67: Chapter 67 The Really Fun Games

The moment the system notification sound faded.

Liu Yang took a deep breath.

Everything felt exactly the way they wanted it to.

The laning phase began.

A-Shui's Alistar found an opportunity at level three, using a WQ combo to knock up the enemy ADC.

Liu Yang's Ezreal followed up with Mystic Shot, landed a basic attack, then used Arcane Shift to close in, hitting the full combo accurately.

First Blood.

The enemy Jungler rushed out from the river.

Liu Yang pulled back a step, dodging the crowd control skill while continuously dealing damage.

Every Q accurately hit the low-health enemy Support.

Double Kill.

Although Liu Yang was eventually taken down by the Jungler.

He had played the entire process to the limit, and he couldn't hide the smirk on his face.

This was a feeling he had never experienced in dota 2.

It wasn't a substitute.

It wasn't something that felt boring after a few matches.

He was enjoying every single second.

Thirty minutes into the game, both sides were at a stalemate.

Taking advantage of the time gap while they were recalling to base, the five enemies grouped up to take Baron Nashor.

A-Shui's Alistar arrived first and placed a Control Ward in the Baron pit.

Baron Nashor's health was down to four thousand.

Three thousand.

Two thousand.

Liu Yang's Ezreal flanked from the side, firing off a Trueshot Barrage just as the allied Jungler Flashed into the pit.

Smite.

Stolen!

With the Baron buff, the two of them led the team to push down the mid lane, destroying two turrets in a row.

Finally, they achieved an Ace on the enemy high ground and destroyed the Nexus.

The first game ended.

Liu Yang leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath.

His fingers were still trembling slightly.

Not from nervousness.

But from pure excitement.

"This is exactly the flavor I was looking for."

He turned his head to look at A-Shui.

"It's even more fun than the closed beta. More heroes, cooler skins, and the pace feels much more comfortable."

A-Shui leaned back and stretched his wrists.

"dota 2 simply can't compare."

He spoke calmly, as if stating a fact that required no proof.

Their voices weren't quiet, and people in the nearby rows could hear them.

A chubby guy who was playing dota 2 turned around, his face showing clear dissatisfaction.

The chubby guy was sitting right next to Liu Yang.

His screen was displaying dota 2, paused at the matchmaking queue screen.

During the two months since the dota 2 open beta, he had practically lived in the game, forgetting to eat and sleep.

He had registered an account on the first day and played until now; his win rate wasn't high, but his passion never waned.

In his eyes, dota 2 was the best game in the world, bar none.

Back during dota 1, he would occasionally play other games, but after the dota 2 open beta, no other game existed for him.

When heroes of the storm had its open beta, he hadn't even tried it, certain that it couldn't beat dota 2.

Later, facts proved that Storm indeed wasn't up to par.

Now.

Hearing the two people next to him say dota 2 couldn't compare to league of legends, he couldn't hold back anymore.

"Could you guys keep it down?"

The chubby guy's voice wasn't loud, but the dissatisfaction in his tone was obvious.

"There's no way this game can beat dota 2. It looks boring."

Liu Yang took off his headphones and turned around.

"We've played both games, and dota 2 really isn't as fun as league of legends."

"What do you know?"

The chubby guy pushed his mouse forward.

"You haven't even touched the essence of dota 2. The mind games of Denying, the item build paths, juking through trees to break vision—that's the real depth of a MOBA."

"You think it's not fun because you don't understand how to play it!"

A-Shui leaned back, his voice calm.

"We've played everything you mentioned. We've played hundreds of games of dota 2."

"It's precisely because we understand it that we think it's not as good as league of legends."

The chubby guy snorted.

"Then you haven't truly understood it."

A-Shui glanced at him.

"At least we've played both games, so we're qualified to say which one is fun."

"You haven't even touched league of legends. What right do you have to say it's no good?"

The chubby guy was stunned for a moment.

"You can tell a trash game is no fun just by looking at it. Why waste time playing it?"

He paused, then added another line.

"It's a waste of internet fees."

Liu Yang was about to reply, but A-Shui reached out to stop him.

A-Shui looked at the chubby guy, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

"You aren't scared, are you?"

The chubby guy frowned.

"Scared of what?"

"Scared that once you start playing league of legends, you'll realize dota 2 isn't fun anymore."

A-Shui's voice was soft, but every word hit the chubby guy right where it hurt.

The chubby guy's face turned red.

"How is that possible!"

He stood up from his chair.

"Just you wait, I'm logging in now! We'll play a couple of rounds together, and then I'll tell you personally how trash this game is!"

After saying that, he found the league of legends icon on the desktop.

league of legends had long since partnered with internet cafes across the country. Like dota 2 and Storm, it had been pre-installed.

Liu Yang and A-Shui exchanged a glance, both unable to hide the smiles on their faces.

The chubby guy moved quickly.

He had previously pre-registered for league of legends on a whim, so his account was already set up.

If it hadn't been for dota 2 being so fun, he probably would have tried league of legends on his own.

Login, character selection, skip the tutorial.

After adding A-Shui and the other as friends, they immediately started matchmaking together.

...

Meanwhile.

On Douyin, the title of Su Xiaomo's stream was different from usual.

"league of legends Open Beta, third attempt at a MOBA!"

Not long after the league of legends open beta started, she had downloaded it and entered the game.

This was her first match, and it had been going on for a while.

But at this moment, Su Xiaomo's voice in the stream was constantly blowing air at the screen.

"Whew, whew."

"Please, please don't burn me to death!"

As if the game had heard her plea, when she was down to her last ten health points, the Ignite on her hero finally went out.

At the same time.

