The Heart of a Parent

Even though the match had ended, the comments in CSBOY's Livestream Room were still rolling in.

[Is Fnatic really this strong? They even took down G2. Weren't Fnatic supposed to be a second-tier European team? Also, does poizon not use the Sniper Rifle anymore?]

[Bro, it's 2022. Aether, God A, is Fnatic's AWPer now.]

[I found Aether through the "Pick a Sniper for Niko" event. Come help me out, everyone~]

[G2 has a special trait: just when you think they're good, they immediately pull some crazy stunt.]

[Aether was pretty amazing this game. His stats were only 20-15, but it felt like he landed a ton of crucial shots.]

"ENCE's Spinx and dycha are pretty strong."

At the apartment hotel PGL had provided for the players, the Fnatic team sat around a big screen, watching the second round of matches.

Outsiders versus ENCE.

By the time Spinx's game ended, he had racked up a 30-8 score.

As coach Samuelsson watched the match, he picked up his notebook of scouting notes and reminded the Fnatic players, "There are probably three teams we could face next."

"Vitality, the international lineup ENCE, and the CIS team forZe."

"ForZe would be manageable, but if we draw ENCE or Vitality, it'll be a really tough match."

"We beat G2 partly because it was a BO1, and partly because Aether had a few brilliant rounds on the Sniper Rifle."

"But we can't count on Aether to get us the first kill every single game."

"And you all know G2. They're easily one of the most inconsistent teams around."

As he listened, Qin Feng silently nodded.

G2 sometimes looked incredibly strong, but at other times they fell into an endless cycle of blunders.

Besides, JACKZ often failed to perform as well as hoped in the early game.

Once the final match ended, the schedule for the next day was released.

ForZe would face ENCE, while Fnatic would take on French prodigy ZywOo's Vitality.

Coach Samuelsson immediately reviewed footage of Vitality's first two matches with the Fnatic players.

Big Potato ZywOo's performance had been close to flawless.

Samuelsson looked around the practice room and slowly asked, "What do you think about tomorrow's match against Vitality?"

Everyone shared their thoughts.

Of course, almost all the players felt that they couldn't rely on playing around Aether's entry-fragging AWP alone to win tomorrow.

After all, the sniper Qin Feng would be facing was ZywOo, one of the best AWPers of all time.

When everyone's eyes eventually turned to Qin Feng, he calmly gave what he thought was the most objective assessment.

"If it's a held angle, I'm confident I can go toe-to-toe with ZywOo."

"But if I'm entry-sniping, there's no way I can just blow ZywOo away."

"Rather than figuring out how to counter ZywOo's AWP, we should focus on Vitality's weak links."

"Vitality is an international lineup now, and they've switched to speaking English."

"Let's see... The team's weakest performers are probably Misutaa and Ardo."

"If I have to use the AWP to break into a site, I don't want to challenge ZywOo. I'll try to take on Misutaa or Ardo instead."

"..."

Qin Feng left it at that.

In his eyes, ZywOo was the only AWPer in all of CSGO who could currently rival s1mple.

He wasn't arrogant enough to challenge ZywOo to an AWP duel.

But Vitality did have weaknesses.

For one thing, the Danish duo's aim was inconsistent. For another, Misutaa wasn't exactly a star player on the team.

Samuelsson nodded repeatedly at Qin Feng's comments.

Although he and ALEX were responsible for preparing the team's pre-match tactics, every player's input was important.

If Qin Feng wanted to take on ZywOo directly, they would draw up a set of Execute tactics built around him, forcing ZywOo to give up the first angle.

Once the advantage shifted from defense to attack, Qin Feng's held angles might well be able to compete with ZywOo's repeeks.

But since Qin Feng didn't want to challenge ZywOo directly, they would instead develop tactics for avoiding his AWP.

That made Vitality's individual site-holding habits the top priority for ALEX and the analyst to study.

It was already nearing evening in Belgium.

After a series of map runs and tactical drills, the Fnatic players finally had some time to rest.

Qin Feng finally had a chance to take out his phone and check the unread messages on WeChat.

There were three missed voice calls from his father.

Qin Feng checked the time displayed on his phone.

23:35.

It should be just before seven in the morning back in China.

He didn't hesitate. He immediately sent his father a voice call invitation on WeChat.

"Beep."

"Beep."

"Hello?"

The call connected quickly.

Qin Feng's father's voice came through.

"Xiaofeng, how have you been lately?"

"Mm... I've been pretty good. I'm getting used to living abroad, and I've gotten used to things here in Belgium."

"Good, that's good. I heard your team has won two matches in a row at some Major in Antwerp?"

His father's question caught Qin Feng off guard.

"Dad, when did you start following all this?"

His father laughed heartily on the other end. "We supported you taking a break from school to play professionally. How could we not follow your matches?"

"To keep up with your results, I even went and downloaded the Perfect World Esports app."

"Besides, your dad was a die-hard CS 1.6 player back in the day."

"If I hadn't been too old and already married, maybe I would've gone pro with mNv."

"Your mother and I were against you going pro at first, too."

"But then I thought about how I never got to realize my own dream. I didn't want to turn you away from yours."

"You're grown up now, so we shouldn't interfere with your choices."

"Mm... Your dad's pretty understanding, huh? When you were little, I never once told you to pause your games."

"I know you can't pause games."

Qin Feng listened to the voice on the other end, laughing and crying at the same time.

"Don't worry, Dad. Esports counts as a sport, too."

"I've been doing well at Fnatic. My teammates and the coach are all looking after me."

"I still can't communicate very smoothly, but I'm fine with daily life and CSGO."

"Also, you don't have to get up this early. Didn't you used to get up at six-thirty? Why have you been calling me on WeChat since five-thirty?"

Qin Feng rubbed his nose.

During practice, he'd set his phone to silent to avoid distractions.

On the other end of the call, Qin Feng's father wore a broad smile.

"I just wanted to see how your match turned out."

"By the way, I mainly called to ask if you have enough money."

"If you don't, just ask us for more."

"Since you're overseas, don't go without anything you need."

For some reason, Qin Feng's nose suddenly stung.

Such was the heart of a parent.