Christmas Collapse!

Tokyo, Shibuya Ward.

It was still that same izakaya, still those four University of Tokyo chemistry graduates, but the mood over drinks had completely changed. They all looked troubled, sighing again and again.

"Damn, the New Year holiday is ruined. I heard this year's bonuses are getting canceled too," Inoue Mitsuhiko muttered.

"Who would have thought that in just three months, that tiny Chinese company would overturn the entire industry?"

"Actually, we have it pretty good. I heard Toyobo has it the worst. Their losses are so severe that they seem to be planning massive layoffs."

"No way. Toyobo has EKS and N38, the two premier thermal fiber technologies!"

"That's exactly because Toyobo invested so heavily in thermal fibers. Kunlun Company suddenly emerged this year, and thermal fibers are also its main focus, so they collided head-on."

The four of them sighed in unison, then raised their glasses and drank gloomily, observing a moment of silence for the unfortunate Toyobo. Toyobo, which specialized in thermal fibers, had run into Kunlun Company, which excelled at the same thing. Perhaps that was fate.

Kunlun Company's rise had dealt an unprecedented blow to Japan's chemical fiber industry. The annual reports of every major conglomerate were worse than the last. As industry insiders, they had already seen their overtime skyrocket, and now even their year-end bonuses would probably go down the drain.

Fortunately, the companies they worked for were all diversified conglomerates. They not only produced apparel chemical fibers, but also dealt in other chemical materials, so they did not have to worry about losing their jobs.

But those groups specializing solely in the field were in trouble. Toyobo, Kanebo, Fujibo, and Saijo Textiles, Japan's four major chemical fiber apparel fabric groups, had all sunk into a mire of operational difficulties.

Ota Shigeru, the oldest among them, glanced around at the izakaya's patrons and said anxiously, "There's no need to doubt it. We've already lost this war over thermal fibers. In just three months, Kunlun Company's products have swept across the entire Northern Hemisphere."

"Take a look yourselves. Nearly half the people in this izakaya are using Kunlun Company's products."

The other three followed Ota Shigeru's gaze. Sure enough, quite a few people in the izakaya were wearing Kunlun Company's products. That was easy to spot, because although they were all cold-weather clothes, X Fiber garments were especially lightweight, slim, and stylish.

"Under normal circumstances, no one likes wearing something so bulky. So it was only natural for Kunlun Company to win, wasn't it?"

"I have to say, being able to wear a dress during the coldest season is irresistibly tempting for women. No matter how expensive it is, girls will buy it, right?"

"It's only been three months. In just three months, Kunlun Company has put its products on half the people walking Tokyo's streets. That's practically a miracle!"

"I heard Kunlun Company's owner, Mr. Gao Yuan, is only twenty-one. Inventing X Fiber at such a young age and running a company with such potential—that's the real miracle."

They kept talking. All of them had chemistry backgrounds, so they had plenty in common.

Only Ota Shigeru remained silent, drinking his wine with a miserable expression.

At last, Ota Shigeru could no longer hold it in and asked Ono Narimasa, "Toray Group has the strongest materials research capabilities in Japan. Have you cracked Kunlun Company's technology?"

Ono Narimasa froze slightly. Even between good friends, prying into company secrets like that was rather inappropriate.

As for cracking Kunlun Company's Super honeycomb structure technology, there was nothing shameful about it. Nearly every chemical conglomerate in the world, along with every laboratory skilled in chemistry and materials science, was making similar attempts.

After careful consideration, Ono Narimasa shook his head. "We have absolutely no lead. I don't know why, but even when we use the exact same formula, we still can't produce fiber filaments with the Super honeycomb structure. Why do you ask, Ota?"

Everyone turned to look at Ota Shigeru. As a Section Chief, he was the only one among the four with a chance to come into contact with the company's upper management, and he knew many inside details.

Ota Shigeru let out a deep sigh. His drunken eyes were slightly unfocused as he said in a bleak voice, "If we still can't crack Kunlun Company's technology, I'm afraid we won't have another chance."

Everyone was shocked and asked together, "Why do you say that?"

