[Phantom Grid]
It was the name of the new radar system developed by Sin Junggi.
A name Sin Junggi had given it himself.
That was how attached he was to the project.
The one he had thought had left his hands,
“Project Mangwol,” had come back to life.
At first, he was simply elated.
Enough that he could not sleep for days.
He looked over the blueprints again and again.
He could not help but admire them.
It was truly well made.
But.
There were quite a few parts that differed from what Sin Junggi had envisioned.
Mangwol had not changed.
Only Sin Junggi’s situation had.
Now, he could no longer approach it through the eyes of a researcher at the Agency for Defense Development,
but from the perspective of an arms smuggler.
Seen through a smuggler’s eyes, Mangwol was not a profitable item.
Its performance itself was not bad.
But there were many problems with using it as is.
The Agency for Defense Development deals state to state.
Official bases, standard power grids, trained personnel, maintenance systems—everything is in place.
You sell it at a high price, provide a reasonable amount of maintenance, and train the personnel.
But for smugglers, even the customers are different.
Isolated islands, or the wild depths of the jungle.
Cities in the middle of civil war,
or unofficial forces who want even that fact kept secret.
Those were the people looking for such goods.
What they wanted was not “peak performance.”
It was radar they could use immediately without being discovered.
That was impossible with the existing Mangwol.
Black market customers did not have stable electricity, large antennas, or control systems linked to bases.
It had to be modified to suit the black market.
The radar had to be smaller,
and when dismantled, it had to be disguised well enough to look like parts for agricultural machinery.
Its power consumption had to be manageable with a generator or solar batteries.
Trying to modify all of that made his head throb.
Was it really possible?
Then, a thought suddenly occurred to him.
Was fixing it the right approach?
No, was the current radar system itself the right approach?
He began to have fundamental doubts about the radar system as it existed now.
Radar technology was advancing more and more.
It was growing broader, and more sensitive.
It had become capable of detecting even the smallest movements of the enemy.
Conversely.
Enemies were focusing all their energy on developing technology to avoid radar.
They had found ways to enter enemy territory without being detected by enemy radar.
We called that technology stealth.
A great many things were needed for stealth technology.
Stealth was different from the design stage.
The aircraft was designed so that when radar waves struck it, they would bounce off in an entirely different direction.
And that was not all.
The entire aircraft might be coated with radar-absorbing material.
Or jamming might be used to disrupt enemy radar.
If even that did not work, the aircraft would fly low behind mountain ranges or hills to avoid radar.
They were making every effort to slip into enemy territory while avoiding enemy radar by any means possible.
Stealth methods continued to be developed,
but the pace of radar development was faster than that of stealth technology.
A new stealth technology would be developed,
but before long, radar technology capable of detecting that stealth technology would be developed as well.
That endless repetition continued.
And in the process, enormous amounts of money and manpower were poured in.
Sin Junggi thought that process was profoundly meaningless.
Why try to hide?
Sin Junggi’s question began there.
Sin Junggi recalled a novel by George Orwell he had read one day.
In his novel 1984, George Orwell chose, as a way of hiding the truth, to mix the truth among countless lies.
Not hiding the truth in the darkest place,
but placing it among tens of thousands of lies.
If you do not want someone to find a key, you do not put it in a safe.
You scatter thousands of fake keys.
The intruder is bound to destroy himself in the end, checking every key one by one.
Sin Junggi focused on that part.
Information contamination.
Data overload.
A single aircraft infiltrates, but what if the enemy radar displays twenty aircraft approaching in formation?
No, what if there is not a single aircraft, but an alarm sounds on the enemy radar?
The painstakingly built radar network would become utterly useless.
What if they could no longer tell whether the alarm sounding now was real or fake?
The enemy control center would have no choice but to fall into extreme confusion.
‘Which is real, and which is noise?’
If they could not distinguish them?
If an alarm sounded on the radar, they had to scramble no matter what.
They scrambled, and there was nothing there.
There was nothing at the location where the radar alarm had gone off.
They returned, and another alarm sounded.
Another scramble.
An infinite loop.
Everyone would be stressed.
The alarm itself would become noise.
