Chapter 28: Arrow

Upon seeing the name of this reward, Su Zhe immediately thought of a certain two-character game. Only after reading the details did he realize how incredibly "bugged"—or overpowered—this skill was.

Five percent might not seem like much, but in high-level duels, the difference between winning and losing is often decided by mere milliseconds. CS:GO is a short-tick game, and third-party platforms generally run on 128-tick servers. This means the game state refreshes 128 times per second, which further widens the gap between players. A tiny deviation can lead to a massive difference in outcome. A 5% boost could effectively elevate Su Zhe’s overall level to an entirely new tier.

Realizing the power of this skill, Su Zhe did not hesitate to designate the AK-47 as his signature weapon. In truth, there wasn't much to consider. Besides the AWP, the AK is the most powerful firearm in CS:GO. He wasn't comfortable with the AWP—mostly due to the lingering psychological trauma from his beginner days, when he was one-tapped by an enemy Desert Eagle two rounds in a row, leading him to avoid it ever since. The AK, however, possesses the formidable ability to kill with a single headshot. Among professional players, with very few exceptions, there isn't a soul who doesn't love this gun. Su Zhe couldn't think of a single reason not to choose it.

[Confirm AK-47 as your signature weapon? This cannot be changed once confirmed.]
[Yes]

After confirming, Su Zhe felt a deeper understanding of the AK, though it was accompanied by an indescribable, ethereal sensation.

"I'll test it out tomorrow..."

Since he planned to switch to the Faceit platform tomorrow, he decided to get a good night's sleep tonight. He wanted to be fully energized to put up impressive stats and attract the attention of foreign clubs. Overcome by the exhaustion that had been building up for a long time, Su Zhe fell into a deep sleep just two minutes after closing his eyes.

The next morning at 8:00 AM, the school's dean of students, who rarely came in for the early shift, decided to patrol the classrooms out of sheer boredom. Seeing the college students listlessly slumped over their desks catching up on sleep, he felt a sense of frustration that they weren't living up to their potential. Just as he was about to make an example of a few students to serve as a warning to the rest, he suddenly spotted a student in the front row, looking very serious and whispering something to himself.

He walked over and leaned in to listen carefully.

"A short... A small..."
"A long... A big..."
"Ramp... Slope..."

...

After 6:00 PM, Su Zhe, having finished his classes for the day, was following an online tutorial to download the Faceit client and register an account. The dormitory door swung open, and his roommate, "Fatty," made his voice heard before he even stepped inside.

"Holy crap! Zhe! How did you get singled out for praise by the dean today? Have you given up on going pro and decided to study for your postgraduate entrance exam instead?"

"Let me tell you, it's fine if you play games better than me, but if you're going to study in secret, don't blame me for not warning you—we can't be bros anymore if you do that!"

Fatty walked over and peered at his screen. "What are you fiddling with?"

Su Zhe didn't even look up as he replied, "Since I hit number one on the Perfect World ladder yesterday, I’m planning to try out the European platforms."

Fatty looked skeptical. "Europe? Is your English up to par?"

Su Zhe: "It'll be fine. I've been communicating with foreigners a lot lately."

Fatty: "?"
"Where have you been talking to foreigners?"
"On X."
"Is this 'communication'... legitimate?"
"...I'm studying English, how could it not be legitimate?"

After tinkering for over half an hour, Su Zhe finally registered his Faceit account. He paused when it came time to enter his ID. His previous ID was just a joke, and if he really went pro later, he would likely be stuck with whatever he chose now. Besides, the "Cape" branding wasn't needed abroad, so there was no point in promoting it. His hands hovered over the keyboard for a long time. After some deep thought, he pressed a few keys: "Arrow."

The meaning of the word was simple: a projectile. In less than two months, he had improved significantly at CS:GO, but the effort he had put in was clearly visible. Becoming a professional player was the reason he could keep going. Although he wasn't certain he could join a professional team as a starter within a year, the experience of this period had taught him the joy of living a fulfilling life. He hoped that no matter the outcome, his future path would be like an arrow, striving toward the "bullseye."

