When the viewers in the Live Room saw 259's youth training invitation for themselves, they all started asking questions.
Even though they'd been prepared after the Show Effect earlier, seeing the actual message still felt a little too surreal.
Going from C+ to youth training in just over a month was absurd no matter how you looked at it!
CNCS might not have great results, but they were still professional players!
Going pro was every gamer's ultimate goal!
[Suddenly I understand what people mean by the gap in talent...]
[What kind of pills can the streamer take to suddenly have an epiphany? I have a friend who wants some too!]
[I get it now. The streamer had Old Man Yao sucking away his talent before, and now that Old Man Yao's awake, he's improving so fast!]
[Good grief, it's Battle Through the Heavens: CSGO! All that's missing is a fiancée coming to break off the engagement.]
[Keep it up! Get into youth training and fight your way into the starting lineup! CNCS is counting on you! (Crying)]
[I've only watched the stream for a few hours, but I'm already kind of reluctant to see it end! The three of you are so entertaining together. Going pro might be a bit of a waste, but still, good luck!]
When Su Zhe saw the message, "Want to join youth training?" he immediately opened 259's Homepage. The moment he saw the words "Pro Certification," excitement surged through him!
This happiness had come so suddenly!
His original plan had been to keep building up his fundamentals and gradually gain more experience, then, in a little over a month, once he reached Diamond S, ask Leon Kai to recommend him.
But he'd never expected that meeting a NIP pro player a few days ago would set the wheels of his fate in motion!
He excitedly typed back, "Sure!" The two of them also agreed that he'd attend a trial in two days.
"YES!" After closing the chat window, Su Zhe clenched his fist and shouted, letting out all the excitement pent up inside him.
Xiao Guang had been staring in shock the whole time. Only now did he slowly come around. "I still can't quite believe it. Zhe, you can really go pro!"
Just over a month ago, the two of them had been close friends who queued together, both struggling to reach B Division.
In the blink of an eye, he was still stuck in C+, while Su Zhe had already received an invitation to youth training.
Fat Brother had also found it hard to accept at first, but after thinking about how hard Su Zhe had worked over the past month, he felt a little more at ease.
Even if he had the talent to go pro, without anyone keeping an eye on him, he wouldn't have been able to show the kind of self-discipline Su Zhe had. Deep down, he still thought of CSGO as just a game.
He put a heavy hand on Su Zhe's shoulder and encouraged him. "Keep it up! Do your best to pass the trial!"
Su Zhe nodded solemnly.
After that little interruption, the three of them continued their livestream.
Although their streaming career might be ending after just one day, Fat Brother and Xiao Guang were still curious about the industry and wanted to see the stream through properly.
Su Zhe, as usual, focused entirely on the game. After his match with Danking, he now understood that there were still plenty of areas where he needed to improve.
Ten o'clock at night.
The stream continued.
Eleven o'clock at night.
The stream continued.
Midnight.
Xiao Guang: I'm going to bed. You two keep going, don't mind me. I'll be out as soon as I lie down.
One o'clock in the morning.
Fat Brother: I can't keep going either. Stream on your own. As long as you're not too loud, you won't wake me.
One thirty in the morning.
Su Zhe stretched and yawned.
Viewers: Holy crap! Are you finally ending the stream? You're such a workhorse! You haven't taken a break except to eat and use the bathroom!
After reading the chat's question, Su Zhe answered softly, "I still have to wait a bit. I haven't finished today's training yet."
Viewers: ?????
Ever since Su Zhe reached S, he'd moved his daily training—things like Pre-aim and Deathmatch—to after his Ladder matches. The main reason was that games in S Division took so much out of him.
If he finished his training tasks beforehand, he might not be able to focus during his Ladder matches afterward.
A person only had so much energy, so he chose to play Ladder first and finish his training afterward.
Besides, the movements were all mechanical. The main goal was to build muscle memory.
By two in the morning, most of the people in the Live Room had left. Only about two hundred were still there, scattered here and there.
A good number of them had already fallen asleep, while some were just stubbornly determined to see when this streamer would finally end his broadcast.
