CS: I became Top 1 by grinding my skill level

"Clatter—"

The sound of a lighter rang out, and a slender cigarette with a purple filter was lit. Smoke swirled and rose until it touched the LED lights on the ceiling, then suddenly dispersed.

A music video for an unknown song was playing on a 55-inch screen. The dynamic accompaniment filled the slightly dimly lit room. The lyrics at the bottom of the screen changed from white to blue one by one. Several long, gold-plated microphones that should have been used for singing were placed on the table.

"call--"

He took a deep drag of smoke through his lungs and then exhaled. Bei Hai tilted his head slightly, looking at his old teammate Tang Zuo, who was also puffing away. He waved a cigarette box with the words "He Tianxia" printed on it in his hand: "I'll go to the front desk and get four more cartons later. You and Chang Bo can take them back and smoke them slowly."

"Haha... Hai Zi, no need to spend so much. Being a big streamer really makes a difference."

On the sofa next to him, a bald, middle-aged man wearing a polo shirt looked somewhat awkward.

Tang Zuo and Bei Hai were both members of MG during the CS1.6 era. Even after Bei Hai left MG, the two maintained contact.

Last month, Beihai contacted him to come to Jinan to participate in a tournament sponsored by a well-known peripheral brand – the Electric Snake Cup, saying that he wanted to relive the glorious days of the MG team in CS 1.6.

However, Beihai hopes that Tang Zuo can bring another old teammate, Chang Bo, for a reunion, because since the era of CSGO came, besides Beihai, the only other members of the old MG team still active in the CS scene are Tang Zuo and Chang Bo.

The reunion of team members who once brought glory to Chinese CS and won world-class championships for an offline competition may not bring an overwhelming amount of traffic, but it will definitely attract a lot of attention in the CS community.

Most importantly, Beihai's own persona—that of a former professional veteran who has won glory for the country—can be further solidified by this wave of traffic, and its reach can be expanded even further.

To become a top streamer, you definitely need to leverage all your strengths to create an engaging persona. Whether you're popular or disliked, as long as you have something to offer, you can attract a large number of fans. Whether they're haters or true fans, as long as you generate buzz, you can make money.

It's obvious that Beihai thinks this way.

"Hasn't Abo arrived yet?"

Beihai glanced at the green Submariner on his wrist; it had been more than half an hour already.

"He said he was going to see an old friend, maybe he got stuck in traffic?"

The photo was uploaded to WeChat Moments. It showed the most expensive KTV in Jinan. After clicking send, Tang Zuo slowly put down his phone and replied to Beihai.

Beihai was about to say something.

"Click—"

The door to the private room was gently opened, and a middle-aged man in a black T-shirt, with a buzz cut and a slightly serious expression, pushed the door open and entered.

"Hey, Bo, you've finally arrived! Come and sit down."

Bei Hai was noticeably warmer to Chang Bo, getting up to invite him to sit down.

Chang Bo walked around for a while, then chose a spot a little further away from Beihai Park and slowly sat down.

After refusing Bei Hai's offer of a cigarette once again, Chang Bo, who had remained silent since entering the room, finally spoke.

"Ah Hai, what's the deal with those recent cheating videos on Bilibili and Douyin?"

Bei Hai was taken aback, wondering why Chang Bo had come in without saying a word. It turned out it was because of this video.

He hurriedly explained to Chang Bo that Han Tian and Zhang Zhen, especially Zhang Zhen, had been involved in various "cheating" incidents on the ladder, and that as a cheat detection streamer, he couldn't turn a blind eye.

"In that case, delete it. They've already proven themselves offline, and they're likely going to pursue a professional career. This isn't a good thing for them."

Beihai frowned. "Just because I didn't cheat offline doesn't mean I didn't cheat in ranked matches. Besides, with such high viewership right now, if I delete my 'cheat detection streamer' persona, will it still hold up? Will my fans still watch me?"

This is the truth from Beihai's heart, and he doesn't intend to hide it from his old teammates.

"What if that person actually becomes a professional player in the future? Won't you be proven wrong then?"

Chang Bo clearly disliked Beihai's explanation.

"Let's wait until they become professionals. This wave of popularity has really put me in a good position."

Bei Hai sneered. They'd finally encountered such a big controversy. Even if they really fought it out, so what? At worst, they could just issue an apology and shake hands to make peace. With so many connections, it's normal to misjudge sometimes, right?

