Chapter 16: What an Exceptional Material!

After teaming up once again for a ranked ladder match with Fat Bro, Su Zhe found himself puzzled by a friend request on the Perfect Platform.

"Is this for real? That pro player I just faced actually sent me a friend request..."

Fat Bro leaned over, peering at the screen. "Don’t tell me it’s some scammer trying to steal your inventory? Let me check!"

He promptly took control of Su Zhe’s mouse, eager to see if there was any professional player verification.

He muttered continuously, "Next time someone adds you and sends a link claiming to support their team or says they’re a girl wanting to duo, be careful—one wrong move and your inventory’s gone..."

Su Zhe chuckled, "I know that, but I only have a slightly worn red line AK in my inventory, not attractive enough for scammers."

"Still, be cautious..." Fat Bro’s expression suddenly shifted to excitement. "No way! It really is k0nfig himself! Accept the request and see what’s up!"

Once they accepted the request, k0nfig sent a message in English that left both of them dumbfounded.

Fat Bro was the first to react: "Find a translation site! Let’s see what he’s saying."

After translating k0nfig’s message, they learned he was complimenting Su Zhe on his recent play and asking how old he was.

When Su Zhe replied that he was only eighteen, k0nfig’s enthusiasm noticeably increased, evident in his quicker responses.

After some back and forth, k0nfig discovered that Su Zhe had been playing CSGO for less than six months with under a thousand hours logged. He couldn’t help but admire, "You’re a raw gem! Not only quick on the draw but also a fast learner!"

While reviewing Su Zhe’s demo, k0nfig noticed certain positional choices on the defensive side were questionable, and some snap decisions reflected a lack of experience.

After all, k0nfig had been a pro since 2015, playing mostly for top-tier teams like North Lions, Blue Star, and Team A.

He had competed in over 1,700 matches, making him one of the most experienced players in the CSGO professional circle.

Just one demo was enough for him to gauge Su Zhe’s skill level roughly.

Despite Su Zhe’s limited playtime, k0nfig was quite satisfied with his current level.

At the very least, it was clear the young Chinese player had grasped the essence of an entry fragger.

Then k0nfig asked, "Do you have any plans to go pro?"

Fat Bro stared at the message, stunned. That was a bit too ambiguous! He looked incredulous. "Wait... he’s not trying to get you to join NiP’s academy team, is he? That can’t be!"

The question felt as pointed as a guy asking a girl if she wanted a boyfriend—too obvious.

Su Zhe quickly replied, "Of course!"

k0nfig: "Do you plan on going pro in Europe?"

Su Zhe: "No."

k0nfig: "......"

Fat Bro: "?"

"What? Bro! Didn’t you say you wanted to be pro?" Fat Bro was shocked.

Su Zhe was a bit puzzled by Fat Bro’s reaction. "Yeah, but if I go pro, it’ll be in China."

Fat Bro slapped his thigh. "You’re crazy! Such a great opportunity and you say you have no plans? You handle your own games, I’m going out for some fresh air!"

It was like winning a lottery worth tens of thousands but refusing to claim the prize and tearing up the ticket.

In fact, the odds of this happening were probably even lower.

At least Fat Bro hadn’t heard of any domestic players joining European academy teams.

With that, Fat Bro turned and left the dorm, his footsteps echoing faintly with a teasing, "Crazy, crazy~"

"Yeah, where else would I go to play pro if not in China? Although CNCS isn’t great, I’m the guy destined to save CNCS!" Su Zhe muttered, feeling confident.

He believed there were plenty of championship-winning examples in other domestic esports scenes. Although CNCS was often criticized, how bad could it really be?

With a "chosen one" like himself joining, glory was bound to return!

Feeling fired up, Su Zhe immediately jumped into another match.

k0nfig was somewhat surprised by the reply. He had thought that if Su Zhe was skilled and willing to learn English, maybe he could recruit him into his academy team.

But everyone has their own ambitions, so he didn’t press further. It was just casual talk—no point forcing it.

After closing the Perfect Platform, k0nfig turned to es3tag beside him and said, "Have you noticed? There are more and more talented young players now."

Es3tag scoffed, "But the competition’s getting fiercer. A few years ago, we just compared aim. Now, even the pre-match prep is enough to make my hair fall out in clumps."

"But what good’s it doing us if there are tons of talented youngsters? The clubs’ people responsible for this are useless. The academy hasn’t had any good prospects for a long time."

Europe’s CSGO esports industry was already quite mature. If you could score high on Faceit and have outstanding results, clubs would approach you proactively.

However, NiP’s academy team struggled to find talent. The truly gifted players preferred to grind hard in popular academies like Mouz rather than join NiP.

This left NiP with only the leftover players no one else wanted.

k0nfig sighed, "Ah well... doesn’t matter. Neither of us is likely to play professionally for many more years anyway..."

...

Xiao Yu Jun was a content creator specializing in CSGO media on a popular short-video platform.

With the upcoming CAC tournament, many foreign pros, upon arrival, would play several ranked matches on the Perfect Platform, which gave him a chance to capture popular content.

He didn’t look for matches where pros carried hard in ranked. Instead, he sought out games where domestic players held their own against pros.

People loved stories of gifted youngsters rising, especially when they were from their own country.

When others made “CSGO Hide and Seek” videos, they always added, "Look at this Chinese player..."

Though the protagonist wasn’t truly Chinese, viewers enjoyed the content, and the views were high.

Xiao Yu Jun capitalized on this national pride to gain traffic, but such material was scarce.

After the foreign pros overcame their initial awkwardness, they began to dominate ladder matches with their deep game understanding.

After five videos, his content library was wiped clean.

Checking the pros’ ranked records, he grumbled, "Come on! I was planning to invite Guangzi for a collab in the next video!"

"Wait! Two NiP pros just lost a match!"

Xiao Yu Jun clicked eagerly, and after seeing the stats, his eyes sparkled like gold.

"Gold! A golden legend! This is prime material!"

...

P.S. Just to clarify, I won’t be writing about CNCS opening scenes.