After the Divorce, I Found a Thousand Bitcoins - Chapter 181

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

I Got Divorced and Found a Thousand Bitcoins Episode 181

An official protest letter that flew in from the White House.

At the bottom of the thick parchment, US President Edwin’s signature was boldly stamped.

Zhao Qian threw the document onto his desk and let out a low laugh.

“The leader of a superpower seems quite desperate.”

A deep sneer spread across his lips.

“Yes, Chairman. As soon as our rare earth export quota reduction measures were announced, the US Department of Commerce and State Department moved simultaneously.”

A faint excitement was evident in the voice of Liu Wei as he delivered his report.

Diplomatic pressure and protests.

But in Zhao Qian’s eyes, it was nothing short of an exhilarating victory report.

“Ignore them. There’s nothing those bastards can do anyway.”

Clear proof that even the massive empire called America couldn’t run its high-tech industries for a single day without China’s minerals.

It was confirmation once again of where the real leash of the global economy was tied.

Zhao Qian leaned back deeply into his leather chair.

‘Arrogant young bastard.’

The insolent face of Kang Hyeon, whom he had encountered at the banquet hall a few days ago, came to mind.

Those cold eyes that didn’t even blink in front of a great nation’s leader.

Zhao Qian fiddled with his teacup and clicked his tongue coldly inside.

He might think he could shake the world with the power of capital, but in the face of physical resources, he would ultimately have no choice but to bow his head.

With rare earths cut off, KH Group’s robot factory being built in Ohio and the space base in Texas were on the verge of becoming massive piles of scrap metal.

“It won’t be long before he comes looking for Beijing again.”

Zhao Qian muttered with a confident tone.

“This time he’ll kneel down himself and beg for mercy. While feeling to his bones how futile a capitalist’s arrogance is.”

The moment Kang Hyeon surrenders.

Nereid’s overwhelming immersion cooling technology that he possesses.

And the core algorithms of artificial intelligence and aerospace that will dominate the world would naturally flow into China’s grasp.

Under the pretext of joint ventures, they would legally devour all of it.

Zhao Qian leisurely closed his eyes.

An old lion had the leisure to wait until its prey collapsed from exhaustion on its own.

About a month passed like that.

The core state council meeting room in Zhongnanhai, Beijing.

The large display was stained red with graphs of soaring global raw material prices.

“Since the export controls, global neodymium prices have skyrocketed by over 400 percent.”

The Commerce Department manager conducted the briefing with an excited face.

“The per-ton trading prices of heavy rare earths like dysprosium and terbium have become whatever sellers ask for. Western countries’ manufacturing supply chains are experiencing serious bottlenecks.”

“Good trend.”

Zhao Qian, seated at the head of the table, nodded with satisfaction.

“What about KH Group’s movements? The operation rate of the Ohio robot factory?”

“Based on current intelligence, they are estimated to be experiencing serious disruptions to their mass production schedule due to parts supply issues.”

The manager answered confidently while turning pages of materials.

“It’s only a matter of time before their stockpiled inventory runs out. There’s a high possibility that Chairman Choi Kang-hyeon will secretly send a negotiation team soon.”

They were thoroughly withering away according to calculations.

Just as a leisurely smile was about to spread across Zhao Qian’s lips.

Bang-!

The heavy wooden door of the tightly closed meeting room burst open roughly.

It was Liu Wei from the National Security Bureau.

Gone was his usual composure; his face was pale white, drained of blood.

“What’s this commotion?”

Zhao Qian’s brow furrowed with displeasure.

Disruptive behavior during a meeting was something that could never be tolerated in Zhongnanhai.

But Liu Wei urgently shouted without even catching his gasping breath.

“Ch-Chairman! The situation at the London Metal Exchange is strange!”

“Strange? Did rare earth prices jump even higher?”

“That’s not it! Rare earth futures prices are… suddenly plummeting!”

A heavy silence descended on the meeting room as if cold water had been poured over it.

The Commerce Department manager let out an incredulous laugh.

