Reshaping the Future

National Convention Center.

9:00 AM.

Outside Hall B, luxury cars formed a long queue. Li Mingyuan, the vice president of Qiandu, was surrounded by a group of reporters, talking radiantly about the future strategy of Qiandu AI.

Separated by just a single wall, the atmosphere in Hall A was much quieter.

The venue was densely packed, about two-thirds full. The front rows were occupied by invited tech media, while the back rows were mixed with quite a few tech bloggers here for the spectacle, and even a few content creators from NoteDance who specialized in making videos bashing Moss.

They were all here for fun.

After all, for the past half month, Deep Space Technology had been torn to shreds online with accusations like "fake PPT presentations," "capital money-grabbing game," and "the boss is too guilty to show his face." Everyone wanted to see what kind of stunt this mysterious Deep Space Technology could pull off today.

Backstage.

Dai Damai was sweating profusely from nervousness, tightly holding the black combination briefcase containing the engineering prototype.

"Mr. Chen, it's almost time." Dai Damai pushed the wheelchair over. "Let me push you up there. Your leg..."

"No need."

Chen Zhi stood up, supporting himself with one hand on the armrest, and took the black metal cane handed to him by Li Zhiyi.

Li Zhiyi was wearing a simple white shirt and jeans today. She stood beside him, helping him adjust the collar of his suit jacket, her eyes growing a little red again.

"Don't push yourself too hard. If it hurts, just walk slower," she whispered softly.

"Don't worry." Chen Zhi pinched her cheek. "Today, your husband is going to put on a massive show in front of the entire internet."

Li Zhiyi's face flushed with heat, and she quickly took a half-step back.

The lights at the front stage suddenly dimmed.

The noisy venue instantly fell silent.

A spotlight hit the entrance at the side of the stage.

Leaning on his metal cane, Chen Zhi limped into the circle of light.

The entire audience was stunned.

The reporters in the front row exchanged bewildered glances.

"Who is this?"

"A staff member? Why is he crippled?"

"Where is the boss of Deep Space Technology?"

The whispering below grew louder and louder.

Chen Zhi walked to the center of the stage, leaned his cane against the podium, supported himself on the surface with one hand, and adjusted the height of the microphone.

He scanned the audience and gently tapped the microphone.

"Thump, thump."

The sound echoed throughout Hall A via the speakers.

Chen Zhi spoke into the microphone.

"For many of you, this is the first time seeing me."

"Let me introduce myself. I am the founder and CEO of Deep Space Technology, Chen Zhi."

Silence.

The entire venue was dead silent.

After a full three seconds, a veteran reporter in the front row suddenly snapped out of it, his finger flying over the shutter of his DSLR camera.

"Holy shit!"

Someone in the back row swore, and the entire venue instantly exploded into an uproar.

Camera flashes lit up like a torrential downpour, blinding everyone.

"Chen Zhi? He is the mysterious boss of Deep Space Technology?"

"So young? He looks like a college student!"

"Is he even twenty years old?!"

Meanwhile, in the NoteDance livestream, the number of concurrent viewers was soaring at a terrifying speed.

Originally, there were only over a hundred thousand people watching the spectacle, but the moment Chen Zhi showed his face, the viewership instantly broke through the half-million mark.

Comments flooded the screen like a waterfall.

"Holy shit! Those looks? That height? You call this a tech company boss?"

"Nineteen years old! I looked it up! He's a freshman at Peking University's Yuanpei College!"

"A freshman? The boss of a company valued at fifteen billion dollars? What the hell have I been doing with my life?"

Pei Ningxue, wearing a silk nightgown, sat cross-legged on the wool rug in her living room. On the coffee table in front of her was an iced Americano, and beside it, an iPad was propped up.

The screen displayed the live broadcast from Hall A.

Watching Chen Zhi standing on stage in a custom-tailored suit, leaning on a cane looking all showy, Pei Ningxue let out a cold snort.

"His leg is broken and he still can't behave."

She picked up her iced Americano and took a sip, but her eyes never left the screen for a single second, staring intently at that figure under the spotlight.

Back at Hall A.

Chen Zhi leaned on the podium with both hands, letting the camera flashes from below go off for half a minute before he raised a hand and pressed it down to quiet the crowd.

The venue gradually quieted down.

"Looking at everyone's expressions, it seems you are a bit disappointed by my image as the boss." Chen Zhi chuckled into the microphone. "Perhaps in your minds, anyone working in AI should be balding, or a tech nerd wearing a plaid shirt."