An announcement popped up on the screen for the Double Kill she had secured with her support in the bot lane.

"That was so intense!"

Seeing that her hero hadn't died.

Su Xiaomo's voice was trembling—not from nervousness, but from excitement.

Her hands were shaking slightly on the keyboard, and she couldn't stop smiling.

"Xiaomo is so cute, actually blowing at the screen."

"Even though it's just her first game, Xiaomo's state is completely different. The smile hasn't left her face."

"This game seems interesting. Looks good."

While the comments were flooding in because of Su Xiaomo's actions, Jiang Youyou's voice also sounded in the stream's audio.

As one of the earliest creators on Douyin, Jiang Youyou had noticed this young girl long ago.

Today, she was playing with her in a premade party.

"I told you, this game is simple but fun. I wasn't wrong, was I?"

"Anyone can pick it up easily."

Su Xiaomo nodded vigorously, having already forgotten she was streaming.

"This is more interesting than dota 2 and Storm!"

"The skin the enemy mid laner had just now was so pretty, too. I want to buy one."

"Continue, continue."

The chat was also moving rapidly.

"Xiaomo is addicted!"

"This is what a MOBA should look like."

"dota 2 is too hard and Storm is too boring. league of legends is right in the middle."

"It does look pretty good. I'll download it and try it when I get home from work."

However, some veteran dota 2 players in the chat weren't convinced.

"The presentation is okay, but at most it's on the same level as heroes of the storm."

"With so much simplified, there definitely won't be enough depth. You'll get tired of it after playing for a while."

"It's just Xiaomo's taste. She never liked hardcore games to begin with. It's like how some people like playing Link-up but don't like dota 2. Can you say Link-up is more fun than dota 2?"

Su Xiaomo saw the comments but didn't argue.

After the match ended, she didn't hesitate to call out to Jiang Youyou.

"Youyou, let's play another round."

"I want to try Teemo this time. I saw someone else play that hero, and it's so cute."

Jiang Youyou chuckled over the voice chat.

"Sure, I'll play a pretty female hero too."

The next moment, the matchmaking was successful.

...

At the internet cafe behind Shenzhen University.

As the enemy base exploded, several people took off their headphones.

By now, they had played four games in a row. They won some and lost some, but every game was intense and fun.

Liu Yang put down his headphones and turned to the chubby guy.

"That Lee Sin kick hitting four people just now was really cool. That play allowed us to make a comeback."

He paused, looking quite confident.

"Is this game exactly like I said? It's fun, right?"

"Way more fun than dota 2, right?"

The chubby guy's expression stiffened.

He coughed twice, subconsciously scrolling his mouse wheel while his eyes darted around.

"It's alright, just so-so."

As he spoke, he exited league of legends and clicked on dota 2 again.

"It's way too simplified. Not interesting at all."

"Without Denying, where's the mind game? Without losing gold on death, where's the pressure? Without juking through trees, where's the tactical depth?"

"I still think dota 2 is more fun."

As he said this, his eyes were fixed on the screen, not daring to turn his head.

As if he felt guilty about something.

Liu Yang opened his mouth to argue, but A-Shui grabbed his arm and gave him a look.

"We have classes this afternoon."

A-Shui's voice was calm.

"Let's head back to class."

Then, he pulled a confused Liu Yang along as they logged off and stood up.

Before leaving.

A-Shui turned to look at the chubby guy, his tone tinged with a bit of regret.

"It seems league of legends really isn't your cup of tea. After all, everyone has different tastes in games."

"Maybe this game really can't compare to dota 2."

Having said that, he pulled Liu Yang toward the door.

The two of them soon left the internet cafe.

The chubby guy, meanwhile, propped himself up on his seat and sneakily peeked to see if they had truly left. Only then did he let out a sigh of relief.

Immediately afterward, he logged back into the league of legends client.

As he logged in, he muttered to himself.

"This Lee Sin is really fun."

"That kick hitting four people just now was so cool. It would be great to try it again. If I could hit five, it would be amazing."

And just at that moment.

A voice sounded from behind him.

"But Lee Sin requires high mechanical skill and practice."

"Especially ward jumping; it's a bit difficult."

The chubby guy nodded subconsciously.

"Exactly. I haven't learned how to Ward Jump quickly yet. This game has quite a few details; it's not as simple as it looks..."

Halfway through his sentence, he froze.

That voice.

It sounded a bit familiar.

He whipped his head around.

Liu Yang and A-Shui were standing behind him, their lips curled upward and eyes narrowed.

They were looking at him with "I understand" expressions.

The chubby guy's face turned from white to red, and then from red to purple.

His fingers hovered over the keyboard, and his mouth opened several times, but not a single word came out.

Liu Yang patted the chubby guy's shoulder with the understanding of someone who had been there.

"dota 2 is work, league of legends is life. I know the feeling."

"That guy Old C was just like this too."

As he spoke, he sat down next to him and turned the computer back on.

A-Shui also sat down and gave a rare smile.

"Don't worry, we won't tell anyone."

He paused.

"That play where you kicked four people was indeed cool."

Although the two had left through the front door, they had immediately snuck back in through the back. Just as A-Shui had predicted, the chubby guy was just being stubborn.

The chubby guy was silent for a long while, not knowing what to do for a moment.

It was Liu Yang who patted his shoulder again.

"What are you dazed for? Hurry up and set up the lobby and wait for us to join."

Beside him, A-Shui coughed twice.

"It's called creating a lobby."

"Not 'getting a room'!"

Although the momentum and popularity of league of legends on its first day of open beta were far from matching those of dota 2 and Storm.

The average play time of the massive player base.

Had reached a staggering number.