CS: I became Top 1 by grinding my skill level

[Image 2: The Fallen Tower, NiJiGen Anime Team Wins!]

Only when he heard the referee's cold announcement did Ike, who had been sitting blankly in front of the computer, snap out of his daze.

"What...did I even do in this game?"

Avoiding his teammates' gazes, Ekko staggered to the bathroom mirror. The first thing that flashed through his mind was the scoreboard that popped up at the end of the game—Aike, 0-12-14.

He didn't get a single kill throughout the entire match.

"Ding-dong—"

Ike's phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket, and he trembled instantly. Usually carefree and outspoken, he showed a look of fear on his face when he heard the text message ringtone.

After struggling for a moment, he still shakily took out his phone.

On the screen, a newly received text message caught my eye.

Ike took a deep breath and tapped the text message with trembling fingers.

"If Party B terminates the contract unilaterally without a justifiable reason during the contract period, Party B shall compensate Party A for the actual training costs of RMB 50."

A photo of a contract template appeared on the phone screen.

Above the message I just received, there was a text conversation, with the receiving time shown as 21:28 last night.

"Ike, I heard you have another match to play. That's great! It's been so hard to find you these past few days. Your sister said you went to Haidong? That's incredible!"

"Damn it! Luo Mengyu, if you dare to bother my sister and her family, I'll stab you to death!!!"

"Don't do that. Your brother-in-law seems to have some money. Maybe he can help you pay it off."

"Don't tell them!! Give me more time! I'll pay them back!"

"Oh, don't be like that. No matter what, I was your former coach, so I'll definitely side with you. You have three months to pay the penalty for breach of contract, and then we'll be strangers, with nothing to do with each other."

"Okay, please don't bother my sister and them..."

Yesterday, after finishing his match, Ekko had just returned to his residence when he suddenly received a call from his sister, asking him how he was doing lately.

During their casual conversation, it was mentioned that a fat, big-eared man who claimed to be his former club manager came to his door, saying that Ike had forgotten something at the club and wanted to find out Ike's new phone number so he could send it to him.

The older sister has always been simple, kind, and gentle, so Ike had never told her about his dispute with this beastly club.

So, the persistent dog trainer, having obtained the number from my sister, came knocking on my door once again.

After receiving a text message from Luo Mengyu last night, even though he knew there was a match the next day, Ike couldn't sleep a wink and didn't close his eyes all night. He was also disoriented during the match, his mind filled with thoughts of how to pay back the 500,000 yuan termination fee...

"How can I face Boss Du after being beaten like this..."

.....

"But doing it this way doesn't seem like a good way to win."

Han Tian looked troubled and conflicted. He was considering whether to upgrade his white-quality Glock to the dark blue restricted-grade. After all, his performance in the pistol rounds of the last few matches had been far from satisfactory.

So far, Han Tian has won three maps and lost one. He also earned MVP for the first map he won today, receiving double the proficiency points, or 200 points.

I currently have 500 points of [Proficiency].

500 points is actually enough for Han Tian to unlock the second lesson of the [Hunter Master Class], [Kovic Bloodline].

However, Han Tian felt that the buff from the [Kovic Bloodline] – "When your team is in an ECO state, the secondary weapon positioning speed is increased by 10%" – wouldn't be of much help in the current situation.

Because if they lose just one more map, they will be out of the running for the tournament, and all their hard work and hopes over the past few days will have been for nothing.

The Electric Snake Cup's competition format is both simple and brutal.

As for his teammates, Ekko was clearly in terrible form, and Zhao Qingcheng, who was a temporary worker, obviously didn't take the game seriously. Only Zhang Zhen was holding up. The team can't let the captain, who is in charge, carry the game, right?

"Sigh, what can you do? What top pro gamer doesn't end up in jail?"

Suddenly, looking at the 500 points of [Proficiency] on the panel, Han Tian suddenly came up with a solution.

He first upgraded his four commonly used handguns—USP, Glock, P250, and P2000—to light blue industrial grade.

Then evolve the remaining five rifles [AUG], [553], [FAMAS], [Curry], [M4A1] and [Bird Sniper] to light blue as well.

A total of 400 [Proficiency] points will be spent. Each weapon evolution will grant one [Wishing Pool] draw chance, thus giving you ten draw chances.

"It's kind of like getting a good deal from an e-commerce platform, isn't it?" Han Tian grinned.

But then I remembered the captain leaving the game with a worried look on his face when the break started, and Ekko suddenly looking lost and dejected today.

