As Alex struggled to finish his thesis in the only Internet cafe still open in this part of Wuhan, he quietly prayed the air would clear as the evening wore on and the local chain-smoking Counterstrike guild closed shop for the night. By one o'clock, however, the omnipresent haze of smoke had settled into more-or-less permanent stormclouds over a growing mass of players who if anything were more animated than ever before.

It took another hour for the full horrific truth to hit Alex. Staggering to the service counter to stock up on caffeine, he noticed a small sign perched on the desk advertising a significant discount for overnight users. His non-stop smoking, terrorist-killing and expletive-shouting neighbors were here for the long-haul. And not only would they be playing through his morning deadline, they would be paying significantly less for the privilege too.