CS: I’m Only 16, and You Want Me to Stage an Old Veteran Comeback?
Author: 地精咖啡
Chapter 69: Is it true, godfather?
Jiang Yang Roasts Himself on the Forums, Enjoying the Moment
Jiang Yang made a post on the forums roasting himself, joking that he was already feeling (
).
He wasnât much of a drinker, so he just sat there, sipping his orange juice while scrolling through his phone, reading all the messages flooding in.
Friends from the Chinese CS:GO scene, anyone who had his WeChat, had sent their congratulations.
His desk mate, Li Hua, was especially thrilledâso much so that he sent Jiang Yang a short video.
Curious, Jiang Yang clicked on it.
The video showed Li Hua recording his own Perfect World ranked match, but his shirtless roommate was completely AFK, staring intently at his phoneâwatching the final rounds of Steel Helmets vs. MR.
As Jiang Yang scored in the match, the entire dorm room erupted in cheers.
âNo way⦠theyâre actually about to close it out?!â
As the highlight clip ended, the camera panned back to Li Huaâs roommate, who had finally turned his attention back to his computer.
Excitedly, he started typing in the public chatâbut his teammates and opponents had already beaten him to it.
Lakersâ Uzi IRL:
Life Exists Only for Sakurajima Mai:
Grandpa Niu from Tumbleweed Garden:
Watching this, Jiang Yang felt something stir deep inside him.
So this is what it feels likeâto carry the hopes of so many people.
These ranked warriors didnât even care about their own matchmaking points anymoreâthey were all AFK, watching his match instead.
Sometimes, winning a ranked game matters.
But sometimes, it really doesnât.
This⦠this was the beauty of esports.
â
It reminded Jiang Yang of IGâs 2018 Worlds victory in League of Legends. Back then, every dorm room in China was celebrating IGâs win.
Sure, CS:GO didnât have the same mainstream popularity as LoL. There werenât nationwide shouts echoing from every male dormitory.
But the passion from its fans? The way players poured their hearts into their game?
That was the same.
Just seeing people willing to pause their own ranked matches to watch Steel Helmets playâthat was already an incredible honor.
And this was just a small glimpse into the state of CNCS right now.
Jiang Yang finally realized somethingâhe had become a beacon of hope for CNCS.
But he wasnât ready to carry that responsibility just yet.
First, he had to study in Europe.
He hadnât even figured out his own future yet.
â
Li Hua: "Bro, Youâre Built Different."
Li Hua:
Li Hua:
**ing life winner. Youâre good-looking, cracked at games, and you even got a picture with my idol NIKO. Bro, you should be illegal!"*
Jiang Yang chuckled and casually replied:
Now that he was a pro player, it was only right for him to help his friends score some perks.
As soon as Li Hua saw the message, he shot up from his bed and instantly called Jiang Yang on WeChat.
The moment Jiang Yang picked up, Li Hua shouted:
"Father, is this for real?!"
"Guaranteed, my son!!" Jiang Yang laughed.
But then he quickly added, "Just donât go selling it online, or Iâll personally smack you upside the head."
"Relax, âFather!â You know my family owns a gold mineâI donât need the money!" Li Hua scoffed.
Right then, Li Huaâs dorm mates noticed he was video calling Jiang Yang.
One by one, they crowded around the screen, all greeting him excitedly.
â
âGod Yang, How Do I Get Better at CS:GO?â
After some small talk, one of them, Wang Lin, asked, "God Yang, how do I improve in CS:GO? Iâve been stuck at Rank C+ for ages."
Every CS:GO player, after getting through the casual phase, eventually wants to rank up.
With CS:GOâs deliberate practice culture, most players at least try to improve.
Jiang Yang thought for a moment before answering seriously:
"Train your aim every day."
"Run through maps."
"Learn your utility lineups."
"If you want to climb, all you need to do is be better than the average player at your rank."
"And if necessaryâ¦" Jiang Yang paused.
