American: Native Empire

As Red Eagle had boasted, Solid Pillar provided a huge amount of funds to the Earth Research Institute.

There was only one reason.

‘It feels good.’

He had a hunch that the institute would show results that matched his investment.

Solid Pillar valued his intuition very much. He had always lived according to his feelings.

Of course, he had experienced minor failures, but most of his important decisions were successful. 

Thanks to that, he became one of the leading tycoons in the South Continent.

“Whatever amount the Earth Research Institute wants, support them with everything.”

“Yes, sir.”

His decision brought a big change to the Earth Research Institute. 

It was followed by a generous investment from the tycoon.

The Earth Research Institute was already large in scale. 

But that was because of its research in the food sector.

However, now various fields such as machinery, chemistry, and electricity were greatly expanded. 

When all the buildings were completed, it would be no less than a large-scale institute in the mainland.

At the same time, they recruited outstanding talents.

“The Earth Research Institute is recruiting researchers… Should I apply this time?”

“Hmm. I heard that the conditions are so exceptional that the competition is very fierce. Even engineers from imperial universities or famous universities in the mainland are applying.”

“But there are cases like Golden Lake, right? The recruitment guidelines also say that they prioritize skills over academic background.”

“Do you think you can win against engineers from imperial universities? They are monsters, monsters.”

“Well. That’s true.”

The Earth Research Institute offered such good conditions, and with the reputation of Golden Lake, there was a flood of applications from engineers, especially mechanical engineers.

Even those who belonged to prestigious universities or institutes in the mainland knocked on their door.

“Hehe. You are very popular. They are all eager to work with you.”

“What are you talking about…”

He said that, but Golden Lake was very pleased. 

Engineers who would not have looked at him before wanted to participate in his research. 

He felt a sense of accomplishment.

“Thanks to that, the research will be much easier.”

“That’s true. It was so hard when I made the internal combustion engine.”

“Anyway, you should participate in this recruitment too.”

“Me? Um… Is it okay for someone as young as me?”

“What? Hahaha! Who made the competition so strong? And a considerable number of the new researchers will be assigned to your team, so your opinion is important too.”

“Okay, grandpa.”

However, soon after, Golden Lake regretted his decision.

He had to pause his ongoing research for a while because there were so many applicants.

“…Is this why you needed me?”

“Yes! What do you think of me!”

“Really?”

“…Ahem.”

He coughed and avoided Golden Lake’s gaze. 

Golden Lake muttered to himself and grumbled. 

But his eyes were busy scanning the resumes.

And then.

“Hmm?”

“What is it?”

“Isn’t this too thick for a resume?”

“Hmm. It is.”

The thickness of the envelope was unusual. 

Golden Lake felt his curiosity rising. 

He did not hesitate to open the envelope and took out the contents.

“It’s a blueprint.”

“A blueprint.”

They said at the same time. 

It was not uncommon for them to receive blueprints like this.

Golden Lake’s story of going with a blueprint was very famous. 

As a result, there were many cases where people sent blueprints or came to show them personally.

But they were not this thick. 

There were almost a hundred pages of blueprints alone.

“Shall we take a look?”

At Golden Lake’s question, Red Eagle nodded slightly. 

When he agreed, Golden Lake turned the first page.

“…”

And silence fell in the room.

Flip, flip.

They silently kept turning pages after pages. 

This continued until the last page.

But there was no resume on the last page either. 

The only thing they could know was the sender’s name and address on the envelope.

And shortly after.

Golden Lake uttered one word after organizing his thoughts.

“Let’s hire this person.”

Red Eagle just nodded silently without saying anything.

***

“Is this really written by Yellow Brick?”

“Yes… Is there a problem?”

“There is.”

“What problem is…”

“It’s too excellent.”

“Pardon?”

“I mean, the content of the blueprint is very excellent.”

“Is, is that so?”

A middle-aged woman. 

A timid expression.

Red Eagle could tell at a glance. 

This woman was also a genius like Golden Lake.

‘Of course, she lacks a lot of details. She doesn’t seem to have learned formally.’

But even with that, her ideas were very innovative and impressive.

There were countless ideas in the blueprint of over a hundred pages. 

And they covered various fields.

They were just notes that she wrote whenever she had a thought, but each page was very valuable.

“I heard you are a housewife. Your husband is a farmer.”

“Yes.”

“Does your husband know that you made this blueprint?”

“No. I don’t really know. I wrote it secretly from him. It’s the same for coming here.”

“Did you send us the blueprint because you wanted to be a researcher at the Earth Research Institute?”

“Well, rather than that, I wanted to show you this. I heard you were accepting applications…”

Golden Lake, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, intervened.

“I want to work with Yellow Brick. And make the interesting things in this blueprint together.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

At his words, Yellow Brick was deeply moved. 

The great genius who had gained fame throughout the empire recognized her blueprint.

“What do you think?”

“I think I need to talk to someone outside first. I’m in charge of taking care of the kids…”

“I hope you make a wise decision.”

He was sorry, but Golden Lake could only do so much. 

He couldn’t interfere with their family matters any further.

“Then I’ll be going now.”

“Yes. Please let us know even if the result is not good.”

“I will.”

Creak.

The sound of the door closing echoed loudly in her ears.

