Ningde, Fujian Province, China.
A massive office tower stood in the city, facing the Taiwan Strait—a region where tensions across the strait often brought an atmosphere of war.
At the very top floor, a middle-aged man with a round face and striking features was speaking with his secretary.
This was the headquarters of CETL, the Chinese battery manufacturer that had recently expanded its share of the global market at terrifying speed, pushing long-dominant Korean companies into crisis.
The man was Zhang Qianyu.
Born the son of a poor farming family, he had been recognized early for his intelligence, graduated from one of Shanghai's top engineering universities with Communist Party sponsorship, and went on to found CETL, transforming it into a global giant.
Now, Chairman Zhang was receiving a quarterly market analysis report from one of his executives.
He skimmed through the charts and graphs, then smiled in satisfaction.
"Excellent."
"Most large electric vehicle manufacturers are choosing our lithium iron phosphate batteries."
"Yes, Chairman," the executive replied.
"Sales of Korean ternary batteries are falling rapidly. Our strategy of emphasizing lower cost per performance has worked perfectly."
The charts clearly showed it.
Shipment volume and revenue from Korea's battery giants—Daesung SDI and RG Solution—were visibly declining.
Meanwhile, CETL's shipments and profits had grown exponentially.
At this point, even the combined market share of all Korean battery companies could no longer match CETL alone.
"Good," Zhang said coldly.
"Keep pressing forward."
"With Party subsidies continuing, CETL will maintain the world's best price competitiveness for the foreseeable future."
"Let's slowly suffocate the Korean companies."
The executive grinned.
"Yes, Chairman."
"We'll continue forcing them into price wars until they can never recover."
"The Party governs this vast China and supports us fully."
"How could companies from a small nation—once merely a tributary state of the Middle Kingdom—possibly resist us?"
He laughed.
But Chairman Zhang's face remained stern.
"Do not become complacent."
"In the 1990s, Japan's electronics industry looked invincible."
"And yet it was Korean companies that brought them down."
"They are people with hidden strength."
"We do not know when or how they may strike back."
"Remain vigilant until the very end."
"Yes, Chairman."
***
While the Luktic Research Institute's temporary team worked on the Hyper Battery prototype, I turned my attention toward expanding the business.
Not long ago, Dong-sik had contacted me.
The second factory on the Gimhae Plain was nearly complete.
Considering its enormous scale, finishing it in just six months was astonishingly fast.
There had been one major crisis involving missing rebar during construction, but thankfully it had been caught early.
Even after demolishing and rebuilding an entire week's worth of foundational work, the total project time still remained under six months.
Certainly, government support and simplified administrative procedures had helped.
But fundamentally—
The achievement belonged to Dong-sik.
This time, unlike the first Yangseo factory, we had built an even larger facility without Daesung Group's direct assistance.
That meant one thing:
Dong-sik had truly proven himself.
With sufficient production capacity soon secured again, it was finally time to begin full-scale export contracts worldwide.
***
I called Director Kang Joo-tae, who was now stationed in Yangseo County.
"Director Kang, you said regulatory agencies around the world have begun emergency approval procedures, correct?"
"Yes, CEO."
"The FDA should issue emergency approval soon."
"And major developed nations such as Europe and Japan are preparing the same."
Once Big Pharma's obstruction disappeared, health regulators worldwide rushed to approve Luktic's new drugs.
Naturally.
Their citizens demanded it.
And from the governments' perspective, Elixir was especially valuable.
A single treatment could cure many severe illnesses, dramatically reducing national healthcare costs.
Every country wanted access.
***
At present, the most aggressive export offers were coming from Europe and Japan.
Europe, united under the EU, represented one enormous economic bloc.
Japan, meanwhile, remained the only developed nation besides the United States with a population exceeding one hundred million.
The EU population stood at roughly 450 million.
Japan's population was around 120 million.
Compared to America's 350 million, combined demand from Europe and Japan would likely exceed the U.S. market by a wide margin.
The realization left me momentarily dizzy.
Could the second Gimhae factory even handle this demand?
Thankfully, we had designed the site with significant room for future expansion.
Even so—
At this rate, we might need nonstop expansion projects for years.
I felt somewhat guilty toward Dong-sik, who had already spent six straight months practically living at the construction site.
Still, he would likely need to suffer a little longer.
***
Demand in the United States was also still climbing.
Recently, I had received an email from Howard at Target.
***
Sender: Howard, Head of Overseas Products Division – Target
CEO Hyun Si-woo, I hope you are well.
Demand for Luktic products in the United States continues to rise sharply.
We estimate that future shipments will need to increase by at least 50% in order to maintain stable supply.
I understand your second factory in Korea is nearing completion.
I hope we may soon have a constructive and honest discussion regarding this matter.
Thank you.
***
American demand was still growing nonstop.
Which made sense.
Anyone who used Luktic Cream once never wanted to return to ordinary cosmetics.
The same was true for Luktic Drink.
Once someone experienced it, they kept wanting more.
Europe and Japan would likely follow the same pattern once exports began.
And we hadn't even started negotiations yet with South America, Oceania, or Southeast Asia.
Even after constructing a gigantic second factory—
It seemed unlikely that supply would catch up with demand anytime soon.
Then a thought crossed my mind.
When supply remains below demand, the value of goods naturally rises.
Perhaps it was time to let the distributors compete with each other—
And raise our prices.
***
Meanwhile, inside the research institute, the temporary battery team was hard at work assembling the first prototype using the cathode, anode, and blueprints I had provided.
"…Huh."
"The structure is almost identical to a lithium-ion battery."
"Yeah. According to the design, it doesn't even use electrolyte."
"Will this thing really function?"
"No matter how much of a genius CEO Hyun is, his genius has always been in pharmaceuticals."
"Batteries are a completely different field."
Their faces showed open doubt.
Still, orders were orders.
So they built it.
One researcher examined the blueprints again.
"Wow… these designs are incredibly clean."
"No wasted details. You can understand the entire structure instantly."
"Did CEO Hyun really draw these himself?"
"Even veteran engineers would be impressed."
Soon, the prototype was complete.
"Honestly, it was easier to assemble than a normal lithium-ion battery."
"Yeah. The structure is simpler."
"If this really performs well, then the true secret must be the cathode and anode materials the CEO prepared."
"Well…"
"Let's test it."
***
They connected the battery to charging equipment and began feeding power into it.
Thirty minutes later—
Their expressions changed.
"W-What is this?"
"Why is it absorbing so much electricity?"
"No way…"
"A battery this size shouldn't be able to hold this much."
"Could it explode? Catch fire?"
The prototype was consuming an absurd amount of power far beyond conventional expectations.
With nervous expressions, they stopped charging and began discharging the battery through testing equipment.
Then they looked at the monitor readings.
And froze.
"M-My God…"
"This is impossible…"
"It's outperforming not only lithium-ion batteries…"
"But even the solid-state batteries still being developed in labs worldwide…"
"Did all of that electricity really fit inside?"
One researcher stared blankly at the prototype.
"CEO Hyun Si-woo…"
"Just what are you?"
Another whispered:
"So true geniuses really do exist…"
"This battery will transform all of human industry."
A third muttered in disbelief:
"Is he even human like the rest of us?"
The team stood motionless, watching the battery continue releasing its tremendous stored power.
Their eyes were filled not with doubt anymore—
But awe.