LOL: What does it mean to torture players?

In the commentary booth, Wawa's voice was completely hoarse: "Let's give EDG another round of applause! To the man who will forever sit on the altar of the top lane! Three games, three completely different heroes, three extreme forms of dominance! He showed us with his perfect performance what it means to be the absolute ruler of the LPL!"

Miller was also deeply moved: "Yes. Especially the top lane Vayne in the last game. When JDG found an opportunity in a desperate situation, he didn't panic at all. He used a ruthless flanking quadra kill to end the game! Such mental fortitude and such a big heart are truly unprecedented!"

On stage, the lights change.

Luo Xin, dressed in an extremely elegant white strapless dress, walked onto the stage with a microphone in hand and an undisguised excited smile.

"Alright, thank you both for the exciting match. Now, please welcome the MVP of this BO5, EDG's top laner, Mo, to our post-match interview!"

As Luo Xin's voice rang out, thunderous screams erupted once again from the audience.

Su Mo, carrying a black peripheral bag and holding a thermos, walked unhurriedly to the interview area. He didn't stand in the very center of the stage, but rather naturally stood half a step close to Luo Xin, leaving more of the spotlight to the host.

"Brother Mo, congratulations on advancing to the Summer Split Finals with a 3-0 record." Luo Xin took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. "In today's three games, you picked Riven, Amumu, and Vayne—three extremely unpopular top lane champions in the current meta—and delivered incredibly impressive results. Especially in the third game with Vayne, considering the opponent banned five top laners and even picked Ornn to withstand the pressure, what were your considerations in choosing this champion?"

Su Mo held the microphone, his eyes remaining calm and still, without even glancing at the enthusiastic fans below the stage.

"There wasn't anything particularly special about it." His voice, deep and extremely steady, carried throughout the venue through the microphone. "There aren't many champions left in the champion pool. I saw he picked Ornn to try and withstand the pressure, and I thought Vayne would be a faster counter to him, so I picked him. It was just to save everyone's time and get off work earlier."

These extremely understated yet remarkably Versailles-esque words immediately drew a huge burst of laughter from the audience.

The live stream chat was flooded with comments.

Here it comes! The familiar clock-out-of-get off work message!

[I chose Vayne because I thought it would be a quick and easy pick... 369 must be thinking of calling the police!]

The ultimate level of pretentiousness is when someone is clearly stating a fact, but you hear them sound like they're incredibly arrogant!

Luo Xin suppressed a laugh and continued, "In the mid-game of the third match, JDG executed a perfectly executed team fight despite being at a disadvantage, even killing you and securing Baron Nashor, narrowing the gold gap. How did you and your teammates communicate in voice chat when facing JDG's counterattack? Did you feel any pressure?"

Su Mo lowered her head slightly and glanced at the thermos in her hand.

"I wouldn't call it pressure," he said slowly. "Mistakes are part of the game. In that particular wave, I made a one-frame error in timing my Flash, which caused me to get hit by the edge of Azir's wall. After respawning, I just had to kill them back, destroy their base, and make up for the mistake. My teammates did a great job; they gave me a second chance."

The audience was once again captivated by this understated yet domineering presence.

Luo Xin's eyes were filled with admiration as she asked one last question: "So, regarding the upcoming Summer Split Finals, whether the opponent is BLG or TES, what would you like to say to them or to your fans who support you?"

Su Mo finally raised his head, and for the first time, his deep eyes, hidden in the shadow of his baseball cap, looked directly at the camera.

There were no exaggerated boasts, no arrogant provocations.

He simply said it.

"The champion's trophy is very heavy."

He paused, his tone revealing an absolute confidence that sent chills down one's spine.

"No one but me can hold it steady. See you in the finals."

The entire stadium erupted in cheers! The deafening applause almost pierced the sky.

After the interview, Su Mo handed the microphone back to Luo Xin, nodded slightly in acknowledgment, and turned to walk off the stage. His back remained as upright and aloof as ever, as if no honor in this world could hold him back for even a moment.

Back in the backstage lounge.

Abu was so excited that he rushed over and gave Su Mo a bear hug: "Well done! This Vayne play was absolutely brilliant! It completely exposed Homme's BP!"

Mingkai smiled broadly and said, "You've worked hard. Go back and rest early today. I'll give you a day off tomorrow, and we'll start preparing for the finals the day after tomorrow."

Su Mo gently broke free from Abu's embrace, walked to the sofa, sat down, and put the peripheral bag aside.

"No need for a holiday." He unscrewed his thermos and said calmly, "We'll have practice matches as usual tomorrow. Our opponents in the finals, whether it's Bin from BLG or 369 from TES, still need some work on their current form."

The atmosphere in the lounge paused slightly, then Ah Chen and Xiao Yue exchanged a glance, their eyes blazing with even stronger fighting spirit.

