Chapter 26: "Do you believe he could tear your sniper rifle apart with his bare hands?"

Su Zhe’s rank climbing speed was faster than even he had anticipated.

Mostly, it was because the insights he had gained into the techniques of donk and NiKo were finally paying off. Previously, when his foundations were lacking, he could only grasp the surface-level concepts. As he improved in all aspects, he increasingly realized that the seemingly simple maneuvers executed by those two were actually packed with intricate details. This helped him acquire the experience and understanding that usually required a massive number of matches to accumulate. Coupled with the fact that professional players and academy prospects rarely had much time to play ranked matches, his climb up the ladder was as swift as a rocket.

[This climbing speed is way too insane! Didn't he just reach Diamond S half a month ago? Now he's already Demon S?]

[Nothing you can do about it. Playing over 20 ranked matches a day, if you’re lucky enough to hit a win streak, the points pile up fast.]

[By the way, is he one win away from being number one on the platform?]

[It feels like Xiao Zhe doesn't have a bottleneck period at all. His points have been trending upward the whole time.]

[Demon S? Seems average. Let Ghost Sniper blast him once and he'll quiet down.]

[Ghost Sniper? At this rank, he could turn Ghost Sniper into a clown.]

Su Zhe’s current matchmaking rating was 3,489, placing him second overall—a mere five points away from the top spot. Based on the fact that a win granted about eight points, one more victory would secure him the number one position. Once he claimed the system reward that came with it, he would be ready to transition to the European servers. He was quite looking forward to the unknown challenges that awaited him there.

It was prime time on a weekday evening, so matchmaking was fast. In less than two minutes, Su Zhe successfully entered a lobby. The map was Inferno, and Su Zhe started on the Terrorist side. As the preparation time began, the chat in his livestream suddenly surged.

[Oh, we're screwed! Looks like the streamer’s quest for rank one will have to wait. The opponents are Kaze and Jamyoung queuing together.]

[Damn! How are we supposed to win this? Shouldn't these two be at their base playing scrims instead of coming to ranked to bully people?]

[Go for it, Xiao Zhe! If you win this, I’ll personally write a letter to Tyloo recommending you for the main roster.]

Faced with the dense wall of comments, Su Zhe knew what was happening: he had run into two professional players from Tyloo.

"It’s just pros, isn't it? Watch how I beat them!" Su Zhe said, feigning disdain. Having been streaming for over twenty days, Su Zhe—who was once shy in front of the camera—had gradually opened up, though his tone was clearly joking.

"That's right! Crush them!" "s1mple" and "Niko" (his teammates) chimed in loudly, "Guys, drop some gifts! The upcoming show is 'ZywOo' taking on Kaze and Jamyoung in ranked!"

The style of the entire stream was starting to resemble those livestreams where people wore bean shoes and danced. But as it turned out, some viewers loved this kind of entertainment, and these were the changes they made for the "market." Making a living wasn't something to be ashamed of.

Soon, all ten players entered the server, and the game officially began. Su Zhe started as a T.

"Let's go! Let's go!" Su Zhe’s teammates were excited, encouraging each other before the match. The top-tier players in the national server were a small circle; they often matched up and were practically acquaintances. Most were streamers or content creators, and they had crossed paths with pros many times. While they lost more often than they won, it wasn't as if they had never tasted victory.

"Play well! I feel like I've already got my content for tomorrow. What's the plan for the pistol round?" asked [Little Fish], a streamer from the Douyin platform.

"Let Little Qi call the shots. He’s a pro player, after all," [July] suggested, a known king of the high-ranked queues.

Little Qi unmuted and laughed, "What kind of pro am I? I just played a local city tournament. How can I compare to a Tyloo player?" He added, "But if no one else is calling, I’ll do it. Oh, isn't this Xiao Zhe? Almost at number one, right?"

Su Zhe responded with a smile, "Yeah, had some luck this afternoon and hit a streak. Just five points away."

"Alright! I’ll play my best this round, I’ll make sure you hit number one," [Fat Tiger], another Douyin streamer, chimed in. He teased, "You’re way too hardworking. You ground your way to the top. Among all the streamers, you’re the biggest grinder."

Just as Su Zhe was about to respond, Little Qi, acting as the temporary captain, spoke up, "Let's talk about the pistol round strategy; it's starting."

