LOL: What does it mean to torture players?

The other side tried to run, but it was too late.

Against a level 15 Vayne wielding the Kraken Slayer, Blade of the Ruined King, and attack speed boots, no squishy champion can withstand the percentage-based health damage.

"Don't panic, focus fire on him!" Lehends' Alistar had just broken free from Rakan's control. With red eyes, he used his Q skill [Ground Smash], which he had saved, in an attempt to force a trade with Kai'Sa's damage to kill Vayne.

But Su Mo's reaction seemed to have surpassed the limits of human capability.

Within a fraction of a second of Alistar's raised hand, Su Mo, controlling Vayne, executed an extremely small yet pixel-perfect right-angle movement, not only dodging Alistar's knock-up but also managing to dodge Kai'Sa's desperate W [Void Seeker]!
"It's gone!! Mozi is weaving through the crowd like an eel! Alistar's Q missed! Kai'Sa's W missed too!!" Miller's voice echoed wildly on the commentary stage, and his heavy breathing due to lack of oxygen could be heard throughout the studio.

Without any skills, Kai'Sa is no match for Vayne, not even as good as a super minion.

"Crack! Crack!"

Two basic attacks with the Ruined King's Sludge Belcher effect landed on Kai'Sa.

Q skill [Dodge Strike]!
Invisible, kiting, and reset basic attack!

"Crack!"

The third bolt, dealing true damage, pierced Kai'Sa's chest. Aiming, who had just been trying to control the situation, saw his screen instantly turn gray.

"EDG.Mo has eliminated KT.Aiming!"

"Double Kill!!"

The sound effects of the double kill echoed across the canyon, and less than three seconds had passed since Orianna died!

KT's voice channel fell completely silent. Only Cuzz and Lehends' rapid breathing could be heard.

With both carries eliminated, this desperate Baron fight has completely failed.

"Run...run as many as you can." In the backstage locker room, KT's head coach Acorn closed his eyes in despair. He knew that this BO5, this decisive third game, was over.

But how could EDG possibly let them go?

"Keep them alive! Don't let any of them escape!" Ah Chen's Lee Sin had less than a third of his health left after being focused down, but he still fearlessly used his W to ward up and used the red buff's slow to stick to Maokai.

Xiao Yue's Akali was even more adept, transforming into a true assassin in the late game, using her ultimate to pass through Alistar and unleash damage directly on Maokai.

Su Mo, with elegant yet ruthless steps, carried a heavy crossbow and reaped the battlefield arrow by arrow.

Heavy tanks? Korean-style defense?
In the face of Vayne's [Silver Bolts], the tree and the Alistar with his ultimate activated are nothing more than paper targets with slightly higher health.

"Crack!"

"Crack!"

The sound of the three rings exploding was like the death knell, methodically striking the hearts of every South Korean viewer.

"Triple Kill!!"

"Quadra Kill!!"

As the bull's massive body crashed down, the system's rousing female voice announced that Su Mo had secured a quadra kill!

Before the Dragon Pit, corpses littered the ground. All four members of KT were dead, leaving only Poppy, far away under the bottom lane inhibitor turret, who didn't even have the chance to join the team fight.

"Baron, we've won this wave!"

Su Mo ignored Poppy, who had escaped unscathed, and didn't shout or yell in the voice chat for getting a quadra kill. His voice remained as calm as a deep pool, and even his breathing didn't change at all.

"My God... Calm down, so calm." Guan Zeyuan held his head in his hands, watching the Vayne on the screen leading four minions to take Baron Nashor. "In the quarterfinals of the World Championship, he used a Vayne who was playing against the meta to get a quadra kill. Is this the aura of the world's best top laner?!"

"This isn't just oppression, it's despair." Ji De took a deep breath, his eyes slightly red. "Look at the scene at Busan Stadium right now..."

The director very considerately switched the camera to the audience.

The entire venue was deathly silent.

Thousands of South Korean fans, dressed in white KT jerseys, slumped in their chairs as if their souls had been drained. Some covered their mouths and wept silently, while others stared blankly at the big screen, their eyes filled with incomprehensible confusion.

The first two games were bad enough that they were outplayed by both forehand and backhand attacks, but in this crucial third game, they were completely dominated by a Vayne on their home turf. For LCK fans, who pride themselves on being the "number one esports nation," this was nothing short of a collapse of faith.

At 22 minutes and 10 seconds, EDG secured the kill on Baron Nashor.

