LOL: What does it mean to torture players?

The aftereffects of that seafood feast were obvious—Viper's tongue was still a bit thick during his live stream the next day, and he spoke in a slurred manner, earning him the nickname "Big Tongue AD" from fans. The so-called "matcha wasabi dumpling" also became a topic of jokes at the EDG base.

The LPL Summer Split regular season is in full swing for the next two weeks.

EDG's schedule is relatively favorable, as they face several mid-to-lower-tier teams such as LGD, UP, and TT in succession.

For Su Mo, these matches were practically a "scientific research experimental field".

When playing against LGD, he picked Vayne for top lane, effectively kicking LGD's top laner Fearness's internet addiction. The sound of the three-ring explosion was so loud it made your teeth ache.

When playing against UP, he picked a top lane semi-tank Nocturne, turned off the lights, activated his ultimate, and flew into the backline, scaring Elk so much that he didn't dare to stay more than two steps away from the support for the entire game.

When it came to playing TT, Su Mo went even further, directly locking in Pyke for top lane. Pyke has passive health regeneration for lane sustain and an ultimate with a bounty mechanism, turning a professional match into a chaotic free-for-all in a ranked game.

With their previous victory against WBG, EDG has achieved a resounding four-game winning streak, pulling ahead of the leaderboard with a perfect record in both matchups and individual games!
EDG 8-0!

They remain undefeated.

Meanwhile, other strong teams in the LPL are also making efforts.

Under coach Homme's guidance, JDG's 369 gradually improved to a "9," while Kanavi's dominance in the jungle remained strong, closely following EDG.

Driven by JackeyLove and Knight, TES, despite occasional lapses in performance, has an extremely high ceiling and consistently ranks among the top teams.

RNG just returned from winning the MSI championship. Although Breathe has only recently joined and is still in the adjustment period, their foundation remains strong, and they are steadily catching up.

In this fiercely competitive summer season, EDG, the undefeated "super team," has undoubtedly become the target of everyone's criticism.

……

June 25th, Saturday, prime time.

Hongqiao Tiandi Performing Arts Center.

Today's featured match: EDG vs TES.

On one side is the undefeated defending champion, and on the other side is the all-Chinese team with the "Sailor Duo".

Most importantly, TES's top laner Wayward is also a player with a very strong personality.

As a prodigy who switched from CS:GO, he is known for his mastery of Gnar and his incredibly quirky and eccentric emotes.

Inside the EDG lounge.

The coach, looking serious, held his notebook: "TES is an extremely aggressive team. Tian's form has recently improved, and his early game pace is very fast. Although Wayward is a rookie, he has good resilience under pressure."

Su Mo was sprawled on the sofa with his eyes closed, resting. Hearing this, he lazily opened his eyes and said, "Nar... he's really annoying, changing size all the time. Since he likes to play with this kind of transformation, I'll get him one that can transform too."

Saint Gun Bro, peeling a banana beside him, asked, "Brother Mozi, what kind of trouble are you up to now?"

Su Mo grinned: "Don't worry, I'm not playing a squishy character this time, I'm playing a tank."

……

The first draft phase begins.

TES is on the blue side, EDG is on the red side.

TES banned the following three champions in their first picks: Rengar, Kalista, and Pyke.

TES first picked the jungler Wukong.

EDG countered by taking down Lucian and Nami.

TES locked in Ahri and Vi on the second and third floors, forming an extremely strong mid-jungle ganking system.

In the second round of draft picks, the top laner made his move.

Wayward was very confident and immediately locked in his signature move—Gnar, the Lost Tooth!

"That's got character!" Guan Zeyuan laughed. "Wayward is challenging his senior, Mozi! Let's see what EDG left for Su Mo with their last counter pick."

The camera panned to Su Mo, who had a playful smile on his lips, seemingly amused by Wayward's provocation.

Soon, a avatar full of wildness and bloodshed lit up on the screen.

It was a pair of wolf eyes that glowed red, accompanied by mechanically modified limbs.

Warwick, the raging beast of Zaun!

"Warwick?!"

Guan Zeyuan's voice suddenly split: "Werewolf top lane? This... how many years has it been since we've seen this champion? Is Su Mo serious?!"

Remembering was dumbfounded, "This hero has slow wave clear, short range, and is easily kited..."

However, EDG has already secured their spot.

Game loading.

In this game, Su Mo used the Undying Grip rune and Barrier and Flash as his summoner spells.

"A barrier werewolf?" Wayward looked at the loading screen and couldn't help but laugh. "Is this guy trying to be funny? Watch how I tear him to pieces."

However, Wayward's smile vanished just three minutes after going live.

Su Mo's werewolf starts with Doran's Shield, learns Q at level 1, and doesn't farm minions at all, just hangs behind the minion wave.

If Gnar dares to attack him, he'll tank the damage and use Q on a minion to heal, or Q Gnar's face to suck up some health.

The werewolf's Q skill, "Mouth of the Beast," deals percentage-based damage and heals for a significant amount.

