Chapter 58 "Say no more, ten for 188!"

13 to 8! The score is locked at this very moment! Congratulations to NiP on their 2-0 victory over Falcons, advancing to the next round of the lower bracket!" As the final gunshot echoed across the map, Machine offered his congratulations on NiP's triumph.

Aside from joy, a hint of genuine surprise laced his tone. Looking at the map pool before the match, he had fully expected the series to go to a map three. Instead, Falcons were effortlessly swept away on map two.

"Magisk became a tragic hero with a 20-14 KD. The rest of the team are all tier-one professionals, yet he was the only one showing up. By the late game, the entire Falcons squad had completely lost their fighting spirit."

"Mainly, the newcomer Arrow put on an absolutely dazzling performance. With a 22-12 KD, he secured multiple crucial rounds for the team and proved to be the final straw that broke the camel's back..."

[Where are the people who claimed NiP would definitely lose before the match? Why aren't you saying anything now? Keep shouting!]

[You could tell Falcons had a strategy targeting Su Zhe, but they didn't execute it fully, which just ended up opening up gaps for the rest of NiP.]

[Nothing they could do, really. When they targeted him, he still performed; when they didn't, he just ran riot. Falcons' mental state was completely shattered today; it feels like this team has zero capacity to play from behind.]

[I kind of feel like Su Zhe playing the lurker role is a bit of a waste. I still prefer watching him charge forward fearlessly in matchmaking.]

[Totally agree! Playing like a steamroller is so much more satisfying!]

...

At the moment the match ended, the members of NiP pulled off their headsets, happy smiles blooming across their faces.

Even they hadn't expected these two games to be won so easily, especially since every single player on Falcons possessed individual statistics and accolades far superior to theirs.

Of course, excluding Arrow, the rookie monster. The only thing he lacked now was accolades; as long as he maintained these stats, the rest would follow.

Es3tag stood up, looked at Su Zhe chatting with headtr1ck, and smiled as he said to k0nfig nearby, "You deserve the credit here, otherwise our team wouldn't have made it this far."

K0nfig let out a hearty laugh. "Are you talking about that opening kill I got in the half-buy during the second half? Just standard operations!"

Es3tag shook his head, then tilted his chin toward Su Zhe's direction. "I mean without you, Arrow wouldn't have joined our team. We might not have even made it to the Katowice main event."

K0nfig's smile faded slightly. He turned his head to look at Su Zhe as well, his gaze a complex mix of envy and loss.

"Indeed, it's great to be young..."

After a brief chat, coach djL led them toward the opposing Falcons player booths.

The Falcons players watched the approaching NiP squad, their eyes ultimately fixing on Su Zhe, brimming with reluctance and humiliation.

Before the match, they had been mocking ENCE and GL, ridiculing them for being sent scurrying by a rookie.

Never had they imagined that after two hours of play, they would be the ones scurrying away.

Following the handshake ritual, Su Zhe and his teammates packed up their peripherals and left the tournament venue together.

A celebration dinner was a must. They had achieved their initial goal, and every step forward from here would be a massive leap. Naturally, it was worth celebrating with a grand feast.

This time, djL followed Su Zhe's suggestion and didn't bother finding a restaurant with Chinese characteristics, opting instead for a Korean barbecue joint.

Seeing the pork belly sizzling and popping on the iron grill, the starving Su Zhe quickly picked up a piece, rolled it in cumin and chili powder, and popped it into his mouth.

"This is so good it'd make you forget getting slapped!"

Savoring the lingering deliciousness in his mouth, Su Zhe couldn't help but let out a muffled hum of pleasure.

The others nearby couldn't help laughing at his reaction. K0nfig patted him on the back. "Eat slowly, nobody's going to steal it from you."

REZ also grabbed a slice of meat, stuffed it into his mouth, and mumbled indistinctly, "Who's our opponent in the next round again? EF or someone else?"

Es3tag looked down and replied, "It's Cloud9. They lost in the upper bracket second round."

"Oh?" REZ asked with curiosity. "Cloud9? Who eliminated them?"

K0nfig swallowed his food and complained discontentedly, "You don't follow the tournament schedule at all, do you? Spirit, of course!"

REZ had a sudden flash of realization. "Spirit? Well, that's no surprise. Sounds like sh1ro's awp was on point."

DjL shook his head, refuting the claim. "It doesn't have much to do with sh1ro. It was the newcomer on their team who went off. What was his name again? Oh right! donk!"

REZ recalled their encounter outside the venue with Spirit last time, and donk's image surfaced in his mind. He said dismissively, "Ah, right. Rookies these days are absolute monsters. Good thing we have a rookie too! Arrow, teach them a proper lesson next time we meet Spirit! Show donk who the real rookie king is."

"Cough! Cough!" Hearing this, Su Zhe choked on the chili powder.

Teach donk a lesson? Me?

The gap between my current level and donk's is something I am painfully aware of.

