Pshhh—

  The glass of the lift opened, and the smoke dispersed.

  An old man walked out from within.

  His appearance was completely out of place in this cutting-edge, high-tech building.

  He wore a worn-out traditional Muslim garment (Thobe) and leather sandals on his feet.

  But no one dared to mock his attire.

  Zishka Al-Din.

  The genius who built the technological foundation of Baeksan,

  and a legend who constructed an empire alongside Sun Yao, the father of Sun Jihai.

  Burn marks and blade scars stained his face, neck,

  and the forearms revealed beneath his sleeves like medals of honor.

  The history of war and hardship,

  stretching back to the 1991 Gulf War,

  was etched into that aged body.

  “…….”

  He walked out without saying a word.

  His fierce gaze swept over the crowd.

  Everywhere his eyes landed, the air froze.

  Even Sun Jihai put down his cigar, stood up, and bowed his head,

  while Marco, Sato, and Xu Haiyan all rose to show their respect.

  Li Youwei quickly stepped aside and offered his own chair.

  “You have arrived, Elder. Please, sit here.”

  Instead of answering, Zishka gave a small nod.

  As if it were only natural, he sat in the head of the table that Li Youwei had offered.

  His straight back spoke volumes of his enduring strength.

  Only after he sat down and gestured did the others carefully take their seats.

  “It’s noisy outside,” these were Zishka’s first words.

  His voice was metallic, yet firm and powerful.

  “Did you pop champagne over a mere game of numbers?”

  “No, Elder. We were just celebrating the successful debut of Moon White.”

  Sun Jihai replied in a respectful tone, unlike his usual self.

  Zishka snorted.

  “The era of the United States is now over.

  Moon White is only the beginning.

  We must rot their power from the roots.

  The next targets are America’s blood allies.

  Germany, Canada, Mexico, Korea, Japan….

  We must bring these nations to our side,

  or at least make them doubt the United States.”

  “But Master,” Tak Eun-ha spoke up cautiously.

  “Will Canada, Japan, or Germany easily come over to our side?

  They are practically one with the United States.”

  “What do you know? Do you even understand politics and economics?”

  Zishka snapped at her.

  Tak Eun-ha fell silent and bowed her head.

  His gaze shifted to Li Youwei.

  “In that regard, that fellow is better than all of you here.”

  Li Youwei felt his heart skip a beat.

  It was a compliment.

  At the fact that he was recognized by this monster-like old man,

  he had to bite his lip hard to control his expression.

  “It’s unusual for you to evaluate that fellow so highly, Elder,”

  Sun Jihai grumbled, sending a contemptuous look toward Li Youwei.

  Zishka looked at Sun Jihai as if he were pathetic.

  “I have always made the most efficient and rational choices with your father, Sun Yao, Sun Jihai.”

  Zishka’s voice was low and heavy.

  “A guy like him is more capable of leading an organization for a long time than a fool like you

  who gets carried away by emotions and drops business cards everywhere.

  At least he knows what he needs to do to survive.”

  “……”

  Sun Jihai remained silent.

  His face reddened and darkened with anger,

  but he did not dare to talk back.

  “And those whose work goes unrecognized are always thinking about betraying the organization.

  You must tell them they did a good job so the dog doesn't bite its owner.”

  It was both a compliment and a warning.

  It meant not to bully Li Youwei too much and turn him into an enemy.

  Cold sweat ran down Li Youwei’s back.

  This old man was even seeing through the dissatisfaction hidden in his heart.

  “…I will keep that in mind.”

  Sun Jihai bowed his head. Zishka clicked his tongue.

  “It is truly embarrassing to think what your father would say if he saw you now.”

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  Zishka turned his gaze to Marco Puyol.

  “Marco.”

  “Yes, sir. Please speak, Elder.”

  Even the sly Marco answered like a disciplined private in front of Zishka.

  “What is happening with Aland?”

  Aland.

  A world-renowned heavy industry company founded by Faisal Rashid,

  a key figure in the Iraq reconstruction project.

  “We know more about Aland, Elder,”

  Xu Haiyan spoke up confidently, raising her hand.

  “Is that so? I must hear the story in detail.

  No matter who we are, we must not touch that place lightly.

  I cannot entrust it entirely to you.”

  Zishka’s eyes flashed.

  It was the moment his thirty-year-old obsession flared up.

  “Then are you planning to return now?

  Are you going to take charge yourself?”

  “Yes. But I have no intention of standing in the spotlight.

  As we are now, Li Youwei will be the face,

  and Sun Jihai will handle things from behind.”

  At Zishka’s words, Li Youwei felt his heart burning and clenched his fists.

  ‘Damn it. Weren't you backing me? Just one more step and the world would be mine...’

  “It has been a long time.

  Nearly thirty years have passed since my teacher,

  Dr. Salashid, chose Zahir over me and sent him to the Turkish conference."

  He spoke as if it were nothing,

  but the weight of his words was immense.

  No one could even make a sound of breathing.

  It was not a mere memory,

  but a ritual of drawing a blade sharpened for thirty years.

  "Now my teacher has died of old age, and as for Zahir,

  who was arrested by the CIA...

