Chapter 42: Tell Me Your Reason for Pressing Forward

"It is truly hard to imagine that Arrow is a first-time competitor. His performance in the first half was remarkably eye-catching. ENCE organized several waves of attacks targeting the A-site, only to be neutralized every time, which led to ENCE not daring to challenge NiP's A-zone for the rest of the rounds."

Wanji, watching Su Zhe’s 16-7-3 KDA stats from the first half, exclaimed in admiration.

Although both teams’ tactical execution felt standard and some of Arrow's movements seemed a bit abstract, it could not hide the contribution he made to the team. Otherwise, the first half might have been a much closer affair.

[But Xiao Zhe is just so brave! He seized several opportunities perfectly.]
[The way he defended the A-site makes me feel both anxious and reassured. It felt like he was about to get traded, yet he ended up catching everyone!]
[This playstyle... why does it feel like something I often encounter in the Perfect World ladder?]
[It really is like "wild punches beating a master," but that aim is genuinely sharp!]
[Do you guys even understand professional play? This is clearly game sense inherited from "ZywOo" (doge).]
[Good grief, you’re an old fan of the "S1mple-ZywOo-Niko" stream, aren't you!]

When the viewers in the stream learned that Su Zhe was the player who had risen from a C+ rank just a few months ago, they were initially watching the match with a playful attitude. They didn't expect him to perform well; they would have been satisfied if he just played standard and didn't drag the team down, especially since no domestic team had even qualified for this Katowice tournament.

But they never expected him to actually carry!

...

The short halftime break ended quickly, and NiP switched to the attacking side. With the lead in the score, the slight nervousness in Su Zhe’s heart dissipated.

"Let's go! If we can win the pistol round, they won't have a chance to turn it around!" As the round countdown began, es3tag started setting up the pistol round tactics. "We’ll control B-connector first. headtr1ck, stand on the jump-up and watch mid. Arrow, you go solo to A-lobby and wait for my signal to fake. We’ll apply pressure to the 'Black Room' and hit B as a second wave."

The reason Ancient is a CT-sided map, besides the fast CT rotation speed, is that the defensive side easily gains control of mid. This makes it difficult for the attackers to rotate, often requiring them to traverse half the map. Therefore, the common strategy for attackers on this map is either to harass A and hit B, or to fast-execute A. es3tag chose the former.

As the countdown ended, Su Zhe bought a light vest and walked to A-lobby, beginning to jiggle-peek and hold angles.

"Nobody near the Black Room, they might be holding from further back," REZ’s voice came through the voice channel.

"Bang, bang..."

"There’s one at Donut," k0nfig said after stepping out from the jump-up to check. They exchanged a few shots, but no kills were confirmed.

es3tag analyzed the situation and guessed that ENCE was playing a two-man A defense. He planned to have Su Zhe harass the A-site before throwing smokes to push into the B-site.

"NiP's offensive intent is clear. They are about to execute on B. ENCE has a 3B-2A setup; they don't have anyone in VIP, relying on the players at the backline to rotate," Wanji analyzed based on the situation. "But ENCE is making a move! They intend to counter-flash A-lobby to completely clear out the A-zone!"

"hades has a counter-flash in his hand! Can Arrow realize it!?"

ENCE’s movements were much faster than NiP expected. If they killed the terrorist holding A-lobby, they could easily stack four at B and leave one at Donut to prevent rotations.

When Su Zhe saw a black dot appear in his field of vision, his reflexes were lightning-fast; he immediately turned away to dodge the flash. As the flash popped, he snapped back, his crosshair landing perfectly on the CT who had wide-peeked.

"Bang, bang! Pfft!"

[Arrow killed Goofy with a Glock headshot]

After securing the kill, Su Zhe decided to press the advantage to prevent any CTs from trading him. hades had intended to retreat after his teammate fell, but he didn't expect the terrorist to have the nerve to push so aggressively. He tried to lock onto Su Zhe while retreating, but his aim couldn't match the pressure.