"You could also try⦠abstinence. Helps with reflexes."
Wang Linâs eyes widened. "No way. Iâve been abstinent for ages, and I donât feel any different!"
Jiang Yang smirked. "You sure about that? Sounds like every day is just your first day all over again."
The entire dorm burst into laughter.
â
The Next Day: Stockholm Vibes
The next morning, Jiang Yang slept in like a king.
At one point, he half-woke up, groggy, thinking he still had a match to play.
It wasnât until he checked his WeChat messages that he rememberedâthey had already secured the Legends Stage.
After getting up at noon, he grabbed a quick bite at a restaurant near the hotel.
Steel Helmets had earned a short break, and the team had planned to explore Stockholm together.
With their tournament goals already surpassed, the atmosphere in the squad was relaxed and cheerful.
At first, they had only expected to play one or two matches before getting eliminated. They came here thinking itâd just be a vacation.
But then, Jiang Yang dragged them past the limits, carrying them all the way back into the Legends Stageâsecuring their own player stickers in the game.
For them, this Major already felt like a championship celebration.
While everyone else was excitedly buying souvenirs for their families, Jiang Yang had somehow ended up as the teamâs personal shopping cart.
Eventually, he couldnât hold back his complaints.
"I knew I shouldnât have come out with you guys."
MO just grinned. "Come on, weâre on break! We gotta take you out for fresh air, or Xixi will roast me for not taking care of you."
Jiang Yangâs logic was completely different from normal peopleâs.
"Weâre on break, and youâre not letting me game? Whatâs the point of this vacation?!"
Brother Xiaosa burst out laughing. Turning to MO, he joked, "For us, playing CS:GO is work. For Cousin, itâs just pure addiction."
Thinking back to their own teenage years, MO and Xiaosa realized they were the same way.
Back then, they could spend entire weekends at the internet café, pulling all-nighters playing.
Pure passion.
"Okay, but if you game on your days off, what do you do on workdays?" Ming Riqing asked.
Jiang Yang replied with a dead-serious face:
"Obviously, I play tournaments."
CS:GO was his life, his only real hobby.
His friends were all in CS. He had no reason to go out.
His love for CS:GO was his greatest talent.
"Youâre unstoppable," Xiaosa chuckled.
â
That night, exhausted from the day out, Jiang Yang finally recharged himself with a proper CS:GO session.
Meanwhile, the whole Steel Helmets squad gathered in their rooms to watch the next Major matches.
Astralis and HeroicâDenmarkâs two biggest giantsâhad both choked in the early rounds, and Danish fans were losing their minds on the forums.
MachineWJQ, a die-hard A-Team fan, had multiple breakdowns during his livestream.
But in the end, A-Team still proved their strength.
They had a grueling final-round battle against Heroic, barely making it into the Legends Stage.
It was a nail-biting process.
With the Challengers Stage now over, eight teams had qualified:
"I almost thought A-Team was going to get eliminated," DD joked as he looked at the results. "That was way too close. If they really got knocked out, Lucky would've been flamed to death."
As Denmarkâs top team, A-Team carried the expectations of not just Danish fans but much of Europe.
Taking over deviceâs spot as their AWPer was no easy task.
"Heâs already getting flamed!" Xiaosa laughed. "You just haven't been on Twitter. After every match, Lucky gets roasted."
"Well, he
playing terribly. His basic AWP shots arenât hitting, and while he does land the occasional difficult shot, they donât make much of an impact. Add in his lack of explosiveness, and the gap between him and device is massive."
Luckyâs performance in this Major was outright awful. He was consistently at the bottom of the scoreboardâdisastrous for an AWPer.
Xiaosa nudged Jiang Yang. "And with you in the mix, A-Teamâs fans are going
."
Jiang Yang couldnât help but grinâthis one wasnât on him.
Both were rookies.
But while Jiang Yang dominated the Challengers Stage with a
rating, Lucky barely hit a 1.0.
