LOL: What does it mean to torture players?

The massive Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental passenger plane lay quietly on the tarmac.

This was a chartered flight coordinated by Riot Games in conjunction with the LPL region.

Unlike ordinary commercial flights, this flight carries the hopes and glory of the entire LPL.

The hatch opened, and a blast of cold air hit us.

According to the LPL's official arrangements, the players and core coaching staff of the four seeded teams were seated in the first-class cabin on the upper deck and the business class cabin on the main deck, while the accompanying staff, media, and translation teams were distributed in the economy class cabin at the rear.

"Holy crap, this is so spacious!" As soon as Jiejie entered the cabin, she looked around like a country bumpkin visiting a grand garden, reaching out to press the massage chair that could be fully reclined. "I feel like I could roll around in it."

Meiko shoved her backpack onto the luggage rack and patted Jiejie on the shoulder with a disdainful look: "Have some self-respect, don't embarrass EDG. Look at Viper, how calm he is."

Viper was sitting quietly by the window, holding a Korean book in his hands, but his occasional glances out the window betrayed his inner turmoil.

Su Mo's seat was arranged in the prime front row, offering a wide view and excellent privacy. As soon as he sat down and adjusted the seat, a familiar figure "floated" over.

"Brother Mozi, how about I sit next to you?"

JackeyLove, holding his iconic Shiba Inu body pillow, stood casually in the aisle and pointed to the seat behind him. "Knight is too boring. I want to talk to you."

Su Mo took off his sunglasses and looked at TES's star ADC with a half-smile: "What are you talking about? How to catch a Q?"

A burst of suppressed laughter immediately erupted around them. Knight shrank back, pretending to look out the window.

"Damn it! Why bring up the one thing you shouldn't have said!" Ah Shui wasn't angry at all. He plopped down in the empty seat next to Su Mo. That seat was originally reserved for Saint Gun, but Saint Gun wisely slipped away to catch up with 369. "I wanted to ask you, if you really have to sing over there, could you take me with you? I'm pretty musically talented too."

"You?" Su Mo looked him up and down. "Are you planning to send the audience away from the World Championship stage and let our LPL win without a fight?"

Ah Shui rolled her eyes and was about to retort when the flight attendant's sweet voice interrupted everyone's chatter: "Attention all contestants, the plane is about to take off. Please fasten your seatbelts and stow your tray tables."

As the engine roared louder, a tremendous sense of acceleration came from behind.

The plane soared into the sky, and Shanghai below gradually transformed into a luminous circuit board, with the Huangpu River winding like a ribbon before finally disappearing beneath the clouds.

The long transoceanic journey began.

For the first hour or two, the cabin was quite lively.

Opponents who usually fight tooth and nail on the field have now become comrades-in-arms. 369 huddled between Flandre and Breathing, and the three seemed to be having an intense discussion about the top lane Aatrox build. Occasionally, 369's signature word "pull" could be heard.

Kanavi then went to find Viper and Scout and chatted in Korean, probably discussing where to eat authentic Korean food in the United States.

But as the flight time went on, the cabin lights dimmed, and the excitement was gradually replaced by fatigue.

For these internet-addicted teenagers who were used to staying up late but had very little experience with long-distance travel, the flight of more than ten hours was torture.

Because of his good physical condition, Su Mo didn't feel too uncomfortable. He ordered a glass of soda, turned on his reading light, took out a notebook about the changes in version S12, and began to pretend to read it.

Ah Shui had already gone to the other side to take a nap.

Just then, a thin blanket was gently placed over his legs.

Su Mo turned his head and saw Rita squatting beside him. Her delicate face was unadorned, and she wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses, which gave her a unique intellectual beauty.

"Don't look at it for too long, it'll hurt your eyes." Rita's voice was very low, as if she was afraid of waking the people sleeping around her. "Besides, jet lag is really painful, you'd better get some sleep now."

"Can't sleep." Su Mo closed his laptop, looked at the beauty so close to him, and teased in a low voice, "What, is Teacher Rita trying to take advantage of me under the cover of darkness?"

Rita blushed, reached out and pinched Su Mo's hand, scolding, "You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth! I saw that the widows and the others were asleep in the back, so I sneaked over to see if you needed anything. Here, this is for you."

She slipped a delicate little box into Su Mo's hand.

"what is this?"

“Melatonin gummies, and steam eye masks.” Rita stood up a little embarrassed. “It will definitely be tiring over there, so you need to stay in good shape. After all… you said you were going to bring back the championship.”

