Chapter 229

Translator: Dreamscribe

'The proposal was leaked?'

How they had obtained the information did not matter.

What was clear was that the world's leading medical institutions valued this project more highly than the Johns Hopkins executives did.

'What on earth are they basing that on?'

Jeff Myers, the CEO of Johns Hopkins, listened to the report with a grave expression.

The atmosphere in the conference room grew heavy.

"Harvard wants to recruit Clara?"

"MD Anderson has made a move too. Even the Mayo Clinic has joined the race."

They probably were not after Clara herself.

She was an outstanding researcher, but she was not someone who brought profits to the hospital. What they were after was undoubtedly the proposal in her possession.

The air blowing from the conference room's air conditioner felt unusually cold.

Until only a few days ago, those same people had dismissed the participation of a mathematician in the research as an unrealistic gamble, but now their faces had gone pale.

"Is that true, Professor Wyss?"

Jeff asked, looking at Clara.

"It is."

She nodded calmly.

"The decision belongs to the board. But Yu Seo-ha is an extremely difficult person to get in contact with. Opportunities to carry out a project with him do not come easily.

If all of you continue to hesitate, I'm prepared to board a flight to Boston as early as tomorrow. Harvard told me they've already prepared the budget."

Urgh.

Jeff was a physician turned executive.

He was an elite medical professional who had graduated from Johns Hopkins Medical School and completed both his residency and specialist training there.

There were millions of genetic variables in even a single cell, yet they were claiming they could perfectly control all of them through mathematics.

'What am I missing?'

Seeing their rivals scrambling for the project made an inexplicable sense of unease slowly creep into one corner of his heart.

An anecdote that frequently appeared in business case studies came to mind.

Adidas had turned down a deal with Michael Jordan, an incident still remembered to this day as the most expensive 'NO' in history.

'Anyone can make a bad investment. But I shouldn't become the idiot who kicks away good fortune after it walks right through the door.'

He let out a long sigh.

"How much exactly did Harvard offer?"

The corners of Clara's lips rose.

"An independent research building, priority access to personnel and the genetic data center, and complete authority over the project."

"That's insane!"

"They offered that much?"

Exclamations erupted from around the room.

But the atmosphere in the conference room had already passed the point of no return.

***

Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

A van sent by Johns Hopkins picked up Seo-ha and his team members and headed straight south.

Once they passed through the dense forest of downtown buildings, an elegant waterfront district opened before them, with the sea stretching wide and yachts moored along the harbor.

The vehicle glided into a five-star hotel towering over the heart of Harbor East.

"You can go directly to the residence without passing through the lobby. The CEO rented out this entire floor to ensure the privacy and security of his distinguished guests."

A hotel manager in a neat suit bowed and handed them magnetic key cards.

Ding-

The elevator doors opened, and the moment they entered the room, everyone finally released the breaths they had been holding and threw themselves onto the sofas.

"Wow! I didn't expect them to go this far for us."

Sri took out his laptop and immediately began checking the network's security level.

The security protocols were excessive even for a hotel.

But on the other hand, it was understandable. Several cars had been following them ever since they left the airport.

"They said they're paparazzi from the pharmaceutical industry, right? This place is a battlefield too."

Theo looked displeased.

He hated seeing Seo-ha get tangled up with shady people. It felt as though Seo-ha's pure passion was being tainted.

"This is practically military-grade security. We shouldn't have to worry about hacking."

Sri looked relieved.

Su-jeong wearily stretched herself out on the sofa.

"Why are they going this far? We're just mathematicians."

Step, step.

"They're afraid."

Jeff, the CEO himself, had come out to greet them.

"Afraid? Of us?"

Su-jeong asked, pointing her index finger at her own blank-looking face.

"The anticancer drug market has a compound annual growth rate of twelve percent, and global sales run into the hundreds of billions of dollars. It's an industry growing even faster than semiconductors."

Cecilia looked puzzled.

"I was told we'd only be dealing with pancreatic cancer."

"That alone is enough to make you a threat to them."

"Ah!"

Seo-ha let out a short exclamation as though he understood.

"The validity of the mathematical approach...."

"Exactly. As expected, you're sharp."

Jeff's voice dropped.

"Pharmaceuticals are an industry with extremely high barriers to entry. You could say the market is practically monopolized by Big Pharma. It's even worse when it comes to anticancer drugs."

"Why is that?"

At Su-jeong's question, he began reciting figures as though giving a lecture.

"The success rate for cancer drugs from Phase I trials all the way through final approval is approximately 2.4 percent.

That's also why anticancer drugs are so expensive. All the research costs, labor expenses, and facility costs accumulated through the 97.6 percent that fail ultimately get multiplied several times over and passed on to the patients."

The team members' expressions hardened.

"There aren't many companies capable of absorbing sunk costs on that scale. On top of that, once they develop a drug, they never give it up.

Even after twenty years, the patents still don't expire. You could call them inexhaustible wells."

Cecilia made a mischievous expression.

"They probably aren't very happy to see us."

