Chapter 23: The Vanished ck Metal and Political Negotiations


    [Emergency earthquake alert. Please be cautious of strong tremors in Fukuoka Prefecture, Saga Prefecture, Tsushima Ind, and Iki Ind.]


    Following the announcement by the NHK announcer, all Japanese broadcasting stations simultaneously issued earthquake alerts.


    Soon after, tsunami warnings were also sounded, and people began evacuating in unison.


    Japan was a country ustomed to experiencing earthquakes several times a day, so they were familiar with this level of seismic activity.


    However, this earthquake was different.


    There was no clear epicenter or aftershocks, and the origin point continued to shake incessantly.


    It felt as if someone were excavating the ocean floor with a gigantic shovel.


    Usually, earthquakes with a Richter scale magnitude below 3 would quickly subside, and people would regain theirposure.


    But this earthquake had been shaking the ground relentlessly for two hours, just like it did in the beginning.


    Moreover, thend near the beaches of Fukuoka City had instantaneously liquefied, causing buildings to sway dangerously.


    The citizens of Fukuoka City were filled with terror.


    “This is the prelude to a massive earthquake! The big one ising!”


    While the Japanese were immune to moderate earthquakes to some extent, they harbored immense fear for massive earthquakes.


    They had experienced them multiple times in the past, and schrs had constantly issued warnings.


    As a result, the citizens of Fukuoka City began to quietly escape.


    “Please remain calm! Do not leave the city!”


    The police hurriedly intervened, but there was no way to quell the deep-rooted fear.


    Although the actual damage was not significant, the ongoing earthquake made the areas near the city perilous.


    As tens of thousands of people tried to evacuate the city, the major roads transformed into parking lots in an instant.


    Northern Kyushu had fallen into a state of paralysis.


    The Japanese government urgently established a crisis management center and started assessing the situation, but there was very little they could do in practical terms.


    Meanwhile, at the epicenter of all this chaos, the settler ship was continuously flipping thend using a gravity crane at a depth of 2,700 meters underwater.


    Without even having time to process it, the ck Metal was literally being sucked in and the cavity quickly filled up.


    Arma expanded the Aether field widely, enclosing the settler ship with ck Metal.


    As a result, the settler ship appeared like a massive rock formation.


    “We need to secure the space.”


    When the ck Metal went beyond the range of the Aether field, Arma made the decision to move these entities.


    As the settler ship slowly moved away from the coastal waters of Japan, the earthquake temporarily ceased.


    However, two hourster, when it returned and flipped thend again, another earthquake urred.


    The Japanese people were filled with terror, believing that this was even worse than the devastating Kumamoto earthquake that urred ten years ago.


    Schrs had advised evacuating Fukuoka City, which was close to the epicenter, but the Japanese government did not easily ept this suggestion.


    And two dayster, the earthquakes suddenly subsided as if nothing had happened.


    There were no aftershocks, and life returned to normal as if nothing had happened.


    However, the areas near the epicenter had suffered significant damage.


    Hundreds of thousands of households experienced power outages, and the water pipes ruptured, causing widespread flooding.


    Although there weren’t many buildings that copsed, over 300 locations were reported to have suffered severe liquefaction.


    The Japanese government hastily deployed 20,000 self-defense forces to search for missing individuals and provide support to the disaster victims.


    And they were observing everything through the maintained Sibiri artificial satellite.


    “How many casualties are there?”


    “There have been 15 deaths, over 1,700 injuries, and 320 missing persons reported so far. There is a possibility that these numbers will increase as time passes.”


    “Surprisingly, the number of deaths is rtively low.”


    “That’s because it’s something that happens frequently. Japan is considered one of the leading countries in earthquake preparedness worldwide.”


    “It’s somewhat fortunate, then…”


    This is hypocrisy.


    Considering it fortunate that there were fewer casualties caused by the entity who orchestrated the earthquake.