Han Tian felt a great sense of responsibility.

He immediately decided: Open! Draw!

There's a chance of getting a purple item once in ten draws.

"Ten gold pieces! All ten are gold!"

Han Tian closed his eyes and prayed silently in his heart.

"Whoosh—"

A blue light flashed.

[Bohe Shrimp Oil] × 80.

"Braise!" Han Tian was annoyed just looking at this stuff because it tasted terrible and he couldn't finish it. There were still more than two hundred bottles in his backpack!

Shaking his head, trying to forget the sticky texture of the shrimp oil, Han Tian continued reading.

Two purple beams of light intertwined and then separated.

"This...this is??"

"[Purple Quality ZywOo [Light of the Rift Trial Card] ×6]"

"Did Brother Zai lend me his divine power?"

Han Tian looked pleasantly surprised. You see, that was Zaiwu, the chosen CS Saint born on the same day as the game CS, one of the supreme gods in the CS:GO world, who surpassed another supreme god, s1mple, to take the Top 1 spot in his first year.

ZywOo is a man who is proficient in both rifles and sniper rifles, and who can always suddenly activate his X-ray vision during matches, causing other star pro players to suffer.

Although it was just a trial card, Han Tian was already looking forward to its effects just by looking at the name, and hurriedly clicked to check the results.

"Purple Quality [Light of the Rift Trial Card] Effect: When the user fires smoke, if an enemy inside or behind the smoke is hit by the bullet, the hit enemy will be highlighted for 1.5 seconds. This trial card can only be used once per game."

"This is also..."

Han Tian took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling.

"Looks like I'm really going to be considered a blatant cheater this time."

"Clatter—"

With a snap of his fingers, Han Tian deactivated the time freeze effect created by the summoning panel.

The humming sound of the air conditioner and the cooling sound of the computer case fan returned.

Time has begun to turn again.

Han Tian checked the time on his computer; there were still 8 minutes and 11 seconds left before the break ended.

The captain and Ike had both left their seats, Zhang Zhen was still practicing his shooting at the training ground, and Zhao Qingcheng had already started to doze off.

"Hiring mercenaries is really great; not only can they get KKP (Kill Points), but the outcome of the competition doesn't really affect them..."

Han Tian really dislikes this kind of professional attitude. If Tianlu's youth training program is full of people like this...

"Squeak—"

Du Sinian entered the room carrying a bag.

"It's provided by the organizers. Have a drink, just relax and play, don't put too much pressure on yourself."

A can of Red Bull was shoved into Han Tian's hand.

After thanking the captain, Han Tian watched as the captain quietly placed drinks on Zhang Zhen's table, who was practicing shooting, and then gently woke up the dozing Zhao Qingcheng and handed him the drinks.

"This stuff is nowhere near as effective as shrimp oil."

Looking at the Taurine Red Bull in his hand, Han Tian pouted. It was a pity that Bohe Shrimp Oil could only be used within the system. Otherwise, he could secretly add some to his teammates' drinks so that they could also have a stable condition.

"Where's Ike?"

Du Sinian took the Red Bull and went to Ike's seat on the far right, and asked Zhao Qingcheng next to him.

"Um...it seems like she went to the restroom...ah."

Zhao Qingcheng yawned again.

Han Tian had a feeling that this guy had gone off to play somewhere last night.

"Squeak—"

The door was pushed open again, and Han Tian turned to look.

Like a walking corpse, Ike walked in shakily.

"Are you alright? You look terrible from the first picture. Did you download too much last night?"

Han Tian and Ai Ke always liked to exchange trash talk like this.

Ike remained silent and walked numbly to his seat.

Han Tian was a little confused. This guy was always so lively and energetic, why was he suddenly so depressed today, clutching his phone so tightly? Did he have a fight with his girlfriend?

Ike, who was walking forward, suddenly stopped in his tracks, because the person he was most ashamed to face at that moment—Boss Du—was standing right next to his seat.

He doesn't even have the courage to look at Du Sinian now, not because Boss Du is too harsh on him, but quite the opposite, because Boss Du is too good to him.

When he showed his talent in the ladder, it was Boss Du who recommended him to try out for Tianlu Youth Training.

When he was deceived by the dog coach and withdrew from Tianlu Youth Training midway, it was Boss Du who used his connections at Tianlu to clean up his mess.

When he was tricked into joining a professional betting club and ran away halfway through, it was Boss Du who took him in at the end.

Ike kept his head down, instinctively gripping the phone he'd been clutching ever since he came out of the bathroom: "Boss Du... I..."

