LOL: What does it mean to torture players?

#EDG eliminated

#Mozi was not spotted after the match.
Where did Brother Mozi go?

#EDG seems to have lost contact with Mozi.
For a time, the headlines of major news platforms were dominated by news about EDG and Su Mo.

Su Mo also received countless messages, but he chose to only read them and not reply.

Many EDG fans have already switched sides:

"Forget it, I'll go support other teams. I can't wait any longer."

"Ugh, nobody's come out to explain what happened. It's so annoying."

"Give me a straight answer, is Mozi still with EDG or not?"

"Could Brother Mozi be dead? Even if he is, he should at least have let us know."

EDG's official Weibo account was flooded with angry fans, eventually causing the platform to crash and taking several hours to recover.

Then there's Douyin (TikTok), which was also brought to a standstill by EDG fans.

That wasn't the end of it. Soon, news of EDG's training base being besieged spread across the internet.

Several large trucks blocked EDG's training base. Although it wasn't completely blocked, and people could still get in and out, vehicles couldn't.

Various banners were also hanging on the truck:

Give me an explanation!

"Brother Mozi, come out!"

We absolutely will not leave until we see Brother Mozi.

EDG initially thought the fans were just having a temporary frenzy, but after one night, the fans didn't leave. Instead, many tents appeared along the roadside, and the fans made the place their home!
EDG realized things were bad; if they didn't handle it properly, the entire club would suffer heavy losses if something serious happened.

Left with no other option, Abu contacted Su Mo in desperation and asked him to meet with her so they could come up with a solution.

At lunchtime, Su Mo went to a restaurant across from the company and met Abu and General Manager Zhang.

"Brother Mozi, you've arrived!"

"Xiao Mo, come on, sit down."

The two of them looked quite anxious.

After Su Mo sat down, Abu quickly said, "Xiao Mo, we might need your help to resolve this. Our training base is blocked by fans with their cars. If this continues, I'm worried something serious might happen!"

After thinking for a while, Su Mo said, "Then let's officially announce my retirement. This is the only way now."

“But…” Abu hesitated, thinking of the opposite solution.

Su Mo continued, "It's impossible to keep it a secret forever. The main reason we chose to delay was that we didn't want to cause too much of a shock to the LPL. With Clearlove and me retiring, and Uzi unable to play, the LPL would collapse."

"But now the new generation is able to take the lead, and I think it's time."

Su Mo looked at President Zhang.

Mr. Zhang nodded slightly: "Brother Mozi, what you said makes a lot of sense. That's what I was thinking too. After the transition between the Spring Split and the Summer Split, TES and JDG are performing very well now."

"Both clubs are quite popular now, and their star players are very distinctive and have gained popularity. Although they certainly can't compare to Mozi, as Mozi said, it can't be hidden anymore, and the situation is beyond their control."

"Sigh!" Abu sighed again.

Su Mo laughed and said, "Coach Abu, you weren't such a sentimental person before."

"I...sigh." Abu sighed repeatedly.

Su Mo looked at President Zhang: "Then let's announce my retirement today."

Mr. Zhang countered, "Announcement is fine, but... we need to find a reason, one that fans can easily accept."

"Injured? How about that? I think that's a better reason."

Su Mo replied, "You are more professional in this area than I am, so you should decide."

Mr. Zhang looked at Abu and said, "Coach Abu, what do you think? Tell them that Mozi has suffered an irreversible injury and is no longer able to play."

Abu hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Okay, if that's the reason, we need the hospital's cooperation to issue some test orders or something, otherwise the fans definitely won't believe it."

Mr. Zhang said, "I have connections in this area and can help with it. All I need is for Brother Mozi to cooperate a little."

“Brother Mozi, when do you have time to come to the hospital with us? It won’t take long, just two or three hours.”

Su Mo was about to agree, but before she could say it, she suddenly smiled.

"Hmm?" Mr. Zhang and Abu looked puzzled.

Su Mo suddenly said, "Forget it, I'd better be honest with the fans. I don't want to lie to them."

"This..." Mr. Zhang was stunned, seemingly not quite understanding why Su Mo would suddenly change his mind.

Su Mo continued, "Coach Abu, you just need to announce my retirement using the official EDG account, and I will release a video to explain to the fans myself."