    However, he was capable ofmitting any atrocity for the sake of rebuilding the United Human Alliance.


    In the future, he may have to directly or indirectly kill millions of people.


    Many will revile and curse him.


    Nevertheless, he couldn’t stop.


    From the moment he arrived here, dragging the settler ship, his fate was sealed.


    With a somber expression, he gazed across Japan before turning his gaze away.


    “If there’s anymunicationing from Japan, connect it to me immediately.”


    [Understood.]


    …


    The Japanese archipgo was plunged into shock by the continuous earthquakes over the span of two days.


    However, there was something else that truly mattered.


    The Japanese government had major concerns about the ovep between the location of the ck Metal deposit and the epicenter.


    As the earthquakes subsided, they quickly dispatched survey teams.


    And the results were shocking.


    “The ck Metal… haspletely disappeared!”


    “It seems to have been concealed deep under the seabed due to the aftermath of the earthquake. Currently, the possibility of mining is close to zero.”


    Upon hearing this report, Prime Minister Genzo Fujimoto’s body wavered.


    Surrounding officials hurriedly supported him and helped him into his seat.


    “Hmm…”


    A deep sigh escaped him.


    The sense of loss from losing the ck Metal was several times greater than the impact of the earthquakes or the plummeting economic indicators.


    Japan was arge country, and its finances were sound.


    The repercussions of the earthquakes could be managed, and indices like the Nikkei would quickly recover.


    But the vanished ck Metal… Where could it have gone?


    Amidst the global scramble to secure ck Metal, with nations on high alert and even mobilizing military forces, they realized that “Divine Metal,” ck Metal, was the future of Japan.


    However, that future had not entirely vanished.


    Prime Minister Fujimoto clung to a faint glimmer of hope in one final possibility.


    Before a vote of no confidence could pass in the Diet, something needed to be done.


    “Connect me to the CEO of Si Energy.”


    In an unprecedented event, the Prime Minister of Japan made a phone call to the head of a Koreanpany.


    Messages were ryed through diplomatic channels, and intense negotiations took ce behind the scenes.


    In the meantime, the Prime Minister found himself surrounded by journalists, bombarded with questions.


    “Is it true that ck Metal has disappeared due to the impact of the earthquakes?”


    “Are you nning to express regrets directly to Si Energy? If that’s true, shouldn’t you reconsider?”


    “What will your course of action be? Will you dissolve the Diet if a vote of no confidence is passed?”


    During the question-and-answer session, it was revealed that the Prime Minister intended to personally express regrets to the head of Shin Energy.


    Naturally, opinions became sharply divided.


    —It’s unthinkable for the Prime Minister to bow his head. Expressing regrets on an economic and industrial level is sufficient.


    —Face reality. Can we really expect the person who dered Japan’s exclusion from the ck Metal ecosystem to be satisfied with that?


    —Somebody has to bear the me.


    In times of crisis, it ismon to assign me to someone.


    However, it was rare for the Japanese people to calmly pinpoint the responsible party.


    me was directed towards the economic and industrial bureaucrats who made disrespectful remarks, the leaders of the twopanies, government agencies, the Diet, the media, and the onlinemunity.


    The me game focused directly on those involved in the economic and industrial sector.


    …


    The unique phenomenon of Easy Mega, which is characteristic of Japan, had begun, and the bureaucrats, unable to withstand the turmoil, chose tomit suicide in economic and industrial buildings.


    As all the evils came back to haunt them, the leaders of the twopanies immediately held a press conference and dered their resignation.


    —CEO Yu Ji-ha, we sincerely apologize for the trouble we’ve caused. We humbly request your kind understanding and ask for your careful attention to this matter.


    The journalists roared during the ensuingmotion.


    Watching it through the TV in his office, Yu Ji-ha muttered under his breath.


    “I clearly told them to do it in front of me.”


    Shortly after, a call came from the number given by the Presidential Office.


    It was Prime Minister Fujimoto of Japan.


