Damn Necromancer-Chapter 309
Chapter 309: Development (2)
―[Breaking News] Ilsung Group holds emergency global press conference
―[Breaking News] Simultaneous live broadcast worldwide…… “Will present a new energy paradigm”
Seoul, Ilsung Group Convention Hall.
A man walked out onto the podium where thousands of camera flashes were going off.
Dressed in a neat suit.
A relaxed smile.
It was the Vice Chairman of the Ilsung Group, Kim Hyungseok.
He stood in front of the microphone and remained silent for a moment.
The moment the world's gaze was focused on him.
“Hello. I am the Vice Chairman of the Ilsung Group, Kim Hyungseok.”
His voice echoed through the hall.
“Today, our Ilsung intends to put an end to one of humanity's long-standing challenges.”
As he gestured, the massive curtain at the back of the stage was lifted.
There, a massive server rack enclosed in transparent tempered glass was placed.
“What is the greatest enemy of the AI era? Data? Algorithms? No.”
Kim Hyungseok asserted.
“It is exactly ‘Heat’.”
Numbers appeared on the screen.
[Current Server Load: 0%] [Temperature: 24℃] [Cooling Fan Operation Rate: 0%]
“From this moment, we will run this server at 100% full capacity. Normally, the fans would spin with a deafening roar and the temperature would soar to 80, 90 degrees.”
Woong―!
The server's lamps began to blink red.
The data processing volume skyrocketed.
[Current Server Load: 100%]
People held their breath.
However…….
“……?”
It was quiet.
The sound of the cooling fans, which should have been spinning like crazy, could not be heard.
Kim Hyungseok smiled and pointed at the screen.
[Temperature: 24℃]
[Cooling Energy Consumption: 0W]
“Do you see it?”
The hall began to stir.
Reporters rubbed their eyes and checked the screen again.
The server was clearly running while screaming, yet the temperature did not rise even a single degree.
There was no air conditioner, no fan, nor a water-cooling pump.
“It is not that heat is not being generated. It is because the moment it generates, Ilsung's ‘Dimensional Module’ is dumping the heat somewhere else.”
Kim Hyungseok spread his arms.
“Power consumption reduction rate of 40%, cooling cost 0 won, zero noise.”
He declared.
“As of today, all data centers on Earth have become relics of a bygone era.”
Shock.
There was no other word to explain it.
The hall froze for a moment, and then soon exploded.
Dozens of hands shot up simultaneously.
“I will take questions.”
Kim Hyungseok leisurely pointed to a reporter.
“Reuters News! Could you explain the operating principle of the Dimensional Module? What exactly does it mean to ‘dump the heat somewhere else’?”
“That is a good question.”
Kim Hyungseok nodded.
“Outer space.”
“……Excuse me?”
“We throw the heat into space. Literally.”
A brief silence.
The reporter's mouth dropped open.
“H-how is that……”
“I cannot explain that.”
Kim Hyungseok cut him off firmly.
“The technical principles are Ilsung's core secret. We have no intention of making them public. However, I can tell you this one thing. This technology is one of the items my older brother, Kim Minwoo, obtained directly from clearing a gate.”
A gate.
A space where it wouldn't be strange no matter what was given as a reward.
Even a technology worthy of being called a singularity, if it was obtained from a gate, there was nothing that didn't make sense.
At Kim Hyungseok's words, the stirring grew louder.
“Kim Minwoo got it?”
“Well, with that level of skill……”
“It wouldn't be strange even if he went to a gate that gave that kind of technology as a reward……”
In the midst of that.
Another reporter jumped up.
“The New York Times! How can we trust it when we don't even know the principles!”
“Trust?”
Kim Hyungseok smirked.
“You just saw it. Server running at 100% full capacity, zero temperature increase. If you can't believe what just happened right in front of your eyes……”
He shrugged his shoulders.
“You don't have to use it. We aren't forcing you.”
A calm remark.
However, the reporter did not back down.
They were in a state of mind wanting to find fault with even the smallest thing.
“Then what about environmental issues? To dump that massive amount of heat into space, the adverse effects on the space ecosystem or environment……”
At that moment, Kim Hyungseok couldn't hold it in and burst into a hollow laugh.
“Pfft.”
“……Mr. Vice Chairman?”
“Ah, I apologize. It was such a novel question.”
