Chapter 22: Is This 259 a Human? (Bonus Chapter)

November 8, 2023, Wednesday.

The long-awaited CAC tournament finally kicked off today in Shanghai.

The excitement wasn’t just because the world’s number one team, Faze, and the number two, Mouz, were participating, but more so because three Chinese teams were competing in this international event.

Everyone was eager to see the current level of domestic professional teams since the CS2 update.

Although players across various communities often criticize CNCS as weak, disorganized, and comparable to the national soccer team’s poor reputation, deep down, who wouldn’t want CNCS to truly improve?

Nowadays, fans often feel frustrated with their home teams, holding a “tough love” attitude—if they didn’t care at all, they wouldn’t even bother to complain.

At noon, just after class, Pang and Xiao Guang hurried back to their dorm without even stopping for lunch, eager to wait with Su Zhe—whose holiday hadn’t ended yet—for the match to begin.

“Almost time! Tianlu versus ENCE! Ten minutes to go!” Xiao Guang’s face was filled with anticipation. “I wonder if Tianlu’s new lineup will show any improvement this time.”

Pang had followed CS tournaments for a long time and knew the professional players well.

“There’s hope, but it’s slim. Although ENCE has been struggling since Xiao Li left, their overall strength is still far superior to Tianlu,” he said.

Then he turned to Su Zhe: “Have you made up your mind? Honestly, I think joining a youth training squad to hone your skills is a good idea. All pros went through that.”

Su Zhe shook his head. “I checked recently. Tianlu hasn’t promoted anyone from their youth team in a long time. If I join the youth squad, it’ll be at least two years before I get to play. That’s too long.”

Three days ago, after telling the youth coach he needed time to think, Su Zhe returned to school. In truth, there wasn’t much to consider—the system’s countdown left no room for delay.

Now, he was feeling somewhat lost.

Besides Tianlu, only LVG had a youth team among domestic CSGO clubs, but after looking at their roster changes, he realized LVG was no different from Tianlu.

He noticed that the domestic teams had become a revolving door of the same few players; newcomers were rare, and those who appeared were usually players who had lingered in youth teams for years.

Pang couldn’t understand. “Man, I don’t get you. Even youth squads are fiercely competitive—players scramble to get in. You already rejected NIP and then Tianlu. Do you really want to turn pro?”

“You don’t get it. I have my reasons... Wait, when did I ever reject NIP?” Su Zhe was now confused.

“Are you playing CSGO dumb? Remember when k0nfig messaged you about going pro in Europe? You flat-out refused.”

“Ah? That counts as an invite?”

“Duh! Why would he ask if he wasn’t interested? You’ve only been working out with me for a few days, but your brain’s all muscle now!” Pang was still annoyed thinking about Su Zhe turning down NIP—a golden opportunity.

Domestic teams constantly tried to arrange scrims with European squads, often paying a lot just to get a spot. Yet this guy outright declined.

Su Zhe felt awkward. “...I thought he just wanted to chat.”

Suddenly, he asked, “So, if I wanted to go pro in Europe, what would I need to prepare?”

“You’d better start by changing your brain!” Pang snapped but quickly calmed down. “First, you gotta learn English well. Without it, basic communication is impossible.”

“But even in Europe, you have to go through the youth squad stage. The process isn’t that different.”

Su Zhe, unfamiliar with foreign teams, pressed on. “All of them? Without exception?”

“Well...” Pang thought for a moment. “There are exceptions, like Zaiwu and ropz.”

“But that’s different! Zaiwu has always been a top-two player since debut, and ropz is widely recognized as the world’s best free agent. I admit you’re talented, but how can you compare?”

“I think you—”

“Enough! The match is starting!” Xiao Guang interrupted.

Seeing the broadcast switch to the game screen, Pang stopped lecturing and silently rooted for Tianlu.

“Learn English... need high talent...” Su Zhe muttered, then focused on the match. He wanted to see firsthand how much domestic CS lagged behind abroad.

Since the CS2 update, matches went from 30 rounds to 24.

That means unless the score reaches 12-12 and goes into overtime, the first team to 13 points wins, speeding up the game considerably.

The Tianlu vs. ENCE match, excluding pauses and halftime, lasted just over 30 minutes.

The trio’s moods shifted from anticipation to tension, ending in a bittersweet dignity despite the loss.

“Damn! Is 259 even human? 7-16 KD, 0.46 rating? Even Su Zhe would play better!” Pang cursed loudly.

“And Kaze’s sniper still missing shots? A sniper with a 0.53 rating?”

Seeing the final results, Pang lost it: “Moseyuh’s carrying too much! A 1.55 rating and he still can’t drag these four along? I’m speechless! What kind of play is this?”

The final score was 13-7 in favor of ENCE.

Though the margin seemed close, on the map Nuke, even Su Zhe—who rarely watched matches—could tell Tianlu was completely outclassed tactically and individually.

In the first half, Tianlu fell behind 2-10. If not for Moseyuh’s clutch pistol rounds in the second half, scoring two kills at the start and winning a 1v2 at the end, Tianlu would have been crushed much earlier.

“Has the gap between domestic and European CS always been this big?” Su Zhe asked in disbelief. This didn’t match his expectations at all.

“Just get used to it. Now let’s see how LVG and wings UP perform,” Pang said, his mood improved after venting.

When wings UP’s third match started, the group couldn’t bear to watch anymore and went off to their own things.

The CAC tournament had eight teams in total; the three domestic teams all lost their opening matches, and this was before facing Faze or Mouz.

Watching, Su Zhe couldn’t help but imagine himself in their shoes.

If he finally made the starting lineup of one of these teams, how could he possibly win against foreign squads with teammates like these?

A 1v5 situation... could he really handle it?

He silently pulled out an old English book from his locker.

“Abandon... abandon...”