"Little Fish, you hold down the middle. The rest of us will hit Banana," Little Qi instructed, purchasing a smoke and a flashbang. In a normal ranked game, he wouldn't be this tactical about utility, but facing Kaze and Jamyoung, and having been pushed into the leader role, a sense of responsibility suddenly kicked in.

As the countdown ended, Su Zhe, who spawned in the first position, bought a Kevlar vest and headed straight for Banana. After securing the pocket position and noticing the CTs weren't throwing grenades, he led the team in a silent walk toward the stone wall. His every small movement was filled with precision.

In ranked play, regardless of rank, players generally make decisions based on their own experience. If they had made noise in Banana too early, it likely would have caused the CTs at A to rotate over early.

"Double boost me. I’ll peek the sandbags from the stone wall," Su Zhe said.

July knelt down immediately. Su Zhe hopped onto July’s head, did a quick pop-peek at the yellow wall, and seeing no CTs holding it, jumped onto the stone wall to peek toward the sandbags.

"Nobody close. I don't think there are many people in B."

Upon hearing Su Zhe’s intel, Little Qi pulled out his utility: "Alright, let's speed it up."

With the CT-spawn smoke and site flash landing, Su Zhe led the charge. He first shoulder-peeked to ensure the CT-spawn was clear, then segmented his pre-aim toward the coffin position.

Kaze was at the coffin, crouching and standing while chatting with Jamyoung, who was sitting next to him. Distracted, he heard the sound of a headshot the moment he saw the terrorist.

"They're hitting B!"

Kaze, reduced to low health by the Glock, retreated immediately to call out information to his teammates, preparing to set up a crossfire at the church entrance with his teammate at the triple-box.

Su Zhe ignored the retreating CT at the coffin; he had teammates covering him from behind. His main task was to secure information on the site. As he cleared the single-box area, the CT at the triple-box peeked out to secure a kill. Dramatically, Su Zhe didn't die; July, who had jumped onto the single-box, took the bullet instead, getting headshot and eliminated.

Hearing the gunshot, Su Zhe didn't wait for his teammate to call it out—he flicked his mouse to the right and, seeing the CT peek out again, his crosshair tracked him instantly.

"Bang! Bang!"

[Cape's Number One Entry Fragger used a Glock to headshot Qianbao.]

Having secured the kill, Su Zhe knew there might still be someone at the coffin and quickly shifted his aim. Kaze had intended to catch a timing and steal a kill, but he hadn't expected such a fast reaction. Seeing the terrorist already aiming at him, he tried to land a shot, but he was already too weak from the previous headshot.

"Bang!"

[Cape's Number One Entry Fragger used a Glock to kill Kaze.]

"Great shot, Zhe! Looks like I can just sit back and relax this game!" Fat Tiger said as he planted the bomb.

"You thought 'The Bulldozer' was joking?" Little Qi teased in the voice chat.

The dominant situation made for a great atmosphere. "The Bulldozer" was Su Zhe’s nickname. It had started with his viewers, but with his terrifying climb in the rankings and his high entry-frag success rate, it had gradually spread.

With a 4-on-3 situation and the bomb planted, even with Jamyoung defending A, the CTs couldn't overcome the disadvantage of having to retake against the multiple angles the Ts held. The score became 1-0.

Kaze opened the scoreboard, looked at Su Zhe’s ID, and said to Jamyoung, "Isn't this the guy from the C+ bracket who wanted to trial for our club? He's a Demon S now?"

Jamyoung replied, "How long has it been since you played ranked on Perfect World? The guy is almost at the top of the platform."

Kaze was slightly surprised, "He's that strong? Too bad he didn't join our academy."

Jamyoung laughed at the mention of the academy, joking, "If he joined, were you planning to give up your spot?" The joke about Su Zhe wanting to become a starter for Tyloo within a year had already spread among their club's players.

Kaze retorted, "Even if I gave up my spot, it wouldn't go to him. He doesn't play sniper."

Their chat was relaxed; clearly, they weren't taking this ranked match to heart. Their academy team had plenty of players with the potential to hit rank one, and they were still just academy players.

After losing the pistol round, the CTs decided to force-buy. Su Zhe’s team had anticipated this. They utilized the advantage of SMGs in close-to-mid-range combat to execute a site take on B, successfully winning the second round.

By the time they reached the first full-buy round, the score had reached 3-0.

"How about this full-buy? If we win this, the opponents are done for!" Fat Tiger said excitedly.

