Chapter 112: The Solution
The venue fell silent, not a single breath audible.
“Test it… right here?”
I nodded at the question from reporter Shim Han-ul.
[I’ll demonstrate right now whether the benchmark score I showed you is real or not.]
Murmurs rippled through the reporters.
“They’re actually going to benchmark it?”
“They’ve never done real-time performance tests at these unpack events before.”
“What if the numbers are low? Then it’s all over before it even launches…”
Seizing the moment, Shim Han-ul stepped forward.
“Then how about we compare the benchmark figures for the Quantum listed in the presentation, the figures released by Ahsung, and the results of this live test?”
It was an obvious question, but I didn’t object.
[If you’d like, let’s do that.]
I had a staff member quickly create a table, as the reporter had suggested.
The table listed the Titan and Quantum, with the data already filled in.
-
Boot time: 35 sec (T) / 33 sec (Q)
-
App load speed: 1.7 sec (T) / 1.5 sec (Q)
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Frame rate stability: 48fps (T) / 50fps (Q)
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Overall score: 2,503 (T) / 2,700 (Q)
“So T is Titan, and Q is Quantum?”
“Just looking at the numbers, it doesn’t make sense.”
“The AP is like the CPU of a computer. How can you trust these numbers from a lower-grade AP?”
“Maybe they’re pushing too hard to beat the Titan?”
Ahsung Electronics dominated the mobile market, while Pintech was still in the red.
So it was only natural the reporters in attendance were suspicious.
“Let’s do it, then.”
Shim Han-ul, arms crossed and watching like a hawk, spoke up. I added one last column to the table we’d made earlier—Quantum (live test)—and took out the demo Quantum we’d prepared, launching the benchmark app on stage.
The progress was displayed live on the connected screen for the audience to see.
The words [Measuring system load…] appeared on the screen as the percentage gauge slowly filled.
The reporters held their breath. Even our staff watched the results with tense expressions.
Flashes went off with every number that appeared on screen. Some were even recording it live.
28%, 39%, 77%……
As the final test ran, a countdown began.
3……
2……
1……
[Benchmark complete – Total score: 2,707]
The number appeared on the screen.
The audience stirred again.
“Is that… real?”
“It’s over 2,700. The score’s even higher than what Dojin released.”
“But how is the score higher with a lower-version AP?”
“……”
The reporters asked, but no one could answer.
Shim Han-ul could only gape in shock.
At this point, there was no need to add the live test data to the table.
[The reason you’re questioning the Quantum’s performance is because it doesn’t use a high-end AP. But we didn’t design this product based on component specs alone.]
I paused, then continued my explanation.
[With our in-house mobile OS, Lunar, we’ve optimized heat control, memory structure, UI processing, and more… Every component in the Quantum is designed to work in harmony with the others……]
When I finished speaking, quiet applause rippled through the audience, soon erupting into a roar of cheers.
“Whoaaaaa!”
“This is incredible.”
“They’re covering for the hardware specs with design and software.”
Except for Shim Han-ul, the reporters were won over, and the mood shifted decisively in our favor. Not missing a beat, I added further explanation.
[The reason we couldn’t use the latest AP in the Quantum is that we heard about the X1’s development late due to communication issues with Ahsung. So the product you saw today uses the A-Core S, but the version that will actually go on sale in a month will use the higher-spec X1.]
“What? The version that goes on sale will have the X1?”
“So the performance will be even better than what we saw today?”
“Wow, it already performed better than the X1-equipped Titan with a lower-grade AP. What’s going to happen when the Quantum gets the X1?”
What’s going to happen?
Obviously, it’ll get even better.
Of course, it couldn’t get as overwhelmingly better as what we showed today.
I couldn’t build every single mass-produced unit myself.
It’ll definitely perform better than the Titan, though.
The Quantum was built with decades of my design know-how, failures and all. And some of Midas’s abilities were used in the equipment needed to produce the Quantum.
……
＊＊＊
After the unpack event, every news outlet reported that Dojin’s Quantum had overwhelmingly beaten the Titan in both design and performance.
[Quantum benchmark performance revealed in shocking detail.]
[Hardware specs aren’t everything. This is what system completeness looks like.]
[Seeing the Quantum live. This is what a real ‘smartphone’ is.]
From digital trade publications to print newspapers and TV news headlines, the story was everywhere.
At that same moment, the atmosphere in the Ahsung Group chairman’s office was tense.
Chairman Cheon Ho-tae sat silently, his gaze fixed on Kang Tae-joon’s presentation playing on the TV.
He tried not to show his emotions, but his face grew stonier by the second.
“……Didn’t you say the Quantum would be a pushover?”
His voice was low, but the anger in it made Cheon Jun-young’s lips tremble.
“Ah… It seems like they pulled some kind of trick.”
“A trick? To you, that public test looks like a trick?”
Chairman Cheon’s anger boiled over.
Director Kim Seong-jae answered in Cheon Jun-young’s place.
“……It seems we overlooked the difference in OS.”
“Difference in OS?”
“Unlike our Taebaeksan, which has only been in development for six months, their Lunar has been in development for quite some time. Its completeness is far higher than Taebaeksan’s.”