"Your dark circles are so bad, did you not sleep well last night?"

"Have some of this, then relax and go play, no matter the outcome."

Boss Du handed over a bottle of Red Bull and waved it in front of Ike.

"No matter the outcome... sob sob sob..."

"boom--"

The phone I had been clutching tightly fell to the ground with a thud.

Since receiving the text message last night, I could no longer hold back my suppressed emotions, and large tears began to fall.

In the cramped competition room, under the watchful eyes of his teammates and the referee, the eighteen-year-old boy finally burst into tears.

"Ike, you..."

Du Sinian was at a loss. At first, he thought that Ike hadn't played well and was just blaming himself. He didn't expect Ike to cry like this, with his eyes as red as a rabbit's and snot bubbles coming out of his nose.

"What exactly happened?"

Dussian, who was a head shorter than Ike, reached out a hand and laboriously put his arm around Ike's shoulder.

Zhang Zhen, who had been quietly practicing his shooting, handed over a stack of tissues at that moment.

Zhao Qingcheng sat in the middle, looking slightly awkward. After all, this was a private matter within the team, and as a mercenary, he didn't know whether to watch or not.

Han Tian was staring at the phone that Ike had just dropped on the ground.

"Captain, come here for a second."

Han Tian gently waved to the captain.

"Zhang Zhen, can you help him up?"

After Zhang Zhen took over and supported the sobbing Ike, Du Sinian took the phone that Han Tian handed him and slowly flipped through it.

Soon, Han Tian noticed that Du Sinian's expression had changed; he had never seen his captain look so gloomy.

"Ike! Why didn't you tell me about this before?!"

Du Sinian's tone became somewhat intimidating due to his anger, but this anger was not directed at Ekko, but at the so-called "Qimingxing Esports Club".

These betting clubs specialize in scamming naive kids like Ike, signing them to exorbitantly priced breach of contract agreements that resemble servitude, forcing these kids to obediently fix matches so the clubs can profit from them.

Within the mainstream CS professional scene, especially in strong European and American regions, Valve and major organizers such as Blast, ESL, and PGL impose very severe penalties on professional players involved in match-fixing. For example, in 14, the well-known strong team iBUYPOWER was permanently banned by Valve because all members were involved in match-fixing.

In recent years, this trend has also emerged in Chinese CS:GO, where the consensus has become that players who fix matches are not respectable.

It's fair to say that if Ekko hadn't seen through the true nature of the Morning Star Club and had unwittingly participated in match-fixing, his future opportunities in major, reputable tournaments would have been completely blocked. He would have been forced to continue fixing matches in third- or fourth-tier leagues to make a living, and no reputable club would have wanted him.

"Boss...you've already helped me so much, I don't want to...give you any more...sob sob sob."

With his eyes swollen from crying, Ike could barely speak, and a snot bubble that had been blown into his face burst open with a "pop".

Standing between the two, Han Tian watched as a huge snot bubble suddenly burst and covered Ike's face. He pursed his lips tightly. "Although the atmosphere is very sad, I still want to laugh a little, but I absolutely can't laugh. If I laugh at this moment, I'll really be killed."

"Sigh~"

Du Sinian sighed softly. He vaguely remembered that four years ago, when he had just returned to China, he met this kid with extremely sharp marksmanship and an arrogant style on the ladder.

He said he definitely wants to go pro in the future.

I jokingly asked him, "Do you want me to try contacting Tianlu Youth Training for you?"

Just because of that one sentence, three days later, Du Sinian arrived at the train station in a daze after receiving the call. There he saw a dirty-looking child dragging a sack of farm feed, looking around in the crowd.

"Did you come by train from Yunnan Province?"

Fourteen-year-old Ike pouted smugly and spoke in a thick Yunnan accent: "I handed out flyers for a few days, barely making enough to cover my transportation costs."

"Aren't you afraid to come all this way? Did your family agree to it?"

"I didn't recognize my mother growing up, my father went to jail, and my older sister got married. I'm afraid of nothing."

"Aren't you afraid I'm a bad guy who'll sell you off to mine in South America?"

"I'd even accept being treated like trash if you just gave me a skin (accessory)!"

......

That kid was betting his whole life on it back then, it's really heartbreaking to see him lose so badly.

Du Sinian sighed for a long time, and then continued to look at the picture of the "contract" on Ike's phone.

The more he looked, the more uneasy he felt. Suddenly, when he saw a treaty, Du Sinian raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Ike, come here!"

.......