The Secret Investment Formula of a Chemical Genius - Chapter 158



Only Krnovel

Episode 158 Aurora

The White House is used as the President’s office.

Oval Office.

President Larry Selden, who had been looking at documents for a long time with his back to the American flag,

He took off the glasses he had been wearing as if he was tired and rubbed his eyes with the back of his wrinkled hand.

“What do you think?”

“I don’t know the exact intention yet.”

At the words of Senior Advisor Jeffrey, Larry Selden stood up from his seat and walked over to the window.

“He’s a difficult friend to become close with.”

He squinted his eyes as he remembered the person he had met two hours ago.

An Asian who, despite being 33 years old, looks like he is barely a college student.

“How much is the dividend?”

“950 billion won. That’s about 800 million dollars.”

“That’s a lot. What did you use them for?”

Assistant Secretary Jeffrey Sun leafed through the papers in his hands.

“It is said that approximately 220 million dollars was donated to the school.”

“donation?”

“We asked them to use it for low-income students attending 512 elementary, middle, and high schools.”

“What about the rest of the money?”

“They say they have provided $80 million to 2,200 children with cancer who are in financial difficulty.”

It’s certainly a nice story to hear.

That’s not the information Larry Selden wanted.

“Did you spend any money out of your own pocket?”

“It appears that approximately $700,000 was spent on adding to the house I currently live in.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes, that is what has been revealed.”

“What a strange fellow. Usually, at that age, if someone had made that much money on their own, they would have used it for themselves.”

There was not a single exception to the young rich man he had seen so far.

Mansions, supercars, private jets, yachts, lavish parties… … .

But, it is said that Han Yu-jin personally spent the money.

All it cost was $700,000 to build an extension to the house.

“A rich man without greed… … .”

“Could it be because of emotional differences?”

Senior Advisor Jeffrey cautiously expressed his opinion.

West and East.

As great as the geographical distance was, the cultural differences were also great.

I’ve heard that in East Asia, especially in Korea, there is a strong tendency to regard humility as a virtue.

But President Larry Selden quickly shook his head.

“I can’t rule out that possibility, but I don’t think so. What if… … there’s something in that carbon?”

“When you say carbon, are you talking about the one captured by CZTERA?”

“Yeah. That. No matter how much I think about it, it seems like the only thing worth giving up exchange shares for is CNT (Carbon nanotube)?”

“That’s right. To be exact, MWCNT (Multiwall Nanotube).”

“Is that expensive?”

“In the case of single-walled nanotubes (SWCNTs), the current price is around $1.7 million per ton.”

“1.7 million?”

At a price much higher than expected, President Larry Selden’s eyes widened.

“However, the case of MWCNT is a little different. It is being traded at about 1/47 the price of SWCNT.”

“It’s pretty cheap.”

About $3,600 per ton.

It’s not a small amount, but it’s a steal compared to $1.7 million.

“What is the market size?”

“As of last year, the total market size is approximately 5.3 billion dollars.”

Larry Selden was silent for a long time after hearing Senior Advisor Jeffrey’s words.

A $5.3 billion market.

Although it is growing little by little.

It wasn’t a market big enough to attract the attention of a genius the world over.

And on top of that.

“It’s going to crash.”

“Yes. If we push the quantity into the market, the price of CNT will probably plummet.”

The law of supply and demand.

When supply increases excessively while demand is constant, the market price plummets.

If negotiations go well, CZTERA will open a factory in the San Joaquin Valley.

A huge amount of carbon will be released every year.

Larry Selden is in deep trouble.

“Or, it could really be because of Han Yu-jin’s personal disposition, as he said.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Until now, he has not received any outside investment except once. This shows that he maintains an exclusive attitude when it comes to investments.”

“You said Princess Sofia of Norway?”

“you’re right.”

“How did your contact with them go?”

“I tried it, but it seemed like they had no intention of selling it.”

“How much did you offer?”

“They offered $1 billion,”

“How much is Princess Sophia’s investment?”

“It’s about 80 million dollars.”

“I don’t even want a 1,200% return… … If we raise the price even higher, do you think she will sell her shares of CNTERA to us?”

“Considering my personal relationship with Han Yu-jin, I think that would be difficult.”

“… … .”

Larry Selden’s clouded eyes, cast a gaze out the window, sank deeply into silence.

* * *

“What do you think I should do?”

“Well, I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see.”

“Anyway, I don’t want anyone to think I’m a politician, so I’m beating around the bush.”

Taekang looked displeased, as if he was tired from the long negotiation.

At that moment, a call came on my cell phone.

I checked the number, it’s Professor Jennon Smith.

“I got a call, Professor.”

-Have you met the President?

“yes.”

-How were the negotiations? Did they go well?

“Well, it wasn’t bad.”

-Not bad… …I see. I’m outside now. Could you open the door for me?

As I looked at Taekang, he quickly ran towards the hotel entrance.

“I’m resting, so I’m not sure if I’m disturbing you.”

“No. Please sit over here.”

We sat facing each other on chairs on the sofa.

“Would you like something to drink?”

“It’s okay. More importantly, I want to hear more about how the negotiations went.”

I exchanged glances with Taekang and snickered.

They say Koreans have impatient personalities.

Professor Jennon Smith was no exception.

You came running all the way here this late at night to ask questions that could have been asked over the phone.

“When I first met President Larry Selden… … .”

Let me briefly explain what happened with the President.

Professor Jennon Smith pricked up his ears as if he didn’t want to miss a single word I was saying.

“… … That’s how the story progressed.”

“Thanks to the professor’s advice, the story went more smoothly than I thought.”

“What kind of advice is that?”

Professor Jennon Smith waved his hand as if to tell her not to worry.

Contrary to his casual attitude.

