Chapter 754
Like a Ghost
JDG's five players arrived at the pass near the Red Buff.
ON's Titan led the way, scanning the bushes step by step.
"This vision control game was crucial!" Guan Zeyuan lowered his voice on the commentary stage, as if afraid of disturbing the players in the game. "Mozi's position is extremely tricky! If the Titan's scanner can't find him, JDG's backline will be completely exposed to Vladimir's gun!"
“But ON is very cautious; the edge of his scan is almost touching the red buff bush!” Miller clenched his fists nervously.
The chat in the live stream was scrolling wildly:
Holy crap! Mozi is incredibly daring! If this gets discovered, it'll be a disaster!
[ON's scanner is almost there! Almost there!]
This vampire's gear is devastating from the moment he enters the fray!
Just as Titan's scanning red beam was about to touch the edge of the bushes...
Su Mo moved!
He did not choose to run away, nor did he wait for JDG to fully enter the river.
He immediately pressed the [Hextech Rocket Belt]!
The vampire, with a series of fiery dashes, charged straight out of the bushes, brazenly charging into the heart of JDG's formation, facing the red scanning light of the Titan!
"He's made his move!!! Brother Mozi has taken the initiative!!!" Zitai suddenly stood up and roared loudly.
The JDG members were shocked. They never expected that this vampire would dare to charge at all five of them from this position!
But by the time they saw the terrifying magical power emanating from the vampire, it was too late.
The ultimate ability, Blood Plague, crashed down, accurately engulfing the three heroes in the middle: LeBlanc, Kai'Sa, and Sejuani!
Immediately afterwards, he charged up his E skill, Blood Tide.
Knight reacted extremely quickly, immediately using his W ability, "Shadow Step," to try and create distance.
But Su Mo's hand speed was extremely fast.
Halfway through LeBlanc's dash, her Enraged Q [Blood Transformation] struck her like a venomous snake!
"boom!"
With her red-angered Q, adorned with a large hat and a magic penetration rod, LeBlanc instantly drained more than half of her health bar! Her passive, "Mirror Flower Water Moon," was triggered immediately.
At the same time, the E skill exploded, slowing down Kai'Sa and Sejuani.
Ruler was terrified and immediately used Flash, while simultaneously using his ultimate ability, Hunter's Instinct, to fly towards the distant Titan in an attempt to seek protection.
But Su Mo completely ignored the Enchantress and Kai'Sa.
He pressed W [Blood Pool]!
The vampire, now a pool of blood, not only evaded the control effects of Titan's hook and Sejuani's ultimate, but also used the slowing effect of the blood pool to stick to Sejuani, who was trying to escape, and Sion, who was slowed down.
Two seconds later.
The vampire burst from the ground.
At the same time, the ultimate skill [Blood Plague] detonated with a deafening roar!
"boom!"
The low-health LeBlanc didn't even have time to distinguish between the real and fake body before being instantly killed by this terrifying burst damage!
Sejuani's health also evaporated by more than half in an instant!
"EDG.Mo has killed JDG.Knight!"
"The Enchantress got instantly killed!!! I don't understand the Vampire's damage!!!" Doll frantically slammed her fist on the table.
The moment the LeBlanc was killed, the vampire's health was fully restored due to the healing mechanism of his ultimate skill.
At this time, the four members of EDG's main force had also arrived at the battlefield.
Achen's Treant Protector ultimate, Nature's Grasp, blocked Kai'Sa and Nautilus's escape route.
Xiao Yue's Syndra used QE to push away Sion, who was trying to turn around and fight back.
Leave's Aphelios unleashed his red and white blades, relentlessly attacking the slowed Sejuani.
JDG collapsed instantly after losing their mid laner and formation.
Kanavi's Sejuani was killed by Aphelios, and 369's Sion was also overwhelmed and fell in the crowd.
Ruler's Kai'Sa managed to kite the enemy at the last second using stealth and her ultimate, but against a Vladimir who had flashed back to life, she could only fall to the ground in frustration.
"Double Kill!"
"Triple Kill!"
"Quadra Kill!"
Quadra kill!!!
Twenty-one minutes.
Accompanied by the system's loud announcement of a quadra kill, corpses littered the area outside the Baron pit.
Only one support Titan remained, standing desperately in the red buff pit, watching the man rise from the pool of blood, radiating a suffocating aura of oppression.
