CS: I’m Only 16, and You Want Me to Stage an Old Veteran Comeback?

Jiang Yang’s niece had gone for tutoring, and his cousin-in-law was at work. The house was once again left to just the two of them. Lunch had gone cold, but neither of them had the energy to reheat it. They scarfed it down with some tomato and egg soup.

As he filled his stomach, Jiang Yang reviewed his system progress.

This morning, he’d been so engrossed in ranking up that he hadn’t paid attention to much else. It wasn’t until the session ended that he noticed a change in the Hunter’s ECO Clutch skill.

[Signature Skill: Hunter’s ECO Clutch (Intermediate)]

[Progress: (12/5000)]

[Effect: Upon hearing enemy ECO gunshots, activate the "You’re ECOing, aren’t you?" buff. Your ID will instill immense psychological pressure on opponents, disrupting their aim. The more ECO kills you achieve, the greater the impact.]

What the—!

It can even affect the opponent’s mentality?

Thinking it over, it actually made sense.

If Jiang Yang could consistently dominate during ANTI-ECO rounds, his ID would naturally start commanding attention and fear.

This newfound confidence only motivated him further. He was just three wins away from reaching the highest amateur rank: S.

Finishing his last bite of lunch, Jiang Yang prepared to embark on his ranking journey.

From the other room, Ma Xixi shouted, “Just stream your main perspective this afternoon! I’ve got to head out.”

Jiang Yang rolled his eyes. “When don’t you have plans in the afternoon?”

Ever since Ma Xixi realized Jiang Yang could hold down the stream, he’d fully embraced his lazy side. Once, Captain MO would regularly stream in the afternoons. Now that Jiang Yang was covering, MO only logged in at night.

Jiang Yang didn’t refuse—he was planning to grind ranks anyway. Streaming made it less dull, and he could banter with the chat.

After finishing his meal, he ordered a lemon drink from Mixue Bingcheng and spent some time reviewing his replays, particularly matches where he’d made mistakes.

Once his drink arrived, he thought for a moment before typing out the stream title:

“Cousin’s Not Home, Lonely Ranking Grind!”

The CSBOY account had over a million followers, so as soon as the stream went live, viewers flocked in.

【Cousin, you really know how to clickbait.】

【Sigh, I thought we’d be watching pro demos.】

【It’s just CS? Meh.】

【Everyone in CS is a coward and a perv.】

【You’re all just shameless simps!】

Seeing the last two comments, Jiang Yang retorted, “Stop slandering me! I’m pretty brave!”

“And let me clarify—I’m not old!”

His carefree quips had the chat in stitches.

【Cousin, are you heading to the rank jail today?】

【Haha, ranking every day and getting destroyed every day—your streams are way more entertaining than Ma Xixi’s.】

【Whenever I think about you being stuck in A-rank, losing on my own ladder games doesn’t feel so bad.】

【Honestly, Cousin should play PL, and let Ma Xixi handle B+. That shorty belongs in that rank.】

“System Message: ‘Ma Xixi Stop Backseat Gaming’ has been muted by moderator ‘CSBOY’ for 5 minutes.”

The chat erupted. Knowing Ma Xixi was watching, viewers started spamming: “Ma Xixi, we’re coming for you!”

Jiang Yang laughed but quickly reined in the chaos.

“Today’s plan is simple—just rank up to S,” he said casually.

The chat wasn’t buying it:

【Five days ago, Cousin said he’d reach S, but he’s still stuck in A.】

【Before ranking: bold claims. During ranking: total silence. After ranking: nonsense.】

【Today’s rank, tomorrow’s goal.】

【Forget it, Cousin. C+ is your true home. You’re too far away—time to rank back down.】

【It’s the Ma brothers’ legacy, don’t you get it?】

The skepticism was understandable. The first time Jiang Yang hit A-rank, he claimed he’d push straight to S, and many believed him. But after struggling for days in A, people had stopped taking him seriously.

The consensus was that while Jiang Yang had talent, he was still behind the S-rank players in overall skill. His limited playtime didn’t help.

Just as Jiang Yang was about to retort, he froze.

[30 years old, striving for the highest platform rank, but doubted by your viewers. As a destined Old Veteran, you must prove yourself with strength!]

[Temporary Task: Reach Perfect World S-rank within 24 hours. Reward: Random Pro Player Signature Skill.]

