LOL: What does it mean to torture players?

Faced with these three exceptional beauties, each with their own unique charm and who had all let down their guard.

Su Mo remained completely calm.

He took the red wine from the widow, took a small sip, and put the glass back on the coffee table.

He gently pulled Rita, who was straddling his lap, closer to his arms, while his other hand domineeringly wrapped around the slender waist of Yu Shuang, who was sitting on the armrest.

"Since the overtime pay is owed, it will naturally be settled."

Su Mo raised his deep eyes. In the dim light, his gaze was like that of an emperor reigning over the world—calm, tolerant, yet possessing an absolute power that compels people to submit.

"Go lock the door," he whispered to Xiran, who was standing not far away.

"Roger that, sir!" hope Ran ran over like a happy little deer and locked the living room door.

The spring breeze along the Huangpu River brushes past the floor-to-ceiling windows.

In this private domain belonging only to the seven-time champion, there is no smoke of battle on the field, only the intoxicating constant temperature and the ultimate indulgence.

The five-day holiday flew by in this spacious and inviting apartment.

During this time, Su Mo did not completely indulge in the pleasures of love. He maintained a very disciplined routine, watching LCK and European and American spring split replays in his study every morning, recording the top and jungle synergy routes, vision habits, and even the timing differences of junglers' farming in potential opponents such as T1, GEN.G, and G2 as if they were imprinted in his mind.

In the afternoon, he would accompany Yu Shuang to buy groceries, play games with Rita, or make a video call to Lin Xuan, who was still rushing to finish filming in Hengdian, to listen to her complain about the meals provided by the crew.

The evening of the fifth day.

Su Mo sent the compiled data analysis on MSI opponents to the EDG coaching staff's email address.

"Are you going back to the team?" Yu Shuang stood at the door of the study, looking at Su Mo who was packing his peripheral equipment bag, her tone tinged with reluctance.

"Okay, we'll meet at the base at eight tomorrow morning for a two-week closed training camp." Su Mo put the black thermos into his bag, turned around, walked to Yu Shuang, and casually ruffled her hair. "For the next two weeks, family members aren't allowed to visit. Take care of yourself and keep an eye on the others."

"Don't worry. We'll be at home, watching you bring that golden trophy back from London." Yu Shuang smiled gently and straightened his collar.

The next morning.

A black SUV drove out of the underground parking garage of the Riverview Apartment and headed steadily toward the EDG base, bathed in the rising sun of Shanghai.

The glory of the Spring Split is now a thing of the past.

The Mid-Season Invitational, which will soon kick off in London, is the ultimate test that brings together the top teams from all major regions around the world. It awaits this god of the LPL to complete a new round of domination.

The five-day holiday passed in the blink of an eye, and a light spring rain began to fall in Shanghai, as if washing away the dust for the departing team that was about to embark on their journey.

EDG base, 8:00 AM.

In the tactical meeting room, apart from Su Mo, the other four starting players plus substitute Vamp all had dark circles under their eyes, indicating that the young people had gone a bit too far during their five-day holiday.

Ah Chen yawned widely, still holding an iced Americano in his hand: "Brother Mo, what have you been up to these past few days? I haven't seen you log into your account on the Canyon of Kings much."

Xiao Yue also came over, winking and lowering his voice: "Brother Chen, are you stupid? Brother Mo has so many beautiful women hidden in his river-view penthouse, why would he still be playing ranked games? He must be busy 'working day and night'."

Su Mo walked into the conference room carrying his peripheral bag. Hearing the two clowns whispering to each other, his expression remained calm and serene.

He walked to the water dispenser, unscrewed the thermos, slowly filled it with hot water, and then turned to look at the two of them.

"It seems you guys have maintained your hand speed well over the past five days. In the practice match this afternoon, Chen, you and Xiao Yue will play a 2v2 mid-jungle pressure game. If you get solo killed once within fifteen minutes, you'll practice 50 more last hits tonight."

Su Mo's tone was very gentle, without even a hint of severity, but Ah Chen and Xiao Yue instantly felt a chill down their spines, and almost spilled their iced Americanos.

"No, Brother Mo! I was wrong! I didn't say anything!" Ah Chen wailed.

"Clocking in for work, rules are rules." Su Mo sat down at his desk, holding his cup, a hint of indulgence barely perceptible in his deep eyes.

At 8:30, Mingkai and Abu pushed open the door and entered, each carrying a thick stack of documents.