Su Mo didn't use any skills; he simply walked over unremarkably, landed a basic attack, and with the speed boost from Phase Rush, secured the last kill.
"Penta Kill!!!"
Pentakill!!!
"Pentakill!!! Another pentakill!!!" Miller shouted hoarsely on the commentary stage, his voice completely cracking. "In the Baron team fight at the 20-minute mark, Mozi made an incredibly unbelievable flanking maneuver, instantly melting JDG's backline! He used Vladimir, a champion considered bottom-tier in the current meta, to secure his second pentakill of the game!!!"
Guan Zeyuan's face flushed red, and he was so excited that he couldn't speak coherently: "What kind of monster is this! In this version where tanks are everywhere, he used a pure magic damage Vladimir to teach the entire League what a true magic-carry carry is!!"
In the audience, everyone stood up, and golden lights flashed wildly.
"Mo! Mo! Mo!"
The roar of shouts was so loud it almost lifted the roof off the Hongqiao Performing Arts Center.
Twenty-one minutes and thirty seconds.
EDG's five players stepped over JDG's corpse and took down Baron without bloodshed.
With the Baron buff and super minions, they pushed powerfully onto JDG's high ground.
With no means of resistance, JDG could only watch helplessly as their crystal was destroyed bit by bit.
Twenty-two minutes exactly.
With the final basic attack landing, the blue crystal nexus shattered with a deafening roar.
2 is better than 0!
EDG dominated and won this crucial match!
The post-match handshake session.
369 looked at Su Mo who walked up to him, gave a wry smile, and stretched out his hand: "Brother Mo, you vampire are too unreasonable. In the early game, you practically used my Sion as a mobile health pack."
Su Mo grasped his hand, her tone calm: "The version does favor tanks. But the purpose of a tank is to absorb damage. If your damage isn't enough to threaten the backline, no matter how tanky you are, you're just a bunch of high-level cannon fodder."
369 paused for a moment, then nodded heavily.
When he walked up to Knight, Knight's face was still somewhat pale.
"Brother Mo, how dare you initiate when you were hiding in the bush where Faker's ward was? Weren't you afraid of being scanned and instantly killed?" Knight couldn't help but ask.
Su Mo picked up his thermos and took a sip of water, his eyes deep and thoughtful.
“Because I know you’re more anxious than I am,” Su Mo said calmly. “Baron is spawning, and your economic disadvantage forces you to engage in team fights. When your attention is focused on clearing wards and preventing Maokai from initiating, your flank defense will become lax. Those fractions of a second of lapse is enough for me to enter the fray.”
Knight was struck dumb upon hearing this.
This is no longer a simple game of strategy; it's about absolute control over psychology, the situation, and even the opponent's subconscious reactions.
Looking at that tall and slender figure, he felt an overwhelming sense of powerlessness.
The backstage lounge of the Hongqiao Performing Arts Center.
EDG pushed open the door, and they were greeted by Abu and his staff's enthusiastic applause.
"Well done! Well done!" Abu excitedly patted each of his teammates on the shoulder, his smile impossible to hide. "A 2-0 victory over JDG, our first place in the Summer Split is now completely secured!"
Ah Chen excitedly plopped down on the sofa, grabbed a bottle of ice-cold cola, and took a big gulp: "Awesome! Mo Ge, that vampire, I felt like I was just playing around in the second half. I just threw a couple of tree minions and we won the game."
Xiao Yue chuckled along, "That's right! During that Baron fight, I was just about to use my ultimate when Brother Mo charged in and evaporated the enemy team. I was completely stunned."
Leave and Vamp nodded in agreement. As a bot lane duo, encountering a top laner who didn't need resources and could single-handedly save the day was a blessing beyond measure. Su Mo walked at the back.
He didn't join in the joyous celebration; instead, he went straight to the water dispenser, unscrewed the iconic black thermos, poured out the slightly cooled goji berry water, and filled it with about half a cup of hot water.
"Mozi, your vampire-like approach has really exposed Coach Homme's draft picks completely." Mingkai walked over and handed him a dry towel, his eyes full of admiration and emotion. "I just saw Homme's face as black as the bottom of a pot over the JDG coaching bench."
“As expected.” Su Mo took the towel and casually wiped his hands, his tone indifferent. “Since they think that the tank version can ignore individual skill, then let’s use the heroes they think are impossible to play to wake them up.”