After saying that, she slipped back to the rear cabin like a thief.

Su Mo held the small box, still warm from his touch, a slight smile playing on his lips. He unwrapped a gummy candy and popped it into his mouth; it was strawberry flavored and very sweet.

With an eye mask on, Su Mo finally drifted off to sleep amidst the smooth white noise of the airplane.

……

"Ladies and gentlemen, our plane is scheduled to arrive at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport in 30 minutes..."

The captain's announcement woke everyone from their slumber.

By this time, it was already bright outside the window.

As the plane broke through the clouds, the outline of the steel jungle below gradually became clear.

Manhattan Island sits like a giant ship moored on the Hudson River, with countless skyscrapers piercing the clouds. The Statue of Liberty holds its torch aloft in the morning light, as if watching over these challengers from the East.

"Wow--"

Several young athletes pressed their faces against the window, exclaiming in amazement.

“That’s New York.” Jiejie rubbed her sleepy eyes. “The map doesn’t look that big, but there are so many buildings.”

Su Mo straightened his collar, looked down at the city, and his eyes gradually sharpened.

This is the next battlefield.

The plane landed smoothly, taxied, and finally came to a stop at the jet bridge.

The entire RNG team will be separated at this stop because they need to travel to Mexico City for the play-in stage. Before parting, Xiaohu specially came over and bumped fists with Su Mo.

"See you in Mexico, then in New York. See you in San Francisco for the finals." Xiao Hu's eyes were full of determination.

"Don't crash," Su Mo said succinctly. "I'll be waiting for you in the main competition."

Watching the RNG members hurriedly leave, Su Mo led the EDG members out of the customs channel, guided by Naz, the Riot Games staff member in charge of reception.

As soon as they pushed open the automatic door to the lobby, a huge sound wave instantly enveloped them.

"EDG!!!!"

"Mo God!!!"

"LPL is awesome!!!"

To everyone's surprise, the arrival hall at JFK Airport was packed with people.

There were not only local Chinese students here, but also many North American fans holding up support signs in English. The screams when Su Mo appeared even drowned out the airport announcements.

Several crazed Western fans were holding up huge signs with the words "Mo, kick my ass hard!" written in broken Chinese.

Su Mo looked at the sign and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

He took off his sunglasses and waved generously to the crowd of fans, triggering a new wave of flashing lights.

"This is too exaggerated..." Meiko followed behind Su Mo and clicked her tongue, "Brother Mo, your popularity abroad seems to be even more terrifying than it is in China."

"That's the value of being both FMVP and King of Singers," Jiejie said sourly from the side. "I just saw several blonde, blue-eyed girls calling out to Brother Mozi, but no one even glanced at me."

With security personnel clearing a path with great difficulty, the crowd finally squeezed onto the official bus bearing the fist logo.

The bus pulled out of the airport and headed towards Manhattan. Outside the window, the foreign street scenes rushed past. Graffiti-covered walls, hurried pedestrians, the Times Square screen flashing in the distance... everything indicated that the S12 World Championship was truly here.

The bus eventually stopped in front of a luxury hotel in Midtown Manhattan.

This is the hotel that Riot Games arranged for the teams to stay at during the group stage.

After checking in, Su Mo received her room key – 2201, the high-rise river view room with the best view.

He dragged his luggage into the room, and the first thing he did was walk to the huge floor-to-ceiling window and pull back the curtains.

It was dusk in New York.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled onto the Hudson River, making it shimmer, while the lights of New Jersey on the opposite bank began to twinkle.

Su Mo took out her phone and snapped a photo.

The photo shows New York City at sunset, and the trophy reflecting golden light.

The caption was very simple, just two words and a location: Go for it!

Location: New York

After posting on Weibo, Su Mo turned around and looked at his teammates who were packing their luggage.

The factory manager was still trying to boost morale at this time:

"Brothers, adjust to the time difference, eat, and then train."

"Don't forget why we're here."

"From today onward, let the world focus on this."

Su Mo didn't want to look any longer, so she turned around and left to go to sleep.

As for Rita and Yu Shuang, they lived in separate places.

The next day.

Su Mo woke up and went to the temporary trainer.

The New York mornings are characterized by the damp chill of the Atlantic Ocean.

Jet lag is a tough battle for most athletes, and yawning is common in the training room.

Seeing that Su Mo had arrived, everyone went to have breakfast together.

