My God, Am I Seeing Things?

"Arrow, you're here early again today?" Headtr1ck said in surprise as he walked into the Training Room with breakfast in his mouth.

For nearly a month now, Su Zhe had always been the first to arrive at the Training Room in the morning and the last to leave at night.

He'd assumed the new recruit was just fired up because he'd only recently joined the team, and would eventually settle into the same numb routine of clocking in and out as the rest of them.

But a whole month had passed, and somehow, he was still working this hard.

"I couldn't sleep anyway, so I came early to practice my aim," Su Zhe replied without turning around.

Headtr1ck sat in the chair beside him, eating breakfast. With his mouth full, he mumbled, "I can't tell if you're genuinely addicted to the game or just ridiculously hardworking. You're just like m0NESY."

Su Zhe smiled. He didn't understand himself either. He'd played CSGO every day before, but never felt addicted to it.

Then he realized something was off. Turning to headtr1ck, he asked, "You know m0NESY?"

M0NESY, known to Chinese fans as "the Kid," was a professional player with extraordinary talent.

Su Zhe had heard of the ID before he ever played CSGO. The Kid was currently G2's AWPer and one of the game's star players.

The craziest part was that he'd been only sixteen when he joined G2, a powerhouse team. He was a prodigy among prodigies.

The previous night, Su Zhe had used the Training Simulation Field to play against the Kid.

But no matter what, he couldn't break through the Kid's Big Sniper defense with his AK. The Kid's reactions were almost as fast as his own.

After swallowing a mouthful of food, headtr1ck said, "Of course. We were both in NAVI's youth team. Back then, he was just like you are now—after practice, he'd spend every day playing on the Ladder."

"Of our youth team back then, he and b1t were the most promising. They were also the hardest workers."

"But I think if you keep at it like this, you'll definitely be just as good as them."

Su Zhe shook his head. "How could I compare to them?"

Headtr1ck clicked his tongue. "I heard you only started playing CSGO this year. If we're just talking talent, you're every bit as good as either of them."

Su Zhe smiled but didn't answer.

Talent? The only thing he could compete with them in was hard work.

Since he'd chosen to go pro, he wasn't about to settle for being mediocre.

Before, he'd worked hard without seeing any hope. Now that he had the system, he was naturally going to give it everything he had.

As they chatted, the rest of Nip began arriving at the Training Room one after another, and a new day of practice got underway.

Only after going through the Professional Team System's training did Su Zhe realize where the gap between ordinary players and pros really lay.

It wasn't just the difference in teamwork. Pros also magnified all the little details he'd never paid much attention to.

As coach djL put it: "Don't underestimate the little things. Even a tiny bit of information you reveal without thinking during a match could be the key to your opponent winning."

What utility to use and when while taking Map Control; when to use defensive utility, and what circumstances or information should prompt you to use it.

How to take Map Control in a round based on the weapons your opponents and teammates had, and so on...

All of it required systematic study. The whole process was even more tedious than school had been for Su Zhe.

They had to keep this up for around ten hours a day. And they couldn't just study it—they had to put it into practice, too.

They could only clock out on time once they'd finished their daily training tasks. Otherwise, they had to work overtime, depending on the situation.

In such circumstances, it was only natural that even moderately serious pros could crush top Ladder players.

Su Zhe had only managed to beat k0nfig and es3tag once on the Perfect World Ladder thanks to his absurd reaction time and their teammate's bizarre play.

That evening, after everyone finished their retake drills, the coach clapped his hands and gathered the team.

He looked around at them. "Tomorrow, we head to Poland for the Katowice qualifier. It'll be a test of everything we've been working on."

DjL had gotten straight to the point about why he'd called everyone together. Then he turned to Su Zhe and asked, "Your first-ever match is coming up. Nervous?"

Su Zhe kept his expression calm. "I'm okay. Not that nervous."

K0nfig had noticed his little tell and burst out laughing. "You say you're not nervous, but why are you gripping your pants so hard?"

Everyone laughed along with him. They were growing more and more fond of their new recruit.

When someone saw another person with more talent, they might feel jealous.

But when they saw someone who was both talented and hardworking, all they could feel was admiration.

At least, they knew they couldn't work as hard as Su Zhe did.

Embarrassed that he'd been found out, Su Zhe quickly put his hands behind his back.

After the laughter died down, djL continued, "Don't be too nervous. Everyone can see how much progress you've made in training lately. As long as you play well, qualifying shouldn't be a problem."

Es3tag chimed in, "That's right. You've improved way faster than we expected. Even if you don't play well in the match, that's normal. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."

Su Zhe felt a warmth in his heart at their kind words.

But nervousness wasn't something he could overcome just by hearing a few reassuring words.

Sixteen teams would compete in the Katowice qualifier, using a double-elimination format.

Two wins would earn them a spot in Katowice, an S+-tier event. It sounded simple enough: a fifty percent chance of qualifying.

That was Nip's main goal this time. As for how far they could go in the Main Tournament, that was all up to fate.

Su Zhe hadn't realized how difficult the qualifier would be until he saw the participating teams. His previous assumptions had been incredibly naive.

The teams competing were practically the best from each region.

There was C9 from North America, Black Panther from South America, and veteran European teams like BIG and Green Dragon.

Most were teams Su Zhe had only ever seen in videos or on livestreams.

This was the first match of his career. He might even face some legendary teams. How could he not be nervous?

If you asked players who watched a lot of matches which CSGO event carried the most prestige, they'd probably answer without hesitation: the Major.

But if you left the Major out of it, players had a pretty clear answer, too.

Katowice, IEM Cologne, and the Blast World Finals.

In terms of prestige, some people even put these three events on par with the Major.

As the first major event of 2024, Katowice had drawn the attention of CSGO fans around the world.

Wan Jiqi was a well-known CSGO commentator in China.

His commentary stood out for his deep understanding of the game and his encyclopedic knowledge of the competitors' histories. (Five mao a post.)

With the Katowice qualifier starting the next day, Wan Jiqi decided to get an early start on researching the recent changes to each team.

His professionalism was one of the reasons he'd gained such a large following.

"Damn, C9 is fascinating. Who could tell the difference between NAVI and C9 now? Electronic as IGL is hilarious."

"When did Green Dragon promote a new player?"

"Wait, when did Nip pick up a new player? Arrow? And he's Asian?"

"Huh?"

When he saw that Arrow's nationality was Huaxia, he felt like he was seeing a ghost.

"My God, am I seeing things?" He rubbed his eyes hard, then looked again.

ID: Arrow

Age: 18

Nationality: CN