No comparison, no difference.
Danish fans werenât expecting Lucky to be a generational talent. They werenât asking for a 1.6 or 1.7 rating. Even a solid 1.2 wouldâve been acceptable.
But Luckyâs stats were constantly in the red.
was unforgivable.
So, naturally, the forums were tearing him apart.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yang was the complete oppositeâa 16-year-old prodigy with movie-star looks, who 1v4-carried a team into the Legends Stage.
He was now the brightest rising star of the Major.
Discussions had already started about which team he would join once his run with Steel Helmets ended.
Every fanbase wanted their team to sign this super rookie.
If they had Jiang Yang, they wouldnât have to worry about future results.
Of course, there were skeptics tooâsome compared him to obo, predicting he would be a one-hit wonder.
After all, he was still just a kid. Expectations shouldnât be
high.
"Who do you guys think will win the Major?" Ming Riqing casually brought up the topic.
As an ENCE fan, she naturally hoped ENCE would rise to the occasion.
But looking at their shaky form, it seemed hopeless.
"Feels like Red Star has a good shot," DD said. "They kinda remind me of peak Astralis. Even online, they were smacking NAVI around."
"Red Star, huhâ¦" MO thought for a moment. "I still think NAVI has a better chance. Red Starâs roster is full of young playersâif they make the Grand Finals, imagine tens of thousands of fans chanting in the arena. Iâm not sure they can handle that pressure."
Red Starâs rise over the past year had felt almost
They came out of nowhere, dismantling top teams left and right. Aside from their veteran
, their lineup was full of fresh names.
"I kinda want to vote for the Bees," Su Di grinned. "But theyâre in the same boat as us."
The Bees, being one of the four biggest fan-favorite teams, were always in the spotlight thanks to ZywOo.
That alone made them a title contender.
But French CS was in a transitional phase. Outside of ZywOo, the rest of the team was in
form.
"So, Cousin, when you pick your next team, be careful," DD warned. "Donât end up stuck in ZywOoâs Basement."
Jiang Yangâs skill level was undeniable. He had the potential to be a Top 20 player.
And everyone on Steel Helmets knew he wouldnât be sticking around forever.
They all wanted his career path to be as smooth as possible.
Jiang Yang thought for a moment. "Itâs too early to think about that. Letâs focus on how weâre going to play the Legends Stage first."
Hearing this, Xiaosa chimed in, "For Legends, letâs just set a simple goalâwin at least one match. That way, we wonât feel like we made it here for nothing."
"Letâs just give it our all and enjoy the games," Jiang Yang replied.
He knew the Legends Stage was going to be brutal.
Winning enough matches to reach the Champion Stage with his four veteran teammates? Nearly impossibleâunless everyone played in
form.
But for him, every match was a learning opportunity.
He planned to make the most of itâabsorbing everything he could from playing against Tier 1 teams.
Before the Legends Stage began, Jiang Yang was fully enjoying his short break.
And during this break, he decided to show what a true FPL demon looked like.
He grinded 10+ FPL matches a day, going full beast mode in most of them.
His playstyle? Pure chaos.
For him, ranked play was a vacation. He turned his brain off and hunted kills nonstop.
With kennyS-level reflexes, he wreaked havoc in FPL.
The pros he played against were
And as he kept playing, he started to understand why "30-year-old Jiang Yang" had stopped training.
Because raw talent alone was enough.
If you had a 100-point scale for CS:GO, "30-year-old Jiang Yang" could hit 90+ just off talent.
So naturally, he believed he didnât need training anymore.
Why bother?
Practicing was tedious.
BOT drills were boring.
Crosshair placement, pre-aiming, recoil controlâit was all
But Jiang Yang didnât see it that way.
He was walking a different path.
He had already improved massively through hard work, and even if it was tedious, he could keep pushing forward.
Those highlight moments on the big stage?
They werenât miracles.
They were the result of relentless, unseen effort.
