2 The Golden Ticke (1/2)
Steam rose from the bath tub, slightly obscuring the monitor near it.
Li Ming had just gotten back to his dormitory and he hoped to hop into the bathtub straight away without taking a shower.
Li Ming had walked back to his dormitory in the rain, not bothering to cover himself. If anything, the cold rain drops on him only helped to keep him from wandering listlessly, as it drove him to hurry back to his dormitory to hop into a hot bath.
He laid in the tub after putting on his favorite stream on the monitor: The Leo Corporation's Legends Rise Stream, which normally provided commentary and lessons when it wasn't broadcasting Live Games.
Legends Rise was the Virtual Reality Multiplayer Online Battle Arena created by The Leo Corporation global phenomenon of competitive gaming that overtook the former most popular game type of massively multiplayer online role-playing games. Out of all the activities Li Ming had tried out in the past, this one video game was the only one that he was ever mildly successful at, achieving a ranking of top 2% of the competitive rankings.
Legends Rise currently had about hundred million concurrent players, so ranking in the top 2% of the rankings meant that he was better than 98 million players across the globe. Despite being pretty decent at the game, he never had the time to play competitively, and that was one of his greatest dreams. However, he knew that despite the ever growing scene of eSports, he would never be able to make a proper living with it.
”Welcome to a special announcement by The Leo Corporation, bringing the world championships live to your home!”
Li Ming bolted straight up in his tub, splashing water all across the bathroom floor.
He had been busy with his part time job and his studies so much that he hadn't been able to play Legends Rise or even keep up with its competitive scene!
”Stay tuned for a special announcement coming up right after our regular broadcast! We'll be hosting a giveaway that you won't wanna miss! And now, we resume our regular broadcast!”
Li Ming immediately turned off the bath and pulled the drain to let the water out and hopped out into the shower. He could not miss this event! He scrubbed his scalp and skin so hard and fast they felt as sore as if he was slapped all over for an entire day.
Striding out of the bathroom, he threw on his bathrobe and sat down at his desk. Li Ming shook his mouse to wake up his desktop. He immediately logged onto The Leo corporation's website and brought up their stream yet again. It was currently the semi-finals between the Beijing Tigers and the Seoul Gladiators. The Beijing Tigers were up 4 kills to 0, but the Seoul Gladiators had destroyed more parts of the Beijing Tigers base. It had been an extremely close game in terms of the amount of wealth that both teams have been able to accrue during this 45 minute game.
”As expected of the semi-finals between the two powerhouses of the eastern world!” Li Ming exclaimed.
Li Ming had been an avid fan of the Beijing Tigers. One of his former classmates that he'd eat ice cream with was a substitute player on that team, and the team had performed extraordinarily well the past 4 years.
Then, all of a sudden, the Live Commentators all drew a collective breath together with the crowd behind them. The entire tension of the arena rose tenfold and could be felt by Li Ming even though the competition was taking place thousands of miles away. His attention was once again drawn into the broadcast.