Shanghai in the Republican Era

Chapter 142 The Brilliant Legend of the Textile Queen's Counterattack: A Dawn in the Dark Night

The Brilliant Legend of the Textile Queen's Counterattack: Dawn in the Dark Night

Life and death escape

In the darkness, Gu Zixuan and I held each other tightly, barely daring to breathe. The footsteps of the men in black outside and their hushed conversations pounded against my heart like heavy hammer blows. I could feel Gu Zixuan's heart pounding rapidly as well; his hand remained firmly in mine, conveying strength and comfort.

"Fangfei, don't be afraid, I'm here." Gu Zixuan whispered in my ear, his voice soft but filled with unwavering determination.

I nodded slightly, trying to calm myself down. But all sorts of terrifying scenarios kept flashing through my mind. I wondered who was directing these men in black, and what cruel things they might do to us.

Time passed second by second, each second feeling incredibly long. The noise outside seemed to gradually fade away, and Gu Zixuan cautiously peeked out, peering out of the warehouse.

"It seems they've left," Gu Zixuan said softly. "Let's stay here for a while and go out when we're sure it's safe."

After a while, and making sure there was no noise outside, we slowly walked out of the warehouse. A sense of oppression permeated the streets of Shanghai at night; the streetlights were dim and seemed ready to go out at any moment.

"Where are we going now?" I looked at Gu Zixuan. His hair was a little messy and his clothes were covered in dust, but his eyes were still firm.

After thinking for a moment, Gu Zixuan said, "Let's go to Li Wan'er's house. It should be relatively safer there."

We proceeded with extreme caution, not daring to be careless in the slightest. Finally, we arrived at Li Wan'er's house and knocked on the door. Li Wan'er was both surprised and delighted to see us and quickly pulled us inside.

"Why do you all look like this? What happened?" Li Wan'er asked anxiously.

Gu Zixuan and I told her in detail what had happened tonight. After listening, Li Wan'er's face turned extremely ugly: "This is too much! Who on earth is so ruthless as to want to kill you all?"

Gu Zixuan shook his head: "It's not clear yet, but it's definitely related to the series of troubles we've encountered recently. It seems we need to speed up our investigation into the mastermind behind it all."

After resting briefly at Li Wan'er's house, we began discussing our next steps. Gu Zixuan believed that we couldn't continue to be on the defensive; we had to take the initiative, find the person behind it all, and only then could we truly solve the problem.

“I plan to investigate that competitor who was in contact with the textile factory workers tomorrow, to see if I can find any clues from him,” Gu Zixuan said.

I was a little worried: "It's too dangerous. What if they're on guard?"

Gu Zixuan held my hand: "Don't worry, I'll be careful. We have no other choice but to take the risk."

The next day, Gu Zixuan disguised himself and went out to investigate his competitor. Li Wan'er and I stayed home, anxiously awaiting news. Every minute that passed, my heart tightened, worried that Gu Zixuan might be in danger.

Finally, in the evening, Gu Zixuan returned. His expression was very solemn, and he slumped into a chair as soon as he entered the door.

"So, what did you find?" I asked eagerly.

Gu Zixuan took a deep breath: "Just as we thought, that competitor is indeed backed by Japanese forces. Moreover, I also found out that they have a bigger conspiracy to swallow up the entire textile industry in Shanghai and squeeze out our national enterprises."

A chill ran through me: "What should we do? If their plot succeeds, Shanghai's textile industry will be finished."

Gu Zixuan stood up, his eyes resolute: "We can't let them succeed. I want to unite with other textile companies to fight them together. There's strength in numbers, and as long as we unite, we'll definitely have a chance of winning."

Without hesitation, Gu Zixuan began traveling around, contacting the owners of other textile companies. However, things didn't go as smoothly as we had imagined.

“Mr. Gu, it’s not that we don’t want to help you, but we also have our own difficulties. In the current situation, anyone who offends the Japanese forces will suffer the consequences,” a textile factory owner said helplessly.

“Yes, Mr. Gu, you’d better think of another way. We really can’t do anything about it,” another boss chimed in.

Most textile factory owners were afraid of retaliation from Japanese forces and dared not easily cooperate with us. This brought our plans to a standstill.

"Are we just going to give up like this?" I looked at Gu Zixuan, my heart filled with resentment.

Gu Zixuan shook his head: "No, we can't give up. There will always be a way. I don't believe that everyone is so cowardly and afraid of trouble."

Just when we were feeling hopeless, a turning point came. A textile factory owner named Mr. Chen contacted us and expressed his willingness to cooperate with us.

"I've always disapproved of those who collude with Japanese forces. If our national enterprises don't unite, they'll be swallowed up sooner or later. I'm willing to stand with you against them," Mr. Chen said firmly.

With Mr. Chen's support, our confidence increased greatly. Subsequently, several other textile factory owners with a sense of justice joined our ranks.

“We have some strength now, but it’s far from enough. We need to come up with a comprehensive plan to thwart their plot in one fell swoop,” Gu Zixuan said.

We began discussing countermeasures day and night, analyzing their weaknesses. After some research, we discovered that although they had the backing of Japanese forces, they faced significant problems with raw material supplies. They were overly reliant on imports, and any disruption to raw material supplies would severely impact their production.

