Chapter 30: Do You Want to Be a Big Spinning Top Like JKS Too?

"How does this familiar feeling strike you?"

k0nfig searched his memory. He hadn't played ranked matches lately, and the ID was completely unfamiliar. It was probably just a fan trying to get his attention, he reasoned. Although his current form had dropped significantly, he was a long-time professional who had risen to fame early; many active pro players had grown up watching his matches, so having a few fans was only natural.

The four members of NIP didn't really care about the outcome of the pistol round; they were just there for fun and playing casually. That casual attitude led to a 6-1 scoreline.

"What is up with this Arrow guy?" es3tag opened the scoreboard and saw that his K/D was already 8-2.

The T-side strategy was simple. Once they realized Su Zhe’s entry success rate was shockingly high, they stopped bothering with complex tactics. They just executed a bomb-site rush, sending Su Zhe into the site while the rest of the team followed behind to trade frags. A few consecutive pushes caught the four NIP players off guard, and it was only thanks to headtr1ck landing a wall-bang shot with the AWP through smoke that they managed to secure a single round.

es3tag finally realized why the feeling was familiar. He turned to k0nfig and said, "Doesn't this kid feel exactly like that person we ran into while playing ranked in Shanghai last time?"

Hearing this, k0nfig remembered as well. He typed into the public chat: "CN?"

"Yes."

"Good grief, what a coincidence! It really is him!" k0nfig looked at Arrow’s latency, which was well over 100ms, and became even more certain.

Seeing the exchange, es3tag laughed. No wonder the guy was playing so recklessly. But remembering how he and k0nfig had been completely helpless against him last time, he told his teammates, "Get serious. Let’s show them the pressure of a professional team. The guy with the top stats on their side is playing with over 100 ping—if we lose to that, we might as well disband on the spot."

His tone was half-joking, half-serious. He immediately organized a standard professional defensive setup. Knowing the Terrorists liked to use utility to speed up their pushes, they committed plenty of defensive utility early on. They also reinforced control of mid, preventing the opposition from easily pinching the bomb sites.

The adjustment was highly effective; NIP took two rounds in a row. Su Zhe quickly noticed something was wrong. Purple, acting as the temporary IGL, immediately called a timeout. Although his own team wasn't top-tier, he had put a lot of work into studying tactics. He could tell from NIP’s utility management and map control sequence that they were starting to play for real.

"We need to change our approach," Purple commanded. "Their individual skill isn't overwhelming, but their team coordination is far better than ours. Let’s just play defaults for a bit and see if they give us any openings while they control the map."

Even knowing that a serious NIP would be difficult to beat, the competitive spirit in the group drove them to keep looking for opportunities.

After the countdown, Su Zhe headed straight to B2 to play a default. The five of them were a makeshift squad and couldn't pull off tight, coordinated offensive tactics, so this simple default was actually more effective.

As soon as Su Zhe peeked at the B2 position, he saw someone jumping to gather information near White Box. A grenade flew from the window immediately after. Su Zhe’s reactions were quick enough that he only took about 10 damage, but it put him in a position where he could have been one-tapped by an M4. An invisible pressure mounted.

"There are at least three at A!" a teammate shouted in the headset. Su Zhe checked the kill feed and saw a teammate in A2-floor had been cleared out. Now, the positions of all five CTs were exposed. He glanced at the map and said, "Can you put some pressure on mid? I want to push B2."

Blue, playing the default at T-spawn, understood immediately. He threw a smoke to seal off the archway and prepared to take control of mid-short with the teammate who had gone through the sewers. Ten seconds later, Blue yelled, "F**K! They timed their archway grenade perfectly to catch me in the smoke!"

Su Zhe: ...

He hadn't even fired a shot yet, and they were already down to three players. Worse, the two who died hadn't even managed to return fire. The CTs' airtight defense was incredibly hard to penetrate. He knew this round was going to be tough, but he wanted to try anyway.

Coming out of the kitchen, he peeked B2 again to ensure no one was holding a direct angle from White Box. A head flashed past—another jump-peek for information. They weren't giving him an inch! A molotov then flew from the B2 window, stalling his advance once more.

Su Zhe was getting annoyed by this suffocating defense. These were standard defensive routines in competitive play; he hadn't thought much of them while watching, but facing them firsthand showed him how infuriating they were.

After pinpointing the general locations of the two players at B, he threw a smoke to extinguish the fire, followed by a flashbang through the smoke, and pushed out behind it. The sound of the flashbang landing was clear. REZ at White Box hugged the wall to dodge, while es3tag at the short-pillar peeked into cover before swinging back out. es3tag wasn't fooled, but Su Zhe was too fast. He sprayed his AK, but the angle only allowed for two body shots.

REZ had reacted by then and stepped out to secure the kill, but Su Zhe, holding the high ground, instantly tracked him the moment he appeared.

"Rat-tat-tat!"
[Arrow headshot REZ with an AK-47]

Su Zhe didn't pause. He turned his crosshair toward the right side of the B-short pillar, anticipating the player swinging from the balcony. Seeing the CT to the left of the pillar, he flicked his aim instantly.

"Rat-tat-tat!"
[Arrow headshot es3tag with an AK-47]

"Good grief! That aim is solid!" the fallen es3tag laughed helplessly. He couldn't believe he’d lost that duel from such an advantageous position.

"Bring the bomb to B! Watch out for the sewers!" Su Zhe shouted, threw a smoke onto short, and held an angle on the supermarket window from outside the B site. It was a risky direct hold, but he couldn't let the CTs enter the site; he knew he and his teammates couldn't win a 3v3 against professional coordination.

The CT player arrived at the supermarket first. With headtr1ck providing backup with an AWP, he swung past the window. But Su Zhe, with lightning-fast reactions, didn't let him cross; his AK dropped him instantly.

Knowing someone was close, headtr1ck repeeked with the AWP to trade, but Su Zhe didn't stop firing. As soon as he saw the CT emerge, he transferred his AK’s spray. Before headtr1ck could even aim his scope, an AK bullet found its mark.

"Rat-tat-tat!"
[Arrow headshot headtr1ck with an AK-47]

Su Zhe didn't stop, shifting his aim toward short. k0nfig had just emerged from the smoke, checked that B2 was clear, and was moving to trade for his teammate at the supermarket. But as he swung out, he saw the Terrorist, who had been facing away, suddenly snap his gun around.

"Rat-tat-tat!"
[Arrow headshot k0nfig with an AK-47]

"WTF! NiCE!!" Su Zhe’s headset filled with non-stop cheers from his teammates. Beside him, his friends were stunned, and the live-stream chat exploded.

[??????????]
[What kind of aimbot is this! Are you jks?]
[Holy crap! A 5k! A transfer triple-kill! He just wiped out NIP!]
[This is insane! You're telling me you aren't cheating?]
[I thought Zhe was doing great as a streamer, but isn't it a waste not to take this talent to the pro scene?]

After securing the final kill, Su Zhe slammed the desk in excitement. Pulling off a 5k under such immense pressure felt absolutely incredible!