Money Keeps Piling Up No Matter How Much I Spend

Chapter 171

Translator: Dreamscribe"What happened? Did Venezuela really launch an attack?"

Normally, I don't come into the office in the morning.

Unless something major is going on, the Vice President handles the rest on his own.

But today, I came in early.

It was because of the terrorist attack that had taken place in the middle of Guyana's waters.

"Venezuela is vehemently denying it. However, just before the incident, two Venezuelan ships reportedly crossed the boundary line. Even so, they insist it absolutely wasn't them."

This was a stretch of ocean that Jackson Mobil had spent years surveying and building infrastructure to make pumping possible.

Naturally, the amount of money invested there had to be substantial.

And for the Guyanese government, that location was critically important as well.

They received a portion of the revenue from selling the resources extracted there.

On top of that, since these were resources the government itself could use, the military advantages were significant too.

Someone had attacked that vital site.

They had detonated multiple bombs and opened fire, partially destroying facilities and bringing production to a halt.

"How are people reacting right now?"

"Everyone's pointing the finger at Venezuela. After all, the U.S. is dealing with a lot of political issues right now. It seems Venezuela calculated that even if they pulled something like this, the U.S. military wouldn't be able to intervene quickly."

But the U.S. military was still the U.S. military.

American forces patrolling nearby waters mobilized the moment they received word that the facility had been attacked.

"Most of them fled, and some were killed by the U.S. military response. When they checked the identities, apparently they were members of criminal organizations that had crossed over from Venezuela and were operating in the Guyana area."

"So we should assume someone hired them to carry out the attack?"

"Yes. Interpretations are split right now. Recently, our KW Sentinel and the Guyanese government have been sweeping out criminal organizations in the area, so it's unclear whether they acted out of resentment over that, or whether Venezuela put them up to it."

The first explanation had some merit, but even so, there was no reason for them to attack Jackson Mobil out of the blue.

Circumstantially, it could only be seen as something Venezuela had orchestrated.

"So tensions along the border are through the roof right now. The U.S. government may have become a Lame-duck Administration, but this is directly tied to the security of an allied nation, so even the Republicans are responding this time. They've decided to deploy additional ships."

"Venezuela poked the wrong bear."

"Yes. It hasn't been proven yet that they were actually behind it, but ironically, it's only provoked America's anger. Guyana should be breathing a little easier because of it, too. The problem is Jackson Mobil."

There's a saying about shrimp getting their backs broken in a fight between whales. [TL: Korean proverb meaning bystanders suffer when powerful forces clash]

It seemed to describe Jackson Mobil's situation perfectly.

"The damages must be enormous. That's how much money was invested there. And now, figuring out how much it'll cost to restore everything... On top of that, didn't Jackson Mobil just spend 60 billion dollars acquiring a new company?"

Jackson Mobil had already been recklessly acquiring various energy companies and spending every dollar it had.

"Because of that, the company was already running low on cash when this whole crisis hit."

Shareholders aren't fools.

The world has become sophisticated enough that, even if they can't pin down exact figures, people can roughly gauge how much cash a company has on hand.

So they already knew.

That Jackson Mobil had very little in reserve.

"The reason Jackson Mobil invested this heavily was their belief that they could monopolize all of Guyana's oil. But now that they've been attacked like this, with facilities destroyed and a clear precedent that the area isn't safe, the stock price was bound to take a hit."

Jackson Mobil, which had maintained a market capitalization of 400 billion dollars, was now seeing its stock price plunge rapidly in the wake of the crisis.

"Word is that even Jackson Mobil didn't anticipate a blow this severe, so they're scrambling to figure out how to respond. The damages alone are expected to reach into the trillions of won."

"So the real problem is what comes next?"

"Yes. Internally, there's apparently a lot of dissent. The Rockgeller Family descendants overreached trying to reclaim their former glory, and the people who put money into the fund, along with the current shareholders holding stakes in Jackson Mobil, are reportedly furious."

I recalled seeing an article some time ago about the Rockgeller Family's ambitions to become oil royalty once again.

In particular, they had begun investing in a diverse range of energy resources, not just oil, adapting to the rapidly shifting global landscape.

The narrative was that they were pouring money freely with an eye on the distant future, but that was only justifiable because their ventures had some degree of business viability.

