After the Divorce, I Found a Thousand Bitcoins - Chapter 173

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I Got Divorced and Found a Thousand Bitcoins Episode 173

Washington Dulles International Airport.

A private jet with the KH Group logo clearly emblazoned on it glided smoothly onto the runway.

The heart of America and the place where a massive chessboard of power unfolds.

Kang Hyeon descended the stairs in light attire and got into a waiting limousine.

His destination was a private club in the outskirts of Washington D.C.

A closed room with thorough security that completely blocked outside eyes.

There, Edwin, a prominent Democratic presidential candidate, was waiting.

“Welcome to Washington, Mr. Choi.”

Edwin approached with a bright smile and firmly grasped Kang Hyeon’s hand.

“It’s good to see you after so long. Now you’re humanity’s savior, aren’t you?”

“You flatter me. I merely protected my business.”

Kang Hyeon sat down on the sofa across from him.

Unnecessary pleasantries didn’t continue for long.

Edwin fingered the cigar placed on the table and immediately got to the point.

“I should first tell you about the current situation in the presidential race.”

Edwin’s expression grew serious.

“Due to the aftermath of former President Harvey Goldwin’s impeachment, public sentiment initially swung heavily toward our Democratic Party. The Republican Party was practically decimated.”

“But I take it the situation has changed now.”

“That’s right. The Republican leadership made a very clever move.”

Edwin rubbed his face and let out a short sigh.

“They put forward the most respected elder statesman within the party as their presidential candidate.”

Experience, stability, and traditional conservative values.

The keyword of stability worked more powerfully than expected on American citizens tired of chaos.

The scattered conservative base was regrouping around the elder candidate at a frightening speed.

“We must first shatter that solid atmosphere of unity within the Republican Party.”

Edwin leaned forward.

“Simple political slogans alone cannot penetrate their solid image. We need a completely new and massive shock that will instantly turn public opinion around.”

“And you expect me to play the role of that shock.”

“Exactly.”

Desperation showed in Edwin’s eyes.

“After the Mount Baekdu incident, Mr. Choi’s global recognition is beyond imagination. You’ve become a symbol of the future who made the impossible reality with overwhelming capital and technology.”

“…”

“If you step forward and support me, the Republican elders’ outdated image will instantly become relics of the old era.”

His request was clear.

He wanted not quiet financial support from behind the scenes, but an official handshake in front of the media.

This would be unimaginable by Korean standards.

A corporate chairman publicly supporting a specific politician could be a dangerous gamble that might bring fierce backlash.

But America was different.

Big Tech CEOs from Silicon Valley or billionaires from Wall Street officially supporting presidential candidates was a very natural political culture.

They pour astronomical donations through external organizations called Super PACs and boldly demand policies favorable to their businesses.

It was a thorough and legal capitalist election system where capital became political voice.

Kang Hyeon avoided giving an immediate answer and lightly tapped the table.

“Give me a moment.”

He took out a fountain pen from his inner pocket and pulled over a hotel memo pad from one side of the table.

Scratch, scratch.

Only the dry friction sound of the fountain pen tip gliding across paper filled the room.

Kang Hyeon wrote down the two choices before him in text.

1. Don’t step forward and only provide financial support from behind.

2. Step forward and officially support Edwin.

Kang Hyeon put down his pen and quietly stared at the memo.

As he concentrated his consciousness, the familiar sense of intuition slowly awakened from deep within his mind.

Which would bring greater benefits to himself and KH Group.

Flash.

Vivid colors bloomed across his retinas.

Above the first line about providing financial support from behind, only very faint and murky light swirled.

It meant safety but no explosive gains.

But the moment Kang Hyeon’s gaze turned to the second line.

Whoosh—!

The entire sentence blazed with brilliant and intense red light as if on fire.

It was an overwhelming signal of certainty that he could grasp not just simple success, but hegemony over the massive American market.

His ability pointed to stepping forward without a moment’s hesitation as the correct answer.

‘The answer is clear.’

Kang Hyeon folded the memo in half with a faint smile.

He raised his head and looked at Edwin, who was watching him with a tense expression.

“Very well, Edwin.”

Kang Hyeon clasped his hands on his knees and spoke plainly.

“I’ll gladly step forward. I’ll fully back your election campaign with KH’s name and capital.”

“Oh! An excellent decision, Mr. Choi!”

Edwin jumped up from his seat and cheered.

The overwhelming joy of gaining the most reliable ally was clearly written on his face.

But Kang Hyeon’s expression remained rational and cold.

“However, we need to be clear about the calculations.”

“…Calculations, you say.”

“I’m well aware that American political culture is definitive about give and take.”

Kang Hyeon leaned back deeply into the sofa and continued.

“If I make you the master of the White House, what will you give me after you become President?”

A blatant demand.

There’s no such thing as free in the business world.

Edwin swallowed dryly and sat back down.

“Please tell me what you want.”

“Three things.”

Kang Hyeon held up his fingers and firmly presented his conditions.

“First, completely lift the Federal Aviation Administration’s regulations on Astra’s space launch vehicle business. I want monopolistic status in the private space industry.”

