chapter 55
-So far, Japan has been completely dependent on foreign resources as a resource barren land.
A Japanese government spokesperson said to reporters.
– But not now! For Japan, an island nation, the most abundant resource, the sea, was the answer. Under the seabed, we have finally succeeded in digging up these seabed minerals, which the earth has accumulated and accumulated for tens or hundreds of thousands of years, maybe even longer!
A government spokesman said confidently.
-That is also the rare earth element that Japan has longed for and hoped for!
Japanese reporters also continue to watch the government spokesperson’s announcement with excitement.
Since then, the spokesperson has continued to emphasize how precious rare earth resources are and how much they mean to Japan, while at the same time talking about the government’s hard work to make this a reality.
After the bragging session that lasted for so long, the spokesperson said.
-Now I’ll take the question.
Then a reporter raised his hand and said.
– It is said that this rare earth mining project was jointly promoted with Seron Development, is that true?
-you’re right. Seron Development is in charge of mining, and Japan is in charge of refining.
– Can you tell us more about the contract?
Then the spokesperson was silent for a moment, then spoke.
– Regarding the contract, we will notify you individually when all the arrangements are finished. Next question.
As the spokesperson seemed reluctant to comment, another reporter raised his hand this time.
-What about the environmental problems caused by radiation?
– You don’t have to worry about that. Submarine rare earths are high in content and low in radioactivity, and the Korean government has already prepared for them and is refining them. All citizens can rest assured.
Even after that, the spokesperson kindly answered the rest of the questions except for the details of the contract with Cerone.
After the questioning was over, the spokesperson said.
-I will only take your questions here. In the future, the Japanese government will do its best to achieve self-sufficiency by further expanding production of rare earths and to actively supply rare earths to the world to alleviate the shortage of rare earths due to the current state-of-the-art. thank you
The official press conference of the Japanese government ended with a greeting from the spokesperson.
The man who was watching the Japanese government’s press conference in real time threw the remote control and said.
“Han Ji-hyeok you son of a b*tch!”
That man is Yu Rongqi, director of the Ministry of Commerce of the Communist Party of China.
“Touch rare earth elements, nothing else!?”
The Ministry of Commerce is a government agency similar to Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and was responsible for all resources and trade produced in China, as well as the rare earths mentioned in Japan’s official press conference.
Of course, for Yu Rong-chi, the head of such a ministry, the press conference in Japan was nothing short of a nightmare.
Yu Rongqi, who had been struggling for a while, bit her lip and said.
“sh*t.”
Yu Longqi imposed high tariffs on Korean copper and zinc at the request of Hualing Mining, China’s largest zinc mining company with links to the Communist Party.
Since China is a country with the world’s largest zinc and copper smelters, I thought that Cerone would take care of it, but after cutting prices and announcing an increase in production, they are now mining even rare earths.
“This is a different issue from copper and zinc.”
Under the leadership of the Party, China has actively increased production of rare earth elements while accepting environmental pollution caused by radioactivity.
Of course, money is also money, but the purpose, of course, was to maintain the status of exclusively supplying rare earth resources.
Just as oil-producing countries use oil as a weapon, China also uses rare earths as a strategic resource to wield them against countries that are wary of China’s growth.
Thanks to this, even though the United States and Australia worked hard to increase rare earth production, they still maintained an 83% market share and boasted an overwhelming production volume.
Yu Rongqi looked at his subordinate and said.
“Did you know?”
Then, a subordinate who was instructed to investigate the rare earth materials on the seabed said.
“That’s it… It is estimated that the content of seafloor rare earth elements is over a hundred times, and it is said that it is much easier to refine because it has less radioactivity.”
“Is it economical?”
“That’s right.”
“Production.”
“It depends on how much skeletons are used for underwater mining, but now the Japanese government is actively trying to increase the number of submarine mining ships, and Seron Island has its own shipyard, so it is building 6 ships every month, so I guess it will increase more as time goes by. It’s possible.”
Seron has already achieved a 6 percent global share of copper and zinc with just a few dozen ships.