"Board Chairman Jonathan Rockgeller must be in disbelief too. He never could have predicted that their facilities would be hit by a bomb attack. Even if Venezuela had invaded Guyana, he probably believed their facilities, at least, would be left untouched."

But the world was changing rapidly.

It was hurtling toward yet another unpredictable destination.

Think about it.

Who could have predicted that a coronavirus would sweep across the entire globe?

And who would have dared to imagine that in a 21st century bristling with nuclear weapons, a war between Russia and Ukraine would break out and drag on to this day?

Beyond that, countless other incidents were unfolding across the world.

It was as if the author writing Earth's story had completely lost their mind.

"In any case, this has become the catalyst, and now Jackson Mobil's shareholders are trying to oust the current Board Chairman and install a new one. They see it as the company being used for personal ambition rather than to deliver returns to shareholders."

It meant that all the frustration that had been building up had exploded all at once because of this incident.

It didn't seem like something that directly concerned us, though.

"Our KW Sentinel and the mining operations are unaffected, right?"

"Yes. Now that the U.S. military has moved, Venezuela won't dare act rashly. Apparently, after seeing the additional naval deployment, they got spooked and pulled back all the troops they'd stationed along the border."

That was good enough.

It was unfortunate for Jackson Mobil, but as long as our side sustained no damage, that was all that mattered.

"The next item on the agenda is Japan."

"The contaminated water issue?"

"Yes. It's been causing quite the uproar these past few days, hasn't it?"

Ever since the Fukushima disaster, Japan had been trying to discharge contaminated cooling water into the ocean.

Until now, they had faced international pressure on the grounds that safety hadn't been sufficiently established, but Japan had finally declared it could no longer keep storing it and would proceed with the release.

"The U.S., EU, and even the IAEA have all ruled that there's no problem. But whether it's truly safe is something that can't be fully determined." (TL: IAEA  = International Atomic Energy Agency)

Scientifically, they said that releasing contaminated cooling water wouldn't have harmful effects on the human body. But even if there were no short-term effects, no one could be certain from a long-term perspective.

"Japan also feels it's being unfairly singled out. Because France, China, Canada, and even our own country are currently discharging contaminated water from nuclear facilities into the ocean. Of course, the difference is that Fukushima is an accident site, whereas the facilities in our country and other nations are operational reactors."

Contaminated water from nuclear plants is purified according to IAEA standards before being discharged. It's essentially the same concept as water passing through a filtration system, like a sewage treatment facility.

The reason Fukushima is problematic, however, is that it isn't a normal reactor but an accident site. There were doubts about whether they were properly purifying the water before discharge, and Japan had a track record of falsifying standards during previous releases, which only deepened the mistrust.

"So Japan had been building storage tanks and keeping it contained until now, but they've reached their limit and decided to go ahead with the release."

People in neighboring countries had every reason to feel uneasy.

I felt uneasy too.

"If Japan goes through with this, there's nothing we can really do, is there?"

"No, it's a diplomatic matter. But we could verify with the IAEA whether their inspection results are truly accurate. Or we could send a donation and request that they conduct a thorough reinvestigation."

Right then, a tingling sensation ran through my fingertips.

"Nuclear power is making a comeback these days, isn't it? Especially the push for eco-friendly and safe nuclear energy. If we send a donation under the pretext of supporting the IAEA's direction on that front, it would make for a convenient justification."

The feeling struck again.

"That's not a bad idea. Ask them to conduct another investigation so that Japan can't recklessly discharge contaminated water. This is an issue that could significantly affect us as well."

They say the world demands that you give something up whenever you gain something.

But I believe that technological advancement exists precisely so we don't have to lose that something.

* * *

"My, my. I know you're all very busy people, so I truly appreciate you coming out like this."

"Not at all. Thanks to you persuading Kwangwoon, Chairman, we're the ones who can finally breathe. Haha."

Chairman Kang Sung-ho had gathered the heads of the various companies participating in the Guyana project in one place.

Smiles bloomed on the faces of those who had been given the opportunity to mine not only rare earth elements, notoriously difficult to develop due to practical constraints, but also the mineral veins piled up like mountains throughout Guyana.

This year was going to be a very prosperous one.

"By the way, I heard there was an unfortunate incident in Guyana recently..."

"Oh, let's not worry too much about that. Thanks to the U.S. military stepping in, Venezuela can't make a move."

"Yes. To be frank, I'm not particularly worried. You've probably picked up on it yourself, haven't you, Chairman Kang?"