“…It’s a difficult task, but I can clear the path through executive orders.”

“Second, when Orbis’s humanoid robots are introduced throughout American industry, pass legislation to quell labor union opposition at the federal government level.”

Edwin’s brow twitched slightly.

It was a sensitive issue involving massive job losses, but he nodded briefly.

“What’s the last one?”

“The massive AI data center I’ll build in the United States. I want the enormous power grid and infrastructure site for it provided free of charge.”

Space, robots, and artificial intelligence.

What Kang Hyeon demanded wasn’t simple tax breaks or favors.

It was a massive and blatant declaration of war to put America’s entire future industrial structure under KH Group’s control.

A heavy silence fell for a moment.

Edwin quickly calculated the pros and cons in his head.

If he didn’t take Kang Hyeon’s hand now, he couldn’t guarantee victory in the presidential election.

If he could just become President, giving up leadership in future industries was worth it.

“I’ll accept everything.”

Edwin finally answered with a resolute expression.

“I promise that immediately upon being elected President, I’ll handle the three agenda items Mr. Choi requested as top national priorities.”

“An excellent choice.”

Kang Hyeon stood up from his seat and extended his hand to Edwin.

“Then let’s meet again in front of the media soon. I’ll create a very spectacular and overwhelming picture for you.”

The firm handshake between the two men filled the private room of the club.

Upon returning to South Korea, Kang Hyeon immediately convened a meeting of top executives.

A declaration that KH Group’s name would be put forward in the American presidential race.

The meeting room was filled with heavy silence and deep bewilderment.

“Direct involvement in American politics carries too much risk.”

Team Manager Lee Gi-cheol cautiously voiced his opposition.

“If Congressman Edwin loses, we’ll have to bear the fierce retaliation of the Republican administration. Our entire business rights in the United States could be shaken.”

“That’s right. Indirect support through Super PACs would be safer.”

Other executives also nodded in agreement.

Given Korean corporate sentiment, publicly supporting a specific politician, especially a foreign presidential candidate, was unimaginable.

But Kang Hyeon’s expression remained calm as a lake.

“Explosive profits don’t come from risk-free markets.”

Kang Hyeon lightly tapped on the table.

“What we want isn’t simply maintaining business rights.”

‘It’s not a pie that can be obtained by slipping small change from behind the scenes.’

“Absolute authority to completely overhaul America’s future industrial regulations. We’re planting the most certain flag to obtain that.”

Kang Hyeon’s gaze coldly swept across the meeting room.

“I won’t accept opposition. Coordinate the schedule with Edwin’s campaign.”

The firm directive instantly silenced all dissent in the meeting room.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.

A large-scale campaign rally for Congressman Edwin was held in the most fiercely contested swing state that would determine the direction of the American presidential election.

The plaza filled with tens of thousands of supporters was brimming with heated energy.

“We stand before the great reconstruction of America!”

Edwin stood on the platform, veins bulging as he shouted into the microphone.

The enthusiastic cheers of supporters shook the plaza.

“But this massive change is impossible with my strength alone. We need the most powerful partner to guarantee our certain future!”

Edwin stretched both hands toward the crowd.

His voice reached its peak intensity.

“Today, I have brought that perfect partner to this place.”

With upbeat entrance music, the curtain behind the platform opened.

Tens of thousands of gazes simultaneously focused on the center of the stage.

And an Asian man in a business suit walked out with very leisurely steps.

It was Choi Kang-hyeon.

“…?”

Instantly, the heated cheers filling the plaza died down as if by magic.

Deep bewilderment appeared on the supporters’ faces.

The white-dominated political arena. And in the middle of a prominent presidential candidate’s campaign rally, a strange Asian businessman had appeared.

“Who is that person?”

“A new political sponsor? Why is that man coming up on the platform?”

Murmurs quickly spread through the confused crowd.

Kang Hyeon didn’t bat an eye even while receiving tens of thousands of stares.

He lightly shook hands with Edwin and moved to the center of the platform.

“Wait. That face, I think I saw it on the news a few days ago?”

Someone’s voice from the crowd broke the silence.

“Right! That’s the chairman of the Korean company that stopped the volcano!”

“Choi Kang-hyeon of KH Group? Really?”

Bewilderment instantly turned to shock and amazement.

Just a few days ago.

The man who physically blocked humanity’s worst natural disaster with overwhelming capital and technology.

It was exactly that face that American media had competed to describe as the ruler of future industries.

The murmurs soon spread like a giant wave across the entire plaza.

The eyes of people whose mouths hung open in disbelief burned with curiosity and awe.

Tap. Tap.

Kang Hyeon lightly tapped the microphone.

At the dry friction sound that rang through the speakers, the plaza held its breath in dead silence.

Kang Hyeon slowly looked around at the tens of thousands of people watching him.

“Nice to meet you.”

Kang Hyeon opened his mouth.

“I am Choi Kang-hyeon, Chairman of KH Group.”

A short and clear introduction.

Kang Hyeon’s heavy voice echoed through the plaza, and the massive curtain that would shake America’s new game had risen.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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