Dictator From Outer Space

The atmosphere had settled down at the beginning of 2026, but the stock market remained prosperous.

The secondary battery and electric vehicle sectors were rising day by day, leading the way.

Silla Energy, which had a market capitalization of less than 200 billion won until last year, was at the forefront.

It didn’t make sense considering the trading volume, but it showed that there were high expectations for the black metal batteries.

The discussion forum for Silla Energy had changed completely from before.

–We should start praising Chairman Yu Ji-ha from now on.

–Why waste time when money can be multiplied? Let’s aim for the Han River view!

–Folks, it’s not about shoulders now, it’s about ankles. Hurry up and get on board.

Those who had criticized Yu Ji-ha before, saying he would ruin the company, had already disappeared.

However, despite the frenzy, Silla Energy’s trading volume was not significant because Yujiha owned 40% of the shares.

If he combined the dispersed quantities of the 100 individuals, he could announce a public acquisition and delist voluntarily.

Except for a few percentage points, that is.

“The problem is that Shin Ha-yoon is involved in those few percent.”

To be precise, it was HANSUNG Securities, but even the CEO wouldn’t dare to ignore the granddaughter of the chairman.

“According to their usual conversations, the probability of selling shares is very low.”

Arma saying “very low” meant it was almost impossible.

“Then let’s target the higher-ups.”

“By higher-ups… Do you mean the chairman of HANSUNG Group?”

“No, the honorary chairman above him. He stepped back from the frontlines of management, but his stake remains unchanged.”

“Yes. He plans to gradually pass on his stake to his children, but they don’t seem to meet his expectations.”

“Well, HANSUNG Group has been struggling lately too…”

Even HANSUNG Group, which boasted the top spot in the business world, was facing a serious crisis these days.

Of course, it wasn’t as bad as Silla Group, but they had exhausted their future prospects.

They were losing market share in semiconductors to the United States and being overshadowed by Apple and China in smartphones, leaving only their legacy to carry on.

Given the current situation, Chairman Shin Juho, who led the heyday of HANSUNG Group, wouldn’t easily trust his children.

“Arma, gather the items that indicate Chairman Shin Juho’s direct involvement. Since the 1990s.”

Arma calmly presented a list, selecting the first-ever mobile phone.

“Was it released in the late 1980s? Search the media database and find only the ones where Chairman Shin Juho mentioned it himself.”

“I’m searching…”

Soon, an old advertisement video appeared on the screen.

It featured a middle-aged Chairman Shin Juho, acting as a model, praising the brick-sized mobile phone.

“He seems to have a strong attachment to it.”

“As you said, there are over a hundred articles and interviews where Chairman Shin Juho talked about mobile phones. He even received awards for it.”

“Then he must have a significant interest in smartphones as well.”

He would probably feel very disappointed by the poor performance of HANSUNG Electronics’ smartphone business.

“Should I send him a proposal in this regard?”

“No, let’s make him come to us.”

It would be best to present the proposal when he was in a situation where he couldn’t refuse. 

But to do that, he needed to be sure that Chairman Shin Juho cared about smartphones.

The numerous articles and interviews showed that he did.

In one interview, he even expressed his frustration with HANSUNG Electronics’ Orion brand.

“Arma, upload a video on YouTube. Make it look like a speculation on how long the flagship smartphone of HANSUNG, with Black Metal batteries, could last.”

[Understood.]

Arma analyzed the interests and curiosities of humans, creating a title and content that would attract many views.

This should work.

She felt satisfied as she uploaded the video by herself.

One evening in January, an elderly man in a wheelchair entered a residential area in Yeonhui-dong.

Shin Juho.

He was the honorary chairman of HANSUNG Group, the top-ranked conglomerate in the business world.

He waved away his secretaries who tried to help him, and went into his home.

“I’m fine once I’m inside the house. You can all rest.”

“Then, Chairman, we will see you tomorrow morning.”

Chairman Shin Juho listened to his subordinates’ greetings without paying much attention. 

Then, he headed to his study.

