After the Divorce, I Found a Thousand Bitcoins - Chapter 195

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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 195

Kuguuuuung-!

In the middle of the Thar Desert, India, a massive Boeing 747 cargo plane tore through the red sandstorm and landed heavily on Nova Smart City’s dedicated runway.

Before the sharp bursting sound of landing gear scraping against asphalt had even stopped.

Three Antonov super-heavy transport aircraft that followed consecutively landed, painting the runway’s trajectory with red guide lights.

“Start unloading the server racks! Check the shock absorption pads and max out the temperature and humidity control systems!”

Among the hundreds of unmanned logistics trucks filling the runway, the shouts of managers in dust-proof suits erupted endlessly.

The cargo plane’s massive hatch opened, and silver special containers began pouring out.

On the container walls, familiar logos symbolizing global capitalism were clearly embedded.

Apple with its bitten apple shape.

Alphabet, the emperor of global search engines.

And even Pfizer and Novartis, the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies.

The giant conglomerates that controlled and shook half of Earth’s market capitalization were completely dismantling their core data centers and Asian headquarters research equipment from their heart and shipping them to India’s wasteland.

An overwhelming mass migration that had never existed once in human industrial history.

It was capitalism’s most humiliating exodus, triggered by a forced relocation order from a single landlord named Choi Kang-hyeon of KH.

The VVIP control lounge set up on the outskirts of the runway.

Richard, Chairman of Pfizer, who had been watching through the glass window as their core assets were loaded onto trucks bearing KH’s logo and dragged away, roughly emptied his whiskey glass.

“So we’ve finally been dragged to this dusty backwater.”

Richard’s voice was tinged with deep defeat.

The Apple Senior Vice President standing beside him also looked down at the runway with a troubled expression.

Just a few months ago, they had been rulers looking down at the world from the skyscrapers of New York and Silicon Valley.

But now, with space itself held hostage as no man’s land, they were in the position of having put collars on themselves and crawled into Kang Hyeon’s breeding ground to obtain even a handful more of the production quotas for zero-gravity drugs and optical cables.

“Still, it’s better than packing up and running away.”

The Apple Vice President muttered as if soothing his bitter feelings.

“Anyway, to receive the goods that will pour from that Orbital Ring in orbit fastest and without loss on Earth, we have no choice but to go through KH’s dedicated network.

Even if the cost of relocating infrastructure breaks trillions of won, the profit from picking up the crumbs falling from space will be ten times that.”

“Crumbs…”

Richard laughed self-deprecatingly while fidgeting with his empty whiskey glass.

“Yes, we’re now just retailers selling goods from that man’s space factory.

But remember this. Choi Kang-hyeon didn’t gather us here just to collect rent. That crazy Asian is definitely preparing another snare to squeeze us.”

Richard’s ominous premonition materialized into reality just 48 hours after Apple’s technical team completed their move into Nova Smart City Data Center 1.

“System synchronization rate 100 percent. Data migration with existing Silicon Valley servers completed.”

Apple’s dedicated data center located 100 meters underground in Nova Smart City.

Brilliant blue lights flashed in unison over tens of thousands of black boxes filling the massive server room the size of five soccer fields.

David, Apple’s Asia CTO, checked the server operation data on his tablet and doubted his eyes.

“Traffic latency is… zero?”

David approached the monitor as if to press his nose against it and rechecked the figures.

It was an unbelievable speed. Data connected to Silicon Valley headquarters was synchronizing perfectly before even pinging.

That wasn’t all.

Though cooling systems should have been running to handle the massive heat generated by tens of thousands of servers operating simultaneously, the interior of the data center was disturbingly quiet and comfortable.

“How exactly are you running the cooling air conditioning? Power consumption efficiency index of 1.01? That’s a physically impossible figure!”

“We didn’t set it up, CTO.”

The lead engineer manning the main console reported while swallowing dry saliva.

