67: The holographic era has arrived

Mandala, Titan Industrial City, holographic projection mass production launch ceremony.

Emerald stood on the high platform, lightly tapping her fingertips. A holographic projection unfolded in the air, displaying real-time footage of major cities around the world.

"Two months ago, we announced the licensing of holographic projection technology," her voice, transmitted directly into everyone's ears via neural conduction technology, stated. "Today, the first batch of commercial equipment is officially delivered."

Following her command, the giant warehouse doors of the Industrial City slowly opened, and hundreds of transport vehicles drove out in an orderly fashion, loaded with the first batch of holographic projection units, heading to various parts of the world.

Eastern Federation, Imperial Capital, street.

In the early morning Imperial Capital, the commercial street, originally covered with billboards, was completely transformed.

"Holy cow! What is this thing?" An office worker suddenly stopped, staring wide-eyed at the holographic advertisement that had suddenly appeared in front of him. A lifelike phoenix circled in the air, the flame patterns on its feathers clearly visible. There was even a phantom sensation, feeling a slight heatwave.

"It's a holographic projection, brother!" The young man next to him excitedly pulled out his phone. "It was just installed yesterday, the 'Star Eye' series, a collaboration between EastWei and Titan. Now the entire Third Ring Road is covered!"

On both sides of the street, traditional LED screens and posters had disappeared, replaced by dynamic images suspended in the air. At the entrance of a milk tea shop, a virtual clerk smiled and recommended new products to passersby, even adjusting the recommendations based on the customer's gender and age.

"Is this thing expensive?" An old man curiously reached out to touch it, but his finger passed through the image.

"The business version is expensive, but the civilian version is decent," the young man swiped his phone. "The cheapest 'Star Eye Mini' is only 3999, which is about the same as a mid-range phone."

Eastern Federation, Shen City, EastWei Headquarters. In the conference room, Ren Zhenfei and Xu Zhijun stood in front of a holographic sand table, their brows furrowed.

"How are the test results?" Ren Zhenfei asked.

"Better than expected," the technical director pulled up the data. "The 'Star Eye Pro's 8K resolution is completely sufficient, and the tactile feedback error is less than 0.1 millimeters. During remote meetings, even the details of the other person's expression can be seen clearly."

Xu Zhijun lightly touched the sand table, and a virtual 5G base station model instantly enlarged, its internal structure clearly visible.

"How much travel expenses, modeling fees, and document printing fees can this thing save?" Ren Zhenfei suddenly asked.

"Overall, at least 70%," the financial director quickly calculated. "Moreover, the collaborative efficiency of the R&D department has increased by 40%. Because Engineers can now directly modify designs in 3D space, multi-department collaboration can achieve instantaneous communication at any time."

Ren Zhenfei was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled: "Titan's move is ruthless. They are not just selling equipment, but also 'efficiency'. All big companies will have no choice but to buy it."

Eastern Federation, countryside.

In a primary school in the western mountains, children screamed as they chased a 'holographic dinosaur' suspended in the center of the classroom.

"Students, for today's geography class, we will directly 'go' to the Sahara Desert," the teacher said with a smile, clicking on the lesson plan.

Instantly, yellow sand filled the sky, and a heatwave rushed towards them, causing the whole class to exclaim.

Meanwhile, at the village committee, the old Party secretary was wearing reading glasses and clumsily operating the 'Holographic Government Affairs System'.

"This thing is easier to use than a phone!" He grinned. "I don't have to run to the town for meetings anymore!"

New Union, New Village, Century Plaza, the Titan-authorized holographic advertising system officially launched.

At the bustling intersection, the crowd now all looked up, staring dumbfounded at the giant image suspended in the sky. A Boeing 747 airliner slowly passed by in a 1:1 ratio, the roar of its engines and the airflow simulated with incredible realism.

"Is... is this legal?" A police officer stammered to his colleague.

"Special approval from the city government," his colleague shrugged. "Anyway, it doesn't take up space, and they can collect taxes."

Not far away, a group of Golden Serpent Street elites hurried towards the Huge Rong Consortium building.

"Gray Rui's stock is finished," a Low Prosper trader whispered. "Now hospitals are using nano-medical pods, who still buys medicine?"

"Exactly," his companion sneered. "We just acquired three chain pharmacies and transformed them into 'Holographic Medical Experience Centers,' and our stock price has risen by 200%."

"You can't say traditional medicine is useless. If it's not a terminal illness or a serious disease, there's no need for a medical pod. If no one really bought medicine, why would those big shots above still want to acquire pharmaceutical companies?"

"That's true."

East Ocean, Edo.

The otaku in Akihabara went collectively crazy.

"Is... is this real?!" A bespectacled man trembled as he reached out, trying to touch the virtual idol suspended in the air.