“They treat me like a dying patient just because I fainted for a moment. Why do they talk so much? Tsk, tsk…”

Even while lying in the hospital bed, away from the frontlines of management, he was thinking about the group’s strategies.

Lately, his main concern was the smartphones released by HANSUNG Electronics.

“How did they manage to make the battery drain so fast with their power management program?”

Despite his old age, he had no trouble using mobile devices like smartphones. 

In fact, he used them more effectively than the younger generation who only watched YouTube.

He even accessed foreign forums to get direct feedback on HANSUNG Electronics’ smartphones.

He checked the reviews of the recently released flagship smartphone, Orion S25, but the responses were not good.

—S25 could have restored the glory of the past if only the battery had been better.

—They increased the clock too much to compete with the M3 chip, so it was inevitable.

—The overheating is one thing, but the battery drains too fast.

—We made a mistake by choosing Orion when there’s an Apple logo.

—Still, the specs of Orion S25 are impressive.

To compete with the monstrous performance of the M3 chip developed by Apple, HANSUNG Electronics collaborated with AMD and others.

The result was the Nexinos chip, which was praised for its performance that matched the M3 chip.

However, the heat and power consumption were huge. 

HANSUNG Electronics’ mobile division managed to solve the heat problem at the risk of their lives, but they couldn’t do much about the battery.

As a result, they had to lower the clock speed with tears in their eyes, making the phone mediocre. It was even considered no better than previous generations.

“It’s definitely a battery problem.”

Speaking of batteries, there was a lot of talk about a product made by Silla Energy lately. 

The rumors might have been exaggerated, but there seemed to be some truth to them.

“Let’s see what that thing can do in terms of performance.”

He searched on YouTube and found a channel that intrigued him. 

It had a cheesy title with flashy effects, but it had the information he wanted.

“A smartphone that can last a week without charging? Shocking!”

“Hello? We cover all the issues! It’s IssueLeka, the creator of reverse trends!”

After that, the screen was filled with annoying sound effects and graphics for a while, which he didn’t like to see or hear.

Chairman Shin Juho frowned deeply, muttering, “I don’t understand the tastes of young people these days.”

But the content was somewhat credible, and it gave him concise and essential details about the recent issue of black metal batteries.

“It says it can triple the driving range of electric vehicles?”

―So, why not try it? What happens if we apply this black metal battery to HANSUNG Electronics’ flagship phone?

“So, what happens?”

After a moment, shocking numbers appeared.

―160 hours! The battery still has 10% left even after playing YouTube videos for a whopping 160 hours! It’s not exactly a week, but close enough, right?

―We’ve shown you what happens when we apply the black metal battery to the ORION smartphone! Please subscribe and like our channel!

“…”

Chairman Shin Juho was silent for a while.

If this was true, it would mean that Silla Energy had really developed an amazing battery.

He unexpectedly found out a surprising fact while looking for information about Silla Energy.

“Yu Ji-ha? Are you talking about that troublemaker?”

Surprisingly, the developer of the battery was none other than Yu Ji-ha, who was notorious for causing problems in the Silla Group.

It was impressive enough that he had recovered from a vegetative-state transformation, but it was even more astonishing that he had retained his genius.

“Hmm… So that guy is the CEO of Silla Energy…”

As he checked the share structure, he had some suspicions.

Despite the continuous rise in stock prices, the company was buying back its own shares, indicating some kind of plan.

“It can’t be dividend payments… Could they be delisting voluntarily?”

It was highly possible, considering the continuous increase in Yu Ji-ha’s ownership stake.

Above all, the flow of foreign investors trading stocks was very suspicious.

“Could this guy be secretly manipulating accounts?”

He had done such things often before the implementation of the Financial Transparency Act, so he knew better than anyone.

He told his secretary to contact and gather all information about Silla Energy.

As he looked through the information, he became certain.

“That guy is dreaming of his own kingdom.”

It was a naive thought for a young boy.

Of course, Chairman Shin Ju-ho had no intention of allowing such ideas about his management.

If they had what the other side wanted, couldn’t they just make a deal?

He called his granddaughter.

Shin Ha-yoon answered the phone before it rang three times.

