Online public opinion was still fermenting. That night, many articles began circulating, criticizing the Marching Ant company. Claims of "hunger marketing" were slapped onto the company, followed by attacks on the waterproof interface—saying it wasn't truly waterproof.
Still, most articles focused on the Butterfly Eye phone. Compared to the latest Mi phone, its specs were slightly lower and the price a bit higher. But the Marching Ant OS's performance? That was the real headline.
If what was claimed about the OS was true, the Butterfly Eye could outperform Mi's latest device, making it the most cost-effective smartphone on the market. Add to that its waterproofing and sleek design—it was arguably the most beautiful phone of the year.
—
As people eagerly waited, the Marching Ants' online store officially opened at 10 a.m. the next morning.
Zhao Min stood behind the technicians, staring intently at a screen. "How much traffic do we have right now?"
"Over 10,000 visits—and climbing."
"What about the Black Cat Mall flagship store?"
"Over 130,000. Also still increasing."
"Sync both channels. Make sure only one purchase per account," she instructed sharply.
She didn't want scalpers to ruin everything. They were already being accused of hunger marketing. If scalpers got involved, the backlash could drown them.
"Got it."
"Keep an eye on everything. If the official website crashes, fix it immediately."
Snap!
No sooner had Zhao Min finished speaking than one of the staff members' screens flashed an error message. The official site had crashed.
The technician paled. "General Zhao, we've just suffered a traffic attack. The server's down."
"How long to fix it?"
"It's complicated. Someone's targeting us. Even if we restore it, we might get hit again."
"Don't waste time—fix it as fast as you can," Zhao said, frowning. "Put out an announcement: our official site is under malicious attack and is undergoing urgent repairs. Website sales are canceled for now. Phones will go live 15 minutes later—only on Black Cat Mall."
"Understood."
Following yesterday's press conference, the official Marching Ant Weibo had gained over 800,000 followers—most of them active. As soon as the notice went out, the comments section exploded.
"Someone's jealous."
"If you're not envied, you're doing something wrong."
"Getting targeted before the product even drops? This is wild."
"A sunny start, then boom—cyberstorm…"
"See? Now you have to do hunger marketing."
In just 10 minutes, the story was on every major news app.
After all, the Butterfly Eye was being hailed as the most beautiful phone of the year. And now, just as it launched, it was getting cyberattacked? The situation felt anything but normal.
The 15 minutes passed quickly. All traffic had shifted from the official site to Black Cat Mall.
"Put it on the shelf," Zhao Min said calmly.
The room tensed. All eyes went to the monitors.
"We've got hackers attacking our internal systems," said the head of network security.
Everyone froze.
Zhao Min's expression darkened. They hadn't even started selling yet, and already two cyberattacks?
"Any damage?" she asked.
"Nope. I came prepared," said Wang Sijia confidently.
"The phone's live," a staff member called out.
Immediately, the 30,000-unit inventory started vanishing at a terrifying speed. Orders were flooding in.
Everyone watching the backend felt their eyes twitch. The speed was overwhelming.
The buzz from yesterday's press conference had turned into a nationwide craze. Every group chat and friend circle had turned Butterfly Eye photos into stickers and memes.
Overnight, the Butterfly Eye became a nationwide sensation.
Even though the team had braced for high demand, the scale still caught them off guard.
—
Li Guo glanced at the clock and suddenly remembered: The Butterfly Eye goes on sale today! He snatched up his phone.
With only 30,000 units available, he had to act fast or risk missing the first batch.
He rushed to the Marching Ants flagship store on Black Cat Mall, praying it wasn't too late.
"Come on, come on…"
He picked the most expensive model and went straight to checkout.
"Item no longer exists."
What?
Li Guo froze. He jumped back to the product page.
Sold out.
"You've got to be kidding me! It's only been a few minutes!"
He felt like crying. His wife had her heart set on the Butterfly Eye. There were other solid color options—also beautiful—but she'd specifically asked for the most premium one.
Fine, he thought. I'll get a different one. If she doesn't like it, I'll just return it.
But as he tried to buy the other models…
All sold out.
This scene repeated across the country. Those who secured a phone were ecstatic. Those who didn't were crushed.
Five minutes.
Thirty thousand phones.
Gone.
That's 300 units per second.
Not even Singles' Day sales were this wild. The unlucky ones mourned their fate.
Everyone watched the inventory counter tick down in real time. When it hit zero, the room collectively exhaled.
It felt like a rollercoaster.
"Start shipping. Release the order confirmation news," Zhao Min instructed. "Julie, tell the factory to ramp up production. Source more components. Watch quality like a hawk—I don't want any major defects. Use the full stock of preordered batteries."
Then she returned to her office.
Selling 30,000 phones in five minutes was a big deal. But Zhao Min knew this was just the beginning. The real challenge was ensuring product quality.
As news of the rapid sellout spread, new headlines emerged:
"Butterfly Eye sells out in 5 minutes!"
"30,000 units gone. Many missed out."
The estimated revenue was jaw-dropping.
For a brand-new phone, this sales velocity was staggering.
The smartphone market was already saturated. Big players fought over every inch. For any new brand to break in, something extraordinary had to happen.
Even major tech giants like Lianxiang and Gerry had tried and failed.
Now, Marching Ants had burst onto the scene with Butterfly Eye—and the entire industry was watching.
But with such a small release volume, the hunger marketing accusations only grew louder.
Zhao Min set her paperwork down and gazed out the window.
They'd just opened reservations, and already had 200,000 bookings.
For a newcomer in the mobile phone market, this was phenomenal.
As she thought about the company's next steps, her desk phone rang.
A strange number lit up the display.