In Mid-September, X2 Fiber Emerged! The Sword Pointed at Japan!

For several days straight, Gao Yuan ate and slept at the Chaoda Chemical Fiber factory, helping them resolve difficulties in the production process.

Late at night, when all was quiet, Gao Yuan carried two cans of Qingdao beer out of the noisy workshop. He sat down on the concrete steps outside, cracked open a can, and took two gulps. A string of satisfied sounds escaped his throat as his whole body finally relaxed.

"Theory and practice really aren't the same thing."

Gao Yuan muttered with feeling, "Who would have thought that even with complete theory, we'd waste so much time and run into so many problems during the production process? Dad was right. Industry isn't something you can just make happen on a whim."

Gao Yuan had been extremely confident. He had a complete set of technical documentation on X Fiber in his head, yet when he tried to turn that knowledge and technology into a product, he encountered unexpected difficulties.

The material of the spinneret plates, the flow guidance in the coagulation bath, the power and flow rate of the circulation pumps, and so on.

Honestly, they were all insignificant little issues, but piled together, they prevented X2 Fiber fluff from reaching its highest quality for a long time.

If X1 Fiber had contained an element of luck, catching DuPont Group off guard and winning a resounding victory—

Then Gao Yuan knew perfectly well that X2 Fiber would never enjoy such good fortune again. All that awaited him were giants. If they did not strike, so be it. But once they did, they would go all out.

So Gao Yuan began by directing things remotely, but eventually simply stationed himself at the factory, eating and sleeping alongside the mechanical engineers.

Hooray!

We finally did it!

The workshop behind him suddenly erupted with voices. Gao Yuan did not turn around, because he had already anticipated the result. Hard work paid off. After three straight days of fighting, the final obstacle preventing X2 Fiber from entering large-scale production had finally been broken.

"President Gao, so you were out here!"

Yuan Zheng, the owner of Chaoda Chemical Fiber, had searched all the way out from the workshop and found Gao Yuan sitting on the ground.

Ignoring his expensive suit pants, he sat down beside Gao Yuan, opened the other can of beer, and drank with him.

Gao Yuan frowned slightly. He had always been a good drinker, and he had originally planned to drink both cans himself.

Speaking of which, Boss Yuan was an elder to Gao Yuan and had worked with Gao Xiangnan for nearly ten years.

When Gao Yuan had first taken over Kunlun Factory, Yuan Zheng had called him Little Gao. Now, he had changed to President Gao.

Although Gao Yuan did not care much about titles, the change clearly reflected Yuan Zheng's journey from half-believing and half-doubting to respect and admiration.

"I really never expected that you not only invented X Fiber, but also possessed such profound expertise in mechanical engineering. All the engineers under me are completely convinced by you. They say you're a genius in mechanical automation," Yuan Zheng said, sounding suspiciously like he was flattering him.

He secretly resolved to maintain his relationship with Gao Yuan at all costs. After all, Gao Yuan was only twenty-one, yet he had already displayed such astonishing talent. His future was likely limitless.

If only my son had half of Gao Yuan's brains, Yuan Zheng lamented inwardly. Who would have thought that Gao Xiangnan, that stubborn mule, would have such an incredibly intelligent son?

Yuan Zheng pointed at the people celebrating in the workshop. "Everyone's waiting. Come inside with me."

Gao Yuan did not get up immediately. Instead, he asked Yuan Zheng, "If I remember correctly, your factory's maximum capacity can reach five hundred tons per day, right?"

Yuan Zheng scratched his head. "I have two one-hundred-ton lines here, plus those older models that produce several dozen tons each. The designed total capacity is five hundred and fifty tons per day."

"What about actual capacity?" Gao Yuan asked with a smile.

"Only three hundred tons in practice," Yuan Zheng admitted frankly. "After all, every line has to stop daily for inspections and maintenance, and the older models have a somewhat higher failure rate."

Gao Yuan nodded slightly. "Although I don't know the exact sales figures, I estimate that your production alone probably won't be enough. I'll need to bring in a second contract manufacturer."

Yuan Zheng was straightforward about it and immediately said there was no problem. As Gao Yuan's business grew larger, he truly should not put all his eggs in one basket.

In any case, Yuan Zheng had now decided that Gao Yuan was someone worth clinging to. Whatever Gao Yuan asked for, as long as it was not too excessive, Yuan Zheng would go along with it.

Seeing Yuan Zheng's attitude, Gao Yuan did not say anything further.

The reason he wanted to make things clear first was that bringing in a second contract manufacturer would require engineers from Yuan Zheng's factory to provide assistance and solve process issues.

After all, the greatest fear when working with multiple contract manufacturers was failing to maintain product consistency.

Back then, Apple Inc.'s A-series processors had been manufactured simultaneously by Samsung and TSMC. Samsung failed to deliver, and its power consumption and heat generation were a complete disaster. The same chips simply could not match TSMC's performance, infuriating Apple Inc. to the point of explosion.

