I Became a Scoundrel of a Chaebol Family-Chapter 161
It took a total of 36 hours to produce the RK-99 sample.
The process was tedious, requiring frequent adjustments to temperature every 12 hours. As a result, I had to hover around the lab the entire time.
Still, it wasn’t like I was bored.
It’s my house, after all.
If I got restless, I could always drag the secretaries into the next room for a quick romp, head over to tease Dan-tto, or check on Ha Eun-young and Ma Yeon-ju’s little collaboration. I also had constant updates pouring in about the various schemes I had set in motion.
There was no shortage of things to do.
Finally, the last step was complete.
I carefully removed the RK-99 from the furnace, which had already been molded into a circular shape about the size of a bottle cap.
Ssssss.
It hissed, releasing a white mist as if someone had poured water over dry ice.
I gently placed it into a dish.
“...Ah.”
And °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° then I ran into a huge problem.
I had no idea how to test whether this thing was actually superconductive.
I knew how to make it, sure, but verifying and proving its properties? Not a clue.
‘It’s, uh... something about negative resistance? Or magnetic fields? I think....’
In times like this, the best move was to dump the task on someone competent.
Probably.
“Seol-ah, you know how to test if this is superconductive, right?”
“Yes.”
Thank God.
“You measure electrical resistance, observe the Meissner effect, and test for AC magnetic susceptibility. If it does exhibit superconductivity, we proceed with testing the critical magnetic field and critical current to determine its limits.”
Why was she explaining it in so much detail?
Was she onto the fact that I had no idea how any of this worked?
“Good. Do it.”
“Right now? Without letting it cool?”
“Yeah. It’s done.”
Baek-seol tilted her head slightly.
“...We’ll need equipment.”
She rummaged around the lab for a while. Fortunately, I’d stocked it with a full set of basic tools, and none of the tests required anything too complicated.
“This is a four-point probe system for measuring resistance.”
“Uh, yeah. Sure.”
Baek-seol picked up the still-hot RK-99—barehanded, no less—and set it into the sample holder.
Then she positioned the four probes.
“Two are for current, and the other two measure voltage.”
“Right.”
She fiddled with the power supply settings.
“Ordinarily, superconductors require temperatures close to absolute zero to exhibit their properties. Even at -130°C, we’d call that a high-temperature superconductor. Of course, with pressures exceeding 100 gigapascals, it’s possible to achieve superconductivity at slightly higher temperatures.”
“And by ‘higher,’ you mean...?”
“-30°C. That’s the temperature for the superconductors used in current-generation mechas.”
“Oh.”
So -30°C counts as “high temperature” now?
And what the hell’s a gigapascal?
“But this...” She glanced at the sample. “Its surface temperature is around 80°C, and it’s at ambient pressure. If it’s still superconductive, then as you said, it’s a discovery that could change human history.”
For someone who thought that, her expression was annoyingly blank.
No excitement, no awe—just dead eyes.
Was she expecting it to fail? Or was this just her usual lack of emotion?
‘She definitely noticed I don’t know shit about superconductors.’
She probably didn’t believe it could work.
To her, I was just some clueless amateur trying to play scientist.
"If resistance equals zero, then V=IR means the voltage drop should also be zero when current flows.”
“What’s that mean?”
“V is voltage, I is current, and R is resistance. If R equals zero, then naturally, V also equals zero.”
“Got it.”
“Of course, due to equipment sensitivity and external interference, we might not get exactly 0V, but...”
She fiddled with the panel again, her eyes widening slightly.
“...The voltage is zero. At this current, the resistance value is zero.”
“Oh.”
Her reaction was underwhelming, considering what that meant.
Zero resistance. Isn’t that the definition of a superconductor?
“Hmm.”
Baek-seol kept adjusting the equipment, double-checking the current and recording the results. Then, without warning, she pressed her finger against the RK-99’s surface.
“The surface temperature is still 80°C, yet the resistance is zero. The critical current value is high, too. Just this alone is enough to win a Nobel Prize.”
“Really?”
“Yes. As long as it can be replicated.”
“Of course it can.”
Baek-seol stroked her chin thoughtfully, staring at the sample like a detective piecing together a case.
“...How did you make this?”
