50: Chapter 50 Live Stream Smear Campaign?

"Just call me Liu Yang."

Seeing Ah Shui trying to get up, Liu Yang hurriedly pressed him back down.

"You continue. I'll come back after you finish this match; it'll be a good chance for me to learn something too."

Meanwhile.

Because Liu Yang had made quite a scene just now.

Several people surfing the internet nearby noticed, and one after another, they stood up and crowded around to watch.

The internet cafe was already full, and many college students were standing behind others watching them play games while waiting for a computer.

Quite a few people gathered around.

At first, the group just came over to take a casual look, but as Ah Shui pulled off a few more plays...

...exclamations of surprise soon erupted from the crowd.

"Is this league of legends?"

"It actually looks kind of interesting."

"How did he press those keys to dodge that skill while turning back? That was so cool."

"Looks like it's got some substance. I'll see if I can get a beta test account later to try it out."

"Didn't Old C say this game was no good?"

Liu Yang shook his head.

"Everyone has different tastes. As long as I think it's fun, that's all that matters."

Finally, under Ah Shui's control, the match ended quickly.

Liu Yang patted Ah Shui on the shoulder.

"My turn, my turn. Switch seats."

Liu Yang sat back down and continued to start the next match.

Once Liu Yang started playing, he couldn't stop; he reached a stage of near total immersion, forgetting to eat or sleep.

The people behind him changed batch after batch.

By the time he realized it, it was already afternoon, and only then did he remember to eat.

Quickly finishing a cup of instant noodles, he continued playing.

Another match ended, and a satisfaction survey popped up on the screen.

"How do you feel about the difficulty of league of legends?"

"What is your rating of the item recommendation system?"

"Would you be willing to recommend league of legends to a friend?"

Liu Yang filled them out one by one and submitted them.

Another treasure chest popped up.

"It's a new skin."

Liu Yang opened it to take a look, his eyes lit up, and he continued to queue for the next match.

...

Meanwhile.

Old C's live stream channel.

The number of online viewers was stable at around three to four hundred thousand, and the chat was scrolling by rapidly.

Old C was controlling LeBlanc in the mid-lane, against a mage hero on the opposing side.

His health was down to a sliver, while the opponent still had one-third left.

The opposing mage pressed forward a step.

Old C retreated, feigning a return to the tower.

The opponent chased, and the moment they cast their skill, Old C's LeBlanc suddenly turned back, landing an E chain precisely, followed by a Q skill to deal damage, dodging the opponent's attack with movement, then instantly using Flash to W-dash, dealing explosive damage.

A counter-kill with a sliver of health.

It must be said that Old C's gaming experience was truly extraordinary; he had mastered league of legends completely in no time at all.

The live stream chat exploded instantly.

"Holy crap, that turn!"

"Old C is awesome!"

"That play was so cool!"

Old C leaned back in his chair, his fingers still trembling slightly on the keyboard.

His heart rate still hadn't settled from that counter-kill just now.

He hadn't experienced the thrill of such a play in dota for a long time.

However.

This absolutely could not be shown on the live stream.

He picked up the water cup on the table and took a sip, keeping his voice very level.

Pretending to be unimpressed, his eyes also looked bored.

He shook his head and let out a long sigh.

"This is just a trash game; it's not fun at all."

"I killed the opponent just now without even trying; there's zero difficulty to the mechanics."

"Look, their skill casting is so slow, I just dodged it with basic movement."

"What kind of depth could a game like this have?"

"How could it possibly compare to dota?"

Because from the very beginning, Old C had been bashing this game.

Plus, the majority of the people watching the stream were his fans.

Therefore.

The rhythm of the chat was quickly steered by him.

"Indeed, it looks too simple."

"It's nowhere near as good as dota."

"Since Old C said it lacks depth, it definitely lacks depth."

"Let's just wait for dota 2."

After finishing this match, Old C exited the results screen.

"Not playing anymore, not playing anymore. I really can't keep playing this game."

He opened the task manager and closed league of legends directly.