"What does that mean? 'Ai-rou'?" Fatty scratched his head; it was clear his English had never been good since childhood.

Su Zhe shook his head. "It's nothing, just typed something random. Where's Xiao Guang? I'm waiting to start the stream."

Fatty replied, "Him? A senior student wants to get into streaming, and since she heard he's streaming with us, she wanted to ask for some advice."

"She even said she tried to ask you first, but you turned her down. You really don't know how lucky you are, kid!"

Su Zhe recalled the situation. "You mean that senior with the... 'ambitious' personality?"

"Yeah, that's the one!"

"I gave her advice back then, how can you call that turning her down?"

"What advice?" Fatty asked curiously.

"I told her to dress more comfortably and just shake it vigorously; nothing else was needed. She turned around and left the moment she heard that."

Fatty: "...She was right to be offended. It was good advice, but don't give it again next time."

Ten minutes later, Xiao Guang rushed back into the dormitory. Though he was panting, his face was full of enjoyment. Su Zhe had just finished warming up with the bots. The three of them put on their headsets and officially went live. Before starting, Su Zhe changed his stream title from "Pushing for Number One on Perfect World" to "Trying Out Faceit." He also activated the accelerator he had paid for to help with his English studies.

"Is Xiao Zhe giving up on Perfect World? Your first-place spot has already been taken; you're down to third now."
"Going to play abroad? Wow! Can the streamer really communicate in English?"
"Faceit is great! If you play on European servers, you might run into pros. If you meet 'Szy,' can you add him as a friend?"
"Nothing wrong with going abroad. S1mple plays on Faceit too; you three are finally returning to the 'orthodox' path."
"If you run into Russians, pressure them hard! They pressured me so much last time I played, I went numb!"

Su Zhe read the comments and answered questions as he queued up. "I've been playing on domestic platforms for a long time, so I'm a bit bored. I want to test my level against foreign players." He smiled and added, "What if I accidentally qualify for FPL-C?"

He mentioned his main goal in a joking tone. FPL-C was equivalent to the 5EPL on the 5E platform; it was extremely difficult to qualify for. Ordinary players had to grind to a high rank and then succeed in open qualifiers. According to the research he'd done, European youth academy teams mostly recruited from FPL-C. As for the even more prestigious FPL, most of the players there were already active professionals or members of established youth teams.

As he chatted with his viewers, his first match on Faceit finally popped. Su Zhe cracked his knuckles, ready to perform well and crush the newcomers in this new "fish pond," giving them a taste of the suffering he once endured as a C+ tier player.

However, as the map loaded and he entered the warm-up phase, he noticed something strange. His latency was hovering around 100ms. It was incredibly uncomfortable, but fortunately, he could adapt. Back when he first started school, he had played on the Perfect World platform with similar latency using the campus network. The school had only upgraded the network later to help with future admissions. He was simply walking the path he had traveled before...

Su Zhe adjusted his mindset and focused on the game. After a few rounds, he clearly felt the difference between domestic and foreign players. As a new account, he was matched with teammates who were roughly at the same level as the D+ tier in China. He knew that tier all too well back home—players there were known for doing whatever they wanted, with the M249 and Negev being their specialties.

On Faceit, however, while he could see the clumsiness in their mechanics, they were surprisingly team-oriented and willing to sacrifice their own K/D ratios for the sake of the team. The only downside was that there were too many "pressure monsters." Perhaps because they wanted to win so badly, someone would always stand up to apply pressure if a teammate made a mistake or lacked coordination.

The words he heard most often in the match were "F**k," "Sh*t," and "Ablai!"... But this environment didn't affect him at all; the skill levels were simply not on the same plane. What surprised him most was that he could roughly understand what his teammates were saying. His English lessons over the past month hadn't been in vain.

Twenty minutes later, the score was fixed at 13-1. Su Zhe finished his first Faceit match with a score of 21-3-4.

...

That’s all for today.