Wilmington, Delaware, North America.
This was the headquarters of the renowned DuPont Group. In 1802, its founder, EL DuPont, purchased this plot of land beside the Brandywine River and invested thirty-six thousand US Dollars to manufacture gunpowder.
Today, after merging with the equally renowned Dow Group, DuPont Group had become the world's most powerful chemical company, ranked first globally.
Dr. Nelson, the research director, sat outside the president's office, holding a cup of coffee the secretary had just brought him as he waited to be summoned by Group President Mark Doyle.
Before long, Doyle finally ended his conference call with the European division. The secretary led Dr. Nelson through the door, and from a distance, he could see that the president was in a foul mood. His tie had already been yanked loose during the meeting.
"Damn bastards!" Doyle cursed under his breath.
He looked up at Dr. Nelson. "Can anyone tell me what exactly is going on? Summer in the Northern Hemisphere is almost over, and those Chinese people suddenly launched an offensive at the last minute. We were completely unprepared. This is utterly humiliating!"
Dr. Nelson frowned slightly. "Have the clients suffered serious losses?"
Nelson was deeply concerned about that question. After all, DuPont Group did not directly face the retail market. It supplied base fabrics to clients around the world, who then used DuPont-branded materials to make finished garments.
If client sales plummeted, DuPont Group certainly would not have an easy time either.
"Serious? It's practically a bloodbath!" Doyle made an exaggerated gesture. "Kunlun X1 Fiber fabric performs far beyond our strongest COOLMAX product line. Clients are demanding an explanation. You're the company's head of research, so I'd like you to explain why China's quick-drying fiber technology suddenly raced ahead of us!"
Dr. Nelson let out a deep sigh and spread his arms. "Mr. President, to be honest, I don't know either."
"The company that came out with X1 Fiber technology this time is a small one. According to the information I gathered from China, the inventor is named Gao Yuan. He was not even a graduate in chemistry or materials science. He studied computer science."
"What's more, in materials chemistry, we normally write our research results into papers, submit them to mainstream journals for publication, and then let peers around the world exchange findings and verify whether the results can be replicated."
"But this man, Gao Yuan, did not publish a paper first. He went directly into mass production. By now, X1 Fiber had already been conquering markets across the globe and stirring up enormous waves, yet Gao Yuan's related paper had still not been published!"
"So this really can't be blamed on us."
"If we had seen the paper, we could at least have warned the company in advance, known that a new technology was about to hit the market, and immediately begun developing competing technologies."
"But the truth is, before we had even seen a paper, the market was already flooded with products. That unconventional Chinese man named Gao Yuan shattered every established practice in one stroke and caught us completely off guard!"
That was what made the situation so absurd. The president was protesting to the R&D director, while the R&D director himself was full of grievances and had no idea who to complain to.
Doyle rubbed his face. "Damn Chinese people. They're far too cunning!"
"But now that things have come to this, our partners want us to provide products similar to Kunlun X1 Fiber to resist the invasion from competitors. Does the technical department have any solution?"
Dr. Nelson shook his head. "At present, our strongest quick-drying fiber, COOLMAX, has already been proven utterly inadequate, let alone our other product lines."
"But..." President Doyle said awkwardly, "the clients are all waiting for us to give them products. How am I supposed to explain this to them?"
"Stall."
"Stall?"
"Exactly. It is already the end of summer. Once September arrives and the heat fades, sales of clothing made with quick-drying fabrics will naturally fall sharply. That will buy us enough time to develop a technical solution targeting Kunlun X1 Fiber."
"Besides, regarding papers on this new fiber, China may be keeping them under wraps for now, but they cannot hide them for long. Once summer is over, they will definitely have to publish them."
"Based on past experience, Chinese scholars place great importance on SCI citations and value Nobel Prize selection even more. Once the relevant papers are published, they will greatly advance our research."
Doyle nodded slightly. With the technical department unable to offer a solution, it seemed that delaying for time was their only option.