"Let's just wait for dota 2. I'll continue playing dota for everyone today."

The live stream returned to his daily dota gameplay.

But occasionally, a few comments about league of legends would still drift through the chat.

"I just saw a streamer on Douyin playing it, saying it was quite fun."

"Those streamers on Douyin are definitely being paid; you actually believe them?"

"Since Old C said it's no good, it definitely isn't."

Old C ignored these comments and focused on playing dota.

Meanwhile.

A few hours after the league of legends beta test began, when afternoon arrived.

A large number of smear pieces about league of legends appeared on the internet.

On Weibo, a trending topic surged to the top of the search list.

Old C harshly criticizes league of legends.

Clicking on it reveals a montage video where clips of Old C saying league of legends is "too simple," "lacks depth," and is a "trash game" were edited together; the view count had already exceeded several million.

The comment section was completely one-sided.

"If Old C says it's no good, then this game is definitely hopeless."

"IceFrog really went downhill after leaving Tencent."

"dota 2 is the orthodox MOBA; everything else is just riding the hype."

"I was going to try it, but after watching Old C's stream, forget it."

Almost none of the people in these comments had actually played league of legends.

But the narrative had already taken hold.

It wasn't just Old C.

Almost all the streamers on Douyu and Huya who received beta access gave negative reviews during their streams.

Some complained that the graphics were too cartoonish and not hardcore enough.

Some said the skill mechanics were too simple, leaving no room for high-end players to show off their skills.

Only a few game streamers on Douyin were saying good things about the game.

But the gaming section on Douyin live streaming had just started, there weren't many big gaming streamers to begin with, and their voices were completely drowned out.

Time passed from afternoon until evening.

Old C played dota for several hours without taking a single break.

Although his plays and style were the same as usual, for some reason, he just couldn't get into it.

His mind kept thinking about the moment he pulled off that extreme counter-kill while playing league of legends earlier.

After finishing another dota match, Old C let out a breath and glanced out the window, which had turned dark.

He stretched his back.

"Brothers, that's about it for today. Signing off."

"Playing a few matches of league of legends has made me lose the desire to stream dota tonight. What a harmful trash game."

"I'm going to go eat."

A row of "goodnight" messages drifted across the chat.

Old C waved at the camera.

"Same time tomorrow, remember to watch."

He clicked the end stream button.

But strangely.

The stream screen didn't go black.

The chat continued to drift out.

"Thanks for your hard work today, Old C."

"See you tomorrow, see you tomorrow."

"Wait, did Old C forget to end the stream again?"

"Seems like it. It was the same last time, and he ended up getting banned for smoking."

"Hahahaha, classic forgetting to end the stream."

The last time Old C forgot to end the stream was a few weeks ago.

At the time, Old C had also streamed for a day, and when he was about to end the stream, he forgot to turn it off, started smoking, and then got his channel banned.

And before these comments finished scrolling by...

...the stream screen changed again. Old C was seen putting his phone into airplane mode, then he moved his mouse.

Streaming was just work.

Few people knew that when Old C played games in private, he didn't like to be disturbed; he liked an immersive gaming experience, often even putting his work phone directly into airplane mode.

Only his parents and family could contact him through his other phone.

"Didn't Old C say he was going to eat? Why is he playing on the computer again?"

"Could it be that Old C wants to 'take off'? He's been single for a long time, he must be very lonely."

"Holy crap, streaming a 'take off'? Playing that big?"

"Don't guess randomly. I think it's just that the dota match he just won was too easy; Old C definitely wants to play one more before going to eat."

"I think so too. Old C is probably still wanting to get a kill in dota. He won more than he lost today, so he definitely wants to win a few more back."

"Old C, kill one more!"

Although hundreds of thousands of people had left the stream because Old C said he was signing off, since the stream never actually closed, there were still over a hundred thousand people staying.

And just as all the users were waiting for Old C to start another game of dota...

...everyone saw.

Old C's mouse moved across the desktop.

Then.

He clicked to open league of legends again!