LOL: What does it mean to torture players?

At this point, the game time has reached 16 minutes.

The third dragon is about to spawn.

This is an Earth Dragon. If JDG can get it, the attributes of the Earth Dragon Soul might allow them to withstand Titan's unreasonable burst damage in the mid-game.
For EDG, this is a winning hand that they absolutely cannot afford to lose.

The atmosphere in JDG's voice chat was heavy.

"We have to take this hit." Yagao's voice carried a hint of urgency. "Our Sivir's bouncing damage is very high right now. As long as we kite well and don't get hooked by the Titan, we can fight."

Kanavi took a deep breath and glanced at his dismal equipment inventory—the Bloodthirsty Battle Axe wasn't finished yet, and he only had an Iron Spike Whip and a Burning Gem. "I'll try my best to disrupt their backline. 369, keep an eye on that Titan."

369 looked at the captain, who only had a mana-draining blade in his hand, and swallowed bitterly: "Me, keep an eye on him? It's good enough if he doesn't keep an eye on me... I'll try my best to block the way with barrels."

At this moment, in the lower half of the river in Summoner's Rift.

JDG's five players grouped up and cautiously probed for vision from the blue buff jungle pass towards the river.

Meiko's cat clung to Sivir, constantly using her Q skill to scout ahead.

Meanwhile, on EDG's side, Jiejie's Vi was taking the river crab, while Scout's Ahri and Viper's Lucian quickly closed in after clearing the mid lane.

But everyone's eyes were on the deep-sea behemoth.

"Where's Titan? Where's Titan?" Hope, controlling Sivir, asked somewhat nervously from behind, his finger hovering over the E skill's spell shield.

There is no trace of Titan on the map.

In the commentary booth, Miller, with his God's-eye view, gasped: "JDG is going to be in trouble! Mozi wasn't even in the front! He circled around to the blast cone behind JDG's blue buff wall! That's an extremely tricky flanking maneuver!"

Uzi couldn't help but exclaim, "This position... if it were a regular Titan, flanking wouldn't be very useful, since it's clumsy. But this is an AP Titan with Lich Bane and Nashor's Tooth! If we let him engage..."

Just as the JDG team was about to land in the river bushes...

"puff!"

The sound of the exploding fruit cracking rang out.

A huge figure descended from the sky, landing directly behind JDG's formation—right next to Yagao's Taliyah!
"Behind you!!" the toothpaste shouted.

But it's too late.

The moment Su Mo landed, he did not hesitate at all.

RQAE……

The rock sparrow was instantly melted.

The toothpaste was completely baffled.

He knew Titans dealt high damage, but he didn't expect it to be this high!
"Taliyah got instantly killed!!" Miller roared, "A top lane Nautilus, one second and he's dead a full-health mid laner! How are we supposed to fight this river team fight?!"

After killing the mid-laner, Su Mo did not retreat.

He endured 369 damage from the powder keg, but due to the level advantage and W shield, the damage was like a scratch, like an out-of-control tank charging towards Sivir who had just used her E.

"Look at me! I've locked onto the head!" Jiejie shouted from the front lines.

Vi flashes in and uses her ultimate to lock down Sivir.

At this point, JDG's formation was thrown into disarray.

First came Vi and Ahri, now comes Titan.

This team fight was a complete one-sided massacre.

Sivir died amidst a barrage of skills.

Su Mo once again landed a precise hook on the monkey trying to escape by hiding, and together with Viper's Holy Lance Baptism, secured the kill.

0 for 3.

EDG secured a winning hand.

"What do we do with this Titan?" 369 asked desperately in the voice chat.

But everyone fell silent; no one spoke.

Until the game has been going on for 20 minutes.

Baron Nashor has respawned.

At this moment, Su Mo had already created the Canyon Creator.

The true damage and omnipotent lifesteal provided by this item turn this AP Titan into a perpetual motion machine.

EDG's four players began to establish vision around Baron Nashor.