    Only Arma, who overheard the conversation, knew what they discussed.


    However, one thing was certain.


    The Japanese government chose to bend rather than scratch their ego.


    Yu Ji-ha wasn’t entirely satisfied, but he decided to stop at this point.


    There was no need for further retaliation.


    If he pushed it any further, Japan would not surrender, and it would only lead to unnecessary conflict.


    He didn’t have time to waste on this matter when there were so many tasks that needed to be handled in the future.


    Rather thanpletely destroying the Japanese archipgo…


    —Let’s finish the work as cleanly and quickly as possible. That’s the most important thing.


    It was a phrase Lucía had often said, and he was deeply influenced by her.


    After ending the call, he dered to the reporters waiting in front of the headquarters.


    “We are lifting the ck Metal embargo on Japan. From now on, Si Energy will directly export ck Metal to Japan and receive an appropriate level of investment. That’s all.”


    Although he didn’t mention the scale of it, everyone could imagine that it would be tremendous.


    In an instant, the press conference ended, and he turned around.


    “Wait, hold on!”


    “President Yu!”


    The journalists quickly stood up and rushed towards him.


    …


    As expected, Deputy Chief Martin extended his hand with a concerned expression.


    ―There are over a thousand people who witnessed the railgun experiment. It’s impossible to control what they say.


    “Well, even if that’s the case, what pressure did you put on the Korean government?”


    ―Using the term “pressure” might be a bit excessive. It seems that the White House felt the need for mediation.


    The United States had always taken Japan’s side whenever conflicts arose between Japan and Korea.


    It was an unavoidable reality due to the difference in realistic national power.


    “Doesn’t that mean if something like this happens again, they can put pressure on me as well?”


    ―To dispel such spection, we need to discreetly inform you of the White House’s decision. The President wants to meet you personally. After that meeting, a decision on investment will be made in the working-level meeting.


    Yu Ji-ha grumbled while holding his phone.


    “It’s just adding another line to the list of investmentpanies: the U.S. government.”


    ―If you know the scale, you’ll retract your words. Anyway, I didn’t get an answer about the visit.


    “I suppose I have to figure it out myself. Let me know once the schedule is set.”


    ―Haha, let’s discuss the scheduleter. By the way, the Navy wants five ck Metal cannons as soon as possible. They’re requesting it urgently.


    “I’ll send them to Osan Air Base in three days.”


    One crisis, not Yu Ji-ha’s personal crisis, but a crisis in general, came to an end.


    However, his father, Yu Kyung-seok, found himself facing a serious dilemma.


    The realization that he had done nothing in this incident weighed heavily on him.


    ‘My son as a hostage… What a disgraceful situation.’


    Fortunately, with the urrence of the earthquake and the disappearance of ck Metal, they narrowly avoided being boycotted by the Japanese government.


    The chaebols in the business hierarchy would have been trembling, and Si Group would have been inplete disarray.


    “Phew…”


    Chairman Yu Kyung-seok keenly felt his own powerlessness as he observed the series of events.


    At the same time, he found his son, who had sessfully navigated through such a crisis without any mishaps, to be reliable and trustworthy.


    “I had nned to hand over the group to him in ten years…”


    When a person reaches about forty, they gain insights and umte experiences.


    But his proud son was only in his early thirties, taking care of everything on his own.


    The fact that Si Group had emerged from its slump was alsorgely thanks to his son’s efforts.


    “Phew…”


    A deep puff of smoke was exhaled.


    Chairman Yu Kyung-seok had already made up his mind deep within his heart.


    Retiring at a rtively young age wouldn’t be a bad idea.


    It’s time to take a step back.


    He picked up the phone.


    “Ji-ha, if you’re free, let’s have lunch together today. Well… nothing special, just wanted to catch up.”


    The fight between a Koreanpany and Japan came to a quick end.


    It was only then that the world realized Japan’s dirty tricks.