Seeing Su Mo's firm stance, Abu and President Zhang didn't say much and chose to follow Su Mo's request.

In the end, Mr. Zhang only said one sentence: "Brother Mozi, no matter what, thank you for your contributions to LPL, thank you for your cooperation during this time, and I hope your career will go smoothly. Thank you."

Abu then said, "Xiao Mo, we will help you hold the grandest retirement ceremony."

Mr. Zhang hesitated for a moment and muttered, "Could the retirement ceremony be postponed a little? The playoffs are still going on, and there's also the World Championship... I'm afraid the fans and viewers are being too pessimistic."

Su Mo replied, "Let's wait until the S-series is over. It's just a ceremony, it's not that important."

Mr. Zhang nodded repeatedly: "Okay, thank you for your understanding and support of our work, Brother Mozi. Thank you."

After finishing his meal, Su Mo returned to the company to prepare.

At 8 PM that evening, EDG announced some major news!
#EDG officially announces Mo's retirement.

It instantly rose to the top of the trending search list.

"What's going on? Is this an April Fool's Day surprise?"

"It's already August, and they're still talking about April Fool's Day!"

"EDG's official account must have been hacked."

"I know! Someone couldn't stand it anymore, so they hacked EDG's official account and deliberately posted this kind of message."

Most people's first reaction is disbelief; they prefer to believe it's due to other uncontrollable factors and is all a misunderstanding.

However, Su Mo's Douyin and Weibo accounts were immediately updated with farewell videos.

Su Mo was sitting in his office, looking quite relaxed.
"Hello everyone, I am Mo, the starting top laner for EDG, or more accurately, the former top laner for EDG. This video is to explain why I suddenly retired."

"Actually, I've had this idea since I won the championship last year. My professional career is only a part of my life, and perhaps I should start a new journey. However, due to various considerations, I didn't announce it immediately, and I apologize to everyone here."

"The time is ripe now, and I feel I can't hide it any longer, so I've chosen to be honest. All good things must come to an end. I hope everyone will continue to support LPL and the players who are still fighting."

"I wish LPL the best of luck in winning the championship in the upcoming S-series. I hope the young players can carry the LPL banner. Well, that's all for now. Goodbye, everyone. Take care."

After the video was released, it went viral instantly, with everyone watching it repeatedly to find flaws.

They tried to find various pieces of evidence to prove that the video was fake.

Meanwhile, at the EDG training base, the EDG players were having a meeting.

Abu and the factory manager stood in front, with the EDG players below.

Abu said with a serious expression, "I know everyone is under a lot of pressure right now, but this is our last chance. We won the S-series championship last year, so we have four spots today."

"We still have one more chance in the gauntlet. The opponent isn't very strong. We've played against them before, so we know them well. During this time, you all need to concentrate on training and put everything else aside, understand?" The pressure on the EDG players was palpable.

Hope, the starting ADC, glanced at top laner Aodi and had a somewhat complicated expression.

In his view, EDG's biggest weakness right now is in the top lane.

Unfortunately, top lane is quite important in this version. Whether it's initiating team fights or acting as the front line, a good top laner can greatly improve the team's performance.

After the meeting, the EDG team went back to prepare for continued training.

Just as the factory manager was about to leave, Abu called out, "Mingkai, did you see that video?"

"Video? What video?" The factory manager was confused.

Abu reminded him, "You can watch the video Xiao Mo posted if you haven't seen it."

The factory manager then took out his mobile phone.

Abu continued, "Go to his TikTok account, the one pinned at the top is it."

The factory manager then accessed Su Mo's Douyin account and opened the first video.

After glancing at it a few times, the factory manager simply left, saying, "Okay, I understand."

The factory manager continued walking forward, preparing to leave.

Abu greeted him, "Mingkai, do you still feel that Xiaomo's departure was too sudden and you can't accept it?"

The factory manager sneered: "Mr. Mo is a businessman, a big boss. I'm just a small coach, I dare not comment."

The factory manager opened the door and walked out. Watching the manager's retreating figure, Abu could only sigh.

The news of Su Mo's retirement continued to spread and quickly reached the international internet.

Su Mo received countless messages.

Perkz: "Oh, tell me this isn't true, Mo, this isn't true, tell me now!"

Rekkles: "Bro, what happened? I wanted to take a picture with you at Worlds."