"Alright, let's get back to normal!" Mingkai clapped his hands, his expression becoming unusually serious. "Starting today, the 15-day closed training camp officially begins. Not only us, but BLG, as the second seed, will also begin their training camp tomorrow. This year's MSI, our LPL has only one goal: to keep the championship in our own region!"

Abu distributed the materials to everyone and adjusted his glasses: "The format of this year's London MSI has been changed quite a bit. Each of the four major regions—LPL, LCK, LEC, and LCS—has two teams participating. As the number one seed, we directly enter the best-of-three group stage. But we can't let our guard down; let's take a look at our potential opponents."

Abu turned on the projector, and a striking red team logo appeared on the screen—T1.

"The LCK Spring Split champions, T1. This team is in terrifying form this year, especially top laner Zeus and mid laner Faker. Zeus had the highest solo kill rate in the entire league in the Spring Split, and his champion pool is bottomless, from Gnar and Jayce to Yone and Quesant, he has almost no weaknesses. And their jungler Oner is extremely aggressive in the early game."

Ah Chen swallowed hard: "Zeus has been incredibly strong this year."

The image on the screen changed to another golden team logo—GEN.G.

“LCK’s second seed, GEN.G. Although they lost to T1 in the finals, their mid laner Chovy is still an absolute farming machine and a late-game guarantee, and their jungler Peanut’s map control ability should not be underestimated.” Mingkai pointed to the tactics board, “These two teams are our biggest obstacles to defending our title.”

"Besides LCK, not all European and American teams are pushovers," Abu continued. "G2, the LEC Spring Split champions, still maintain their tradition of 'unconventional' plays. Their top laner, BrokenBlade, pulled out Yasuo and Pyke in the finals. This kind of unpredictable playstyle can easily overwhelm experienced teams in BO1 or BO3. And then there's C9 from LCS, who brought in Korean mid laner Berserker this year, resulting in a significant leap in their bot lane dominance."

The atmosphere in the meeting room gradually became heavy.

Everyone knows that MSI is not like the LPL's internal battles; it's a place that brings together the world's most elite, cunning, and victory-hungry monsters.

However, Su Mo remained completely calm.

He glanced down at the T1 team analysis report in his hand, tapping his fingers lightly on Zeus's champion pool. "Don't overcomplicate things," Su Mo said, putting down the report, taking a sip from his thermos, his voice calm and confident. "T1's core strategy lies in the initiative of their top and jungle lanes and the lane control of their mid lane. As long as Zeus is locked down on the side lanes, Oner's jungle rhythm will be disrupted."

“But Brother Mo, Zeus has a strong ability to kite, and he’s good at calling for help from the jungler.” Mingkai frowned.

“Then I’ll lock them down along with their jungler.” Su Mo raised his eyes, his deep pupils showing no arrogance, only a calm as deep as an abyss. “In my lane, there’s no such thing as ‘playing hard’, only ‘going home’.”

This seemingly casual yet overwhelmingly powerful statement instantly dispelled the gloom in the meeting room. Indeed, no matter who the opponent is, as long as that man is still on his journey, the sky won't fall.

The afternoon's training matches were very tightly scheduled, with opponents including BLG, who were also preparing for the playoffs, and some LPL teams that hadn't made it to the playoffs but were trying out new rosters.

Su Mo did not participate in the first day's training match, but was instead called to Ming Kai's office alone.

"Mozi, Riot Games has made some minor adjustments to the patch notes for this MSI." Mingkai handed over an English patch notes. "The bot lane enchanter supports have been nerfed, while the importance of hard supports and engage supports has increased. More importantly, the gold from turret plating in the top lane has been reduced, which means that simply snowballing by dominating the lane is less profitable."

Su Mo quickly scanned the announcement, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"The league is encouraging team fights and clashes between the mid, bot, and jungle," Su Mo pointed out the core of the change incisively.

“That’s right. So for this training camp, we need you not only to gain an advantage on the sidelines, but also to take on more responsibility for engaging in team fights and dragon fights.” Mingkai looked at his old friend with eyes full of trust. “You need to practice your assassin-type warriors and tanks. You can’t just rely on split-push carries like Fiora and Camille.”

"I understand. Starting tomorrow, I'll add Renekton, Sion, and even Malphite to the training pool," Su Mo replied calmly. To him, heroes were merely tools; the one who truly controlled the battle was the person manipulating the mouse.

The days of closed training were dull and tedious.

The daily 12-hour training sessions and intense post-match reviews left the young players complaining bitterly.

But Su Mo was like a tireless machine. His schedule was very regular. Even during breaks, he could hold a thermos and slowly read a book about psychology.

