The female reporter's question struck directly at the heart of the issue.
If Marching Ant removed the smart assistant from other phones and kept it exclusive to Butterfly Eye, they would essentially be claiming the throne of the high-end mobile market.
After all, a fully voice-controlled phone was one of a kind.
Lately, users had grown fond of the smart assistant—chatting with Xiaodie when bored, laughing at her cold jokes, or being surprised by her witty banter. For just 20 yuan a month, the tech felt like a steal—almost absurdly cheap for such a sophisticated experience.
Despite some past smear campaigns, Marching Ant had built up solid goodwill in the market.
If they locked the intelligent assistant to their own phones, it would likely invite backlash.
Now, every reporter in the room was staring at Zhao Min. Her response would set the tone for Marching Ant's strategic direction moving forward.
Zhao Min acknowledged the question calmly. "You've asked three very good and sharp questions," she said, accepting the mic. "Let's start with the smart assistant. We don't plan to remove it from other devices—at least not for now. However, we won't be rolling out updates to non-Marching Ant phones at this time."
Her original plan had been to restrict the assistant to their own devices upon release, but its popularity had made that impossible. Pulling it now would create a PR nightmare and paint Marching Ant as monopolistic.
Moreover, allowing it to remain on other phones helped them collect valuable voice interaction data—and brought in considerable subscription income. There was no real downside to keeping it available.
"As for the battery technology," Zhao Min continued, "we're open to licensing. We're in business, after all, and we're here to make money. When the first Butterfly Eye launched, I said it then and I'll say it again—we're not afraid of competition. Competition is what keeps markets vibrant. Our goal is to be a world-class enterprise, and world-class companies set industry standards."
Her words caused a stir in the audience.
Currently, Marching Ant's two strongest competitive advantages were their intelligent assistant and their cutting-edge battery tech. Now she was saying they'd share one of those advantages?
Shock spread through the crowd.
"This is what real strength looks like… Marching Ant is destined to rise."
"Respect. That's a real power move."
"Finally—a tech company that isn't allergic to competition. Not like those brands that make billions selling phone cases."
The chat on the livestream erupted. So did the murmurs in the venue. Everyone was talking about Zhao Min's bold stance.
She had won them over again.
There had never been a tech company so fearless about sharing core technology. It made them seem confident—untouchable even.
Backstage, Xiao Yu looked at Chen Mo in surprise. "Do you really want to authorize it?" she whispered.
"Why not?" Chen Mo said with a shrug. "Remember the smear campaign? That was our lesson. We need relationships and allies. When trouble comes, you don't want to be the only one standing alone."
Big publicly traded companies had powerful networks and deep resources. But Marching Ant was a sole proprietorship—they had to build those connections themselves.
By partnering with others, they created alliances. When you're tied to other companies' profits, no one wants to see you fall.
"This was my decision," Chen Mo added. "The market is too big to try and eat it all ourselves. We're capped at producing one million batteries a month. That's barely enough for our own devices."
"If we license the tech out, those factories can pump out ten million a month. We just collect a 15–20% tech licensing fee. No labor, no material costs—and more profit than if we manufactured it ourselves."
Xiao Yu nodded, watching him closely.
"This is just the beginning," Chen Mo said. "There's going to be a lot more collaboration in the future. This is the era of mutual benefit. One company's strength is limited. And to me, these technologies… they're not even the important ones."
To him, the real game was far ahead.
Half an hour later, Zhao Min finished answering the reporters' questions, and the press conference officially ended. But online, the chaos was just beginning.
People quickly unearthed the older news about Marching Ant's carbon crystal discovery. It was only now they realized just how far the technology had already come. Previously, Marching Ant had downplayed it—almost deliberately.
But here it was, already powering their newest device.
From discovery to commercial rollout in record time—it shocked the entire materials science community. Experts were suddenly taking serious interest in carbon crystal tech. Even if its utility was initially limited, its low cost and fast production cycle made it a likely candidate to replace conventional battery materials.
Meanwhile, the Butterfly Eye phone itself became the talk of the net.
Under the company's official Weibo, the comment section exploded again:
"Shocked. My wife's been begging me like a kitten for this phone..."
"Shocked. My wife says the baby in her belly wants a Butterfly Eye, or he won't be born."
"Shocked. My daughter suddenly found a rich boyfriend!"
Countless jokes and playful comments flooded the post. This time, there were hardly any smears. Most were full of praise. People appreciated how open the company was—especially the willingness to share tech.
The official website and Black Cat Mall both opened pre-orders that same day.
Within three hours, sales surpassed 300,000 units.
The number stunned the media.
Some analysts even went so far as to predict Marching Ant might dethrone Apple as the world's most beloved mobile brand.
In both design and performance, the Butterfly Eye echoed the same innovation spirit that once defined Apple during Steve Jobs' golden era.
Foreign media quickly picked up the story. The takes, however, varied wildly:
"A mobile phone from the future" — European Times
"The next Chinese Apple?" — San Francisco Daily
"A terrifying Chinese knockoff — Marching Ant" — BBC
"Marching Ant should be developing intelligent source code" — CNN
Despite the mixed reactions, one thing was clear: Marching Ant had once again shocked the world.
Conference videos quickly spread across international social platforms. In just one hour, they racked up hundreds of thousands of views. The comments were a mix of awe and shade:
"I can't believe this was made by the Chinese. This must be a ripoff."
"When this drops, I'm flying to China to get one. It's divine."
"Sure, it looks nice—but it'll probably break in a day. That's Chinese quality for you."
"Shut up. I'm Western too, but I'm not brainwashed. China's better than you think."
Even those initially skeptical were won over by the product's sheer performance. And at a price point comparable to Apple, the Butterfly Eye packed way more power.
Back at Marching Ant headquarters, things were equally hectic.
Following Zhao Min's announcement of open battery licensing, battery manufacturers swarmed the company the very next day. Everyone wanted in. No one wanted to be the one who missed out if Marching Ant suddenly changed their mind.
The company was in overdrive—manufacturing phones, approving licenses, ramping up production. But the mood was light. Everyone was smiling.
A busy company meant fat year-end bonuses—and Chairman Chen Mo was famously generous.
Meanwhile, Chen Mo wasn't just lounging around.
The laser sensor prototypes were complete. All tests had confirmed the advertised accuracy and performance. The next step was to leave the lab and begin field deployment.
Just as he was deep in thought about applications, Xiao Yu stepped into his office.
"Chen Mo, the heads of the four major mobile phone companies are coming by tomorrow," she said. "Zhao Jie wants to know—will you be meeting with them?"
Chen Mo paused, then nodded. "Yeah. I'll be there."