At 7 a.m., even before the full-fledged rush hour had begun, New York’s roads were already completely jammed.
Honk, honk—
The endless blare of horns made pedestrians frown. John leaned back in the rear seat of his official car, staring at the screen of his tablet.
How many appearances had it been already? The national broadcasts were clearly focused on Boston.
“Patrick!”
“Patrick!”
Thousands of citizens had gathered in the square, chanting his name.
The fervor was so intense it seemed to radiate through the screen.
Patrick waved as he stepped up onto the platform.
“I, Patrick, promise you this. Boston is no longer a city of gridlock. An autonomous adaptive signal network that will not stop for blizzards, earthquakes, or floods.
We will continue to innovate without pause!”
“Whoa!!”
“Patrick, show us again!”
“We’re the ones leading America!”
The square was once again engulfed in explosive cheers.
Patrick, on the screen, wore the face of a victor.
Cheers, applause, placards.
The atmosphere was as though they were welcoming a national hero. John clenched his teeth once, then turned off the screen.
“How’s public opinion looking?”
The aide sitting beside him wore a troubled expression.
“Public sentiment on social media isn’t good.”
“Give me the report.”
After hesitating for a moment, he handed over the file.
It was a document summarizing posts from major online communities.
-Boston says it escaped traffic hell, so what is New York doing?
-If Patrick were our mayor, he’d have fixed it already.
-John is always all talk. What has he actually done all this time? Mayor of New York was far too much for him.
-Patrick for mayor of New York!
Tremble, tremble.
The hand holding the file shook violently.
John felt the political capital he had built over twenty years collapsing.
“That bastard Patrick…”
New York was the heart of America.
The mayor of a city he normally would never have spared a glance at was now threatening his position.
“Is the research finished?”
“Yes! Here it is.”
Jake handed him a thick folder.
[Detailed Report on the Boston Signal Optimization Project]
-The City of Boston recruited Allen Smith, an authority in the field of traffic engineering, with the goal of completely overhauling its signal system. However, due to the city’s complex urban structure, Allen’s model failed to produce significant results.
-He created over thirty simulation models in total, but most revealed flaws during the testing stage.
-In an MIT undergraduate assignment, one student presented a meaningful signal optimization model applicable to Boston. After reading it, Allen persuaded Patrick to expand and apply that model.
-The success of this project stemmed from Deputy Director Allen, who recognized the value of the paper, and the personal genius of Yu Seoha. Mayor Patrick’s contribution was almost nonexistent.
It was information obtained by persuading an insider.
The report laid out every stage of the project in clear order.
A faint smile spread across John’s face.
“Did you send the proposal to MIT?”
“Well… Yu Seoha is currently conducting research as part of a team, and he says he has no intention of working as an individual. If we want to make an offer, we should make it to the team…”
“Then do that. What’s the problem?”
“Yes! Understood. I’ll send it immediately today.”
Jake opened the final page of the report.
-Yu Seoha’s signal optimization model passed a total of 12,000 simulations.
It included all Category 1–5 scenarios under Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) standards, including blizzards, typhoons, earthquakes, fires, and large-scale accidents.
Without him, the project could never have been completed in the first place. Countries around the world are studying his simulation model, but are currently struggling with direct application.
Screech—
The car came to a stop in front of City Hall.
Before the door could even open, reporters swarmed toward the car.
“Mayor! Recent public opinion polls have been unfavorable. What are your thoughts on that?”
“New Yorkers’ dissatisfaction with traffic congestion has reached its peak. Do you have a solution?”
“Do you have any comment on the assessment that there have been no concrete achievements during your term?”
Step, step.
It was something that happened every time an issue arose.
With an indifferent expression, John pushed his way through them. But the reporter’s final question forced him to stop.
“What about the assessment that Patrick would be a suitable next mayor of New York?”
He froze.
John slowly turned his head.
Thinking he had gotten a reaction, the reporter threw out an even more aggressive question.
“Multiple polls show that many believe Mayor Patrick is the right person to solve New York’s traffic problem. Of course, Mayor Patrick’s side has not issued any official comment, but…”
John raised his right hand, cutting the reporter off.
“That opinion isn’t even worth considering.”
“Pardon? Are you denying the results of the polls?”
“The polls were, of course, likely fair. The problem is simply that their results are based on incorrect information.”
“Incorrect information?”
“Mayor Patrick’s contribution to the success of Boston’s traffic reform was extremely small. It would not be an exaggeration to say it was almost nonexistent.”
Click—
Click, click, click, click.
The moment John finished speaking, camera shutters exploded like gunfire.
“W-wait a moment. Could you say that again?”
“John, are you saying Mayor Patrick made no contribution?”
“Could you provide the exact basis for that claim?”
The reporters thrust their microphones toward John all at once.
It was rare for a politician to directly attack the mayor of another city. The reporters instinctively realized this was a scoop.
Only then did John look satisfied.
“The basis?”
He lightly shook the folder in his hand.
“Mayor Patrick is deceiving the public.
