Chapter 15: I Think You’ve Lost Your Mind

“Brothers, we’re unstoppable!”

The moment the game ended, Su Zhe shouted excitedly.

Defeating a professional player had filled him with immense satisfaction, and he was also the MVP of the match.

Admiring his 1.51 rating, Su Zhe didn’t rush into the next game; he needed a break.

He had poured his all into this match, maintaining intense focus throughout.

As his mind relaxed, fatigue washed over him. Smiling, he turned to his friend and said, “Honestly, these European pros aren’t all that.”

Es3tag and K0nfig’s stats in this game were average—one had a 1.21 rating, the other 1.19.

Hearing Su Zhe’s words, his friend shook his head. “You clearly don’t follow professional matches. Some domestic pros who easily crush you in ranked matches look like chicks in front of these guys.”

“Take the LVG team, currently the highest-ranked domestic squad. When they went to IEM Sydney, they didn’t win a single match in the double-elimination stage—they got swept away without a fight.”

Su Zhe rarely watched tournaments; all his energy was devoted to training and real combat. He simply didn’t have time to keep up with competitions.

He only watched demos of top-tier ranked matches because he felt the tactics used by pro teams weren’t useful to him.

After all, he wasn’t in a fixed team. His teammates changed every game, so teamwork was somewhat irrelevant.

He still didn’t have a clear sense of the skill gap between domestic and international teams.

Confidently, Su Zhe said, “That’s because I wasn’t there. When I go pro someday, I’ll crush them thoroughly!”

His friend just smiled and didn’t argue further.

He thought to himself, ignorance truly breeds courage. Anyone who had seriously watched a few matches wouldn’t make such naive remarks.

But he wasn’t mocking Su Zhe; in fact, he admired him.

He believed that Su Zhe’s mindset was exactly why he worked so hard to improve, climbing into the S tier within just over a month.

During his break, Su Zhe went to the restroom, then opened his system panel to check his current attributes.

[Host: Su Zhe]
[Age: 18]
[Team: None]
[Positioning: 56-61]
[Movement: 47-52]
[Gun Control: 55-60]
[Awareness: 43-48]
[Reaction: 83-88]
[Rise Points: 665]
[Weapon Proficiency: AK-47 (Lv5.9)
M4A1-S (Lv4.1)… (Expand)]
[Skill: Chosen One]
[Overall Level: C+]
[Evaluation: You’re progressing steadily on your path in CSGO, gradually developing your own understanding of the game. However, for a prodigy, this pace is still too slow! There’s a distance to the professional threshold. Keep pushing forward and become a pro soon!]
[Task 1: Join a professional team as a starting player within one year (youth teams do not count). Countdown: 331 days]
[Reward: S-tier reward; failure will result in automatic unbinding from the host.]
[Task 2: Reach the top ladder rank on any CSGO platform.]
[Reward: Random A-tier reward]
[Task 3: Achieve a perfect platform score of Diamond S.]
[Reward: Random B-tier reward]

Looking at his attribute panel, Su Zhe’s face lit up with joy.

Though the pressure in ranked matches increased after reaching S tier, as long as he maxed out his [Reaction] attribute and improved other areas, reaching Diamond S wouldn’t be difficult.

Then he could approach Leon Kai to recommend him for a professional team.

Su Zhe felt his future had shifted from bleak to boundless.

Still, he didn’t plan to slack off, because as his improvement slowed, the number of rise points he earned began to drop sharply.

It was like playing an online game: without grinding or spending money, you could easily obtain 60% to 70% of the game’s resources and grow stronger, but you couldn’t become a top player on the server.

At that stage, it was a battle of bank balances or sheer grind.

Though over three hundred days remained on the first task’s countdown, Su Zhe felt a deep urgency amid his slowing progress.

…

“Play by yourself then. Ranked matches are no better than deathmatch for practicing aim… Why are you downloading demos?” Es3tag looked at K0nfig with some confusion.

K0nfig explained, “No, I’m just curious about that MVP player.”

Es3tag asked, “You’re not suspecting him of cheating, are you?”

K0nfig chuckled, “No way, am I that dumb?”

Being accused of cheating in ranked matches usually meant one of two things: either the player had godlike ‘awareness’ like ZywOo or ropz, or they had top-tier map knowledge like the peak A team back in the day, defying logic with their positioning and smoke plays.

Last time Su Zhe was accused of cheating, Leon Kai made a video clarifying the situation.

Though some online trolls still doubted him anytime reality didn’t fit their beliefs, occasionally seeking attention in Su Zhe’s comment section, he was no longer called a hacker in matches as his rank rose.

Players like Su Zhe, who preferred straightforward aggressive plays, were easy to identify.

Slowing down the replay and watching his crosshair placement would reveal the truth.

K0nfig continued, “I just feel something’s off about him... I want to review the replay to be sure.”

Es3tag said, “You think his reactions are super fast?”

K0nfig was surprised, “You noticed too?”

Es3tag rolled his eyes, “I’m not blind; you can feel it easily in-game. But what’s the point of confirming it?”

K0nfig answered seriously, “I don’t know, I’m just curious and want to check it out when I have time.”

Es3tag shrugged, “Suit yourself. I think you’re getting a bit obsessed.”

K0nfig sighed upon hearing that.

NIP was in a tough spot lately. The club had recently benched Brollan, who they had purchased from FNC for 600,000 euros.

As their GM Threat said in an HLTV interview, Brollan had been with NIP for a year and a half but consistently failed to live up to his star status.

So when they came to CAC, they temporarily promoted their youth player Maxster to fill in.

But Maxster’s performance was, to put it mildly, disappointing—often posting the worst stats on the team in recent matches.

NIP was desperately searching for new talent to strengthen their lineup.

CSGO pros differed from those in other games in that tournament prize money made up a large portion of their income.

Everyone wanted good results, so they would scout for talent whenever they had free time.

But from Es3tag’s perspective, CNCS’s own pro teams weren’t impressive.

If you’re interested in players from their vague ranked matches, what else could it be but obsession?

…

Just to clarify upfront, I don’t write CNCS.