Wayward discovered that despite his efforts, the werewolf's health bar was still full, while he himself had been caught out and hit twice by the werewolf, causing his health to drop rapidly.

The most disgusting thing is the werewolf's passive ability - Bloodthirst.

When Gnar's health drops below 50%, Su Mo's werewolf becomes like a mad dog that has smelled blood, with its attack speed and movement speed skyrocketing!
level four.

Wayward's Gnar accidentally moved a little too far forward.

The werewolf, who was still finishing off the enemy, suddenly had red eyes, dropped to all fours, let out a chilling roar, and his movement speed increased instantly!
W [Blood Hunt] is activated!
Wayward quickly switched to E and jumped away.

But Su Mo activated his E skill to reduce damage, and charged straight at the tower while pushing through the minion wave!

Second stage E fear trigger!

Nar, who had just landed, turned back in fear.

Su Mo charged up his Q skill, biting down hard on Gnar's throat, and followed Gnar's movement.

A! Tiamat! A! Q!

The barrier activates, negating tower damage!
Gnar, with his low health, had no chance to escape and was bitten to death under the tower!
"First Blood!"

"Huh? He can even solo kill that!" Guan Zeyuan exclaimed. "That werewolf! Wayward couldn't even budge him! Once that werewolf smells blood, his movement speed is terrifying!"

This solo kill completely shattered Wayward's mentality.

The rest of the match turned into a horror movie set.

The map is filled with those chilling wolf howls and red blood trail effects.

As long as someone on TES has half health, Su Mo's werewolf will cross half the map and charge over like a mad dog.

JackeyLove's Ezreal fared even worse.

The team fight had just started, and he was still poking from the back.

Suddenly, a dark figure lunged forward!

Suppressed! Completely immobilized!
JackeyLove watched helplessly as several opponents charged at him, instantly melting his health bar. He took off his glasses and wiped them, saying, "Wait... this werewolf is as tanky as a tank, yet he deals so much damage. Is that even fair?"

Ultimately, EDG dominated the first game in just 25 minutes.

Su Mo's werewolf record was 7-0-5, he didn't die once, and he even got MVP.

……

In the second game, TES was clearly stunned. Wayward's performance plummeted. He picked Sion to try and farm in lane, but Su Mo countered by picking his signature Fiora.

This is truly a teaching situation.

Su Mo's Fiora is like dancing a waltz, breaking four targets in a second, securing kills under the tower, and soloing through the game.

TES's proud "Sailor Duo" was like paper against the over-farmed Fiora.

2: 0!

EDG swept aside their formidable rival TES without firing a shot!

As the crystal exploded, deafening cheers of "EDG" erupted throughout the stadium.

The post-match handshake session.

Su Mo walked up to Wayward, saw that this young player, who liked to show off his expressions before the game, now looked dejected, and patted him on the shoulder with a smile: "Brother, don't feel inferior for losing to me, keep going!"

Wayward's lips twitched slightly; this was a perfect display of bravado.

……

EDG base.

The group didn't celebrate too much after a day of competition, because everyone knew that the real challenges were yet to come.

Su Mo sat in front of the computer, looking at the densely packed match schedule on the screen.

Next week, they will face JDG, who are currently in excellent form and ranked second.

369, Kanavi, and that cunning coach Homme.

However, Su Mo didn't plan to continue fighting. Unless absolutely necessary, he would prefer to slack off.

At this moment, Meiko came over with a mysterious smile on her face: "Brother Mozi, Xiaoruan... cough cough, my friend said that she wants to come to the event next week, and she's bringing a few of her girlfriends with her."

"Bestie?" Jiejie and Viper, who were just complaining about being tired, immediately perked up their ears and their eyes shot over like searchlights.

Su Mo rolled her eyes at them, annoyed: "Look at you guys, so full of yourself. Can't you act like a champion team?"

After saying that, he turned to Meiko and asked with a righteous expression, "Is your best friend pretty? Do you have any photos? Send them to me for review. This is for the sake of the team's image and safety."

"cut!"

A chorus of boos erupted in the training room.

Daily training is always monotonous, but because Meiko's spring has arrived, there has been a restless atmosphere in EDG's base recently.

On Wednesday night, a rest day, with everyone's encouragement, a dinner party called "Fan Meeting" but actually "EDG's Large-Scale Blind Date" was quietly launched at a high-end hot pot restaurant in Shanghai, initiated by Meiko and his girlfriend.

Su Mo was wearing a simple black T-shirt and flip-flops, ready to go out, when she bumped into Jiejie in the lobby, who seemed to be on her way to an awards ceremony.

Jiejie's hair was slicked back and shiny, so shiny that even a fly would have to do the splits if it landed on it. She was wearing a casual suit that looked like it had been pulled out from somewhere, and she was even spraying perfume like crazy.

