The First Step of the Palace Struggle Plan: "Connections Get Ahead!"

"498.7 hours."

This number made quite a few players in the CSBOY livestream chat sigh.

Jiang Yang clearly didn't know how much this number hurt these Old Timers.

MO added, "Ma Xixi, I told you, you can't play CS. Go play Snake or something. Look at your cousin, he's the real talent for CS."

Just as Ma Xixi was about to retort, he realized his phone was dead. He immediately told Jiang Yang, "Get on TS voice chat to talk, my phone's dead."

"Oh, okay." Jiang Yang replied, hung up the voice call, and then downloaded TS on his computer.

He was unaware of the astonishment of the viewers. He was just surprised that he had unknowingly spent 500 hours on CS.

Indeed, when you put all your focus into one thing, time flies by.

He hung up the call, and the system's small text reappeared before his eyes.

[Mission: Show your cousin your strength, Reward: Comeback Points based on performance...]

[Congratulations Old Timer on obtaining 15600 Comeback Points...]

"Wow, what a haul this time!"

As expected, completing missions was the way to speed up his progress. However, the system's mission triggers were quite random. He still hadn't figured out the mechanics beyond the main quests.

So, he still had to rely on accumulating points from ranked matches and daily training missions.

Jiang Yang's Awareness sank into the system, and he saw the Comeback Points section displayed:

[Comeback Points: -6657]

"Damn it, 6657!" Jiang Yang gritted his teeth. His previous loan was too significant, preventing him from using the system store for a long time.

Now, with just 6657 more Comeback Points, he could finally pay it off.

Based on his current rate of earning Comeback Points, it would only take about 5 more days!

Jiang Yang's heart was filled with anticipation.

After receiving the mission reward, he noticed that TS was also downloaded. He immediately joined CSBOY's livestream room.

"Helloooo~" Jiang Yang's carefree voice appeared in the voice channel.

"Ma Xixi, is that your cousin?"

Jiang Yang heard a nasally voice, realizing it must be Mingri Qing, Ma Xixi's former assistant.

However, Mingri Qing's nasally voice wasn't forced; it was natural.

"Hello, sister, hello." Jiang Yang obediently greeted her, then asked, "Brother, why did you call me in?"

"Nothing, I'm just seriously asking you again, did you cheat?" Ma Xixi asked earnestly.

He trusted Jiang Yang, but some things still needed to be asked.

Jiang Yang responded speechlessly, "Can't you buy tickets right now? I took the high-speed train directly to your place."

"That's good then." Ma Xixi felt a lot more at ease. Just as he was about to say something else, he heard MO exclaiming repeatedly in the voice chat, "Whoa! This pre-aiming, this reaction!!"

Ma Xixi cursed, "Liu Ke, what are you doing?"

Liu Ke was MO's real name.

MO replied, "Watching your cousin's POV. It's terrifying. I feel like 100 of you right now couldn't beat your cousin."

"This pre-aiming, this reaction, there are very few professional players who have it."

Mingri Qing was astonished. She also played CS and naturally knew the value of reaching the top of the ranked ladder in 500 hours.

But the gap between amateur and professional levels was still huge. MO, as a former pro, his assessment was quite fair.

He was also a very honest person. He wouldn't say exaggerated things just for show, a personality trait that led Ma Xixi to often say he had no marketable points.

But at this moment, MO's honest nature was precisely what made many people's eyes light up. They hadn't expected such high praise.

Ma Xixi also said in surprise, "Is it really that ridiculous?"

MO added, "Let me put it this way: if we had discovered him in 2018, I would have definitely trained him as Tyloo's successor."

"From the demo recordings, you can see the overflowing talent. Your cousin is truly blessed by the CS gods."

He could also tell that Jiang Yang's pistol aim and spray control weren't great yet.

But it was no big deal. Things like pistol aim and spray control could be practiced and improved later.

Talent like his pre-aiming couldn't be purely developed through practice.

The talent was evident.

Ma Xixi listened, stunned, "Is it really that exaggerated?"

MO gave an example, "Let me put it this way, his pre-aiming feels a lot like Xiao Ju's, even more natural than Xiao Ju's."

The Xiao Ju he mentioned was the current VG's free player, jamyoung, who was also famous in the domestic scene for his pre-aiming.

With this example, Ma Xixi instantly understood his cousin's skill level.

He pondered for a moment and then asked, "Yang Yang, do you still want to play professionally?"

Jiang Yang shrugged, "It's about time."

This unexpected answer left the three members of CSBOY confused.

If you want to play, you play. If you don't want to play, you don't play. What did "about time" mean?

Ma Xixi asked directly.

Jiang Yang replied, "I originally wanted to tell you, cousin, after I reached the top rank in Perfect World, but my map pool was too shallow back then, only knowing Dust II. I felt it wasn't enough."

"Now I've been playing at a high rank on 5E for a while and have played every map. I wouldn't say I have Signature Moves, but at least I won't be a liability."

"Playing up to this point, high-rank games on 5E don't put too much pressure on me anymore. If I want to improve, I have to move towards a professional path."

Hearing this, the viewers in CSBOY's stream fell silent.

