Chapter 12: The Factory Director: Just stop talking and let me call you "brother," okay!

Letme found this result a bit hard to accept.

He knew that after being dived like this, he would be forever nailed to the pillar of shame.

To be solo-killed twice in under seven minutes by a rookie making his debut, using a non-meta top laner like Zilean—one of which was a tower dive—while being down three levels and nearly fifty CS...

One has to ask, who could handle such a blow?

The more Letme thought about it, the more stifled he felt. He leaned back, staring up at the ceiling with vacant eyes.

After two seconds of silence, he spoke in a listless voice: "Sorry everyone, I died again. And I got solo-killed under the tower..."

"Junze, are you okay?" Xiaohu, sitting nearby, clearly noticed the change in Letme. "It’s just one solo kill, it’s fine, brother. I’ll help you get revenge in a bit."

Xiaohu had seen what happened in the top lane, and he couldn't help but praise the Zilean player's attention to detail and audacity in his heart.

But he certainly couldn't say that out loud, or Letme might just completely fall apart.

"Yeah, why are you losing your cool over two solo kills? Isn't it normal to make a mechanical error?" Mlxg chimed in to comfort him. "Besides, that Zilean isn't getting anything useful out of those kills. Our bot lane has a massive advantage; we’ll win this game easily. You can even just mess around in the top lane."

The group tacitly "forgot" about Letme's bold declarations from earlier.

Letme let out a deep breath and said, "I'm fine. I'll just play passively in the top lane. You guys should keep helping the bot lane; just make sure Uzi gets fed, and I'll get carried."

Hearing this, the others finally felt relieved.

Letme sat up straight again. Having just respawned, he immediately bought two Null-Magic Mantles and headed back to the top lane.

After being dived and killed, he had also missed two waves of minions.

The gap between him and the Zilean was now even wider.

Letme secretly gritted his teeth, even having the urge to rush over to the EDG stage and challenge the guy playing Zilean to an offline solo match.

He swore that Zilean was the most disgusting champion he had ever seen in his life.

Bar none!

【Received +50 Torment Points from Letme】

【Received +20 Torment Points from Letme】

【Received +10 Torment Points from Letme】

【Received from...】

On the other side, Su Mo looked at the system notifications, feeling incredibly satisfied.

This tower dive had netted him nearly a hundred Torment Points from Letme.

Huge profit.

Wait...

Maybe he could harvest some from his teammates too.

"Sigh, is this really the professional stage? There’s no challenge at all. I don't know why everyone else finds it so difficult."

Su Mo sighed softly.

Clearlove, Meiko, and the others all glanced over at Su Mo.

The next moment...

【Received +3 Torment Points from Clearlove】

【Received +3 Torment Points from Meiko】

【Received +3 Torment Points from Scout】

【Received +3 Torment Points from Meiko】

"Xiao Mo, will you die if you don't act cocky for one second!" Clearlove finally couldn't help but snap.

He had barely tolerated Su Mo's "demonic whispers" to himself earlier, but now, look at what this guy was saying!

Claiming the professional stage had no challenge, saying others found it difficult—who exactly was he implying with those backhanded comments?

Especially that nonchalant, condescending tone; it was enough to make anyone's blood boil.

"Cough, cough, Brother Clearlove, don't misunderstand. I'm not targeting you guys; I'm targeting all professional players."

Clearlove:?

Meiko:?

Scout:?

Zet:...

【Received +5 Torment Points from Clearlove】

【Received...】

For some reason, Clearlove felt his fists itching.

The urge to punch someone was growing stronger.

How had he never noticed that this kid Su Mo was so punchable before!

If what he just said got out, it would probably immediately ignite the fury of every professional player in the LPL.

Clearlove bared his teeth and glared at Su Mo: "I'm begging you, Xiao Mo, can you just stop talking? I'll call you 'big brother' if you just shut up!"

"That won't work, unless you treat me to barbecue after the match."

Clearlove let out a dry laugh: "If we can beat RNG today, forget barbecue—I'll treat you to a full imperial feast."

"What's an imperial feast? Is it a feast full of men?"

【Received +3 Torment Points from Clearlove】

Clearlove rolled his eyes: "Let's just stick to barbecue."

"Brother Clearlove, what do you like to eat? Do you like grilled kidneys?"

"No."

"How about gluten?"

"No."

"Grilled eggplant with minced meat?"

"..."

Clearlove suddenly didn't want to talk anymore.

Communicating with this guy Su Mo was, to some extent, self-torture.

However, even he didn't notice that after this round of torment from Su Mo, his own gloomy and depressed mood seemed to have brightened up quite a bit.

...

Meanwhile.

In the EDG lounge, Ah Bu listened to the audio from the headset, also speechless.

This is a match, for heaven's sake!

And it's a do-or-die game in the semifinals! What on earth is going on in Su Mo's head?!

He's turned it into a food discussion forum.

Does this guy really not care about winning or losing at all!!

Does he not care at all about how much the netizens will flame him if they lose?!

What kind of mindset is this?!

Ah Bu felt like he was being driven crazy.

【Received +10 Torment Points from Ah Bu】

While Ah Bu was pacing back and forth in the lounge, Su Mo's voice continued over the team comms

"Do you like chicken butts? Why aren't you saying anything..."

"Never mind, Shen is back in lane, I'm going to go throw some bombs."

"He's not even taking the experience, Letme, what are you doing!"

"Top lane is so boring. I suspect the enemy might come to get me. Clearlove, can you come help me dive the tower?"

Clearlove, who had just finished the Red Buff in the bottom jungle, froze.

Wait, you suspect the enemy is coming to get you, so you're asking me to help you dive their tower?

What kind of logic is that?

And you're a Zilean! Is it appropriate to be thinking about diving people's towers all day long!

Clearlove instinctively wanted to refuse, but as the words reached his throat, he hesitated.

Logically, he should be protecting the bot lane with his Rengar.

But now, at eight and a half minutes in, Zet's Varus was already down over twenty CS to Uzi and had died once.

He really couldn't see much hope in the bot lane.

It might be better to look for an opportunity in the top lane and try to carry himself.

As long as he farmed well, he could burst down the enemy Caitlyn in team fights; there might still be a chance to win.

Thinking of this, Clearlove replied in a daze: "Fine, I'm coming."

Su Mo was also stunned.

He was just trying to torment Clearlove; he really hadn't expected Clearlove to actually come top.

Could it be that Clearlove wanted to bet everything on him?

"I'll wait for you," Su Mo replied softly. "We can win this game."

We can win this game...

These four light words from Su Mo carried an unusual weight in Clearlove's heart.

"Yes, we can win!" The corners of Clearlove's mouth lifted slightly, revealing the first smile he had shown since the start of the game.

However, just as he reached the mid lane, he saw a situation unfolding in the top lane.

Huge boulders suddenly rose from the ground, forming a towering wall that extended behind the Zilean. The Zilean, who was pushing the wave under the enemy tower, had his retreat path completely blocked.

It was Taliyah's ultimate—Weaver's Wall!

"Oh no!" Clearlove's brow twitched. "Taliyah is ganking..."

Before he could finish, another stout figure emerged from the top river bush—it was the RNG jungler, Gragas!

"Gragas is there too. It's over." Clearlove's expression finally changed.

He never imagined that RNG would be so insane, with both the mid and jungle moving to help a Shen who was already useless in the top lane.

Facing a three-man encirclement, the Zilean was likely doomed.

Just as Clearlove hesitated on what to do, Su Mo's calm voice rang out

"Don't be afraid."

Clearlove froze.

Wait, who is the one being ganked? Who are you telling not to be afraid!