Chapter 654
The Low-Key Mr. Su
This response was neither arrogant nor humble, and it was perfectly flawless. It attributed the credit to the team while also giving the opponent ample face.
The South Korean media reporters in the audience, who had prepared some aggressive questions, couldn't help but lower their raised hands after hearing Su Mo's words, their eyes filled with admiration for the strong.
Head coach Zhu Kai looked at Su Mo and nodded repeatedly in satisfaction. This kid is not only like a god of war in the game, but his composure off the field is also rare.
……
After the press conference, the Chinese team returned to the Asian Games Village by bus.
Inside the train carriage, the people who had just been trying to remain calm in front of the camera finally let loose completely.
"Holy crap, Mo-ge, your statement just now was so official!" JackeyLove chewed gum, leaning back in his chair and laughing uncontrollably. "I thought you were going to say 'Zeus is nothing special,' but you ended up giving him a psychological counseling session."
“Jack, what do you know? This is called the demeanor of a great general,” Meiko replied with a smile. “Did you see the reaction on the Korean forums? They’ve all been completely impressed by Mo Ge.”
Knight, holding his phone and scrolling through esports forums, read aloud: "The most upvoted comment on the Korean Inven forum is: 'Stop criticizing Zeus. Anyone facing that monster named Su Mo would break down. He not only crushed us in the game, but also displayed a despairing composure in interviews. That's a true god.'"
"Tsk tsk tsk..." 369 poked his head out from the back row, "Brother Mo, this is like killing someone and then destroying their spirit. The gentlest blow is the most deadly, you know?"
Faced with his teammates' teasing, Su Mo just smiled helplessly, rested his head on the car window, and looked at the Hangzhou night view rushing past outside.
"Stop bragging, guys," Su Mo said softly, his tone serious though he was smiling. "The Asian Games are over, and winning gold medals is certainly something to be happy about. But don't forget, the S-series starts in just half a month."
The atmosphere in the carriage paused slightly.
Yes, the Asian Games are about winning glory for the country, but for every professional player, the Summoner's Cup in the World Championship is the ultimate mountain they must climb. Just a moment ago they were close comrades fighting side by side, but two weeks later in Seoul and Busan, South Korea, they will be fighting for their respective teams, becoming adversaries on the field.
"Brother Mo is right." Coach Zhu Kai stood up and clapped his hands. "You're allowed to be happy for one night. But tomorrow morning, the national team will officially disband, and you'll all have to report back to your clubs. The S-series version has been drastically changed, so don't rest on your laurels and get complacent, understand?"
"clear!!"
……
Two days later. Shanghai, training base of a top LPL club.
After a brief celebration and debriefing at the Asian Games Village, Su Mo returned to the club with his luggage.
As soon as I pushed open the training room door, several teammates from the club immediately stood up and excitedly surrounded me.
"The Asian Games gold medalist is back!"
"Homage to the FMVP!"
"Quick, quick, where's the gold medal? Let us touch it and absorb some of its magical aura!"
Surrounded by his teammates, Su Mo smiled, put down his backpack, took out a simple box from the bag, and handed it to them: "Take a look, just don't drop it."
While his teammates were admiring the weighty gold medal, Su Mo went straight to his computer, skillfully pressed the power button, and pulled out his gaming chair to sit down.
The club's starting jungler walked over with a cup of coffee, and was stunned when he saw Su Mo's actions: "Wait, Brother Mo. Didn't the management say they'd give you three days off to rest? You just got off the plane, haven't even unpacked your luggage, and you're already turning on your computer?"
"The Asian Games are using the old version." Su Mo skillfully entered his account and password, logged into the Korean server client, and stared at the 13.19 version announcement that had just been updated on the screen. "The top lane meta has changed in the new version. Renekton has been nerfed, and Quesant has been reworked. I need to get my feel for the game back quickly."
The jungler swallowed hard, looking at Su Mo's face, which showed no signs of fatigue but was instead full of focus, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart: Is this what true talent plus hard work looks like?
