Chapter 32 - The Empress Plays a Game for the First Time
“Lin Fan, I asked a few friends, and one of them runs an online game companion shop. That buddy of mine said it doesn't matter if you're good at games or not, as long as your voice sounds nice. What do you think?”
After going through his entire network, Zhou Yan finally found a friend willing to accept Longyue, who had no experience, no academic qualifications, and knew how to do nothing.
“What do you think?”
Lin Fan turned his head to look at Longyue, asking for her opinion.
If it was just being a game companion, she wouldn't need to be ordered around by people like other service staff, and the work content could be considered relatively easy.
He personally wasn't very keen on it, but it was still an option. The main decision was up to her.
“Games? Is it taking care of little children, playing games with them?”
Longyue blinked her eyes, her face full of confusion and curiosity.
Zhou Yan was immediately amused by her words.
“Hahaha, sister-in-law, what you’re talking about is called a nanny.”
“A game companion refers to taking orders online to play games with clients. You might encounter little children, but most of them are big kids in their teens and twenties.”
Lin Fan spoke up to explain, then opened the game application on his own phone, sliding the screen to show the list of games.
“Here, everything in here is a game.”
“So many!”
Longyue moved closer to the phone screen. Looking at the endlessly scrolling list of games, she couldn’t help but be greatly surprised.
“There are many games nowadays, of all kinds of strange varieties. But don’t worry, there aren’t many games that can be played as a game companion.”
“Currently, the most popular game for game companions among mobile games should still be this one, Honor of Kings.”
Lin Fan opened the MOBA game rankings and immediately saw Honor of Kings at the top of the list.
“Do a lot of people play this game?” Longyue asked curiously.
“Of course. It can be said to be the most popular mobile game today. There are quite a few game companions and power-levelers for this game; there’s a big market for it,” Zhou Yan interjected to explain.
Since the release of Honor of Kings, it had become popular all over the country in just a few short years. From elementary school students below to working corporate drones above, almost everyone had Honor of Kings installed on their phones at that time. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the most popular social game of its time.
Whether it was after class at school or after work at a gathering, there would often be someone who would take the lead and suggest: “Start a round?”
“Perfect. Anyway, you’ve never played before. You can try downloading the game and playing it first. See if you can get the hang of it before deciding.”
Lin Fan reached out, took Longyue’s phone from her hand, and helped her download Honor of Kings directly.
Opening the game, Longyue entered it with the posture of a complete newbie.
Upon entering practice mode, the first thing that greeted her eyes was the hero selection screen.
“This is the page for selecting heroes in the game. You have to choose a suitable hero based on the position and the opponent’s hero selection.”
“But since it’s your first time playing, you don’t need to worry too much about this. Just choose a hero you like.”
“There are so many…”
Longyue looked at the dazzling array of hero portraits, at a loss for how to choose for a moment.
But soon, in the dense list of heroes, she noticed a familiar name: Bull Demon!
In the Immortal Demon Continent, there was also a demonic beast named Bull Demon. It was also the first demonic beast she had ever slayed in her life, so she remembered it with exceptional clarity and felt a great sense of familiarity upon seeing the name.
“This one it is!”
Seeing Longyue lock in Bull Demon without hesitation, both Lin Fan and Zhou Yan were greatly surprised.
Generally, when girls chose, they would pick either handsome male or beautiful female heroes, or cute characters. This was the first time they had ever seen someone choose Bull Demon on their first try…
But that wasn't important anymore. What was important now was to first get her familiar with the game's controls and rules.
After officially entering the game, Longyue followed the game's tutorial while also familiarizing herself with the game under the careful guidance of Lin Fan and Zhou Yan.
“The hero you chose is a tank. You mainly go to the top lane, or play support in the bottom lane.”
“This is the game’s basic attack, and these are the skills. Each skill has different functions and effects. For example, Bull Demon’s first skill can cause a knock-up and damage.”
“Why can’t I select the later skills after I selected the first one?”
“Because your level isn’t high enough, you need to level up.”
“Sister-in-law, see those minions? Killing them will give you money and experience, then you can level up, add skill points, and buy equipment.”
“And these two are the replaceable Summoner Spells you can carry…”
“…”
Longyue held the phone with both hands, her expression serious and stern, her eyes fixed on the screen, her fingers constantly sliding and tapping back and forth.
For the sake of work, her attitude towards learning at this moment was even more serious than when she first practiced immortal arts and artifact refinement!
Lin Fan and Zhou Yan surrounded her like left and right guardians, constantly pointing things out and explaining.
Soon, after the careful guidance of the two former Kings, she gradually understood the most basic rules and operations of the game.
“Very good, you have already masterfully grasped the essence of this game. Now, let’s begin a real match!”
Lin Fan and Zhou Yan were both greatly gratified, their eyes showing approval and encouragement.
Although it was Longyue’s first time with a game, she was naturally talented and had an extremely high comprehension ability. She had understood almost all the main points they had explained, far smarter than they had imagined.
“Mhm!”
Longyue nodded solemnly and clicked on matchmaking with a determined gaze.
To others, this was just an ordinary game, but in her eyes, this was like a sect's assessment test!
It was the perfect opportunity for her to prove herself!
Soon, the match was successfully found, and she entered the game.
Longyue didn't hesitate in the slightest, decisively choosing the hero she had just practiced with and was familiar with.
Bull Demon! Locked in!
Entering the game, she controlled Bull Demon, bought her starting items, and went straight to the top lane.
The moment the laning phase began, the confident Empress was beaten by the enemy top laner until her head was buzzing.
“How can he hit me from so far away?!”
“How come I can’t touch him?!”
“He seems to run faster than me too! On what grounds!”
Lin Fan and Zhou Yan, who had planned to quietly watch Longyue’s learning progress, really couldn't hold back any longer.
“He’s already bought boots, of course he runs fast...”
“But it’s okay. If we can’t beat him, can't we avoid him? Don’t fight him, just control the lane properly.”
“No! This Empress is the majestic Empress of the Supreme Sacred Heavenly Palace, how can I lose to this fellow! Eat this Empress’s axe! Die!”
Longyue shouted in a delicate voice while seriously mashing the screen.
Having completely entered a state of intense focus, she had entirely forgotten about Zhou Yan beside her…
Zhou Yan awkwardly turned his head to look at Lin Fan next to him, his face showing worry. He covered his mouth and asked in a hushed voice:
“Lin Fan, how come sister-in-law is shouting strange things again? Is she really alright…?”
“It’s fine. She’s just gotten heated from playing the game. It’s normal to shout some strange things when you get excited.”
“Don’t you also always like to shout, ‘Eat this old Sun’s staff!’ when you play as Sun Wukong?”
“Hiss! Now that you mention it, that seems right…!”
Zhou Yan thought about it, felt it made a lot of sense, and didn't think about it anymore.
When you’re playing a game, it’s very normal to occasionally shout some strange things!