Kim Hyungseok adjusted his grip on the microphone and looked at the reporter with a pitiful gaze.
“Reporter, do you know how much thermal energy the sun pours onto Earth?”
“Th-that is……”
“To worry that space will get hot just because we run some data centers. It's like pouring a cup of coffee into the Pacific Ocean and worrying that the seawater will boil.”
Kim Hyungseok's eyes sharpened.
“You should be thanking us instead. The heat that would have accelerated global warming if it remained on Earth, we are clearing it out for you.”
Looking around the audience, he drove the wedge in.
“You can worry about space later, and it would be best if you started worrying about your company's stock prices right now. Whether companies that haven't adopted this technology will be able to survive 6 months from now.”
Silence settled.
The faces of the IT company representatives at the scene turned pale.
＊ ＊ ＊
The screen transitioned to the news studio. The anchor's expression looked as if they had lost their soul.
“Did you just see that? Viewers, if that isn't manipulated…… it is a truly unbelievable sight. We have hurriedly invited KAIST Endowed Chair Professor, Professor Lee Minhyung, to explain the ripple effect of this technology.”
A white-haired old professor appeared with an excited face.
“Professor! That demonstration just now, can it be explained scientifically?”
“It can't be explained! It is absolutely impossible with modern science!” 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
Kwang! The professor slammed the desk.
“But we saw it with our own eyes, didn't we? That is a revolution.”
“I can't get a sense of just how amazing it is, could you explain it simply?”
“Simply? Alright. Anchor, you've been to a PC cafe, right?”
“Excuse me? Yes.”
The professor held up his fingers.
“Here is a PC cafe called A. It's the Ilsung PC Cafe. Here, the electricity bill for the air conditioning is ‘0 won’. The computers don't generate heat either, so even if you run them at full capacity for 24 hours, they don't lag at all. So they only charge a fee of 500 won. And they still make a profit.”
The professor pointed as if to poke the camera.
“But the PC cafe next door, B, is a place like Googol or Omazon. Here, the electricity bill for the air conditioning comes out like a bomb. The computers get hot and stutter. If they don't want to run a deficit, they have to charge 1,000 won.”
“Ah……”
“Now, where would the customers go?”
“They would all go to the Ilsung PC cafe, of course.”
“Exactly. Then what about the place next door? They go bankrupt. They don't just go bankrupt, they have to close their doors utterly disastrously.”
The professor's eyes flashed.
“This is the reality currently facing IT companies worldwide. A choice? There is no such thing. Do you use Ilsung's module, or do you disappear into history? It is only one of those two. It is a technology of that caliber.”
＊ ＊ ＊
Ilsung Group Headquarters, main conference room.
The atmosphere was that of a house in mourning.
The owners of big tech companies who controlled the world economy.
The CEOs of Googol, Omazon, Micronsoft, and others sat with pale faces.
They had just watched the demonstration right before their eyes.
And thoroughly verified it.
Just like the slime battery, this was not a fake.
It was real.
Step, step.
The conference room door opened and Kim Hyungseok entered.
His showmanship from earlier was nowhere to be found, and only the cold gaze of a businessman remained.
“Did you have a good look?”
Kim Hyungseok picked up his teacup as he sat in the seat of honor.
“At the ‘new standard’ we have presented.”
“……Mr. Vice Chairman.”
The Google CEO opened his mouth with a trembling voice.
“We have brought a proposal. An unprecedented offer including an annual royalty of 15 trillion won and even a stock swap…….”
Tuk.
Kim Hyungseok pushed the stack of documents off the table.
The Google CEO's words were cut off.
“You are mistaken.”
Kim Hyungseok smirked.
“You must think you came here to negotiate?”
“Excuse me……?”
“This is not a negotiation. It is a ‘notification’.”
Kim Hyungseok flicked his finger.
The secretaries began to distribute thin contracts.
“Exclusive rights? There are none.”
A frost-like chill lingered in his voice.
“We are not looking for partners. We are looking for ‘users’.”
“What does that…….”
“Subscribe.”
Numbers appeared on the screen.
[Monthly $5,000 per Server Rack] [0.5% Traffic Toll based on Data Processing Volume]
“T-toll?!”
The Chairman of Omazon kicked his seat and stood up.
“This is ridiculous! Do you know how much money goes back and forth on our cloud servers, and you want to collect a toll? This is robbery!”