"How about we fly into second-floor?" Little Qi suggested. Seeing no objections, he continued, "Then this round we’ll coordinate A1 and second-floor to hit A. Xiao Zhe, you hold the flank at Banana."

After the simple plan was laid out, the countdown ended. Su Zhe bought full armor and utility and headed toward Banana. Entering the full-buy round, facing the CTs’ utility, Su Zhe found it wasn't as easy to establish a foothold in Banana. He waited at the T-entrance for the initial wave of CT damage utility to end, and just as he intended to throw a self-flash, the CTs threw a smoke at the entrance.

Su Zhe seized the gap between their utility usage and boldly pushed forward to secure the pocket position. Banana was too critical on Inferno. If the Terrorists could gain control of Banana, they could rotate freely, making it impossible for the opponents to guess their intentions. If he didn't risk it to take Banana, they would be stuck for nearly a minute while the CTs kept refreshing the smoke at the entrance. Don't ask how he knew that—it was all learned through bitter experience.

After securing the pocket, his teammates at the side successfully gained control of the second floor. Players at this rank had decent individual skill, but as a temporary team, their discipline and coordination were lacking. Just as Little Qi was about to throw his utility, July pushed out of second floor too early and was picked off by Kaze, who was holding with an AWP.

The lack of coordination allowed the CT in the pit to throw a defensive smoke for the second floor. Little Qi didn't blame his teammate—he was used to it. He glanced at the mini-map and asked, "Xiao Zhe, can you find an opening in Banana?"

Su Zhe replied, "I'll try."

Previously, he hadn't exposed himself for fear of the CTs gaining intel and re-clearing, but now that they couldn't push A, he had to take the risk. He shoulder-peeked, and just as he saw a CT also peeking, he pulled back behind the stone wall. He then pre-aimed where the CT might swing out and slowly pushed forward. Suddenly, seeing a tiny black dot appear above the stone wall, his crosshair flicked instantly.

"Dah!"

[Cape's Number One Entry Fragger used an AK-47 to headshot Jamyoung.]

"Ah! What the hell was that!" Jamyoung, having been one-tapped, was startled and couldn't help but curse. He had intended to double-boost with his teammate to catch an unsuspecting terrorist—a trick that worked wonders in ranked—but as soon as he stood up, he was gone.

"Did he have the awareness to know we were double-boosting, or was that pure reaction?" Jamyoung muttered. Either way, it made him respect Su Zhe more.

With Jamyoung down, the remaining CT at B didn't dare risk it and retreated to hold the back site.

"Nice shot!" the dead July exclaimed. "Make some noise at B, and we can fly into second floor!"

Su Zhe had the same idea. After throwing a smoke at the CT spawn, he pushed into the B site. Su Zhe’s pre-aiming was much cleaner now; he crouched and peeked the coffin, and finding no one, he adjusted his position and pre-aimed the death-spot.

"Dah!"

[Cape's Number One Entry Fragger used an AK-47 to headshot Qianbao.]

Just as Su Zhe was about to tell his teammates to rotate, another CT swung out from the coffin. This time, his hands reacted faster than his brain—his crosshair flicked instantly.

"Dah-dah-dah!"

[Cape's Number One Entry Fragger used an AK-47 to headshot luv.]

The CT who had rotated from A didn't even take half of Su Zhe's health before being taken down.

"Nice!! Rotate, rotate! Xiao Zhe, just hold the church!" Little Qi didn't wait for Su Zhe to speak, rushing with his teammates toward B. On the way, he couldn't help but sigh—he truly was a Bulldozer! He had intended to just make some noise, but he had single-handedly cleared the B site!

The rotation time for Terrorists on Inferno was 20 seconds; most CS:GO players knew that. The two CTs at A now had to worry about where Su Zhe had positioned himself in B. They had to clear every angle carefully. By the time Kaze arrived at the CT spawn with his AWP, the bomb was already planted.

In a 2-on-4 retake without an angle advantage, the two had no choice but to return to A and save their weapons.

"Are you serious? Three against one and you get counter-killed!" Kaze teased Jamyoung.

"Ssss..." Jamyoung didn't respond to the teasing, instead sucking in a cold breath. "People weren't kidding. This kid’s reaction is too fast. I bet he could tear apart your AWP with an AK."

"I don't believe it," Kaze immediately retorted. But seeing the serious expression on Jamyoung’s face, he felt a flicker of uncertainty.