Of course, Apple Inc. was ruthless enough to forcibly limit the performance of TSMC's processors in the background, dragging them down to Samsung's terrible level. That way, the processors made by the two manufacturers looked the same.

Now that Gao Yuan's business had grown, he needed to bring in a second contract manufacturer. This was also what he feared most. If the products from the two factories varied in quality, it would be troublesome.

Gao Yuan stood and returned to the workshop, where he was greeted by thunderous applause.

The engineers present understood clearly. Gao Yuan had created the design, and Gao Yuan had also controlled the technical details. In short, Gao Yuan was flawless in theory. His only weakness was that his hands-on ability was a little lacking; he simply had never disassembled or assembled such machines before.

"Thank you all for your cooperation these past few days." Gao Yuan raised the can in his hand and called out loudly, "Everyone who participated in the technical modifications will receive an extra month's salary as a bonus! I'll pay for it!"

The workers were simple and honest. Hearing that they would receive a considerable bonus, they immediately beamed with joy and completely forgot the hardships of the past few days.

It was already the latter half of the night when Gao Yuan returned from the Chaoda Chemical Fiber factory. He rested in his office for a few hours, then got up at dawn and went to the cafeteria for breakfast.

To solve everyone's meal problem, Cao Feiyu had hired two Master Chefs and four aunties to help. They prepared breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. As for late-night snacks, the refrigerators held frozen wontons and dumplings, while the cupboards contained milk and instant noodles for anyone to take. In any case, no one would go hungry.

Today's breakfast was Western-style. Gao Yuan took fried eggs and toast, put them together into a simple sandwich, and drank coffee.

Looking around, most of the people eating breakfast at the factory were from the R&D department.

After more than a month of recruiting, the R&D department had grown to more than thirty people. Unfortunately, there were no real heavyweights among them, only researchers of average ability.

However, Gao Yuan was not too worried. As the company's reputation grew louder, the talent issue would be resolved sooner or later.

After breakfast, seeing that it was about time, Gao Yuan returned to his office and made his first call to Boss Xu of Xiyin Group.

When Boss Xu learned that X2 Fiber had entered mass production, he immediately said that he wanted to order two thousand tons. He wanted them now, and the sooner the better.

Gao Yuan smiled and said to Boss Xu, "It's rare for you to trust me this much. You haven't even seen the goods or asked the price, yet you're directly ordering such a large batch."

"But please understand, Boss Xu, things are different now. We're working hard to develop toward a more group-oriented and standardized operation, so we can't handle matters the way we used to, just by the two of us discussing it and getting it done."

"Three days from now, we'll hold an X2 Fiber ordering conference and invite interested manufacturers from all over the country. And you, Boss Xu, are the first person I'm inviting."

Gao Yuan spoke politely, but the meaning was clear. As Kunlun Company expanded and became increasingly formalized, it was time to bring in more partners.

After all, according to the system's requirements, Gao Yuan needed to sweep through the global chemical fiber market.

To achieve such a crazy goal, Gao Yuan did not need a few partners. He needed an army!

Tokyo, Shibuya Ward, Daikanyama.

This was a pedestrian shopping street visited only by local Japanese people. Both sides of the street were lined with fashionable trendsetting stores, affordable Japanese-style izakayas, and underground idol theaters brimming with restless hormones.

Ono Narimasa was the first to arrive at the agreed-upon izakaya. After finding a long table for four, he ordered beer and edamame, drinking as he waited.

Soon afterward, Inoue Mitsuhiko and Matsushima Yuichi arrived as well. The last to appear was Ota Shigeru, who brought a bottle of premium Korean soju, a gift he had specially brought back from a business trip to Seoul the previous week.

"To our friendship!"

The four old classmates raised their glasses and drank heartily. After emptying their beers in one go, they switched to the Korean soju Ota Shigeru had brought.

The izakaya owner did not like guests bringing their own alcohol, but seeing the crisp suits on the four men and the generous spread of dishes they had ordered, he turned a blind eye and pretended not to notice.

Ono Narimasa and the other three were considered outstanding among their peers. After graduating from the University of Tokyo's chemistry department, they had smoothly entered major Japanese conglomerates envied by many.

Ono Narimasa worked for Toray Group, Inoue Mitsuhiko worked for Mitsubishi Chemical, Matsushima Yuichi worked at the Asahi Kasei Research Institute, and Ota Shigeru held the highest position. Though not yet thirty, he was already a Section Chief at Mitsui Chemical Group.

"Let's celebrate DuPont Group's misfortune."

"Exactly! Who would have thought the Americans would have a day like this?"

The four friends raised their glasses, gleefully talking about DuPont's misery.

