"Bro, trade me!"
"No, bro! Why does the other guy one-tap me, but when it's your turn, you start whiffing!?"
"Run and gun with the AK!?"
Bam!
Desk HP -1
[ID: Cape's Number One Breakthrough Player] [Score: 11–13] [Points: 1589→1563] [Rank: C+→C+]
As the defeat screen popped up, Su Zhe's earlier irritation gradually gave way to dejection.
How many times had he failed to rank up to B Division now?
Five times? Or six?
He rubbed his face hard, trying to chase the negative feelings of defeat from his mind.
Just then, his roommate Xiao Guang leaned over. Looking a little tense, he brought his head closer and carefully examined the screen.
When he saw the score, his anxious expression relaxed.
"I knew you were my best bro. You wouldn't leave me behind and rank up to B by yourself! I'm only two wins away from B Division too. What do you say? Wanna rank up to B together with your best bro?" Xiao Guang rested a hand on Su Zhe's shoulder and said with a cheeky grin.
"Go ahead. I'm gonna take a nap!" Su Zhe waved him off, then shut down his computer and climbed into bed.
Based on his extensive experience with rank-up games, if he kept playing, he'd probably plummet from C+ all the way to C.
It wouldn't even be impossible for him to crash straight into the fabled D+ Division.
"Go to sleep, then. Just don't get jealous when you wake up and see my rank. You didn't even need the Eagle of Foresight to help you!"
Su Zhe ignored his roommate's chatter. Lying flat on the bed, he kept thinking about the game he'd just played, unable to calm down for a long time.
"Do I really not have even the slightest talent for games?"
Growing up, he'd never had any hobbies besides playing games.
A few months ago, after graduating from high school, he'd gotten hooked on CSGO as soon as he tried it.
When he first downloaded Perfect World Platform and finished his placement matches, he'd been placed in C Division. Back then, he'd thought he was an FPS prodigy the likes of which only came along once in a generation.
After all, D+ and D were the two ranks below C Division, and he'd managed to reach C Division the first time he ever played CSGO.
What else could that be but genius?
By chance, he'd once learned while scrolling through videos on Douyin that reaching S Division on Perfect World Platform unlocked an incredibly hype animation. From that moment on, he'd secretly vowed that he would reach S Division!
But as it turned out, CSGO was easy to pick up, yet incredibly difficult to truly master.
A few months had passed, and CSGO had even updated to CS2, but after more than 500 hours of playtime, he was still struggling in C+.
By now, he'd lost even the drive to reach S Division. He'd be grateful just to make it to B Division.
The midday sun in northern China in October wasn't as scorching as it had been a few months earlier. Its warmth streamed through the window into the cramped four-person dorm room.
Lost in thought, Su Zhe gradually drifted off to sleep.
Ding~
A clear, ethereal sound jolted the sleeping Su Zhe awake.
He rubbed his temples, trying to ease the brief dizziness that came from abruptly sitting up.
Xiao Guang's shouts gradually came into focus, accompanied by frantic mouse clicks.
"There are a million guys on A short! Nice shot! Defuse!"
"I've got a kit!!"
"Huh? How did we lose that?"
So the noise had woken him up. Su Zhe was about to tell Xiao Guang to keep it down when he suddenly noticed rows of pale blue text floating before his eyes.
[You were born on the same day as the game CS, and you are destined to become the Chosen One of this game.] [At six years old, under the influence of your cousin, you were introduced to CSGO. Even then, you had already begun to show your gaming talent.] [At fifteen, you reached the top of FPL and caught the attention of numerous professional teams. At the same time, many people accused you of cheating.] [At eighteen, having completed your studies, you decided to officially enter the CSGO Professional Arena. You resolved to silence those who doubted you by proving yourself in LAN tournaments!] [This system will help you become the true Chosen One of CSGO!] [Task: Please launch the CSGO client to claim your reward: CSGO Genius Youth Gift Pack.]
Looks like he'd really sat up too fast. He was hallucinating now!
Su Zhe lay back down again, but when he closed his eyes, the rows of pale blue text still seemed to appear in his mind, even though all he could see was darkness.
He opened and closed his eyes.