"Haha...haha, besides, Chinese CS professional players? How much do they earn a month? Twenty thousand? Thirty thousand? I can earn in a few months what they earn in a lifetime as professional players."

"Then why did you come to MG to play professionally back then?"

Upon hearing Chang Bo's words, Bei Hai was immediately speechless.

Tang Zuo, who was standing nearby, quickly stepped in to smooth things over: "Hey, everyone had a great time playing together the other day, didn't they? Don't get hung up on this! We've been teammates for so many years, what's there to argue about?!"

Chang Bo raised his hand to stop Tang Zuo from pulling him to sit down, and continued speaking with a hint of disappointment.

"Back in 04 in Singapore, our team's plane tickets for going abroad were all crowdfunded by the CN community."

"Back then, we were six poor guys walking the streets of Singapore. All we could see when we looked up were skyscrapers. Even a dog was dressed better than us."

"They all came from backwater internet cafes in remote areas. Who among them has ever seen anything like this? Old Tang was so scared back then that he wouldn't even take the subway. He'd never seen anything like this before!"

Glancing at Tang Zuo, who looked embarrassed beside him, Chang Bo turned to stare at Bei Hai, who had fallen silent.

"I remember back then, you were the only one walking proudly in the front row. My brother asked you, 'Aren't you nervous at such a young age?'"

"What are you afraid of? I'm here to represent the China region and win the championship."

"Enough!!"

Beihai finally couldn't take it anymore and loudly interrupted Chang Bo.

"You've said so much, but I only have one question for you."

"If we had money back then, would the captain have died?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Bei Hai's mind was filled with that winter fourteen years ago when Chang Bo suddenly called everyone and told Bei Hai to go see his brother Chang Chengyu—the captain's last meeting.

Acute leukemia, the first stage of surgery and hospitalization costs 20 yuan, while the prize money for the Singapore champion in a world-class competition at that time was less than 8 yuan.

We were all poor kids back then, but we all did our best to raise money for the team leader.

Bei Hai remembers rushing around to various hospitals, desperately trying to find a suitable bone marrow match for the team leader to transplant. However, he never expected that the team leader's condition would deteriorate to the point of being critically ill after only a few weeks in the hospital.

The tall, somewhat shy captain in the photo frame. Perhaps because he felt he was the oldest in the team, he treated everyone like a younger brother, which made Chang Bo, who was a teenager at the time, often jealous, as his own brother always sided with others.

But at that time he was lying in a hospital bed, breathing weakly, pale-faced, his tall body now curled up like a skeleton. Although his hair had been shaved off, he was just waiting to pay the fees to start the first round of chemotherapy, but in the end he did not live to see it.

The despair and helplessness of that time took deep root in Beihai's heart. Whenever Beihai recalled this past, he felt sad, as if a thorn was pushing out of his heart.

Since the death of their captain Chang Chengyu, the members of MG have lost their backbone, and after struggling for half a year, they broke up on bad terms.

Perhaps the impact of this incident was too great, or perhaps Bei Hai witnessed too much darkness and humility in the industry during his later years of professional career.

In 2012, after retiring, Bei Hai denied the value of his many years of professional career, gradually believing that the deficiencies in it could be made up for with money.

......

When Beihai uttered those words, the entire private room fell into a deathly silence, because this was the deepest pain in the hearts of every veteran MG member, and Beihai had once again ripped open this wound raw and bleeding.

Even Old Tang, who had been trying to ease the argument between the two old friends, looked saddened and couldn't bear to say anything more.

Chang Bo's lips moved, but no sound came out. The long-buried scars were suddenly exposed, and he was so grief-stricken that he could hardly speak.

Bei Hai did not show any smugness at having refuted the other party; he simply kept his head down and remained silent.

After a long while, the somber and deathly atmosphere was broken.

Taking a deep breath, Chang Bo stepped to the door.

"Click—"

The thick, soundproof door was pulled open.

"Since that's the case, we have different paths and cannot work together. Please find someone more capable."

"I imagine many people would be willing to curry favor with you, the top anchor."

"But at least I'm not one of them."

Chang Bo decisively stepped across the threshold, and with a "thud," the thick, soundproof door slammed shut. Through the small glass window in the door, his departing figure could be vaguely seen.

The jukebox music still filled the entire private room, but it didn't reach outside the soundproof room at all, as if they were two separate worlds.