"Of course it's real!" The clerk proudly displayed a 'holographic cheering stick'. "Now you don't have to go to concerts in person; you can 'interact' with your idol at home!"

In the sushi shop on the corner, the master chef was making sushi with a stern face, while a holographic projection at the shop's entrance played a 'virtual chef's' preparation process, attracting a large number of foreign tourists.

"This thing is stealing business..." The master chef grumbled, but quietly adjusted his holographic image in the background. Younger, more handsome.

North Steel Alliance, Five Ports City.

In a shopping mall near Cinnabar Plaza, a group of retired veterans marveled at a piece of equipment.

"Is this the civilian version of that 'military training sand table'?" A one-armed veteran asked.

"Yes, the cheaper version," the salesperson nodded. "It can't simulate explosions, but playing virtual golf is no problem."

The veterans exchanged glances, then suddenly pulled out their money in unison: "We'll take ten! Our Retired Veterans Club wants them!"

Federal Center, Roman Palace.

In the Oval Office, the President stared at the latest poll, his face ashen.

"78% of the public believes 'holographic technology makes life better'?" He gritted his teeth. "What about the remaining 22%?!"

The Chief of Staff explained, steeling himself: "The rest are mainly former pharmaceutical groups and traditional advertising industry practitioners."

The President slammed his fist on the table: "Tell UNN, I'm giving a national address tonight! We must emphasize 'national security'!"

Blue Star Synchronous Orbit, Pierpoint. Chen Hao stood on the observation deck, the Blue Star's lights twinkling below him.

Bronya's projection flickered beside him: "Master, phase one deployment is complete. Global coverage in major cities has reached 37%."

Emerald chuckled: "Two weeks faster than expected."

"Not enough," Chen Hao shook his head. He looked eastward, where, among the myriad lights of the Eastern Federation, countless holographic images were lighting up like stars.

"Let the world speed up a little more," he said softly. "We don't have time to wait for them to slowly adapt."

Eastern Federation, Shen City, Longteng Technology New Year Product Launch.

December 29, 2020, 23:59.

Outside the Shen City Bay Sports Center, the crowd surged. Despite the late hour, tens of thousands of tech enthusiasts, media reporters, and industry representatives still packed the plaza outside the venue. A giant holographic countdown floated in the night sky, the numbers ticking down from "10." With each decrement, the crowd's cheers grew louder.

"5! 4! 3! 2! 1! Happy New Year!"

As the countdown reached zero, the stadium's dome suddenly lit up, and countless blue light beams shot into the sky, intertwining to form the four characters "Longteng Technology" in the night sky. The stadium gates slowly opened, and people poured in like a tide.

The live stream's bullet comments exploded.

[Bullet Comment: Here it comes!]

[Bullet Comment: Staying up late for the launch event, totally worth it!]

[Bullet Comment: I heard this is a joint product of Titan and EastWei?]

[Bullet Comment: To the one above, it's not a joint product, it's independently developed by Longteng Technology (doge)]

[Bullet Comment: LOL, "independently developed," those who know, know.]

[Bullet Comment: Well said, "developed by an independent joint venture," how is that not independent? (doge)]

[Bullet Comment: I am the woodcutter, the one above is adding fuel to the fire!]

...

At the launch event, on the center stage, EastWei's rotating chairman, Xu Zhijun, walked out slowly, and all the lights instantly focused on him.

"Everyone, Happy New Year," Xu Zhijun smiled and raised his hand. The silver bracelet on his wrist gleamed with a cold light under the illumination. "Today, we are not EastWei, but Longteng Technology."

"Hahaha! That's too direct!" The entire audience burst into laughter.

He gently flicked his wrist, and the bracelet instantly unfolded into a transparent holographic panel, suspended in the air. On the panel, the two Chinese characters "Bai Jue" slowly appeared, with a line of smaller text below: "Next-generation personal terminal, redefining productivity."

The entire venue fell silent instantly, then erupted in deafening applause.

The live stream's bullet comments scrolled wildly:

[Bullet Comment: Holy cow! That unfolding method!]

[Bullet Comment: Isn't that the one Titan just briefly showed during their previous launch?!]

[Bullet Comment: Don't talk nonsense, upstairs, this is our independently developed product (witty)]

[Bullet Comment: LOL, Titan: Oh, yes, yes, yes. (Puts the little money into his pocket)]

Xu Zhijun lightly tapped the holographic panel, and the screen switched to performance parameters:

Computing Power: Equivalent to 8 ten-thousand-yuan workstations

Battery Life: Graphene supercapacitor (5 days battery life, 10-second rapid full charge)

Interaction: Brainwave recognition + neural projection

Security: Biometric encryption, software uncrackable

"The core of Bai Jue is the 'neural parallel computing architecture,'" Xu Zhijun said, taking a pair of rimless glasses from his pocket and putting them on. "Combined with the 'Star Eye' smart glasses, it will completely change the way humans interact with machines."