And in the meantime, a real attack would be mixed in.
It was the perfect technology for wearing an enemy down with a simple click, without doing anything else.
The moment certainty collapses, the system collapses as well.
Phantom Grid was not technology that made things invisible.
Rather, it was technology that made things visible.
Making what did not exist exist,
turning one into ten,
turning peace into crisis.
.
.
.
“So you wish to purchase it?”
Dennis asked directly.
But Gavin could not answer readily.
Phantom Grid.
It was definitely an item he coveted.
At least from what he had heard.
But he had not seen the actual thing yet.
Gavin had only listened to Dennis’s words.
Nothing had been verified yet.
And above all, it was suspicious.
There were an awful lot of frauds in this field.
Technology that disrupted radar and created ghost signals
was not the sort of thing a few people tinkering away in some backwater corner of the Philippines could make.
It was only natural to be suspicious.
He wondered whether such technology was truly possible.
Even so, he could not let it slip away.
Even if it was a lie, he had to secure it first.
Phantom Grid was that lethal a technology.
“Would a demonstration be possible? I think I’ll have to see that before deciding.”
“Of course. A demonstration is prepared. However, due to security concerns, we intend to hold the ‘showcase’ only once. We would appreciate it if you attended then.”
Gavin’s expression crumpled.
This was none other than Parallax.
And yet he was supposed to line up with other brokers, watch it together, and submit a price?
That did not suit Parallax.
They had to secure it in advance before others saw it.
They had to monopolize the technology.
And if multiple people saw it together like that, the price would soar into the sky.
The chance to monopolize it at a low price would disappear.
“That would be a bit difficult.”
Gavin said.
“Pardon?”
“We want exclusivity. So before you showcase it elsewhere, hold a private demonstration for us first. If the results of the demonstration match your explanation, we’ll purchase it exclusively.”
“Exclusively?”
Dennis asked back, looking somewhat displeased.
But Gavin made his bet in a confident voice.
“Ten million dollars. Cleanly laundered, in cash.”
Ten million dollars.
It was a large sum amounting to fourteen billion won.
It was also the entire budget Gavin could spend on his own without reporting.
Gavin went all in on Phantom Grid.
Of course, he could spend even more than that.
But from that point on, things would get complicated.
A report on the technology.
Technical verification.
Procedures would become complicated, and the amount of work would increase.
Skipping that entire process,
Gavin offered the maximum amount he could: ten million dollars.
He could not lose the technology while writing up a report.
He had to secure it now.
He had to bring it in, even if he had to make an all-in bet.
To be honest, he did think ten million dollars was a little excessive.
Seven to eight million should have been enough.
But to overwhelm them with money, he put down ten million dollars.
For backwater Filipinos, ten million dollars was more than they deserved.
That was how attractive Phantom Grid was.
A voice kept shouting inside Gavin’s head.
This had to be monopolized.
This one technology might rebuild Parallax.
He had to take it.
That was what Gavin thought.
Until he heard Dennis’s answer.
“Our product is called Phantom Grid, so are you planning to buy only the ‘Grid’ without the ‘Phantom’?”
“Pardon?”
Gavin was flustered by the completely unexpected remark.
“With ten million dollars, forget exclusivity, I’m not even sure you could make a regular purchase. Talking about exclusivity with that kind of number feels a bit off. We spent quite a bit this time on making it lightweight, you know.”
Dennis spoke as if ten million dollars were nothing at all.
Gavin was slightly taken aback, but soon regained his composure.
“That price should be more than enough.”
Gavin attempted to negotiate once again.
He had no intention of changing the price.
Ten million dollars was enough.
And this was not an issue of money.
It was an issue of pride.
This was Parallax.
If it was Parallax, they could stand more than sufficiently on the advantageous side of any purchase.
He was not some sucker who would buy at whatever inflated price bastards like these called out.
The ones who set the price were not these people, but Parallax.
Seeing the change in Gavin’s expression, Dennis spoke.
“Now that I think about it…”
Gavin filled with expectation.
Now he would say he would sell, wouldn’t he?
Now that he thought about it, he would say ten million dollars was enough too, wouldn’t he?
