LOL: What does it mean to torture players?

This oppressive feeling, like being slowly boiled like a frog in water, made Zeus feel inexplicably irritable.

He discovered that whenever he tried to finish off an enemy, he would inevitably lose health. Meanwhile, his opponent's mana management was extremely precise, maximizing damage by combining each skill with a basic attack.

"My health bar is down to half," Zeus reported in the voice chat, a hint of helplessness in his voice. "She should go back to base to replenish her supplies after she finishes pushing this wave."

"It's okay, just focus on farming under the tower. She didn't bring Teleport this game, so going back to lane after returning to base will cost her experience." Faker calmly analyzed the situation.

At 4 minutes and 45 seconds, Su Mo pushed the last wave of minions to T1's turret. At this point, Cassiopeia's mana was completely depleted.

He controlled Cassiopeia to retreat to the safety of the bushes and pressed the B key to return to town.

During the loading screen, Su Mo picked up his thermos and took a sip of goji berry water, his gentle gaze sweeping over the location of each enemy hero on the minimap.

The game has only just begun.

Golden light shimmered in the spring water as Su Mo's snake woman returned to town to resupply.

He opened the shop and used the gold he had just accumulated online to buy a [Tome of Amplification], a [True Sight Ward], and a health potion. He didn't have boots (Cassiopeia can't buy boots), but the stacks of her Tear of the Goddess were steadily increasing, a crucial guarantee for Cassiopeia's mid-to-late game power.

Su Mo controlled the snake woman, moving slowly but steadily as before Ghost Step was activated, and headed back towards the top lane.

Meanwhile, tactical exchanges were taking place in T1's voice channel.

"She didn't bring Teleport, she's walking to lane. Zeus, finish this wave that's pushing into the tower, quickly recall to base to replenish supplies, then use Teleport to go back to lane and either block the minion wave in the middle or push it back." Faker, while engaging in delicate skirmishes with Orianna in the mid lane, glanced at the situation in the top lane and decisively issued the instructions.

"Understood," Zeus replied in a deep voice. He quickly cleared out the remaining enemies under the tower, his health already very low. He retreated to the safe bushes in front of the second tower and pressed recall.

5 minutes 20 seconds.

Accompanied by a beam of blue and red teleportation light, Zeus's Quesantti landed on a ward in the bush near his own side of the top lane. After recalling to base to replenish his supplies, he bought a Ruby Crystal and Boots of Speed, slightly increasing his tankiness and movement speed.

At this moment, Su Mo's Cassiopeia had just reached the lane. Because he walked to the lane, he lost the experience of two melee minions, and Zeus successfully controlled the minion wave in the middle of the river, slightly close to the T1 turret.

This is a very comfortable position for Quesanti, but somewhat dangerous for the snake woman who has no mobility.

"T1 made a great play in timing their lane push, and Zeus used Teleport to establish a lane advantage." Miller analyzed from the commentary booth, "Mozi is in a bit of an awkward position now. If he pushes the lane aggressively, he will easily be targeted by Oner's Maokai again."

Su Mo observed the minion wave situation before him, his expression remaining calm. Instead of rushing forward to push the wave with his skills, he placed the newly purchased control ward in the bushes of the top lane river to ensure the safety of his flank's vision.

"Chen, go to the bottom half of the map to help relieve the lane pressure on the bot lane, and also check on the first dragon. Don't worry about me in the top lane, he can't kill me," Su Mo said gently in the voice chat, his tone so calm that there was not a trace of impatience.

"Okay, Brother Mo, I'm moving downhill." Ah Chen's Wei had just finished cleaning his own stone beetle and immediately changed course, moving towards the lower river channel.

The game time has reached 6 minutes.

The first small dragon—the Alchemy Technology Dragon—spawns in the Dragon Pit.

In the bottom lane, Gumayusi's Varus and Keria's Lena maintained their lane dominance thanks to their early-game strength. Oner's Maokai had also cleared the bottom jungle and was lurking above the dragon pit, looking for an opportunity to take the dragon or tower dive.

"T1 has their eye on this dragon. EDG's bot lane duo is healthy, but they're being pushed under their tower. If Vi tries to force a fight for the dragon, things could go wrong." Guan Zeyuan frowned slightly as he looked at the movements on the minimap.

Just as Oner was about to call for the bot lane to come together to fight the dragon, Chen's Vi appeared in the tri-bush behind the bot lane turret. He did not rush in blindly, but used a scanner to clear a ward that T1 had placed, and then stood behind the turret like a gatekeeper, putting great psychological pressure on T1's bot lane.

"Vi is counter-ganking, diving the tower is too risky, play it safe, let's take the dragon," Keria calmly directed in the voice chat.