With the Baron buff, the five players surged forward from the top lane towards KT's high ground.

"Brothers, it's the final step!" Meiko shouted in the voice chat, "Destroy the base! Protect Mo's minion wave!"

"Charge! Charge! Charge! Get off work now!" JackeyLove excitedly flashed an EDG team logo.

Kiin, all alone in front of the nexus tower, watched as the five EDG players, adorned with the purplish-red aura of the Baron buff, pounced on him like wolves. His hand holding the mouse trembled so much that he could barely click the right mouse button.

He's a veteran, the "national team top laner" of the LCK. But in today's BO5, his resolve was completely shattered by Su Mo.

In the first game, he was tower-dived and killed by Camille. In the second game, he was blocked by Darius at the second tower and his minion wave was cut off. In the third game... facing this Vayne with her broken armor, he couldn't even reach her with a basic attack.

When Su Mo's Vayne targeted the inhibitor turret, Kiin gritted his teeth and activated Poppy's ultimate, attempting a final, desperate struggle.

But just as he raised his hammer, Meiko's Rakan instantly flashed and used his W to launch him into the air. Immediately afterward, JackeyLove's Xayah and Xiaoyue's Akali unleashed a torrent of damage.

Su Mo didn't even bother to waste his damage on Poppy; he just focused intently on attacking the crystal, arrow by arrow.

"boom!"

The first tooth tower collapsed.

"boom!"

The second dental tower has been reduced to ruins.

"Activate the crystal! Activate the crystal!!" The three LPL commentators stood up on stage in unison.

As Su Mo fired his last crossbow bolt, which dealt true damage, the blue team's crystal nexus suddenly shattered, turning into countless dazzling fragments!

Let's congratulate EDG!!!

Guan Zeyuan's hoarse roar pierced the screen, "3-0!! An extremely clean and decisive 3-0!! They shattered KT's ironclad defense, refusing any possibility of overtime! On Busan, the home ground of the Korean team, they advanced to the semifinals of the S13 World Championship in the most ruthless and domineering way!!"

"They're too strong! This EDG team is really too strong!" Miller excitedly waved his fist. "Especially Mozi! In this version where everyone thought top lane could only play tanky champions to withstand pressure, he used three completely different champions to declare one thing to the world - you can never limit a true god in the draft!"

Inside the battle arena, the moment the golden word "Victory" popped up on the screen...

Chen and Yue, both newcomers playing in the World Championship main event for the first time, jumped up from their gaming chairs and hugged each other excitedly.

"We won! Holy crap, we're in the semifinals!!" Ah Chen was so excited his face turned red. "Brother Mo is awesome! That flanking maneuver and pushing the wall was so cool!" Xiao Yue danced with joy.

JackeyLove and Meiko breathed a long sigh of relief and smiled at each other. Although they were veterans who had won championships, achieving a clean sheet under such away pressure still made them feel excited.

Among them, Su Mo simply and calmly removed his noise-canceling headphones.

Hearing the faint cheers of LPL fans amidst the deathly silence in the arena after he took off his headphones, Su Mo's lips curled into a very slight smile.

He stood up and slowly packed his badly worn keyboard and mouse into his peripheral bag, zipping it up. His calm demeanor made it seem as if he had just finished an ordinary ranked match in an internet cafe, rather than winning a crucial world championship match in front of millions of viewers.

"Alright, stop jumping around." Su Mo slung his peripheral bag over his shoulder, turned to look at Ah Chen and Xiao Yue who were still jumping around, and said in a gentle but authoritative voice, "This is only the top eight. There's still a long way to go. Come on, let's shake hands."

A single, casual remark instantly calmed the raging fire.

Yeah, what's there to celebrate about making it to the semifinals after playing for this guy?
Their only goal is that silver Summoner's Cup!
The five EDG players lined up and, led by Su Mo, walked across the center of the stage toward KT's match booth.

At this moment, the atmosphere of sorrow in the KT match booth was almost frozen.

Jungler Cuzz slumped over the table, his shoulders twitching slightly; veteran Bdd stared up at the ceiling, his eyes red-rimmed.

When Su Mo walked up to Kiin, this top laner who had dominated the LCK looked like a child who had made a mistake, with his head down and not even daring to look Su Mo in the eye.

Su Mo stopped and extended his right hand.

Kiin paused for a moment, then stood up somewhat flustered and grasped Su Mo's hands with both of them.

"You defended very well. Poppy's skill level is very high." Su Mo looked at Kiin and said softly in fluent and standard English, his eyes showing no arrogance of a victor, only pure respect for his opponent.

