A Wall Street Genius’s Final Investment Playbook

Meanwhile, Kissinger, who had come out for a rare stroll, couldn’t hide his excitement.

‘How long has it been since I last saw that boy!’

Ever since the Theranos incident, Ha Si-heon had looked after Kissinger with great care.

For example, whenever Kissinger stepped onto the podium, Ha Si-heon would unfailingly show up in the audience.

‘He’s trying to raise my stature.’

After all, isn’t Ha Si-heon, the “Orca,” the hottest star in the global financial world right now?

This was, in itself, a charming gesture that made it known to the world just how special Kissinger was to him.

And that wasn’t all.

Knowing that Kissinger’s hobby was stamp collecting, Ha Si-heon never forgot to procure a new collection for him every month.

‘What other young man would treat an old fellow like me with such warmth? He’s a hundred times better than my own grandson…’

But.

Lately, things had changed.

The last time he saw him was five months ago, at his own birthday party.

‘Can’t be helped. It’s a busy time for him…’

For the past year or so, Ha Si-heon had been so absorbed in his AI business that he spent half of his time in California.

Then, out of the blue, a message arrived.

— I’ve been troubled with some things lately… Could you spare me some time?

Most young people, after achieving such success, would naturally grow arrogant, intoxicated by their own brilliance.

But even now, Ha Si-heon was humbling himself, seeking advice from Kissinger.

Kissinger nodded in satisfaction as he read the text.

The agreed meeting place was the Palace Hotel.

Conveniently, Kissinger’s favorite steakhouse, the “20 Club,” was nearby, so he planned to dine with Ha Si-heon while he was at it.

However.

— I’m sorry. I already have another engagement…

Unfortunately, the timing didn’t work out.

So, while he was in town, Kissinger consoled himself by dining alone at the steakhouse.

That was when he caught sight of a familiar silhouette.

“Sean?”

“Sir…?”

Ha Si-heon looked startled, as if he had been caught in a compromising situation.

Naturally, Kissinger’s gaze shifted to Ha Si-heon’s companion.

It was a familiar face.

“It’s been a while, Ambassador Yang.”

They had met several times at past diplomatic events.

It was Yang Yucheng, the Chinese ambassador to the United States.

“Well, this is an odd pair. You and our Sean together…”

Though he was smiling, Kissinger’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.

“Surely this isn’t about lingering grudges from the past, is it?”

It was said as a joke, but there was a weight behind the words.

Kissinger’s meaning was clear.

Was this about revenge for the currency war Ha Si-heon had once waged in China?

Ha Si-heon quickly interjected.

“No, nothing like that. We’re just meeting to talk about business.”

‘Business?’

His expression suggested otherwise.

Though curiosity welled up, this wasn’t the place to pry.

‘I’ll have to ask later.’

So, after parting ways with the ambassador, Kissinger went on to the Palace Hotel, where he had originally arranged to meet Ha Si-heon.

He even booked a room so he could ask directly.

“May I ask what kind of conversation you had with China?”

But for the first time, Ha Si-heon, who had always answered every question with ease, looked troubled.

“I’m sorry, but the details are classified. I can’t disclose them just yet.”

“If there’s a problem, tell me. If it involves China, I might still be able to help.”

Wasn’t he once a legendary diplomat who shaped world affairs?

Even in retirement, the influence he wielded through his connections and the government was immeasurable.

Yet, Ha Si-heon smiled gently and shook his head.

“Of course, if it’s truly necessary, I’ll ask for your help. But for now, I’d like to try resolving it on my own.”

Despite repeated prodding, Ha Si-heon held his tongue, and Kissinger never did find out what he had discussed with China.

‘He could lean on me a little more…’

Watching the young man—whom he cherished even more than his own grandson—struggle under such a heavy burden alone, Kissinger felt uneasy.

And yet, he was proud as well.

‘Indeed, he’s on a different level from Holmes.’

No—comparing Sean with that con artist, who whined for help at every turn, was an insult in itself.

Feeling even more fond of Ha Si-heon, Kissinger asked.

“By the way, you said you’ve been troubled with something. What is it?”

“Well, it’s just… there’s a lot to think about regarding the AI business…”

Ha Si-heon then began to share the concerns weighing on him about the AI industry, and Kissinger gladly offered advice.

But…

Even as they spoke, Kissinger couldn’t shake the thought of Ambassador Yang from his mind.

‘China approaching Ha Si-heon…’

His diplomatic instincts blared a warning.

This wasn’t something ordinary.

By the time their conversation ended, Kissinger slowly rose from his seat.

“You go on ahead. There’s somewhere else I need to stop by.”

After sending Ha Si-heon off, Kissinger remained alone, lost in thought.

Then, firming his resolve, he flipped through his contacts with practiced fingers.