Of course, as time goes by, the production of rare earths will increase exponentially, and it is certain that China’s market share will be cut.
“Why the hell did such an Awakener come to Korea!”
It is Han Ji-hyeok and his skeletons that have caused all these problems.
It is because of Skeleton that China’s shoe industry was taken away and SR Electronics was established and companies that invested in China were absorbed into Korea, and this underwater resource development is all possible because of Skeleton and Han Ji-hyeok.
Indeed, it was Skeleton and Han Ji-hyeok who were creating tremendous synergistic effects throughout the industry.
“SS rank?”
“yes.”
But even the power is strong.
“I will turn around.”
Although the ripple effect of the SS class on society is great, Han Ji-hyeok was truly unique among them.
Although there are awakened people who use their abilities to do business, Han Ji-hyeok’s ability was literally at the cheat-key level in the modern industrial structure.
Yu Rongqi said with a cold expression.
“Should I remove it?”
The problem now is Han Ji-hyeok’s skill, Skeleton Summon.
In other words, if Han Ji-hyeok was removed, all the troubles he was currently doing would disappear neatly.
The moment Han Ji-hyeok dies, all the skeletons will disappear.
However, even though Yu Rongqi was well aware of this fact, the reason why he was worried about handling it was because of the aftermath.
“If he was only S-class, I would have dealt with it right away.”
Han Ji-hyeok is one of only 6 SS class members in Korea and is currently receiving a lot of attention as a rare earth element.
If such Han Ji-hyeok suddenly dies for an unknown reason, of course all countries have no choice but to doubt China.
No matter how much the Communist Party is about to go out, it was definitely a burden to kill Han Ji-hyeok, who was already receiving a lot of attention.
Besides, killing itself is a problem.
Since he himself is an SS rank and there might be an S rank guard skeleton, at least two SS ranks are required to take care of it.
Of course, there will be a battle in the process, and perhaps other SS-class members in Korea may intervene and fail to deal with it.
It is a problem even if it succeeds, and it is a problem if it fails, and it cannot be left alone.
Han Ji-hyeok was nothing more than a lump of cancer that was useless to China.
After thinking about it for a long time, Yu Rongqi said.
“What is the item that Seron imports the most from China?”
No matter how you think about it, Yu Rong-chi decides that attempting an assassination right now is irrational, so he sets out to find another card.
In my heart, I want to put pressure on South Korea by imposing sanctions like it did during the Han-Halyeong, but at that time there was a clear reason for China’s security, but this time there is no law saying that only China should produce rare earths, so the justification is weak.
In the end, all Yu Rong-chi can do is to ban exports of items that could damage Seron.
“We import a lot of cotton fabric from Seron Shoes.”
“Apart from that?”
“The rest doesn’t really matter. Recently, Seron has been drastically reducing imports from China…”
Following Han Ji-hyeok’s decision to de-sinicize, the Seron Group has continuously reduced its dependence on China.
Therefore, the only card left in China was cotton.
“Is that all there is?”
“yes.”
“Damn it.”
Cotton is the only countermeasure against the strategic resource of rare earth.
Finally, Yu Rongqi sighed and said,
“Stop that at once. The reason is the lack of domestic supply.”
*
“Seron Group is like Korea’s blessing. hahahaha.”
At Commissioner Jinyoung Lee’s words, I shrugged my shoulders and said.
“What.”
“To think that the U.S. has succeeded in achieving self-sufficiency in rare earth resources, which has also failed. Thanks to that, all Korean companies are welcoming.”
China, which has already imposed sanctions on Korea through the Han-Korean Law.
How anxious must it have been for companies to have to rely entirely on rare earths from China?
But Seron solved it, so it’s welcome.
“You’re not quite self-sufficient yet, are you?”
Jinyoung Lee said with a smile.
“Isn’t it just a matter of time anyway?”
“That’s right.”
Japan’s obsession with rare earths was so great that they were almost running out of water to find and dedicate ships.
“By the way, China has stopped exporting cotton… Are the Sheron shoes okay?”
