I'm The King of Business & Technology in the Modern World-Chapter 238: Line of Alloy
April 21, 2026 — 9:00 AM Sentinel HQ, BGC — Global Strategy Meeting Room
The glass doors closed with a soft hiss as Angel Cruz entered the room, her presence quiet but decisive.
Inside, the core leadership team was already seated: Matthew, Julian from Public Affairs, Anton from Legal, Carina dialed in from Subic, and two new additions—Vice President for Expansion, Rafael Sy, and Director of Strategic Licensing, Melissa Chong.
Projected on the wall behind them was a single phrase in bold:
"Should we license Aerus abroad?"
The question hovered like a threat.
Matthew broke the silence first. "We've received formal inquiries from three regions: São Paulo's Urban Tech Hub, a government-backed manufacturing consortium in Gujarat, and a mobility infrastructure firm in South Korea with Hyundai ties."
Angel folded her arms. "What are they asking for?"
Melissa tapped her tablet. "Co-production agreements. Local assembly rights. And in the case of Gujarat—an outright license to manufacture 500 Aerus units domestically under the Sentinel Auto badge."
Anton whistled low. "That's aggressive."
Carina's voice crackled through the speaker. "You give away the badge, you give away the soul."
Julian nodded. "This isn't just cars anymore. It's a global standard. The first one to set it… controls the narrative."
Angel looked at each of them.
"Then we need to ask ourselves now, once and for all: do we lead globally… or protect the core?"
—
April 21, 2026 — 1:30 PMSentinel HQ — Private Breakout Room
Angel and Matthew sat across from each other, the earlier meeting adjourned without resolution.
Matthew stared at the ceiling. "This was always going to happen. Once you change the rules, everyone wants their version of the board."
Angel said nothing for a while, her fingers tapping rhythmically on her mug.
"We're still fragile," she finally said. "One misstep and we go from revolution to case study."
Matthew tilted his head. "We're already at case study status. The question is whether we become a textbook—or a warning."
Angel looked at him. "You're leaning yes."
"I'm leaning scale," Matthew replied. "But only if we retain the engine. The turbine core stays ours. No diagrams. No IP release. Foreign plants can assemble, not invent."
Angel considered it.
"If that gets challenged, we need legal firepower."
"We'll need a firewall stronger than a contract," Matthew said. "We need brand loyalty."
Angel raised an eyebrow. "You want to turn Aerus into… what? An ecosystem?"
"No," he replied. "A standard. Like Intel chips. Like Boeing fuselage codes. You don't license to compete. You license to become the benchmark."
Angel exhaled slowly.
"This is bigger than we thought."
—
April 22, 2026 — 10:00 AMSentinel HQ — Legal Conference Bay
Anton paced as his team reviewed projections on-screen.
"Our biggest exposure isn't theft," he said. "It's replication. The moment a turbine-powered chassis goes into public road tests in another country, someone will reverse-engineer the heat exchange chamber."
An associate added, "Gujarat's industrial parks are notorious for… borrowing."
"Brazil's tax regime will demand full transparency if we produce locally," another chimed in. "That includes emissions data and engine specs."
Angel frowned. "So the moment we open doors, we risk a knockoff within twelve months."
"Six," Anton corrected. "If it's China." ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
Matthew was leaning against the wall, arms crossed. "So what's the safest route?"
Anton paused. "Joint ventures. Our equity stake. Local hires. No control handoff. We train the teams. We own the servers. They assemble—but they don't see the blueprints."
Angel tapped her pen.
"And if someone tries to work around that?"
"Then we make it more expensive to copy us than to work with us."
—
April 23, 2026 — 3:45 PMSubic — Sentinel Auto Prototyping Bay
Carina stood with two turbine engineers near the calibration station. In her hands, a revised technical readout of the Aerus Core Chamber V4—lighter, quieter, slightly more stable under crosswinds.
Lara, head of Advanced Materials, approached with a clipboard. "I just saw the licensing memo."
Carina glanced at her. "And?"
Lara shrugged. "I get it. But the thought of another country slapping together an Aerus knockoff with duct tape and calling it innovation…"
Carina nodded. "Feels wrong."
"They won't treat the turbine the way we do," Lara said. "They'll chase shortcuts."
Carina looked back at the humming unit. "Then we make ours so far ahead, they'll always be two iterations behind."
—
April 24, 2026 — 6:15 PMSentinel HQ — 11th Floor Executive Briefing
Angel gathered the leadership team once more. This time, the mood was colder. More focused.
"No decision has been made," she began. "But we've mapped three licensing tiers."
She clicked the projector.
Tier 1: Assembly OnlyTier 2: Assembly + Software Integration, No Engine AccessTier 3: Full License (Requires Joint Ownership + Equity Participation)
"No Tier 3 agreements are open," she clarified. "That is non-negotiable."
Matthew added, "Tier 2 will be offered only to nations with strong IP laws and political alignment. Brazil and India are in discussion. South Korea pending."
Julian raised a concern. "This risks alienating Europe."
Angel responded coolly, "Europe alienated itself when it tried to kill Aerus with environmental disinfo and injunctions. If they want in now, they come in humble."
Melissa from Strategic Licensing spoke next. "We already have soft interest from Canada, the UAE, and Kenya. Tier 1-only. But they want to be early."
Angel nodded.
"Then we build three things simultaneously," she said. "A firewall. A framework. And a future that doesn't need a lithium crutch."
The room was silent.
Then Matthew said, "Let's put the world to work."
—
April 25, 2026 — 8:00 PMRockwell — Balcony Overlooking Manila
The wind was cooler that night.
Matthew and Angel sat on the balcony with two glasses of wine, Aurora already asleep inside.
Angel stared at the skyline—quiet, glowing, full of the old world.
"They'll try to take it from us," she said.
Matthew didn't look away. "They'll fail."
She turned to him. "You sure?"
"No," he said. "But I know this: we didn't build Aerus to hoard it."
He paused.
"We built it because it should exist. Because the world deserves better."
Angel set her glass down and leaned her head against his shoulder.
"Then let's lead the world forward. On our terms."
He smiled.
"And no one else's."
