Money Keeps Piling Up No Matter How Much I Spend

Chapter 177

Translator: DreamscribeI was quietly watching the video that had made the morning news.

A rocket was spewing fire as it soared high into the sky when,

BOOM-!!

With a massive explosion, it shattered into pieces and scattered in every direction.

Milon Tusk's ambitiously prepared low-orbit test flight rocket had ended in failure.

"Still, Milon Tusk and SpaceT apparently don't consider this a failure. He actually gave an interview saying they learned a great deal and would absolutely not fail next time."

The failed flight didn't shake Tesla's stock price.

SpaceT was an unlisted company, after all, and the market viewed it as separate from Tesla.

"On top of that, people seem to believe the rocket project SpaceT is pushing will eventually succeed. They've been producing meaningful results, after all."

What SpaceT was currently testing was a fully reusable rocket.

The technology involved successfully launching a rocket, separating the stages, and then returning just the booster to the launch site for reuse. If this truly became a reality, the cost savings would be overwhelming.

"In other words, a rocket that can be operated like an airplane. That will be SpaceT's ultimate goal."

And those rockets would be headed for Mars.

"At first, when Milon Tusk said he was going to Mars, I honestly thought it was just viral marketing to grab public attention. But it seems he really does intend to go."

You could tell just by looking at the companies Milon Tusk was currently running.

By operating a company that bored underground facilities, he was preparing to dig subterranean structures first when they eventually reached Mars, since humans wouldn't be able to live on the surface.

He was also pouring enormous interest into Bitcoin.

If terraforming Mars truly came to pass, it wouldn't belong to any existing nation; an entirely new nation would be born. That was why he intended to use Bitcoin as its new currency.

Beyond that, there were androids that would be the first to depart for Mars and establish settlements, rockets as the means of transport, electric vehicles running on electricity instead of oil, WorldLink enabling internet access from anywhere, and more.

Every single company was aligned solely toward Mars terraforming.

What was remarkable was that our Kwangwoon was investing in those very companies of Milon Tusk's.

"Milon Tusk had been trying to develop his own AI, but since our Kwangwoon is directly investing in SpaceT and WorldLink, he apparently decided to halt AI development entirely and make maximum use of XPT instead."

He must have recognized us as consistent investors providing steady funding, and more importantly, XPT's performance was improving by the day, so he seemed to have judged it was too late to start developing now.

Close AI had just released XPT-4 to the public, but a version of XPT with far superior performance already existed.

The age of artificial intelligence was truly not far off.

"Going forward, whenever investment inquiries come in, please keep funding them. We don't know how much further they'll develop, and above all, we're already making good use of WorldLink ourselves."

Thanks to WorldLink being usable anywhere in the world, our Sentinel was the heaviest user of the service.

After all, it was technology that made communication possible in places where communication was otherwise difficult.

Not just Sentinel, but our Foundation staff heading into remote areas were also finding it invaluable.

"And, CEO-nim. You know the ESG Association the Foundation is pushing forward with?"

"Ah, yes. How is that coming along?"

"They've been building it together with headquarters, and the structure is mostly in place. All that's left now is deciding who goes in each position, and headquarters sent over a candidate list for that."

I had assumed headquarters and the Foundation would handle staffing on their own, but they had entrusted the personnel decisions to me.

Honestly, this always felt like a burden.

If I picked the wrong people, an association we'd put so much effort into could fall apart.

"......"

But the fortunate thing was that I had one ability others didn't.

After quickly scanning the profiles on the list, it wasn't long before lights began appearing over each name.

"But... why are these candidates' credentials so impressive?"

Setting the lights aside, the people on the list had terrifying qualifications.

"Will these people actually accept if we approach them?"

"Some candidates were selected at our discretion, but the majority apparently submitted applications directly to our ESG Association. The final candidate list was compiled from among them through an internal screening process."

That was unexpected.

The ESG Association wasn't really anything all that special.

It had been created simply to have a modest positive impact on society and the environment, and to protect the rights of workers left in blind spots.

Whether companies would actually comply just because we ran this association was questionable, and even if we did issue evaluations, it was uncertain whether they would truly have a significant impact on revenue.

Yet contrary to our expectations, people in surprisingly high positions were showing interest in seats at our association.

'It's a bit overwhelming, I have to say.'

I thought I understood why my intuition was flashing lights so vividly over each name.

I wasn't sure it was appropriate to bring people who were not just prominent but towering figures in their industries to a humble place like this, but I finished my checks quickly.

"Please pass along the list as is."

They wouldn't all quit right away after this, would they?

* * *

"The list? Is it out?"

"Yes. CEO Jung Jin-ho just sent it over to our side."

Fast, as expected.

A personnel decision had come down mere minutes after the report went in.

Normally, when making personnel decisions, especially with candidates this competitive, it took days, weeks, sometimes even months.

That was because the candidates' qualifications were so formidable, and it required careful judgment to determine who would be the right fit for the association while simultaneously benefiting Kwangwoon.

"Chairman. But the fact that a personnel decision came in just minutes means......"

"Jin-ho already had people in mind beforehand?"

"Yes. There's no other explanation for a decision this fast. There's no way he just glanced at the profiles and picked at random."

That was true.

Hwang Dae-woon prided himself on having an accurate eye for people, but when compared to Jung Jin-ho, he could see just how inferior his own ability was.

Jin-ho had never failed when selecting people.

Had anyone Jung Jin-ho picked in the entire history of Kwangwoon ever caused problems?

He had no idea what process the man used to choose people.

But Jin-ho's eye was accurate every single time.

It was the reason this company had grown to such a scale and still operated smoothly, and it was why that notoriously difficult-to-maintain gaming guild had expanded overseas to the degree it had.