“The immersion cooling water flowing under the center and the main power grid are predicting Apple’s traffic overload in 0.1-second intervals and automatically suppressing temperature. This building’s infrastructure is moving before our server calculations!”

“What? The infrastructure moves on its own?”

A chilling shiver ran down David’s spine.

Only then did he realize that the space they had moved into was not a simple concrete building.

Nova Smart City’s power grid, cooling water, communication cables, even the humidity in the air.

What controlled all of that was not Apple’s technical team, but KH’s quantum artificial intelligence Nereid, coiled in the heart of this city.

It was overwhelming and perfect infrastructure. It was 10 times faster and more efficient than Silicon Valley headquarters.

But the essential meaning of that perfection was horrifying.

“Where’s the main power control! Where’s the manual override switch!”

David shouted at the engineers with a pale face.

If hacking or an emergency occurred, Apple needed to immediately shut down the server power and physically cut the network.

That was the most basic safety device of an IT company’s data center.

“There… isn’t one.”

“There isn’t one? What kind of bullshit is that!”

“Neither physical power switches nor routers to cut external power grids… none are connected to our console. All the valves for power and network are fixed to this building’s main system.”

David’s legs gave out at the engineer’s trembling answer.

It was a perfect breeding ground.

A deformed panopticon that fed the finest feed and maintained optimal temperature to fatten the pigs, but the door to the slaughterhouse and power switches were held only in the owner’s hands.

“The switches here are in Choi Kang-hyeon’s hands…”

David muttered helplessly while gripping the main console with trembling hands.

The moment they went against KH’s mood or tried to escape control, if Nereid cut the power grid for just 0.1 seconds, Apple’s entire Asian data network would evaporate.

It was the moment when the heart of a big tech company that had commanded the global economy was perfectly taken hostage underground in Asia’s wasteland.

At the same time.

While the working-level staff were tasting extreme terror beneath India’s red desert.

Seoul, South Korea, KH Headquarters VVIP Conference Room.

A suffocating silence flowed across the massive mahogany table.

Across from Kang Hyeon seated at the head sat Apple’s CEO, Pfizer’s Chairman Richard, and Alphabet’s Senior Vice President with stiff faces.

They had rushed over after receiving Kang Hyeon’s summons as soon as data migration to Nova Smart City, India was completed.

Swish.

Kang Hyeon pushed three thin document folders across the table.

“Since migration is over 90 percent complete, it’s time to sign the full-scale operational protocol.”

Apple’s CEO carefully opened the documents. His pupils dilated greatly as he quickly scanned through the documents over his glasses.

“…Mandatory adoption of KH Standard?”

“It’s an integrated specification for linking Nova Smart City and Orbital Ring in space.”

Kang Hyeon said calmly while placing his clasped hands on the table.

“Please completely unify all data security specifications and communication protocols your companies are independently using with our KH’s Nereid specifications from today.”

“Are you joking right now!”

Pfizer’s Chairman Richard roughly struck the table with his fist and shot up from his seat.

“This isn’t simple communication specification unification! You’re telling us to completely tear down the closed ecosystems our companies built over decades with trillions of won and open our source codes! It’s blatant robbery to subordinate our brains entirely under KH’s neural network!”

“This is clear management interference, Mr. Choi.”

Alphabet’s Vice President also joined the protest with a pale face.

“No matter how much we’ve moved into your city, there’s no way the board would approve such an insane demand. There’s no CEO in the world who would obediently comply with a request to open their brains.”

“If the board rejects it.”

Kang Hyeon lifted his teacup and lightly moistened his lips.

“I’ll invoke the legal shareholder proposal right of my 3 percent stake to hold an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting. And I’ll drag it to a vote battle and dismiss all directors who rejected my proposal.”

“Don’t think you can persuade other shareholders with a mere 3 percent stake!”

Richard shouted with bulging veins, but no disturbance appeared on Kang Hyeon’s face.

“Of course I can persuade them.”

Clatter.

Kang Hyeon set his teacup on the saucer and raised his chilling gaze.