"Because 'Star Eye' is a personal perspective, I will share the content with you. What you see next is what I see."

He virtually tapped a few times in the air, and instantly, a complete 3D model of a city appeared on the center stage. Every building could be freely enlarged and disassembled.

Then, the buildings transformed into a computer desktop. Various software applications were opened simultaneously, each becoming a light screen suspended around him. And then, various models were generated out of thin air: buildings, equipment, famous landscapes from around the world, and people.

"Engineers can directly modify designs in the air, doctors can 'touch' virtual organs for surgical rehearsals, teachers can take students 'into' historical sites..."

"Although existing projection equipment can also do this, they lack portability and privacy. But Bai Jue has achieved it!"

The live stream's bullet comments exploded:

[Bullet Comment: This is a sci-fi movie, isn't it?!]

[Bullet Comment: Oh no, my computer suddenly doesn't feel so good anymore]

[Bullet Comment: Price? Price?]

[Bullet Comment: Blind guess starting at 39999]

Xu Zhijun smiled slightly: "The Bai Jue Standard Edition is priced at 19999 yuan."

The entire audience gasped in an uproar.

"The Star Eye Smart Glasses are priced at 1999 yuan."

The live stream was instantly flooded with "???".

[Bullet Comment: 19999???]

[Bullet Comment: Is this price serious?]

[Bullet Comment: Titan is awesome! EastWei is awesome!]

[Bullet Comment: The New Union guys are going to cry themselves to sleep in the bathroom]

Nova United States, Silicon Valley.

In the Apple headquarters conference room, Cook stared at the live broadcast screen, his coffee cup trembling slightly.

"19999..." he murmured. "Our Vision Pro sells for $3499, and its performance is less than a tenth of this thing."

The technical director's face was pale: "What's worse, their 'neural computing' architecture completely bypasses our chip advantage..."

East Ocean, Edo.

Niso CEO Yoshida Ichiro directly turned off the live broadcast and smiled bitterly at the executives in the conference room: "Gentlemen, our XR business can be declared over. Let's go to Longteng and become their direct agent."

North Steel Alliance, Five Ports City.

A group of Engineers gathered around a computer watching the live broadcast, when suddenly someone slammed the table: "Quickly contact Titan and Longteng! Ask them if they sell technology licenses!"

Eastern Federation, Imperial Capital.

In the Zijin Pavilion conference room, the leaders watched the live broadcast, and the Premier nodded slightly: "This step was the right one. Titan's executives are extraordinary."

The live stream began to celebrate wildly:

[Bullet Comment: We've stood up!]

[Bullet Comment: Before, the West choked us, now it's our turn!]

[Bullet Comment: LOL, is New Union going to sanction Longteng Technology now?]

[Bullet Comment: Sanction what? They can't even copy it]

[Bullet Comment: They're still busy researching the core technology of holographic projection, who has time for this? (doge)]

[Bullet Comment: You're being cruel, to the one above.]

[Bullet Comment: What are you guys so happy about? It's still Titan's technology, what does it have to do with you?]

[Bullet Comment: What the heck? Someone who uses 2G internet just popped up. Seriously, buddy, you didn't read any of the analyses from the Tieba Big Boss and Zhihu Great God, did you?]

[Bullet Comment: That guy is definitely either stupid or evil. Why did Titan look for us instead of New Union? The identity of Titan's boss is almost revealed, okay?]

Xu Zhijun invited a designer to the stage. Wearing the Star Eye glasses, the designer's hands moved quickly in the air, and a building model was constructed from scratch in just a few minutes.

"This efficiency is equivalent to a week's work for a traditional team," the designer said excitedly.

At the end of the press conference, Xu Zhijun looked at the entire audience and slowly said: "Bai Jue is not the end, but the beginning. Longteng Technology will continue to drive technological innovation together with Titan."

He paused, revealing a meaningful smile: "After all, this is just the 'civilian version'."

The entire venue instantly erupted. The live stream's bullet comments had one last frenzy:

[Bullet Comment: Civilian version???]

[Bullet Comment: If the civilian version is this powerful, what about the military version??]

[Bullet Comment: Understood, next parade will be a holographic projection of a hundred thousand troops. (doge)]

[Bullet Comment: Genius! Get out of the hospital!]

[Bullet Comment: Awesome, my country!]

...

Pierpoint Space Station, Chen Hao closed the live broadcast, chuckling: "The show has only just begun."

Outside the window, the Blue Star was bathed in the morning light, and a new day had arrived.

"Oh, and let's bring in some more people."

"Xiao Jixiang ~ I've given you the list, take the balance!" Chen Hao activated the skill: Spend a Fortune.

"Alright, alright ~ Leave it to me, miss ~" Xiao Jixiang indicated 'super effective'.