Professor Jennon Smith looks at President Larry Selden’s personal temperament, what he is sensitive to, and what the US is doing in these negotiations.

He gave me very detailed and specific information regarding negotiations.

“But are you okay?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You gave me the information.

Of course, that goes without saying.

Any information about a country’s president, no matter how trivial, is classified information.

It may not be a bad thing for me, but from Professor Jennon Smith’s point of view, it may be… … .

“Why? Are you afraid that I might go to jail for this?”

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“As I said before, that’s none of Professor Han’s business. I’m also deeply involved in this matter, so I have the authority to reveal that much information. And… … .”

Professor Jennon Smith’s eyes hardened as he leaned toward me.

“In the face of the great proposition of ‘the survival and preservation of the human species,’ the national interests of a single country like the United States are also very insignificant. That is why I hope that this negotiation will end well. No matter what the cost.”

A deep madness sparkling in the eyes.

I sighed softly.

“I will pretend I didn’t hear what you just said.”

As if it was like that.

Professor Jennon Smith’s expression softened and he chuckled.

“If you ever need my help, don’t hesitate to ask. If it’s a request from a professor, I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

… … You say things like it’s nothing, even though it’s going to be a big deal.

Thanks to the old professor’s endless kindness in helping me regardless of whether it was legal or illegal.

I laughed bitterly.

“Then I will be going now. Rest well, Professor Han.”

“Be careful going in late at night.”

* * *

From the day after negotiations with the White House.

We wandered around Washington, D.C.

Starting with the Lincoln Memorial where Taekang sang from the first day he arrived here, he diligently toured many places, including the U.S. Capitol, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, the Washington Monument, and the Library of Congress.

“Should we come here next time?”

“Korean War Veterans Memorial?”

“uh.”

“Okay then.”

The 6.25 War, or the Korean War, was a brutal three-year war.

This is an intense memory that the people of our country will never forget.

Foreigners called it this way.

Between World War II and the Vietnam War.

It’s called the Forgotten War.

While walking around the Korean War Veterans Memorial with the guy.

Before I knew it, the sun was setting.

We headed to a restaurant with outdoor tables to have dinner.

“There’s so much to see here.”

I nodded.

The capital of the United States.

Washington, D.C., the entire city was designed like one giant museum.

While waiting for my order to arrive, I was watching people passing by.

Somehow it feels quieter than usual.

Let’s take a quick look around.

I noticed Taekang diligently scribbling something in his notebook with a pen.

“What are you writing like that?”

“This? I was thinking about a bird’s eye view of the San Joaquin Valley factory. Looking at the various buildings today, I feel like I’m getting some ideas.”

“… … By the way, we are building a factory. We are not building a monument.”

“Who said what?”

Lulu Lala. Let’s see the guy humming.

I’m worried that they might be planning to build another strange building.

While we were having a brief conversation.

In front of the table, the ordered food was set.

Lobster ravioli and steak.

“It was delicious at first, but I started to get sick of it the more I ate it.”

Taekang’s food-related complaints are something you don’t usually see.

It was the same for me too.

Most American food is salty and spicy, as if they accidentally poured sodium on it.

It didn’t suit my taste as I was born and raised in Korea.

After finishing my meal in a hurry, I rinsed my mouth with water.

In that moment, everyone stopped moving.

A gaze towards the sky.

The two of us also unconsciously raised our heads to follow them.

and.

“Wow! This is amazing. I can’t believe I can see something like this in Washington… … Usually, you can only see things like that in polar regions.”

An exclamation came out of Taekang’s mouth.

Green curtains swaying like waves in the sky.

Aurora.

Occasionally, plasma from powerful solar explosions is released into the atmosphere.

This was called the solar wind.

There are cases where charged particles from the solar wind, which are composed of various microscopic particles such as protons, electrons, and atomic nuclei, fly in and strongly collide with the Earth’s magnetic field.

What happens at this time is the aurora.

The green light scattering phenomenon that is floating across the sky right before our eyes.

A truly extraordinary sight that is rarely seen on a regular basis.

People were busy taking pictures of the scene with their cell phones.

“It’s pretty, but was Washington, D.C. really that close to the poles?”

The guy tilted his head.

“That can’t be true.”

Although Washington DC’s latitude is not that low.

It wasn’t at a high enough latitude to be able to observe the aurora.

“Then what is that?”

“The sunspot explosions have gotten stronger recently.”

The sun has spots called sunspots, which are relatively cold compared to other places.

I don’t know the exact English translation yet.

The Sun’s minimum and maximum cycles repeat approximately every 11 years.

During peak solar activity, more sunspots are observed than usual.

At this time, the sunspot explodes, emitting a strong flare outward.

“They said the solar wind would be strong today. It would be enough to observe the aurora even in mid-latitudes. They said that if it was strong enough, there might be communication problems, but fortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

“Where on earth did you get that information?”

… … Watch the news.

While shaking my head.

A phone call came.

White House.

Taekang, who was excitedly taking pictures, changed his expression and put his phone down on the table.

I pressed the receive button and slowly brought the smartphone to my ear.

-This is Larry Selden. Mr. Han Yu-jin.

“Hello, Mr. President. Have you had dinner?”

-Yes. I just finished eating.

“Why did you call me directly?”

-Can you talk a little more in depth about the suggestion that Han Yu-jin made?

“Yes, that’s right.”

– I will send the car around 10 am tomorrow.

“I will be waiting.”

Let’s hang up.

The guy came running at me like a stray dog.

“what?”

“I would like to meet you and talk more deeply.”

“Hey, what is it?”

I chuckled, looking at the disappointed guy.

What does it mean for a politician who usually twists his words to have a deep conversation?

A positive sign of YES.

I spent a long time watching the aurora borealis undulating across the Washington, DC sky.