At the signing ceremony for Marching Ant Company's strategic cooperation, the venue was packed with people. Reporters flooded in from all directions, every one of them armed with cameras, recorders, laptops—whatever they could use to capture the event.
Apple's recent autumn conference and the news of Siri's upgrade were still dominating headlines. Now, Marching Ant Company had scheduled an event of its own at this exact moment. What were they up to?
The media could smell the gunpowder in the air. Tensions were building, and this was going to be big. Naturally, they showed up in droves.
As time ticked by, whispers spread among the press. Speculations flew over the purpose of the ceremony.
There had been rumors that Marching Ant would begin licensing its multilingual intelligent assistant. But who was getting the license? Some said China Micro, others said Glory, or maybe Mi, OPAL...
Everyone had a theory, but no one had confirmation.
Suddenly, the crowd quieted. All eyes turned to the stage.
Time seemed to freeze.
When the attendees saw who was stepping into view, disbelief spread across their faces, followed by a wave of shock.
Photographers surged forward like sharks smelling blood in the water. Shutters clicked furiously as every camera zeroed in on the group standing on stage.
They weren't seeing things. It was real.
Zhao Min.
Yu Chengnan of China Micro.
Lei Wei of Mi.
Chen Mingyong of Vivo.
Fan Wei of OPAL.
And Zhao Changming, President of Glory.
It was the first time the heads of these major mobile phone companies had ever appeared together in public on the same stage.
Just moments ago, the press had been arguing over which company Marching Ant might have licensed the assistant to. The answer was now clear:
All of them.
The venue erupted. Reporters whispered, cursed in shock, shouted for cameramen to get better angles.
This was huge—earthshaking news.
Just getting these five CEOs on the same stage was unprecedented. But a coordinated partnership? That made it front-page material worldwide.
Joe Liang, a senior tech journalist in the crowd, licked his lips. His fingers were already typing away, forming the headline in his mind.
Apple had just pulled off a major win with Siri's upgrade. But now this?
This wasn't just competition. It was a declaration of war.
Marching Ant had long stayed out of the international mobile market. But the five companies on stage were already major overseas players. Was this Marching Ant's plan? Leverage their assistant through local partners and block Apple from the inside?
Huawei. Glory. Mi. Vivo. OPAL.
Together, these five giants controlled more than half of the domestic smartphone market.
This wasn't a partial deal—it was a full-scale alliance.
Joe typed quickly:
"Six Titans Besiege Apple?"
No—wrong.
The Marching Ant Company alone was already powerful enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with Apple. They didn't need a siege.
"The Huashan Sword Conference of Smartphones?"
He smiled to himself, pleased with the metaphor, and kept writing as Zhao Min stepped up to the podium.
She wore a calm, confident smile as she read from her speech notes.
The five companies had requested this public signing ceremony for a reason: momentum.
They wanted to capitalize on Marching Ant's influence, using this alliance as a marketing bombshell. The media attention would benefit all their upcoming products, and in turn, it would reinforce Marching Ant's dominant position in AI assistant software.
Zhao Min didn't object to the idea. On the contrary, she welcomed it. Reporters were invited, the stage was set—everything meticulously planned.
Her speech was concise. She briefly acknowledged past achievements, outlined the present opportunity, and shared a vision for the future. Five minutes later, the signing process officially began.
Signatures were made. Contracts exchanged. No hiccups.
And when the six company representatives joined hands for a symbolic handshake, the hall was drowned in camera flashes—brighter than the lights on the stage.
The signing ceremony was over.
But the story had just begun.
The sight of the five largest phone manufacturers on stage with Marching Ant stunned the world. Half the industry's powerhouses had just aligned themselves with Chen Mo's empire.
It was unprecedented.
And with the official announcement that they had received authorization for the intelligent assistant, the internet lit up like a fireworks show.
"Big moves incoming! I'm grabbing my popcorn and watching this unfold!"
"Marching Ant just dropped a bomb. Granting licenses to multiple companies gives them even more power. If these companies scale up, they might even pressure Marching Ant's own phone sales."
"Zhao Min once said competition is the soul of progress. Without competition, the market stagnates and dies. This is survival of the fittest—simple truth. Innovation needs fuel, and that fuel is rivalry."
More than just netizens chimed in. Industry experts and economists joined the fray. Articles flooded in analyzing the bold move, debating whether it helped or hurt Marching Ant in the long term.
Whatever side people took, one thing was clear: the mobile market was boiling over.
Just as the buzz reached its peak, Huawei made its own move—announcing that it would unveil its next-generation flagship phone in just ten days.
Talk about timing.
It was a perfect firestarter. The buzz, the hype, the interest—it all caught like dry wood soaked in gasoline.
Then Mi followed up: new phone launch in two weeks.
Vivo and OPAL quickly jumped in.
Each announcement pushed the hype meter higher.
Apple Headquarters.
In the president's office, Cook stared at his screen, face grim.
Siri's upgrade had just given them a chance to breathe. The plan was to ride the hype wave to boost S3 sales, maybe even land some major new contracts.
Instead, this happened.
The Marching Ant Company had slammed them with a coordinated tech alliance.
Apple had always dismissed Marching Ant as a regional competitor. Its mobile phones weren't even on the international radar. But this move? Authorizing a revolutionary assistant to five overseas-capable manufacturers?
That was a punch to the gut.
Worse, Apple had no way to stop it.
Chinese smartphone quality and design were rapidly catching up. Huawei's smart chips and Marching Ant's operating system had already removed two of their biggest weaknesses.
Now, with voice-controlled AI systems at their core, these companies were poised to challenge Apple globally.
The sales reports from last year and the first half of this year had already shown a shrinking market share.
Siri's upgrade was supposed to fix that. Instead, it now looked like a weak comeback in a game already lost.
Cook clenched his jaw.
"Notify the production department," he said. "Increase production. Start shipping pre-orders the day after tomorrow. Maximize revenue before those new launches hit."
"Understood," the assistant said, taking the documents and leaving.
Once alone, Cook tapped his fingers against the desk, thinking hard.
This wasn't just a bump in the road.
It was a sign that the age of unchallenged dominance was over.