booktalesy Chapter 411 Internet Cafe League
Chapter 411 Internet Cafe League
On the morning of New Year's Eve, Lu Ran was awakened by the sound of firecrackers.
It wasn't the kind of sporadic, intermittent sound that would disappear after a few clicks; it was the kind of continuous, relentless sound, like someone downstairs was setting off a string of ten thousand claps, crackling and popping endlessly.
He opened his eyes, touched his phone, and glanced at it: 7:40 AM.
It was still a hazy gray outside the window, and the sky wasn't fully light yet, but the sound of firecrackers had already woken up the whole city.
Shen Yuege was sleeping soundly beside her as if nothing had happened, wrapped tightly in the blanket with only the top of her head showing.
Lu Ran didn't know if she was genuinely not woken up, or if she was awake but too lazy to move.
Based on his understanding of Shen Yuege, it should be the latter.
He lay in bed for a while, but couldn't stay in bed any longer, so he got dressed and went downstairs.
Priscilla Chan was already busy in the kitchen.
The stove was piled high with pots and pans, the pressure cooker hissed and steamed, and something was simmering in the wok, making a bubbling sound.
The entire kitchen was steaming hot, like a steamer.
"Mom, why are you up so early?" Lu Ran stood at the kitchen door.
"It's Chinese New Year, how can we not get up early? We have to make more than a dozen dishes for the New Year's Eve dinner, we won't have time if we don't prepare early." Priscilla Chan didn't even look up, she was holding a kitchen knife and cutting something, her knife skills were very good, she cut quickly and evenly.
"I'll help you."
"No need, no need. Go watch TV, don't get in the way."
Lu Ran didn't leave. He stood by and watched for a while, and realized that he really couldn't help much.
Priscilla Chan has her own rhythm when cooking. She knows exactly what to put in the pot first, what to put in the pot later, what to braise, and what to sauté. Every step is planned out clearly.
If he were to interfere, it would only disrupt her rhythm.
He went to the living room.
Shen Zhiwei was already sitting on the sofa, with a teacup and teapot in front of him. The TV was on, showing a retrospective of the Spring Festival Gala from year to year.
"Good morning, Dad."
Good morning. Would you like some tea? It's freshly brewed.
Lu Ran sat down on the sofa, and Shen Zhiwei poured him a cup of tea.
The tea soup is golden yellow with a delicate aroma; it is Tieguanyin.
The two people were drinking tea and watching TV, neither of them saying a word.
The TV was showing a skit from one of the Spring Festival Galas, performed by Chen Peisi and Zhu Shimao. It's an old skit, but it's still funny.
Lu Ran watched for a while and then chuckled a few times.
"Is your game really popular lately?" Shen Zhiwei suddenly asked.
Lu Ran turned to look at him: "You're into games too?"
"I don't care. But your mom does. She watches the news every day, and the news said that your 'Unlimited Firepower' game has boosted internet cafe business a lot. So she asked me to ask you if your company is going to go public."
Lu Ran was amused by this logic: "It's too early to go public. Besides, whether or not to go public isn't about how popular a business model is, but about the company's overall development and long-term plans."
"Your mother doesn't understand these things. All she knows is that being in the news is a good thing, that being in the news means the company has grown big, that a big company should go public, and that going public means making a lot of money. You can't reason with her about that."
Lu Ran smiled but didn't reply.
The skit on TV finished, and they switched to a crosstalk performance.
Lu Ran wasn't interested in the crosstalk performance, so he took out his phone and browsed the TUTU game section.
Discussions about "Unlimited Firepower" have surged even higher than yesterday, ranking second on the entire TUTU Hot List, second only to discussions about the Spring Festival Gala.
The Spring Festival Gala is number one; there's no way around it, the whole nation watches it, and no one can beat it.
The topic of conversation among players has shifted from "which hero is the strongest" to "how to trick relatives' kids into playing the game during the Chinese New Year".
One highly-rated post is titled: "My cousin is in the second year of junior high school, and I'm planning to use the 'Ultra Rapid Fire' mode to get him hooked on League of Legends. Any suggestions?"
The comments section was full of terrible suggestions. Some said, "Let him get Master Yi in the first game and let him experience the thrill of a pentakill." Others said, "No, Master Yi is too easy. He'll get bored after a couple of days. Let him get Zed instead. He won't understand him even after a month, and the more he doesn't understand, the more he'll want to play." Still others suggested, "Just buy him a skin. Once he puts it on, he won't want to leave."
Lu Ran looked at these posts and a smile crept onto his face.
As I was looking at it, my phone vibrated, and the caller ID showed Chen Mo.
Lu Ran answered the phone: "President Chen, Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year! Happy New Year!" Chen Mo's voice came through the receiver, sounding to be in a good mood. "Mr. Lu, I hope I haven't disturbed you?"
"No. I'm just staying home watching TV."
"That's perfect. I have something to tell you."
"Please speak."
