Chapter 24: I am Niko! I am Niko!

[Rise Points +259]

[Obtained B-rank reward: Please designate a professional player to randomly acquire one of their skill insights.]

Su Zhe felt a brief flicker of disappointment upon seeing the reward. He had hoped for a skill that would directly boost his innate talent. However, recalling the improvements he gained from choosing donk’s skill insights last time, he quickly regained his anticipation.

Back then, simple maneuvers performed by donk that Su Zhe couldn't replicate—where his brain understood the logic but his hands hadn't yet caught up—had brought him immense growth. That technique for mobile defense had proven incredibly useful even during his trial at Tyloo. Moreover, this time he wasn't limited to a random selection; he could specify the professional player.

Who should he pick?

Su Zhe immediately thought of S1mple, ZywOo, and NiKo. It wasn't just because he and his roommates spent their time in the streaming room cosplaying as them for content; purely in terms of raw skill, these were the three that naturally came to mind.

Su Zhe first ruled out S1mple. The man hailed as the greatest CS:GO player had recently chosen to step down from NAVI's starting lineup because he couldn't adapt to certain mechanics in CS2. There was no reason to choose someone struggling with the new version, regardless of how dominant he had once been.

That left ZywOo and NiKo. One was Team Vitality’s main AWPer, possessing incredibly stable performance and game sense that felt like he had wallhacks. The other was G2’s entry fragger, whose reputation as a "human bulldozer" was the best testament to his overwhelming frontal firepower.

After a moment of hesitation, Su Zhe made his decision.

[Do you wish to randomly acquire a skill insight from NiKo?]

[Yes]

[Randomizing... Congratulations, host has acquired NiKo's pre-aiming skill insight.]

Immediately, the scene before Su Zhe shifted, bringing him back to the same environment he experienced during his insight into donk’s skills. He was quickly immersed in NiKo’s gameplay.

The map was Ancient, with NiKo on the offensive. At the start of the round, he controlled the area outside B-Doors solo, but his teammates fell one after another at T-Spawn, leaving him in a 1v5 clutch situation. Su Zhe could feel the urgency in NiKo’s heart; the score was 18-19 in overtime, and every round was critical.

Hearing a shot from the back of the "Black House," Su Zhe instantly understood NiKo’s thought process. A perfect opportunity to catch the enemy off-guard! NiKo quietly walked into the smoke blocking B-Link. Sensing the distance was right, he swung out wide, spotted the CT holding a side angle, and tapped him down. Another enemy tried to re-peek from the back of the Black House, but the AK in NiKo’s hands felt as though it had no recoil; the crosshair snapped to the right, landing a headshot for another kill.

A 2v3 situation; the situation remained dire. After confirming no CTs were pushing for aggressive kills, NiKo decided to join his teammate for a push through the "Donut" area. Moving from B-Link to Mid, he paused for a second above the Mid-cove, staring toward the Donut, then performed a crouch-peek with perfect pre-aim. His crosshair landed like a nail, locked firmly onto the head of the enemy AWPer holding the angle.

Pre-aim, crouch-peek, fire—all in one fluid motion, without a single wasted movement. The sniper, the biggest threat to any rifler, was like a toy in his eyes.

After clearing the immediate threat in Mid, NiKo let his teammate use their weapon advantage to continue the push. Suddenly, a CT swung out from the Donut, picked off their AWPer, and retreated, capitalizing on the timing of NiKo throwing utility. Once again, it was a 1v2 disadvantage.

After pinpointing the enemies' approximate locations, NiKo pushed deeper into the Donut. To Su Zhe’s eyes, every step NiKo took involved segmented pre-aiming, yet it looked effortless, and his pace barely slowed. With another segmented pre-aim, NiKo spotted the CT standing in the right-hand nook of the Donut.

It was an action performed as if it were muscle memory. Quick stop, fire, kill. Without a moment’s hesitation, he pre-aimed toward the CT spawn and swung out. Quick stop, fire, recoil control—a five-kill ACE.

Su Zhe was stunned. Was this level of pre-aiming even possible for a human? Did he have an aim-lock? It felt as though he were locking onto heads through the walls!

Just as Su Zhe was immersed in the insight, the scene shifted again. The map was now Inferno, and NiKo started the round with a push up Banana. He hugged the right wall, and with his teammate throwing fire at the logs to ensure no one was close, he didn't even bother checking the corners; he simply performed a tight-angle pre-aim and swung. His crosshair landed precisely on the head of the CT holding an AWP from the double-stack behind the yellow wall.

"Click."

A single bullet, tearing through the AWP. Su Zhe wondered: *Wait, even a double-stack position needs to be pre-aimed? How much experience does it take to judge that so accurately?*

After securing the kill, NiKo pushed further into Banana. It was the same segmented pre-aiming technique: clear the stone slab, clear the sandbags, crouch-peek the CT spawn, and then pre-aim the position behind the first box.

"Click."

Another AWP taken down! It was that same suffocating pressure that left snipers unable to even get a shot off. The B-site defense collapsed, and NiKo was still at full health.

Su Zhe recalled his own recent breakthrough on Banana while climbing to Diamond S. He had relied on unconventional speed and secondary adjustments, a style that could only be described as reckless. In contrast, NiKo’s gameplay was all about elegance and composure. During his advance, his crosshair was either empty or fixed on an opponent’s head. His crouch-peeks, wide swings, and tight-angle peeks were all designed to make it impossible for the enemy AWPer to lock on.

Regarding pre-aiming, Su Zhe had been practicing daily for over a month. In his mind, it was purely about muscle memory—standing in a fixed spot, tracing a fixed cover, and swinging out. Su Zhe had previously wondered why his pre-aiming felt different from the pros; his opponents weren't bots, they moved. The best he could do was ensure his crosshair was close enough to the enemy after his swing to allow for a secondary adjustment.

But NiKo’s segmented pre-aiming was about imagining every single spot an enemy could possibly be in his field of vision. Always stay skeptical! The most terrifying part was how NiKo adjusted his head-level pre-aiming based on the terrain, ensuring he could secure a one-tap kill whenever he faced an AWPer. This completely overturned Su Zhe’s previous understanding of pre-aiming.

As the insight faded, Su Zhe felt his touch was scorching hot, as if NiKo had possessed him. He couldn't wait to jump into a competitive match to digest what he had just learned.

Su Zhe hopped out of the bathroom, shouting excitedly, "Haha! I did it! I’ve got it! I am NiKo! I am NiKo!"

Fatty and Xiao Guang exchanged a look, both understanding what the other was thinking. *Are you really trying to create content even after going to the bathroom? But you’re "ZywOo," not "NiKo"!*