When we arrived at the hotel restaurant, it was already packed with early-rising "hungry beasts".

This floor of the restaurant was booked by Riot Games and is exclusively for the players.

As soon as Su Mo sat down with a simple whole-wheat sandwich and black coffee, an exaggerated exclamation came from a table not far away.

"My God! Look who's here! The King of Singers! A legend!"

The voice was incredibly penetrating; Su Mo knew who it was without even turning around—G2's jungler, the king of pranks, Jankos.

The entire G2 team was sitting around a long table. Jankos, carrying a plate, shamelessly sat down opposite Su Mo, with Caps, the "European King of Midas," beside him, grinning mischievously.

“Mo, you know I’m a fan of yours!” Jankos exclaimed, eyes wide, in broken Chinese, “Your… bucket! Boom! Boom! Boom! That’s insane!”

He gestured wildly, mimicking the action of a barrel of explosives, drawing the attention of other groups eating nearby.

Caps was more direct. He blinked his alien-like eyes and asked curiously, "Hey Mo, I heard Riot Games really invited you to sing the final theme song? Is that true? If I beat you, can you write a song for me? Like 'Caps is the King' or something?"

Su Mo took a sip of coffee, looked at the two lively duo from Europe, and smiled slightly: "Writing songs is no problem. But the premise is that you have to make it to the point where you can meet me. Don't get sent home by JDG or DK in the group stage."

"Oh!" Jankos clutched his chest, feigning injury as he collapsed to the ground. "You're even more heartbreaking than Perkz!"

Just then, the restaurant entrance suddenly fell silent for a moment.

A group of serious-looking teenagers dressed in black and white team uniforms walked in.

Gen.G is the number one seed in the LCK.

Chovy, who was walking at the front, locked her eyes on Su Mo the moment she entered the door.

Chovy walked straight to the food pick-up area, pausing slightly as she passed Su Mo.

The air seemed to freeze at this moment.

All the professional players in the restaurant subconsciously lowered their breathing, their gazes shifting back and forth between Su Mo, who was sitting, and Chovy, who was standing.

One is the LPL's number one demon king, with the FMVP title and unparalleled popularity;
One is a top player in the LCK, almost comparable to Faker.

This is a perfect clash.

Even Jankos, who had been so loud just moments before, fell silent, holding a piece of bacon forked in mid-air, watching the scene with great interest.

Chovy remained expressionless; her usually stern face on the field now appeared unusually serious, her eyes fixed on Su Mo as she approached step by step.

Five meters... three meters... one meter.

Chovy stopped in front of Su Mo, her hands in her team uniform pockets, looking down at him.

Su Mo put down his coffee cup, leaned back slightly, and looked back calmly.

Just when everyone thought Chovy was going to say something tough or do some pre-match psychological warfare...

"Hehe!" Chovy's tense poker face suddenly relaxed, as if ice and snow were melting, revealing a somewhat simple and even ingratiating smile.

He quickly pulled his hand out of his pocket and scratched the back of his head somewhat awkwardly.

"Hey, Mo-ge, pretending to be cool is tiring," Chovy said in extremely broken Chinese, his cool tone completely gone. "I was trying to scare you, but it seems I failed."

The entire audience rolled their eyes.

Jankos's lips twitched slightly: "What fk? Is this the oppressive feeling of LCK?"

Su Mo couldn't help but laugh. He stood up and patted Chovy's shoulder familiarly: "Your acting skills are so bad, you should go back to LCK and practice for another two years. What, you're trying to put pressure on me as soon as you land?"

"How could I dare?" Chovy smiled, her eyes narrowing into slits. "I was just afraid you'd forget me. By the way, Mo-ge, do you still have the gift I gave you in Iceland last year?"

Su Mo raised an eyebrow. Chovy had given him a figurine before, but compared to the one Showmaker gave him, it seemed rather ordinary. So after he brought it home, it had been gathering dust until now, and he had almost forgotten about it if he hadn't mentioned it...

Of course, he still said, "Of course it is, I cherish it very much."

"Hehe, that's great!" Chovy was clearly very happy. "If you play against us this year, could you go easy on us?"

"I'm returning the gift to you."

"No, just kidding, why are you actually taking it seriously?" Chovy quickly said.

"I was just joking," Su Mo smiled, "I hope you can also show some strength and try your best to make it to the finals."

Chovy's smile faded, and she said solemnly, "It's a deal. We'll definitely make it to the finals!"

Su Mo remained noncommittal. (End of Chapter)