This is their backbone, a monster who will never slacken his efforts because of victory.

At that moment, the door to the lounge was pushed open.

Yu Shuang, dressed in an elegant long dress, walked in carrying a thermos. Upon seeing Su Mo, a captivating smile bloomed on her gentle face.

"Thank you all for your hard work." Yu placed the thermos on the coffee table. "I made some pork rib and lotus root soup. Please share some to warm your stomachs."

Ah Chen and Xiao Yue, being extremely sensible, cheered and rushed towards the insulated bucket, leaving the window seat for Su Mo and Yu Shuang.

Yu Shuang walked to Su Mo's side, and very naturally reached out to take off his baseball cap and tidied his hair, which was a little damp with sweat.

"Are you tired?" Her voice was so gentle it seemed to soothe all fatigue.

Su Mo didn't speak, but simply reached out and grasped her slightly cool fingertips, enveloping them in his palm, and gently shook his head.

"Let's go back." Su Mo stood up, picked up his peripheral bag, and a rare gentleness flashed in his eyes. "The soup you made is for me to drink."

Yu Shuang's cheeks flushed slightly, her eyes filled with an overwhelming sweetness, and she softly hummed in agreement.

"Let's go back." Su Mo stood up, picked up his peripheral bag, and a rare gentleness flashed in his eyes. "The soup you made is for me to drink."

Yu Shuang's cheeks flushed slightly, her eyes filled with an overwhelming sweetness, and she softly hummed in agreement.

The two quietly left through the venue's VIP passage, completely shutting out the noise behind them.

In early autumn in Shanghai, the night breeze carried a hint of post-rain coolness. A black Mercedes-Benz G-Class cruised smoothly along the neon-lit elevated highway. Su Mo held the steering wheel with one hand, while the other rested casually on the center console.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Yu Shuang held the exquisite thermos close to her chest, afraid it would get even a little cold. She turned her head and looked at Su Mo's sharply defined profile and his focused eyes as he drove, her admiration and love almost overflowing.

"Just now on stage, I noticed that you were rotating your wrist much more frequently than usual. Was it because the third Vayne fight was too strenuous?" Yu asked softly, her voice full of concern.

“A little. Ornn is too tanky, requiring constant auto-attack resets to land his third passive, which demands a high APM.” Su Mo looked ahead, his tone calm. “But it’s alright, within acceptable limits.” Yu Shuang nodded, carefully unscrewing the lid of the thermos. A rich, mellow aroma of pork rib and lotus root soup instantly filled the car. She scooped up a spoonful with the accompanying small porcelain spoon, gently blew on it, and brought it to Su Mo’s lips.

"Take a sip while it's hot to replenish your energy."

Su Mo did not refuse and naturally drank the rich and fragrant soup from her hand. The stewed lotus root melted in his mouth, carrying a hint of sweetness.

"The heat is just right, and the salt is added perfectly," Su Mo gave an extremely accurate and fair evaluation.

Yu Shuang smiled, her eyes crinkling like a little girl who had just received a compliment, and fed him spoonful by spoonful until the car entered the underground parking garage of the river-view penthouse.

The moment Su Mo pushed open the apartment's keypad door.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two crisp firework sounds rang out in the entrance hall, and colorful ribbons and sequins fell like a small rain on Su Mo's shoulders and head.

"Congratulations, Mozi! 3-0, lightning-fast finish!!!"

Luo Xin and Xiao Yu, dressed in fluffy cartoon pajamas and holding empty firework tubes, laughed so hard they almost fell over.

The spacious living room was brightly lit, and the huge projection screen was even playing a loop of the highlight of Su Mo pinning Ornn to the wall with Vayne for the third time.

Rita changed into an extremely form-fitting black silk slip dress, the hem barely covering her upper thighs, revealing her long, straight legs. Barefoot on the thick carpet, she nestled directly into Su Mo's arms like a fledgling returning to its nest.

"Brother Mo! You were so cool today! That Flash into the wall and Orianna's ultimate was so amazing that Lin Xuan and I screamed out loud when we saw it on the sofa!" Rita wrapped her arms tightly around Su Mo's neck, hanging on him, and the faint scent of roses wafted into Su Mo's nose.

Su Mo skillfully supported her waist with one hand to prevent her from falling, and handed the peripheral bag to hope Ran next to him with the other hand.

"Stop fooling around, you're covered in ribbons." Although Su Mo's tone carried a hint of command, he gently put Rita down.

Lin Xuan emerged from the open kitchen, carrying two stemmed glasses filled with swirling dark red wine. Today, she wore a smoky gray loungewear set, her cool demeanor tinged with a touch of languor.

"Teacher Su, we've won a great victory! How about we have a drink to celebrate?" Lin Xuan handed one of the glasses to Su Mo, her eyes sparkling.

