Getting Ready to Make Moves!

"Anyway, that's my judgment on the future and how we can respond to the risks. You're all seniors in the industry, so if I've said anything wrong, please bear with me."

After a pause, Gao Yuan continued, "Now, let's shift our focus back to the product itself. The first product you're looking at is X2 thermal fiber filament. Its appearance is no different from ordinary chemical fiber yarn. Its greatest difference lies in its Super honeycomb structure, along with its powerful heat retention and moisture-absorbing warmth."

"According to National Laboratory testing, calculated using standard clo values, X2 thermal fiber filament has a clo value of 2.65!"

Boom—

Upon hearing that number and seeing the fine bundle of chemical fiber yarn in Gao Yuan's hand, the shock in everyone's eyes was impossible to suppress.

"2.65? No way!"

"Isn't that ridiculously high? Even 3M's Thinsulate fabric can only reach a clo value of 1.1."

"X2 Fiber filament is incredible! Its warmth is completely comparable to top-grade cashmere and down!"

As voices rose one after another, everyone present felt a powerful sense of suffocation.

As people in the industry, they naturally understood what an outrageously high clo value of 2.65 meant.

For the first time in more than two hundred years since chemical fibers had been invented, their warmth had caught up with top-grade down!

A clo value of 2.65 required down with a fill power of at least 800, and such premium down sold for no less than 400,000 yuan per ton.

"All of it!"

"That's right, dump all the Toray Group shares I hold! Don't keep a single share!"

Amid the clamor, the president of a major company struggled to make a call, notifying his stockbroker to sell off every related stock he held.

"President Ye, do you really need to be that cautious?" a familiar boss beside him asked with a slight frown. "Toray is the king of Japanese materials. Its stock price has been stable for years."

The middle-aged man known as President Ye snorted. "Once this chemical fiber material, which costs only one-tenth as much as down yet performs at the level of premium down, hits the market, Toray, Asahi Kasei, and any other company producing thermal fibers will all have hard times ahead. DuPont Group was the best example not long ago!"

Whoosh—

Hearing the certainty in Boss Ye's voice, everyone came to their senses. X2 Fiber was not merely powerful in performance; its value for money was unmatched. Its impact on the market would likely be greater than anyone imagined.

Soon, several other bosses also picked up their phones and called their company finance departments or stockbrokers. To be safe, they would first dump the less reliable stocks.

At that moment, Gao Yuan gestured for everyone to quiet down, then took out a transparent glass sphere filled with drifting down.

In terms of form, X2 thermal fluff was still very different from natural down. Natural down had a fixed shape, while chemical fiber fluff could be freely adjusted during production.

The chemical fiber fluff before them was all round, like clusters of snowflakes, and looked exceptionally adorable.

"This is X2 Fiber fluff produced through a special process, a filling material that can replace down. Its clo value has reached 4.3." Gao Yuan did not build it up at all, merely stating it lightly.

Swish—

Unlike the excitement and uproar from before, when Gao Yuan announced the specific parameters of X2 Fiber fluff, the exhibition center fell into a strange silence. Everyone chose to shut their mouths at once, and the only thing they could hear was their increasingly heavy breathing.

"Number one in the world!"

"My God, this is currently the highest clo value in the world!"

"A clo value of 4.3? It's simply unimaginable!"

"Not just the thermal fiber sector—the down industry is about to be completely reshuffled too!"

"Awesome! Young Boss Gao is awesome!"

A moment later, people shouted madly, their voices carrying a hint of hysteria.

The venue had completely erupted. Everyone finally realized that yet another world record had been born.

It was truly unbelievable. Without anyone noticing, Kunlun Company already possessed two world-leading products. Their X1 Fiber had the strongest quick-drying performance in the world.

And X2 Fiber would become the unrivaled king of warmth!

Tokyo, Chuo Ward, Nihonbashi 1-chome, Nomura Securities Headquarters.

Sato Emon, Section Chief of Trading Section Three, had noticed something strange a few minutes earlier. Someone appeared to be dumping Asahi Kasei Group stock on a massive scale.

The enormous turnover had pulled up two towering red bars on the minute candlestick chart, signaling a rapid surge in trading volume. Meanwhile, Asahi Kasei's stock price had been smashed down 1.2 percentage points in just two minutes.

"Interesting."

Sato Emon muttered to himself, gently stroking his chin with his right hand. "Who could be behind this? An institutional investor suddenly pulling out? Or a major shareholder forcibly cashing out?"

