Chapter 25: Youth Academy Coach: He Has No Idea What a Golden Opportunity He Has Let Slip

With a hot streak under his belt, bolstered by the insights gained from Niko and the solid support of his teammates, Su Zhe ended his stream on a high note with three consecutive wins.

It was time for dinner.

Fatty stood up, took off his "s1mple" jersey, and asked curiously, "Why did it feel like a completely different person was playing after you came back from the bathroom?"

"Huh? Is it that obvious?"

Fatty rolled his eyes at him. "Obviously. Before, you were all about maximizing efficiency—either you'd throw away your life or you'd mow down an entire bombsite, completely ignoring the risks. But just now, you were clearly playing much more cautiously."

Su Zhe reflected on it and realized it was true; he had been consciously trying to replicate Niko’s method of pushing during the matches. Although his success rate in duels was significantly higher, his movement lacked refinement, which slowed his advance and gave the opponents more time to rotate and retake.

Fatty asked, "Did you go watch some pro player's highlight reel again?"

Su Zhe: "?"

Was he really that good at guessing? While the "insight" was similar to watching highlights, the system made it feel as if Niko himself were guiding his hands, providing real-time decision-making logic for every move. This kind of intuitive grasp was something you couldn't get just by watching demos or reels.

So, he nodded and said, "I saw a clip of Niko while I was on my phone in the bathroom, so I wanted to try it out."

Fatty thought for a moment and said, "Even though my rank isn't as high as yours, I want to give you a piece of advice: if you have any intention of going pro, don't deliberately mimic someone else's playstyle. It will only limit your own potential."

Su Zhe asked, "Is that so? Can't even learn from Niko? I recall he was a Top 3 player."

Fatty shook his head. "That’s his most comfortable style. Trying to force yourself to copy him will just make you awkward. You try to learn from this hot player today, then another one tomorrow—how can that ever work?"

"Haven't you noticed? Every star player has their own unique style. Just because Niko is strong, does that mean anyone who learns from him becomes Niko? You’ll end up as a jack-of-all-trades and master of none."

"Besides, a pro's playstyle has to fit their team. Just try putting 'Kuang-ge' into VP and see if Jame doesn't kick him out immediately."

Su Zhe fell into deep thought. He had indeed felt uncomfortable playing exactly like Niko, and he had assumed it was just due to a lack of habit or poor fundamentals. Now, it seemed there were other factors at play. It was like asking Xiao Guang, a "cowardly lizard," to be an entry fragger—he’d likely lose his nerve before the round even started. How could he possibly be a good entry fragger like that?

...

After the trio finished a hearty meal at the food street outside the campus, they had nothing else to do and returned to the dorm.

Xiao Guang grabbed Su Zhe just as he was about to start streaming again. "Brother! I beg you! Take a break! I don't know if you can handle it, but I’m about to crash. Can we start in half an hour?"

Fatty, listening from the side, gave Xiao Guang a thumbs up—that sentiment really hit home.

"...Fine, half an hour. I’m going to lie down for a bit, too." With that, he climbed onto his bed and pulled up his system interface.

[Host: Su Zhe]
[Age: 18]
[Team: None]
[Positioning: 64-69]
[Movement: 51-56]
[Aim Control: 60-65]
[Game Sense: 46-51]
[Reaction: 85-90]
[Rise Points: 1158]
[Weapon Proficiency: AK-47 (LV6.3), AWP (LV1.7)... (Expand)]
[Skill: Child of Destiny]
[Overall Level: C+]
[Evaluation: The host is finally no longer squandering his talent. The growth in such a short time is staggering; this is what a genius prodigy should look like! Keep it up, the threshold of the professional scene is no longer far away.]

"Oh, another 1,000-plus Rise Points." Su Zhe didn't hesitate to purchase an attribute point from the shop and added it to [Reaction].

[Ding~ Insufficient permissions~]
[Attributes above 85-90 require an overall level of A or higher to unlock.]
[Ding~ Attributes above 85-90 require 10 free attribute points to upgrade.]

Su Zhe: ...

This was a scam, wasn't it? He wanted to experience what it felt like to have maxed-out reactions, and it turned out it was locked behind an A-rank overall level? He had worked so hard to reach C+, and his growth was slowing down so much that he had no idea when he’d reach B. He felt that even with a system, he couldn't escape the fate of being a "C+ scrub." Plus, needing 10 points for a single upgrade was way too expensive.

"Looks like the system wants me to develop morally, intellectually, physically, and aesthetically..."

After some consideration, he used the point he had already bought and added it to [Positioning]. His stats shifted from [64-69] to [65-70].

"Time to transition from a one-sided warrior to a two-sided one..."

He closed the interface and turned around, calling out, "Are you guys rested yet? I want to get back to the ladder."

Fatty & Xiao Guang: ...

Earning this money was truly exhausting!

Their streaming revenue was split 50% for Su Zhe, with the remaining half divided between the other two. Thanks to the chemistry between the three, they would get around 1,000 viewers per stream, and the gift income was decent, but this high-intensity streaming reminded them of their summer jobs at a factory.

Fatty grumbled, "Are you just too hardworking, or are you addicted? You've clocked over 500 hours of CS:GO in just over a month. Aren't you sick of it yet?"

"It's alright. I just want to hit number one on the ladder as soon as possible."

The ranking on the Perfect World platform was determined by points. He was currently around 3,000 points, ranking over 1,100th. While that didn't sound too far from the top, in reality, it was a long way off. He needed at least 40 net wins to reach the summit. However, after gaining Niko's technique insights, he felt he had made minor improvements in his pre-aiming, single-tap shooting, angle control, and map awareness. He could definitely push his rank further in the short term.

...

The CAC tournament started in Shanghai on November 8th, and TYLOO returned to Hangzhou on November 9th. They could have returned on the afternoon of the 8th, but they spent half a day hanging out in Shanghai.

After returning to the club, 259 made a rare visit to the youth training department. When he saw the youth coach, he asked casually, "What about that kid who was popular online a while ago? Did he fail the trial?"

The coach shook his head. "The trial results were actually pretty good, but he didn't want to stay."

259 was confused. "What happened? Did he go to LVG?"

The coach said, "I know the people there well; I heard they haven't picked up any new players recently."

259: "Then why didn't he want to stay?"

The coach found it amusing. "He said he wanted to be promoted to the main roster within a year. When he heard there was no hope for that, he just left."

259 laughed after hearing this. "He really thinks we're that bad, wanting to reach the main squad in a year?"

He was aware of the criticism regarding TYLOO online, but he didn't care. Why should he pay attention to a bunch of amateurs? Anyone who truly understood CS:GO wouldn't think that way. While they might struggle on the international stage, compared to the players on the ladder, the gap in skill was simply on a different level.

The youth coach agreed. "Indeed. Once he realizes he has no other path to go pro, he’ll know what a great opportunity he gave up."