He repeated the motion over and over, but the text was still there!
Su Zhe abruptly sat up!
This wasn't a hallucination! He'd actually hit the jackpot!
Although he usually only liked playing games, in his spare time—especially before going to sleep—he'd lie in bed and read online novels to help himself drift off.
He was naturally familiar with things like systems.
But he couldn't make sense of this system's introduction...
He knew what FPL was, but how could he possibly have come first? He couldn't even qualify for it!
I played CSGO when I was six? I remember being too busy checking out Xiaomei from the next kindergarten class back then.
And I'm only Demon King C+, yet you're calling me a genius youth?
He often joked that in CSGO, C came before S, but that was just something he told himself to make himself feel better.
Getting farmed by Brother S from time to time had given him a clear understanding of his own skill and talent.
How could someone who'd played for over 500 hours and was still only C+ possibly be called a genius youth?
If Wallpaper counted as a shooter... then his FPS talent really was top-notch...
And being born on the same day as CSGO was even more ridiculous. He'd been born in 2005, which didn't line up with the release dates of either CS or CSGO!
Had the system been given to the wrong person?
But he quickly came to his senses. It didn't matter if it was wrong!
As long as he could spend points to get stronger!
That was a good system!
So Su Zhe wanted to test right away whether he could still use the system even if it had been given to the wrong person.
Xiao Guang had also stood up by then, still muttering curses under his breath. When he saw Su Zhe sitting up, he realized something was off.
He said apologetically, "Sorry, I forgot you were still sleeping. You know how CSGO always gets people tilted. I couldn't help myself just now."
Su Zhe didn't respond to Xiao Guang's apology. Instead, he quickly got out of bed, hurried to his desk, and turned on his laptop.
The gaming laptop booted up pretty quickly. After beating 99% of computers in the country, it swiftly launched Steam.
He selected the Chinese version, clicked Play, and did it all in one smooth motion.
As the computer fan roared, the screen loaded smoothly into the game.
Su Zhe also noticed that the pale blue text floating in front of him had changed.
[Have you decided to embark on a professional career in CSGO?]
Su Zhe saw the options [Yes] and [No] appear beneath the line of text.
There wasn't much to think about. Young people who loved playing games had all dreamed of becoming professional players at one time or another.
Besides, his college entrance exam results had been poor. He'd only managed to get into a lousy university, and his future looked bleak.
Now that he had the chance to become a professional player,
Su Zhe focused his thoughts on the [Yes] option, and the text changed again.
[Activation successful. Binding successful.] [Congratulations, host. You have obtained the Genius Youth System...]
Watching the lines of text appear, Su Zhe said to Xiao Guang, "I'm gonna use the bathroom."
Although he'd confirmed through his earlier test that only he could see the system, he decided to head to the bathroom and examine it more closely, so he wouldn't make any strange movements in front of other people...
Once he entered the bathroom, he only had to think of the system for a system panel to appear before his eyes.
[Host: Su Zhe] [Age: 18] [Team: None] [Overall Level: Unknown] [Rise Points: 0] [This is the Genius Youth System. It will help the host gradually enter the world of professional gaming and reach the pinnacle of the Professional Arena!]
"It really works!" Seeing his own name listed as the host, Su Zhe felt a little relieved.
He'd been afraid that if the system had been given to the wrong person, he wouldn't be able to use it.
Next, he turned his attention to the [Rise Points] on the system panel. Several lines of explanatory text immediately appeared beside it.
[Rise Points: Can be used to purchase items from the system shop, or exchanged for Attribute Points to help a Genius Youth quickly rise to the top! Rise Points can be earned through quest rewards, daily training, and other activities.]
After learning the system's basic functions, Su Zhe turned his attention to the shop page beside it.
[Attribute Point (1): 1000 Rise Points] [Random Skill: 10000 Rise Points] [Random Professional Player's Technique Insight: 1000 Rise Points] [...]
The shop offered all sorts of items that could improve one's skills in CSGO, but for now, Su Zhe could only window-shop.
Then he noticed several lines of small text in the quest tab beneath the system.
[New Quest: Play three matches on any platform. The system will assess the host's skill based on his performance.] [Complete the quest to receive a random reward]