"Hello there, Humanity." — Global News
"The Era of Robots Has Arrived?" — Phoenix Technology
"Marching Ant's Robot Housekeeper: Enchantress!" — People's Daily
"Shock! A Real Robot?" — Squirrel Headlines
…
Within hours, headlines like these were flooding every major media outlet. After the Enchantress robot's public debut at the Internet Conference, the online world exploded.
Most people had seen robots before—either in flashy videos or as clunky cleaning bots and voice assistants. But this… this was different. The Enchantress wasn't just a robot. She was alive in the way she moved, responded, and engaged.
It felt like science fiction had suddenly slammed into reality.
The robot's smooth interaction, fluid movements, and seemingly intuitive responses were enough to spark awe—and concern. Beneath the viral videos, netizens flooded the comment sections.
"So… Terminator's not far off?"
"AI is here. Marching Ant is terrifying. Chen Mo is terrifying. Is the government watching this?"
"When will we see war robots?"
"Gates said, 'I can't understand why some people aren't concerned about AI.' Now I do."
But not everyone was in panic mode. In certain tech and social forums, the reactions… took a different tone.
1st Floor: Sofa! Serious question: If they made a lifelike version, would she call your name in bed?
2nd Floor: Replying upstairs—yes, and she won't ever say she has a headache. You say jump, she asks how high.
3rd Floor: RIP vocal cords.
4th Floor: No girlfriend? No problem. Let's wait till the government distributes them in care packages.
The buzz was uncontainable.
The release of the Enchantress robot—experimental or not—signaled a turning point. The smart assistant had already made waves, but this? This was a leap. Within the first hour of exposure, every news feed, forum thread, and tech blog was plastered with gifs, photos, and videos of the robot.
And in terms of black tech, Marching Ant had just claimed the crown. No VR headset, no electric supercar, no flashy drone could match the public reaction to a humanoid robot that shook hands, poured water, and made heart gestures on command.
Inside the Conference Hall, back at the main venue…
Chen Mo sat quietly near the front row, Yu Chengnan beside him. They were in the "Voice of the Industry" segment—after the keynote panels, now came the informal chats.
Yu Chengnan leaned closer, passing Chen Mo his phone. "Chen, look at this. Your company just stole the show."
Chen Mo glanced at the screen and immediately recognized the featured robot—it was Enchantress. The very first prototype he'd built himself. The ones displayed at the conference had some minor upgrades, but even the base model had now gone viral.
"That fast?" he blinked, surprised.
He hadn't expected such an overwhelming reaction. There were plenty of other high-tech exhibits—he figured the robot would be seen as neat, not headline-worthy.
"It's the information age," Yu said with a wry smile. "News spreads like wildfire. I didn't think Marching Ant had advanced this far already."
"We're still in the testing phase," Chen Mo replied. "This model only has a battery life of three hours. There's a long way to go before it hits the market."
Yu smiled knowingly. "Yeah? Well, that's already way ahead of where most companies are. For a lot of us, just getting a robot to walk across a room without tripping is an achievement."
As they chatted, a hostess in a traditional cheongsam approached.
"Mr. Chen, you're up next for your keynote speech," she said warmly.
Chen Mo stood up, nodded to Yu Chengnan. "We'll talk later."
On stage, the famous host Du Fu was addressing the crowd.
"I'm sure many of you have already heard the name Marching Ant Company," she began. "Their rise has been nothing short of legendary."
Du Fu paused dramatically, letting her words settle.
"In the field of artificial intelligence—a topic central to this year's conference—Marching Ant is a pioneer. Please welcome the founder of Marching Ant Company… Mr. Chen Mo!"
The audience stirred, voices hushed, heads turning as Chen Mo walked onto the stage.
Just minutes earlier, many attendees had opened their phones to see the viral reports. A humanoid robot that could talk, move, and respond? Most thought that kind of tech was still ten years away. Now it was here—and Chen Mo was the man behind it.
In the tech world, there was a saying:
"He who masters AI, masters the world."
The Chinese government wasn't sitting on the sidelines either. Policy directives had already declared that by 2030, China intended to seize the global commanding heights of artificial intelligence. These weren't empty promises—funding, infrastructure, and national projects were already in motion.
Artificial intelligence wasn't just a field anymore—it was the battlefield.
And today, Marching Ant Company had just planted a massive flag.
The crowd in the conference hall fell into silence as Chen Mo stepped to the podium.
Everyone's eyes were on him.
Despite his youth, Chen Mo had already developed the Mobile Ant OS, the Xiaodie intelligent assistant, and even a second-generation Chinese programming language.
Age didn't matter. Influence did—and he had plenty.
Chen Mo paused at the podium, briefly scanning the speech outline in front of him. His first time on a national stage like this. A small twinge of nerves fluttered in his chest, but he took a deep breath and looked out over the audience.
Time to speak.