“We can work on the raw material supply,” I said. “We can unite and control the raw material market, leaving them with nothing to cook.”

Gu Zixuan nodded: "That's a good idea. But we need to be discreet and not let them find out about our plan beforehand."

To implement this plan, we began our covert operation. Gu Zixuan, Boss Chen, and others were responsible for contacting raw material suppliers in various regions to secure their support. I, on the other hand, stayed at the textile factory to stabilize production and prepare for any possible contingencies.

Thanks to our efforts, more and more raw material suppliers have expressed their willingness to support us and refuse to supply raw materials to textile mills that are colluding with Japanese forces.

However, just when we thought everything was going smoothly, another unexpected event occurred. Our actions were discovered, and they began a frenzied retaliation against us.

A group of men dressed in black broke into Mr. Chen's textile factory, vandalizing, looting, and burning it, leaving the factory unrecognizable. Mr. Chen was also injured and hospitalized.

"This is outrageous! How could they do this!" I was furious when I heard the news.

Gu Zixuan was also furious: "They're desperate. We can't let them intimidate us; we must keep going."

To protect the safety of other textile factories, we have strengthened our preventative measures. At the same time, we have accelerated the implementation of our plan, hoping to deliver a fatal blow to the enemy as soon as possible.

On a dark and stormy night, as planned, we cut off all of their raw material supply channels. Without raw materials, their textile factories had to shut down.

“They are already in trouble, and we can’t give them a chance to breathe,” Gu Zixuan said. “We must unite and launch a full-scale attack on them in the market.”

We intensified our product promotion efforts, improved product quality, and lowered prices, quickly seizing market share. Those textile factories that colluded with Japanese forces gradually fell into dire straits under our combined attack.

However, they were not about to admit defeat easily. They even colluded with some thugs to spread rumors on the streets of Shanghai, saying that our products had quality problems and that we were traitors colluding with Japanese forces.

"These rumors are outrageous, we must find a way to clarify them," I said angrily.

Gu Zixuan nodded: "I have already contacted some media friends and am preparing to hold a press conference to expose their true colors."

On the day of the press conference, the venue was packed with reporters and people from all walks of life. Gu Zixuan and I walked onto the stage, facing the many questioning gazes from below, but we felt no fear whatsoever.

"Friends, we are holding this press conference today to clarify some rumors," Gu Zixuan said loudly. "We have always been committed to developing national enterprises and resisting the economic aggression of Japanese forces. Those rumors that we are colluding with Japanese forces are completely unfounded."

I continued, “We have evidence that those who were truly colluding with Japanese forces were the ones who attempted to annex Shanghai’s textile industry. They used any means necessary to achieve their goals, even at the cost of harming their own compatriots.”

We presented the evidence we had collected one by one, and the reporters in the audience took photos and recorded it. As the truth was gradually revealed, the discussions in the audience grew louder and louder.

"So that's how it is! These people are awful!"

"We should support national enterprises and boycott those companies that collude with Japanese forces!"

Seeing everyone's reactions filled Gu Zixuan and me with relief. We knew our efforts had not been in vain, and that justice would ultimately prevail over evil.

However, just as the press conference was about to end, several assassins suddenly rushed onto the stage. They were armed with weapons and pounced on Gu Zixuan and me.

"Watch out!" Gu Zixuan shouted, pulling me tightly behind him.

Chaos erupted at the scene. Reporters scrambled to get out of the way, and security guards rushed to fight the assassin. In the chaos, I saw Gu Zixuan's arm slashed by the assassin, bleeding profusely.

"Zixuan!" I was extremely anxious and wanted to rush over to check on his injuries.

"Don't come any closer, Fangfei!" Gu Zixuan shouted loudly, enduring the pain.

After a fierce struggle, the security guards finally subdued the assassin.

The Brilliant Legend of the Textile Queen's Counterattack: A Mystery

Blood Romance

Blood stained Gu Zixuan's sleeve, and my heart felt as if it were being torn apart. In that moment, I seemed to hear the sound of my own heart breaking. My hands trembled as I wanted to touch him, yet I was afraid of hurting him.

"Fangfei, I'm fine." Gu Zixuan forced a reassuring smile at me, despite the pain. But the pain hidden behind that smile only made my heart ache more.

The security guards quickly took the assassins away, and the scene gradually returned to calm. But my heart remained unsettled. The assassins' appearance was clearly premeditated. Who sent them? And what was their purpose?

"We need to get out of here quickly," Gu Zixuan said, his voice weak but still firm.

I nodded and helped him off the stage. Li Wan'er had been waiting outside for a long time, and when she saw that we were injured, she turned pale with fright.

"How could this happen? Are you all alright?" Li Wan'er asked anxiously.

"We're fine," I forced a smile. "We just suffered some minor injuries."

With Li Wan'er's help, we took Gu Zixuan to the hospital. After examining him, the doctor said his wound wasn't deep, and he just needed to rest for a while. I finally breathed a sigh of relief; a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

However, this sudden incident has plunged us into a more complex situation. The appearance of those assassins was clearly orchestrated by someone. And this person is very likely the mastermind we've been investigating.

"Fangfei, I think we need to speed up the investigation," Gu Zixuan said, lying on the hospital bed, his face pale. "We can't keep going on like this."

I nodded: "I know, but where should we start?"