Su Mo, alone, led a large wave of minions and pushed towards JDG's bottom lane second tower.

JDG faces a difficult decision.

"We absolutely have to kill him this time," Kanavi said through gritted teeth. "He's got a thousand dollars on his bounty! If we kill him, we can stall for time!"

"I'll go lure them in, you guys lie in ambush," 369 volunteered.

Therefore, JDG assembled a large force.

369 was clearing the wave under the tower when Kanavi's Wukong and Yagao's resurrected Taliyah flanked from the jungle.

Even if it means sacrificing the dragon, they will disrupt Su Mo's momentum to boost morale.

"They've gone to capture Mozi!" Meiko keenly noticed the disappearance of characters from the map. "Mozi, run! Let's go for Baron!"

Su Mo glanced at the dark wilderness, but his eyes showed no sign of panic.

Su Mo's voice carried a hint of madness: "Fight the dragon! Don't worry about me! I'll buy you time!"

JDG's three-man gank was in place.

“He’s in the grass! Get him!” Kanavi shouted.

Yagao's Taliyah uses her ultimate to block the path, and 369 sets up two barrels in a row.

The three rushed into the bushes.

In that instant, Su Mo moved.

Instead of picking the squishiest Taliyah, he directly used his Q to hook the invading Wukong!

A! Imprisonment!
W shield activated!
All the skills were used on Titan.

However, the canyon builder is overcrowded!
Su Mo endured the damage from the three people and relentlessly attacked the monkey with basic attacks.

Thanks to Nashor's Tooth and Lethal Tempo, Titan's attack speed is ridiculously fast.

Every basic attack heals me!

Kanavi's monkey's health was dropping rapidly. He wanted to use his W to become invisible, but Nautilus's E skill had too large a slowing range.

"This is the embrace of the deep sea!"

Su Mo's final, devastating blow took the monkey away!

"EDG Mo has killed JDG Kanavi!"

Although he killed one person, Su Mo was also left with very low health.

369 finally blew up a barrel, and with bloodshot eyes, charged forward to finish off the big guy: "Die! Die!"

Just as 369's fire sword was about to strike.

Su Mo pressed the stopwatch.

"Ding!"

A golden statue stands in the grass.

At the same time, a mournful cry came from the Great Dragon Pit.

"EDG has killed Baron Nashor!"

369, holding his knife, stared at the golden Titan and his composure crumbled.

The jungler also got caught in the crossfire, and the Baron was lost too.

It's like losing your wife and losing your troops!
The golden statue is finished.

Su Mo faced death with equanimity.

"Shut Down!"

The kill was taken by 369.

But there wasn't a trace of a smile on 369's face.

Because he saw that the four members of EDG, with the Baron buff, had already pushed the minion wave onto the high ground.

"This wave... even if he died, it was a huge win," Uzi exclaimed. "He single-handedly held off three main carries, even managed to kill the jungler, and bought his teammates the perfect time to take Baron. This isn't just a top laner, this is practically a god of war!"

With the Baron buff, EDG's advance was unstoppable.

At 26 minutes, EDG gathered at the mid-lane high ground.

Although JDG fought desperately to defend, Sivir's wave clear ability was indeed outstanding, and she managed to hold onto two waves of minions.

"Don't rush, wait for my hook."

Su Mo then added another Zhongya Hourglass.

He stood before the tower, under the gaze of death itself.

The JDG players moved with extreme caution, as if afraid of being hooked by the giant anchor.

Just as a wave of minions was about to reach the tower.

Su Mo suddenly made a feinting motion, leaning forward and dancing.

Hope was so frightened that she immediately used her E skill, the shield.

"They got it by tricking them."

Su Mo's lips curled into a slight smile. The next second, he flashed into existence!

RQ!

The massive anchor pierced through the tiny gap between the two minions, as if guided by its own navigation system, and precisely struck Sivir, who had no shield!

