"Think He Could Rip Your Big AWP Apart with His Bare Hands?"

Su Zhe was climbing the ranks faster than even he'd imagined.

The main reason was that he was still benefiting from donk and Niko's insights into the game. Before, when his fundamentals were still lacking, he'd only been able to pick up the basics of what they did.

As he improved in every area, he increasingly realized that their seemingly simple plays were packed with details.

That also helped him gain the experience and understanding that normally took countless matches to build up.

On top of that, professional players and youth trainees didn't have much time to play Ladder, so his rank climbed at rocket speed.

[That's way too fast! He only got to Diamond S half a month ago, right? And now he's already Demon King S?]

[Can't be helped. He plays more than twenty Ladder matches a day. If he gets a good streak going, he'll rank up fast.]

[Wait, isn't he one win away from first place on the platform?]

[Feels like Xiao Zhe hasn't hit a wall at all. His score just keeps going up.]

[Demon King S? Seems average. Let a Big Sniper take him apart and he'll learn his place.]

[A Big Sniper? At this rank, they'd turn that guy into a headless ghost.]

Su Zhe's Ladder score had already reached 3,489. He was currently in second place, just five points behind first.

Since a win earned him around eight points, all he needed was one more victory to reach the top. Then, after collecting his system reward, he could switch to the European platform.

He was looking forward to the unknown challenges ahead.

It was prime time in the evening, so matches came quickly. Su Zhe waited less than two minutes before getting into a game.

The map was Inferno, and Su Zhe started on the T side. As soon as the warm-up period began, the Live Room chat suddenly filled up.

[Oh, no! Looks like the streamer will have to wait a little longer to take first place on the platform. The other side has Kaze and Jamyoung queued together.]

[Holy crap! How are we supposed to win now? Why aren't those two at the base playing scrims? They came to Ladder just to bully people?]

[Good luck, Xiao Zhe! If you can win this one, I'll write a blood oath and go recommend you to Tianlu for a spot on the main team.]

Faced with the flood of messages, Su Zhe knew what was going on. He'd run into two of Tianlu's starting players.

"They're just pros, right? Watch me beat them!" Su Zhe said with feigned disdain.

After streaming for more than twenty days, Su Zhe had gradually loosened up. At first, he'd been a little shy in front of the camera, but now he was more at ease. Still, he'd clearly said it jokingly.

"Yeah! Crush them!" S1mple and Niko shouted along from the side. "Drop some gifts, everyone! Coming up next, it's Zai Wu versus Kaze and Jamyoung in a Ladder showdown!"

The whole Live Room was starting to feel like one of those streams where the host wore flashy shoes and waved a little flower-hand dance around.

But some viewers loved that kind of show effect. The streamers had made changes to suit the market.

Gotta earn a living. Nothing wrong with that.

Soon, all ten players had entered the server, and the match began. Su Zhe started on the T side.

"Good luck! Good luck!" Su Zhe's teammates were excited too, cheering each other on before the match.

There weren't that many high-ranked players on the Chinese server, so they often ended up in matches together. They were almost like old friends by now.

Most of them were streamers or content creators. They'd run into pro players plenty of times. They'd lost more often than they'd won, but it wasn't like they'd never beaten them.

"Let's play well! I think I've already got tomorrow's video. What's the plan for the Pistol Round?" Xiao Yu asked in team chat. He was also a Douyin streamer.

"Let Xiao Qi call it. He's a pro, after all," Qiyue suggested. He was a well-known player in high-ranked Ladder matches.

Xiao Qi laughed over the mic. "What kind of pro am I? I only played in an offline city tournament. How can I compare with Tianlu players?"

"But if nobody else wants to call it, I can. Hey, isn't that Xiao Zhe? Aren't you about to take first place?"

Su Zhe laughed and replied, "Yeah. I got lucky and won a few in a row this afternoon. I'm only five points away."

"Got it! I'll play my best this round and get you to first," Pang Hu said over the mic. He was another Douyin streamer.

Then he teased, "You're way too dedicated. You actually ground your way to first place. You're the most hardcore Douyin streamer of them all."

Su Zhe was about to respond when Xiao Qi, acting as the temporary caller, spoke up. "Let's figure out the Pistol Round first. It's about to start."

"Xiao Yu, hold Mid as insurance. The other four of us will hit Banana Path." After saying that, Xiao Qi bought a smoke and a flashbang.

In a normal Ladder match, he wouldn't have bought utility for the team like this.

But they'd run into Kaze and Jamyoung, and his teammates had pushed him into the caller's role. A strange sense of responsibility had come over him.

When the countdown ended, Su Zhe, in the first position, bought Half Armor and headed straight for Banana Path.