Chairman Cheon’s expression twisted further.
“So now you’re saying the only excuse is the OS?”
“……”
It was such a complete defeat that neither Cheon Jun-young nor Director Kim could say another word.
“So… what’s the plan?”
If the Quantum launched as planned, the Titan would likely fall out of the public eye.
That was the exact opposite of Chairman Cheon Ho-tae’s goal of dominating the smartphone market.
“How about we use our political connections?”
Director Kim suggested using the National Tax Service to prevent the Quantum from launching on time.
“Last time, didn’t you say that guy Kang Tae-joon had information on ND-7?”
Cheon Jun-young had once tried to use the National Tax Service because of that, but the plan had fallen through.
“We’ve scrapped all records related to the ND-7 account, so they can’t use that to pressure us anymore.”
“Are you sure you took care of it?”
Director Kim nodded at Chairman Cheon’s question.
“Not only the ND-7 issue, but the Delbridge Holdings matter has also been resolved.”
At the mention of Delbridge Holdings, Chairman Cheon flinched.
“……Have you found out who gave Baek Mu-jin the National Unity Party’s slush fund list and the JDK files?”
“Not yet… But we’ve confirmed that someone used the master key to access Delbridge Holdings’ files.”
The slush fund list and JDK evidence ending up with Baek Mu-jin of the National Future Alliance had caused their candidate, Lee Han-gil, to lose the election.
So they had to find out how the Delbridge Holdings files had ended up in Baek Mu-jin’s hands.
“Only you and I know the master key. Who the hell used it?”
“We’re doing our best to find out. We’ll know soon.”
“Kang Tae-joon knew about ND-7, and Baek Mu-jin meets with him often, so investigate those two thoroughly first.”
“Understood.”
Still agitated, Chairman Cheon added,
“Make sure no more data leaks happen. Ever.”
“As I said, you don’t need to worry about that anymore.”
Director Kim reported that they’d completed the full restructuring, including the three European shell companies under Delbridge, the bypass accounts in the Cayman and Marshall Islands, and the dedicated line for Hong Kong’s DBL Capital.
And,
“We’ve shifted the accounting annotations to Revendence, and all blind risks have been converted to offline.”
Chairman Cheon added,
“Take this opportunity to cut all remote sessions for the paper company’s electronic payment system, and scrap the server root key and FTP backdoor. And disable the master key.”
He intended to completely overhaul the security system so that no one could access the data again.
After taking a sip of water to calm himself, Chairman Cheon returned to the main topic.
“So you’re saying that by using the National Tax Service, we can pressure Dojin?”
“Yes.”
“Even though Dojin is close to Baek Mu-jin, a powerhouse in the ruling party?”
Baek Mu-jin was a key figure in the National Future Alliance and the main force behind President Seo Gi-tae’s election victory.
Chairman Cheon wasn’t entirely convinced that using political connections against Dojin would be effective.
Cheon Jun-young, who’d been listening, chimed in.
“I don’t think using the National Tax Service will be very effective either. How about this instead?”
“How?” Chairman Cheon asked.
Cheon Jun-young replied,
“We’ll proceed with the National Tax Service as planned, and simultaneously halt the supply of the A-Core X1.”
“Cut off the AP supply?”
Director Kim looked surprised.
“We’ll use our usual methods—delayed delivery, quality issues, retesting, and so on—so it won’t be obvious.”
It was a tactic Ahsung often used to pressure competitors.
Chairman Cheon tapped his fingers on the table, a faint smile on his face.
“Indeed, by pressuring them with both the National Tax Service and the AP, the Quantum’s launch schedule will have no choice but to slip.”
Chairman Cheon gave his final approval.
＊＊＊
“Brother, people from the National Tax Service just showed up out of the blue.”
“What?”
“Looks like Ahsung’s behind it.”
It was an obvious move.
“They’re probably trying to delay the Quantum’s launch.”
“Once they take all the data under the guise of an investigation, our operations will be disrupted.”
“Hmm…”
It was an unexpected situation, but I was more curious than worried.
They know I’m connected to Baek Mu-jin of the National Future Alliance. Why are they doing something so pointless?
My question was answered shortly after, when Hong Chung-ki entered the room.
“CEO, it looks like there will be issues with the X1 supply.”
It was a pincer attack.
But what does he mean by “issues”?
Receiving APs from Ahsung Electronics was tied to my cross-licensing of capacitive touchscreen patents, so even Ahsung couldn’t unilaterally cut off the supply.
“What’s the reason?”
“They said it was due to testing lead time issues, which would delay delivery by a month to a month and a half.”
“What about A-ple?”
The A-Core series wasn’t just used by Ahsung and me—A-ple had also implemented it in their A-Phone.
“Their shipments should be unaffected.”
“And of course, there will be no issues with Titan production?”
“……No.”
Using the National Tax Service and AP delivery as weapons, Ahsung was trying to delay the Quantum’s launch by any means necessary.
But this was no laughing matter, so I called an emergency response meeting.
Chilbong, who attended the meeting, came up with an unexpected solution.