"Cough cough cough! Zhao Lijie, are you going to a wedding?" Su Mo was choked by the perfume and kept backing away, looking disgusted. "We're going to eat hot pot, not walk the red carpet. Aren't you worried that your sleeves will get in the way when we're eating mutton later?"

Jiejie nervously adjusted her bow tie, coughed, and said, "Brother Mozi, you don't understand. First impressions are very important! I heard that Xiaoruan's friend is a dancer, so she must have a great presence. I can't let EDG down."

Viper, who was changing her shoes next to Scout, peeked out and asked in Korean, "Should I change into a suit too? Jiejie looks... well, dignified."

Scout rolled his eyes and replied in Chinese, "Don't listen to him. Just wear your team uniform. That's called a professional player's confidence. Besides, your face is your passport. You'd look handsome even in a burlap sack."

Su Mo patted Jiejie on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Trust me, girls like sunny and cheerful guys, not real estate agents. Go on, put on that SpongeBob SquarePants hoodie."

……

The atmosphere inside the hot pot restaurant was quite strange at one point.

Meiko and Xiaoruan sat together, both shy, but their pinkish chemistry was practically boiling over. On the other side of the table, three girls were curiously observing the group of "internet addicts" from EDG.

Although Jiejie had changed out of her suit, she was as stiff as a mannequin, her hands trembling as she held chopsticks. She could only keep putting shrimp paste into the pot, even though the pot was already full of shrimp paste.

On the other hand, Su Mo was really just there to eat.

"Um... Mo Shen," a long-haired girl said, blushing, and tentatively handed Su Mo a plate of beef, "I watched your matches, and you were so cool no matter what you played! How do you train?"

This is a clear sign of goodwill.

Jiejie's eyes widened with envy.

Su Mo swallowed the tripe in her mouth and naturally took the plate: "Thank you. By the way, could you pass me some sesame oil over there? The sesame paste here is a bit dry."

The girl paused for a moment, then quickly handed over the sesame oil.

While holding the condiment bowl, Su Mo answered earnestly, "Actually, it's not hard to practice. I just have a little bit more talent. This beef is good, you guys eat more, don't be shy, Meiko's on the tab today."

girl:"……"

Not only did they kill the conversation, they also managed to sell out Maidanxia (a payment platform).

During the meal, Jiejie was too nervous and didn't eat much except for shrimp balls; Viper, because of the language barrier, could only smile and give thumbs up to the girls the whole time, which earned him praise for being "cool and cute".

Su Mo single-handedly devoured six plates of fatty beef and two servings of hand-pulled noodles, and even packed a serving of brown sugar glutinous rice cake to take back to the base for a late-night snack.

On the way back, Jiejie wailed, "Brother Mozi, you're such a straight man! That girl clearly likes you!"

Su Mo, toothpick dangling from his mouth, gazed at the night view outside the window and said casually, "Women only slow down my sword-drawing speed. Do you think I'm as thirsty as you?"

Jiejie felt a pang in her heart; it felt like she'd been stabbed.

Meiko, sitting in the front row, was holding his phone. His wide, goofy grin, stretching from ear to ear, was particularly glaring in the dimly lit carriage.

In the back row, Jiejie slumped in his seat like a salted fish that had lost its dreams, muttering to himself, "My dance major... my WeChat... my spring..."

"Alright, stop howling." Su Mo let out a burp and patted his stomach contentedly. "Didn't that girl say in the end that you're a really nice person?"

"She's a nice person?" Jiejie was indignant. "This is a 'friend zone' card! Mozi, you're such a straight man, you don't understand! This is a polite rejection! It's all because of that shrimp paste! Why did I keep putting shrimp paste in there? I should have served her food and shown my gentlemanly manners!"

"Come on," Scout added, "Your hands were shaking like you had Parkinson's. If you had actually tried to pick up some food, you probably would have splashed soup all over their face. In that case, you wouldn't just have gotten a friend card, you'd have to pay for the dry cleaning too."

"Hahahaha!" A group of people burst into laughter like geese.

Only Jiejie looked utterly hopeless.

Back at the base, everyone filed in.

As soon as he entered the training room, Su Mo sniffed dramatically, his brows furrowed, and his face became serious.

"What's wrong?" Coach Zhu Kai was still awake and reviewing the game video when he saw this. He was startled. "Is there a burning smell? Or is some wiring burned out?"

Su Mo shook his head, then pointed at Meiko, who was walking at the back, with a serious expression: "Coach, don't you think there's a strange smell in the training room today?"

Zhu Kai sniffed in confusion: "No, there's only the smell of hot pot on you... a little strong."

"No, it's not the smell of hot pot," Su Mo said with a pained expression. "It's... the stench of being in love! It's absolutely outrageous and seriously slows down the speed at which we single dogs can draw our swords!"

Everyone followed Su Mo's gaze.

Meiko had barely sat down in her gaming chair, not even turning on her computer, when she plugged in her phone to charge. Then she picked it up, grinning foolishly at the screen, a strange blush creeping across her face. (End of Chapter)