“Counselor. Didn’t you see wrong? We control 80 percent of the world’s supply, so prices can’t possibly fall.”

“See for yourself!”

Liu Wei forcibly connected the tablet he brought to the meeting room’s main display.

The screen switched to show Bloomberg’s real-time trading charts.

“…!”

Zhao Qian’s eyes widened slightly.

The neodymium futures chart that had been soaring sky-high was plummeting vertically from just an hour ago.

It wasn’t a simple correction decline.

It was literally a horrific free fall where buying interest had completely evaporated.

“What the hell is going on?”

Zhao Qian’s thick voice rumbled low.

“Did someone dump massive quantities into the market?”

“No massive quantities were dumped. The demand… global industrial demand for rare earths itself has vanished.”

“Demand vanished? Are you saying rare earths are no longer needed to run advanced motors?”

Zhao Qian slammed his fist hard on the table.

Liu Wei swallowed dry saliva and displayed a new foreign news article on the screen.

[Breaking News. South Korea’s KH Group achieves world’s first commercialization of rare-earth-free permanent magnets and drive motors!]

[Development of neodymium substitute new material. Achieves 92% magnetic field efficiency. Massive global patent registrations completed.]

The dry article headlines printed in text froze the meeting room.

“Just now, hundreds of patents were simultaneously registered with the US Patent Office and World Intellectual Property Organization.”

Liu Wei’s voice trembled slightly.

“The developer is Nereid Research Institute under KH Group. It’s an innovative alloy structural design that doesn’t contain even 1 gram of rare earths.”

“…Not even 1 gram?”

Zhao Qian’s facial muscles hardened stiffly.

“These aren’t just theoretical shell patents. KH Group officially announced they’ve already fully implemented this new technology in the Ohio robot factory’s mass production lines.”

Liu Wei poured out the devastating figures.

“Astra’s Texas space rockets have also been equipped with new control modules that exclude rare earths. Production costs dropped to less than half of previous levels, while efficiency actually increased.”

The emergence of a perfect substitute.

And it was completed technology that had already been applied to field mass production, beyond the laboratory level.

The market reacted immediately and brutally.

Simultaneously with KH’s new technology announcement, the value of rare earths that China had used as a weapon plummeted overnight to the level of roadside pebbles.

“…Choi Kang-hyeon.”

A chilling name leaked between Zhao Qian’s lips.

His retinas turned red with bloodshot eyes emitting fierce killing intent.

The reason he had been quietly holding his breath for a month wasn’t to surrender.

During that short time, he had been forging a massive axe to perfectly sever China’s strongest leash.

“In just one month… he completed commercialization.”

The Commerce Department manager muttered as if his soul had left him.

“It doesn’t make sense. Taking basic science to the commercial stage takes at least several years. What kind of monsters are gathered at Nereid Research Institute to achieve such speed…”

“Shut up.”

Zhao Qian’s voice heavily pressed down on the meeting room.

It wasn’t simple anger.

The terrible humiliation that the massive control board he had designed was thoroughly trampled and mocked by a young Korean capitalist he had considered a mere brat.

Zhao Qian’s two fists clenched so hard that his knuckles turned white.

“That arrogant bastard… how dare he shake the foundation of a great nation?”

His thick voice echoed eerily, scraping across the floor.

The strongest weapon of resources had been completely neutralized.

The prey he believed without doubt would kneel and beg was instead coldly sneering after pulling out all the predator’s teeth.

No one in the meeting room dared to breathe.

In the heart of Zhongnanhai, the old dictator’s rage was boiling fiercely.

Top floor office of KH Group headquarters in Seoul.

Late afternoon sunlight stretched long beyond the massive glass windows.

Kang Hyeon sat at his desk, quietly gazing at the hologram display.

“Global rare earth futures prices have plummeted over 60 percent from their peak.”

Ha-ryul reported while flipping through his tablet.

The London Metal Exchange chart displayed on screen was plummeting in a deep blue downtrend.