Ota Shigeru said gravely, "I heard that Kunlun Company and its partners are going to launch a full-scale offensive at Christmas, then clear the field by Chinese New Year."

An all-out Christmas offensive!?

Clear the field by Chinese New Year!?

This... was far too arrogant, wasn't it!?

Christmas, New Year's, Chinese New Year, and the Lantern Festival—so many major holidays would arrive within just two months.

It was not particularly surprising that Kunlun Company and its partners chose this period to launch their offensive.

What no one expected was that their offensive would be so insane.

On December 15, ten days before Christmas, the global offensive began.

X series products had never been expensive to begin with. They cost only as much as cotton-padded clothing, yet outperformed top-grade down jackets. Now, they had actually been discounted, with all kinds of exquisite little gifts, free membership prize draws, and other promotions.

"Thermal underwear for seventy-nine yuan? That's so cheap!"

"A short fleece-lined cotton jacket that can withstand minus thirty degrees Celsius—two sets for five hundred and ninety-nine yuan? Holy crap, it's buy one, get one free! Down jackets with the same performance would cost at least two thousand yuan. The value is insane!"

"Super quick-drying underwear for only nineteen yuan!?"

"Super cold-resistant gloves for twenty-nine yuan!?"

"A hat-and-scarf set for just fifty-nine yuan!?"

"What are you standing around for? Once this deal is gone, it's gone! Hurry up and grab them! Anything you get is a bargain!"

In the autumn of 2014, Japanese media coined the term Baku gai to mock the Chinese tourists who had flooded in during that year's National Day holiday.

Those Chinese tourists seemed like unsophisticated country bumpkins who bought anything they saw. Even toilet seats in Akihabara had been sold out, and several fights had broken out over the shopping frenzy.

Time passed, and several years later, at Christmas, Kunlun Company returned the term Baku gai intact!

From Okinawa in the south to Sapporo in the north, the scenes of Japanese citizens frantically buying X Fiber were no less intense than those Chinese tourists had been back then.

And this shopping frenzy was not limited to Japan. It was happening all over the world!

Even tropical regions where people did not know what snow was could not escape it, because Kunlun Company had not only X2 Fiber, but also X1 Fiber that kept the wearer dry and comfortable.

In short, from the consumers' perspective, this was a shopping festival. All they had to do was buy, buy, buy.

But professionals in the chemical fiber field understood perfectly well that this was actually Kunlun Company's all-out offensive against the world's chemical fiber giants!

To prepare for Christmas and New Year's, every major chemical fiber group had stockpiled huge quantities of products in advance.

Gao Yuan's goal was simple: whatever you produced, I'll swallow it all right back up!

Don't think you can sell just by cutting prices. Today, I'll show you what it means to lose money and still have no buyers!

Capital was powerful in this world, but it was by no means the ultimate force.

Otherwise, with China's financial strength today, it could simply buy semiconductor technology. Why would it have to put up with this crap?

But reality was brutally harsh. Cutting-edge technology and vital national assets were things no amount of money could buy.

Back then, Japanese companies had used their top-tier chemical fiber products to conquer territory in China.

Now, Kunlun Company and its partners had struck back, armed with an unbeatable technological advantage!

If Japanese companies had been retreating all the way from September to December,

then from December to January, it was a total and utter collapse!

According to Japan Sangyo News statistics, chemical fiber sales during the Christmas and New Year period plummeted by 90 percent compared to previous years, while inventory piled up like mountains in the warehouses of major companies.

After the New Year holiday, on January 7, the first domino tile came crashing down.

Toyobo, the textile and chemical fiber giant, announced bankruptcy restructuring due to insolvency.

On January 8, major creditors including Mitsubishi Bank, Postal Bank, Mitsui Investments, and Sumitomo Insurance formed a joint delegation that took full control of Toyobo Group. They also invited Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited to seal and audit Toyobo Group's accounts.

When the news broke, the entire world was stunned.

Sigh, by the time I finished writing this chapter, it was already one in the morning.

Please recommend, bookmark, and tip!