Chapter 256: Cold Chain (8)

Abdul Asham, the head of Asham, the international transportation company, was meeting with his second eldest brother, Aziz Asham. He told Abdul the details of the shocking news of the energy revolution, as he was the head of the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC).

“Rumor was that it was part of the development of the cold chain,” Aziz said. “The efficiency is absolutely incredible, so it seems like they’re also going to use it to supply power in urban centers. But the biggest advantage is that the solar cells are mobile.”

“So, they are going to put a lot of them on transportation vehicles or ships and move them around as they generate their own power?” Abdul asked.

“It’s possible. If they also install an ESS along with the solar cells, they’re pretty much free from the constraints of day and night and climate.”

“ESS?”

“An energy storage system. There’s also the possibility that they will further develop the solar cells into modules that are compatible with an ESS,” Aziz said. “It might be used in the space or electric vehicle industry. There’s no telling how big of an impact this technology will have.”

“They will be able to create a cold chain easily.”

“Of course,” Aziz said. “So, Abdul, you need to contact A-GenBio and write an agreement with them. Doctor Ryu Young-Joon isn’t someone who obsesses over business other than medicine.”

“Is that so?”

“He established that insurance company, A-Gen Life or whatever it was, but he doesn’t touch the business side of it. Look at what he did with cultured meat, too. Doctor Ryu developed most of it, but A-GenBio isn’t directly in that industry. Existing livestock farmers are changing industries, and A-GenBio indirectly makes money by supporting that,” Aziz said.

“Hm...”

“If you go to Doctor Ryu and offer to develop a cold chain by including the solar cells in Asham’s distribution network, he will probably compromise and sell the solar cells to you under reasonable terms.”

“That would be great. I’ll see what I can do,” Abdul said. “But Aziz, is there anything about those solar cells that could harm us?”

“I don’t know.”

Aziz shrugged.

“Half of our country’s power production comes from oil and the other half from natural gas. Oil is mainly used in cars and ships, and gas is used for temperature control and as an industrial raw material, right? We were going to start nuclear power development to save some of these underground resources anyway,” Aziz said.

He added, “Saudi Arabia is a growing country, and as the cities become more developed, they are going to need more power plants. Father and I thought that even if we have an abundance of oil and gas, we shouldn’t just use it recklessly.

“For a country like ours, which is still underdeveloped and doesn’t have the technology of A-GenBio, oil is our biggest weapon, right? So, we should save it if we can and use solar energy for power production, which will make our oil more competitive internationally.”

Aziz continued his explanation.

“And as you know, Saudi Arabia is a country with vast plains in the equatorial region, meaning we are also rich in solar energy. So, we will not just be rich in underground resources, but now we’re also going to be rich in public resources.”

Aziz laughed heartily.

“I’m asking this because I’m in the distribution business...” Abdul said. “Didn’t A-GenBio send the solar cell prototypes all over the world? Who distributed those? Did A-GenBio send someone out with the product?”

“No,” Aziz said, shaking his head. “A-GenBio used different distributors for each country and region. They found a local distributor and had them transport it. Here, for example, they used...”

Aziz looked up to the ceiling, racking his brain.

“Ah... Where was it... A-GenBio sent a scientist, and the solar cell came from some distribution company I didn’t recognize, but I didn’t look too closely at the name, so I don’t remember. It was a company I’d never heard of before.”

“There’s no way A-GenBio could have reached an agreement with them, is there?” Abdul asked.

“I don’t know, so get to Mr. Ryu quickly. I think it was an Arab company. Oh! I remember now. It was a company called Karpu,” Aziz replied.

“Karpu?”

Abdul scratched his head.

“It’s a distributor in our country, so it must be a company here. The people who came were almost all Arabs, too.”

“...”

Abdul Asham felt a subtle sense of unease.

As Saudi Arabia was a monarchy, members of the royal family were all involved in various prominent businesses. There was no other transportation company in Saudi Arabia bigger than Asham, the one Abdul Asham managed. There weren’t any other transportation companies that could compete, and he already knew of the few that existed.

But Karpu was unfamiliar to him. The problem was that A-GenBio found that company, which Abdul couldn’t even remember off the top of his head, and entrusted it with the transportation of the prototype. They also did it so quickly and quietly that Asham didn’t even notice.”

‘How does this make sense?’

There was nothing wrong with it, but it felt somewhat uncomfortable.

“Right, about Mr. Ryu...” Aziz said. “There’s talk of him coming to Jerusalem this week.”

“Jerusalem?”

Abdul Asham’s eyes narrowed.

“Why would he go there all of a sudden...”

“Maintain order!”

The police ran in front of the crowd, shouting.

“Whew...”

The doctors from the Next Generation Hospital felt a little dizzy at the sight of people who had gathered like saury.

“No one will get hurt, I promise,” Young-Joon said.

Men wearing suits and police officers approached Young-Joon and his security team.

“Doctor Ryu, this way, please.”

They were from Prime Minister Felus’ secretary's office. They took Young-Joon and the medical staff from the Next Generation Hospital and quickly moved them to the emergency evacuation corridor at the back of the airport. It was a controlled area where no one could reach them. This was done to conceal Young-Joon’s whereabouts from the airport.

As they were moving, the staff from the secretary’s office handed Young-Joon a coat and sunglasses.

After getting into a light disguise, Young-Joon and the medical team were escorted to a limousine, and inside was Prime Minister Felus in plain clothes.

“Hello,” greeted Felus.

Young-Joon shook his hand and stepped onto the limousine.

They drove for two hours along Bensimon Road.

“How long has your son been brain-dead?” Young-Joon asked.

“For a while...” Felus replied weakly. “The doctors said it was hopeless, that he would eventually die of cardiovascular death within three weeks even with life support. It’s been two months, but he’s still hanging on.”

“That must have been very difficult for you, Mr. Prime Minister.”

“About what you asked me about Philistines before...” Felus said.

“Yes?”

“Is it all settled?”

“No, not yet. But the clinical trial is more important.”

Buzz!

Kim Chul-Kwon’s phone rang in his pocket. He checked the caller, and then handed over the call to Young-Joon.

“It’s Asham,” Kim Chul-Kwon said.

Young-Joon received the call.

“This is Ryu Young-Joon.”

—Ahn-nyeong-ha-sae-yo.

Abdul greeted Young-Joon in Korean with an awkward pronunciation. From then on, the interpreter translated what he was saying over the phone.

—Haha, hello, Doctor Ryu. I’m Abdul Asham, the CEO of the international transportation company Asham. Are you available for a call right now

“Sure.”

—We would like to purchase a large quantity of your solar cells. We would like to install them in our transportation vehicles or ships and to use the for cold chain or battery maintenance...

“No,” Young-Joon replied.

—Pardon?

“We are not going to make a deal with Asham. We are going to develop our own cold chain and create a supply chain all over the Middle East with Karpu.”

—Um, w-wait, Mr. Ryu? Karpu is a very small venture company with less than twenty employees. It’s too small to be called a distribution company in the Middle East, and...

“It doesn’t matter. I have to go now.”

—Wait! Let’s not do this over the phone. We should meet. What is it that you want?

Abdul Asham’s voice became urgent.

“If I tell you what I want, can you give it to me?” Young-Joon asked.

—...

Abdul Asham couldn’t say anything. It was because he couldn’t possibly imagine what this man was going to demand.