Chapter 64: Deadly Thunderball, Explode Already! (Double Chapter)

Su Zhe looked at es3tag, who had sat down sheepishly, with a hint of puzzlement, as if meeting him for the very first time.

Beside them, k0nfig couldn't hold it in any longer, laughing and scolding: "You old timer, back when you transitioned to IGL, you kept saying you had to be steady and would never taunt opponents on stage again. How come your true nature is showing again today?"

es3tag was already feeling a bit awkward, and those words made him even more so: "I just couldn't help myself, alright? The main thing was that Complexity actively planted the bomb and then isolated themselves outside the site. It was honestly just too hilarious."

When he saw all five Complexity players rush into the bomb site, he had already figured out what tactics to use for the subsequent force-buy, only for Complexity to hand over the comeback opportunity themselves.

With that, es3tag high-fived Su Zhe beside him: "You kid are only 18, why do you act like an old fogey? Show some passion! The one who should've stood up and yelled just now is you."

Su Zhe imagined the scene of himself standing up to taunt the opponent, shook his head, and said, "I'll pass, I can't pull off that kind of stuff."

REZ chuckled nearby: "There aren't even any offline spectators, what's there to yell about? Once Arrow reaches actual offline tournaments with a crowd, he won't be able to hold back naturally."

headtr1ck chimed in: "True! Having a crowd versus having no crowd are two completely different states. Arrow, make sure you don't get too nervous your first time!"

He still remembered his first offline match with a live audience a few months prior. Feeling the gazes of the spectators beneath the stage, he couldn't tell if it was nervousness or excitement, but his legs had literally started shaking.

After the match, he was teased endlessly by his teammates, so he was curious to see how Su Zhe would perform the first time.

Amidst the chatter, the match between the two teams continued.

Although Complexity had lost the pistol round, they still had the economy from planting the bomb in the previous round.

The weapons in their force-buy were not much worse than NIP's. EliGE and Grim even managed to afford full armor and AKs, with only the IGL JT sacrificing himself by forcing a Desert Eagle along with a full set of utility.

In competitive matches, individual player mistakes were common and understandable; as long as it wasn't a crucial round, adjustments could be made in the next one.

However, a team-wide mistake during the pistol round like the one Complexity made only showed that their coordination and familiarity with Mirage were still lacking.

Complexity had intended for three players to push through mid at the start, coordinating with their teammate in the sewers to gain control of the area.

Yet they only bought one set of utility, meaning they naturally couldn't spare a smoke for VIP, and when exiting T-spawn, their attention was entirely focused on VIP and archway.

As a result, k0nfig, who had pushed up early to a close angle in mid, directly eliminated two of them with a FAMAS.

Although Grim, emerging from the sewers, managed to secure a backside trade in time, headtr1ck at archway smoothly repositioned to the right and claimed Grim's head.

One minute and twenty seconds into the round, the scoreline had already turned into a 4-v-2 situation.

JT tried to find an opportunity to pick up the AK dropped by his teammate in mid, but Su Zhe had already pushed up through connector, smoothly securing yet another kill.

Floppy, the lone player left defaulting outside A-long, put up little resistance and was caught in the flank by REZ coming down from second floor while trying to solo-smoke A-site.

With Complexity losing their force-buy and subsequently eco-ing the next round, the score directly reached NIP's match point.

12-3. Nine match points. Although Complexity desperately wanted a comeback, the score gap was simply too vast.

They had no room for error, and after barely grinding out one gun round, they were cleanly closed out by NIP to end the match.

"Everyone played great! I said it before, Complexity was never going to beat us on this map!" k0nfig stood up and said to the group with a smile.

The others wore expressions that were the exact opposite of how Map 1 had ended, all of them beaming with happy smiles.

Su Zhe stood up and bumped fists and high-fived his teammates one by one.

On this map, he truly felt the power of teamwork. Although his stats on this map were quite decent and he barely managed to claim the top spot on the team, he had mostly flowed with the team's rhythm, which gave him the space to shine.

Unlike on Vertigo in Map 1, where his teammates melted instantly and left him entirely stranded to fend for himself.

"Let's go! Get some good rest! Adjust our mindset and get ready to beat them on Inferno!" headtr1ck draped an arm around Su Zhe's shoulder as they walked toward the lounge with the rest of the team.

Back in the lounge, the team snacked on bananas to replenish their physical energy and stamina while listening to the coach talk about crucial points to watch out for on Inferno.

Su Zhe didn't feel particularly tired, but he happily devoured three bananas right along with them.