<John Berry>

It was none other than the current U.S. Secretary of State.

John Berry.

Though Kissinger and Berry weren’t in the habit of casual conversation, theirs was a relationship where, if the nation’s future was at stake, contact was always possible.

So when Kissinger called him out of the blue, Berry answered with a half-bewildered tone.

“This is unusual. For you to call me at this hour…”

“It’s important. Could we speak again in an hour, on a secure line?”

— Of course.

After ending the short call, Kissinger quickened his pace.

His destination: a nearby SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility).

A SCIF was a specially secured area used by senior officials to exchange sensitive information, outfitted with thick soundproofing and electromagnetic shielding to prevent leaks.

Fortunately, the UN Headquarters nearby had one such facility.

Passing through the security procedures with ease, Kissinger placed the call again.

“From recent reports, AI technology seems to hold significant strategic value. Is that the government’s position as well?”

— Yes, multiple departments regard AI as a core element of national competitiveness.

“In that case, what if control of this technology slipped out of America’s hands?”

The other end of the line went silent for a moment, then spoke with care.

— That would be an issue requiring direct intervention at the national level. Do you know something we don’t?

“Who is the most important asset and talent in the field of artificial intelligence right now?”

— Well, perhaps Gooble, OpenFrame, and Next AI… maybe Stark as well?

“No. Didn’t I say the most important asset and talent? Who else could that be, if not Ha Si-heon!”

—…Ah, yes. You’re right. Of course…

“But here’s the thing. China has been trying to approach him.”

— What? China?

The person on the other end sounded quite surprised.

At this, Kissinger issued a stern warning.

“This is a situation like Operation Paperclip.”

Operation Paperclip.

After World War II, it was the secret U.S. program that brought over German scientists to spearhead aerospace technology and weapons development.

At the time, America had recruited even those who had collaborated with the Nazis, in order to gain an edge over the Soviets.

By invoking it now, Kissinger was showing just how serious he considered the current situation.

“I believe we’re now in an era where the competition is over AI, not missiles. And once again, America must hold the advantage.”

— Do you mean…

“Why not push for AI to be declared a strategic asset? We can’t just sit back and watch China siphon away our AI resources!”

The man on the line was silent for a long time before finally answering with caution.

“I understand what you’re saying… but this isn’t the right time to launch a new initiative. And as you know, dealing with China is already extremely delicate.”

In fact, China had recently escalated tensions by massively expanding military bases in the South China Sea.

And just last year, a massive cyberattack had compromised the personal data of 20 million U.S. Office of Personnel Management employees—China was suspected to be behind it.

In such a climate, declaring AI a “strategic asset” and provoking China further would place a heavy burden on the U.S. as well.

This wasn’t just about one AI company.

It was a tangled problem involving military affairs, diplomacy, and cyber intelligence.

—Besides, unless Ha Si-heon himself takes a public stance, what you’re describing is still speculation.

“So what you’re saying is… we’re just going to sit and watch while our strategic asset quietly slips away?”

— Of course not. But as you know, these matters require procedures, and procedures take time…

And that was the problem.

Government was always slow.

Designating an industry as a “strategic asset” required interagency discussions, intelligence reports, White House policy reviews—the list went on endlessly.

And those processes usually took years.

Right now, all they had was indirect evidence, a vague sense that “China seems interested.”

That alone wasn’t enough to justify launching formal procedures—not in terms of justification, public support, or decisive proof.

“I understand your point.”

Kissinger replied curtly and ended the call.

‘What should I do…’

He had delivered the warning to the government.

But he wasn’t about to sit back and wait for them to move at their sluggish pace.

‘If China is serious…’

It was clear that China, after quietly stockpiling resources for years, had now entered the phase of actively pursuing global dominance.

In other words, they had shifted to gathering strategic assets, one by one.

And there could hardly be a more enticing asset for them than Ha Si-heon.

After all, “Orca” Ha Si-heon was the brightest jewel America possessed.

Without a doubt, they would try to tempt him with every privilege imaginable.

‘He’d never waver…’

A young man as upright and honest as Ha Si-heon would never be seduced by mere money.

And yet—the safest course was to eliminate even the possibility of temptation.

After all, who knew what China might try in order to take him away?

‘If the government can’t act…?’

There was another way.

Kissinger slowly opened his notebook.

Inside, among the densely written contacts, were the names of journalists he knew.

***

A few days later, headlines like these flooded the media:

<AI Gold Rush Draws Eyes of Foreign Powers>

<Silicon Valley: The Dawn of a New Cold War?>

<Foreign Governments Reach for U.S. AI Technology>

The articles unanimously warned of the danger that American AI could fall under foreign influence.

In particular…

According to a senior government official, China had recently held a private meeting with Ha Si-heon, CEO of Pareto Innovation.