Once the weather gradually turned cold, major apparel companies and consumers would shift their attention toward warm fabrics. No matter how outstanding Kunlun Company's quick-drying fabrics were, their sales would inevitably decline dramatically.
"Not just us." Dr. Nelson said smugly, "BASF, Mobil, Evonik, Linde, DSM—almost every important chemical fiber company in the world is holding back its strength and actively preparing new products to counter Kunlun X1 Fiber."
"Although those treacherous Chinese people ambushed us at the end of this summer, next spring, the Chinese people will face a last-ditch counteroffensive launched by every chemical fiber giant in the world! I can hardly wait to see them completely crushed!"
Very soon, word spread throughout the industry that DuPont Group had fallen into an R&D predicament and would not launch products targeting Kunlun X1 Fiber during this summer and autumn.
It had to be said that the Summer's End Offensive Gao Yuan proposed was truly bizarre.
Its timing fell at an exceptionally awkward juncture. If European and American manufacturers went all out, summer was about to end, leaving them very little time.
Yet if they did not go all out, they could only watch as advertisements from Chinese companies filled the skies, with every kind of promotional campaign and publicity for the black-tech X1 Fiber crushing them until they could barely breathe.
Now things were settled. DuPont Group had announced that it was giving up treatment, and immediately afterward, giants such as BASF and Bayer also hinted to their partners that they could not produce a solution in such a short time. This year was apparently impossible; they would have to wait until next year.
Thus, the scales that had already been tilted completely collapsed, turning this sudden war into a one-sided slaughter!
Who could have imagined it? The mighty, seemingly invincible DuPont Group and BASF Group could not even produce a competing product. Chinese manufacturers were practically laughing themselves mad!
For a time, European and American apparel manufacturers wailed in misery, while Chinese manufacturers, empowered by black technology, launched wave after wave of offensives. They slaughtered to their hearts' content, until blood flowed like rivers!
Who would not enjoy a war that met with so little resistance?
As the saying went, strike while the enemy was sick and take its life. If they did not seize territory now, when would they?
Beyond selling products, Chinese manufacturers were also doing everything they could to cultivate an image of technological sophistication and build their brands. That was the most lethal part.
Just as people thought of Nike's Zoom Air technology when Nike was mentioned, Adidas's Boost cushioning technology when Adidas came up, and Asics's GEL synthetic rubber when consumers talked about it with relish.
From then on, whenever European consumers thought of these Chinese brands, they would undoubtedly immediately think of Kunlun X Fiber and its powerful quick-drying capabilities.
September arrived quickly. Just as these Chinese brands were preparing to sound the retreat, an unimaginable scene unfolded.
"None of you are allowed to retreat. Keep the flames of war burning."
During a conference call, Gao Yuan wore his usual smile, but his tone was exceptionally firm. "Don't always think about leaving room for mercy so you can meet again in the future. Remember this too: pull weeds out by the roots, and wipe out evil completely!"
"Don't think that just because you make clothing and there is not much technical content involved, those Anglo-Saxons will not come after you. Wrong!"
Through the screen, the shocked expressions on the bosses' faces were clearly visible. They found it hard to imagine that Gao Yuan's assessment of the future situation was this grim.
All at once, the conference call fell into deathly silence, as though even the air had frozen solid in that instant.
A sharp light flashed from Gao Yuan's eyes, as though he could see through everyone's heart. Though he was still young, every word he spoke drove deep into the hearts of everyone present.
Perhaps feeling that the atmosphere had become too heavy, Gao Yuan softened his voice somewhat. "Commercial war is also war, and in many ways, it is even crueler and more unscrupulous."
"No matter what, we cannot let the enemy have their way. DuPont Group wants to drag this out until next spring."
"What we need to do is fight all the way through—keep fighting until next spring!"
At the beginning of September, Gao Yuan read in the news that temperatures had plummeted in Genhe and Mohe, China's coldest places, and residents had already begun wearing down jackets.
He could not help looking out the window. In Jiangnan, the sun still hung high in the sky, its light dazzling. Without air conditioning, the office temperature nearly reached forty degrees Celsius. It was impossible to imagine the cold of the far north.
