Chapter 580: Buying Skins Is a Basic Need!
Chen Mo continued, "Think about how expensive a house is, right? A house in a second-tier city easily costs over two million, and you’d be paying off the mortgage for forty or fifty years. But this skin? It’s less than 200 bucks, buddy!"
"In this era of inflation, what can 200 bucks do? It’s just the cost of a meal! Right?"
"Taking a girl out for a meal, a movie, or a hotel room—200 bucks won’t even cover that, will it? And that’s a one-time expense. This skin is permanent! Once you buy it, it’s in the game forever—it’s your personal property. Clothes you buy wear out and get thrown away or expire, but skins don’t. They stay beautiful forever."
"Even if you don’t win over this girl, when you try with the next one, this skin will still do its job. And if you’re not into girls and prefer guys, this skin can also..."
Zou Zhuo quickly stopped Chen Mo: "Stop, stop, stop! Boss, don’t say another word. I’ll buy it, okay? I’ll buy it!"
After a fierce internal struggle, Zou Zhuo gritted his teeth and bought the skin.
It wasn’t actually that hard, because shopping online is incredibly simple. Just click a button, scan your fingerprint, and the payment’s done—fast and seamless.
Since online payments are just virtual numbers, unlike pulling out cash in a store, many people don’t have a clear sense of how much they’ve actually spent.
So Zou Zhuo quickly forgot the sting of spending money and happily jumped into the game to show off his new skin.
"Wow, this skin is so cool! All the effects are different!"
"His basic attack animation is awesome too, and his ultimate is amazing! The visuals are just explosive, boss!"
"But... doesn’t this hero seem really easy to die?"
Chen Mo chuckled: "This hero is an assassin, and a pretty special one at that. You have to play him like this: first, farm your ultimate on jungle monsters or minions. Go in with your ultimate, and if you don’t have it, stay on the edge and observe..."
As Chen Mo watched Zou Zhuo play and gave him tips, Zou Zhuo quickly got the hang of it. After all, he had a foundation from *League of Legends* and decent intelligence.
The more Zou Zhuo played, the more he felt he hadn’t made a mistake buying it. This hero was too flashy!
It was even flashier than many *League of Legends* heroes, because the skill mechanics in *Honor of Kings* were a common trait of mobile MOBAs, and also the most contradictory point. For a game to become popular, it had to ride on *League of Legends*’ coattails. But that meant the mobile game would forever live in *League of Legends*’ shadow, only getting scraps and never building its own foundation.
Of course, for other designers, getting scraps was enough. But for Chen Mo, every game he made had its own ambitions.
Many mobile game designers had already seen the potential in *Honor of Kings*. Just being the best mobile MOBA was enough to say a lot.
But no one knew: where was *Honor of Kings*’ limit?
Looking at past performance, the best mobile MOBA was the mobile version of *Ancient Cataclysm*, which ranked second on the mobile game bestseller list. Although it had occasionally surpassed the mobile version of *Oracle of the Moon*, it was quickly overtaken again.
After all, these mobile adaptations of PC games had strong monetization and player loyalty.
Could Chen Mo’s *Honor of Kings* recreate the glory of *Onmyoji* and top the mobile game bestseller list?
Many people doubted it.
...
Meanwhile, *Honor of Kings* was quietly spreading among various player groups.
At a company:
"Want to play a couple rounds of *Honor of Kings* during lunch break?"
"*Honor of Kings*? What’s that?"
"It’s the mobile version of *League of Legends*. You can play it on your phone. It’s very similar, and the controls are simpler. I can easily get a pentakill in it!"
"Oh, isn’t that just a knockoff of *League of Legends*? Haven’t there already been a few MOBAs like that? Nothing fun."
"This one’s different. This one was made by Chen Mo."
"Chen Mo made it? Why’s he jumping into making a game like this? Fine, I’ll download it and try a couple rounds."
At a school:
"Have you played *Honor of Kings*?"
"*Honor of Kings*? No, what game is that?"
"It’s like *League of Legends*, but you can play it on your phone! The heroes are super fun. My Arthur is amazing! I’ll carry you!"
"Shh! The homeroom teacher’s coming. Put your phone away."
"It’s fine. We can secretly play during evening study."
At a gathering:
"Hey, girl, you’re playing a mobile game too? Whoa, isn’t that *Honor of Kings*?"
"Yeah, I was bored the other day and searched for games online. I stumbled upon this one, tried it, and it was actually pretty fun, so I kept playing."
"Girl, what rank are you? Only Silver? Come on, I’ll carry you. I’m Gold!"
"Great, great! Help me rank up. I feel like my teammates are too terrible!"
In a chat group:
"Anyone want to play *Honor of Kings* together? Add me as a friend."
"Dog Two, you’ve changed. You’re actually playing that trash mobile game."
"Exactly. You quit *League of Legends* saying you had no time, but then you go play *Honor of Kings*? What’s that about?"
"Hmph, I look down on you!"
"*Honor of Kings* is just a watered-down *League of Legends*. A lot of the game mechanics are changed. It feels like nonsense and isn’t fun at all..."
"But... *Honor of Kings* has a lot of cute girls playing it. You can add mentors, flirt with girls, and search for nearby girls. I’ve already met several girls who play *Honor of Kings*, and we chat really well..."
"Wait, you can search for nearby girls?!"
"Yeah! And if your rank is high, these girls are more likely to add you. I’ve even gotten contact info from a few!"
"Whoa! Dog Two, big bro, take me with you! I want to play *Honor of Kings*!"