Chapter 21: Let Me Think About It Some More

It was midday when Su Zhe arrived in Hangzhou by high-speed rail, so he took a taxi directly to the club.

At the entrance of the club, a man glanced at a photo on his phone and then looked up at Su Zhe. Having confirmed his identity, he walked over and said, "You must be Su Zhe. I'm the trial coach for Tyloo. Come on up with me."

Su Zhe followed the coach through the main gate of the club. As he walked and observed his surroundings, he grew increasingly impressed. The Tyloo club was far more imposing than he had imagined; he had heard that some CS clubs in the country operated out of rented apartments in residential buildings.

The coach led him to the youth training room. Su Zhe peered inside and saw at least a dozen people, all around his age.

"Do you need to rest for a bit before we arrange your trial?" the youth coach asked.

Su Zhe shook his head. "I'm ready now, but I need to warm up first."

He had slept for a few hours last night and another few hours on the high-speed train this morning. It was the most well-rested he had felt in over a month, and his mind felt incredibly sharp.

Hearing this, the coach set him up at a computer. "Go ahead and warm up. I'll make the arrangements. Your trial will start in twenty minutes."

As Su Zhe sat down and turned on the computer, a young trainee who looked even younger than him struck up a conversation. "Hey bro, I'm Xiao Zhou. What's your in-game ID? Maybe we've run into each other on the ladder."

Su Zhe didn't quite know how to answer. Choosing that ID had seemed cool at the time, but saying it out loud to a stranger now felt a bit embarrassing. He brushed past the topic and asked, "What does the trial actually involve? Is it difficult?"

Xiao Zhou didn't mind the deflection and laughed. "It's pretty simple. They'll put together ten people, play three training matches, and the coach will watch your playstyle and mechanics from behind to decide whether to keep you. What’s the matter? A bit nervous?"

Su Zhe nodded. It was his first time doing this, and with no experience, some nerves were inevitable; after all, this was a matter that could define his entire future.

Xiao Zhou comforted him, "Don't worry. Just play like you do on the ladder. The coach looks at the data, but more importantly, he's watching your decision-making and mechanical execution during the match."

Su Zhe muttered a "thanks" and then asked the question he wanted to know most: "If I pass the trial, how long until I can get into the main roster as a starter?"

Xiao Zhou seemed to find this funny, his smile widening. "You're thinking pretty far ahead. See that big guy behind you?"

Su Zhe turned to look and saw a man at least 1.9 meters tall, hunched over and staring intently at his screen. He turned back and asked, "What about him?"

"He has the best performance scores among us," Xiao Zhou said, "but he's been in the youth team for two years already."

"What? That long?"

Xiao Zhou curled his lip. "It’s normal. The main team has six people just on the bench; it’s not that easy to move up from the youth squad. If you perform well, you'll likely be sold to another team, but there aren't many CS:GO teams left in the country, so it’s not easy to sell players. If you had come a few months earlier, there would have been more people here, but many have been transferred to the Valorant division."

Su Zhe fell silent. This was not what he had envisioned.

He was unwilling to give up and asked, "Are there no exceptions? You know, someone who performs exceptionally well in the youth team and goes straight to the main roster as a starter?"

Xiao Zhou thought for a moment. "You know Danking, right?"

Su Zhe nodded. "I do. He’s very strong; I’ve run into him on the ladder once."

"Well, he has the best stats of any sniper in the country, and his streaming is top-tier," Xiao Zhou continued. "He was promoted straight from the youth team to the starting lineup."

"How long was he in the youth team?" Su Zhe pressed.

"Two or three years? I’m not sure, but it definitely wasn't less than that."

Su Zhe fell silent again. Danking’s talent and skill were already formidable—people online even called him the "Number One Sniper in Asia"—and even someone like that had to spend two or three years in the youth team?

Su Zhe asked one last time, "What if someone is exceptionally strong? Could there be an exception?"

He had the system. If he could get into the youth team and work hard to improve for a few months, surely getting into the main starting lineup within a year wouldn't be impossible?