"It caught it!!" the doll cried out hoarsely. "It actually caught this?! Is this the infamous 'lollipop' detection method?!"

Hope was in despair.

The moment she was hooked, Crystal Maiden entered the fray and used her ultimate, followed by Vi's lock-on.

JDG's core damage dealers melted instantly.

Without their AD carry, JDG is like a tiger with its teeth pulled out.

Su Mo took the lead, enduring the damage from the front turret, and activated his invulnerability to avoid the final high ground turret damage.

The teammates swarmed in.

Ace!

Destroy the group!

"Congratulations to EDG!" Miller shouted. "Thanks to Mozi's amazing AP Titan play, they've taken the first game! 1-0!"

"JDG deserved to lose this game," PDD said. "That Titan completely shattered their expectations. 369's performance was truly... If I were him, I would ask to smash the dice right now."

The camera pans to the players' seats.

Su Mo took off his headphones, his expression remaining calm.

He turned to look at Jiejie, who was beaming with excitement, and said lightly:
"So, what do you think? I told you this hero could carry, right?"

Jiejie gave a thumbs up: "This is awesome! I'll just be in charge of locking the head, and the rest is up to you!"

The atmosphere in the locker room at halftime was completely different between the two teams.

The door to EDG's lounge was suddenly pushed open, and Jiejie eagerly pulled out a chair for Su Mo and quickly unscrewed a bottle of mineral water, handing it to him.

"Bro! Drink some water!" Jiejie's face was beaming. "That 1v3 situation just now, I almost got an orgasm watching it from the fountain!!"

Su Mo took the water and took a sip: "Basic procedure. They were in a hurry. If it had been a slow and drawn-out process, I would have been in a lot of pain."

"Alright, although it's a great win, let's not get carried away." The factory manager clapped his hands. "This game was less of a tactical victory and more of a surprise move by Mozi that stunned the opponent. A team like JDG has a terrifying ability to adjust. Coach Hongmi will definitely not allow a second game to happen like this."

The factory manager looked at Su Mo: "Brother Mo, are you going to play again next round?"

Su Mo thought for a moment and said, "Let's go, win one more game, then we can play it safe."

"That's fine!" The factory manager nodded in satisfaction.

……

Meanwhile, in JDG's lounge, the atmosphere was so oppressive it was suffocating.

369 slumped in the chair, staring blankly at the floor.

The iconic die lay forlornly on the corner of the table.

As a professional top laner, being completely outclassed by a support hero with an unconventional build is a humiliation that can destroy a person's confidence.

"Cheer up!" Coach Hongmi broke the silence. "369, so what if we lose one game? Is the sky falling?!"

Redmi walked up to 369 and placed his hands on his shoulders. "That Titan was indeed disgusting, but that was Su Mo's personal ability and tactics."

“But coach…” 369 looked up, his eyes slightly red, “I feel like he completely sees through me in lane. He knows everything I’m thinking of.”

"That's because you're scared!" Kanavi interjected coldly from the side. He had also been frustrated by his earlier death and was seething with anger. "The more scared you are, the fiercer he becomes. Next game, I'll protect the top lane at all costs. You pick a champion that can fight, not a scaling champion. We'll go for the mechanical skill!"

Yagao came over and patted 369 on the back: "It's okay, this game was my fault. I shouldn't have fed that wave. Next game, we'll play it safe. Our team fight coordination is better than theirs. As long as we drag it out to the late game, we can win."

“Listen,” Redmi said in a deep voice, “Next game we’ll go to the blue side, first pick Zeli or Aatrox, and take back the initiative.”

He looked at 369, his tone softening slightly: "Next game, I'll give you Aatrox. It's your signature move, and the strongest warrior in the current version. You need to prove to everyone that your Aatrox is no worse than his."

Looking into the coach's trusting eyes, 369 gritted his teeth, picked up the dice from the corner of the table again, and held them tightly in his palm.

"Alright. Give me the Sword Demon."

……

The short break is over.