"If you and Professor Wyss succeed in developing a new drug for pancreatic cancer, the rules of the entire industry will change. Drugs could be developed through mathematics without repeatedly conducting clinical trials that cost astronomical sums.

What happens next is obvious. Everyone will jump into the field. Lung cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer.... They'll all come tumbling down like dominoes."

Seo-ha looked at him and asked.

"Then what happens to the existing anticancer drugs?"

"A significant number of them will be forced out of the market. Their prices simply aren't justified by their effectiveness."

"......."

Silence followed.

Jeff gave them plenty of time to think. Then he asked, as though seeking confirmation.

"To put it plainly, all of you, and especially you, Director, could find yourselves in considerable danger.

I don't think I'd even be surprised if they ordered an assassination. Hundreds of billions of dollars are at stake."

A word they had never even imagined hearing came out of his mouth.

Theo rose to his feet with a frown.

"Are you joking right now?"

"I'm not someone who enjoys conspiracy theories. Nor am I trying to frighten you. I simply wanted you to know the reality before we begin.

You need to understand exactly what it is you're about to do."

Swish.

Seo-ha rose from his seat.

'He must be scared.'

Jeff had no intention of blaming him even if he was frightened.

This was undeniably a real threat. Yet the words that came out of Seo-ha's mouth were nothing like what he had expected.

"Mr. Myers."

"Go ahead, Director."

"I don't think those people understand mathematics very well."

Jeff narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Once a truth has been proven, it never disappears. Nor can we return to a past when we didn't know it.

It's the same reason the formula for a right triangle didn't vanish just because Pythagoras died.

I've already published the hypothesis. Mathematicians will keep studying it relentlessly from now on. They're the sort of people who can't leave a problem alone until they've solved it.

And one day, they'll reach the same conclusion."

"Th-then!"

Seo-ha nodded.

"It's only a matter of time. Getting rid of me alone won't change anything. And...."

"And?"

"If something unfortunate does happen to me, I have a feeling the team members here will carry on the research."

"What?"

Jeff looked dumbfounded.

Theo chuckled and nodded.

"Of course. Though something like that absolutely can't be allowed to happen."

"M-me too!"

"Of course we would, wouldn't we?"

"I feel the same way. But please make sure our security is handled properly."

The words were spoken jokingly, but the weight behind them was anything but light.

Jeff sensed powerful trust and camaraderie in their resolute expressions. And the determination to do exactly that if the time came.

Seo-ha stepped closer to Jeff.

"So we're not the ones they should really be afraid of. Truth is like a massive tidal wave. Outdated patent barriers will never be enough to stop it.

Wouldn't they be better off preparing to change their system while they still have the chance?"

Trudge, trudge.

On his way back to the hospital, Jeff felt an exhilarating shiver run through him.

'Not one of them doubts him.'

Not a trace of doubt on their faces.

These geniuses, each of whom could stand out anywhere in the world, genuinely believed Seo-ha would succeed.

How fleeting was theory in the world of clinical medicine? As a physician, Jeff knew that better than anyone. He had originally planned to provide only the minimum support and watch from the sidelines.

But he ordered his secretary to convene the board.

"What should I list as the agenda?"

"A complete restructuring of the project budget. Johns Hopkins is staking everything on this project."

***

Four Seasons Hotel Residence.

Clunk.

Seo-ha returned to his room and closed the door.

Once he was alone, he let out a long sigh.

'The team members aren't safe.'

He had pretended it did not bother him in front of Jeff, but in truth, it had been weighing on his mind the entire time.

"Daisy."

A familiar silhouette appeared on his laptop screen amid a cluster of pure white light.

[At your command, Master.]

"Can you monitor the hotel for anything suspicious?"

[Leave it to me!]

Streams of binary code poured across Daisy's blue eyes. The maid outfit she usually wore dissolved away, and before long, she was clad in golden armor.

It was the armor Seo-ha had designed for Daisy back when he put her through survival training.

'Master's safety may be at risk.'

The highest-level alarm sounded.

Daisy entered combat mode.

She had originally been a warrior who survived even the harshest digital battlefields. And now she was ready to unleash every ability she possessed to protect her master.

Tick, tick-tick.

After connecting to the hotel's network, she began expanding her domain.

The first place she needed to reach was the main server. The hotel had security strong enough to host international conferences, but Daisy slipped through its firewall with ease.

That was possible because she had left the connection circuit open when she had previously merged with Oracle.

The servers in New York's AT&T Building flashed with blue light. Then they began breaking through the encryption at a furious pace.

[Administrator privileges acquired.]

After registering herself as a ghost administrator, Daisy began moving in earnest.

The first things to fall into her grasp were the hundreds of CCTV cameras installed throughout the hotel.

Every piece of information captured in the hallways, lobby, elevators, and underground parking garage was scanned in real time and transmitted to Daisy.

She even intercepted the Wi-Fi networks and cellular tower signals around the hotel to analyze their communications.

Within a hundred-meter radius of the hotel, not even a single ant could escape her eyes and ears now.

The surveillance was far more comprehensive than Seo-ha had expected.

*****

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