Online discussions about Su Mo continue to rage. The hashtags #SuMoSwordDemon and #ChinaAsiaGamesGoldMedal remain trending. Countless fans leave comments on his Weibo, praising him as the savior of the LPL and the light of esports. Invitations for various commercial endorsements are pouring into the club's business department.
But all this noise seemed to be blocked out by the soundproof door of the base training room.
The training room was quiet, with only the slight sound of the air conditioner running and the crisp, rhythmic clicking of the mouse and mechanical keyboard.
Su Mo put on the slightly worn black headphones, blocking out all external sounds.
On the screen, a ranked match in the Korean server's Challenger tier has begun.
He opened the custom game interface, but instead of choosing the Sword Demon who had dominated the previous game, or the Jax who had made a name for himself, he locked in a less popular hero that had just been buffed in the new version, his gaze calm as still water.
The gold medal has been put away in the deepest part of the drawer.
For Su Mo, honor belongs to yesterday. And his sword is always pointed at the next duel.
The next day, around 11:30 a.m.
The early autumn sunlight in Shanghai streamed through the blinds of the dormitory, casting neat patches of light on the wooden floor.
For most professional players who have just experienced intense international competitions, the first day of their vacation usually involves catching up on sleep. But Su Mo's biological clock is exceptionally precise.
He sat up from the not-so-large single bed and rubbed his slightly messy hair. The dormitory was shockingly simple: apart from the bed and wardrobe provided by the club, there were only a few tactical notebooks and psychology books neatly stacked on the table. There were no anime figures or trendy toys; it was so clean it didn't seem like the room of an eighteen or nineteen-year-old.
I picked up my phone while it was charging, and the screen was instantly flooded with messages.
If WeChat notification sounds were on, the phone would probably be frozen by now. Among the 99+ unread messages, there were praises from former youth training teammates, congratulations from relatives and friends, and even a few "borrow money/help me rank up" requests from elementary school classmates I haven't contacted in ages.
Su Mo ignored the ineffective social interactions and skillfully swiped to the pinned "We Are a Loving Family" group.
Last night, my mom sent a 60-second voice message. In the background, you could vaguely hear my dad and some old neighbors drinking and bragging: "My son! The one on TV who won the gold medal! Yes, yes, his name is Su Mo!"
Su Mo smiled gently, pressed the voice button, and said in a hoarse but steady voice, "Mom, I'm back at the Shanghai base. I won the gold medal, don't worry. It's getting colder these days, so you and Dad should keep warm and not stay up too late to watch the games."
After sending the voice message, he finished washing up, changed into a gray cotton casual outfit without any logo, and walked out of the dormitory in slippers.
As soon as we reached the first floor, the base's cook's signature loud voice rang out: "Oh my! Our star top laner is awake! Xiao Su, come quick, come quick! I went to the market today to buy the best black pork and made your favorite braised pork! Eat more, you're so thin, playing against the Koreans takes so much effort!"
"Thank you, Aunt Wang." Su Mo smiled as she walked to the dining table and naturally accepted the generous bowl of rice that the aunt handed her. "Actually, it only took a few tens of minutes to cook, not much effort at all. But I have been thinking about Aunt Wang's cooking for several days in Hangzhou."
Aunt Wang was so pleased with the praise that she couldn't stop smiling, and happily went back to the kitchen to make soup.
Just as they were eating, the door to the training room at the base was pushed open. Team manager Lao Li, sporting dark circles under his eyes and clutching a stack of documents, rushed out. When he saw Su Mo, his eyes lit up as if he had seen a walking money-printing machine.
"My little darling, you're finally awake!" Old Li plopped down opposite Su Mo and slammed the documents on the table. "Do you know how famous you are right now? You're in three of the top ten trending topics on Weibo! The Ministry of Commerce's phones are ringing off the hook!"