Once they'd secured the Banana Path cubby and confirmed that the CTs weren't planning to throw a grenade, he led the way forward, walking quietly toward Stone Slab.

Every little movement was full of detail.

In Ladder, high-ranked and low-ranked players alike mostly made decisions based on experience.

If they made noise on Banana Path too early, the CTs at A Site might rotate over to defend.

"Give me a boost. I'll get on Stone Slab and check Sandbags," Su Zhe said over the mic.

Qiyue immediately crouched. Su Zhe crouched on top of his head, then jumped to peek at Yellow Wall. Seeing no CT holding the angle directly, he stepped onto Stone Slab and used a Small Stance peek toward Sandbags.

"No one close. Probably not many at B Zone."

Hearing Su Zhe's update, Xiao Qi pulled out the utility in his pocket. "Then let's speed up."

As the CT Spawn smoke and Bomb Site flash landed, Su Zhe, in the lead, immediately charged forward.

He first swung wide to check that no one was coming from CT Spawn, then shifted his aim in stages toward Coffins.

Kaze was crouching and standing at Coffins, trying to spot the Ts. He was also chatting with Jamyoung, who was sitting beside him.

His attention wasn't fully on the game. The moment he saw the Ts, he heard the sound of a bullet cracking into his head.

"They're hitting B!"

Kaze, left at critical health by a Glock shot, immediately backed off and called out the information to his teammates. Then he got ready to fight alongside the teammate at Three Boxes from the Church entrance.

When Su Zhe saw the CT at Coffins retreat, he didn't pay him any mind. His teammates were covering him, and his main job was to gather all the information at the site.

As he cleared First Box, the CT at Three Boxes swung out to look for a kill.

In a twist of fate, Su Zhe, who was in front, survived, while Qiyue, standing on First Box, took the bullet for him. He was taken out with a headshot.

Hearing the gunfire, Su Zhe didn't wait for his teammate to call the position. He quickly flicked his mouse to the right. When he saw the CT peeking again, his crosshair instantly tracked him.

"Bang! Bang!"

[The Cape's Number One Breakthrough Player used a Glock to headshot Qian Bao]

After getting the kill, Su Zhe knew there might still be someone at Coffins, so he quickly moved his crosshair again.

Kaze had been hoping to catch them off guard and hit them from the side, but the other player reacted too quickly. Seeing the T turn to face him, he immediately tried to line up a headshot. But after taking that hit, he was just too low.

"Bang!"

[The Cape's Number One Breakthrough Player used a Glock to kill Kaze]

"Nice one, Zhe! Looks like we can sit back and relax this round!" Pang Hu praised him as he planted the bomb.

"Did you think the Bulldozer was kidding?" Xiao Qi teased over voice chat.

The favorable situation had put the team in a good mood. Bulldozer was Su Zhe's nickname.

The nickname had originally been given to him by viewers in his Live Room. But as his Ladder score climbed at a terrifying pace and he kept breaking through enemy lines, the name gradually spread.

With the numbers at 4v3 and the C4 planted, the CTs at A Site couldn't make up for their numbers disadvantage, even with Jamyoung there. They were up against too many guns at B Site.

The score moved to 1–0.

Kaze opened the Data Panel, looked at Su Zhe's ID, and said to Jamyoung beside him, "Isn't this the guy who wanted to try out for our club back when he was C+? He's already Demon King S?"

Jamyoung replied, "How long has it been since you last played Ladder on Perfect World? He's almost at the top of the platform now."

Kaze was a little surprised. "He's that good? Too bad he didn't join our youth team."

Jamyoung laughed at the mention of the youth team and joked, "If he did, would you give up your spot for him?"

It was obvious that Su Zhe's joke about joining Tianlu and becoming a starter within a year had spread among the club's players.

Kaze shot back, "Even if someone had to give up their spot, it wouldn't be me. He doesn't play sniper."

The two chatted casually, clearly not taking this Ladder match seriously.

After losing the Pistol Round, the CTs chose to force-buy. Su Zhe's team had expected that.

They used the SMGs' advantage in close- and mid-range fights to bombard B Site with utility, then won the second round.

By the time both sides reached their first Full Buy Round, the score was already 3–0.

"What's the plan for the Full Buy Round? If we win this one too, they're done for!" Pang Hu said excitedly.

"How about we rush Second Floor?" Xiao Qi suggested.

Seeing that no one objected, he continued, "Then this round, A1 will work with Second Floor to hit A. Xiao Zhe, stay behind at Banana Path."

Once he'd explained the simple plan, the countdown ended.

Su Zhe bought Full Armor and utility, then headed straight for Banana Path.