A ripple of good-natured laughter came from the audience.

Chen Zhi abruptly changed the subject.

"Recently, I'm sure everyone has heard some of the smears directed at us by our peers."

He didn't name names, but everyone knew exactly who he was talking about.

"Press releases are flying everywhere online, saying that our Moss lacks core technology, that we are a capital scam, and even that I, the boss, am too guilty to show my face and am preparing to take the money and run."

Chen Zhi paused for a moment.

"I haven't responded to any of it."

"It's not that I don't want to address it, but rather that there's no need to."

The moment these words came out, the entire venue was in an uproar.

This kind of arrogant attitude was exactly what the media and netizens loved.

"Hall B next door should be very lively right now. President Li is probably talking endlessly about their AI ecosystem layout and presenting their future via PPT." Chen Zhi pointed toward the wall. "We at Deep Space Technology don't do those empty promises."

"Today's new product is the best response to all those rumors and gossip."

Chen Zhi picked up the laser pointer on the table and clicked it.

The giant LED screen behind him lit up.

Against a deep starry sky background, two logos slowly emerged.

On the left was the emblem representing Deep Space Technology.

On the right was an extremely familiar logo.

In the middle, they were connected by a massive "X."

Deep Space Technology X Meizu.

The audience went silent for a split second before erupting into gasps of astonishment.

"Meizu?! Isn't Meizu about to go bankrupt?"

"Deep Space Technology actually got Meizu to be their OEM? Are they going to make smartphones?!"

"They must be crazy! The smartphone market right now is completely dominated by Apple, Samsung, and Huami. A software startup trying to make a phone—isn't that just courting death?"

The reporters in the tech media section frantically typed on their laptops. The explosive nature of this news completely exceeded their expectations.

"Old Meizu fans are crying a river! J. Wong has finally come back to life!"

"Making a phone? Isn't Moss a voice assistant? What's so special about installing it on a phone? Isn't Siri the same thing?"

"This crossover is way too big. If you take too big a step, you'll easily pull a muscle, Mr. Chen!"

Chen Zhi was extremely satisfied with the audience's reaction.

This kind of contrast and shock was exactly what he wanted.

"Everyone seems very confused." Chen Zhi clicked the laser pointer again.

The logos on the screen disappeared, replaced by a highly impactful line of large white text.

[Free Your Hands, Reshape the Future]

"Over the past decade, the development of smartphones has fallen into stagnation." Chen Zhi's voice was steady and certain, carrying a strong infectious power. "We are competing over screen refresh rates, camera pixels, and processor benchmark scores. But the interaction logic of smartphones hasn't fundamentally changed since the release of the first-generation Apple."

"You still need to use your fingers to swipe the screen, to tap open individual apps one by one, and to perform tedious operations."

"That is not called smart."

Chen Zhi raised his head, his gaze sweeping across the audience.

"Today, the product jointly launched by Deep Space Technology and Meizu will completely shatter your perception of mobile phones."

He turned around and retrieved a black combination briefcase from beneath the podium.

Click.

The case opened.

Chen Zhi took out a snow-white engineering prototype and held it up in his hand.

There was no flashy exterior design, only an extreme screen-to-body ratio and Meizu's signature smooth, refined grip.

"Starting today."

Chen Zhi looked at the countless camera lenses aimed at him from the crowd, his tone calm yet resonating with absolute certainty.

"The smartphones in your hands will all become antiques."

A dead silence fell over the venue.

Everyone's breathing grew heavy.

The declaration was simply too arrogant.

A nineteen-year-old disabled college student, standing on stage with a phone from a brand that hadn't even made a name for itself yet, actually dared to declare war on every smartphone manufacturer in the world?

A tech blogger sitting in the front row couldn't hold back anymore. He stood up and shouted.

"Mr. Chen! That's a lot of big talk, but words are cheap! Show us exactly what makes this phone so incredible! Give us a demonstration!"

"Yeah! Give us a demonstration!"

"Let us see how you're going to turn our phones into antiques!"

The crowd was riled up, pushing the atmosphere to a fever pitch.

Chen Zhi smiled.

He placed the phone on the podium and connected the casting cable to the giant screen.

"Since everyone is so eager."

Chen Zhi pulled his hands away, not touching the screen at all.

"Then, welcome to the future."