Su Mo took the wine glass but didn't drink from it. Instead, he placed it on the entryway cabinet next to him: "We have to review tomorrow, so we can't touch alcohol. You guys drink."

"I knew you'd say that." Lin Xuan chuckled lightly, not annoyed at all, and took a sip of red wine. "We've already prepared your victory celebration party, come on over."

The crowd escorted Su Mo to the restaurant.

On the huge mahogany table, an extremely lavish late-night snack was laid out. In addition to the large bucket of pork rib and lotus root soup that Widow Yu had brought back, there was steamed king crab, garlic crayfish, and a variety of exquisite Cantonese dim sum.

"We arranged all of this in advance, knowing you'd be able to leave work before 2 PM today." hope Ran smiled and pulled out the chair in the main seat for Su Mo to sit down.

The family sat around the dining table in a warm and lively atmosphere.

Su Mo took off his heavy team uniform jacket, leaving him in only a black short-sleeved T-shirt. He picked up a damp towel and wiped his hands very carefully, then put on disposable gloves and reached for a huge king crab leg.

"Click".

With a slight, firm touch, his long, strong fingers pinpointed the vulnerable joint of the crab's shell. His fingers flew across the keyboard at lightning speed, like a lightning-fast QA, and in less than ten seconds, a perfectly intact, translucent crab leg was peeled away.

He didn't eat it himself, but casually placed it on the bone plate in front of Yu Shuang.

Then came the second and third. Rita, Lin Xuan, Luo Xin, Xiao Yu, and Xi Ran—he placed a piece of plump crab meat in each of their bowls with remarkable fairness and speed.

"Wow! Brother Mozi, your speed in peeling crabs is amazing! It's a shame you're not a Michelin chef!" Luo Xin swallowed a mouthful of crab meat and squinted her eyes happily.

"Hands are for playing games, and also to take care of you bunch of idiots who can't even peel a crab." Su Mo took off his gloves, then picked up his bowl and slowly drank the pork rib soup that Yu Shuang had specially served him.

"We're not stupid! We're just logistics managers who are only responsible for being beautiful and cheering you on!" Rita said coquettishly, picking up a peeled crayfish tail and feeding it directly to Su Mo's mouth.

Su Mo opened his mouth and took a bite, his deep eyes looking at the group of chattering girls surrounding him. In the heart of this man who was called "god" by the outside world, a soft ripple that only they could touch was stirred.

After having a late-night snack, it was almost 3 a.m.

Although the girls were excited, they couldn't resist their sleepiness and gradually went back to their rooms to wash up and rest.

The living room gradually quieted down.

Su Mo didn't go to sleep immediately. He walked to the spacious viewing balcony and opened the floor-to-ceiling windows. A cool, damp breeze from the Huangpu River swept over him, and the Oriental Pearl Tower on the opposite bank still shone brightly.

He pulled over a wicker chair and sat down, then took a hot towel from the incubator next to him and carefully applied it to his right wrist and knuckles.

This has been his habit for seven years. After extremely intense matches, he must apply heat and relax his hands to relieve muscle stiffness and tendon pressure. This is not only self-discipline, but also his purest respect for the professional arena.

Suddenly, a cashmere shawl with a faint Chanel fragrance was gently draped over his shoulders.

Su Mo didn't turn around; he knew who it was.

Lin Xuan walked barefoot to his side and squatted down naturally. She stretched out her well-maintained, jade-like hands and placed them on Su Mo's right hand, which was covered with a hot towel, and began to massage his Hegu acupoint and the tendons in his wrist with great professionalism and gentleness.

"In order to film my last period drama, I specially learned a set of massage techniques from an old Chinese medicine doctor." Lin Xuan's voice sounded extremely gentle in the night breeze. "Although it can't compare to a professional physiotherapist, it is still useful for relieving fatigue."

Su Mo closed his eyes slightly, feeling the warmth and moderate pressure coming from his wrist.

"No need for all that trouble, go to sleep early. Don't you have a gig to attend tomorrow?" Su Mo's voice was low and calm.

"What's more important than your hands than the announcement?" Lin Xuan looked up, her face, which was stunning on the screen, now filled with piety and heartache as she looked at him. "In the last game today, with Vayne's auto-attack frequency, your hands must have hurt a lot, right?"

"I'm used to it." Su Mo let her massage him, his tone revealing an unshakable composure. "Pain is a byproduct of victory. As long as the crystal shatters, it's all worth it."

Lin Xuan watched him quietly, her eyes shimmering. She didn't speak again, but focused even more intently on relaxing every tense nerve in him.

In the stillness of the night, their breaths mingled with the sound of the Huangpu River, creating a tranquil and heartwarming scene. (End of Chapter)