"Ahem. Me?"

"Oh, come now. Don't be like that. We all know enough to know. Word is, Kwangwoon orchestrated this whole thing, right?"

At those words, Chairman Kang Sung-ho's expression hardened.

"Hey now. Watch what you say. There's not a shred of evidence."

"But I heard that Jackson Mobil's shareholders reached out to Kwangwoon for help? Saying they'd sell off part of their shares if Kwangwoon would take over the company."

Kang Sung-ho already knew about this.

Jackson Mobil's shareholders were trying to oust the current Board Chairman, Jonathan Rockgeller, and put Kwangwoon in his place.

In other words, Kwangwoon didn't hold a single share, but the shareholders were pleading for them to take over, offering to hand over their stock at prices below the current market value.

"It really is remarkable. If this isn't a Bloodless Takeover, what is? I was wondering why they suddenly started developing in Guyana..."

"What did I just say? Don't make accusations without evidence. You know what happens in this world when you run your mouth, don't you?"

"Ah. S-sorry."

"On top of that, if there were any evidence that Kwangwoon orchestrated something like this, do you think the U.S. government would just sit still? What about everyone else? You people are really asking for trouble."

"......"

Everyone visibly tensed at Chairman Kang Sung-ho's words.

A moment later, he broke into a hearty laugh.

"I'm joking, joking. It was just a little humor. Why is everyone so stiff? The food's getting cold. Let's eat."

Only then did they exhale in relief.

They had almost gotten themselves in trouble by bringing up something they shouldn't have.

After all, it was widely known that Kangseong Group's chairman, Kang Sung-ho, was the person closest to Kwangwoon.

"Chairman. While we're at it, may I ask one more thing?"

"What is it?"

"I heard that Kwangwoon recently sent a generous donation to the IAEA and filed a formal protest. Over Japan's discharge issue. Could it be that Kwangwoon is moving to pressure Japan again..."

After Kwangwoon had thoroughly crushed Japan, numerous Korean companies had expanded into the country.

Japan, desperate to revive its crumbling economy, had proclaimed full market liberalization and removed every regulation on Korean businesses.

That was why they now feared Kwangwoon might be gearing up to devastate Japan all over again.

"What do you take Kwangwoon for?"

"Huh?"

"Alright. Since we're all in the same boat now, let's put our cards on the table. Do you really think Kwangwoon is the kind of place that cares about something like the environment?"

"Well, that's..."

"You all know what's buried in Guyana, right?"

They thought for a moment before the answer came.

"You don't mean... uranium?"

"That's right. Kwangwoon already has a grip on all the surrounding mineral veins, so technically, if they just bring in the equipment, they can extract uranium too. But can they do it openly?"

Extracting uranium is no simple matter.

Because it invites international pressure.

"Nuclear power is getting a lot of attention again these days, isn't it? And in this climate, Fukushima is announcing a contaminated water release, which draws international scrutiny. That's making eco-friendly nuclear energy an even hotter topic. And what is K-STAR researching in Korea?"

"K-STAR... An eco-friendly nuclear power plant?"

Eco-friendly nuclear energy, the so-called dream technology.

Because it minimized environmental impact, it had been gaining renewed attention ever since the Russia-Ukraine war.

"Exactly. And do you know what one of the subsidiaries Jackson Mobil has owned for decades is? A nuclear energy development company."

"Ah!"

It finally clicked, and they clapped their hands in realization.

They had been wondering why Kwangwoon had suddenly taken the Fukushima discharge issue and gone directly to the IAEA with a protest.

The real purpose had been to build a different justification entirely.

"Let's be honest, a massive number of our companies have moved into Guyana, right? The numbers seem a bit high for just mining. But what if that workforce was used to build a new nuclear power plant on that land?"

"Using eco-friendly nuclear energy as a pretext? But that technology isn't complete yet, is it?"

"Not yet. But what if we build it first and develop it step by step? As a pilot project."

They let out brief exclamations of admiration and nodded along.

This Guyana project wasn't just about rare earth elements. There had been a much grander plan all along.

"So let's all be smart about how we act. Keep your mouths shut as much as possible. Kwangwoon's dream isn't to compete with Korean companies, but to grow alongside them."

For some reason, the words "our Kwangwoon" felt especially natural rolling off Kang Sung-ho's tongue today.

*****

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