Xiao Zhou shook his head. "Basically impossible. Being strong in normal games doesn't matter; the coach doesn't look at that. Without tournament experience, how could you possibly start? The club has to care about results." He chuckled. "Even though there haven't been many results lately, they still wouldn't put a raw rookie in. Before, there might have been a tiny chance, but now? Absolutely zero."

"What do you mean by 'now'?" Su Zhe asked.

"Don't you know?" Xiao Zhou said, surprised. "Tyloo just acquired the 5yclone team a few days ago. They flew to Shanghai this morning to participate in the CAC tournament. Those guys have been playing competitively for years, including various S-tier tournaments. How could they suddenly swap in an inexperienced rookie?"

Xiao Zhou joked, "Even if someone with Zywoo's level of talent joined this youth team, they’d probably still have to stay for a year or two before getting a chance to play. Anyway, aren't you going to warm up? Your trial is starting soon."

"Oh! Right! Thanks!" Su Zhe’s mind was a mess. He mechanically plugged his peripherals into the computer and began adjusting his settings.

Two or three years... how could he afford to wait? The system's countdown had only 300 days left. If the system was gone by then, could he really go far in a professional career on his own? Su Zhe squeezed his temples hard, trying to push the restless thoughts to the back of his mind.

"One step at a time. I'll focus on the trial first..."

After hitting five or six hundred bots, the youth coach returned to the room to start the trial. He had Su Zhe choose his three best active-duty maps and randomly selected nine other youth players to join him in a custom room.

After more than two hours, they had played 36 rounds. The training matches were split into halves, with 12 rounds on the offense, followed by a switch to defense for the remaining 12. The coach stood behind him, scribbling constantly in his notebook.

When the training match ended, Su Zhe felt dizzy. After 36 rounds, he felt like he had just played his first S-tier ranked match—completely overwhelmed. The pacing was too fast, the communication too rapid; the slightest mistake was punished immediately.

He had forgotten that everyone in this youth team was among the elite of the ladder, players who could reach Rank S every season with ease, all refined by systematic training. He was barely at a Gold Rank S level, and his performance in this match could only be described as abysmal. Everyone who came here was a prodigy.

He finally understood a quote he had once seen from s1mple: "Talent is just the threshold." It sounded arrogant, but in that moment, it felt painfully concrete.

The coach closed his notebook and said, "Come to my office and let's talk."

Su Zhe said "Okay" and stood up. As he rose, Xiao Zhou gave him an encouraging gesture.

Once in the office, Su Zhe was prepared to be told to leave, but the coach smiled and said, "Sit down. You performed quite well today."

"Huh?" Su Zhe thought he had misheard. His KD had been negative for all six halves; he hadn't been able to keep up with his teammates at all.

The coach, sitting in his chair, seemed to read his thoughts. He took a sip of water and said, "It's normal that you didn't perform well. If you had just slaughtered everyone in a training match, it would mean I hadn't taught them anything for all these years! However, you had some bright spots, so don't lose heart. I heard you have less than a thousand hours of play time; having the foundation you have now is already quite rare. As long as you join our youth team and settle down to train properly, you'll definitely be better than them in the future."

As the head of the youth division, he had been in this position for years and knew exactly how to handle these young players whose confidence had been shaken. He then pulled a contract out of his drawer and smiled. "Congratulations on passing your trial. Just sign this, and you'll be a part of Tyloo."

Su Zhe took the contract and looked it over. The content was complex, but he understood the gist. It was a five-year youth contract. Tyloo held the rights to sell his contract, and if he wanted to switch teams or leave early, he would have to pay a massive breach-of-contract fee.

After reading it carefully, he asked cautiously, "Um... is it possible to sign a shorter contract? Like for six months or three months..."

The coach laughed. Even though the Tyloo club was constantly losing money, they weren't running a charity. Why would they sign such a short contract and train talent for others? He shook his head. "Youth contracts are standardized. There are no exceptions."

Su Zhe continued, "Then, if I improve quickly, how long until I can become a starter for the main team?"

The coach painted a picture, "It's hard to say. If you perform well and work hard, maybe you'll have a chance in a year or two."

Su Zhe sighed inwardly and placed the contract back on the table.

"I'll think about it..."