, and money to succeed.”

Everyone nodded in agreement with his reasonable statement.

Solid-state batteries were a dream that every major battery manufacturer had pursued. 

They had experimented with every element on Earth and achieved some results, but only Japan had reached the mass production stage. 

As a result, Korean battery companies were losing their market share in the global battery market.

“Maybe Silla Energy will make a fortune with this.”

“Really? I heard they cut down the department that used to be their main source of income.”

“Then what kind of battery is it?”

“Well… we’ll see when they show it.”

Meanwhile, Director Lee Han-jong finished his speech and sighed. Someone asked him a question.

–Is the new battery a solid-state battery?

–It’s not such a simple technology.

Simple technology, he said!

Everyone was stunned, and Director Lee Han-jong picked up the microphone again.

–I can guarantee that after this announcement, Japan’s solid-state batteries will lose their edge… Well, they might still sell as cheap alternatives. After all, the demand for batteries is very high these days.

–Why are you so confident?

–Oh, I didn’t mention the numbers in the presentation. But let me tell you. For the Windrunner, the electric vehicle from Silla Auto, if we replace it with the battery pack we developed, the driving range will exceed 2,000 kilometers.

Everyone was speechless, as if they had been hit by a hammer.

If the driving range was 2,000 kilometers, wasn’t that about three times the range of Japanese solid-state batteries?

The journalists realized the importance and got excited.

–So you mean it can go that far with one charge?

–Yes. And the charging time is very short, too. About three minutes. Just plug it in, have a smoke, and it’s done, hehe.

–But won’t the car be heavier or more expensive?

–As for the price, that’s something our management will decide… Well, if you can call it management. It’s just one person, the CEO. Haha. I can assure you that it’s lighter than the existing solid-state batteries on the market.

He wasn’t joking.

He gave specific energy density data and confidently claimed that they had solved the major problem of dendrite formation.

He also said that they would send samples and data to reputable research institutes at home and abroad.

At this point, the only sound in the room was the typing of people frantically taking notes.

And the heirs of the chaebols, who had been watching in shock, started making phone calls.

There was no chaebol that had nothing to do with batteries, so the atmosphere became tense and people started leaving one by one.

“What the hell? Call Silla Energy right now and confirm. What do you mean they’re off work? Do you want to lose your job? There must be someone working late! Go!”

“Get the strategy team together. What? Drinking? You don’t have time to drink! Come to the headquarters right now.”

The situation became chaotic, and people scattered.

“Damn it! It’s not a simple technology. If they had such a breakthrough battery, they should have told us in advance, considering our relationship.”

Shin Ha-yoon was furious as she watched Yu Sung-joon drive away in his car. 

She realized why he had told her to watch the broadcast in the basement. 

There was no need for a shareholders’ meeting when the stock price would soar and the public’s attention would shift the next day.

“…”

She bit her lip silently, feeling defeated.

She felt like she had lost control of the situation.

Damn it, what a stupid mistake.

Since Silla Energy’s announcement was in the evening, it didn’t have much impact at first. 

But as the news spread online, a huge storm erupted.

The number of 2,000km on a single charge was so shocking that the car community debated fiercely about its validity.

–Do you really believe that crap? How can it go 2,000km on a single charge?

—Even the mythical car that runs on flower scent doesn’t have that kind of range.”

—What are you talking about?

–I can understand if it’s Hanseong or GC, they’ve invested billions. But how much did Silla Energy invest

—According to last year’s data, their R&D cost was 7 billion.

—And they credit that to Yu Ji-ha? That’s absurd. He’s only been awake for a few months after being a vegetative-state. 

—Well, he was once called a genius. Maybe he has some skills we don’t know about?

—No, that’s not it, you moron. Even if he’s a genius, it’s physically impossible to develop a new battery in just a few months.

—I work in the battery industry. Let me tell you about the types of tests that are essential for making a battery.

He listed various unfamiliar test names and equipment under his comment.

The internet community, tired of those arguments, agreed that it was impossible.

Someone made this claim:

—Silla Energy’s stock price is dropping right now. They’re making this announcement to boost it.

—But even if they boost it, won’t it go back to normal tomorrow?

—They’re just trying to lure the ants when the market opens. It’s just a temporary push.

—But guys, isn’t this Lee Han-jong director quite famous in the battery field? As a scholar, can he lie like that?

—Well, money talks.

—Does Silla Energy even have that kind of money right now?

—Think about it. If Yu Ji-ha is an idiot who bullies his subordinates and forces them to make the announcement, it all makes sense. He’s always been like that.

—Well…

—If there’s another accident, he should be arrested, right? Even if he’s fine, he still has a father.

—His father has given up on him completely.

—But they said they would send the samples and data to other research institutes. If that’s a lie, wouldn’t it be suicide?

—Yeah, you’re right…

—Well, we’ll see tomorrow.

Anyway, the dominant opinion on the internet was that Lee Han-jong was a troublemaker and a liar.

They say that to judge a person’s future, you should look at their past.

Yu Ji-ha’s past was brilliant, but his present was stained with alcohol, drugs, and reckless sex. 

So, it was natural for everyone to have a negative view of him.

As time passed, the long-awaited stock market finally opened. 

The stock price of Silla Energy, which was less than 3,000 won, started to soar as soon as it was 9 o’clock.

People who had stayed up all night, waiting eagerly, began to plan their strategies.

—Let’s go for a killing spree!

—Now, if it suddenly drops, it’ll be so thrilling!

But Silla Energy’s stock price defied their expectations and kept hitting new records. 

As a result, the stock chat room went wild.

—I sold everything, damn it.

—It’s clearly manipulated by the big shots. Are there any fools buying in?

—Money breeds money! Come on, brainless monkeys!

—Hey idiots, do you think stock trading is just a day or two? Soon, there’ll be news about stock fraud.

—I want to see Yu Ji-ha in front of the prosecutor’s office with a photo line.

—But guys, what if this is actually real?

—Be rational. Do you think such technology is possible at our level?

There is such a thing as the learning effect.

People who had played with stocks in South Korea remembered cases like the nano image sensor case, which involved stock fraud.

If a technology is not logically understandable, it is almost certainly, if not 100%, a scam.

–It’s probably just Yu Ji-ha trying to make a last splash and boost Korea.

The skepticism and distrust in the online community were evident.

–The prosecutors should ban him from traveling, what are they doing?

–Well, these days, when something like this happens, they swarm in like bees to verify it, so let’s just wait and see.

Amidst such discussions, the stock price continued to rise, tempting investors as it flew high. 

The KOSDAQ, which had been stuck in a box for two years, shook, and everyone blindly jumped in.

–Damn it, I don’t care if it’s a scam or not, I want to make some money.

–Silla Energy, let’s go to 10,000 won!

–Wow, the reporters are flocking to Silla Group’s headquarters.

–Today will be so exciting.

Everyone’s attention was on Silla Group.

…