This was vast China.
Gao Yuan's heart surged with emotion. He recalled an essay he had heard since childhood and could not resist reciting aloud, "In the Greater Khingan Range, snowflakes are still flying."
"Along both banks of the Yangtze River, willow branches have already sprouted."
"On Hainan Island, flowers bloom everywhere."
"How vast our motherland is."
Knock, knock, knock.
Someone suddenly knocked at the door. When he opened it, it was Cao Feiyu.
"I'm telling you, Comrade Gao Yuan, stop going on all day about how vast the motherland is. Take a look at what is right in front of us instead." Cao Feiyu must have heard him outside, because he started grumbling the moment he entered.
Because the company was short on manpower—especially people Gao Yuan trusted—Cao Feiyu was now handling everything large and small.
From finances and orders to the cafeteria ladies, there was nothing he did not oversee. As time passed, even Cao Feiyu, mild and refined by nature, had begun to grow a little impatient.
Gao Yuan shrugged. "Listen to yourself. Aren't you moved at all? All this time, we've only learned about our motherland through books, yet we've never personally seen her beauty and grandeur. Once we're done with this busy period, we'll travel like the construction crew from Ma Qianzu. Think of it as employee benefits—fully company-funded, with the best hotels."
Cao Feiyu said calmly, "Of course I love my motherland, and I would also like to see it with my own eyes. But I know even better that this is not the time for travel, because we have more important things to do."
"What is there to do right now?" Gao Yuan asked.
"Don't play dumb." Cao Feiyu rolled his eyes at Gao Yuan. "Orders for X2 Fabric are practically lined up from Shaoxing to Jiaxing! Every major apparel company is preparing its autumn and winter collections, and they are all waiting for our rice to cook before they can eat."
Gao Yuan scratched his head and frowned. "X2 Fiber comes in two forms. So far, we have only solved the problem of Chemical Fiber Yarn. Chemical Fiber Fluff has encountered a technical bottleneck during production, and its forming process has not reached the standard I envisioned."
"Then ship the Chemical Fiber Yarn first," Cao Feiyu said.
Gao Yuan shook his head seriously. "In quick-drying fibers, DuPont has always dominated alone. As long as we knock DuPont Group's COOLMAX series flat, we will be unstoppable in the market, with no rivals left."
"But thermal insulation fibers are different—completely different. That field is surrounded by powerful rivals, all experts. And beyond chemical fiber companies, natural fibers such as duck down, goose down, and wool are also our competitors. So we cannot strike lightly. Once we strike, we must create an overwhelmingly oppressive momentum."
Cao Feiyu froze. "Are there that many competitors in thermal insulation fibers?"
"There are many." Gao Yuan casually listed several names, from Toray and Asahi Kasei in Japan to DuPont and 3M in North America.
Before Gao Yuan could finish, Cao Feiyu could no longer listen and hurriedly told him to stop.
"All these international giants research thermal insulation fibers?" Cao Feiyu asked in shock.
Gao Yuan smiled. "Let me put it this way: among the world's top one hundred chemical fiber companies, there is practically none that does not make thermal insulation fibers. After all, the profits are high and the market is huge."
"The current leaders are mainly Japanese companies. Japan holds an absolute global share in thermal insulation fibers, and its strength cannot be underestimated."
Cao Feiyu said nothing more. He looked carefully and discovered that Gao Yuan did not seem to be slacking off in the office. His desk was covered with countless drawings, while the trash bin was full of crumpled scratch paper.
"In the laboratory, Dr. Xu Qingzhou and his group have been pushing me so hard I can barely breathe, so I came here to clear my head, read the news, play games, and so on."
Gao Yuan smiled. "Don't worry. Just give me a few more days."
"In a few days, I guarantee I'll give those little Japanese a huge scare."
It got blocked again. This is the revised version.
I have always written slowly. Chapters like this are actually fine, but if I run into a chapter that requires extensive fact-checking and data verification, I often cannot write much even after working from morning to night.
What can I say? I hope for everyone's understanding.
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