China, the world’s largest producer of cotton, decided to halt exports.
Naturally, the reason was Seron.
But it doesn’t matter.
“Don’t worry, we already have 6 months worth of inventory and we have diversified our import routes.”
I have decided to de-sinicize and have steadily reduced my dependence on China, and at the same time, I have continuously checked what cards China can draw.
Of course, I knew from the beginning that the cotton of Seron Shoes, the core affiliate of Seron, would be the target.
“Although China is the world’s largest producer of cotton, there is no problem with India as well as the United States, which produces quite a lot.”
Of course, that didn’t mean there was no damage.
“It’s just that after that… Seron shoes are currently expanding by signing contracts with top makers. So, we need more cotton in the future, and I don’t know if this can be covered by the US and India alone.”
Cotton production in India and the United States is certainly impressive.
But the problem is that all of these stocks have owners.
Since there is a demand for cotton, they must have been growing cotton for a while, but it is not possible for Saeron to suddenly appear and steal the quantity.
That’s why, even though we have been calling for a departure from China, we have not been able to reduce our dependence on China at once for cotton.
“It is possible to maintain the status quo, but it seems difficult to expand further for the time being.”
“Then why don’t you ask the US government? The U.S. is very pleased with Japan’s production of rare earth elements, so if you ask for an increase in cotton production, I think they will listen.”
“Then it’s nice… but something doesn’t like it. Minerals seem to be self-sufficient, but in the end, cotton is dependent on other countries.”
After having fun with seabed minerals, something doesn’t fill the castle.
Shouldn’t I be able to do it on my own if I have to grow it myself?
Then, Jinyoung Lee said with a bitter smile.
“There is no way I can help you with this.”
Korea has the worst conditions for farming because it is narrow and not enough, and there are many mountains.
“There is not enough land, no land.”
However, it is impossible to grow cotton under the sea.
“ah. Is there any land left?”
As long as there is land, skeletons are spread all over and farming is done on a large scale.
Then, from then on, self-sufficiency would be possible, producing and selling everything from head to toe.
But in the current situation, it sounds like a dream.
At that time, Lee Jin-young paused for a moment and said.
“You mean the surplus land?”
“Yes, the remaining land. uh? Do you know of any lands?”
After thinking for a while, Lee Jin-young spoke.
“There are things that come to mind, but…”
“Oh oh! Where are you?”
“As you know, the gate disappears after a certain amount of time, spitting out monsters. Korea has a response system and handles it systematically… but there are countries that don’t. In particular, countries with a large land area and a small population are poor.”
Can’t deal with all the monsters popping out of the gate?
So you’re saying monsters are roaming all over the place?
“Of course, the International Awoken League dispatches Awoken to such countries to help, but it is impossible to deal with them completely. Especially when an unstable gate appears, the monsters are already scattered in all directions before the Awoken arrive. There are abandoned lands where monsters that could not be dealt with in that way have settled down.”
“Is that perfect?”
Lands abandoned by monsters.
Of course, ordinary people can’t even approach the threat of death, but it doesn’t matter to me at all.
Anyway, my workers are Skeletons who don’t care if they die, and only when monsters come out will they become the materials I need to make my Skeletons.
Besides, abandoned land like that won’t come cheap!
“Where are you, there?”
“Africa.”
“Africa? Isn’t that a desert?”
“That’s North Africa, Central Africa is different. Central Africa is rich in water resources and fertile soil. It’s just that it’s been neglected because there’s no country or person capable of injecting Awakeners on a large scale to farm. That too······.”
Lee Jin-young also said with a twitching mouth, as if he was starting to look forward to it.
“The Great Plain is bigger than South Korea and North Korea combined.”
This is it.
Abandoned and abandoned loam where monsters roam.
This is perfect for farming on a large scale!
The price is cheap too!
“With that much, I can grow all sorts of things, not just cotton, right?”
I jumped up from my seat and said.
“Chief, please connect me right away. Now that the road to the mineral powerhouse is open, let’s go to the agricultural powerhouse as well.”