Chapter 32: You Must Give It Your All!

Over the next few days, Su Zhe balanced the process of obtaining his visa with playing ranked matches alongside the four members of Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) whenever he had the time.

The visa issue was manageable; since NiP was a publicly traded company, they were able to provide the necessary documentation to ensure his application proceeded smoothly.

As for the five-man ranked queue, the NiP players were increasingly struck by Su Zhe's terrifying potential. Compared to when they first encountered him on the Perfect World platform, k0nfig and es3tag clearly felt that his aim had reached a significantly higher level, and his game sense had become much more seasoned. The speed of this improvement left them both astounded.

Of course, the most outrageous part was Su Zhe’s wide-swinging peeks, backed by his lightning-fast reaction time. He was often able to help the team open up a round quickly, making the game feel incredibly comfortable for the rest of the NiP squad. Headtr1ck, the youngest sniper on the team, admitted that his own reactions couldn't compare to Su Zhe’s, remarking that it was a real shame someone with such reflexes didn't main the AWP.

One had to keep in mind that Su Zhe was playing the entire time with a latency of over 100 milliseconds! If they had to endure such high ping themselves, they would have likely been tempted to smash their computers, let alone perform well in a match.

As the trial date drew closer, Su Zhe finally received his visa. Getting leave from school proved even easier; using the excuse that his family was taking him to Sweden to treat his depression, and providing his round-trip flight tickets as proof, his young academic counselor didn't give him any trouble and immediately granted him over a week of leave.

At around eight in the evening, Su Zhe—having skipped his livestream for the night—met up with Fatty and Xiao Guang at a hotpot restaurant to see him off on his journey to Sweden the following day.

"Don't say another word. I hope you have a smooth journey tomorrow," Fatty said, downing the beer in his glass in one go.

Su Zhe followed suit with his juice. He had to leave early the next morning for his flight, and drinking alcohol would only invite trouble.

"I have to thank you, Fatty. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have improved this quickly," Su Zhe said with a smile, reflecting on the past few months.

"Why thank me?" Fatty shook his head, laughing. "I'm, at best, a Gold Nova S player. What kind of help could I have provided for your improvement?"

"If I tried to duel you now, you'd probably crush my skull."

Su Zhe explained, "If it weren't for you, I would have struggled just to reach the S-tier. I probably never would have met the NiP guys on Perfect World, and I wouldn't have this opportunity today..."

He wasn't just being complimentary. During the phase where he most needed to build his foundation, Fatty’s penchant for lecturing had helped him avoid many pitfalls. Otherwise, he would have wasted a great deal of time during his ascent from A to S-tier. Back then, whenever Fatty had a moment, he would help correct the mistakes Su Zhe made inadvertently during their matches.

Fatty picked up a slice of lamb from the broth and smiled. "That's nothing. Even if I hadn't taught you, your talent would have allowed you to figure it out eventually. It was only a matter of time."

Su Zhe shook his head with a smile. The one thing he lacked most was precisely the time that most college students took for granted.

He turned to look at Xiao Guang, who was eating with his head down, and asked curiously, "Did you forget to eat lunch today?"

Hearing this, Xiao Guang put down his chopsticks and sighed. "No. It just feels like things are changing too fast; I don't know what to say. If you pass the trial, does that mean you’ll have to drop out of school to focus on going pro?"

Su Zhe nodded. "That's right."

As long as he could secure a spot with a professional team, all that would be left was to work hard and improve himself.

The sentimental Xiao Guang felt a strange sourness in his heart at the thought that his close friend, whom he saw every day, might not be around for a very long time.

"I suddenly feel like it would be fine if you didn't go pro. The three of us could keep livestreaming for another two or three years. We’d be happy, wouldn't that be enough..."

"What are you saying!" Fatty slapped Xiao Guang on the shoulder. "Going pro is a good thing! This livestreaming thing is just a passing trend. When the popularity dies down, do you want Little Zhe to just keep drifting along with us?"

"I know, I’m just saying..." Xiao Guang didn't continue; he was afraid his voice would crack.

Su Zhe patted Xiao Guang on the back to comfort him. "It’s okay. Regardless of the outcome of this trial, I have to return to school at some point. Besides, I heard that pro teams have off-seasons. Even if I do end up staying at NiP, I’ll come back to visit you guys often."

"Right," Fatty suddenly remembered something. He signaled to Xiao Guang and pulled out his phone.

Su Zhe was still wondering what they were doing when his own phone buzzed with two new notifications. He picked it up and saw that both of them had sent him money transfers.

"What are you two doing?" Su Zhe asked, bewildered.

Fatty said nonchalantly, "This is just the share of the stream revenue I owed you. I’ve heard the cost of living over there is very high, and you’ll likely have a lot of expenses in Europe. We don't spend much money here at school."

Su Zhe immediately tried to send the money back. "This is more than enough! I checked the guides, and the NiP club even reimbursed my round-trip airfare since they know I’m flying from China."

Xiao Guang grabbed the phone from Su Zhe's hand and quickly clicked to accept the transfer.

"Just in case! Just take it. Consider it a loan from us. Just don't forget your brothers when you make it big..."

Su Zhe nodded, deciding not to refuse anymore. He planned to pay them back with interest once he was settled. He picked up his chopsticks and began to eat, saying nothing more. Even though they had only known each other for a few months, he knew he would never forget this friendship for the rest of his life.

The meal lasted for over two hours. Aside from Su Zhe, both of them had consumed a fair amount of alcohol. He helped the two of them, wobbling, as they made their way back to the dormitory.

Halfway there, Xiao Guang couldn't help but shout, "Zhe! You have to do your best! You have to succeed!"

...

Inside the conference room of the NiP CS:GO division, THREAT was in a foul mood. Someone was coming to trial for the main roster, and as the team manager, he had been kept completely in the dark—and it was a newcomer with zero professional experience at that.

"Give me an explanation," he said coldly, scanning everyone in the room.

"I..."

Just as k0nfig was about to speak, es3tag stopped him. "Let me handle this."

He looked at THREAT and said, "This was my idea. Although he is a complete novice, the talent he has displayed is very compelling, so I made the decision on my own."

THREAT glanced at him. "Even if you are the team captain, don't forget that you are only filling in temporarily. What right do you have to make decisions for the club?"

Es3tag, feeling indignant, spoke with mounting emotion: "Do you think I wanted to make this decision on my own? If the organization hadn't been so slow to recruit new players, I wouldn't have bothered with any of this!"

"Since the club isn't willing to put energy into the CS:GO division, what’s wrong with us finding new players ourselves?"

THREAT was left speechless by es3tag's retort.

He fiddled with the lighter in his hand for a few minutes before finding a way to back down. "I'll let this slide, but if it happens again, I will give you my blessing to go and contact other clubs privately."

Having said that, he no longer had any interest in staying. As he got up to leave, he threw one last comment over his shoulder: "I will personally review the results of this trial. If he doesn't pass, don't blame me for rejecting him."