The credit for the project’s success should rightly go to Deputy Director Allen Smith, who was in charge—ah… he’s Director now, isn’t he? And to the MIT research team that implemented it. But he is running around as if all of this were his own achievement.”
Click.
Click.
At the criticism, far sharper than expected, the reporters’ hands grew busy.
“Isn’t a mayor’s position one of responsibility for everything? In that case, isn’t it only natural for him to enjoy the fruits of success?”
John’s gaze turned toward the source of the voice.
A gray suit, neat glasses, and an old notebook in hand.
It was a veteran reporter from The New York Times. He continued speaking.
“Citizens judge based on results. That system did, in fact, bring innovation to the city, and they see the mayor as being at the center of it. If there are results, it is natural for the mayor to receive praise.”
John looked straight at the reporter.
“You’re right. If something happens in the city, it is proper for the mayor to take both the credit and the blame.”
“Then…”
“However!”
John swept his gaze over the reporters.
“When it comes to lies, the story changes.
Patrick is a shameless hypocrite.”
Murmur, murmur.
The reporters’ hands grew even busier.
“What lie are you saying he told?”
John raised his index finger.
“First, he never led the project. If anything, he was opposed to it. The one who actively pushed it forward was Director Allen.
Second, Patrick did not actively support this project. On the contrary, he cut off the budget midway, putting the project at risk of suspension. The ones who overcame that were the MIT research team, and among them, Yu Seoha, the designer of the core algorithm.
According to an insider’s testimony, he forced them to finish in less than four weeks an algorithm design that should have taken several months.
Who knows? If he had done his job properly, Boston might have had a far better system than it does now.”
Click.
Click.
‘This is huge!’
The reporters frantically took down everything he said.
“Now, say it again. Even after all that, has he not deceived the public?”
John composed his expression.
“But our New York is different.
I am already in contact with MIT, and I plan to provide the designer, Yu Seoha, with the full support he never received in Boston.
In Boston, he was treated unfairly. Even though he designed the entire project, he was hidden behind a politician.”
He shook his head firmly.
“New York does not use people that way. Nor do we conduct politics through lies and agitation.
Ensuring that those who do the work receive the rewards they deserve—is that not the very value America pursues?”
As if he had said everything he needed to say, John ignored the barrage of questions from the reporters and left.
“Mayor, just a moment!”
“Please take one last question!”
The bodyguards held the reporters back.
Step, step.
The automatic doors opened, and the moment he stepped inside City Hall, John stopped walking.
Jake quickly caught up and whispered to him.
“Mayor, what you just said was far too dangerous.”
John furrowed his brow mercilessly.
“You think I don’t know that? My political life was already hanging by a thread.”
He had to get the situation under control before public opinion grew any worse.
If he wanted a large return, he had to put this much on the line.
‘If I fail, I’ll be buried alive in a coffin.’
“Accept every condition MIT and Yu Seoha demand. And don’t forget to emphasize that we’re different from Boston.”
“M-Mayor, the budget is insufficient!”
He glared at Jake.
“Put in all the remaining contingency funds. If that’s not enough, pull from other projects. As long as we get started properly, the money will follow anyway.”
New York was the center of global tourism, culture, and finance.
If they solved the traffic problem here, that model and technology would become the world standard.
Public infrastructure was a field where attracting investment was difficult.
But John was confident he could draw in as much private capital as needed.
* * *
“What on earth is going on, Theo?”
“Don’t ask me.”
The mayor of the world’s largest city had come to their lab.
For the sole purpose of meeting Team Apex—no, Seoha.
Seoha widened his eyes and asked John, the mayor,
“You’re saying I have to become the general manager of this project?”
He nodded.
“That is how serious we are.
When I read the report, I saw that when the project was conducted in Boston, you had no authority whatsoever. Boston used your abilities but gave you neither compensation nor honor.”
His voice became even more serious.
“We are different. New York will not restrict the direction of your research.
Data, personnel, budget, equipment—whatever you request, we intend to provide it immediately. The algorithm you design will never be overshadowed by any political agenda.
So…”
He paused briefly and looked at Seoha.
“Would you please solve New York’s traffic problem?”
Before coming here, John had received a detailed report on Seoha.
‘A supernova of the mathematical world who has already solved several difficult problems.’
‘A genius design that cannot be explained through the approaches of conventional traffic engineering.’
‘Yu Seoha’s algorithm is highly likely to become the standard for traffic and urban infrastructure modeling for the next hundred years.’
It had been a project he had regarded lightly, but the other party was far more serious than expected.
The second proposal he had sent left wide open the possibility of collaboration with giant tech companies.
Seoha fell into thought.
‘New York is a grid-planned city.
A model that can be applied here has a high chance of becoming the world standard. In that case, couldn’t I create a more advanced model?’
Ideas he had been unable to realize due to a lack of time and budget surged in like a flood.
“Understood.”
When Seoha stood and extended his hand, John responded with a broad smile.
“New York will bet on you. Everything.”
Of course, more than anything else, the first thing on the line was his political life.