It was all thanks to Jung Jin-ho's personnel selections.

"The intermediate process actually took the longest. When word got out that Kwangwoon was selecting people for the ESG Association, requests poured in from everywhere."

Hwang Dae-woon, along with every executive present, felt Kwangwoon's influence all over again.

Those prideful people who seemed like they would never bow to anyone had all come running the moment they heard Kwangwoon was opening an ESG Association, practically begging to be chosen.

Thanks to that, the staff had to pull all-nighters filtering candidates at the intermediate stage.

"Perhaps CEO Jung had already made up his mind during that process?"

"That's probably what happened. And honestly, I was surprised too. I never imagined this many people would apply."

"Yes. Their credentials are incredible, too. But, Chairman, it seems we really didn't understand CEO Jung's intentions."

"What?"

"Didn't you mention that Chairman Kang Sung-ho said something? That this ESG Association was created by CEO Jung specifically to target Apple. And that he couldn't believe we didn't know that."

At first, the thought that came to mind was, No way.

But upon looking into it more closely, Kang Sung-ho's words seemed to be right.

After all, it was strange that Kwangwoon, currently destroying swaths of the Amazon while carrying out all manner of mining and nuclear technology projects, would suddenly create an ESG Association out of nowhere.

That was why his face was still burning even now.

The person who should have understood Jung Jin-ho's intentions better than anyone had been outdone by Kang Sung-ho, someone from another company entirely.

"You can tell just by looking at the people selected this time. They are all very friendly toward Kwangwoon, and among them are people who have a poor relationship with Apple, or who have historically been outspoken against the company."

"Then this really is......"

"Yes. If we attack directly right now, it could deal a significant blow to Apple, but there's a high chance we would suffer major damage as well. Apple is a source of pride for Americans, and the U.S. government wouldn't want to see Apple destroyed either. There would almost certainly be severe retaliation."

Apple had even been voted the company Americans were most proud of.

Because it was the very symbol of innovation.

That was why Jung Jin-ho had chosen a different approach.

"Rather than a frontal assault, it's an attack from the ground up. It chips away at the pride Americans feel toward Apple. If we join forces with ESG to wage a campaign in the court of public opinion, convincing people that the company they loved was actually a source of shame, Apple's value will steadily decline."

"And eventually, we could even take over Apple's management rights?"

"Yes. Just like how CEO Jung has devoured other corporate giants up until now."

That very same fate had now befallen Apple itself.

* * *

Apple was not simply taking Kwangwoon's attacks lying down.

They were mobilizing every connection at their disposal, pleading for people to protect Apple.

"The new product launch has already been completely derailed, and sourcing components going forward will likely take considerable time as well. All factories are currently shut down because the key components aren't coming in."

All of this was Kwangwoon's doing.

But the infuriating part was that Kwangwoon had been maddeningly adept at evading responsibility.

When they came out swinging with the audacity to ask how they could possibly have predicted natural disasters and rebel attacks, Apple had no way to refute them.

The moment Apple accused them outright, saying, You caused all of this, didn't you?, Apple would become the laughingstock of the world for falling into conspiracy theories.

"Has there been any direct attack from Kwangwoon yet?"

"None. We've been monitoring continuously, and there's no sign of Kwangwoon making any large-scale move to acquire Apple shares."

Should he call this a relief?

Or should he read it as Kwangwoon biding its time, waiting to go for the jugular?

Still, hearing that no direct attack had come yet was somewhat reassuring.

There was a faint hope that perhaps Kwangwoon had poked at Apple a few times and decided the company was too tough to swallow, and might pull back.

"However, CEO, it appears Kwangwoon is trying to attack us from a different angle."

But had that been nothing more than a sliver of hope after all?

"Kwangwoon has just established and announced a new ESG Association, and the association chair they installed, along with each of the committee members, are anything but ordinary."

Tim Hook already knew that Kwangwoon was creating an ESG Association; it had been the talk of the industry for some time now.

"What does that association have to do with our company?"

"Nothing at the moment, but it will. Several of the key figures who've joined the ESG Association are people from Wingard and Whiterock."

"......!"

Wingard and Whiterock were major shareholders holding nearly 20% of Apple's equity.

"What's more, there are former political figures and heads of environmental organizations who are on poor terms with us mixed in as well, and talk is already circulating that the ESG Association is targeting Apple."

"How much... could this actually affect us?"

"That's precisely the problem. The impact is incalculable. If they evaluate our company however they see fit and then keep pushing that through the media and social media, our corporate image will inevitably be destroyed in the long run."

Hearing that, Tim Hook's expression soured.

"Isn't that blatant manipulation of public opinion?"

"Yes. That is exactly the purpose behind this ESG Association's establishment. On a tilted playing field, Kwangwoon uses its own evaluation criteria to give competitors the worst possible scores, then uses the media outlets under their influence to completely destroy those companies' images."

The more he listened, the more unsettling it became.

If the ESG Association truly moved to Kwangwoon's tune, what would happen then?

"The ESG Association becomes both a weapon aimed at attacking our Apple and a tool for striking down any company that stands up to Kwangwoon going forward. If anyone rubs them the wrong way, they'll slap them with evaluations claiming they damage society and the environment and have unfair governance structures, then seize control of the narrative."

Only then did Tim Hook understand why Kwangwoon had suddenly created an ESG Association.

They had manufactured a new weapon under the guise of society and the environment, designed to crush every company and competitor that dared to defy their power.

And the very first test subject was none other than Apple, America's greatest company.

If they could bring Apple down, it would mean every other company could be torn apart just as easily.