Chapter 111: A Challenge?
Entered the internet cafe, swiped ID card, logged into the computer.
Zhuo Yao wasn’t here today; the front desk was a female cashier who didn’t recognize Chen Mo.
Chen Mo took a stroll around the internet cafe and noticed that nearly half the players were playing *Warcraft*.
Since *Warcraft*’s release, as the game continued to gain popularity, many internet cafes had installed it one after another. Players could log into their accounts and play online matches through the Thunder Game Pass.
There were quite a few people today. Chen Mo casually found an empty seat and sat down.
After booting up, Chen Mo opened *Warcraft* and logged into his Thunder Game Pass.
He’d been busy with all sorts of things before, and aside from a few matches during testing, he’d barely played *Warcraft* properly. Only now was he playing as a regular player.
He entered his player nickname: Silent.
Prompt: Nickname already in use detected.
Chen Mo frowned, pulled out his phone, and called Su Jinyu.
“Hey, Goldfish, log into the admin panel and check who’s using the ID ‘Silent’ in *Warcraft*. Yeah, rename them. To what? Whatever. Right, compensate their pass with 200 bucks and send a notification saying the name is illegal. Yeah, do it now.”
Five minutes after hanging up, Chen Mo tried registering again, and the name was available.
With his satisfactory ID registered, Chen Mo first played a custom game, chose a random race, and set the opponent to an Insane Undead.
Twenty-seven minutes later, Chen Mo got bored and flattened the computer’s base.
Although Insane computers were a nightmare for ordinary players, Chen Mo was the designer himself. He knew the Insane computer’s patterns too well. Combined with his reaction speed and APM, which were now at professional player level, and his deep game understanding, he could toy with the Insane computer however he wanted.
Playing against an Insane computer was mainly to warm up, since he hadn’t played in a long time and needed to get back into the groove.
After that match, Chen Mo felt his hands were a bit warmed up. He opened the online mode and queued for a match.
His current ranked score was 0, meaning he was unranked. After finishing ten placement matches, he’d get a ranked score and then be matched with players accordingly.
Match one, match two, match three.
All were total stomps, basically without any suspense. Especially the third match, where Chen Mo chose the Orcs. Just by using the Blade Master to harass, he drove the opposing Undead player to mental collapse. The opponent quit the game in less than ten minutes.
“…Feels a bit too much like bullying,” Chen Mo muttered, a bit speechless.
After all, this was a low-tier pool. Chen Mo’s play was at top-tier professional level, and his tactics were far beyond anyone in this parallel world. Playing in a low-tier pool meant he could dominate however he wanted, to the point where even Chen Mo felt embarrassed.
Just then, a voice behind Chen Mo said, “Ooh, a pro? Want a match?”
Chen Mo turned around and saw a chubby guy standing behind him, who’d appeared out of nowhere. The guy looked about eighteen or nineteen, with a slightly cute face and round-framed glasses. If you didn’t know better, you’d think he was a panda person.
A guy nearby, who was playing *Warcraft*, chimed in, “Little Fatty, are you challenging people again? Are you happy only when you’ve beaten every *Warcraft* player in this internet cafe?”
Another guy added, “Yeah, come on. Is it really appropriate for a 3000-point pro to keep stomping noobs?”
The little fatty said, “Don’t stir things up. Did I ask you? I just watched this guy play two matches—he’s definitely a pro.”
He said to Chen Mo, “Hi there, I’m Zou Zhuo.”
Chen Mo was taken aback. “Zhou Zhuo?”
Is this guy really a reincarnation of a panda person?
The little fatty quickly waved his hand. “Not Zhou Zhuo, it’s Zou Zhuo. Zou.”
“Oh, oh, Zou Zhuo, right?” Chen Mo asked back, “You don’t recognize me?”
Zou Zhuo looked confused. “Should I… recognize you?”
Chen Mo shook his head. “Never mind, never mind. Come on, I’ll play a match with you.”
Zou Zhuo was a bit baffled by Chen Mo’s words, but he was itching to find someone to play against in the internet cafe. He quickly went to a computer on the opposite side and sat down.
“I’ll sit across from you, no screen-peeking, don’t worry,” Zou Zhuo said.
Chen Mo was also a bit puzzled. How come you, claiming to be a *Warcraft* pro, don’t recognize me? The game’s developer is sitting right in front of you!
But thinking about it, Chen Mo’s Weibo didn’t have any photos, and players wouldn’t bother to care what the game designer looked like. It was normal not to recognize him.
“Come on, I’ll create the room,” Zou Zhuo said.
Although there was a ladder system, challenging each other in internet cafes was still popular. On the ladder, players didn’t know each other, and there was no atmosphere. Playing face-to-face in an internet cafe was more exciting.
Zou Zhuo quickly set up the room, and Chen Mo joined.
Zou Zhuo asked, “What race do you use, buddy? I’m Undead.”
Chen Mo said, “Me? I’m random.”
“Huh?” Zou Zhuo was a bit stunned. “Random? You don’t have a main race?”
Chen Mo said, “I just mess around. It’s fine, just start like this.”
Zou Zhuo hesitated. “How about I let you have 80% health?”
Chen Mo chuckled. “It’s fine, let’s play one match first.”
Zou Zhuo nodded. “Alright, I’m starting then.”
The match began.
Several nearby *Warcraft* players gathered around to spectate.
“Wow, random? He’s not taking Little Fatty seriously at all?”
“Hurry up, it’s starting!”
Chen Mo and Zou Zhuo both clicked their mice and keyboards rapidly, screens flashing quickly.
Buildings were constructed swiftly, peasants busily gathered resources, and extra peasants were sent out to scout.
Zou Zhuo was, after all, a 3000-point player. At this stage, players weren’t very skilled, and there were few pros, so climbing was slow. 3000 points was already considered pro-level, and in a small internet cafe like this, being called a pro wasn’t an exaggeration.
Soon, the scouting Acolyte discovered Chen Mo’s base—Orcs.
“Orcs, huh.” Zou Zhuo didn’t dare be careless, since Undead vs. Orcs wasn’t an easy matchup.
After watching for two minutes, the spectators noticed that the Orc player’s opening was quite fast. At least his APM and rhythm were perfect, clearly not a noob. They all got interested.
“Sure enough, Blade Master harassment. It seems pros on the ladder are all starting with the Blade Master now. This Orc player is no joke.”
“But Little Fatty is definitely prepared. He’s brought Dust of Appearance and is careful while farming neutrals.”
“Holy crap, he can still steal that? This Orc’s APM is monstrous, right?”
“Not bad, not bad. Little Fatty is holding steady now.”
The early game was all minor skirmishes. Zou Zhuo leveled up, and Chen Mo harassed with the Blade Master. Basically, wherever Zou Zhuo’s main army went, Chen Mo’s Blade Master followed, seizing opportunities to kill creeps and steal items.
Zou Zhuo was clearly on guard against this, but he still found it frustrating. Although he wasn’t like those noob players who’d quit the game out of annoyance from Chen Mo’s Blade Master, he kept losing a little here, a little there.
A few players were also watching from behind Chen Mo, speaking in hushed whispers, afraid of being heard by Chen Mo and Zou Zhuo.
“Holy crap, the screen is flying everywhere. I can’t see anything. What’s he doing?”
“The Blade Master is following Little Fatty, while the Shadow Hunter is leveling on its own? And he’s still building units at home, not missing a beat? This guy is a pro!”
“I feel like Little Fatty is at a disadvantage now?”