The lights came on again.

In the commentary booth, Wawa adjusted his headset: "Welcome back! This is the 2022 LPL Summer Split Finals! In the first game, EDG took the lead with Mozi's amazing AP Nautilus. Now the pressure is on JDG."

Miller: "Yes, JDG took the initiative to choose the blue side in this game, it seems they are going to make a move in the draft phase."

Uzi: "I'm just curious, will JDG let Nautilus through this game? To be honest, this champion is too overpowered in the top lane."

The two players took their seats.

Su Mo put on his headphones, and the noise-canceling earmuffs instantly blocked out the deafening shouts from inside the stadium.

The BP interface lights up.

In the second game, JDG's first three bans were so fast it seemed like they were venting their anger.

First up: Deep Sea Titan.

When the image shattered on the ban board, the audience erupted in laughter.

"They really banned it!" Wawa exclaimed. "This is the highest honor for a top laner! They forced the opposing team to ban a support champion!"

Second pick: Fiora.

Third move: The Proud Hunter.

EDG banned Yuumi, Lucian, and Draven.

For the bottom lane, disable Hope's signature champions and the Yuumi system.

JDG first pick:
Without any hesitation, he instantly locked onto Aatrox, the Darkin Blademaster!
"Aatrox!" Miller exclaimed. "369's signature champion! And a Tier 0 top laner in this patch! That was a great pick, both a way to ban him and a way to give 369 a chance to play a champion he's confident in! Looks like this top lane game is going to be a real battle of wits!"

EDG here.

Maokai glanced at Su Mo: "Brother Mozi, the enemy has made a move. What are you going to do in response? Should we get Zephyr for the bottom lane first?"

Su Mo looked calmly at the Darkborn wielding the giant sword.

"No need," Su Mo said softly. "Just get me Jess."

Jess, the Guardian of the Future.

EDG locked in the first and second floors directly: Zephyr + Jayce.

There was an uproar.

Uzi was shocked: "Jayce?! Jayce isn't considered T0 in this version, and against Aatrox... he's actually not very easy to beat. Aatrox has sustain, and if Jayce can't kill him in one combo, he's easily counter-attacked. Moreover, Jayce is a champion that relies heavily on skill and mechanics, with an extremely low margin for error. Once he falls behind, he's practically invisible."

Miller, however, seemed very excited: "But! This is Mozi's Jayce! Don't forget, he's a mechanical monster! He's going to go head-to-head with 369! It's not some kind of secret technique, it's just pure long-range versus short-range, pure kiting!"

JDG voice chat.

369's hand trembled slightly when he saw Jayce lock down the lock.

“Jace…” He took a deep breath. “Okay. As long as it’s not one of those weird things, I’m not afraid.”

After all, he's played Jayce at least 80 or 100 times in lane, so he has plenty of experience.

Even Su Mo's Jayce can be killed if he gets hit twice by his own Aatrox's Q, combined with W's Infernal Chains!

The lineups for both sides were quickly finalized.

Blue side JDG:

Top Lane: Aatrox (369)

Jungler: Vi (Kanavi)

Mid Lane: Ahri (Yagao)

AD: Hope

Support: Lulu (Missing)

Red team EDG:

Top Lane: Jayce (Mo)

Jungler: Poppy (Jiejie)

Mid Lane: Sylas (Scout)

AD: Viper

Support: Meiko

The lineup is locked.

Su Mo adjusted his talent runes.

Phase surge.

This is Jayce's ultimate talent for pulling and maneuvering.

"This time, I'll show him what real struggle is," Su Mo whispered into the voice chat.

The game has finished loading.

Su Mo bought a longsword and a reusable potion, and controlled the "Rose Gentleman" Jess, who was dressed in a white suit, as he walked gracefully towards the top road.

It just went online.

Unlike his previous game playing Titan, Su Mo didn't charge straight in; instead, he positioned himself at the edge of the bush. (End of Chapter)