T1 abandoned their tower dive idea, and the three of them regrouped and steadily captured the first alchemical dragon.

"EDG chose to give up the first dragon to ensure the development of the bottom lane, which is a very rational decision." Wawa nodded. "In the early game, EDG's chances of winning against T1's lineup in positional battles are indeed not high."

The perspective shifts back to the top lane.

6 minutes 15 seconds.

Both top laners have reached level six. With Cassiopeia now possessing her ultimate [Stone Shatter] and Quesant now possessing [Full Power] (ultimate), their laning strength has seen a qualitative leap.

With his ultimate ability at his disposal, Zeus became noticeably bolder in his positioning. He seized the opportunity when Cassiopeia was last-hitting minions, suddenly using his E ability [Great Leap] to dash in, close the distance, and then unleashing his Q ability [Spinning Axe] to slam down hard.

Su Mo reacted extremely quickly. The moment Quesanti charged forward, Cassiopeia made an extremely nimble micro-movement and twisted backward, dodging the center of the Q skill's damage zone that could stack her passive, only taking the edge damage.

At the same time, he unleashed a Q skill, "Plague Explosion," which exploded at Quesanti's feet.

"Want to take a gamble?" Su Mo's lips curled into a faint smile.

The poison hit, and the snake woman gained a movement speed boost. Su Mo didn't retreat, but instead manipulated the snake woman to glide in front of Quesanti like a ghost.

"Hiss—hiss—hiss—"

Three consecutive E skills, Twin Fangs, accompanied by basic attacks, were precisely unleashed upon Quesanti. The magic damage ignored the meager armor Quesanti had accumulated, instantly reducing his health bar.

Not to be outdone, Zeus activated his W skill, "Pathfinder," and pushed forward despite the damage, attempting to charge up and knock the Cassiopeia back.

Just as Quesanti W was about to finish charging up and was about to unleash his power!

Su Mo pressed the R key with extremely decisive action!
"Look me in the eye, you little brat!"

Ultimate move: Earth-shattering!
Cassiopeia's eyes erupted with a chilling, petrifying light, sweeping forward in a fan shape.

In the very same frame as Cassiopeia unleashed her ultimate, Zeus reacted at a world-class top laner level. Knowing that facing Cassiopeia directly would petrify her, he manipulated the mouse with extreme precision, sharply pulling Quesant's face to the side and rear!
"Zeus dodged Mozi's snake woman's petrification by turning his back!" The audience erupted in exclamations.

The Cassiopeia's ultimate ability swept across Quesanti's body, but because he was facing away, it did not trigger the two-second petrification effect, only causing a slowdown.

However, Su Mo seemed to have anticipated this outcome, and his eyes remained completely unmoved.

"You hid well."

Su Mo murmured softly, but her hands moved with the speed and force of a storm.

Quesanti's movements are sluggish under the slowed-down state. During the moment when Quesanti's W skill is stunned after it ends, Sumerka accurately places his W skill, [Poisonous Mist], at Quesanti's feet!
"Binding to the ground!" Zeus was startled to be stuck in the poison mist again. He had originally planned to turn his back to dodge the ultimate, then use his ultimate [Full Cap] to push the Cassiopeia against the wall for a burst of damage, but now, all his mobility skills were rendered useless again.

Su Mo activated the Summoner Spell [Ghost Step].

A ghostly blue afterimage stretched behind the snake woman. Su Mo had perfected his distance control, always remaining outside the limits of Quesant's basic attacks and Q skill.

Q skill refreshes poison upon hit, E skill sprays poison continuously like a machine gun.

Zeus's Quesanti was like a trapped beast in a swamp in the poisonous fog, his health rapidly decreasing under the terrifying, continuous damage from the Cassiopeia.

"The damage was too high! Mozi's duel was full of detail! Even though Zeus dodged the ultimate by turning his back, he was still tormented by the ground bind and sprint!" Miller excitedly commented.

By the time the poison mist ended, Zeus's health was less than a third. Without hesitation, he used Flash and dashed towards his own turret.

Su Mo didn't use Flash to follow up. Instead, he used the last bit of speed from Ghost Step to push a large wave of minions into the T1 turret. Then, at the edge of the turret, he pressed Ctrl+3, and the Cassiopeia gracefully coiled and twisted her body.

There was no menacing mockery, only a condescending composure.

"Such terrifying pressure..." Zeus looked at the minion wave under the tower and the Banshee outside the tower who seemed to be taking a stroll, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He realized that his pride in his ability to withstand pressure was a joke in front of this man.

7 minutes 10 seconds.

A small surge occurred in the mid lane.

After securing lane control, Faker's Azir, along with Oner (Maoye) who had roamed over, launched an extremely deadly gank on Xiaoyue's Orianna.

