Chapter 725: This world needs superheroes

Luo Shan Ji, Fist Headquarters.

Soft lighting illuminated the lounge on the top floor of Fist Headquarters; the staff had all gone home after work, leaving only two people in the lounge, making it feel empty.

Ta Da Mi Er sat on the sofa, head lowered, painfully pulling at his hair:

"I hate him, I really regret agreeing to the decision to hype him up with Europeans and LPL; he keeps causing all kinds of trouble for me, making things difficult, and now I just hope this guy retires soon…"

"Merrill (Ta Da Mi Er's real name)."

Ruizi held a glass of red wine in one hand, wearing a smile as he looked at his old partner, softly interrupting the other's incessant complaining, though his eyes were somewhat complicated.

"Do you still remember why we originally got together?"

Ta Da Mi Er froze, then thought, and said: "Of course. We agreed to make a super fun game that would be popular worldwide."

Ruizi nodded, gently swirling the red liquid in his cup, and said with feeling: "Yeah, we wanted to make a game popular worldwide. We did that. But…"

Ruizi looked up at Ta Da Mi Er, his tone shifting, his expression turning serious: "Old partner, have you forgotten our original intention?"

"'How could that be?' Ta Da Mi Er looked astonished."

"'In my view, you've gone down the wrong path.'"

"'... What do you mean by that?'"

"'In my view, a truly fun game must have one characteristic: surprise. League of Legends is popular worldwide precisely because its gameplay is highly varied—we have countless build paths for players to choose from, and we have countless tactical strategies for professional teams to explore…'"

Ruizi paused after saying that, then looked up again, staring directly at Ta Da Mi Er,

"'Merrill, we cannot stifle anyone's creativity in this game, or else League of Legends will surely decline.'"

"'But now our game development model has become competition-driven!' Ta Da Mi Er urged in defense, 'We need to consider competitive fairness!'"

"'That's right; League of Legends has become the face of esports, and we do need to seriously address competitive fairness and gameplay diversity.'"

Ruizi went along with Ta Da Mi Er's words for a few sentences, but then shifted tone:

"'But Merrill, this isn't our original intention, is it? Moreover, promoting any competitive sport requires a massive player base—just like basketball, football, and our League of Legends esports are no exception…'"

Ta Da Mi Er fell silent.

Yes, a competitive sport needs a popular base to spread; some longstanding sports, for various reasons, have been abandoned in this era, lost their popular base, and thus gradually fallen into obscurity, with no further investment—losing financial lifeblood, the activity can basically be said to be dead.

Ta Da Mi Er has seen this too many times—for example, tug of war, which exploded in popularity last century, has even been removed from the Olympic events; and even earlier, croquet, which was all the rage in European-American society, now? Not only are there no competitions, but many people haven't even heard of it.

Without popular support, anything will decline—that's an iron law!

Ruizi knew his old partner had been swayed, and immediately struck while the iron was hot:

"'In many Western countries, there's a popular joke about football, often used by Chinese fans to mock their national team's poor performance in international tournaments.'"

"'—China has 1.4 billion people, yet can't even pick eleven who can play football.'"

"'Merrill, do you also find this funny?'"

Ta Da Mi Er remained silent, but deep down he had actually accepted Ruizi's logic.

China isn't lacking eleven footballers among its 1.4 billion; rather, fewer than 100,000 of those 1.4 billion can play football—lacking a popular base, that's the root of the problem!

So what Ruizi really wanted to say was: if League of Legends keeps changing the game solely to appease competitive fairness, it will surely become incredibly boring, lose countless casual players, and without its massive player base, the so-called competition built on it cannot stand on its own.

Ta Da Mi Er was grateful that Ruizi had opened his eyes, but he still had a lingering resentment he couldn't swallow.

"'I admit you're right…' Ta Da Mi Er said in a low voice, 'but if our league becomes a one‑person league, what point would it have?'"

"'You mean Firrrrrre?'"

"'Exactly!'"

"'Well, even though I think just because he easily wins with a hero in matches and you cancel that hero's buff plan doesn't the slightest bit reduce his dominance, I still want to answer your question.'"

Ruizi took a sip of wine, shifted to a more comfortable half‑recline on the sofa, exuding a relaxed, satisfied air. He then continued:

"'Merrill, you're too obsessed with technology, neglecting real‑world interaction and observing people; your idea is fundamentally wrong.'"

"'What?'"

"'To be frank, my view is actually the opposite of yours.'"

"'Personally, I really like Firrrrrre—I could even say I somewhat admire him, just as I admire you for your skill; in League of Legends esports, he has unmatched, almost god‑like technique.'"

"'And as the overall person in charge of operating League of Legends and the esports derived from this game, I'm equally pleased to see a player like Firrrrrre emerge.'"

"'Do you know why?'"

Ta Da Mi Er didn't answer. Ruizi didn't need him to, paused, and then gave the answer himself:

"'Because, Merrill, this world needs superheroes.'"

A world without heroes would be terribly dull, because ordinary people would lose something to aspire to, merely trudging through a bland, uneventful existence.

Esports likewise needs superheroes; even setting aside the commercial gains of hype and traffic, players who constantly struggle at the bottom of the game ranks also need a mighty goal to fuel their fantasies, keeping their passion to keep playing.

Ta Da Mi Er let out a long sigh.

There's nothing to be done—it looks like we really have to let that guy control the lightning.

I just hope that guy doesn't stay stuck on one team forever, or else it would be utterly hopeless for the other teams…