She clasped her hands tightly and tried to calm down. 

But her heart, which had started to beat once, did not easily return to normal.

‘Is this a dream?’

From the moment she received a call from the institute to now, everything felt unreal.

But it was not a dream.

‘Let’s go home first.’

Yellow Brick came to her senses and headed for her home. 

Her home and the Earth Research Institute were close by, so she arrived home around sunset.

“Why did you come home so late?”

“Honey, that’s…”

She told her husband everything in detail. 

The blueprints she had written from time to time, and what happened at the Earth Research Institute today.

“…”

After the story was over, her husband couldn’t say anything for a while. 

It was such an unbelievable story.

The wife he knew was an ordinary housewife. 

She didn’t even receive a decent education.

And she passed as a researcher at the famous Earth Research Institute?

But he soon came to his senses.

“If that’s true, then there’s no reason to hesitate? You should definitely join as a researcher!”

A researcher, especially at a major institute like the Earth Research Institute, was a position where wealth and fame were guaranteed. 

He had no reason to oppose it.

“Thank you so much, honey.”

In the end, she was able to join the Earth Research Institute soon after.

***

Thanks to the influx of outstanding talents, including Yellow Brick, Golden Lake’s research team started to run smoothly.

‘It would be too wasteful to discard this.’

Originally, Golden Lake was only researching internal combustion engine cars. But he was hooked on one of the ideas in her blueprint.

‘Motorized bicycle…’

Currently, bicycles were becoming popular at a frightening pace. 

But what if they added power to it, so that they could move forward without having to pedal?

‘It would be much faster and easier to move than now. And it would be much smaller than the car I’m researching now.’

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed to succeed. 

So he hesitated. 

Which research should he prioritize?

But on second thought…

‘Do I have to do only one?’

It was a fixed idea that one team only did one research. 

And more importantly, he had recruited so many researchers that he could handle both researches.

In the end, Golden Lake’s research team conducted research on motorized bicycles, or motorcycles, and cars at the same time.

Of course, since the structure of a car was much more complex than a motorcycle, he focused more on car research.

The research went well. 

There were many overlapping areas between them, and the synergy between the two geniuses and the excellent researchers helped.

This eventually led to the completion of both cars and motorcycles.

“Good. This should be fine.”

“Phew…”

As Golden Lake’s words echoed, the tense researchers let out a sigh of relief.

In fact, a decent product had been made a long time ago. 

It was good enough to be commercialized.

But Golden Lake shook his head firmly. He said it was not enough.

He had no intention of releasing a mediocre car to the public.

In fact, various cars had already started to be sold at that time. 

But most of them were transitional cars and did not get much attention.

If his car was treated the same as those…

‘Ugh, that’s horrible.’

He shuddered at the thought. Golden Lake did not want to experience such a failure.

He wanted to cause a huge impact on the imperial society, just like when he made the internal combustion engine.

A world where many people ride his car as a common means of transportation. 

How wonderful would that be!

‘To do that…’

It had to be sturdy, stable, and most importantly, mass-producible.

The car in front of him was a model that fit these criteria very well.

And soon after, a motorcycle also came out as a result that matched Golden Lake’s idea.

“Hehe. You’ve worked hard. Solid Pillar will visit the institute himself tomorrow.”

“Really? Then we have to prepare.”

The next day.

As Red Eagle said, Solid Pillar came to the institute.

“Long time no see. Is this the famous Golden Lake?”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Golden Lake.”

“Haha. Nice to meet you.”

They exchanged some light pleasantries and arrived at their destination.

Solid Pillar pointed at the two products with a gesture and asked.

“Are those them?”

“Yes. They are motorized bicycle and car.”

“Oh! I’ve ridden a car before, but I’ve never seen a motorized bicycle.”

“You might find it very different from the car you’ve ridden.”

“Oh. Then let me try it myself.”

“…Yourself?”

Golden Lake was slightly surprised. It was not easy to offer to ride in a car that he didn’t even know how safe it was.

“Sir, it’s dangerous. We don’t know if it’s safe yet…”

“Stop.”

One of his attendants tried to dissuade him, but Solid Pillar raised his hand and cut him off. 

And he looked straight at Golden Lake and asked.

“Is that car dangerous?”

“No. I can assure you it’s safe.”

“Then I’ll ride it. I trust my intuition. You don’t seem like someone who would lie.”

And he acted on his words. 

He even sat in the driver’s seat himself.

‘It’s just an empty lot anyway, there won’t be any danger.’

Still, just in case, Golden Lake accompanied him in the passenger seat and taught him how to drive.

Vroom!

Soon, the car moved forward with a loud engine sound.

“Oh! It’s very easy to turn the direction, isn’t it?”

“That’s one of the biggest advantages of this car. It’s very stable, isn’t it?”

“Indeed it is.”

Solid Pillar drove around the lot for a while.

‘It’s not too hard to drive, and the operation is easy, and the ride is comfortable.’

He drove for almost thirty minutes, and also checked the operation of the motorcycle.

And after hearing all the explanations about the two products and the mass production plan, Solid Pillar was convinced.

‘This will succeed.’

He had already devised a plan for mass production using conveyor belts. 

There was no flaw in this plan.

He felt a strong scent of success from the two products, especially the car.