Caps: "I suddenly saw the news of your retirement. Is it really true? It must be fake, right?"

Chovy: "Mo, why did you retire? Is it due to health reasons? Take care."

Faker: "?"

Showmaker: "I heard you retired? Looks like you're tired of it. It's a pity I couldn't take the championship from you. Take care."

UZI: "Huh? No, bro, what's going on? You retired? Why? You told me not to retire, what the hell? I'm totally confused."

Jackeylove: "I know a psychiatrist. Let's make an appointment, and I'll take you to see him."

Zoom: Am I seeing things? I saw you retired? Is EDG doing this on purpose?

Guan Zeyuan: "This is too much! This is too much! Brother Mozi, save me! I just said during the live stream that you wouldn't retire, but you did this, I'm doomed! My account has been reported and is unusable. Only you can save me now, Brother Mozi."

The entire league was shocked; it was like a bolt from the blue, truly stealing the spotlight from the playoffs of all the major regions.

The good news is that after the news was released, the fans who were blocking the entrance to EDG's training base left.

At the same time, the support rates for teams such as TES, JDG, and IG began to surge.

"I'm leaving now. I'll never watch EDG's matches again. I'll support TES instead."

"JDG is still the best, at least they don't have any key players suddenly retiring."

"If only IG hadn't been dismantled, that would have been fine. Wenbo, that traitor!"

"Fine, I'll watch LCK from now on, you guys can watch LPL on your own."

The matter has come to an end.

The playoffs continue, with the finals featuring TES against JDG.

After four intense matches, TES and JDG tied 2-2.

The audience felt as if they had been transported back to the Spring Split a few months ago, with the exact same matchups and the exact same scores.

The battle for fifth place is about to begin!
Su Mo was working in her office when she suddenly received a message from Jackeylove:
"Brother Mozi, it's the decisive game! I've come to invoke the gods! I hope that Mo, the legendary player of the LPL and the three-time world champion, can bless us to win the game!"

"You chose JDG in the Spring Finals, and we lost. This time, you should choose us, right?"

Su Mo smiled and replied, "I wish you success."

Fifty minutes later, Su Mo received a notification from the app:

Congratulations to TES on winning their first league championship! Making history!

"TES defeats JDG 3-2, completing their revenge!"

"What we've lost, we must take back with our own hands. The Sailors have proven themselves!"

"The new king of LPL! TES will participate in this year's World Championship as the number one seed!"

"The biggest favorite to win S10 has emerged: TES!"

For the past three and a half years, LPL has completely dominated the game.

Therefore, the moment TES won the LPL championship, they automatically became the biggest favorite to win the S-series championship, and no one thought there was a problem with that.

Of course, in some less-noticed corners, the qualifying matches are about to begin, which presents an opportunity for EDG.

Meanwhile, the LCK regular season ended relatively late, and the playoffs are only just beginning.

The top four teams in the LCK Summer Split are: DWG, DRX, GEN, and T1.

T1 needs to start from the first round, which is quite dangerous for them.

Su Mo sent Faker a message: "It seems like the road to the World Championship this time won't be easy. Do you remember you said you'd meet at the World Championship? It's not like neither of us can make it, is it?"

Faker: "Just do your best."

Su Mo could tell that Faker was also quite confused about his future.

T1 is currently in a precarious situation, similar to EDG's predicament.

Soon, some media outlets also realized the problem and began publishing news:

"It is possible that both Faker and Mo, two three-time world champions, will be absent from this year's World Championship."

"The kings of the old era cannot board the ship of the new era; the future of the alliance belongs to the new."

"This year's S-series will surely become the dividing line between the new era and the old era."

Meanwhile, the LPL qualifying tournament is also underway.

EDG needs to play two best-of-five series, first against WE, and then against LGD.

Only by winning both best-of-five series can EDG have a chance to become the fourth seed.

Su Mo also received a message from Abu: "Xiao Mo, please bless us one last time. I hope we can participate in the S-series."

In the first qualifying match, EDG narrowly defeated WE 3-2.

Following the second game, EDG came back from a 0-2 deficit to defeat LGD 3-2 and secure the fourth seed!
They barely made it onto the World Championship team.

This can be considered a success for EDG right now.

As for the S-series championship, only TES, JDG, and SN can defend it. (End of Chapter)