–Grandfather, are you okay…?

“How much of Silla Energy’s stocks do we have right now?”

–It’s only 3%. Why do you ask?

“I want to sell it. The owner will offer a fair price.”

–Are you talking about that person…?

“If we have the battery developed by Yu Ji-ha, we can revive the Orion brand.”

–I’m sorry, but I disagree.

“What did you say?”

–I know he’s buying back his own shares. But if I sell them, we’ll lose all connection with him.

That wasn’t what she meant to say.

But she was so desperate that she couldn’t say it properly.

“So, you’re saying you’ll keep the stocks to somehow stay close to that guy, is that it?”

His voice was filled with anger, and Shin Ha-yoon tried to explain quickly.

–Grandfather, I…

“Shut up! Didn’t I tell you? He’s trash!”

–He’s not trash! He has changed a lot!

“How dare you raise your voice at me?”

The chairman’s anger exploded like a volcano.

Shin Ha-yoon, filled with fear, closed her eyes tightly and couldn’t even breathe properly.

She had forgotten.

Her grandfather was a tyrant who wouldn’t tolerate any dissent.

“No more discussion. Get ready to sell the stocks right away. And cut off contact with that guy!”

–Grandfather…

“Enough!”

The conversation ended there.

Yu Ji-ha, who had been listening in, smiled smugly.

The day to establish his own kingdom was not far away.

After many attempts, Shin Ha-yoon finally managed to talk to Yu Ji-ha on the phone.

Her grandfather grabbed the phone from her.

“I’m Ha-yoon’s grandfather.”

–Ah, Chairman Shin Ju-ho. We’re not accepting any business proposals, domestic or foreign.

“It’s not a trivial proposal. If you miss this opportunity, you’ll regret it.”

–I’m busy with work right now, so let’s meet in the evening. Please tell me the location, and I’ll be there.

‘Look at this.’

He was making the honorary chairman of HANSUNG Group wait until evening?

After deciding on the location, Shin Ju-ho hung up the phone.

“Is he really the same guy who used to kowtow to me?”

“Well, he had a good face back then.”

“He was nothing but a useless brat, always making trouble. Let’s see how much he has changed this time.”

He had already gathered and analyzed information about Yu Ji-ha.

To be honest, he had changed so much that it was hard to believe they were the same person.

The trash who only had a decent face and caused problems everywhere was gone.

Instead, there was an entrepreneur who showed remarkable skills by developing a new type of battery and displaying business savvy.

‘He’s not an ordinary person, just by securing the development rights for Black Metal.’

What about his cryptocurrency investments?

Considering that he had withdrawn from the so-called subsidiaries of HANSUNG Group and raised funds from the cryptocurrency market, he might have some tricks up his sleeve.

“He’s someone worth meeting.”

The initial plan was to supply batteries for smartphones, but the situation had changed.

Now, Shin Ju-ho really wanted to meet that person named Yu Ji-ha.

In the evening, he went to the mansion in Yeonhui-dong, following Yu Ji-ha’s directions.

He entered the garden, where Chairman Shin Ju-ho and Shin Ha-yoon, dressed in traditional Korean hanbok, welcomed him from the central pavilion.

“Welcome.”

Chairman Shin Ju-ho couldn’t hide his surprise when he saw him.

The unpleasant and timid person who used to be so careful was gone.

As if he owned this place, Yu Ji-ha walked confidently and sat on a wooden chair.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Yu Ji-ha. Let’s hear your proposal.”

“This guy, he didn’t even bring a car. What’s the hurry?”

“It depends on the situation and the person.”

So, if he made an unfavorable proposal, he would leave right away.

In the solemn atmosphere, tea was served, and Chairman Shin started to talk.

“I want you to supply us with the new battery you developed.”

“Do you mean the electronics industry?”

“I think it would create great synergy if applied to flagship smartphones. With the full power of Nexinos chips, it would compete with the M3 chip.”

He said that based on watching YouTube videos, not on analysis, but Yu Ji-ha didn’t point that out.