Just then, there was a gentle knock on the door of the lounge.
hope Ran peeked in halfway. She was wearing a beige business suit today, and her hair was neatly pinned up behind her head. But when she looked at Su Mo, her bright, watery eyes still shone with an undisguised light.
"Excuse me~ I'm here to go over the post-match interview flow." hope Ran waved the script in her hand and walked in with a smile.
Seeing this, Ah Chen immediately and tactfully pulled Xiao Yue and the bottom lane duo towards the door: "Um, Coach, let's go to the restroom. Come on, let's go."
Mingkai and Abu exchanged a knowing glance and smiled knowingly before turning to discuss tactics for the next game, leaving a corner of the rest room to the two of them.
hope Ran walked to Su Mo's side, saw the thin layer of sweat on his forehead, and naturally took out a pack of wet wipes from her pocket. She took one out, stood on tiptoe, and gently wiped it for him.
"You worked hard today, two MVPs in a row, and a pentakill." hope Ran's voice was very soft, with a hint of intimacy that only the two of them could understand. "I was watching the game from the front desk just now, and when you flanked and entered the game, I was so nervous that I forgot to breathe."
Su Mo lowered his head slightly, matching her movements, a gentle smile appearing in his deep eyes.
"Just a routine entrance." He casually took the script from her hand. "What are you asking?"
"Nothing special, just asking about the reasons for picking Vampire and my outlook for the Summer Split." hope Ran winked mischievously. "But the director asked me to add a little question. What do you want to do most after the match?"
"I'm clocking out." Su Mo answered almost without thinking.
hope Ran chuckled: "I knew it. Your answer is practically becoming a famous quote in the league."
She leaned closer, lowered her voice, and said with a hint of coquettishness, "But, has someone forgotten that today is Rita's birthday? She wasn't originally scheduled to work today, but she specially switched shifts with another commentator so that she could see you win this crucial match as soon as possible. She's still holding on in the commentary booth now."
Su Mo paused slightly in the hand holding the thermos.
Indeed, the intense preparations and matches of the past few days have dulled his sense of the date.
He glanced at the clock on the wall of the lounge.
"How much longer until the interview ends?"
"About twenty minutes. What's wrong?" Xiran asked curiously.
Su Mo didn't say anything, but simply put down the thermos, picked up his phone, and quickly tapped the screen a few times.
"You go over the process first, I'll go out and make a phone call."
Five minutes later, Su Mo returned to the lounge, his expression returning to its usual calm.
The post-match interviews began quickly.
As expected, Su Mo's "clocking out" once again elicited laughter from the entire audience. Regarding the choice of Vampire, he responded with his usual calm yet domineering tone: "As long as we can win, any hero can be the answer to the current meta."
After the interview, the entire EDG team packed up their peripherals and prepared to leave.
Just as everyone was about to walk out of the venue, they heard a rapid clattering of high heels behind them.
"Brother Mozi! Wait for me!"
Rita, wearing that fiery red dress and still with her heavy makeup from the commentary, ran over breathlessly.
"Why are you running so fast?" Su Mo stopped and looked at her cheeks, which were slightly flushed from running.
Ignoring the other staff and teammates around them, Rita immediately took Su Mo's arm, her peach blossom eyes sparkling with anticipation: "We won such a beautiful match today, how are we going to celebrate tonight? How about we go to that newly opened Japanese restaurant I recommended?"
Ah Chen was frantically winking and making faces at Rita, trying to remind her what day it was, but Ming Kai pulled him away.
"Alright, alright, let's go back to base to review. Mozi, you can rejoin the team tomorrow morning." Mingkai waved his hand and quickly led the group of "third wheels" away.
Only Su Mo and Rita remained in the corridor.
"Want to eat Japanese food?" Su Mo asked her gently.
Rita pouted: "Whatever, it doesn't really matter what we eat. I just... want to spend some time alone with you."
She was actually a little disappointed today. Although she was happy to win the game, with the day almost over, Su Mo seemed to have completely forgotten that it was her birthday. She was too embarrassed to bring it up, afraid of seeming too sentimental.
"Let's go." Su Mo didn't say anything more and turned to walk towards the underground parking garage.
Once inside the black SUV, Rita sat in the passenger seat, watching the night scenery rushing past the window, still feeling somewhat down.
Instead of heading towards a bustling Japanese restaurant in the city center, the car made several turns and drove onto a relatively quiet riverside road, finally stopping in front of a private restaurant that looked unremarkable from the outside but was decorated with exquisite elegance.