“China’s Department of Commerce is showing signs of quietly trying to ease export control measures.”

“Too late.”

Kang Hyeon replied briefly while lifting his teacup.

The weapon of monopoly only works violently when there are no substitutes.

With perfect substitutes released into the market, the minerals they held were nothing more than common stones.

“Cooperation proposals are pouring in from major automakers and robotics companies worldwide.”

Ha-ryul placed a stack of approval documents on the table.

“These are requests for licensing contracts for KH’s rare-earth-free motor technology. Over ten companies have offered blank checks.”

“…”

Kang Hyeon’s gaze lingered on the mountain of stacked documents.

Giant capitals that manipulate the world economy were crawling to KH’s feet in competition.

The corner of his mouth rose very slightly, forming a cold arc.

Everything was running on its calculated trajectory without a single error.

The resource leash that Zhao Qian had drawn.

This was a fatal blow that went beyond cutting that leash to completely smashing China’s resource hegemony itself.

At the same time, KH Group’s name was once again fiercely imprinted worldwide.

The overwhelming capital power that had controlled Mount Baekdu’s magma.

And now, even the extraordinary technological capability to leap beyond the limits of basic science in one bound.

‘With this, the foundation is complete.’

Kang Hyeon lightly rolled his fountain pen.

No need to rely on China’s fickle raw material exports.

Both Astra’s launch vehicles to be shot into space and Orbis’s robots to pour out of Ohio.

An absolute ecosystem had been established where everything could be independently produced under Kang Hyeon’s perfect control.

“Hold off on the licensing contracts for now.”

Kang Hyeon instructed.

“First priority is producing the quantities we need. After maximizing the market’s thirst, we’ll selectively release to whoever offers the highest price.”

“Understood. I’ll postpone the negotiation schedule.”

Ha-ryul bowed his head and left the office.

Kang Hyeon connected to the secure communication network at one side of his desk.

-This is Nathan.

Nathan’s hoarse voice came through the receiver.

Though filled with fatigue as if he’d stayed up several nights, there was a strange excitement mixed in.

“Good work, Nathan.”

Kang Hyeon’s praise followed.

“From Ulsan’s data center to Ohio’s production lines. Everything is running in perfect synchronization without flaws.”

-It was worth grinding the team members down. Honestly, I was half-doubtful that the simulation figures would be 100 percent realized in reality.

“We were just lucky.”

Kang Hyeon deflected dryly, concealing his intuition.

“Compensation for this achievement will be executed properly. I’ve instructed to pay industry-leading special bonuses to all Nereid researchers.”

-Oh. If the guys hear that, they’ll start dancing in the server room right away.

Nathan’s light laughter spread through the receiver.

Kang Hyeon continued while gazing at the red territory on the monitor.

“There will be no restrictions on research directions going forward either.”

-…You mean no restrictions at all?

“Yes. I’ll provide necessary capital, personnel, and equipment with blank checks. Whether it takes 1 year or 10 years doesn’t matter.”

Kang Hyeon’s voice sank heavily through the communication network.

“Breaking existing physical laws and market common sense. Focus only on that crazy work. I’ll cover the money.”

-Haha. Working under the boss is both the most tiring and most fun thing in the world.

Nathan’s typing sounds began ringing out cheerfully again.

-I’ll keep that in mind. Let’s start by pushing the thermal efficiency of the Astra engine we’re launching from Texas next month to the extreme. Design blueprints for new technology are always ready.

“I look forward to it.”

Click.

The communication ended.

The most perfect brain in charge of the giant empire’s heart.

He had perfectly equipped him with the wings of infinite capital.

No regulations, no resource pressure could now block KH’s path forward.

‘While China panics, shall we run even further away?’

Zhao Qian would not back down like this.

The weapons they possessed weren’t limited to raw materials.

But the flustered ones clearly couldn’t move immediately.

Imagining the bewilderment rising on Zhao Qian’s arrogant face made the corner of Kang Hyeon’s mouth rise.

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