“Hey handsome, would you want my contact info? I’ll give you a twenty percent discount.” Her voice was sweet, but her sentences made Ye Lingchen a little confused.
What was up with discounts for contact information?
“No thanks.”
“How about thirty percent off, or forty percent off!” the girl shouted from behind.
Ye Lingchen smiled and left right away.
“F*ck man, this is illogical!” Hao Jian fished out a mirror from God-knows-where—that even had a comb that came with it—and started combing his hair.
While combing, he frowned and muttered to himself, “Why is this happening? Ye’zi would be just slightly more handsome than me if he showed his face, but he’s wearing a mask now. Still, girls are sticking themselves to him upside down. Why?”
“Come on, how can you compare with Ye’zi?” Little Gen grabbed the mirror. “But it really is strange. Girls should pay attention to me. After all, I’m the most charismatic out of the five of you.”
Xiang sneered. “Hehe, know your worth. If the five of us walk together, it’s obviously me that has the best success rate, okay?”
“I think that girl is blind. She probably won’t pull Ye’zi if she sees me,” Potato gave an earnest analysis of the incident.
Ye Lingchen looked at the group of idiots speechlessly and asked, “What happened just now?”
“The chick was giving you a discount,” Potato explained. “The 2D circle is actually quite a mess. Girls are more open, and if you have their contact information, you can go on dates with them. Of course, what I mean by discount is the price.”
Ye Lingchen’s brows wrinkled slightly in disbelief. “These people are still young, right?”
“Exactly. It’s because they’re still young. Cosplaying is very money-consuming, and if you don’t have at least four or five thousand, you definitely won’t be able to get one of those costumes. Anyone who likes these two-dimensional stuff will be embarrassed if they don’t have at least ten sets of clothes. These girls can’t have so much money,” Little Gen explained before continuing, “That’s why those who are in this circle are either from rich families or have other ways to make money.”
“Most of the time, they make money through immoral means.” Potato nodded in agreement. “Some are even willing to give up their bodies just for their hobbies and art. ”
Ye Lingchen shook his head and was very disapproving of that phenomenon.
“You’re being too extreme. Every industry has its dark side. Of course, not everyone is like this,” Hao Jian rebutted. “A lot of things are exaggerated when people spread them, when in fact, all we hear is hearsay.”
They watched the colorful exhibits on both sides while chatting away, and at times, they would make a comment or two about it.
As they proceeded deeper into the venue, the quality was clearly getting better and better. Many of them even left Ye Lingchen in awe.
However, one particular person puzzled Ye Lingchen to no end. It was a man clad in overalls with a chicken head on his head. He held a basketball in his hand and was showing off the basketball’s patterns. It did not seem to be anything special, but the crowd swelled in number and had not the slightest idea what everything meant.
There was no doubt that the anime convention was a very large one, and the layout was very comfortable as well, being a combination of technology and culture. Most importantly, the plethora of women could easily make anyone feel at ease.
The five people enjoyed themselves thoroughly and wandered around inside, but they halted their footsteps when they passed by a large poster.
“F*ck me, this is a DOTA poster with a panda logo in the upper right corner!”
“Finally found it. So, Panda Streaming had been arranged here right from the very start. Wow, wow, wow! We can finally see the real face of the game host.”
“Let’s go in quick! The decorations are so full of character it’s like we’re in a DOTA game.”
They exchanged comments as they entered the venue.
It was the meeting place for that anime convention. The entrance was not a door, but a circular screen with thick branches projecting downward. It felt like walking in the jungle, and every two meters was a three-dimensional monster standing valiantly on either side of the path.
These monsters were none other than the heroes in DOTA.
Ye Lingchen took note of everything and the corners of his mouth twitched involuntarily. It was all money! The money being burned was his money!
Although he knew that it was an investment in publicity, Ye Lingchen still felt distressed. Song Qian really did live up to his name!
Gradually, cheers and noise began to be heard at the venue. As they continued to move in, the front suddenly opened up to be a hall, which was already full of people by then. There were no more seats left and most people could only stand.
More than a dozen people were standing on the stage in front, all of whom were Panda Streaming’s DOTA hosts. With them were two emcees—a man and a girl.
Evidently, the next segment was an introduction session.
“Next up is the ice-cold goddess in the DOTA world, she’s the one and only…Coold Goddess!”
Everyone in the audience immediately cheered once the host’s voice was heard. At the same time, the big screen behind them played a montage of Coold’s best gaming moments.
“A host’s appearance has always been controversial, but I wonder if Coold’s face reveal will satisfy anyone?” Coold was featured on the screens everywhere.
“Hello everyone,” Coold smiled and greeted everyone.
For a brief moment, the whole venue became livelier and many people were cheering for their goddess.
Ye Lingchen looked coldly, and could not resist laughing. Her face was exquisite and her height was tall too. Standing at an estimated 1.7 meters, her legs were thin and long while her temperament matched her name.
“As many of us are well aware, there’s a saying in the DOTA circle that all the boys regard marrying Coold as their ultimate goal. I wonder if Coold can share her views on selecting a partner? Will you choose someone from the DOTA circle to be your boyfriend?” That question from the emcee was certainly a sensational one. Everyone became quiet for a brief moment.
“Regarding a boyfriend, I think the first requirement is that he has to first surpass me in the game.” Coold said coldly, and continued, “Actually, I don’t have any special demands. It depends on fate. Some people can make you happy even if you’ve never met each other. I think that’s what you call fate.”
“Wow, sounds very romantic,” the emcee exclaimed before saying, “The next one is also a goddess in the DOTA world, and I believe many of you can’t wait. But before that, please allow me to make a short advertisement.
“I believe that many fans want to fight against our hosts, and for this reason, we have added in a special interactive program today. You can scan the QR code on the screen, follow Panda Streaming’s official account, then enter your team name in the official account. We will then draw a lucky team later and give them the chance to come on stage and play against the host!
“A team must have five players, and from the looks of it, many of you are already getting excited. Hurry guys, sign up…”