Su Mo picked up a piece of braised pork and put it in his mouth. After chewing slowly, he asked, "Brother Li, just say what you need to say."
"Two short-term endorsements for high-end luxury watches, a chief experience officer position for a new energy vehicle, and three live-streaming sales invitations from national-level snack brands." Old Li was so excited he swallowed hard. "Just nod your head, take some time these next few days to shoot a few promotional videos, and show your face for a two-hour live stream. The appearance fee... wow, that's enough for a down payment on a large apartment by the Huangpu River!"
Old Li looked at Su Mo with anticipation. In his opinion, no young man under twenty could resist the temptation of fame and fortune.
However, Su Mo simply pulled out a tissue and calmly wiped the corner of his mouth.
"Cance it, Brother Li." "Alright, I knew it... Wait, what did you say?" Old Li's smile froze. "Cance it? All of it?! No, Brother Mo, God Su! This is money delivered to our door!"
“Brother Li, there are less than two weeks until the S13 World Championship starts.” Su Mo looked into Li’s eyes, his gaze clear yet revealing an undeniable determination. “I haven’t fully grasped the new version yet, and the top lane meta has been drastically changed. At a time like this, if I go to shoot commercials or do live-streaming e-commerce, my mind will wander.”
"But..." Old Li wanted to persuade him further, "It'll only take you a day or two..."
“The Asian Games gold medal is a national honor, and I am very proud of it.” Su Mo interrupted him, her tone gentle but extremely stubborn. “But as a professional player, I haven’t lifted the Summoner’s Cup in the S-series yet. Once I bring that trophy back from Korea, you can ask me to endorse a tractor, and I’ll do it.”
Looking at the young man in front of him, dressed in a gray thermal shirt and eating leftovers, Old Li opened his mouth, but all his persuasion turned into a long sigh.
He shook his head helplessly, but a deep admiration flashed in his eyes: "Okay, you're really something. So many people in this industry get carried away after achieving some success, but you're as steady as an old monk. I'll go and turn them down right now, you can focus on preparing for the competition."
After lunch, Su Mo carried a glass of warm water and walked into the training room.
The club's starting jungler, A-Chen, and mid-laner, Xiao-Yue, were already awake and playing ranked games on the Korean server, their hair a mess. Seeing Su Mo enter, they quickly greeted him, "Good morning, Brother Mo."
"Good morning." Su Mo pulled out his gaming chair.
His peripherals were very basic; the keyboard was so worn that the letters on the keycaps were almost illegible, and the mouse was a three-year-old model. Besides a water glass, the only other item on his desk was a black notebook filled with densely written data.
Power on the computer, log in to the Korean server, and queue for matchmaking.
During the brief moment when he was recalling to base, Ah Chen glanced at Su Mo's screen and asked, "Brother Mo, what are you playing this game? Rumble? Wasn't that champion's base damage nerfed?"
"The base damage has been nerfed, but the prices and build smoothness of several magic damage items have been adjusted in patch 13.19," Su Mo said casually while buying starting items. "Moreover, top lane fighters have generally had their sustain nerfed, so lane bullies like Rumble can be surprisingly effective at suppressing Quesant or Aatrox."
Games start.
Su Mo's Rumble was facing a highly skilled Jax player in a Korean Challenger-level match.
For the first three minutes, Su Mo was like a precise calculator. He perfectly controlled Rumble's temperature (red temperature mechanism), and every time he used Q skill's flames, he precisely baked the gaps in the Jax's last-hitting, while using W's shield to trade blows without taking damage.
5 minutes 20 seconds.
The enemy jungler, Lee Sin, came to gank top.
The Weapon Master immediately uses Q to jump in front of the enemy and then uses E to stun them.
Su Mo, who had been quiet, suddenly turned sharp.
Fingers tap lightly on the keyboard.
Without the slightest panic, Su Mo timed the red temperature critical point, first using his ultimate skill [Constant Temperature Melt] to block the Lee Sin's retreat, then using W to accelerate, and finally using his E skill to precisely slow down both of them with two harpoons.