Recently, the most talked-about subject in the chemical fiber industry had been Kunlun X1 Fiber, which had appeared out of nowhere. Because of this new technology's sudden emergence, DuPont Group, which had originally dominated quick-drying fabrics, suffered a severe blow and catastrophic losses.

The market shares of Invista Group's THEMOLITE fabric, Ciba Group's CIBAULTRAPHIL fabric, and Gore Group's ACTIVENT fabric had also suffered brutal declines.

However, their strength was relatively weaker. Even combined, all their losses were nowhere near as severe as DuPont Company's.

"According to industry analysts' estimates, DuPont Company's market share may fall by more than fifty percent. This will be the worst defeat in DuPont's two-hundred-year history."

"DuPont should thank Kunlun Company. Their fiber products are only sold within China. Otherwise, those Americans would probably die with their eyes wide open."

The four men burst into laughter again.

DuPont Group had always been a powerful rival to Japan's chemical fiber industry, so everyone in Japan involved in the field was happy to see the Americans suffer.

Inoue Mitsuhiko sighed. "Still, that Kunlun Company is truly impressive. The technical department has studied their X1 Fiber for a long time, but the more we study it, the more we discover its astonishing potential."

Matsushima Yuichi nodded slightly. "That's right. X1 Fiber pioneered the Super honeycomb structure. It increased the fiber's pore size while preserving its toughness, something no one had ever achieved before. In my opinion, Mr. Gao Yuan, who invented this fiber, will definitely leave his name in history. He might even be nominated for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry."

Ono Narimasa smiled bitterly. "That depends on whether Mr. Gao Yuan writes his paper first. I'm beginning to suspect that Mr. Gao Yuan simply has no interest in a Nobel Prize nomination."

"Everyone in organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, and materials science around the world is waiting eagerly, but he has not made a single move. Don't you find that strange?"

"It's incredibly strange!" Inoue Mitsuhiko said. "I just don't understand why the Chinese Academy of Sciences hasn't urged Mr. Gao Yuan. Why are they simply letting him do as he pleases?"

Uh...

"It seems Mr. Gao Yuan is not from the Chinese Academy of Sciences," Ota Shigeru said.

"Indeed, he isn't. Mr. Gao Yuan is not only unaffiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, but also belongs to no Chinese research system at all. He is an independent researcher," Matsushima Yuichi said.

"It feels so unbelievable! An independent person who belongs to no research organization actually developed a super fiber that shocked the entire world?"

"If possible, I really want to crack open his head and see what is so special about it."

The four men chatted happily, and the topic quickly shifted from DuPont Group's setback to Kunlun Company and Gao Yuan himself.

Without question, X1 Fiber had already sparked a fierce trend throughout the global chemistry and materials science industries. Who had not heard Gao Yuan's name by now? There were already hundreds of research reports on X1 Fiber.

However much others studied it, they could never understand it as thoroughly as its inventor. After all, Gao Yuan had created the thing. No one in the world could possibly understand it better than he did.

So everyone was eagerly waiting for Gao Yuan's major paper.

Yet from August to September, with it already the middle of September, there had not been even the slightest news. Researchers around the world were nearly going mad with anxiety.

What exactly was going on?

Publish it so everyone can discuss it!

The drinking party continued. Before long, Ota Shigeru's phone suddenly rang. He stepped outside the izakaya to answer it, and when he returned, his expression was extremely grim.

Gulp~

Ota Shigeru drained the remaining soju in his glass, then called for four bottles of Asahi beer and ordered two more dishes to go with the drinks: Nanban fried chicken and charcoal-grilled pork neck.

"What's wrong? You look unhappy," Ono Narimasa asked in confusion.

Sigh~

Ota Shigeru let out a deep sigh and said in an annoyed voice, "It really is wrong to take pleasure in others' misfortune. I just received a call. I have to report to headquarters first thing tomorrow morning to study countermeasures."

"What countermeasures?" The other three were even more confused.

"According to reliable intelligence, Kunlun Company's X2 Fiber has begun shipping in large volumes. It's a new type of thermal fiber, and it is obviously aimed at us," Ota Shigeru explained. "After all, Japan holds eighty percent of the global market in thermal fibers."

"Let's drink while we still have the chance. What awaits us next is a severe challenge from China. Just look at DuPont's sorry state. That mysterious man named Gao Yuan is no simple opponent."

Hearing that, the table suddenly fell silent. The four men looked at one another, unable to say a word for a long time.

Only minutes earlier, they had been mocking the Americans for taking such a heavy loss.

They had not expected karma to arrive so quickly.

In mid-September, X2 Fiber emerged!

The sword pointed at Japan!

This afternoon, Chapter 23 was banned again. I had no choice but to delete several hundred words before asking the editor-in-chief to lift the ban.

Also, thank you to the brothers who specifically sent messages advising Xiao Jiu not to write about reality to avoid getting banned.

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