The tree circled around from behind the F6 passage and used its ultimate ability, Nature's Grasp, to block all of Orianna's escape routes.

Although Xiao Yue reacted quickly and used Flash to dodge the tree's immobilization, Faker's Azir decisively followed up with Flash, using a drifting ultimate [Imperial Wall] to forcefully push Orianna back into the T1 crowd.

"Faker! That was a brilliant push! Xiaoyue can't escape now!"

Under the combined fire of the Tsar and Treant Protector, Clockwerk was tragically killed. First Blood was born!
"T1 got first blood! Faker opened up the game in the mid lane!" Wawa shouted.

In EDG's voice chat, Xiao Yue sounded somewhat annoyed: "Damn it, I positioned myself too far forward just now, and the big tree blocked my back."

"It's alright, stay calm. Chen, go help push the bottom lane and get a tower plate." Su Mo's voice remained gentle, showing no emotional fluctuation despite the disadvantage in the mid lane.

7 minutes 40 seconds.

The game is approaching the eight-minute mark, which means the first wave of strategically valuable Voidbrood will soon disappear, replaced by a new round of competition for Rift resources.

Su Mo was in the top lane, and thanks to the advantage of forcing Zeus to use Flash earlier, he had firmly controlled the minion wave. At this moment, his Tear of the Goddess had reached a considerable number of stacks, and the ability power in his item bar was enough for him to clear a wave of minions with a single combo.

"Their jungler is in the top half of the map, be careful." Mingkai kept a close eye on the screen backstage.

Just then, Oner's Maokai, after clearing the upper jungle, moved towards the top lane again.

"She doesn't have her ultimate or Ghost. We have to force her to use Flash, or just kill her directly," Oner said resolutely in the voice chat.

Zeus's Quesant finished off two layers of minion plates under the tower, restoring his health to full. He glanced at Cassiopeia, who was setting up vision in the river, a hint of fighting spirit flashing in his eyes.

"I'm ready."

Storm is coming.

7 minutes 50 seconds.

The air seemed to freeze as we drove on.

Oner's Maokai patiently crouched in the triangular bush at the intersection of the red team's top tower and the river, activating his scan to ensure he wasn't exposed to EDG's vision.

"Wait for her to use Q to push the lane," Oner calmly directed in the voice chat. As the engine of T1's rhythm, he knew all too well that mages like Cassiopeia, who lack mobility, become the most vulnerable targets once their core poke and speed-up abilities are on cooldown.

Zeus's Quesanti stood before the tower, maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too distant, like a black panther lying in wait.

At this moment, Su Mo, controlling Cassiopeia, was roaming near the minion wave. He seemed to be looking for an opportunity to last-hit minions, but his mouse clicks were a beat slower than usual.

"Chen, you don't need to come up. Go control the vision in the bottom half of the map and prepare for the second dragon to spawn at eight minutes (if it doesn't spawn at eight minutes, then control the map). Their jungler is up there." Su Mo's gentle voice rang out in the EDG voice channel, as calmly as if stating a given fact.

"Brother Mo, can you handle this alone? Big Tree is definitely nearby," Ah Chen said with some concern.

"If he doesn't come, how can I let him waste his time?" Su Mo chuckled.

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Mo controlled the Cassiopeia to take a small step forward and accurately cast her Q skill, "Plague Explosion," at the feet of three backline minions.

The toxins exploded.

“Now!” Oner’s eyes flashed with a sharp light.

A large tree suddenly burst forth from the triangular bushes! He hurled a sapling fiercely toward the snake woman's retreat route.

Almost simultaneously, Zeus's Quesant also moved! He immediately activated his ultimate ability, Full Power, abandoning his defensive form and transforming into a berserk Darkin fighter, using his E skill, Stride, to instantly close the distance!
"T1's top and jungle have made their move! The timing was perfect, Mozi just used his Q skill!" Miller shouted on the commentary stage. "Cassiopeia doesn't have her ultimate or Ghost, this is extremely dangerous!"

Facing the two men who were aggressively surrounding him, Su Mo's eyes remained completely calm.

Just as Quesanti dashed in, the tree was about to use its W [Twisted Thrust] to bind him in a split second!
Su Mo did not use Flash to escape.

His mouse pointer, against his intuition, gently clicked on the wall above the river.

"flash!"

With a flash of golden light, the Cassiopeia not only dodged the range of Maokai's W skill, but also appeared with exquisite precision on the flanks of Quesant and Maokai!
"A reverse flash?! Mozi didn't run towards the tower, but flashed into the river!" Wawa exclaimed.

The instant he landed via Flash, Su Mo activated his W skill, [Poisonous Mist]! (End of Chapter)