“You watched me do it.”
“No, I mean...”
She lifted the sample again.
Her expression remained neutral, but her eyes were slightly wider than before.
“You just ground copper, sulfur, and lead, baked them together, and ended up with a zero-resistance material?”
“Yep.”
“....”
She still didn’t believe it.
“This doesn’t make sense. There’s no way it’s this easy... It feels like physics itself is being overturned.”
“Doesn’t matter, right? The voltage is zero. Move on to the next test.”
“....”
Chewing her lip, Baek-seol reluctantly cleared the equipment and began setting up for the next phase of testing.
*****
"Voltage cleared. Meissner effect cleared...."
"So what does that mean?"
"It means... it really is a superconductor!"
Baek-seol’s expression was noticeably shaken.
Her face flickered between confusion and disbelief as she stared at the now-cooling RK-99.
She carefully picked it up, her fingers trembling slightly.
"Something this simple... is a superconductor?"
"Alright. That’s enough testing. Now it’s time to make the real thing."
"Huh?"
"That was just a side project. The real goal is to make material for Minji’s necklace."
"A room-temperature, ambient-pressure superconductor... was a side project?"
"You can keep it. It’s the first superconductor I’ve ever made, but it’s yours now."
"You... made this for the first time?"
"Yeah."
"..."
She looked even more baffled.
I mean, I’d probably feel the same if I were her, but it’s not like I could tell her I’m reincarnated.
There was no way to explain this rationally.
I had to gloss over it and hope she just thought I was some kind of once-in-a-lifetime genius.
"Honestly, I’ve known the recipe for a while now. But I couldn’t make it before. It’d have been dangerous without the power to protect it."
"That’s true. It’s not something you can create lightly."
She clenched the RK-99 tightly in her palm.
"So now... you feel like you can protect it?"
"Because I have you."
"...!"
"I’m still a bit lacking, but with you around, I feel more secure. You have no idea how hard it’s been keeping this under wraps."
"I... see."
"Anyway, keep it to yourself for now. I’ll launch a new material with the necklace and set up a chemistry-focused company. I’m laying the foundation step-by-step."
"Understood. I’ll start studying and preparing for it as well."
My Seol was going to have her hands full.
She still needed to keep studying medicine, too.
*****
A Day Later
It took another full day to create the material for Minji’s necklace.
"Wow... This is...."
"Amazing, right? This is the new material—RK-77."
"It’s gorgeous...."
Soo-ah held the shimmering object in awe.
Just like the RK-99, it was made by grinding and baking copper, lead, and sulfur.
But unlike the RK-99, it turned into something entirely different—a gemstone.
Physically, it didn’t make any sense.
How could changing the ratios, temperature, and time produce a superconductor one moment and a gem the next?
Of course, this was a game-world setting. Logic wasn’t exactly its strong point.
RK-77 looked like a gem that held the entire universe inside it.
There were natural stones with a vaguely similar appearance, but this one had swirling patterns that seemed to flow endlessly inside.
Seeing it in person was downright hypnotic—like it could suck you in.
It didn’t actually have any hypnotic properties, though.
It was just a pretty rock.
And that’s exactly what a gemstone is—a pretty rock.
"I’ll have it made into a necklace."
"This will definitely work."
"It’s simple to produce, too. It could easily be automated, so if it’s well-received, I’ll mass-produce it and start a company."
"It’ll sell, no doubt about it. I already want one."
Soo-ah was practically entranced already.
"What’s it called?"
"RK-77."
This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.
"..."
Her face fell the moment she heard the name.
"Do you really have to name it that?"
"What should I call it then? Soo-ah?"
"H-Huh?!"
Oh.
Now that I thought about it, that wasn’t a bad idea.
RK-99 could produce a whole line of derivatives, so naming them after my favorite girls didn’t seem like the worst option.
‘RK-99 could be Baek-seol, and RK-77 might as well be Minji, since it’s for her.’
"N-Naming it after me feels a little... inappropriate... It’s a gift for Miss Minji, after all..."
Soo-ah squirmed nervously.
She looked embarrassed, but I could tell the idea secretly made her happy.
"I knew it. Then I’ll name this one after Minji."
"..."
Disappointment flickered across her face.
Cute.
