League of Legends: League of Unknowns

There was nothing to do even if he returned to the dormitory as he had arrived earlier than the others and had already unpacked and cleaned his room. His roommates would be busy arranging and cleaning their own space, so Yu Luocheng decided to explore the campus after leaving the club room.

He noticed a multimedia center and walked in to check it out. Do you remember, cyber cafés are no longer called that, they have changed the name to net cafés which have a higher-end atmosphere? Looking at this room again, doesn’t a multimedia center sound more suited for something you would expect in a university?

What the hell, wasn’t it just another cybercafé?!

The modern culture didn’t make sense nowadays, some things have fallen from grace, and some have an elaborated name based on appearances only.

There used to be an innuendo wherein if someone caught your eye in a bar, you would buy the person a drink with a hint of aphrodisiac in it. If the person accepts your advances, they would lift the glass of wine and daintily sip on it. That would be the signal for you to adjust your tie, smile faintly, and head over to their side.

And now, everyone would know what the hell you want if you threw a bar of soap on the ground. Just watch to see if anyone dares to pick it up!

The most important thing about the soap was that it didn’t matter which gender it was!

How low has society fallen?

***

The multimedia center was in fact a cybercafé, specially opened within the university compound. Its decoration was simple and fashionable. There were hundreds of computers and the place was spacious and new.

As the place was fairly new, there were not many people inside. Although Yu Luocheng was hopeless at directions, as long as he got a whiff of computers, he could make his way to the place. You could even call this a talent. Some people could sniff out girls while some could sniff out their own computer…but that was most likely the motherboard burning.

Knowing that he would most likely frequent this place a lot in the future, Yu Luocheng hurriedly went to register a membership, intending to play a few games. Just as he had signed in, his goddess sent a smiley emoticon to him. Seeing this emoticon, Yu Luocheng could imagine the glow in her eyes and how captivating she looked.

After chatting with her for about an hour, Yu Luocheng returned to the dormitory. All five of his roommates were in the dorm when he reached. Three of them were unpacking, while the other two were in a heated discussion.

“F*ck, then I’ll go to your region, you have to bring me there!” Qiu Jingtai said.

Qiu Jingtai was the second person to reach, a very passionate person that did not give a bad feeling to people, just slightly below average in the looks department. Even though society teaches us that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, you can’t stop people from stating facts. As Luxun had said regarding this hypocrisy, yes, this child will die, and he is ugly.

Qiu Jingtai and Wang Qin’s looks were both flawed, but they were different types of flaws. Wang Qin’s was that his face was weather-beaten while Qiu Jingtai was hatchet-faced. The one speaking to Qiu Jingtai had an unconventional name—Jiang Jiu. He was unnaturally tall and muscular, the type of person to look like he was all brawn and no brains. It was a wonder he was accepted into Shanghai University.

These two people had just gotten to know each other today and they were already talking like friends who had known each other for years. And they were talking about LoL, the hottest topic recently. Other than good wine and LoL, there was nothing else that could create bonds between two guys so fast.

“I heard from a senior just now…” Qiu Jingtai squinted his already narrowed eyes. “In the university, there is a club with a lot of highly skilled players and they can use the internet for free. The computers they use are also very high end.”

“That good?” Jiang Jiu said, his eyes bright.

To use the internet nowadays, it costs about three to four yuan an hour, some were even five yuan. Just a day of playing would cost tens of yuan and students that were not very well-off wouldn’t be able to afford it.

“Yeah, I asked a senior how does one get in.” Qiu Jingtai continued. “That senior said that entering the club was easy, just register and pay the club fee and you’re done, but a normal member’s privileges aren’t that great, unless you show some great talent. Only an officer or core members are the ones that get the privilege of using those awesome computers.”

“How do you become an officer or a core member then?” Jiang Jiu asked.

“After the mandatory military training, they will select officers from the pool of members that joined. I heard that out of hundreds of members, only about ten would be selected. A core member is easier, just pay a huge sum of money and you’re one. It’s just basically a VIP status.” Qiu Jingtai replied.

“D*mn, I don’t have that kind of money,” Jiang Jiu said.

“Then we can only wait for the selection process. I hope we get it, that way we get to play for free and also play with those highly skilled players.” Qiu Jingtai said in excitement. “Back home, my classmates all said I was shit, wait till I get some training and go back and trash them!”

As the two were talking, they saw Yu Luocheng entering the room. They just smiled at him and continued their discussion about LoL. Yu Luocheng was still texting Yang Qianqian on his phone so he didn’t bother joining the discussion. However, he was listening to their discussion and realized that being an officer was actually something not to be taken lightly. Ian had really opened a good door for him.

“Did you participate in the cyber café competition?”

“Yeah, we took third place,” Jiang Jiu replied.

“Sh*t, that’s embarrassing. You need to bring me there, I only started playing after I graduated. During the competition, I wasn’t even level thirty yet,” Qiu Jingtai said.

“Relax.” Jiang Jiu laughed. His laugh was evil, and Yu Luocheng could imagine Jiang Jiu holding a whip and beating Qiu Jingtai.

“Yu Luocheng, do you play?” Qiu Jingtai asked, turning to him instead.

“LoL? Yeah, I do.” Yu Luocheng nodded, his fingers still on his phone.

Yu Luocheng and Yang Qianqian were still flirting with each other via text, and he felt that he would soon break through that stage. The longer they talked, the deeper their topics became. He sometimes felt like just giving her a call and confessing to her directly.

“Which region and what level are you?” Qiu Jingtai asked.

“Iron Solari, somewhere above Level 30,” Yu Luocheng replied distractedly. After he spoke, he lowered his head and his focus was on his phone again.

Some people couldn’t lie to save their lives, and Yu Luocheng was a good actor by saying it so nonchalantly.

“You’re in the same region as Jiang Jiu, and shit, thirty plus… Wait, what do you mean thirty plus, the maximum level is only thirty!” Qiu Jingtai exclaimed.

“Have you ranked?” Jiang Jiu asked, his eyes bright as he walked over to him.

“Nope, not with this account,” Yu Luocheng replied.

His Iron Solari account was mainly used to play with Yang Qianqian and sometimes Wang Qin and the rest. He hadn’t used this account to play rank.

“Let’s play some premade when we’re free then,” Jiang Jiu suggested. “Qiu Jingtai was planning to make a new account in this region, so we have three already.”

“Sure, I found an internet café on my way back here. I registered to be a member, it seems like there’s a promotion now that no matter how much you top up you get an extra half free.”

Startled, Qiu Jingtai and Jiang Jiu’s gaze snapped toward Yu Luocheng. This was the same person, definitely the same person who was a road idiot that couldn’t even find the caféteria, and somehow he had managed to find some secret organization and register as a member!

***

There was a hero who was covered in blood on the verge of dying, and he was being held in the arms of his teammates who were crying at the state he was in. The hero reached into his breast pocket, his arms trembling with effort as he groped around, searching for something. He pulled out a stack of notes, all covered in blood.

“This…is my party funds. Give it to the party…” The hero closed his eyes as he choked out those words, the horn of victory echoed in his ears as the strong wind pulled the papers from his hands and scattered them around the party. His teammates cries became a melody of despair.

The scene was now converted into a modern drama—a university student, starved, thin, and haggard-looking, surrounded by his roommates, all calling out to him in concerned voices. This student reached into his breast pocket, his arms trembling with effort as he pulled out a wad of cash.

“This…is my registration fee. Help me to register as a member…There’s a promotion for the next few days…top up one hundred…and get fifty free…” After saying this, the student collapsed, his eyes rolling upward. His roommates screams echoed in the entire dormitory.