“You couldn’t even buy the ‘Grid’ with that. Ten million dollars. That’s money we make in a day if we work hard, so doing all this just to earn that feels kind of ridiculous. If I sell it for peanuts, the boss will scold me. He’s already telling me not to do anything that doesn’t even cover labor costs. Let’s pretend today’s meeting never happened.”
Contrary to Gavin’s wishes, Dennis ended the negotiation on his own.
As if there was not even the slightest room left, he quietly packed the things he had brought.
Even as Dennis packed, he continued grumbling.
“They said Parallax was struggling, and I guess it must be true. Ten million dollars? Seriously, ten million dollars? You startled me. What is this, children playing house?”
He spoke as if muttering to himself, but Gavin heard him clearly.
Gavin was enraged.
Bastards who smuggled weapons in some backwater corner of the Philippines had insulted Parallax.
Screeech.
The sound of the chair scraping against the floor rang out irritably.
Gavin slowly rose from his seat.
The smile disappeared from his face, leaving only a cold expression.
It was not the face he had shown at first.
“Are you… testing Parallax right now?”
Dennis shrugged.
“What test? If the price doesn’t match, we simply don’t sell. Why attach something as grand as a test to it?”
Dennis answered as if it were nothing,
so calm it was almost indifferent,
and Gavin found Dennis’s composure offensive.
Gavin’s pride had been trampled.
This was not a problem of money.
It was a matter of Parallax’s honor.
Bastards in the backwoods were looking down on Parallax.
But contrary to his anger,
his mind was spinning rapidly.
It would be easy to abandon the negotiation.
He could simply storm out of this place.
But was it something he could give up just because of his mood?
Could he give up that thing called Phantom Grid?
Was it an item he could allow to fall into the hands of someone other than Parallax?
The afterimage of Phantom Grid lingered in Gavin’s mind.
Even if it had only half the effect Dennis had described, that would be enough.
It would be more than enough to throw enemy territory into confusion.
Phantom Grid was a device that could shake the board, a game changer.
It was a difficult item to give up.
From Parallax’s perspective, it was an item they absolutely could not miss.
It was something absolutely necessary.
If they could not purchase such an item, they could take it by force.
That, if anything, seemed easier.
If Phantom Grid was a real technology, it would actually be difficult to put a price on it.
Even more so if multiple parties rushed in saying they would buy it.
At times like that, one simply had to take it.
When something could be bought for a reasonable sum, buying it with money was best,
but when money did not work, force was not a bad method either.
If you shoved a gun in someone’s face, they were bound to hand over anything.
Even so, Gavin exercised his final shred of patience.
“Very well. Let’s leave it here for today.”
Gavin’s voice became smooth again, as it had been at first.
But his eyes had grown sharper.
“However… this field is small. There aren’t many places where you can sell this kind of technology. No matter where you sell it, you’ll end up running into us. Will that be all right?”
Gavin delivered a threat disguised as consideration.
“Well, that could happen.”
But it did not even leave a mark on Dennis.
“When that time comes, the terms may not be as good as they are today.”
“That can’t be helped. I’m bad at business, what can I do? I’ll probably go under at this rate.”
Dennis dodged Gavin’s decisive blow with a laugh.
But their gazes collided once in midair.
Dennis kept smiling until the end, but Gavin could not smile.
At that moment, Gavin decided.
He would bring Phantom Grid in.
If negotiation did not work, he would simply take it.
That was faster, simpler, and cheaper.
Find out the demonstration location,
identify the key personnel,
and secure the development data.
It was work he had done as routinely as eating.
Whether bribery, threats, or kidnapping, there were plenty of methods.
In the black market, there were always things that took precedence over contracts.
If money did not work, you crushed them with force.
Parallax’s pride was on the line.
The technologies Parallax coveted had never once been taken by someone else.
Dennis stood in front of the door with his bag in hand.
“It was a pleasure meeting you today. Well then.”
Dennis lightly bowed his head.
Gavin bowed his head as well, accepting the farewell.
Click.
The moment the door closed, Gavin’s face changed in an instant.
Even the last remnants of pretense disappeared.
Gavin picked up the phone.
“Connect me to the Singapore team.”