The power of Xiao Dao's "It Smells So Good" live stream recording was like a mental nuclear bomb dropped into the online world.
The chain reaction it triggered swept from the virtual space to the real world in an extremely short period.
Internet cafes, as the forefront of Chinese cyber culture, became the most direct showcase for this storm.
On Riot Games' backend data monitoring screen, the curve that had previously fallen in the late night soared again with even greater ferocity the next morning, maintaining a high level throughout the day without any signs of fatigue.
Registered users easily surpassed one million, and the number of concurrent online players fiercely approached the one hundred thousand mark.
The server room's cooling fans roared louder than ever before, and the technical team led by Li Ming entered a round-the-clock standby state, dealing with this "sweet burden" nervously yet excitedly.
However, data is cold; what was truly fervent was the vibrant League of Legends permeating the corners of countless internet cafes.
"Manager! Five connected computers, the fastest ones!"
Several teenagers wearing school uniforms, their faces still dotted with acne, rushed into the internet cafe, skillfully putting down money to get on computers.
Their actions after booting up were uniform—no longer the usual varied game icons, but directly clicking on the client with the dark blue background and Riot Games logo.
"Hurry, hurry! Get online! I practiced Ryze hard today; my combos are super smooth!"
"Oh, please, your Ryze Ultimate Ability drove us to a team wipe yesterday; I haven't even settled that score with you yet! I'll stick to my Garen, stable!"
"I'll play Ashe; my Ultimate Ability is accurate!"
"I'll support, playing that robot that can hook people (Blitzcrank), watch my divine hook!"
"Jungle! I'll play Master Yi; wait for me to come out after level six!"
The background music of logging into the game, the tense countdown of hero selection, the critiques of opposing heroes when entering the loading screen...
The entire area was filled with a joyful atmosphere.
Once the game started, shouts, commands, frustration, and cheers rose and fell.
"Top lane MISS! Top lane MISS! Be careful!"
"Jungler, hurry! The enemy is pushing the lane!"
"I hooked him! Focus fire! Nice!"
"Ah! I got ambushed! Brothers, avenge me!"
"One push, one push! We can end it! Hit the turret, hit the turret! Nice!!! We won!!"
After a game ended, regardless of victory or defeat, excited discussions would continue until the next game began.
They studied item builds, reviewed their plays, and made plans to battle again after school.
This became their new social hub and battlefield of glory.
Occasionally, there would be self-deprecating remarks like "five-man stack, never won a single game," but more often, it was the pure joy brought by fighting side-by-side and coordinating perfectly.
In a corner by the window of the internet cafe, a young man with black-rimmed glasses sat quietly.
He was out of place with the noisy "blacking out" atmosphere around him, simply focusing on his screen.
He mainly played Vayne, the Night Hunter.
His operations were delicate and calm.
The mouse precisely clicked for every last hit on a minion, and his movements nimbly dodged enemy skills.
When combat erupted, his Vayne danced on the edge of a blade, using the small displacement and invisibility of Tumble to find the most lethal output position in chaotic team fights.
Condemn pinned charging enemies to the wall, and when Final Hour activated, crossbow bolts fired continuously, accompanied by the "ding ding" sound of Silver Bolts triggering, and enemy heroes' health bars disappeared at an astonishing speed.
"Triple Kill!"
There wasn't much excitement on his face; he just subtly curved his lips, pushed up his glasses, and continued to calmly farm and push lanes.
He didn't need his teammates' shouts; the game's feedback was his best communication.
For him, mastering a hero to its extreme and carrying the whole game in silence was his unique form of cultivation and enjoyment.
Occasionally, people passing behind him would stop and watch, letting out low gasps of admiration, but he remained completely oblivious.
"Dude, what game are you playing? It looks pretty exciting," a player who had originally intended to play an FPS game was attracted by the dazzling skill effects and intense team fights on the adjacent screen, and couldn't help but lean over and ask.
" League of Legends! It just got popular, it's free! 5v5, fair competition!" The player, deeply engrossed in battle, didn't turn his head, but his tone was full of pride, "It's much more fun than shooting games! It's all about strategy and teamwork!"
"Free? Really? Is it hard?"
"It has a bit of a learning curve, but once you get into it, you can't stop! Look at this play of mine, an ultimate counter-kill, isn't that awesome?"
Similar conversations were happening in every corner of the internet cafe.
Some veteran players, who were tired of other games, were encouraged by these "self-appointed promoters" and downloaded the game with a "give it a try" mindset.
Thus, many stumbling figures appeared in the beginner tutorials, and more exploratory footsteps emerged in bot matches.
They went from "What the heck is this?" to "Seems kind of interesting," and then to "Just one more game," perfectly replicating Xiao Dao's mental journey, only on a scale thousands of times larger.
Xiao Chen, the internet cafe manager, noticed that his recent work duties included a new item: frequently helping customers resolve League of Legends installation, update, or login issues.
"Manager, why isn't this game updating?"
"Manager, I can't log into my account. Please help me check!"
"Manager, is there a League of Legends strategy website?"
Initially, Xiao Chen was a bit impatient, but soon, both he and the internet cafe owner acutely sensed a business opportunity.
The owner immediately ordered that League of Legends shortcuts be created in prominent positions on all computers, and occasionally played the game's stirring background music through the internet cafe's sound system.
They even began planning to organize small "internet cafe leagues"; as soon as the posters were put up, they attracted a large number of players to sign up.
"Boss, this League of Legends is truly amazing," Xiao Chen excitedly told the owner, "Before, there were still empty machines at night, but now it's almost packed every day; many people come specifically to play this, and they stay for a whole day! We've sold a lot more drinks and instant noodles!"
The owner looked at the bustling business area, where almost every screen displayed a Summoners Rift scene, and a smile blossomed on his face: "Hurry up and procure another batch of high-spec keyboards and mice! This game is our cash cow!"
The lively atmosphere in the internet cafe was merely the tip of the iceberg.
Beyond the screens, discussions about League of Legends were spreading like wildfire.
The number of posts on the official game forum grew exponentially, transforming from initial scattered questions into an ocean of hero guides, tactical discussions, and highlight reel sharing.
"Tryndamere's Five-Second True Man," "Ashe's Global Ultimate Ability," and "Ryze's Spell Machine Gun" became hot topics.
Players spontaneously formed QQ groups and voice chat channels, seeking like-minded teammates.
Major game information websites and self-media quickly followed suit, launching special reports, beginner's guides, and hero strength rankings for League of Legends.
Xiao Dao's video was reposted and cited countless times, and the "It Smells So Good Law" became the best footnote for this game's breakthrough spread.
Inside Riot Games, Qin Feng looked at the dizzying data growth on the backend and the fervent feedback collected by the marketing department from internet cafes, forums, and communities, and he knew that the tipping point had passed.
League of Legends was no longer just a "promising new game"; it had truly become a phenomenon, a cultural trend sweeping through the younger generation.
With its pure gameplay and fair competition, it successfully carved out a vibrant "Summoners Rift" uniquely its own in this parallel world with a barren game industry.
And all of this was just the beginning.