Tap tap tap tap—

Sato Emon's fingers flew across the keyboard as he pulled up companies that had recently conducted related transactions with Asahi Kasei Group, as well as the entire chemical industry sector. His eyes fixed tightly on changes in their trading volume and share prices.

Normally, a giant conglomerate like Asahi Kasei maintained a stable stock price for long periods and rarely saw major fluctuations. Whenever a major fluctuation occurred, it often meant that risks or unexpected events had arisen.

"Section Chief! There's unusual activity in the Frankfurt Futures Market! Someone is heavily shorting BASF and Bayer!" a colleague responsible for the European market shouted from three rows away.

"BASF... Bayer... chemical groups again?"

Sato Emon froze slightly, feeling as though he had caught onto something. Asahi Kasei was one of Japan's largest chemical companies, while BASF and Bayer were Germany's twin chemical giants. Could it be...

"Section Chief! Someone is dumping Toray Group stock!"

This time, it was Harada Kyoko by the window reporting the news. She was the only female trader in Trading Section Three, and she was highly skilled. Unfortunately, in Japan's male-dominated financial world, she was not valued.

Toray Group?

The king of Japanese chemistry and materials?

Tap tap tap—

Sato Emon rapidly typed again. Sure enough, a huge sell order for 285,000 lots stood out sharply, directly smashing the stock price down by one percentage point. Some reckless retail investors and institutions were tentatively trying to buy the dip.

However, before the opposing orders could absorb that sale, another sell order of more than 100,000 lots suddenly appeared, pressing the stock down another three points.

Then, large orders worth tens of thousands of lots poured out in succession, relentlessly suppressing the price. When another two minutes had passed, Toray Group's decline had reached an astonishing 3 percent.

Sato Emon's experienced instincts screamed that something was wrong. This was a classic sign of institutional flight. Major investors had learned the news in advance and were frantically selling in the secondary market. If the situation did not improve, it would likely trigger even more panic-driven exits.

"Section Chief! Mitsui Chemical is falling rapidly!"

"Section Chief! Institutions are selling Sekisui Chemical and Shin-Etsu Chemical!"

"Section Chief! Asahi Kasei is falling again! Its decline is already nearing 4 percent!"

"Section Chief! Mitsubishi Chemical is crashing! The entire chemical sector is plunging rapidly!"

"This is insane! The chemical sector has gone completely insane! The Seoul Chemical Index is falling too! LG Chem currently has the biggest decline!"

"What do we do? Section Chief, what do we do!?"

Beads of sweat the size of soybeans gradually seeped from Sato Emon's forehead. In less than ten minutes, the global chemical sector had plunged into sudden turmoil.

Yet after having his subordinates investigate for a long time, Sato Emon could not find any negative news such as earthquakes, tsunamis, or major chemical plant explosions.

The only certainty was that the sell-off had begun in China, then spread to Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, and finally Europe and the Americas, which also followed in the decline.

Of course, Section Chief Sato eventually found the source of the upheaval. It had been triggered by a very small Chinese company introducing a new kind of thermal fiber to the market.

There was never a wall that could keep out the wind, especially when thousands of elites from the textile and apparel industries had been standing in the exhibition center that day. The moment they saw X2 Fiber's explosive specifications, they immediately understood. It was over. Traditional chemical fiber companies were probably finished.

This was no longer merely a matter of X2 Fiber crushing other fibers. Kunlun Company had not even spared duck down or goose down. It had swept up everything in one go!

Thus, the news spread wildly. In just a few minutes, it detonated the Tokyo stock market. Seoul and Singapore then joined the frenzy of selling, and fifteen minutes later, the sudden turmoil had swept across global financial markets!

According to statistics compiled after the market closed, on the day X2 Fiber was released, shares of listed chemical fiber companies around the world fell by an average of 6 percent, wiping out hundreds of billions of US Dollars in market value!

Imperial Capital, within the High-walled Compound.

"Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!"

Wu Dongming's voice rang out from the office as he slapped the desk hard, making the lid of the ceramic teacup hum.

"Sir, what is it...?"

Hearing the noise, the secretary cautiously knocked and opened the door.

Wu Dongming had already regained his composure. Pointing at a news report from a certain news agency, he said, "X2 Fiber was developed in such a short time. It may have come a little late, but it still caught the last train of the autumn and winter season."