“Robbery, you say.”
Kim Hyungseok propped his chin.
Brimming with composure. An arrogance that only the absolute ‘superior’ could display.
“Then don't use it.”
“What did you say?”
“You just don't have to use it. We aren't forcing you to buy it. Instead…….”
He turned his gaze and looked at the Chairman of Micronsoft.
“Your competitors will use it. Running their servers with ‘0 won’ electricity bills, they'll slash their service prices in half. How long will Omazon last? 6 months? 1 year?”
“……!”
The Chairman of Amazon's face turned the color of dirt. He couldn't refute it.
The PC cafe analogy he saw on the news earlier flashed across his mind.
‘The PC cafe next door goes bankrupt.’
That wasn't a bluff.
It was a genuine death sentence.
“Sit down. My neck hurts.”
At Kim Hyungseok's words, the Omazon Chairman sank down weakly.
At that moment, the air in the conference room changed.
The moment the superior and the subordinate became clear.
It was the moment the world's greatest companies knelt before a second-generation chaebol of South Korea.
At that time, the CEO of Googol opened his mouth with the feeling of grasping at the last straw.
“This is……. A violation of antitrust laws. The US administration will not sit still. If the White House intervenes…….”
“The White House, huh.”
Kim Hyungseok smirked as he put down his teacup.
“Are you going to call President Robert?”
“…….”
“Go ahead. I won't stop you.”
An all too nonchalant reaction.
The Googol CEO's pupils wavered.
Only then did cold calculations begin to run in their heads.
Could the White House save them?
No, to be exact, it was a question of ‘could the US government turn the Ilsung Group into an enemy’.
The answer was ‘No’.
First, the honeymoon relationship between President Robert and Kim Minwoo.
The [Caesar Continent Agreement] signed not long ago.
Robert recovered his approval ratings with Kim Minwoo's help, and smoothly succeeded in his re-election.
Would someone like him stab his core partner, Kim Minwoo, in the back just to save a few domestic companies?
It would undoubtedly be a huge burden.
But the more terrifying thing was the second reason.
‘We cannot…… stop the flow itself.’
The Chairman of Micronsoft rubbed his face in distress.
Let's say the US government sanctions Ilsung.
Export bans, asset freezes. In the past, Ilsung wouldn't have lasted a week before surrendering.
But now?
What if Ilsung cuts off the supply of ‘slime batteries’?
The US electric vehicles, aircraft, and the Pentagon's latest weapon systems currently being produced under license would all come to a complete stop.
On top of that, what if the supply of this ‘Dimensional Module’ is cut off?
America's IT infrastructure would be unable to withstand the heat and melt down on its own.
‘South Korea has…… grown too big.’
It was no longer the small ally that used to be under the US umbrella in the past. Energy and information.
An uncontrollable giant holding and shaking both the ‘oil’ and ‘rice’ of the 21st century.
Its martial power had also grown to a level incomparable to the past.
Who was it that solved the China incident right away?
It was Kim Minwoo.
And carrying a person like him on their backs was the current Republic of Korea, and the Ilsung Group.
“Ah, for your reference…….”
Kim Hyungseok delivered the confirmed kill.
“My older brother said this. He said he had already ended discussions with President Robert on good terms.”
“……!”
The blood completely drained from the CEOs' faces.
Neither the nation nor the law could protect them.
Now, there was only one way for them to survive.
“Contracts, pens.”
Kim Hyungseok said shortly.
“We will allocate the supply in the order of those who sign and leave right here, right now. If you're late, you'll have to wait until next year. Ah, though it would be troublesome for you if your competitors, the Chinese companies, took them first.”
Those words became the trigger.
“I-I will do it first!”
The Chairman of Omazon snatched a pen, forgetting his dignity.
A toll? Pride? Things like that were not important.
They had to install the latest specs before the PC cafe next door to survive.
That was their only survival instinct.
Sagak, sagak, sagak.
The sound of frantic pens filled the conference room.
It was a historical moment where the emperors who ruled the world economy were writing up tribute documents in front of the true emperor.
Watching that spectacle, Kim Hyungseok cheered inwardly.
‘Hyung, you're seriously crazy.’
It wasn't a simple technology sale.
This was a document of surrender.
It was the moment the economic sovereignty of Earth shifted from Wall Street to Teheran-ro.
