The Return of the Ruined Chaebol's Third-Generation Heir - Chapter 83

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Regression of a Fallen Chaebol Heir — Episode 83
“Welcome.”
We arrived in Palo Alto just after nine in the evening.
After parking at the Volta Motors Headquarters lot and stepping out, Jason came to greet us.
“My apologies for the late hour. Ryan’s nature is…”
“No trouble at all. We actually prefer to move quickly and wrap things up.”
Jason nodded at my words and led us inside.
“You made it.”
As I opened the Conference Room door, Ryan Holt was already seated in a chair.
“I trust the hour isn’t too late?”
Ryan Holt spoke lightly as he looked at Danny and me, and I found myself smiling despite everything.
“The timing was perfect. Any later and we’d have been heading back to Seoul.”
Ryan seemed pleased by my quip and smiled in return. We took our seats across from each other, and Ryan Holt spoke first.
“Let’s begin straightaway.”
Jason handed over the Contract.
“The terms are exactly as discussed this morning. The investment is fifty million dollars, with a twenty percent equity stake that includes Pro-rata Rights, and we’ll be granting you an Observer Seat on the Board of Directors.”
An Observer Seat on the Board meant the right to monitor without voting power.
Danny went through the clauses one by one, reviewing the Contract.
After a moment, Danny nodded to me to confirm we were satisfied.
“Shall we sign?”
As the Contract was placed before me, Holt opened his mouth.
“Before we do, I’d like to ask something. Why Volta? It couldn’t have been easy to learn about us from Seoul.”
At that question, I gazed at Holt quietly before turning it back on him.
“I’d rather ask you something first.”
“What?”
“Why electric vehicles?”
Holt’s eyes narrowed.
“Your start was an online payment platform, and your foundation is IT. Why would someone like that suddenly leap into manufacturing?”
Holt studied me for a long moment before responding.
“I made money from online payments. A great deal of money, actually.”
“…”
“But that’s all happening on a screen. Numbers moving around—it doesn’t change the world.”
Holt picked up a pen from the table and twirled it.
“If you want to change the world, you have to build something that actually moves. Something running on roads, carrying people, without burning a drop of oil. That’s what I wanted to create.”
His tone was subdued, but his eyes burned with intensity.
“Are you serious about Volta?”
Holt laughed—or rather, his expression turned incredulous.
“If I weren’t serious, I wouldn’t be sitting here. You’re asking if I’m committed when I’ve put my entire fortune into this?”
Fair point.
“Right now, I can’t even manufacture a single car properly. I know. I know why everyone calls me a scammer.”
Holt leaned forward.
“But at Volta, I will manufacture everything that goes into an electric vehicle. Platforms, software, batteries, right down to the smallest chip. I’ll overturn in a decade what combustion-engine makers have built over a century.”
If anyone else had said this, I’d have thought they were insane. Reckless words from a man who couldn’t even pay his employees’ salaries, claiming he’d defeat established automakers in ten years?
But I knew something others didn’t.
Future Ryan Holt was already being forged in this very moment.
“Good.”
I nodded.
“Then let me say something as well.”
Holt crossed his arms and waited. I spoke slowly.
“The heart of an electric vehicle is the battery.”
“…”
“And what determines a battery’s performance is the material.”
Holt’s expression shifted.
“I own a company that manufactures those materials. We’re at the prototype stage, but we’re building mass production lines.”
“…”
“Ryan, if you fail, everyone will say the same thing: electric vehicles won’t work. That delays the whole market’s success.”
I looked directly at Holt.
“You have to survive for my business to survive. That’s why I’m putting in fifty million dollars.”
The Conference Room went quiet.
Jason had stopped writing, and Danny listened in silence.
Holt spoke, arms still crossed.
“You… also have a materials company?”
“I do. I also own a robotics company for manufacturing.”
“That’s good, that’s good—but something crucial seems to be missing. The man I see before me doesn’t strike me as doing this purely for profit.”
Of course. Holt saw through to the heart of things.
“I’m going to build my own empire. But it won’t be in finished vehicles or semiconductors.”
“With that kind of capital and vision, you could do something far grander. Why stand behind another man’s company?”
“Sitting on a throne isn’t the same as owning an empire. The man who builds the throne is the one who owns the empire.”
Ryan Holt watched me in silence. His face suggested he needed more explanation.
“Your electric vehicles will contain batteries, batteries will contain my materials, and factories making those will run on my robots. I’m the one who makes the materials and the robots.”
“…”
“The more people who aspire to sit on thrones, the stronger I become.”
“Ah.”
I will become the ecosystem itself.
So that no one can claim a throne without the foundation I’ve built.
And so that no one can ignore me.
“That’s why I’m searching for partners now, and you, Ryan Holt, are my first.”
“That’s frightening, actually. Enough to make me wonder if shaking your hand is the right choice.”
“Well, at least my first partner won’t betray me. Not unless you abandon me first.”
“…Then, what is it you want, Seon-woo?”
“I want to include a clause giving my company priority consideration when Volta develops battery packs. The same for robots.”
At my proposal, Ryan studied me quietly, seeming to measure me—and I didn’t look away.
“…I’ve never heard an investor speak like this before.”
“I’m not an investor. I’m an industrialist.”
Holt leaned back in his chair and turned to Jason.
“Add Material Priority Negotiation Rights. Robots too. Of course, adding this clause doesn’t obligate us to buy from you. I’m betting that your confidence matches your quality, Seon-woo.”
“It will.”
Ryan turned back, and Jason nodded as he began drafting the clause.
“I’ll sign.”
Holt picked up the pen, and so did I. Once the signatures were complete, we exchanged contracts and shook hands.
“The wire transfer will come through tomorrow morning. By Christmas, five days from now, the staff will have met their Santa.”
“That’s one demanding Santa Claus.”
As Holt broke into a bright smile, I smiled back at that expression, seeing it for the first time.