And as he continued training, he noticed something elseâ
His Comeback Points in the system kept increasing.
Step by step, he was getting stronger.
Jiang Yang made a post on the forums roasting himself, joking that he was already feeling (
).
He wasnât much of a drinker, so he just sat there, sipping his orange juice while scrolling through his phone, reading all the messages flooding in.
Friends from the Chinese CS:GO scene, anyone who had his WeChat, had sent their congratulations.
His desk mate, Li Hua, was especially thrilledâso much so that he sent Jiang Yang a short video.
Curious, Jiang Yang clicked on it.
The video showed Li Hua recording his own Perfect World ranked match, but his shirtless roommate was completely AFK, staring intently at his phoneâwatching the final rounds of Steel Helmets vs. MR.
As Jiang Yang scored in the match, the entire dorm room erupted in cheers.
âNo way⦠theyâre actually about to close it out?!â
As the highlight clip ended, the camera panned back to Li Huaâs roommate, who had finally turned his attention back to his computer.
Excitedly, he started typing in the public chatâbut his teammates and opponents had already beaten him to it.
Lakersâ Uzi IRL:
Life Exists Only for Sakurajima Mai:
Grandpa Niu from Tumbleweed Garden:
Watching this, Jiang Yang felt something stir deep inside him.
So this is what it feels likeâto carry the hopes of so many people.
These ranked warriors didnât even care about their own matchmaking points anymoreâthey were all AFK, watching his match instead.
Sometimes, winning a ranked game matters.
But sometimes, it really doesnât.
This⦠this was the beauty of esports.
â
It reminded Jiang Yang of IGâs 2018 Worlds victory in League of Legends. Back then, every dorm room in China was celebrating IGâs win.
Sure, CS:GO didnât have the same mainstream popularity as LoL. There werenât nationwide shouts echoing from every male dormitory.
But the passion from its fans? The way players poured their hearts into their game?
That was the same.
Just seeing people willing to pause their own ranked matches to watch Steel Helmets playâthat was already an incredible honor.
And this was just a small glimpse into the state of CNCS right now.
Jiang Yang finally realized somethingâhe had become a beacon of hope for CNCS.
But he wasnât ready to carry that responsibility just yet.
First, he had to study in Europe.
He hadnât even figured out his own future yet.
â
Li Hua: "Bro, Youâre Built Different."
Li Hua:
Li Hua:
**ing life winner. Youâre good-looking, cracked at games, and you even got a picture with my idol NIKO. Bro, you should be illegal!"*
Jiang Yang chuckled and casually replied:
Now that he was a pro player, it was only right for him to help his friends score some perks.
As soon as Li Hua saw the message, he shot up from his bed and instantly called Jiang Yang on WeChat.
The moment Jiang Yang picked up, Li Hua shouted:
"Father, is this for real?!"
"Guaranteed, my son!!" Jiang Yang laughed.
But then he quickly added, "Just donât go selling it online, or Iâll personally smack you upside the head."
"Relax, âFather!â You know my family owns a gold mineâI donât need the money!" Li Hua scoffed.
Right then, Li Huaâs dorm mates noticed he was video calling Jiang Yang.
One by one, they crowded around the screen, all greeting him excitedly.
â
âGod Yang, How Do I Get Better at CS:GO?â
After some small talk, one of them, Wang Lin, asked, "God Yang, how do I improve in CS:GO? Iâve been stuck at Rank C+ for ages."
Every CS:GO player, after getting through the casual phase, eventually wants to rank up.
With CS:GOâs deliberate practice culture, most players at least try to improve.
Jiang Yang thought for a moment before answering seriously:
"Train your aim every day."
"Run through maps."
"Learn your utility lineups."
"If you want to climb, all you need to do is be better than the average player at your rank."
"And if necessaryâ¦" Jiang Yang paused.
"You could also try⦠abstinence. Helps with reflexes."
