That afternoon, the official announcement of the second-generation Butterfly Eye phone went live on Marching Ant Company's website and microblog.
The news spread like wildfire.
The first-generation Butterfly Eye had been a game-changer—its stunning design alone had blown away the competition. Sleek, elegant, and innovative, it had outshined every phone on the market. Since launch, it had consistently sold out, with nearly ten million units shipped, raking in a fortune for Marching Ant.
With its mid-range price and high-end specs—plus the introduction of the intelligent assistant—the company had already established a solid reputation in China. Naturally, anticipation was sky-high for the next iteration. Speculation about the phone's specs and appearance flooded forums and social media.
And just like that, the day of the Marching Ant press conference arrived.
Backstage, Xiao Yu fidgeted nervously.
This was her first time leading an official product launch. Over the past week, she'd overseen everything—from venue rental to staffing to logistics. It had been nonstop.
If Chen Mo hadn't been around to keep her company at night, she probably wouldn't have gotten any sleep at all.
Now, the moment had come. She was responsible for this whole thing, and she was determined to pull it off without a hitch.
"What's wrong?" Chen Mo teased as he came up behind her. "Why do you look more nervous than Zhao Min, and she's the one going on stage?"
"Of course I'm nervous. I'm the one running this show!" Xiao Yu whispered, clutching her notes.
"Tensing up won't help. The conference has already started—just sit and enjoy it." Chen Mo guided her gently to a seat as the lights dimmed.
A cinematic video rolled across the screen, instantly drawing the crowd in with its energy and sleek visuals.
When Zhao Min walked onto the stage, all eyes turned toward her. The Marching Ant Company was now valued at over 10 billion, and Zhao Min had become a rising star in the domestic tech scene.
With just two press conferences under its belt, Marching Ant had already secured its place among the top domestic unicorns—and carved out a formidable spot in the cutthroat mobile phone market.
"Hello everyone." Zhao Min greeted the crowd as the large screen behind her lit up. "Today's event is all about these—the new Butterfly Eye and Butterfly models."
No small talk, no theatrics—straight to business.
As she spoke, the second-generation Butterfly Eye phone appeared on the screen.
Gasps filled the room.
The design echoed the elegance of the original, but with new refinements. The two shared a design language, but this model felt bolder, more defined. Sleek lines, a glowing butterfly-eye motif—people immediately raised their phones to take pictures. It didn't even look like a phone—it looked like artwork.
The dual cameras were seamlessly embedded into the pupil of the butterfly-eye design. It was elegant and deliberate—no awkward bulges or mismatched elements. The integration gave off a commanding aura, a fusion of form and function.
"Equipped with the fourth-generation Leica camera system," Zhao Min continued. "20-megapixel dual cameras, front and rear. Snapdragon 865 chipset. The new Marching Ant operating system. Intelligent Ant Assistant. And unmatched battery life."
She smiled. "Let's talk about the two biggest features—AI and endurance."
"This time, we've integrated our AI technology directly into the OS. There's no need to download a separate assistant. Once you activate the smart mode and register your voiceprint, you can control the entire phone by voice—no lag, no delay."
"It currently supports 50 major languages and has robust conversational ability. If you've used our previous assistant, you know how powerful it is. And yes—you can still name it whatever you want."
She let the crowd digest that before dropping the next bombshell.
"And now, battery life. The Butterfly Eye 2 uses our new proprietary carbon crystal battery technology—developed entirely in-house."
The screen flashed with the key specs.
9500mAh capacity. Full charge in 30 minutes. 48 hours of continuous usage. Standby time: more than 15 days.
The crowd went still for a moment—then erupted into stunned murmurs.
Reporters who had previously covered Marching Ant's new material breakthroughs remembered those vague early announcements about carbon crystal batteries. Back then, the company had said the tech was still in development.
Now, here it was—fully commercialized.
And in a smartphone.
It was a lot to take in. New material battery. Next-gen AI integration. A dazzling new design.
Many had expected a mild upgrade—maybe a new AI feature. No one expected a full leap forward.
The carbon crystal battery especially stole the show. Rumors had circulated for months, but everyone thought it would take years to mature. And yet, here it was—rolled out faster than even the hyped graphene batteries.
Finally, a phone that wouldn't die just when you needed it most.
"How much is this thing? I'm ready to sell a kidney!"
"Apple is finished. This thing makes their latest model look like a toy."
"All the phone brands just fainted, I swear."
"Marching Ant is the industry conscience—actual tech, not just flash!"
The livestream chat exploded with comments. The crowd was fired up.
Zhao Min, unfazed, delivered the final blow with a confident grin.
"The price," she said. "64GB standard edition: ¥6,600. Extreme Edition: ¥11,888."
Another wave of gasps. The crowd buzzed with excitement.
"This is insane."
"Take my money!"
"They're gunning for the premium market now—and totally deserve it."
"The high-end phone war just got real."
Online, reactions were just as fierce. The phone's beautiful design and futuristic features made Apple's upcoming S model look boring. And after the smart assistant issue last year (which wasn't compatible with Apple), many consumers were already leaning away.
Now the choice was obvious.
As the product reveal wrapped up, the event shifted into the Q&A portion.
"You must have a lot of questions," Zhao Min said with a relaxed smile. She pointed toward the front row. "Let's start with the lady in glasses."
The chosen reporter stood up and took the microphone.
"Thank you. I'm from Southern Newspaper. I have three questions. First, will the smart assistant be removed from Butterfly Eye and Butterfly models after your company goes public? Second, will you license your carbon crystal battery tech to other phone makers? And finally, will carbon crystal batteries expand into other industries?"
Every eye turned to Zhao Min, waiting for her answers.