“Companies that refuse KH Standard will be immediately cut off from Nova Smart City’s main power grid. At the same time, I’ll personally announce to global shareholders that supply of zero-gravity drugs and ZBLAN optical cables coming down from the orbital station will also be permanently severed.”

“You’re bluffing quite severely, Mr. Choi.”

Pfizer’s Chairman Richard burst into hollow laughter with a reddened face.

“Do you think Pfizer’s shareholders will pressure us to hand over our 100-year-old corporate technology source codes to you just because you’re holding one power switch? Shareholders aren’t fools. They won’t agree to decisions that damage long-term corporate value!”

Richard’s outcry was close to desperate denial of reality.

But Kang Hyeon only slowly turned his teacup as if it wasn’t worth responding to.

What broke the quiet silence was not Kang Hyeon, but Apple’s CEO sitting beside him.

“…No, Chairman Richard. The shareholders will have no choice but to agree.”

The Apple CEO’s voice had turned coldly subdued.

He couldn’t take his eyes off the document containing Kang Hyeon’s demands, letting out a despairing sigh.

“When we moved our data center into Nova Smart City and accepted Nereid’s quantum computing-based infrastructure optimization system, that became the bottleneck.”

“What are you talking about? Our efficiency increased tenfold!”

“Technically, Nereid’s infrastructure control specifications and our proprietary security protocols are currently connected through a precarious emulation method. If Chairman Kang Hyeon declares the adoption of KH Standard and arbitrarily twists these connection specifications, Apple’s data center will instantly become a giant pile of scrap metal.”

The Apple CEO threw off his glasses and stared directly at Richard.

“Cutting off the main power grid is just the simplest first-level warning. What’s truly terrifying is a situation where power is supplied, but KH forces communication protocols to KH Standard specifications only. Then our servers won’t be able to exchange even a single byte of data with Nova’s communication network. It means even remote access from Silicon Valley headquarters becomes impossible. At that moment, our Asian data network permanently evaporates.”

The Apple CEO’s technical explanation made the meeting room’s atmosphere heavy as lead. Richard’s mouth hung open in bewilderment.

Then, Kang Hyeon set his teacup down on the saucer.

Clink.

It was a small friction sound, but it rang out eerily like the sound of a guillotine blade falling.

“Apple’s CEO has explained the technical destructive power well. Then let me explain the brain structure of those wise shareholders that Chairman Richard believes in.”

Kang Hyeon slowly rose from his seat and approached Pfizer’s real-time stock chart displayed on the meeting room wall.

“What shareholders fear most isn’t long-term technological dependence. It’s the sense of deprivation when their assets are cut in half tomorrow morning.”

Kang Hyeon pointed to a spot on the chart.

“Imagine the moment I issue an official statement to global shareholders: ‘Pfizer’s management, in order to protect their arrogant technological pride, has voluntarily cut themselves off from the supply of zero-gravity anticancer drug ingredients, the only key to conquering cancer.'”

“…!”

“At that moment, Pfizer’s stock price will plummet in just 10 minutes. Add Apple’s explained data center paralysis shock to that, and the sell-off will lead to uncontrollable panic selling.”

Kang Hyeon turned around and looked down arrogantly at the global giants.

“The 3 percent stake I hold isn’t a card for vote battles. It’s kindling that presents shareholders with the only escape route—a motion to dismiss current management—in that moment of panic. Facing a crisis where the company could disintegrate, do you think shareholders will burn their precious money on romantic words like corporate independence? Technological security?”

A perfect absolute ruler’s notification without negotiation or compromise.

On the spider web cast by this predator of capital, the giants who had controlled the world economy were ultimately forced to bow their heads and weakly bring their fountain pens to the documents.

Watching them, Kang Hyeon slowly opened his mouth.

“If you’ve come into my city to breathe, and want to take things from my space to sell.”

Kang Hyeon buttoned his jacket and declared dryly.

“You must speak my language.”

There was no one who could oppose his declaration.

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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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