Chapter 35: You Know, I’ve Been a Nip Fan for Ten Years

Two hours passed in a flash, and the trial results for the two maps between the two teams were already in. The five members of Team X finally understood why Ninjas in Pyjamas (NIP) would invite a rookie with absolutely no major tournament experience for a trial.

His reaction time was absurd!

Although they could effectively counter him tactically, when that reaction speed was combined with his raw aim, his head-to-head performance was simply too formidable. They had lost count of how many times they had been killed by this player named Arrow.

After the practice match, sjuush asked in the room, puzzled: "Where did you find this rookie? His talent is ridiculously high. I’ve never even encountered him in matchmaking before."

Seeing this, k0nfig typed back with a smile: "Do you really think such a good thing would just fall into your lap?"

sjuush: "?"

Seeing the reply, sjuush couldn't help but laugh, attributing it to NIP’s dumb luck, though he didn't dwell on it too much. After years of constant iteration in professional CS:GO, what was the point of having great aim alone? Influenced by their former captain, karrigan, he had always believed that team synergy and coordination were far more important than individual skill. Even without a single superstar, hadn't their team still managed to become runners-up at the previous Rio Major?

...

Every team held different views on CS:GO. To coach djL, while Su Zhe’s performance in the two practice matches still had plenty of room for improvement, he was overall quite satisfied. Furthermore, he occasionally pulled off eye-catching plays during the matches—in short, he was incredibly intuitive. The coach felt that this young man only lacked the experience that came with time; as long as he learned quickly, he would soon become a sharp blade for the team.

After the practice session concluded, he smiled at Su Zhe and said, "Rest here for a moment. I’m going to print out your stats, and then you’ll come with me to see the team manager."

With that, djL headed to the printer room next door. Once the coach turned away, Su Zhe let out a long breath. He felt as though he had burned through all his energy during the two matches, applying everything he had learned from watching pro demos. Yet, he had still been forced into a passive position quite often, and he couldn't help but sigh that there were no simple opponents in the professional scene. Even players he had never heard of before could leverage their experience to cause him significant trouble.

k0nfig walked over and gave him a high-five: "You played great today, brother! Very bold!"

Su Zhe was speechless. *That was considered bold?* He had felt like he was walking on thin ice the entire time during those two matches! However, he couldn't very well say that. Not knowing what else to say, he replied somewhat awkwardly, "It’s mostly because your monitors are so good, and the internet is fast..."

"Pfft—" REZ was the first to burst out laughing. That was a fair point, but remembering the 100+ ping Su Zhe used to have when they played ranked together, he understood.

es3tag’s expression also relaxed. Surely this performance would earn the team manager’s approval. He had been worried that Su Zhe would get nervous and underperform, but it seemed to have worked out well. Achieving such results under these conditions had already exceeded his expectations. He was increasingly looking forward to seeing what changes a young talent like Arrow could bring to their team, which had recently felt like stagnant water.

djL was quick; a few minutes later, he returned to the practice room with several sheets of paper. "Hey, Arrow, come with me."

Su Zhe stood up and followed him out. As he left, k0nfig gave him a thumbs-up. Su Zhe followed the coach to the manager's office, where he found the team manager, THREAT, sipping hot tea with an air of enjoyment.

THREAT took the stat sheet from djL, gave it a quick glance, and then signaled for djL to leave so he could speak with Su Zhe privately.

"Sit down."

He looked at Su Zhe, who was sitting across from him, and asked some basic questions—about his age, total hours played, and so on—while occasionally glancing at the stats in his hand. Everything was satisfactory, even better than the performances of previous trialists, but he couldn't shake a weird feeling. Adding a player with zero major experience to his team made him uncomfortable. While there were rare examples of true prodigies entering the top tier and achieving success, they were few and far between. Not to mention the club's history: they had seen top-tier snipers and million-euro contract players arrive only to fade into obscurity.

THREAT couldn't help but ask: "As a Chinese player, why aren't you playing professionally in your own country? I recall there are quite a few professional teams there."

Su Zhe’s mouth twitched at the question. If he were playing in China, he’d likely be in a youth academy, trying to curry favor with the management just to see if he could get promoted to the main roster as a substitute. He realized now that even a genius as talented as ZywOo would likely have to buy the management a few packs of cigarettes just to get a shot.

After a moment of contemplation, Su Zhe replied: "You know, I’ve actually been a fan of NIP for ten years. It’s been my dream since I was a kid to play for NIP. Back then, I was inspired by f0rest and GeT_RiGhT..."

After ten minutes of Su Zhe’s smooth-talking, THREAT looked thoroughly satisfied. He reminisced about the team’s former glory, completely ignoring the fact that Su Zhe would have only been eight years old a decade ago.

Su Zhe continued, "So, when I realized I had the talent for professional CS:GO, the first team I wanted to join was NIP!"

"To restore the glory of NIP! It is my duty!"

"Good!" THREAT couldn't help but clap. "To be honest, your trial results have completely met my expectations." He took another sip of his tea. "But then again, as you know, it is extremely difficult for a complete rookie to enter the top-tier professional circuit."

"I can offer you a contract, but you must prove yourself with results."

"Let's do this: the IEM Katowice qualifiers are coming up in a while. If the team qualifies and your performance is solid, I can keep you in the starting lineup. But if you end up like all the other rookies, my advice would be to spend some time developing in our youth academy."

Su Zhe agreed immediately. He didn't know how difficult the Katowice qualifiers were, but as long as he became a starter—even for just one day—the countdown mission from his system would be completed! Even if he only ended up in the youth academy later, he could slowly grow and get stronger with the system’s help.

After receiving confirmation, THREAT pulled a contract from his folder. As he looked at the two-year term, he suddenly remembered their past failures... and promptly changed the two-year contract to three months before handing it over.

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Who would have thought that Spirit would actually win the championship? donk has truly shattered my understanding of what a rifler can do. You know, I’ve actually been a die-hard fan of Spirit for ten years.