Wang Linâs eyes widened. "No way. Iâve been abstinent for ages, and I donât feel any different!"
Jiang Yang smirked. "You sure about that? Sounds like every day is just your first day all over again."
The entire dorm burst into laughter.
â
The Next Day: Stockholm Vibes
The next morning, Jiang Yang slept in like a king.
At one point, he half-woke up, groggy, thinking he still had a match to play.
It wasnât until he checked his WeChat messages that he rememberedâthey had already secured the Legends Stage.
After getting up at noon, he grabbed a quick bite at a restaurant near the hotel.
Steel Helmets had earned a short break, and the team had planned to explore Stockholm together.
With their tournament goals already surpassed, the atmosphere in the squad was relaxed and cheerful.
At first, they had only expected to play one or two matches before getting eliminated. They came here thinking itâd just be a vacation.
But then, Jiang Yang dragged them past the limits, carrying them all the way back into the Legends Stageâsecuring their own player stickers in the game.
For them, this Major already felt like a championship celebration.
While everyone else was excitedly buying souvenirs for their families, Jiang Yang had somehow ended up as the teamâs personal shopping cart.
Eventually, he couldnât hold back his complaints.
"I knew I shouldnât have come out with you guys."
MO just grinned. "Come on, weâre on break! We gotta take you out for fresh air, or Xixi will roast me for not taking care of you."
Jiang Yangâs logic was completely different from normal peopleâs.
"Weâre on break, and youâre not letting me game? Whatâs the point of this vacation?!"
Brother Xiaosa burst out laughing. Turning to MO, he joked, "For us, playing CS:GO is work. For Cousin, itâs just pure addiction."
Thinking back to their own teenage years, MO and Xiaosa realized they were the same way.
Back then, they could spend entire weekends at the internet café, pulling all-nighters playing.
Pure passion.
"Okay, but if you game on your days off, what do you do on workdays?" Ming Riqing asked.
Jiang Yang replied with a dead-serious face:
"Obviously, I play tournaments."
CS:GO was his life, his only real hobby.
His friends were all in CS. He had no reason to go out.
His love for CS:GO was his greatest talent.
"Youâre unstoppable," Xiaosa chuckled.
â
That night, exhausted from the day out, Jiang Yang finally recharged himself with a proper CS:GO session.
Meanwhile, the whole Steel Helmets squad gathered in their rooms to watch the next Major matches.
Astralis and HeroicâDenmarkâs two biggest giantsâhad both choked in the early rounds, and Danish fans were losing their minds on the forums.
MachineWJQ, a die-hard A-Team fan, had multiple breakdowns during his livestream.
But in the end, A-Team still proved their strength.
They had a grueling final-round battle against Heroic, barely making it into the Legends Stage.
It was a nail-biting process.
With the Challengers Stage now over, eight teams had qualified:
"I almost thought A-Team was going to get eliminated," DD joked as he looked at the results. "That was way too close. If they really got knocked out, Lucky would've been flamed to death."
As Denmarkâs top team, A-Team carried the expectations of not just Danish fans but much of Europe.
Taking over deviceâs spot as their AWPer was no easy task.
"Heâs already getting flamed!" Xiaosa laughed. "You just haven't been on Twitter. After every match, Lucky gets roasted."
"Well, he
playing terribly. His basic AWP shots arenât hitting, and while he does land the occasional difficult shot, they donât make much of an impact. Add in his lack of explosiveness, and the gap between him and device is massive."
Luckyâs performance in this Major was outright awful. He was consistently at the bottom of the scoreboardâdisastrous for an AWPer.
Xiaosa nudged Jiang Yang. "And with you in the mix, A-Teamâs fans are going
."
Jiang Yang couldnât help but grinâthis one wasnât on him.
Both were rookies.
But while Jiang Yang dominated the Challengers Stage with a
rating, Lucky barely hit a 1.0.
No comparison, no difference.
