Chapter 785: Facechecking the Bush

At this time, in the Great Jin Kingdom, at the Jiuhua City branch.

Inside the old shop, a shift system was now largely in place, meaning the clerks no longer had to mind the store the entire day as they did in the beginning.

During their breaks, they naturally spent a little time browsing the internet themselves.

Xiao Yulv stood behind them holding a saucer of candied fruit from the Qingfeng Mingyue Tower, engaging in his routine observation.

Right now, he was watching another female clerk, Yu Zhiwei, select her champion.

"This...? Why are some of the characters greyed out?" Xiao Yulv asked, pointing at the screen while munching on his candied fruit.

"Doesn't this mean you can only choose characters of the same gender?" Yu Zhiwei waved her hand matter-of-factly, adding, "You haven't played the game, so you wouldn't understand."

"...If they can't be chosen, wouldn't it be better not to show them at all? Why make them grey?" As a veteran guide-making expert, Xiao Yulv instinctively felt there was something fishy going on.

"How could this young master not understand?!" This young master knew astronomy above and geography below! It must be known that everyone else was making massive strides now, while Xiao Yulv alone could play nothing, forced to strictly practice the ultimate arts of the Liuyun Dao Palace until he was now proficient in every single one of its spells.

He also knew every single game guide in the shop backwards and forwards: "How can you slander a person's innocence out of thin air like this?"

"Hahaha!" A crowd of people around them burst into laughter, "Young Master Xiao, you want to get online again, don't you?"

"You...! You all—!" His entire face turned completely red, looking ready to explode.

"Hmm—?" Just then, Yu Zhiwei suddenly noticed that those characters greyed out due to gender differences could actually be selected; they just could not be confirmed.

And when attempting to confirm, an extra option popped up: "Your account is not an 'Orderly Player' account, please complete the evaluation first."

"Hmm—!?"

"Eh—?" Xiao Yulv also stared at the screen with wide eyes.

Did that not mean it was possible...!?

His eyes went completely straight.

"Boss! When exactly can I play!" Disregarding those fellows who were mocking him, he hurriedly went to look for Boss Fang.

Xiao Yulv was clearly unable to use Penguin Communication, so Boss Fang received a short text message instead.

"Ah?" Boss Fang glanced at his own permissions. With the establishment of yet another new branch, the player base was showing an even higher growth trend, and Boss Fang's authority had evidently grown larger and larger, gradually approaching the jurisdiction of an ordinary owner.

Under the clerk assignment panel, a row that originally read "Clerk Can Issue Quests" had been greyed out, but now it was lit up.

Xiao Yulv: Clerk Star Rating, Negative Five Stars. Star rating can be raised through quests. Zero stars equals a normal customer's rating, while negative one to four stars equals restricted customer levels.

Currently available quests to issue for this clerk: ...

Those suitable for this clerk include: Guide Creation, Tournament Commentating.

Boss Fang: "I have a few matters to entrust to you. Do them well, and this boss will personally lift your ban!"

"Really—!?"

"Ah—!" A long roar echoed as a figure clad in a yellow shirt and white robe soared straight into the highest heavens just outside the shop door, as if all his long-repressed emotions were exploding at this very moment.

"Ah—! Ah—!" That silhouette, resembling a cannonball, pierced through layer after layer of thick clouds.

He was simply too excited!

Amidst the cloud layers, a medium-sized passenger dharma boat was slowly sailing out.

Rumble—!

A loud crash shook the sky.

...

"Boss Fang." Yu Zhiwei sent over a message, "Young Master Xiao fractured his neck bone and is applying for a few weeks of rest."

She conveniently attached a screenshot of half a body wedged into a dharma vessel.

"Oh..."

...

On the other side of the shop.

The system version of League of Legends had clearly undergone significant optimization on top of the original version.

Situated between the Freljord and a remote forest, Summoner's Rift was one of the few places on the Valoran continent that was utterly suffused with magical power.

Just like the glimpse offered in the teaser cinematic and the opening sequence...

It was precisely a corner of that lush, magical forest.

In this tranquil woodland, packs of wolves and wild beasts rested alongside a variety of magical creatures and monsters.

The boundaries were sealed with a magical barrier; through the glowing light of the perimeter barrier, the towering peaks and clear skies outside the Rift could still be seen.

On the three main paths lined with turrets, slight traces of artificial carving could still be discerned.

The equipment purchased from the shop located in the base, such as Doran's Blade, gradually fused with the champions' own weapons and armor.

The fierce sun hung high in the sky, and the roadside thickets were filled with the piercing chirps of insects. Due to the dense concentration of magical elements, normally even spiritual awareness could only cover a small portion of this area.

Consequently, the various patches of brush, which spanned a relatively broad area, were replaced by dense jungles where shrubs, weeds, and trees intertwined.

At this moment, Nalan Mingxue watched the Jarvan IV who was walking up the top lane with her. Wearing a suit of glittering golden armor, he glanced toward her.

"Our mission is to fight and die!"

Having spoken, with utmost solemnity and a point of no return, he stepped into the jungle of the top lane.

Squatting down behind a thicket, he snapped off a bunch of shrubs to block the front of his head.

"Hmm...?" At this moment, of the two individuals coming from the opposite direction, one wore heavy armor and held a massive axe in hand, while the other carried a thick scroll on his back.

Different from the original version, because players controlled the projections of these champions, what they spoke were not mechanical lines; they would occasionally offer guidance to these summoners. Of course, if it were a cold and detached champion, speaking once or twice in a match would already be quite good.

Clearly, Riven was not that kind of champion.

"For my great Noxus!"

The two from the red side, under the control of their summoners, had already charged forward with all their might.

That mage even condensed a highly concentrated ball of energy in his hand, smashing it forward like a cannonball!

What a summoner called forth was not merely a puppet left entirely to one's manipulation; they were the sturdiest shield behind every summoner!

"Choose your own path." Nalan Mingxue felt as though the consciousness and power of another soul were flowing through her body, and that voice was reminding her, "The blade knows its master."

A surge of newborn power flowed into her body, and she seemed to gain insight into a certain special swordsmanship.

"Broken Wings!" A massive blade bearing dark green runic energy carried her entire form forward like a butterfly, tracing an elegant and moving trajectory.

Then, with one step, she leaped into the adjacent thicket.

"Eh?"

"Where is she?"

(As a player who had experienced Assassin's Creed, causing opponents to instantly lose vision within the brush was still entirely achievable.)

The two looked at each other.

You look at me, I look at you.

The Ryze: "Only one person...?"

Hand of Noxus: "Let's go, let's take a look inside."

Two passing players were then seen eagerly slipping into the brush: "Let's see where you can run now! Hehehe!"

"The blade is broken, but the soul is unbroken!" A colossal blade plummeted from the heavens! The monstrous force of the impact nearly shattered the earth itself, the concussive backlash launching both of them into the air almost simultaneously!

"Demacia—!" At that exact moment, a massive halberd surged forth like a ferocious dragon!

...

"???" Two corpses lay slumped in the brush.

"First blood!"

.