Players

Even with daily sales exceeding ten thousand units, the fully automated factory continued running smoothly.

From manufacturing the product components to assembly, packaging, shipping, and uploading the tracking numbers, the whole process ran like clockwork. Many customers were delighted to find that barely ten minutes after placing their orders, their purchase information showed that the seller had shipped their packages. They had already been sorted, packed, and sent into the delivery system.

By that afternoon, SF Express's tracking information showed that the packages were on their way to the nearest Shuangliu Airport, ready to be flown to destinations across the country!

Fortunately, Li Zhiyuan had placed his order early. Otherwise, he would have had to compete with all the other customers.

That was right. Over the past two days, the Phantom Projector had become a hot-ticket item.

The seller listed just five thousand units each day, and those five thousand were usually snapped up in less than five minutes.

Anyone held up by something or too slow on the draw could only sigh in frustration and wait for the next day!

After buying the Phantom Projector, Li Zhiyuan eagerly awaited its arrival.

Since he lived in Xichuan Province, he'd ordered the projector yesterday and received a notification today that his package was out for delivery.

When the SF Express courier called to tell him to pick up his package, Li Zhiyuan hurried to the entrance of his residential community. He collected the box and checked it for any obvious dents or damage.

After signing for the delivery, Li Zhiyuan eagerly carried the box containing his Phantom Projector back to his rented apartment.

To make sure he could fully enjoy the projector he'd been looking forward to, Li Zhiyuan had already arranged to take three days of leave this month. He planned to spend the time getting the full experience of the Phantom Projector that everyone online had been raving about!

There was no need to dwell on the unboxing. Countless unboxing videos were already online, and there was no need for Li Zhiyuan to make yet another one.

After checking the contents and confirming there were no defects, Li Zhiyuan plugged in and turned on the projector. It worked perfectly.

The Phantom Projector's home screen appeared, and its operating system was remarkably smooth and responsive.

The machine came with several popular video and TV apps. Li Zhiyuan opened them one by one, and each finished loading almost instantly.

Compared with the TV in his rented apartment, the apps and internet loaded at astonishing speeds. It was like watching a first-generation smartphone suddenly evolve into a tenth-generation model—everything was so much smoother!

Anyone used to smartphones would have no trouble using the TV system developed in-house by Shenma Technology Company.

And unlike many TV systems that wouldn't let users download certain apps or browse the web, the Phantom Projector's system was refreshingly user-friendly. It could access video app stores like Dangbei Market and even run some smartphone apps, such as browsers!

Li Zhiyuan opened the browser, entered a URL, and went to the Enshan Wireless Forum. Following the recommendations of the forum's regulars, he downloaded several TV apps onto his Phantom Projector.

Since he could access the browser, Li Zhiyuan had a bold idea. He went to the window of his rented apartment and drew the curtains tightly shut before picking up the remote again.

He entered the URL.

.

He confirmed, and in an instant the screen filled with pretty girls!

Heh heh heh!

A wild grin spread across Li Zhiyuan's face. The interface was much like the one on his phone, but the pictures and videos were many times larger. The girls went from thumb-sized beauties to life-sized ones!

The bright white wall seemed to open onto another world. The image quality was a little rough, but a big screen was still far more satisfying to watch than a tiny phone screen, wasn't it?

After watching one pretty girl dance, Li Zhiyuan confirmed that the site worked and gathered his thoughts.

Now wasn't the time to watch girls dance. He suppressed his wicked thoughts and, with tremendous willpower, closed the website. Before shutting it down, he added the URL to his favorites, planning to lift the seal once night fell and the apartment was quiet!

After testing the projector several more times and confirming it worked perfectly, Li Zhiyuan finally moved on to the part he'd been looking forward to most.

He opened Yu-Gi-Oh!, created a character, and started the game.

While the game loaded, Li Zhiyuan took out his phone and snapped a picture of the game projected by the Phantom Projector.

He opened the junior high class group chat. For the first two years after graduation, people had still chatted there, but over the past year there had barely been a handful of messages. Li Zhiyuan sent the picture and tagged a few old friends he'd been close with: @Zhang Lei, @Liu Yucheng, @Wang Xiangfei, @Feng Hao, and @everyone.

"Anyone up for a game? Come on, get online! Remember how much fun we had playing games outside the school? Let's go, the battle's about to start!"

Li Zhiyuan's flurry of messages quickly brought the class group to life.

One of the friends he'd tagged replied regretfully, "The Phantom Projector Generation 2! Too bad the one I bought only just shipped today. It probably won't arrive until tomorrow. Go ahead and play for now; we can battle together tomorrow."

"Come on, let's play cards! Li Zhiyuan, don't cheat like you used to when we played at school. Though you can't take your moves back in this game, hehe. I'm gonna crush you! My game ID is Fatty Whose Flowers Bloom Wherever He Goes. Don't talk—get in the game and wait for me!"

"I really want to buy a Phantom Projector too. I'm crying—my pay's been two months late and still hasn't come through. I'll just have to watch you big shots play."

"What's the point of playing online? Let's get together sometime and bring the Phantom Projector along!"

"I thought none of you played this game anymore. I can't believe so many people showed up as soon as someone spoke. You guys hardly ever chat."

"I'm socially awkward. I never know what to say!"

"Let me join you! I've never played before, but the 3D graphics look amazing. I want to give it a try."

"I bought a Phantom Projector too, but it's the first generation. It's great for watching movies and TV. I highly recommend it to anyone in the group who hasn't bought one yet. You'll know once you've tried it!"

"Can't buy one now, unfortunately. I'll have to try my luck right when sales open tomorrow morning."

While chatting with his classmates, Li Zhiyuan entered the game.

With the curtains closed, the projector cast the game onto the floor. Cards were drawn and battles began. Monsters, dragons, warriors, angels, and demons took turns appearing in the room.

Just as he'd hoped, Shenma Technology Company's naked-eye 3D technology made the game an absolute blast.