On the seventh night of the training camp, a scrim match against JDG was so intense that the post-match review ended at 1 a.m.

The team members dragged their tired bodies back to the dormitory.

Su Mo remained alone in the training room, with T1's LCK finals replay playing on the computer screen.

He reached for the thermos on the table, only to find it was already empty.

He frowned slightly, stood up, and prepared to go to the tea room.

Just then, the door to the training room was gently pushed open.

Wearing a beige trench coat, a black mask, and a baseball cap, Yu Shuang sneaked in like a thief. She was carrying a very elegant thermos in her hand.

"Why are you here? Didn't you say the base was closed and visits weren't allowed?" A hint of surprise flashed in Su Mo's eyes, but it was quickly followed by a deep gentleness. He walked over quickly, took the thermos from her hand very naturally, and closed the training room door behind him.

Yu Shuang took off her mask, revealing her gentle and beautiful face, with a hint of cunning and heartache in her eyes: "I begged and pleaded with Abu for a long time before he finally agreed to let me sneak in for half an hour. I knew you must be staying up late reviewing your work since you haven't replied to my WeChat messages these past few days."

As she spoke, she skillfully opened the thermos, and the rich aroma of chicken soup instantly filled the somewhat stuffy training room.

"I specially made black chicken and cordyceps soup for you, and added your favorite wild mushrooms. Drink it while it's hot to warm your stomach." Yu Shuang ladled the soup into a small bowl, blew on it gently with a spoon, and handed it to Su Mo.

Su Mo took the soup bowl, but instead of drinking it, he reached out his other hand and gently grasped Yu Shuang's slightly cool fingers.

"Is it raining outside?" He noticed a small water stain on the shoulder of her trench coat.

"It's just a light drizzle, nothing to worry about." Yu Shuang smiled and shook her head, leaning closer to him, her gaze falling on the still-lit computer screen. "A T1 match? Is the pressure high?"

"There's no pressure, just doing some pre-match preparation as usual." Su Mo took a sip of hot soup, the rich flavor instantly relaxing his nerves. He put down the bowl, turned slightly to the side, and naturally pulled Yu Shuang into his arms.

Feeling his strong, warm chest, Yu Shuang sighed contentedly, her cheek pressed against his shoulder: "The girls at home miss you too. Rita keeps complaining in the group chat that without your 'suppression,' she's lost over a dozen games in a row; Xi Ran and Xiao Yu went to shoot on location, they said they'll send you some local specialties tomorrow; and Lin Xuan too..."

When Lin Xuan was mentioned, Yu Shuang looked up with a smile in her eyes: "She finished filming that movie. When she heard that you were going to London for MSI, she secretly got a UK visa, saying that she wanted to go to the venue to cheer you on."

Upon hearing this, Su Mo's lips curled up slightly, and a hint of helpless doting flashed in his deep eyes.

"Nonsense. There are too many fans in London. If she, as a public figure, goes there, it could easily cause unnecessary trouble."

“I tried to persuade her to do the same, but you know how stubborn that girl is, no one can stop her. She even dragged Rita along, saying she wanted to form a ‘wives’ group to support you.” Yu Shuang chuckled, drawing circles on his chest with her finger. “But don’t worry, they’re all very well-behaved at home and haven’t caused you any trouble.”

Su Mo didn't speak, but tightened his arms around her waist, lowered his head, and placed a soft and lingering kiss on her forehead.

"Thank you for your hard work." His voice was deep and gentle, revealing a relaxation that he only showed in front of this woman.

In the cutthroat world of esports, filled with fierce competition and the pursuit of fame and fortune, this training room, brimming with inspirational quotes, and the woman who braved the rain to come to him late at night, formed his strongest support.

Half an hour later, urged by Su Mo, Yu Shuang reluctantly left the base.

In the final days of the training camp, as the departure date approached, the LPL official team began a grand campaign to promote the upcoming campaign.

Various promotional videos and promotional photos were shot one after another.

In the official promotional video for "2024 MSI Expedition: Dawn", Su Mo is still the undisputed center position.

In the video, he is wearing a custom-made black suit with an EDG team uniform underneath, standing in the strong wind on the banks of the Huangpu River. Unlike other players, he doesn't make exaggerated poses or expressions; he simply holds a thermos cup in one hand and calmly looks at the camera.

The narration is his famous quote after the Spring Split finals:

"I'm just going to clock in. As for them... I hope they've prepared overtime pay." (End of Chapter)