    Toyota and Panasonic, who had been called to sign a contract and were locked in a warehouse, appeared 30 minutester.


    The scene was captured on CCTV and uploaded by media outlets to mock them.


    The Japanese government, in an effort to prevent damage to its ownpanies, had triggered an unfair boycott.


    Lastly, they closed their eyes and ears, ming Korean businessmen while Japaneseizens followed suit with their disgracefulments.


    When a video summarizing the incident was tranted into 50nguages and uploaded on YouTube, it was met with a wave of ridicule.


    As they watched others engage in arguments and get humiliated, they couldn’t help but feel sorry for those losers.


    —It’s really pathetic how they call people and then bring them down. It’s like dealing with children.


    —But why did he ept that? If it were me, I would have excluded them from the beginning.


    —Well, Japan is a powerful country. The US probably exerted pressure on them. And there are pro-Japanese factions in Korea too.


    —If that’s the case, there might have been a hidden agreement. The Japanese government must have suffered significant losses.


    But what about those people who said Yu Ji-ha was ruining Si Energy? Where did they all go?


    —They probably shorted the stock and went bankrupt. If you go to stock discussion boards, you can vividly see the history of their failure.


    —That’s why they’re saying they need to ban individual short selling.


    —I signed a petition three years ago asking for individuals to be allowed to short sell.


    Meanwhile, on the Whisper Si Group forum, praises overflowed instead of me.


    —If Japan had boycotted the group, we would have been in big trouble.


    —At least the shipbuilding, electronics, and automotive industries would have beenpletely devastated. We had to trade with Japan because our domestic trading partners were blocked.


    —But how could they tell the Japanese government to back off? They’re really gutsy.


    —Remember when CEO Yu Ji-ha called it a show while having lunch at thepany cafeteria?


    —Looks like he made a mistake. He still goes to the cafeteria for lunch.


    —But isn’t that blonde woman his girlfriend?


    —I heard she’s his secretary. I wish I could work alongside someone like her.


    —If I had around 1 trillion won, it might be possible.


    —Hey, did anyone buy energy stocks that skyrocketed 50 times? Anyone?


    —Why the hell would you blow up a nuclear bomb?


    —We were all in a selling mood back then!


    —I doubt anyone predicted such a surge.


    —Except for the CEO.


    —Anyway, these days, the whole group is on the rise. It seems like the chairman’s shoulders are dancing.


    —Energy is soaring to the sky, and Auto is no joke. And there’s a gradual increase in the shipbuilding sector due to the mining boom.


    —But why isn’t Hi-Tech rising?


    —That’s because you’re there.


    —But isn’t it time for a vice-chairman position?


    —But CEO Yu’s management skills are something else, right?


    —You’d be surprised to see the Si Energy employees leaving on time.


    —Exactly. Once they finish their assigned tasks, they go home. No overtime, and they have team dinners during lunchtime.


    —And the sries have increased this time. It’s truly a dream workce.


    —But some of them say they feel like they’ve be mere cogs in the machine. They just have to do as they’re told.


    —In this day and age, if you can work at apany without being fired, that’s a good thing.


    —Oh, I want to work at Energy too! Hi-Tech is really hopeless…


    —Just wait a little longer. I have a feeling that the CEO will be promoted and take charge of Hi-Tech.


    —Are you serious? Vice-chairman at the age of 33?


    —He’s a chaebol. His position ispletely different from ours.


    —But why did he choose Hi-Tech? He could have taken over Auto or Electronics, which have rapidly rising stock prices.


    —Well, my future is hopeless.


    —Stay strong.


    Note:


    The term “Diet” refers to the National Diet of Japan. The National Diet is the bicameral legitive body of Japan, simr to a parliament or congress in other countries. It isposed of two houses: the House of Representatives (Lower House) and the House of Councillors (Upper House). The Diet is responsible for enactingws, approving the national budget, and overseeing the actions of the government. It ys a crucial role in the democratic governance of Japan.