[High-rank games on 5E don't put too much pressure on him]

[He calls his 1.57 rating across all maps "not being a liability"]

[When I had 500 hours, I was still happily rushing with the UMP, how come he's already heading towards a professional path? This is a dream.]

[He's so arrogant, I love it]

MO couldn't help but exclaim inwardly again.

Compared to them, the 'prodigies' who came from unconventional backgrounds, Jiang Yang's speed in heading towards a professional career was truly outrageous.

He also realized Jiang Yang was very smart and had a clear career plan.

If they had encountered Jiang Yang this time and he only excelled at one map, even if they recommended him, Jiang Yang could only go to a youth academy to train. After all, he wasn't proficient in other maps, and you can't play professionally with just one map.

But now that he had slowly practiced other maps, even if it was just at the level of a high-rank amateur player, it was already enough.

Moreover, Ma Xixi's cousin had a very clear perception.

The ladder was ultimately a place for amateur players. Once you reached a certain point, continuing to play on the ladder wouldn't improve your skills; it might even instill bad habits from the ladder.

In such a situation, one must move to higher-level matches.

Only under greater pressure could a person's skills and game understanding continuously improve.

"In that case, prepare yourself. I'll help you contact teams like Tyloo and VG, and you can go for tryouts," Ma Xixi also realized his cousin was determined to give it a shot. "If you don't want to stay in China, I can also try to take you to an overseas youth academy."

Even if he didn't want his cousin to enter the CS professional scene, his cousin's drive was strong, and he no longer had a reason or desire to stop him.

After his initial shock, he had slowly accepted that his cousin possessed outstanding talent in CS.

He might make a name for himself on the CS path in the future.

He looked forward to seeing Jiang Yang on the top professional stage, yet he also worried that Jiang Yang might be worn down by the future.

Although Jiang Yang was a prodigy, which player on the professional stage wasn't a prodigy?

But what if?

"If you're worried about your family, I'll talk to Auntie for you," Ma Xixi added.

Jiang Yang immediately wanted to agree.

Just then, MO's voice suddenly came through the voice chat, "Hey~ I suddenly have a great idea!"

Hearing this, they felt as if they saw MO's eyes light up as he held up a finger.

They all felt a sense of foreboding, but they waited for MO to speak.

"How about cousin directly using his connections to join Steel Helmets for a while?"

Ma Xixi, Mingri Qing: "..."

They thought MO had some brilliant insight, but it turned out to be utter nonsense.

Steel Helmets was a team Ma Xixi had formed himself, composed of former professional players from China, making it a semi-professional team at best.

While they had combat effectiveness, they weren't a professional team and couldn't participate in truly major competitions.

This clearly didn't meet Jiang Yang's future needs.

"What kind of terrible idea is that..." Ma Xixi cursed.

MO added, "I know you're in a hurry, but please be patient."

"Cousin is still young at this age. Theoretically, he could spend a few years in a youth academy, but our domestic youth academies don't have much practical meaning."

There were only two truly strong teams in China: Tyloo and VG.

Other professional teams were not much different from ladder matchmaking, and sometimes they couldn't even beat Steel Helmets, which spoke volumes.

Therefore, youth academies in China weren't very necessary; one had to truly gain experience in actual matches.

"Soon, IEM Fall RMR will start, so we can take Little Jiang out to broaden his horizons," MO became more animated as he spoke. "And look, it's a perfect chance to clash with Tyloo and VG. Since we don't have the skill level, it's not good to just face them directly."

"What tryout can compare to playing against them head-on?"

"If he can withstand the pressure then, when they want to make changes after the Stockholm Major, Little Jiang can naturally step in."

MO felt like a genius!

Upon hearing his analysis, the viewers in the stream's eyes lit up.

[It seems like it's indeed possible.]

[That's really good. This wave could directly lead to them being picked up, and they could accumulate a lot of experience. If they play exceptionally well, Tyloo and VG would probably be fighting over them.]

[MO really had a great idea this time.]

[Aren't you worried about the points?]

[Steel Helmets are third in the country, their points are much higher than fourth place, and they still have several matches to play.]

Ma Xixi threw out another question at this moment: "There's another problem, Steel Helmets has 5 people, there's no room."

MO said with a smile: "AE has been saying he doesn't want to play anymore. We'll directly kick AE out this wave!"

AE was just pulled over by them before, purely to make up the numbers.

AE, this former professional player, despite having the title of professional, was actually really bad.

If MO hadn't crashed his balance bike and broken his leg back then, AE might not have had much of a chance to play professionally.

AE's skill level, even among their group of former pros, was considered quite poor.

Moreover, because of his poor performance, AE was constantly being flamed by the live stream chat watching Steel Helmets, so naturally, he wanted to quit.

Ma Xixi thought for a while: "It does seem quite alright."

He had to admit that joining Steel Helmets to try it out first was much better than going directly for a tryout.

MO nodded and replied: "Then it's happily decided. Cousin, remember to call me captain from now on!"

The three of them decided on Jiang Yang joining Steel Helmets in a few words. Jiang Yang knew that these two buddies were definitely looking out for him.

But he wouldn't let them have the last word and immediately shouted: "What captain? I haven't agreed yet."

"See, you're already calling me captain, which means you've agreed."

The live stream was filled with laughter.

PS: Joining Steel Helmets is just the first step as a transition; they will go abroad later