Once the Full Buy Round began, it was clearly harder for Su Zhe to hold his ground on Banana Path against the CTs' utility.

He waited at T Spawn for the CTs' first round of damage utility to end. Just as he was about to throw a pop flash and take an angle, the CTs threw a smoke at T Spawn.

Su Zhe seized the gap while the CTs were throwing utility and boldly sped up to secure the cubby.

Banana Path was just too important on this map.

As long as the Ts gained control of Banana Path, they could rotate freely, making it impossible for the other side to guess where they were going to attack.

If he didn't take a risk and seize his chance to push onto Banana Path, then once the CTs were ready and holding T Spawn through their smokes, they could keep refreshing them. He wouldn't be able to make a move on Banana Path for nearly a minute.

Don't ask how he knew. He'd learned the hard way!

After securing the Banana Path cubby, his teammates on Side Path also managed to take control of Second Floor.

At this rank, players were generally skilled and experienced, but their discipline and teamwork still fell far short of a team that had practiced together.

Just as Xiao Qi was about to throw utility for them to push, Qiyue left Second Floor too early. The moment he exposed himself, Kaze at Bomb Site picked him off with the Big Sniper.

The gap in their attack gave the CT at Big Pit a chance to throw a defensive smoke at Second Floor.

Xiao Qi didn't blame his teammate for giving away a kill. He was already used to it. After glancing at the Minimap, he asked, "Xiao Zhe, can you find an opening on Banana Path?"

Su Zhe heard him and keyed in. "I'll try."

He'd avoided exposing himself earlier in case the CTs got information and tried to retake control. Now that they couldn't push into A Site, he had no choice but to take a risk.

He first made a quick shoulder peek, spotting a CT who was also peeking for information before retreating behind Stone Slab.

Su Zhe placed his crosshair where the CT might swing out, then slowly moved forward.

Suddenly, he spotted the tip of a helmet above Stone Slab and flicked his crosshair over instantly.

"Tap!"

[The Cape's Number One Breakthrough Player used an AK-47 to headshot Jamyoung]

"Ah! What the hell was that?" Jamyoung cursed, startled by the sudden headshot.

He'd wanted to set up a boost with his teammate and catch a T who got careless with his movement. That trick worked time and time again in public matches, but the moment he stood up, he was dead.

"Did he realize we might boost there, or was that just pure reaction?" Jamyoung grumbled. Either way, he thought more highly of Su Zhe now.

With Jamyoung dead, the lone CT at B didn't dare take a risk and immediately fell back to defend Back Point.

"Nice shot!" Qiyue exclaimed, watching from death cam. "Make some noise at B, and we can rush Second Floor!"

Su Zhe had the same idea, so he threw a CT Spawn smoke and continued pushing toward B Site.

His pre-aiming was much cleaner and sharper than before. He crouch-peeked and pre-aimed at Coffins first. When he saw no one, he adjusted his position.

Then he pre-aimed at Dead Spot, where Igoudala was waiting.

"Tap!"

[The Cape's Number One Breakthrough Player used an AK-47 to headshot Qian Bao]

After getting the kill, Su Zhe was about to tell his teammates to rotate—

But, unexpectedly, another CT swung wide from Coffins.

This time, his hands reacted faster than his brain. His crosshair instantly flicked over.

"Tap, tap, tap!"

[The Cape's Number One Breakthrough Player used an AK-47 to headshot Mouyin luv]

The CT who had just rotated over from A Bomb Site was killed without even taking half of Su Zhe's health.

"Nice! Rotate now! Xiao Zhe, just hold Church!" Xiao Qi said, then headed for B Site with his teammates before Su Zhe could speak.

As he switched to his knife to run over, he couldn't help admiring him. What a Bulldozer!

They'd only meant to make some noise, but he'd cleared B Site all by himself!

The Ts took only twenty seconds to rotate across the map on Inferno. It was a time most CSGO players knew by heart.

The two CTs at A Site had to worry about what position Su Zhe had reached at B Site.

They had to check every angle carefully as they went. By the time Kaze arrived at CT Spawn with the Big Sniper, the Ts had already planted the bomb.

Outnumbered two to four and without the advantage of a good angle, the two of them could only return to A Site and look for somewhere to save their guns.

"Are you kidding me? Three of you fought one guy and still got killed!" Kaze complained to Jamyoung beside him.

"Tsk..." Jamyoung didn't respond to Kaze's complaint. Instead, he drew a sharp breath. "Everyone was right. This kid's reaction is too fast. Think he could rip your Big Sniper apart with an AK?"

"No," Kaze said at once.

But when he saw how serious Jamyoung looked, he started to doubt himself.