At the last moment, press the Q skill, which will trigger Red Temperature Overload!
A fully upgraded Overload auto-attack combined with high fire damage, along with turret attacks, effectively roasted the full-health Lee Sin to death. A Flash followed up with another Overload auto-attack, smashing the Jax's head.
"Double Kill!"
The glare from the computer screen reflected on Su Mo's expressionless face. He didn't even move the mouse, immediately controlling the low-health Rumble to push the lane.
Ah Chen, who had witnessed the whole thing, gasped: "Holy crap... your temperature control is amazing! A little more silence and you're not enough to deal damage. If you had panicked even a second during that last wave, you would have been dead. Brother Mo, how many games of Rumble have you been secretly practicing?"
"Not many, maybe thirty-something." Su Mo picked up his water glass and took a sip. "There's still a bit of an error in the damage calculation. I used an extra Ignite when I killed Lee Sin, which I didn't actually need to."
Ah Chen and Xiao Yue looked at each other in bewilderment.
While the whole world was praising Su Mo's Sword Demon skill, this man was reflecting on the fact that he had accidentally used an extra Ignite.
From afternoon to evening, the training room at the base was filled with the crisp sound of keyboards being typed and the occasional tactical exchanges.
After dinner, it's time for the team to review the game.
The team coach was drawing tactical diagrams of the various hypothetical opponents in the S-series on the whiteboard, and the atmosphere was somewhat tense.
"We've already studied the teams in the LCK region. T1's tactical focus in the playoffs is clearly shifting between the top and bottom lanes. Although Zeus suffered a setback at the Asian Games, he remains a huge threat when he returns to T1's system," the coach said solemnly.
The training room was quiet, and the team members all felt an invisible pressure.
Just then, Su Mo opened his black notebook, his calm voice breaking the silence.
“Zeus’s anti-gank awareness actually has blind spots.” Su Mo pushed up his glasses to block blue light and said methodically, “I’ve watched all his first-person perspectives from the Summer Split and the Asian Games. When he’s on the blue side and the minion wave has pushed across the river, he places a ward in the river every 1 minute and 15 seconds. Chen, remember this time difference.”
He looked up at the jungler, Chen, with a determined gaze: "As long as you time it 10 seconds after he places a ward, and go in from the tri-bush into his blind spot, he definitely won't be able to react."
Ah Chen was stunned for a moment, then quickly picked up his pen and frantically wrote: "I've got it, Brother Mo!"
"And then there's the bot lane." Su Mo turned to the bot lane duo. "The enemy team likes to help the bot lane secure lane control and dragon control around the 4-minute mark. In the early game, our top lane can let the lane go and withstand pressure, while we can focus resources on the bot lane. I can play both Rumble and Ornn, and I can still fight even without spending much gold."
A few simple, precise data analyses, down to the second, and the composure with which he proactively took on the pressure, instantly dispelled the tense atmosphere in the training room.
The coach looked at Su Mo with eyes full of satisfaction. A genius with exceptional skills is not scary; what is scary is that this genius is calmer, more rational, and willing to sacrifice for the team than anyone else.
Late at night.
The neon lights of Shanghai flicker on both banks of the Huangpu River, and this city that never sleeps is full of extravagance and hustle and bustle.
But in this somewhat secluded villa complex, the lights in the training room on the second floor seemed exceptionally pure.
Su Mo remained seated in the same spot.
The word "victory" lit up on the screen again and again.
Asian Games Finals MVP? World-class reputation? Immense wealth?
These things seemed to be shut out of his world by his eyes fixed on the screen.
He gently rubbed his slightly sore wrists and pressed the "Find a Match" button again.
"It's not enough," he said to himself silently.
Autumn in Seoul will be cold, but he wants to make that silver Summoner's Cup glow with the purest Chinese red this autumn. (End of Chapter)