Chen Mo glanced at the two men beside him. Honestly, how was he supposed to explain this? Could he just say that advanced AI had already emerged? Obviously not.
Instead, he gave a more grounded reply.
"There's bound to be another large-scale virus outbreak in the future," he said. "The average user has almost no real protection—low-end devices like personal computers and smartphones lack security infrastructure. Exploit cycles are getting shorter and more aggressive. So for the everyday user, the internet just isn't a safe place right now. Not really."
Zhou Hongwei raised a brow. "From what you're saying… the next wave of cyberattacks will be different?"
"I'm not making any predictions," Chen Mo replied lightly. "Who can say anything about the future with certainty? Maybe ask President Yu—he's far more experienced than a rookie like me."
Yu Chengnan chuckled. "Experience, sure—we've got that. But if we added all our technical skills together and multiplied by two, we'd still be behind you."
As they talked, the opening ceremony of the forum officially began, drawing their attention back to the stage.
After speeches from the Minister of Industry and Information Technology, the organizers, and several honored guests, the forum moved into its next segment: the Peak Dialogue.
It was a one-on-one conversation between Zhang Wei, Director of the Network Economy Research Center, and Wu Hequan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Chairman of the Internet Society.
At first, Chen Mo tried to listen attentively. But soon, the conversation veered into typical buzzwords and macro perspectives—stuff he'd heard a thousand times before. Bored, he quietly took out his phone and started playing around.
Sitting through long meetings was its own kind of torture. Now he understood the pain that ordinary office workers dealt with every week.
Meanwhile, in the exhibition area of the Internet Conference, tech blogger Jia Jin was making his rounds.
Camera slung around his neck, he wandered between booths packed with futuristic tech, his face lit up with genuine excitement. From VR/AR hybrid reality displays by Hollens, to the NIO EP9, the world's fastest electric car—every booth looked like something straight out of science fiction.
And yet, most of these technologies, though impressive, weren't ready for the masses. They were still trapped behind high costs and immature hardware. You could feel the future... but not quite touch it.
After hopping out of a racing sim cockpit, Jia Jin checked the event map and spotted a company he'd been keeping tabs on—Marching Ant Company.
They were the rising stars of the tech world, already considered a legend in the making. He was eager to see what they were showcasing today.
The moment he entered their booth, Jia Jin's eyes widened.
Standing beside a neatly arranged display of tech was Lu Hongyi, and next to him… a robot. A humanoid female robot.
She was sleek and elegant, her white frame accented by subtle blue lines. Her features were smooth, almost serene, and she gave off a strangely pure presence. At a glance, you could mistake her for a futuristic fashion model.
"Holy sh*t…" Jia Jin muttered under his breath, raising his camera instinctively.
This was next-level.
Lu Hongyi noticed him and smiled. "Welcome. I see the robot's caught your eye?"
"What… what exactly is she?" Jia Jin asked, eyes still glued to the humanoid machine.
"She's part of our 'Enchantress Series' robot housekeeper," Lu said proudly. "She can perform regular household tasks—cleaning, serving drinks, chatting, watching kids. Normal conversation comes naturally. More advanced features are in development."
Jia Jin's hands were already clicking away at the camera, capturing every angle.
"The robot era… is actually here?" he asked, half in disbelief.
"Xiao Ji," Lu turned to the robot, "can you move?"
The robot's eyes lit up. She turned toward Jia Jin and extended a hand.
"Hello. I'm Enchantress-001, a robot from Marching Ant Company's Enchantress Series. You may call me Enchantress."
Jia Jin flinched slightly at the lifelike motion but quickly reached out to shake her hand. The texture was firm, but not cold. The grip—delicate but controlled. It felt… human enough to unsettle him a little.
More cameras clicked around them. Several other reporters, noticing the commotion, had gathered and were now capturing the moment.
The robot calmly released Jia Jin's hand and struck a "V for victory" pose for the cameras.
A ripple of laughter and amazement swept through the onlookers.
The movement was so fluid, so natural—like a real person mimicking robotic behavior, rather than the other way around. The uncanny valley didn't feel uncanny at all.
"Xiao Ji, can you change poses?" Jia Jin asked, testing her limits.
"Yes," she replied. In a blink, her fingers folded into a heart shape.
The crowd gasped.
The robot was responding in real-time, to spontaneous questions, with contextual gestures. This wasn't a pre-programmed puppet—this was interactive intelligence.
"Xiao Ji," Lu said again, "shake hands with the other guests."
"Understood."
Standing upright, Enchantress moved to greet each of the other reporters.
"Hello. I'm Enchantress-001…"
She repeated the greeting with the same polished tone and movements—each handshake firm and responsive, no awkward delays or stiffness.
One journalist whispered, "If I didn't know this was a robot, I'd think it was a girl in cosplay."
Jia Jin, still stunned, muttered, "What else can she do? Can you give us a demonstration?"
Lu nodded. "Xiao Ji, pour this gentleman a glass of water."
Without hesitation, Enchantress picked up a nearby bottle, unscrewed the cap, poured the water carefully into a paper cup, and handed it to Jia Jin.
"Your water, sir."
The entire group stared, speechless.
No jerky movements. No delays. Everything was smooth, composed, intuitive.
How advanced is this thing? That question was written all over their faces.
More reporters flocked to the booth, attracted by the buzz. Cameras rolled, flashes lit up, and phones began livestreaming.
The Enchantress robot had just become the star of the entire exhibition area.
Was the robot era… already here?
The media didn't have an answer, but one thing was certain—Marching Ant Company had just dropped a bombshell on the industry.