Seeing Su Zhe choke, k0nfig hurriedly handed him a glass of water while giving REZ a sideways glance. "Just play your normal game, why are you putting pressure on the kid?"

REZ: ...

I'm pretty sure I'm the teammate who's spent the most time with you guys.

...

After a hearty meal, Su Zhe returned to the hotel and immediately reviewed the Falcons match demo alongside his teammates.

Right after, unable to wait, he booted up his computer and loaded into the Aimbotz map, desperate to capture that fleeting spark of inspiration from the match.

Spray transfer recoil control relied entirely on muscle memory of weapon spray patterns, allowing the crosshair to smoothly transition the bullets from one target to another during a continuous burst.

It sounded simple, but it was extraordinarily difficult in practice and prone to failure.

That was precisely why, whenever a professional player pulled off a multi-kill spray transfer during an official match, the live audience would erupt into screams.

That spark of inspiration hadn't magically transformed Su Zhe from unskilled to master overnight, but rather gave him the sensation of developing muscle memory—freeing him from having to consciously micro-manage his wrist movements to control the spray.

"Tac-tac-tac~"

"Tac-tac-tac~"

"Tac-tac-tac~"

After eliminating over 3,000 bots, Su Zhe felt a dull ache radiating from his wrist, but a smile graced his lips.

The fluid, extension-of-his-arm feeling had grown even stronger. As long as he maintained this targeted practice on spray transfers every day moving forward, it wouldn't be long before he could execute them effortlessly in official matches.

Su Zhe stretched to relieve the fatigue in his body, then summoned the system interface.

[Ding~]

[Quest completed: Helped the team secure a Katowice ticket while meeting the system's performance requirements. Obtained a random A-tier reward.]

[Randomizing.......]

Seeing this notification, Su Zhe remembered he had an unclaimed quest reward.

Back when they qualified for the main event, he had been too caught up celebrating with teammates and preparing for the tournament.

Aside from using the "Training Simulation Ground" before going to sleep at night, he had almost forgotten about the system entirely.

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the A-tier reward: Boundless Vigor]

[Boundless Vigor: Allows the host to recover energy in a shorter period of time, including but not limited to physical and mental recovery, while simultaneously reducing the probability of suffering from injuries and ailments.]

"Boundless Vigor..."

Looking at the skill description, Su Zhe felt the name was slightly misnamed. It should probably be called [The Ultimate Factory Worker's Physique]...

Isn't this exactly the kind of overtime-craving talent that assembly lines lack when pushing production quotas?

Still, it made sense. Ever since joining NiP, his daily training routine was no different from a factory assembly line worker, just far more monotonous.

Even so, he quite liked this skill. He had sometimes pondered the question, "Why do humans even need to sleep?" If he could use those remaining hours to grind CS...

[Ding~]

The system's chime pulled his thoughts back.

[New quest obtained: Through hard work and talent, your outstanding performance helped the team secure a Katowice tournament ticket. The eyes of the entire world will be focused on you. Please keep up the good work and let the whole world know of your genius youth.]

[Reward: Random reward; reward contents will be determined based on the host's achievements and performance in the tournament.]

Upon accepting the new quest, Su Zhe turned his attention back to his attribute panel.

[Host: Su Zhe]

[Age: 18]

[Affiliated Team: None]

[Aiming: 75-80]

[Movement: 53-58]

[Recoil Control: 65-70]

[Game Sense: 50-55]

[Reaction Time: 85-90]

[Rise Points: 1429]

[Weapon Proficiency:
AK-47 (LV7.1)
AWP (LV1.9)
... (Expand)]

[Map Proficiency:
Mirage: 57
Inferno: 55
(Expand)]

[Skills: Chosen One, Signature Weapon, Boundless Vigor]

[Comprehensive Level: B]

[Evaluation: The host's growth truly lives up to the title of "Chosen One." You are now truly capable of holding your own on the professional stage, but you are still a long way from the peak. Please continue to work hard and climb towards your own summit.]

[Quest 1: ......]

Reading the system's evaluation, Su Zhe let out a long sigh.

Chosen One?

"Chosen Workhorse" felt like a far more accurate description.

Next, he looked at his Rise Points.

"I've got over a thousand points again. Should I exchange them for attributes... or buy a skill comprehension from the shop..."

After a moment of hesitation, he decided to trust his luck. As long as he pulled a star professional player, these 1,000 points would definitely be worth it.

[Confirm spending 1,000 Rise Points to purchase professional player skill comprehension?]

[Yes]

[Randomizing professional player skill comprehension.......]

[Please choose one among the three players: Danking, Westmelon, lan.....]

[Asia's number one sniper? Who are the other two?]

Hesitating briefly, Su Zhe ultimately chose the most famous among them, Danking......

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining Danking's streaming skill comprehension......]

The scene shifted, and Su Zhe found himself once again in that boundless void space as a familiar voice echoed in his ears......

[Stop talking! Ten 188s! Participate for a single penny......]

[......]