  I don't know if he is alive or dead, but...”

  The corners of Zishka’s mouth twisted up strangely.

  “If he is alive, he will hear my voice. Wherever he may be, the world I created will find him.”

  “What? Dr. Zahir? Surely, you don't mean the Eternal Conductor...”

  Li Youwei cut in without realizing it.

  It was a word he had glimpsed in the meeting materials.

  “Yes, I plan to put the Eternal Conductor into Mujin.”

  The crowd stirred.

  Mujin, a model developed in absolute secrecy, distinct from Moon White.

  There were still many stages to overcome before it could be completed.

  “Are you planning to use Mujin?”

  Marco Puyol asked in surprise.

  Zishka nodded with a determined expression.

  Puyol began to get excited,

  a bright smile spreading across his face like a child receiving a Christmas gift.

  “Hahaha, I’m looking forward to that. It’ll be fun to see the world change.”

  “Um... Mujin is currently even more unstable and dangerous than Moon White...”

  Sato Shinji’s worried voice threw cold water on Puyol’s expectations.

  “Besides, the Eternal Conductor is in the United States.

  Didn't the CIA seize it when Zahir was arrested?

  Lennon must have it now...

  And what does it have to do with Aland?”

  Zishka did not answer Li Youwei’s question.

  He only gave a cold smile.

  “How dare a fellow like you, Li Youwei, ask such a question?

  If the Elder tells you to do something, just say 'yes' and be done with it.”

  Sun Jihai cut in and scolded him.

  But Xu Haiyan’s eyes were different.

  She seemed to have something in mind.

  “Are you... planning to back him?”

  Xu Haiyan asked cautiously.

  “Yes,” Zishka nodded.

  “If it’s him, he’ll bring us the Eternal Conductor.

  A person should naturally repay a favor.

  We will give him power.” Zishka said.

  Li Youwei couldn't tell who they were talking about.

  But Zishka’s expression was full of conviction.

  “Elder, but will the United States just stand by?” Marco Puyol asked cautiously.

  “Now that Moon White has been announced, they will try to keep us in check.”

  “That is exactly the problem.”

  Zishka’s eyes flashed sharply.

  He tapped the table with his bony fingers.

  “It’s too quiet.”

  “Pardon?”

  “The reaction from the Americans is too quiet.

  Isn’t it strange?

  Normally, they would have been shouting about technology leaks or copycats and imposing sanctions by now.”

  Zishka looked at Sun Jihai.

  “Do you remember? That girl who sneaked into our laboratory like a rat a few years ago.”

  “…Are you talking about Amy? It’s already been eight years since then.”

  Sun Jihai’s face contorted fiercely.

  It was a name he could never forget.

  She had stolen the design blueprints for Baeksan’s early robot prototype and fled.

  “Yes. She must have handed that information over to the United States.

  If so, there’s no way they would just sit still.

  They must have been building robots.

  They probably treated them as mere tin cans because they didn't have the 'brain' to move them, just like us...”

  Zishka’s gaze drifted into space.

  “2020. It’s already been eight years.

  Artistea was revealed to the world.

  Would the United States have stayed quiet?

  They must have tried to transplant Artistea even before we did.

  But what has the U.S. been doing all this time?

  Marco, do you know anything?”

  A silence fell over the meeting room as if cold water had been poured on it.

  “…Yes, I will look into it further.”

  After Marco replied with a frown, Tak Eun-ha took a sharp breath.

  “Could it be… that they have already completed it too? A robot at the same level as ours?”

  Her intuition as a roboticist kicked in.

  “They might even possess a monster far superior to ours.

  That’s why they’re keeping their mouths shut so leisurely.

  I must confirm it, even if just for the sake of my dream.”

  Zishka growled.

  That was the reason he was in such a hurry.

  It wasn't simply for the purpose of making money.

  This was an invisible war.

  ‘Zishka’s dream? What is it?

  There are too many things I don’t know.

  This damn organization!’

  “So we must complete Mujin first.

  It’s already been two years since they took Zahir.

  If they even succeed in mass-producing the Eternal Conductor, we might fall behind.”

  Zishka stood up.

  The sound of his worn-out sandals scraping the floor echoed through the meeting room.

  “Hurry. Bring that fellow. The Eternal Conductor my rival, Zahir, created.

  He surely holds the answer.”

  Zishka’s command was absolute.

  Li Youwei swallowed hard.

  A massive game was already in motion.

  A chain of ill fate that had begun thirty years ago.

  And he stood at the center of it.

  ‘As expected... I'm still just a half-measure CEO. I must know more if I want to survive.’

  Li Youwei clenched his fists.

  To survive within this massive fortress of secrets, he had to climb higher.

  He had to become someone who wielded information.

  ‘I might actually have to marry Xu Haiyan.’

  Li Youwei gazed intently at Xu Haiyan.

  She was listening closely to Zishka’s words.

  Behind Zishka’s overwhelming back, Li Youwei quietly steeled his resolve.

  He had to reach the top.

  It was the dream he had harbored since childhood

  and the final promise he had made to his late wife.

  Author’s Note

  Song Joo-eun’s story.