This simple affirmation caused Kiin, who had been holding back all night, to burst into tears.

He bowed deeply to Su Mo and replied in a trembling voice, "Thank you... You are the strongest."

This scene was keenly captured by the on-site director and displayed on the big screen.

"That's true vision." I remember being deeply moved while watching from the commentary booth. "He won the game and also earned the respect of his opponent. Mozi is not only far ahead in terms of skill, but also a role model for all esports players in terms of professionalism."

After shaking hands, the five members of EDG walked to the center of the stage.

Under the spotlight, the five people stood side by side and bowed deeply to the audience.

At that moment, even the desperate South Korean audience had no choice but to offer a sparse round of applause to this team that had demonstrated absolute dominance.

Because in esports, you will always only submit to the true champions.

……

Meanwhile, in another VIP box not far from the stage.

The entire T1 team is watching the game.

As Zeus watched the handsome young man with a peripheral bag on his back walk off the stage calmly on the big screen, he couldn't help but swallow hard, feeling a chill run down his spine.

“Sang-hyeok hyung…” Zeus turned to look at Faker sitting in the middle, “His last Vayne pick… if it were you, how would you have handled it?”

Faker pushed up his round-framed glasses, his gaze fixed on Su Mo's back on the screen.

The usually confident "Great Demon King" remained silent for a long time before slowly uttering a single sentence:

"do not know."

These three simple words caused the other members of T1 to gasp in shock.

Faker crossed his arms and said seriously, "His champion pool has transcended the concept of the current version. To defeat him, we must completely destroy the other four members of EDG in head-to-head team fights. We cannot allow him any chance to take over the game."

He knew that the mountain was now even more insurmountable than it had been a few years ago.

……

In the post-match interview, the spotlight was unsurprisingly given to Su Mo, who had won three consecutive MVP awards.

When Su Mo, dressed in a clean and tidy EDG team uniform, stood next to the Korean female host, the popularity of various live broadcast rooms instantly surpassed the peak of the night.

"Congratulations to EDG for advancing to the semifinals with a 3-0 record!" Although the Korean female host's smile was somewhat forced, she still maintained her professional demeanor. "Today, player Su Mo picked the shocking Vayne top lane in the third game. Was this a secret weapon prepared by the coaching staff, or was it your own impromptu decision?"

Su Mo picked up the microphone, his eyes clear, his tone humble and gentle: "It's not a secret weapon, just the optimal solution based on the lineup. KT's defense is perfect, and it would be difficult for a regular fighter to break through. I happened to have practiced Vayne for a while before, and the coach was willing to trust me, so I chose it."

The barrage of comments exploded instantly:

[What the hell do you mean by "trained for a while"?! You beat Poppy by three levels in 15 minutes and you call that "trained for a while"?!]

[Extreme boasting! He even thought it was just a regular ranked match!]

The coach's willingness to believe me equals my insistence on being chosen, and the coach didn't dare say anything, hahaha!

[He's so refined! What kind of girl could possibly be worthy of a guy who's handsome, plays video games like a monster?!]

Meanwhile, in a high-end hotel in Shanghai.

Having just finished a long day of intense work, Shen Yiyin was wrapped in a bathrobe, sprawled on the soft bed without any regard for her image. She held a tablet computer in her hand, the screen displaying Su Mo's post-match interview.

Looking at the young man on the screen who remained calm and composed in the face of millions of eyes, Shen Yiyin's beautiful peach blossom eyes sparkled with a bright light that she herself did not realize.

"So this is what you look like when you're glowing...."

She murmured something softly, then picked up her phone and opened the WeChat chat window with a completely black profile picture.

She spent ages revising and editing, but in the end, she only sent a simple sentence:

"Hello hero, congratulations on getting off work! Remember to grab a late-night snack! [cat scattering flowers.gif]"

9 PM Seoul time.

EDG's bus was traveling back to the hotel.

Inside the train carriage, the newlyweds, overwhelmed with excitement, had all fallen into a deep sleep. Su Mo sat by the window, his phone screen faintly lit.

Looking at the lively cartoon kitten, Su Mo's usually cold and hard expression finally softened completely under the glow of Seoul's neon lights outside the window.

He typed with one hand and replied:
"Thank you. I won't have any late-night snacks; we have to review tomorrow. You should get some rest."

After sending the message, he locked his phone and turned to look out the window. (End of Chapter)