I Became a Scoundrel of a Chaebol Family-Chapter 325
"Liquid... I haven’t tested it yet. But is the liquid state important?"
"...."
"...."
Go Min-young and Kang Hye-young stared at me.
...Was that too basic of a question?
But what can I do if I don’t know?
"Well... It’s extremely important in two aspects."
Thankfully, our beloved Go Min-young calmly began to explain.
"First, the persistence of superconductivity. We still don’t know how long or under what conditions RK-99 can maintain its superconductivity in its solid state, right? We’ll figure that out later, but what if it’s a material that loses its superconductivity once it melts and solidifies again?"
"Is that... possible?"
"It’s not impossible. No, actually, it’s more likely. Superconductivity is highly sensitive to «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» a material’s structure and composition. If it maintains its properties despite undergoing drastic changes, that would actually be more surprising."
"I-I see."
"But what if RK-99 can maintain its superconductivity even in its liquid state? Or if there’s a condition that allows it to do so? Then, even after solidifying again, it’s more likely to retain its superconductive properties. From the perspective of processing ease, it would be an incredibly advantageous material."
Hmm.
Since it’s RK-99, it feels like it would still have superconductivity even if it melts.
After all, it’s a cheat-like item that was originally based on a meme, and the game developers probably didn’t think that deeply about it.
"The second aspect is the application of liquid superconductors itself. Unlike solids, liquids are flexible and can freely change their shape. They can be used more easily in tight spaces or complex structures."
This time, the explanation was a bit long.
Starting with terms like "flexibility" and "shape variability," it escalated into unheard-of phrases like "minimizing internal material inconsistencies" and "constructing three-dimensional integrated circuits using microfluidic channels."
I ended up tuning out about seventy to eighty percent of it, only managing to grasp the concept when she finally provided a concrete example of application.
"(Omitted)... So, if there’s a liquid superconductor that requires minimal temperature and pressure constraints, it could open up a whole new realm distinct from solid superconductors."
"Wow. You explain so well. I really understood everything."
"...."
Go Min-young, who had just finished explaining, applied some lip balm with a blank expression.
"...Did you really understand everything?"
"Of course."
"...."
"...."
She doesn’t believe me.
Did I make it that obvious?
"I completely understand how incredibly useful it could be."
"Anyway, we’ve already confirmed that RK-99 maintains superconductivity even at temperatures exceeding 100°C."
What the hell.
She’s not even taking me seriously.
So cold.
"We’ve only confirmed the Meissner effect so far, but... honestly, that’s the core. It’s not unreasonable to conclude that it maintains superconductivity even at extremely high temperatures. So... it seems we need to conduct more tests at higher temperatures."
"Then... let’s try melting it."
"...Director, I think you should take a break while working."
"I’d love to, but... do we really have the time?"
"...."
Soo-ah had a gaunt look on her face over the past few days.
Her once beautiful face and smooth skin had become slightly dull and rough.
It was because of the workload.
She already had a full plate with her usual duties, but now she had taken on Go Muyeol’s work as well, leaving her with no proper time to rest.
"What’s the response from the Mayor’s office?"
"They said to get back to them once we can reschedule."
"Haa..."
It’s only been a few days, but without Go Muyeol, problems started popping up everywhere.
Problems always arose anyway, but now there was no top decision-maker to handle them promptly, so everything kept getting delayed.
Even with Soo-ah around, it was the same.
No matter how much Go Muyeol had delegated decision-making to her, she wasn’t Go Muyeol.
Tasks that Go Muyeol would have swiftly and effortlessly handled required Soo-ah to meticulously go through them multiple times, ensuring she missed nothing.
Even then, before making a decision, she had to call in key team leaders or relevant employees and go through a lengthy decision-making process, taking several times longer than when Go Muyeol was handling things.
It wasn’t a matter of capability.
It was a matter of responsibility.
Go Muyeol could brush off a wrong decision since it was ultimately his own business, but Soo-ah couldn’t afford to screw up....
‘Ugh... Ugh...’
A headache was starting to form.
"Oh, and they also suggested that the Mayor himself could come here if it’s more convenient."
"The Mayor, here?"
"Yes."
"Hmm..."
The current issue involved Mayor Jung Min-ah.
Originally, Go Muyeol had promised to visit the Mayor’s office this Wednesday, which was "yesterday."
Naturally, the Mayor’s office had been informed of this well in advance.