"Where is this?" Rita looked at the shop without a sign with some confusion.
"Get out of the car." Su Mo said without explanation.
Push open the heavy wooden door of the private restaurant.
Accompanied by a melodious and gentle "Happy Birthday" song.
"Surprise!!!"
Luo Xin, Xiao Yu, hope Ran, and Yu Shuang, who was dressed in casual clothes, all jumped out of the private room at once!
The private room was filled with pink and red balloons, and the table was laden with a sumptuous spread. In the very center was an exquisitely crafted three-tiered red velvet cake.
Rita was completely stunned. She covered her mouth, and her eyes instantly reddened.
"What...what are you all doing here?"
Yu Shuang smiled and stepped forward, handing her an exquisite gift box: "Happy birthday, silly girl. Did you really think we'd all forgotten?"
hope Ran playfully pointed to Su Mo behind her: "This is a venue that Brother Mozi booked on the spur of the moment in the lounge, and he even asked us to come over in advance to set it up."
Rita turned her head and looked at the man standing at the door, still wearing a baseball cap, holding a thermos, with a calm expression.
"You...you remember?" Her voice was choked with emotion.
"If you don't remember, someone will probably be crying in the car tonight." Su Mo smiled faintly, stepped forward, and took out a small velvet box from his pocket.
Open it, and you'll find a dazzling diamond necklace.
"Happy birthday."
Amidst the cheers of the crowd, he personally placed the necklace on Rita's slender swan neck.
Rita could no longer hold back and threw herself into Su Mo's arms, tears streaming down her face as she clung to his shoulder, but her smile was brighter than ever before.
"Brother Mozi, you're the best..."
The birthday party at the private restaurant lasted until 11 p.m.
The girls' laughter, mingled with the slightly intoxicating aroma of red wine, flowed through this secluded riverside shop.
Su Mo sat in the main seat, not drinking, still holding his ever-present thermos, occasionally picking up a bite of light vegetables with his chopsticks.
He glanced at Rita beside him, whose cheeks were flushed from drinking and who was pulling Luo Xin into a drinking contest, and then at Yu Shuang across from him, who was gently picking fish bones from hope Ran's bones.
These e-sports goddesses, who seem unattainable to outsiders, shed all their defenses and halos in front of him, revealing only their most vibrant and down-to-earth side.
"Brother Mozi, is the water in your cup some kind of celestial dew from the Jade Pool? How come you never get tired of drinking it?" Xiaoyu brought over a half-cup of fruit wine, her watery eyes full of curiosity.
“It’s a habit.” Su Mo put down his thermos, his gaze deep. “Only by staying clear-headed can one stand firm in this industry.”
Although these words were spoken in a calm tone, they quieted the noisy private room slightly.
A hint of pity flashed in Yu Shuang's eyes. She knew better than anyone that the reason this man, who was hailed as a god by the entire internet, could maintain such a terrifying competitive state for seven years was not just due to talent, but also to his extreme self-discipline, which was almost like that of an ascetic.
"Alright, alright, today is Rita's birthday, let's not talk about such heavy topics." Yu Shuang smiled and smoothed things over. "Come on, everyone, let's raise a glass and wish our Rita to stay forever eighteen and forever beautiful!"
"cheers!"
The crisp sound of glass clashing rang out again.
When the party ended, considering that the girls had all been drinking, Su Mo arranged for a private restaurant to provide drivers to take them back to the river-view apartment in batches.
He himself drove his black SUV, with a slightly tipsy Rita and Yu Shuang, smoothly along the empty elevated road.
“Brother Mozi…” Rita sat in the passenger seat, her eyes gazing dreamily at the night view rushing past the window, her fingers gently stroking the diamond necklace around her neck. “You know, I used to think that a man like you, standing at the top, must be an emotionless machine.”
Su Mo kept his eyes on the road ahead, his hands firmly gripping the steering wheel, and didn't reply.
“But then I realized that you weren’t without feelings.” Rita turned her head and stared intently at his cold profile. “You just hid all your tenderness in those seemingly ordinary details.”
Hearing this confession fueled by alcohol, Yu Shuang, sitting in the back seat, smiled gently. She reached out and draped a blanket over Rita: "You always talk nonsense when you're drunk. Close your eyes and rest for a bit, we'll be there soon." (End of Chapter)