Danish fans werenât expecting Lucky to be a generational talent. They werenât asking for a 1.6 or 1.7 rating. Even a solid 1.2 wouldâve been acceptable.
But Luckyâs stats were constantly in the red.
was unforgivable.
So, naturally, the forums were tearing him apart.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yang was the complete oppositeâa 16-year-old prodigy with movie-star looks, who 1v4-carried a team into the Legends Stage.
He was now the brightest rising star of the Major.
Discussions had already started about which team he would join once his run with Steel Helmets ended.
Every fanbase wanted their team to sign this super rookie.
If they had Jiang Yang, they wouldnât have to worry about future results.
Of course, there were skeptics tooâsome compared him to obo, predicting he would be a one-hit wonder.
After all, he was still just a kid. Expectations shouldnât be
high.
"Who do you guys think will win the Major?" Ming Riqing casually brought up the topic.
As an ENCE fan, she naturally hoped ENCE would rise to the occasion.
But looking at their shaky form, it seemed hopeless.
"Feels like Red Star has a good shot," DD said. "They kinda remind me of peak Astralis. Even online, they were smacking NAVI around."
"Red Star, huhâ¦" MO thought for a moment. "I still think NAVI has a better chance. Red Starâs roster is full of young playersâif they make the Grand Finals, imagine tens of thousands of fans chanting in the arena. Iâm not sure they can handle that pressure."
Red Starâs rise over the past year had felt almost
They came out of nowhere, dismantling top teams left and right. Aside from their veteran
, their lineup was full of fresh names.
"I kinda want to vote for the Bees," Su Di grinned. "But theyâre in the same boat as us."
The Bees, being one of the four biggest fan-favorite teams, were always in the spotlight thanks to ZywOo.
That alone made them a title contender.
But French CS was in a transitional phase. Outside of ZywOo, the rest of the team was in
form.
"So, Cousin, when you pick your next team, be careful," DD warned. "Donât end up stuck in ZywOoâs Basement."
Jiang Yangâs skill level was undeniable. He had the potential to be a Top 20 player.
And everyone on Steel Helmets knew he wouldnât be sticking around forever.
They all wanted his career path to be as smooth as possible.
Jiang Yang thought for a moment. "Itâs too early to think about that. Letâs focus on how weâre going to play the Legends Stage first."
Hearing this, Xiaosa chimed in, "For Legends, letâs just set a simple goalâwin at least one match. That way, we wonât feel like we made it here for nothing."
"Letâs just give it our all and enjoy the games," Jiang Yang replied.
He knew the Legends Stage was going to be brutal.
Winning enough matches to reach the Champion Stage with his four veteran teammates? Nearly impossibleâunless everyone played in
form.
But for him, every match was a learning opportunity.
He planned to make the most of itâabsorbing everything he could from playing against Tier 1 teams.
Before the Legends Stage began, Jiang Yang was fully enjoying his short break.
And during this break, he decided to show what a true FPL demon looked like.
He grinded 10+ FPL matches a day, going full beast mode in most of them.
His playstyle? Pure chaos.
For him, ranked play was a vacation. He turned his brain off and hunted kills nonstop.
With kennyS-level reflexes, he wreaked havoc in FPL.
The pros he played against were
And as he kept playing, he started to understand why "30-year-old Jiang Yang" had stopped training.
Because raw talent alone was enough.
If you had a 100-point scale for CS:GO, "30-year-old Jiang Yang" could hit 90+ just off talent.
So naturally, he believed he didnât need training anymore.
Why bother?
Practicing was tedious.
BOT drills were boring.
Crosshair placement, pre-aiming, recoil controlâit was all
But Jiang Yang didnât see it that way.
He was walking a different path.
He had already improved massively through hard work, and even if it was tedious, he could keep pushing forward.
Those highlight moments on the big stage?
They werenât miracles.
They were the result of relentless, unseen effort.
And as he continued training, he noticed something elseâ
His Comeback Points in the system kept increasing.
Step by step, he was getting stronger.