Chen Mo cleared his throat, his voice becoming more serious: "President Lu, let me share some data with you first. Since the launch of the Infinite Firepower mode, the occupancy rate of League of Legends in internet cafes in East China has increased by nearly 40%. Tencent has compiled statistics showing that in the past week, the number of times League of Legends was launched in internet cafes in East China increased by 53% compared to the same period last month. Fifty-three percent, I've never seen such a number in all my years of work."
Lu Ran remained silent, waiting for Chen Mo to continue.
"EA has also run a lot of promotions, like recharge rebates, limited-edition skins, and New Year's gift packs—quite a variety. But their user growth curve has basically flattened out over the past week; it hasn't risen or fallen, it's just stuck there. Sakura Games is in even worse shape; their 'Samurai Warriors' daily active users have dropped by another 10%, and now it's less than 30% of its initial launch level." Chen Mo said, a hint of undisguised smugness in his voice, "President Lu, do you know what this means?"
"This shows that when it comes to pleasure, benefits are insignificant."
Chen Mo laughed heartily on the other end of the phone: "You're absolutely right. EA gives away mounts and offers rebates, no matter how many tricks they use, players aren't buying it. Your Infinite Firepower mode doesn't give away anything, it's just one mode, and players are scrambling to play it. Why? Because your stuff is fun, their stuff isn't. It's that simple."
Lu Ran leaned back on the sofa and shifted his position. He knew Chen Mo hadn't called just to praise him; there must be something else going on.
As expected, Chen Mo changed the subject: "President Lu, I have an idea that I'd like to discuss with you."
"Please speak."
"The URF (Ultra Rapid Fire) mode is so popular, but it's a limited-time mode that will be shut down after the Lunar New Year. How will the popularity be maintained after it's closed? How will the players' enthusiasm be sustained? I don't think ranked and ARAM (All Random All Mid) are enough. ARAM is a good mode, but it can't compare to the fun of URF. Ranked is too tiring, and people don't want to use their brains during the Lunar New Year. After the holiday, they'll be even less willing to use their brains when they go back to work."
Lu Ran realized that Chen Mo was thinking about how to extend the festive atmosphere of the Lunar New Year into the year after.
"So I have a suggestion," Chen Mo said, "Let's take advantage of this momentum and hold a competition."
Lu Ran raised an eyebrow.
The same thought popped into his head yesterday when he was waiting for his ride outside the internet cafe.
Chen Mo continued, "It's not one of those large, formal competitions held in a stadium. Those are too complicated, with long preparation periods, large investments, and high barriers to entry for players. I'm talking about internet cafe leagues. It's the most basic, grassroots kind of competition that anyone can participate in. You register at an internet cafe, gather five people, and you can play. There are prizes after the competition, and prizes for winning. It doesn't need to be too formal, but it needs to have that atmosphere."
Upon hearing this, Lu Ran's lips curled up. Chen Mo's thoughts were almost exactly the same as his own from yesterday.
"Mr. Chen, please continue."
"Specifically, it can be divided into several stages. The first stage is the internet cafe preliminary rounds, where internet cafes in various cities organize their own competitions to determine the internet cafe champion. The second stage is the city finals, where the champions from various internet cafes compete to determine the city champion. The third stage is the regional finals, where the city champions compete again to determine the champions of the East China, South China, and North China regions. Finally, the national finals are held, where the champions from all regions gather to determine the national champion."
Chen Mo paused for a moment, then added, "The prize money doesn't need to be too high, just a token amount will do. The champion of the internet cafe preliminary rounds will each receive one game point and a limited-edition skin. The city champions will each receive a few hundred yuan and a set of peripherals. The regional champions will each receive a few thousand yuan and a trophy. The national champions will each receive tens of thousands of yuan and an even bigger trophy. It's not a lot of money, but it's already very attractive to ordinary players."
After listening, Lu Ran went through Chen Mo's plan in his mind and felt that there were no major problems.
"Mr. Chen, will Tencent approve your proposal?"
Chen Mo paused for a moment, then said, "It can be approved. But I need your cooperation."
"How can we cooperate?"
"First, the version of League of Legends must be stable during the competition; there cannot be any major updates. If the version changes, the strength of heroes changes, and the tactical system changes while players are playing, all the things they practiced before will be wasted. This kind of basic mistake cannot be made."
"That's no problem. Once Infinite Firepower is turned off, the game freezes, and we only fix bugs without changing the values."
"Secondly, the competition needs official certification. As the developer of League of Legends, TuTu Technology needs to issue an official statement acknowledging the authority of this competition. Players won't accept a competition without official endorsement."
"That's fine too. I'll have the operations department draft a statement, and I'll release it once Tencent confirms it."
"Third, and most importantly," Chen Mo's tone became even more serious, "during the competition, Tutu Technology and Tencent will collaborate on promotion. TUTU's live streaming resources, Tencent's traffic portals, and both sides' social media platforms must all be linked together. Only when everyone puts in the effort can this competition succeed."
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