Li Tiejun slouched at his seat, chin nearly hitting the table, as soft electronic music hummed in the background of the dimly lit press hall. The giant holographic display onstage cycled through an abstract tech animation—but even that couldn't keep him awake.
If not for professional pride, he might've dozed off then and there.
The last two days had been hell. Editing drafts, covering boring product announcements, juggling conflicting deadlines—now he was here at yet another launch event. The only difference was this one might actually break his soul.
Marching Ant Technology Co., Ltd.
He'd looked them up before arriving. A small startup, barely a few months old, headquartered in Binhai. No major announcements, no recognizable public faces, no real footprint in the market.
So why had his editor at a top-tier news agency insisted he attend this press conference?
Someone must owe someone a favor, he thought bitterly.
Around him, other journalists didn't seem particularly thrilled either. A few were chatting idly, some tapping away at their phones, and one or two ambitious interns were quietly outlining speculative articles just in case something useful came up.
Still, Li Tiejun's expectations couldn't be lower.
As far as he was concerned, this was just another puff-piece event—small company trying to look big, showing off some unimpressive gadget while pretending it was revolutionary. He'd attended dozens like it.
And then forgotten them all.
Backstage, Zhao Min adjusted the collar of her sleek black blazer, her expression calm but focused.
"Final headcount?" she asked, addressing the conference planner beside her.
"107 confirmed," said Li Lingfeng, her recently recruited planning lead. "People's Daily, Global News, Phoenix, Sina, several top tech media groups, and a handful of self-media influencers. I called in a few favors."
Zhao Min raised an eyebrow. "Not bad."
Li Lingfeng smiled faintly. "Can't do miracles, but I know who to nudge."
She nodded and stepped toward the edge of the stage, projection remote in one hand, mic in the other. Her heels clicked quietly as she crossed into the light.
The moment she stepped onstage, the idle chatter in the room died.
Zhao Min radiated presence—not forced, not theatrical. Just enough to command attention. Even the phone-scrolling journalists glanced up. Chen Mo, seated in the back corner, leaned slightly forward in his chair.
"This should be fun," he murmured to himself.
Zhao Min gave the crowd a small, professional smile.
"Good afternoon, friends, media representatives. I'm Zhao Min, president of Marching Ant Company. Welcome to our first product launch."
Her tone was light, slightly playful. "We're doing things a little differently today. No host, no long-winded fluff, and unfortunately, no CEO onstage. Our mysterious chairman prefers to stay behind the scenes—watching from the shadows like some kind of tech ninja. Actually, he's sitting in that corner."
Some chuckles rolled through the crowd. Even Chen Mo smirked and rubbed his nose. You're enjoying this too much, he thought.
"The point is," Zhao Min continued, "you're here for a reason. You want to know if today's products are worth your time, worth your attention. I promise you—they are."
She pressed the projector remote. The screen behind her changed.
A sleek image of a smartphone rotated in 3D. Streamlined, stunning, and unlike any commercial phone currently on the market.
There were murmurs. Raised eyebrows. Some camera shutters clicked.
A few reporters started whispering to each other. A phone launch? That's it? Small companies tried this all the time and usually failed quietly.
Zhao Min saw the doubt and smiled.
"This isn't just a phone," she said. "This—" she gestured at the screen "—is running our own operating system. A brand-new, independent smartphone OS we call: Marching Ant System."
That shut them up.
Gasps. Pens paused mid-air. Even Li Tiejun, who had nearly dozed off, sat up straight, stunned.
A domestic smartphone OS? For real?
The implications struck fast and hard. Most Chinese smartphones still depended heavily on Android or had limited alternatives like Ali's YunOS, which hadn't gained much traction outside automotive tech. And Apple's infamous 30% tax scandal had only reminded everyone how dangerous dependence on foreign ecosystems could be.
If this Marching Ant System was the real deal…
Li Tiejun's fingers flew across his keyboard. Breaking: A new domestic OS enters the smartphone war. Marching Ant may be China's boldest tech gamble yet.
He'd fact-check later—right now, speed was everything.
Zhao Min waited for the buzz to settle before continuing.
"The Marching Ant System was developed in-house, from the ground up. It's built on a unique architecture—independent from Android and iOS. Our priorities were stability, speed, security, and seamless integration."
The screen behind her began showing benchmark charts, UI demonstrations, and side-by-side fluency tests against current-gen Android phones.
"But we're not done," Zhao Min said, pausing to let it sink in. "Today's launch features not one—but two products."
A ripple of energy ran through the room.
She clicked again.
The screen now displayed a second product—a beautifully rendered image of the phone introduced earlier. Only this time, the branding was clear:
Marching Ant · Butterfly Eye
Sleek curves. A luminous black casing. Minimalist logo placement. The charging port and headphone jack—both using a water-sealed design—were completely reimagined.
There was an audible whoa from the audience.
"This is our debut hardware. The Butterfly Eye is our vision of what a smartphone should look like—artful, intuitive, durable, and seamless with our OS. All internal specs are optimized for the Marching Ant System."
One reporter finally raised a hand. "What makes your system different enough to compete with Android? Isn't that a massive risk?"
Zhao Min welcomed the question. "It is a risk. But it's one we've prepared for. You'll receive test units after the conference—run your own benchmarks. Compare performance. Then ask if the risk isn't actually on the companies still clinging to outdated platforms."
There was silence. Then—applause.
Real applause.
Back in his seat, Chen Mo watched with quiet satisfaction. Zhao Min had handled it perfectly—confident, charismatic, and just bold enough to leave people curious.
He pulled out his phone, texting her one word:
"Nice."
She read it mid-applause and grinned to herself.
The world was beginning to stir. And the marching ant had just taken its first real step.