"Bang, bang..."

[Arrow killed hades with a Glock headshot]

"ENCE’s counter-flash just cleared them into trouble! Arrow has single-handedly torn through the A-site defense!"

"Is that how a lurker is supposed to play? Does he think he has teammates behind him?" Wanji’s tone was filled with surprise and disbelief. If you hid the mini-map, you would think Su Zhe had three or four teammates behind him ready to trade.

"Nice! Great kill! Arrow, go hold the CT spawn to cut off rotations! We’re rotating from mid!" es3tag shouted excitedly upon seeing the kill feed, immediately changing the plan.

In a 5-vs-3 situation, ENCE knew the importance of this round and organized a retake on B. Even knowing the opponent might be holding the CT spawn, they still suffered a 1-for-1 trade during the retake, and their timing was delayed.

In the 4-vs-2 endgame, with NiP having planted the bomb and established their positions, ENCE lost the crucial pistol round in despair.

"Nice! Arrow!" The moment they won the pistol round, k0nfig couldn't help but shout, "You’re incredible!"

The others joined in. Even though they didn't know exactly what happened at A, the fact that he broke the site solo and then successfully traded one of the retaking CTs was undeniable. This result was more than enough. They hadn't expected the match to go this way; some had even prepared themselves to fall into the lower bracket. They never imagined a newcomer would perform so well.

After losing the pistol round, ENCE’s morale collapsed. They were a team formed less than a month ago, and it was hard for them to regain their spirit in such a disadvantageous situation.

In the following rounds, NiP used their economic advantage to push the score to 11. Once they entered the rifle rounds, ENCE managed to take one point through an unconventional push in the Black Room, but they couldn't turn the tide. The final score of the Bo1 match was 13-5.

...

"Well played, Arrow!" After the match, es3tag stood up and bumped fists with Su Zhe. As the in-game leader, he knew exactly why they had won comfortably. The A-site defense in the first half had frustrated ENCE multiple times, and his performance in the key pistol round in the second half had shattered their hopes of a comeback.

"Exactly! Our B-site defense didn't even have to move much. He’s got half my talent from back in the day!" k0nfig gave a thumbs-up.

REZ chuckled and teased, "Oh, shut up. Half your talent? I think you were just dazed by S1mple and NiKo back then!"

The group laughed, the atmosphere harmonious, and they grew fonder of Su Zhe. Although they had liked him before, it was all conditional on him contributing to the team. After all, a large portion of their income was tied to tournament prize money—who would want to carry a teammate who dragged them down?

The last time they played ENCE on Ancient, although the opponent had changed their roster, the main reason they lost was because their temporary stand-in, maxster, couldn't hold the pressure at A. He would call for backup at the slightest movement, ruining their entire defensive rhythm.

djL also had a smile on his face. After glancing at ENCE's player booth, he reminded them, "Alright guys, time to go shake hands with the opponents. Don't keep them waiting."

...

After the match, the NiP crew took the tournament-provided bus back to the hotel. After getting off, djL said, "Let's rest later; let's review today's match first."

k0nfig asked, puzzled, "Didn't we play well today? What is there to review?"

djL: ...

He really wanted to make k0nfig stand behind Su Zhe during that moment to see how heart-stopping it actually was.

In the hotel’s dedicated training room, the group sat in a circle watching the demo on the big screen. It was the POV of Su Zhe aggressively pushing to get the double kill after k0nfig fell.

djL paused the footage and turned to Su Zhe: "Can you tell me what you were thinking in that moment?"

Su Zhe recalled the scene and gave his honest answer: "I just felt their aim was pretty poor and that I could catch them off guard, so I decided to wide-peek."

NiP members: ?

Although Su Zhe spoke calmly, they couldn't help but feel that this newcomer was a bit arrogant!

Su Zhe looked at their expressions, confused, and explained again: "That’s really what I thought!"

NiP members: Good grief, he’s even more arrogant!