Three o'clock in the morning.
[Ping~ Rise Points +115]
Su Zhe stretched again.
Viewers: Holy crap! Is he finally ending the stream? I'm the champion of staying up late!
Su Zhe: No, I still have 500 BOT kills left to finish in Deathmatch.
Viewers: ?????
Three twenty in the morning.
After hearing the system's voice again, Su Zhe exited the game and quietly told the Live Room he was ending the stream.
The long-silent Live Room finally stirred to life.
[Now I finally understand why you improve so fast.]
[Man! I'm really not jealous that you can go pro! You work way too hard!]
[I did the math. From noon until now, not counting meals and breaks, the streamer's been playing for 14 hours.]
[You can't call that "playing" anymore. It's more like a full workday!]
[Honestly, it's way harder than work. At work, you can slack off. In Ladder, you have to stay focused the whole time!]
[If you keep training this hard after joining youth training, you'll definitely have a place in CNCS in the future!]
[...]
Su Zhe didn't say much as he read the chat. He just waved and quietly said goodbye to the viewers, then clicked to end the stream.
Usually, Su Zhe could turn off his computer and fall asleep the moment he hit the bed, but tonight he couldn't sleep. His mind was full of all kinds of scattered thoughts.
He thought back over the more than ten years of his life, from his earliest memories to now. From childhood onward, he'd never had a real goal in life.
He'd done well in elementary school and smoothly gotten into a decent middle school.
In middle school, his classmates had led him astray. His grades had suffered, and he'd ended up in an average high school.
By high school, he'd completely fallen behind. He'd planned to drop out and get a job after graduating, but his parents had persuaded him to attend a lousy university and muddle through four years.
None of it had been his own idea. He'd drifted along, influenced by other people, right up to the present.
It had been comfortable, but also miserable.
If all he'd had was a dream and the positive feedback from the system, he could never have pushed himself this hard.
For the first time, he had a goal of his own. He wanted to give it everything he had and see how far he could go.
The night remained dark, and drowsiness gradually crept over him.
The next day, Su Zhe went to the office to ask his academic advisor for leave.
His advisor was a woman who had graduated from university only two years ago. When she heard Su Zhe wanted a week off, her brow furrowed.
"I can't approve that. It's only been a few months since the semester started, and you're already asking for such a long leave. Besides, we just had National Day off last month."
Su Zhe: ...
He hadn't expected his trial plans to get held up by the leave request. He'd already planned out his future, but there was always the chance things wouldn't work out.
Skipping five days of class was no small matter. If his parents found out, they'd beat his ass.
Until he had things sorted out, he wouldn't tell his parents he wanted to go pro.
First, he was afraid they'd object. Second, he didn't want them to worry or be disappointed.
After going back and forth for more than ten minutes, his advisor still wouldn't budge, so Su Zhe had no choice but to use his trump card.
"Teacher... I think I've been depressed lately. Every now and then, I think about jumping off the school rooftop..."
"I was going to go to the hospital, but it's fine if I don't take leave. Could you help me, though? I really don't want to live anymore!"
"Please, Teacher! Help me! I'm in so much pain!"
Su Zhe clutched his advisor's hand and thought of every sad thing that had happened in his life, crying so hard that tears and snot ran down his face.
The young advisor had never seen anything like this. She panicked and approved his leave right away. Before he left, she even told him he could call to extend it if he needed more time.
After walking out of the office, Su Zhe wiped away the tears he'd forced out.
Hehe! It worked!
That night, Fat Brother tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He looked up and saw Xiao Guang's phone screen glowing; he was still awake too.
Xiao Guang noticed Fat Brother moving and asked in confusion, "You can't sleep either?"
Fat Brother sighed. "Something just feels off, like something's missing... You know that weird feeling, right?"
Xiao Guang: ...How about we turn on the computer and leave a game running in the background?
Fat Brother: Good idea!
The sound of the computer fans filled the quiet dorm room. In less than ten minutes, both of them were fast asleep.
Before you continue