He discovered that while the [High Vitality] skill made him less prone to fatigue, the side effect was a noticeably increased appetite—he could now eat an extra meal a day compared to before.

"Arrow, k0nfig, you two must be careful. If you take the primary duelist position, you're bound to run into EliGE and Grim. Even though their performance on Mirage wasn't great, that was entirely constrained by the team."

"So when playing Inferno, be extra cautious. Try not to give away opening kills, otherwise the entire team will find themselves in a very passive position."

Su Zhe nodded upon hearing this, already mentally plotting how he would play the upcoming rounds.

"And headtr1ck, you later on..."

At NIP, tactical setups were primarily researched and designed by djL, while es3tag's role leaned more toward leveraging his rich competitive experience to make on-the-fly decisions.

Sitting, lying, or slouching around, the team absorbed the coach's detailed tactical breakdown as the halftime break drew to a close.

k0nfig stood up and stretched lazily: "To be honest, the changes in Counter-Strike 2 feel pretty good. In the past, when we reached Map 3 after two full maps, our backsides would be completely sore from sitting. Now, aside from our eyes feeling a little tired, everything else feels fine."

Hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement. While the MR12 format reduced the margin for error in matches, it genuinely wasn't as exhausting.

The outcome of the pistol rounds in both halves could practically decide half the scoreline.

es3tag playfully kicked k0nfig's backside with his knee from behind: "Alright, enough talking. Let's win this match quickly and head back to the hotel to rest—I can't wait to collapse on a bed."

As k0nfig stumbled forward, the others couldn't help but laugh. The team atmosphere at that moment was harmony at its finest.

The NIP contingent returned to their player stations. As Su Zhe sat down in his seat, he inevitably glanced across at the Complexity players.

He noticed that the mental state of Complexity's members was visibly different from when they had left earlier; intense fighting spirit burned in their eyes. It was clear their coach or sports psychologist had poured plenty of motivational pep talks into them during the break.

Soon, upon the tournament referee's notification, both teams entered the server, and Map 3, Inferno, officially began.

NIP started the half on the T-side.

es3tag immediately called a fast B-site execute right out of the gate, attempting to carry over the momentum from Map 2 and capture the B bomb site with overwhelming force.

To their surprise, Complexity had deployed a 3-B defensive setup, and Twistzz had even purchased dual Berettas, standing atop the sandbags to hold the primary angle.

Caught completely off guard, k0nfig and REZ were swiftly traded out by the dualies in rapid succession. Although headtr1ck secured a retaliatory kill in time, he was quickly caught from the side by Grim positioned around New Box.

By the time Su Zhe, acting as the anchor, arrived at the frontline, he was facing a daunting 1-v-3 clutch situation.

Complexity showed utmost respect to Su Zhe as a rookie; once they confirmed his position, they coordinated a textbook three-man crossfire that left him with zero opportunity to turn the pistol round around.

Score: 0-1.

"Didn't expect them to gamble on B," REZ rubbed his forehead in frustration.

When they saw EliGE's kill feed pop up, they immediately knew the opponents had gambled on B, because Twistzz's usual positioning on Inferno was holding connector.

es3tag checked the team economy. The bomb hadn't been planted, and everyone only had around $2,000 to their name.

"Let's force-buy and hit A this round..." es3tag thought for a moment and said.

"I'll throw the A1 and connector isolation smokes in mid, then you guys toss flashes for A1. I'll execute immediately and see if we can catch their timing."

"Arrow, push up a bit faster through A-short, try to synchronize with our A1 entry into the site."

After briefly arranging the tactics for the force-buy, the countdown timer hit zero.

Su Zhe purchased a Tec-9, full armor, and utility from the buy menu, then headed straight toward secondary mid.

By the time he reached underneath VIP, es3tag had already pressed up close to mid.

"A1 deep flash!"

Following k0nfig's flashbang toss, es3tag jumped out past the mid cross-smoke.

Yet luck was slightly against him; hallzerk had just safely retreated back into cover at A1. es3tag found no kills and instead gave away his positioning.

Simultaneously, Su Zhe had hopped up onto VIP. Since es3tag had already cleared boiler room, Su Zhe aimed directly toward the right-hand side.

"Balcony and spool stairs are clear, I can safely push up close," Su Zhe communicated his status to his teammates before taking heavy steps up toward the balcony ledge.

es3tag originally intended to wait, but then he spotted a CT shadow on the ground.

hallzerk, having safely fallen back initially, decided to aggressively peek forward again for a kill.

es3tag didn't hesitate, swinging out with a wide peek. hallzerk, holding an MP9 and crosshair locked onto the close A1 angle, failed to react in time and was instantly headshot.