* * *
“There’s quite a bit of wind here. The flat terrain makes it worse.”
Meanwhile, in Cheongju, Jung Tae-sung was touring the site with an official from the Chungbuk Provincial Government.
“You must be cold. Should we sit in the car?”
“No, it’s fine.”
The wind hit us the moment we stepped out of the car.
December in Ochang was desolate. Dry grass swayed in the wind across empty plains, and the flat terrain stretched endlessly in all directions.
“This is the candidate site. Three hundred thirty thousand square meters total—roughly one hundred thousand pyeong.”
Director Park from the Chungbuk Provincial Government Enterprise Recruitment Division spoke while spreading out the Site Layout Map. He’d personally come to greet us at the entrance to the Ochang Science Industrial Complex.
“It’s quite spacious.”
Jung Tae-sung murmured as he surveyed the expanse.
The candidate site at the Ulsan Miipo Industrial Complex was less than a quarter this size. Not that we could have gotten that one anyway.
“Yes, the other plots in the complex have already been sold. This is the largest plot, the only one remaining.”
“The others have all been taken?”
“Yes.”
Jung Tae-sung looked around. The neighboring plots were subdivided into smaller parcels, ideal for small and medium enterprises.
It seemed likely this large plot remained precisely because it was oversized for most companies to handle.
While it would be difficult for anyone but a major corporation, his superior—Seon-woo—would likely find it satisfactory.
“Since it’s currently an Unsold Lot, immediate purchase is possible. Ground preparation is minimal.”
“What companies are nearby?”
“The Kumsung Chemical Battery Plant is ten minutes by car from here. Hansung Semiconductor 2nd Campus is twenty minutes, and the Pyeongtaek Future Electronics Semiconductor Complex is an hour and thirty minutes away.”
Jung Tae-sung’s footsteps stopped.
From Ulsan, reaching the top three battery makers took over five hours by truck.
Here, he could reach all of them within an hour. Not just battery makers, but semiconductor companies too.
Now Jung Tae-sung understood why his boss had designated the Chungcheong region.
“Should I tell you about the incentives?”
Director Park’s tone was cautious yet eager. Jung Tae-sung nodded.
“Local tax exemptions of thirty percent apply for five years. Permits processed through the Fast Track typically take six months—we can finish in two. Employment subsidies and R&D support funding are also available.”
Jung Tae-sung listened quietly, though his lips tightened slightly.
“…If I may ask, there’s something I’m curious about.”
“Of course, go ahead.”
“Why are you doing so much for us?”
Director Park paused briefly before answering honestly.
“Ochang has major corporations, but it lacks mid-sized manufacturers. For the Industrial Cluster to be complete, we need materials companies. The Provincial Government also needs recruitment results.”
Their interests aligned, which meant they could be trusted.
Unlike Ulsan, there was a fundamental premise here: they needed us as much as we needed them.
“We’ve looked into sites in Ulsan before.”
Jung Tae-sung spoke slowly.
“We met with three different officials, but couldn’t even get a single document processed. Later I found out that site was already earmarked for another company.”
Director Park’s expression shifted subtly. The look of someone who knew the industry’s realities.
“…Ulsan would be Seonjin Motors, then.”
“Yes.”
“There’s nothing like that here. There’s no completed vehicle manufacturer in Ochang. No one to account for.”
I walked across the empty site. Nothing stood here—no factories, no research centers, no people. Only wind.
After visiting several other locations, I doubted I’d find conditions and government cooperation anywhere near equal to this.
“I need to make a call.”
“I’ll head back to the car first.”
As Director Park turned toward the vehicle, Jung Tae-sung pulled out his phone.
It was probably late night in the States, but Seon-woo was the sort who preferred immediate reports regardless of the hour.
-Hello?
“It’s Jung Tae-sung. My apologies for the late call.”
-Not at all. If Director Jung is calling at this hour, it must be important.
Jung Tae-sung nodded as he continued.
“I believe I’ve found the site. Ochang, North Chungcheong.”
-How is it?
“One hundred thousand pyeong, and the government is very cooperative.”
After the report, silence came through the receiver for a moment before a voice returned.
-Good. Prepare everything so we can move forward immediately once I’m back in Korea.
“Understood.”
The call ended, and Jung Tae-sung looked back out at the plain.
What would rise from this land remained unknowable. But it seemed an excellent foundation for the empire his master intended to build.

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