But for some reason, Go Muyeol had holed himself up in the research building with Go Min-young, refusing to let anyone in or take any calls.
The only external contact they had was when Baek Seol came down to pick up meals, but even that was done quickly and with minimal interaction, making it difficult to encounter her.
In the end, they had no choice but to notify the Mayor’s office before the scheduled time.
Due to "personal reasons," the Director wouldn’t be able to attend the meeting.
Fortunately, since the Mayor’s office was overwhelmingly in a subordinate position, the situation didn’t escalate into a bigger problem.
"For now, just tell them we’ll coordinate later."
"Yes."
The real problem is...
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The massive issue that made all the secretaries in the room go pale.
The meeting scheduled for May 1st, the day after tomorrow, with Go Hayan.
"D-Director... What do we do about this?"
"We should... tell the Master about this... right?"
"But he said absolutely not to approach him."
"He even turned off all his phones."
"Now is the time to show some flexibility. What are you talking about?"
"But he must have had a serious security reason to say that. Who’s even in there right now?"
"...."
"...."
The secretaries exchanged their opinions, bickering among themselves.
If Go Muyeol’s work wasn’t resolved and time continued to pass like this?
If they simply let May 1st come and go?
"...."
The thought was dizzying.
It felt like all the blood was draining from her body, leaving her cold with chills running down her spine.
"Th-The Master... will... surely remember... He’ll come out soon... right?"
"...."
Soo-ah forced herself to say that, but even she knew.
This wasn’t something they could just hope for a lucky break on.
And then —
— Bzzz.
A call came in right at that moment.
"...! S-Secretary Office... This is the Secretary Office of Miss Go Hayan!"
"...."
It was clearly a call from Go Hayan’s secretary office for a pre-meeting check.
Soo-ah squeezed her eyes shut.
++++
"Melting point is approximately 920 degrees Celsius. It maintained superconductivity even upon reaching the critical point. Even when completely liquefied, it maintained superconductivity. When it solidified again, it still retained its superconductive properties, and even after being cooled back down, the superconductive phenomenon persisted...."
"And even when the temperature was lowered to below -190 degrees, its properties did not change... It also remained the same under a pressure of 10 megapascals...."
Kang Hye-young and Go Min-young recited the properties of RK-99 that they had been studying.
Every time a new result came out, they jotted it down in their notebooks, and each time, they found themselves repeatedly astonished.
It was beyond absurd.
As expected, RK-99 was just an all-around, god-tier cheat item.
Even left alone, it was a superconductor.
Heated to over 900 degrees Celsius — still a superconductor.
Completely melted into a liquid — still a superconductor.
Solidified again — still a superconductor.
Frozen below -190 degrees Celsius — still a superconductor.
Subjected to pressure — still a superconductor.
No matter what they did, the superconductivity remained intact.
And it was all incredibly stable.
The only slight downside was that the melting point was so high that it would be somewhat challenging to use it in liquid form.
But even that was a significant enough discovery.
"And no matter how much current we pumped in, the resistance remained at zero. At least within the maximum current range this lab can handle."
"...."
Go Min-young alternated her disbelieving gaze between her notebook, RK-99, and me.
"If these data are accurate, then the magnetic field critical value is also... likely to be at an utterly ridiculous level."
"...Muyeol, would you mind putting your dick inside me for a second? I must be dreaming."
"...."
Was it because she had been shocked one too many times?
For a brief moment, Go Min-young completely lost it.
Then, after a deep sigh, she returned to her senses.
"What the hell did you make?"
"Heh heh..."
I had nothing to say, so I just laughed.
Even for someone like me, who barely had any related knowledge, this was absurd. Imagine how they must feel.
‘Forget about the 9th generation. We might as well leap straight to the 10th generation.’
Listening to the two of them, RK-99’s performance seemed even better than I had initially thought.
At this rate, couldn’t Koryo Group seriously aim for world domination?
‘We could upgrade all military weapons with room-temperature, ambient-pressure superconductors first, then gradually expand it to general products, raking in an astronomical amount of money.’
If it were just my personal influence and knowledge, it wouldn’t even be possible.
But with the power of our group, it might actually be possible to sweep through the entire globe in one fell swoop.
At the very least, Asia was as good as ours.
"...Master."
"?"
At that moment, Baek Seol suddenly approached me.
"It seems a situation has arisen that Director Im is having difficulty handling."
"Huh?"
A situation Soo-ah can’t handle?
What happened?