"What's even more interesting is the financial market. Kunlun Company's X2 Fiber has not even entered mass production yet, but those companies have already fallen first. Asahi Kasei and Toray even dropped 10 percent overnight! Such good news is truly satisfying!"

The secretary quickly scanned the article and said with a smile, "It really is great news. Don't you often say that if our country had five companies whose R&D capabilities could rival Toray or Asahi Kasei, we could swagger across the world? I think that although Kunlun Company is small, it has great potential. It might even become China's own Toray."

"And their young boss is rather strange. Not only is he young, he doesn't seem like a businessman at all. He's more like a... well... idealist."

"Oh?"

Wu Dongming asked curiously, "Why do you say that? Have you met Kunlun Company's boss?"

The secretary shook his head. "He's in Jiangnan while I'm in the Imperial Capital, so naturally I haven't met him. But when he held the ordering conference yesterday, he gave a speech that someone uploaded to Bilibili, and I happened to see it."

"Really? Find that video. I want to watch it too."

The secretary hurriedly nodded and took out his phone to check his viewing history.

Wu Dongming lit a cigarette and took two deep drags, muttering to himself, "Kunlun is a fine name. Back then, a foreign traveler made a prediction after visiting the Western Regions. He said that as long as Kunlun Mountain stood, a railway would never reach Lhasa. And now... hmph!"

The secretary quickly found the video. It had been filmed on a phone by a customer, but the image quality and stabilization were exceptionally good, and the audio quality was decent as well. It should have been a domestic phone.

As for what Gao Yuan had said onstage, they were actually all very simple principles, yet they moved Wu Dongming deeply.

He let out a long sigh, returned the phone to the secretary, and fell into deep thought. The secretary did not dare disturb him and stood quietly to one side.

After a while, Wu Dongming smiled and said, "As expected, the depth of one's thinking has nothing to do with age. It only depends on whether one has the habit of thinking deeply. I'd guess that young friend Gao Yuan may not be a man of few words, but he certainly enjoys independent thought and possesses curiosity beyond that of ordinary people."

The secretary was slightly taken aback. "Old Wu, you really think highly of Gao Yuan. But then again, Gao Yuan bringing everyone together to guard against risks is indeed a good idea. After all, there are too many giants in the chemical fiber industry, and the competition is exceptionally brutal."

The secretary never expected that after he said this, Wu Dongming would look at him as though to say, You really are still young.

Wu Dongming curled his lips and said to his secretary, "Do you think that little Gao Yuan went to such great lengths and put out such an enticing bait merely to guard against risks?"

"Gao Yuan said in his speech that people must never be too naïve. In my view, you're naïve enough."

"Look at the way that boy observes others, the tone he uses when speaking, and the effort he puts into winning people over. He would rather give up part of his own profits just to create a new steel-like alliance. This matter is definitely not that simple!"

Hearing this, the secretary jolted. Thinking of the enormous benefits Gao Yuan planned to offer his partners, a chill ran down his back.

The patents belonged to Gao Yuan, and X Fiber was his exclusive monopoly. If he wanted to soar to great heights through it, it would be absurdly easy.

For Gao Yuan, there were countless ways to make money. With his unique supply source and technology, even without cooperation, he could still easily control downstream businesses.

But what had Gao Yuan truly chosen?

An alliance as solid as steel!

Deep binding like that of an army!

Shared glory and shared ruin!

Why?

It was too strange. Why exactly!?

Old Master Wu Dongming stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, folded his arms, and turned his deep gaze toward the tall red-brick wall outside the window.

"If I'm not mistaken, that little Gao Yuan isn't simply doing business. He's getting ready to make moves!"

Things progressed smoothly. Twenty-four hours after the ordering conference, Cao Feiyu handed Gao Yuan a list of Kunlun Company's potential partners, including quite a few powerful major enterprises.

Gao Yuan examined the list. It was very long, and deciding which companies to work with was truly difficult.

Yet no matter how difficult the decision was, it had to be made. Whenever Gao Yuan closed his eyes and summoned the system interface, the terrifying mission requirement to bloodbath the global chemical fiber market constantly reminded him that this was not a simple business deal. It was also a war.

His fingers lightly tapped the table. After thinking for a long time, Gao Yuan finally decided to solve the production capacity problem first.

After all, if production capacity could not keep up, then no matter how many partners they had, they would not be able to supply enough goods.

Here's the update schedule: I'll try to post two chapters a day, but if I can't manage that, I'll post a combined two-chapter update of around four thousand words in the evening. Like today's chapter, which is four thousand words.

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