“Apple would probably want it too. By the way, I should tell you that we’ve also received a proposal from Apple.”

“Tell me what you want. We’ll try to meet your demands as much as possible.”

“That’s strange.”

“What do you mean?”

Yu Ji-ha raised an eyebrow.

“Weren’t you the one who arranged this meeting, Chairman? You should balance the scales.”

“How about this? I’ll give you the Silla Energy stocks you wanted.”

At that moment, Shin Ha-yoon’s eyebrows twitched, but Yu Ji-ha’s expression didn’t change.

Did they not plan to delist voluntarily?

“I think you misunderstood. The reason I’m buying back our own stocks is to strengthen our management rights, not for any other purpose.”

“Isn’t that too few stocks for that? And you’re very good at hiding ownership. I couldn’t even find out the real owners when I checked in Myeongdong.”

“Who buys stocks secretly these days?”

Chairman Shin laughed.

“Don’t act innocent. Anyway, is that not enough? It’s not good to overvalue it just because of the battery.”

“Did you only see it as a battery? That’s disappointing.”

“It will be used for electric cars and smartphones anyway.”

“It’s made of black metal, the hardest metal in the world. Can’t you imagine the demand for various specialized tools in the industrial field?”

“I admit that, but the demand might not be as high as you think.”

“What about submarines? If we make batteries with black metal, the submersion time will increase several times. You won’t need to worry as much about soundproofing and shock resistance, reducing construction costs.”

“Hmm…”

“The army will love it too. Just by replacing a part of the tank shells with black metal, they will have tremendous penetrating power. Do you want me to continue?”

“No, that’s enough.”

At this point, Chairman Shin decided to withdraw his proposal.

He had lost his momentum by approaching Yu Ji-ha without urgency. 

Besides, he had just recovered from his illness, so his information analysis was not perfect.

“Get to the point. What else do you want to add?”

“If you want the regular battery… please grant me one request.”

“I’m starting to wonder if I can afford it. What is it now?”

“It will be done with a simple order from you. One of the affiliate companies may suffer some losses, but I think you can handle it.”

The old man’s eyes widened.

“Don’t tell me it’s related to electronics or semiconductors? That’s absolutely impossible.”

“Do you think I would ask for something like that? It’s a small matter, about 10 billion won.”

“10 billion is small… No matter how small a business is, it’s not something to ignore. Anyway, it’s not related to a core affiliate, right?”

“Yes. You might feel disappointed when I tell you later, thinking, ‘Is that all?'”

“I’ll judge once I hear it. Is there anything else?”

“There is one more thing, but it depends on your choice, Chairman.”

“Don’t be humble in front of an old man.”

“Well then, I’ll go ahead.”

Yu Ji-ha, accompanied by his subordinate Shin Ha-yoon, stood up without even drinking the tea.

As he watched the stern figure walk away, Chairman Shin realized what he meant.

‘He wishes he had never met my granddaughter.’

With a personality like her mother’s, she must have made a fuss.

“What a shame…”

At first, Chairman Shin had thought about asking if they should talk about the engagement today, but he quickly changed his mind.

After all, the guy didn’t even look at Ha-yoon.

To be so indifferent even after living together meant his feelings were gone.

Just as Chairman Shin had kept quiet until now, Ha-yoon asked carefully, “Grandfather, what does it mean when you say it depends on your choice?”

“Hmm? It’s nothing important. Just follow this road and go home. I’ll tell you about it later.”

“Yes, I understand…”

Chairman Shin watched the back of his granddaughter, who left with her secretary, and then made a phone call.

“It’s me. Do we have an office in the United States? If not, set one up and send Ha-yoon there. What? Can’t you hear me saying that I’ve retired from the frontlines? Yes… that’s right.”

On his way back to the company he ran, he got a call from the chairman.

—As you said, I sent her to the US.

―I didn’t tell you to send her to the US, but thank you anyway. I’ll supply you with batteries like those in flagship products.

―By the way, I was supposed to give you my business card, but I forgot. How about we have a drink next time?

He was a sly old fox.

Yu Ji-ha kept smiling as he continued writing his message.

…