Chen Mo trusted Zhao Min completely. His philosophy was simple: if you trust someone, don't doubt them—if you doubt them, don't use them. That's why, after appointing her to oversee the company, he rarely asked about day-to-day operations, aside from the occasional glance at financial reports.
Still, trust in Zhao Min didn't mean he could turn a blind eye to everything. The people under her weren't immune to temptation. And when it came to the company's finances—its lifeblood—Chen Mo wasn't willing to take risks. Money moves, and so do people. If any rot was left to fester, it could eat away at the company's foundation.
Back when he first developed Ink Girl, he'd already planned for her to monitor the company's financial systems. But at the time, he hadn't officially entered the company, so the plan was shelved.
Now that he was here, it was time to implement that oversight.
"Monitoring active," Ink Girl's voice chimed. "Bank accounts secure. Financial system under supervision. Data aggregation complete. No anomalies detected."
Chen Mo nodded and turned his attention to the screens in front of him.
"Start organizing the data for carbon-based lithium-ion battery research."
Carbon crystal was an emerging battery material, one with real promise before full graphene battery tech matured. If he could crack carbon crystal batteries, the benefits to electronic devices—and by extension, the company—would be massive.
His lab renovation had finished recently. Once the data was sorted, he could dive straight into experiments.
Four days passed quickly.
Today was the Marching Ant Company's highly anticipated product launch. The announcement had gone out on the company's official Weibo three days prior, and ever since, the internet had been buzzing.
Last time, Marching Ants dropped the Marching Ant OS and the Butterfly Eye phone in quick succession. Both shook the industry and dominated headlines. Now, months later, they were back—shrouded in mystery, refusing to reveal what was coming.
The Butterfly Eye had been named the most beautiful smartphone of the year. Despite supply limitations, over two million units had been sold. For a new player in the market, that number was staggering. Demand still far outstripped supply—Butterfly Eye was still sold out everywhere.
With that track record, expectations for this new release were sky-high. Was it a new phone? A new OS? Something even more groundbreaking?
No one knew, and that only made the suspense worse.
Every major media outlet that received an invitation was already in Binhai. None dared miss it. Reporters had been trying to get early interviews with Zhao Min, but she turned them all down without exception.
Right now, she was on her way to Chen Mo's office.
The launch was at 2 PM. There was still an hour and a half left, and—as expected—Chen Mo was buried in his lab, completely absorbed in his experiments.
The lab had been completed three days ago. Since then, Chen Mo practically lived in it. Zhao Min finally understood why he'd been so absent before—classic tech guy. At the entire company, only Xiao Yu could reliably summon the elusive chairman.
After facial recognition verified her, Zhao Min entered the lab zone.
Inside, Chen Mo was staring intently at a canister. On the lab table were numerous samples of dark material—some sheets partially formed, lined with symmetrical patterns, others shimmering faintly but still impure.
They were failed attempts at synthesizing carbon crystals.
This was experiment number eighteen. The previous seventeen had failed due to unstable conditions.
"Ink Girl, what's the current pressure?" Chen Mo asked.
"1013 kPa—ten standard atmospheres."
"Temperature?"
"1,347 Kelvin. Just reached lithium's boiling point."
Chen Mo jotted the values down in his notebook. These figures were crucial. Even the smallest discrepancy could ruin an entire run.
"Still not there," he muttered. "Increase temperature by 1K and pressure by 50kPa. Alert me when that's reached."
"Understood."
Soon, another graphite-based failure. Still, this result was better than the last. The crystal fragments were slightly larger and more uniform. He was close—he could feel it. It was only a matter of refining the parameters.
The technical book on carbon-based lithium batteries only described synthesis conditions in general terms. No specific figures. And with something this delicate, even a single variable off could cause a complete failure. Patience was key.
"Ink Girl, compile all test data and generate a summary table."
"On it."
A few seconds later, the lab's printer spat out a multi-column data sheet. Chen Mo studied it in silence.
"Brother Mo, Zhao Min just entered the lab area," Ink Girl said.
"Oh, got it."
He carefully set aside the crystal samples, took off his gloves and coat, washed his hands, and left the lab. Just outside, Zhao Min was coming down the corridor.
"How do you always know when I'm coming?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Every time she stepped into the lab zone, Chen Mo appeared like clockwork.
"Facial recognition. I get notified," Chen Mo replied casually. "What's up?"
"How's the experiment going?"
"Still failing," he admitted, "but getting close. Once I lock in the parameters, I'll send you a list of required equipment. We'll need a dedicated facility to mass produce it."
"Understood. Anyway, the smart assistant conference is today at two. You've got about an hour and a half. I came to fetch you."
"Right, perfect timing. I'll go with you."
As Chen Mo changed his coat, he used the quiet moment to mull over what was still going wrong with the synthesis.
"You're not going on stage, are you?" Zhao Min asked as they walked.
"Why would I?" Chen Mo smirked. "We didn't hire any big celebrity endorsers. You're our in-house superstar CEO and online sensation. Hosting the conference yourself saved us millions in marketing."
Zhao Min gave him a side-eye. "You realize that's exploitation, right? Pure capitalistic exploitation."
"This coming from someone making more money than most CEOs in the country," Chen Mo shot back with a grin.
True enough. Chen Mo had given Zhao Min a 5% company dividend for her efforts. In just six months, that had already earned her tens of millions—and it was only going up from here.
"Fine. Then as your underpaid, overworked president, I demand dinner."
"Name the place."
"I want skewers from the food stall near my university. Still the best in town."
Zhao Min stared at him for a second, then laughed. "You're hopeless."
The two, accompanied by staff, soon arrived at the event venue—the Grand Theatre.
This was the second official product launch of Marching Ant Company, and the scale was leagues beyond their first modest event in a hotel. Over 500 media outlets were present, including the biggest names in tech journalism. Representatives from major domestic smartphone manufacturers were also in attendance. Even some hardcore fans of the Butterfly Eye phone had traveled to Binhai just to catch a glimpse.
In total, nearly 2,000 people had filled the venue.
Online, rumors were flying. Forums were flooded with speculation about what Marching Ants would unveil today. The company itself remained silent, its employees tight-lipped. Whether out of ignorance or ironclad NDAs, not a single leak slipped through.
As the team arrived at the Grand Theatre, Chen Mo and Zhao Min exited their car and made their way backstage, ready to unveil a new chapter in the company's story.