The moment the Butterfly Eye appeared on the screen, the air in the conference hall shifted.
Exclamations erupted. Conversations overlapped. Reporters who'd been slouched in their chairs now leaned forward, eyes locked on the screen like moths drawn to a flame.
The phone was gorgeous.
Sleek, delicate curves. Soft lines that flowed like calligraphy. It was a harmony of strength and elegance—subtle, yet striking. Even the most jaded tech journalists had to admit: they hadn't seen anything quite like this before.
There were six color variations, each more captivating than the last. Some featured bold solid tones, others boasted intricate patterned designs—like butterfly wings frozen mid-flutter. Swirling lines in sapphire, obsidian, rose, and ice danced along the body of the phone.
That's when it clicked.
Butterfly Eye.
The name suddenly made sense.
These weren't just phones—they were statements.
Where other companies played it safe with monotone shells and cookie-cutter designs, the Marching Ant Company had thrown tradition out the window. And somehow, it worked. The patterns didn't feel flashy—they felt intentional. Artful. Almost…alive.
The photographers in the crowd scrambled. Shutters clicked in a frenzy. A few reporters bolted to the front for better angles.
They hadn't even touched the phone yet, and already it was a headline.
Zhao Min remained calm on stage, a quiet fire behind her eyes.
"The Butterfly Eye," she said, "has four core selling points: our proprietary operating system—the Marching Ant System, waterproof durability, long battery life, and crystal-clear image quality."
Click. The projector slid to a new slide listing technical specs.
"First: the system. Designed entirely in-house with a unique architecture, it's more secure than any mainstream mobile OS. It consumes significantly less power. It doesn't freeze, it doesn't lag, and it's fully compatible with most existing Android apps."
Click.
"We tested it using multiple mainstream smartphones. In one instance, after flashing our system onto a certain brand of phone, the performance score jumped from 240,000 to over 300,000. Battery life increased by almost three hours."
The room fell into a stunned hush.
Then: the furious clatter of keyboards and the rapid tapping of phone screens. News was breaking in real time.
In the last row, Xia Xue, an independent media blogger, was already ahead of the curve.
She'd come on a friend's recommendation, not expecting much. Just another launch event with lukewarm tech and stale coffee. But now? Her instincts screamed viral.
She opened Weibo.
#中国手机系统发布会现场#
An awakened marching ant!
Then, with a flick, she launched a live stream.
At first, only a few dozen people trickled in. But the numbers began to climb. Fast.
"Hello everyone!" Xia Xue whispered into her mic. "I'm at the launch event for a new company called the Marching Ant Company. They're unveiling their first mobile system—and a phone so beautiful I think I just fell in love."
The audience in her stream lit up.
"Sofa!"
"Front row here for the tech... and the beauty 🧐"
"Wait, a domestic smartphone system??"
Within sixty seconds, her viewer count hit 3,000. Then 10,000.
She flipped the camera to face Zhao Min on stage.
"That's their president," she whispered, "Zhao Min. Super confident, super smart... and apparently single. You're welcome, netizens."
The chat exploded.
"Long-legged queen alert!"
"System's real, phone is hot, and the CEO is a goddess?? I'm sold."
"Bro, get her number. For science."
"Who needs Apple when we have Ant Queen Zhao?"
By the four-minute mark, Xia Xue's stream had crossed 50,000 viewers—and it was still rising.
An avalanche had begun.
Back on stage, Zhao Min continued with the precision of a seasoned performer.
"And now, a feature unique to the Butterfly Eye: its wired waterproof interface."
She clicked again. The screen displayed a detailed exploded diagram of the waterproof port design.
A collective gasp swept the room.
The structure was clean, efficient—ingenious. It was unlike any solution used by major manufacturers.
"No need for rubber seals or awkward port covers," Zhao Min explained. "Our structure maintains a perfect seal while allowing full functionality. Our engineers call it the liquid-shell circuit cradle. You can submerge the phone. You can wash it. You can even make a call in the rain."
Xia Xue's stream detonated.
"WHO designed this?! Give them a Nobel prize!!"
"This is how I imagined 2025 would look!"
"That waterproof tech alone is worth switching phones."
"I don't care what it costs, I'm getting one."
"I just told my crush I loved her on a livestream with this phone in hand. Butterfly Eye forever."
"Imagine flexing this on a date… she'd say yes before dessert."
The tech blogs were already updating headlines. Photos of the Butterfly Eye and its interface were flying across Weibo, Bilibili, and tech forums like wildfire.
Zhao Min stood at the center of it all—calm, composed, victorious.
She didn't need to say it aloud, but the message was clear.
Marching Ant wasn't just entering the mobile market.
It was announcing a revolution.