"Push straight in!" es3tag shouted loudly after securing the opening kill, attempting to hop onto the site to draw crosshairs and gather information for the teammates behind him.

To his surprise, floppy was holding close to the car with an M4A1. Hearing the approaching footsteps of the T's, he wide-swung and unleashed a full burst.

The weapon advantage allowed him to drop two players in rapid succession. REZ, positioned at the tail end, only managed to land a single body shot before retreating back to the car to reload.

Hearing his teammates' comms through his headset, Su Zhe immediately deduced the opponent's general location.

He leaped down directly from the balcony. Catching sight of the CT reloading right beneath him, he pulled the trigger of his Tec-9.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

[Arrow used Tec-9 to headshot and kill floppy]

"I'm smoking library and connector! Plant the bomb!" Su Zhe, having repositioned into Pit, pulled a smoke grenade from his utility belt and tossed it out.

...

"Could they actually pull off a force-buy comeback?!" Machine's casting voice suddenly pitched up. "But k0nfig, rotating from mid toward the site, gets picked off by Twistzz holding connector preparing for A1! A 2-v-3 post-plant is still very doable!"

"REZ plants the bomb and tries to hold a close unorthodox angle at A1 with the MP9 he just picked up, but Twistzz is simply too accurate! One peek, one drop!"

"How is this turning out just like the pistol round?! Leaving Arrow in another 1-v-3 clutch! He has to hold the smoke from Pit to prevent CTs from pushing through the smoke, and he can't trade Twistzz immediately."

Following REZ's fall, the NIP members who had died earlier let out quiet sighs.

They hadn't truly expected to pull off a comeback on a force-buy; as long as they could drain a few long guns from the CTs and keep their economy suppressed, it would have been enough.

Yet the shifting tides of the round had rekindled hopes of a miracle.

Only for that flicker of hope to be swiftly crushed by Twistzz's double kill.

Hearing the elimination of his A1 teammate, Su Zhe quietly held his crosshair toward the connector smoke and crept toward Pit. He had to gamble that Twistzz wouldn't aggressively push onto the site alone before his teammates arrived.

Fortunately, much like the pistol round, Complexity chose to respect the ID "Arrow".

As Su Zhe repositioned into Deep Pit, he wide-peeked with his crosshair pre-aiming A1.

Twistzz's crosshair had been lingering near the car. Spotting the T emerge from Pit, muscle memory guided his wrist to flick his crosshair over, but he was still a fraction of a second too late.

"Rat-tat-tat..."

[Arrow used M4A1-S to kill EliGE]

Securing the kill, Su Zhe shifted his position again, sliding to the left to hunt down the rotating CTs.

Though his tactical awareness might lag slightly behind veteran pros, he knew that in a disadvantaged clutch, he had to actively hunt for kills.

By now, the connector smoke had faded, and the rotating JT and Grim, knowing Su Zhe's location in Pit, began heavily stomping their way over.

The increasingly urgent sound of the C4 ticking left them with no luxury to creep slowly.

"You take graveyard high-ground! I'll rush in and crossfire for you!" JT communicated to Grim.

No sooner had those words left his mouth than he saw the T in Pit actively swing out. He frantically jammed the trigger, but his MP9 lacked stopping power at that distance.

"Rat-tat-tat..."

[Arrow used M4A1-S to kill JT]

"He's super low! Hit him three times in the body!" the fallen JT hastily called out information.

Grim had already stepped up onto the graveyard stairs. Catching a glimpse of Su Zhe, he managed a single body shot before Su Zhe ducked back into cover.

*So annoying! If only I'd saved a HE grenade for banana! I would've blasted him to smithereens!* Grim thought, gritting his teeth as he faced Su Zhe's eel-like elusiveness.

Crouching to evade the angle from graveyard, Su Zhe clearly heard the heavy footsteps of his opponent dropping into Pit.

The wall in Pit was far too short to loop around, leaving him with no choice: he wide-swung once more.

Yet his remaining health was critically low, and his silenced M4A1 lacked one-tap kill potential; he was promptly gunned down by a single bullet.

"I have a kit!" Seeing his teammate secure the kill, JT yelled urgently.

Hearing the frantic ticking of the C4, Grim didn't dare waste another second, rushing straight over to pick up the defuse kit and plant himself on the bomb.

"Can't defuse in time... won't make it..."

"Just explode already! You damn bomb!"

The NIP members muttered under their breath as they heard the defusing sound, neither of them certain whether the defuse would succeed.

"Beep... beep... beep-beep-beep-beep..."

"Boom~"