Officially, the meeting was said to have been about business collaboration in the tech sector, but interpretations varied.

(…)

The reports stressed that Ha Si-heon’s current focus was on AI.

He had invested a billion dollars to establish “Next AI.”

The same official warned, “We cannot rule out the possibility that China aims to strategically secure America’s core AI assets—such as by acquiring Next AI.”

No formal proposal or agreement had been made yet, but…

The press, citing this “senior government official,” warned that China was trying to snatch Next AI away.

Public reaction was explosive.

After all, this was already a hot topic online.

—The Egyptians built the pyramids, the Romans built the Colosseum, but we have Sean.

—Sean’s brain is a World Heritage Site! This treasure must be protected!

—Ha Si-heon had predicted multiple Black Swan events, toppled the Great Wall, and even foretold Brexit—his record was terrifying.

At this point, he was seen by the American people as nothing less than a source of national pride, a national asset, a global treasure.

And now—China, of all places, was trying to get its hands on this “treasure,” Ha Si-heon’s AI company?

— Absolutely not! Give them the Statue of Liberty instead!

—Draft a bill to put a GPS tracker on Saint Sean’s neck immediately!

—We cannot allow China to toss America’s national treasure into their shopping cart!

—If Next AI moves to China, it’s finished… they might as well make you pass a “patriotism test” every time you log in to MindChat…

Eventually, the uproar grew so large that Ha Si-heon himself stepped forward to make a statement.

“Rumors about Next AI relocating to another country are false. They are not true.”

He firmly dismissed the so-called “AI moving to China” rumors.

However, what he said next carried a strangely lingering tone.

“That said, to maintain competitiveness, we are not completely ruling out moving some non-core divisions to more favorable overseas markets.”

In other words: “The headquarters—our national treasure—will stay here, but a branch or two could move.”

Of course, Ha Si-heon gave a clear reason.

“AI is extremely expensive. Server farms, cloud usage fees, data storage costs… Large tech companies own their own cloud infrastructure and can process everything at internal cost, but startups like ours have to buy at retail.”

He paused for a moment, then gave a bitter smile.

“Electricity is the same story. Running just one data center consumes massive power, but big corporations negotiate separate contracts with power companies and get discounted rates. We operate at much higher premium rates.”

In short, the entire industry structure is built to favor the giants.

The level of capital required to achieve economies of scale was far beyond what any startup could realistically bear.

Ha Si-heon hesitated briefly, then spoke with difficulty.

“The truth is, this is beyond our own capacity. That’s why we’ve been consistently asking the government for support since the beginning.”

That statement was, in effect, a kind of tattling.

It meant that the U.S. government had repeatedly brushed off his outstretched hand.

As a result, China was now in a position to reach for Ha Si-heon and Next AI—treasures of the nation!

The internet exploded into chaos.

—Saint Sean was out here single-handedly carrying the future and showing it to them, while the U.S. government’s response was: “Hmm, let’s talk later.”

— Government: “We believe in the free market!” / Reality: talent leaks out freely, too.

—If Sean leaves, just put a little note next to the GDP chart: ‘Remember when we had this?’

As the fury spiraled out of control, even the White House was forced to respond.

—The United States encourages innovation and considers artificial intelligence a core element of national competitiveness. We will do our utmost to create an environment where promising startups, including Next AI, can freely advance their technologies.

However.

Though they said they would “do their utmost,” no concrete measures followed.

No expanded budgets, no tax breaks, no special programs, no subsidies. Newest update provıded by ɴovelfire.net

In other words…

It was basically: “People seem really mad right now, so let’s stall for a bit.”

When that news broke, Ha Si-heon rubbed his chin.

‘So… pushing for strategic asset designation really was too much?’

His goal had been simple.

To have AI designated as a national strategic asset, thereby opening the door to indirect government investment.

That way, the bubble he had inflated in the AI sector would solidify, and from then on, it could keep rolling forward without his personal involvement.

This was the final step of his scenario: “Hand everything over to the U.S. government, then wash my hands of it.”

In that sense, the White House’s lukewarm response was disappointing.

But Ha Si-heon smiled.

‘Convincing the current White House was never the plan.’

A man who already holds the crown has no need to rush.

But what about those who have yet to wear the crown?

‘With public opinion like this, they’ll definitely move.’

And just as he expected, events unfolded accordingly.

“The topic of tonight’s debate: government support policies for artificial intelligence, and the attempts by foreign nations to secure America’s core AI industries. Candidates, what are your thoughts?”

October, 2016.

The U.S. presidential election had reached its peak.

It was the moment when the next president was most attuned to public sentiment.

Which meant…

“When it comes to this issue, what kind of response should the government take?”

To claim the throne, the candidates had no choice but to promise anything.