Jiang Yang raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t expected a new category like "Temporary Tasks."

But it came at the perfect time.

Since acquiring the system, pro player signature skills had drastically accelerated his understanding of CS:GO. His recent purchase of NIKO’s Pre-Aiming had left him in debt within the system’s store, so this was a golden opportunity.

He queued up while showing his rank to the viewers.

“Just three wins to go. Today, I’ll show you what it means to be a prodigy!”

“Little S? Easy peasy!”

Some viewers were surprised he was only 80 points away from ranking up, but most were still skeptical.

When climbing ranks, the matchmaking system often paired you with… unique teammates, making progression anything but straightforward.

Soon, the match was found, and Jiang Yang eagerly rubbed his hands together. He was ready to go all out.

Meanwhile, in Huya’s League of Legends section, a streamer resembling Jaken from Inuyasha grinned confidently at his chat.

“With my skills, I should honestly be playing for Tyloo.”

“My aim? I’ll crush everyone!”

Due to maintenance on the 5E platform, Crystal Bro was forced to play on Perfect World’s servers. His rank wasn’t high there—it was just a casual smurfing ground for him.

Crystal Bro smirked arrogantly at his chat. Then he noticed someone mention in chat: “You’ve matched Ma Xixi’s cousin!”

Crystal Bro’s grin widened.

Though a League pro, he had always preferred CS. Even his League ID was inspired by a Swedish CS 1.6 player.

He recognized Jiang Yang’s now-famous ID and gleefully declared, “Time to show Xiao Jiang the horrors of high-ranked games!”

“This game, I’m dropping 80 kills. I’ll make sure he can’t sleep tonight just thinking about it!”

When his viewers teased him about smurfing, Crystal Bro shrugged.

“Blame Perfect World’s matchmaking, not me. Honestly, I don’t see how I lose this game.”

His audience burst into laughter.

【Gangzi really has a tough mouth!】

【He’s like an old general on stage, covered in flags.】

【Xiao Jiang is also swearing up and down he’s going to reach S-rank. Looks like this time, Gangzi’s caught him in the act.】

Crystal Bro’s confidence isn’t unwarranted.

On the main domestic CS:GO platforms, the skill level at 5E is relatively high, and Crystal Bro is already one of the top-tier public players. Compared to the average Perfect World S-rank players, his skills are a notch above. Crystal Bro was relaxed, ready to casually dominate a match.

…

Once they entered Dust2, while waiting for his teammates to join, Jiang Yang noticed from the chat that he had matched against Crystal Bro.

Jiang Yang knew who he was.

The guy from that BO10 disaster in the LPL—Crystal Bro, one of the best ADCs in China at the time. After that infamous BO10, he even tried some “bloodletting therapy,” which wrecked his form, and he slowly faded into mediocrity.

But to think that Crystal Bro also played CS:GO—and apparently wasn’t bad at it—was surprising. Back when Jiang Yang watched LoL matches, he’d felt sorry for the guy.

Now, running into one of his past favorites, he immediately typed into the public chat:

Miss Excellence Is Here: “Crystal Bro, I’m a fan of yours!”

Crystal Bro, who was boasting to his stream, saw this message, and his face instantly darkened.

【Why is my reputation getting dragged again?】

【Fan buffs are stacking—Gangzi is about to get stomped.】

【Feels like this streamer on the other side is here to troll.】

Crystal Bro calmed himself down. What if the guy really was a fan? He replied in the chat:

AI Begs for Mercy: “When did you become my fan, bro?”

Miss Excellence Is Here: “Since the time you got a quad-kill from a Fizz ult.”

Crystal Bro leaned back in his chair, “Another black fan! Damn it!”

The “quad-kill Fizz ult” was a classic moment of infamy for Crystal Bro. He got caught by Fizz’s ultimate, and his movement ability spread the damage perfectly to his four teammates. A peak meme moment in his career.

This bit of banter made it clear Jiang Yang really was a fan—but a black fan at that.

Both livestream audiences erupted in laughter.

After Jiang Yang had his fun, the last teammate joined the game.

The match officially began!

…

This time, Jiang Yang started as a Terrorist. He opened up communication: “What’s the plan, guys? How do we play the pistol round?”

“I’ll throw a smoke at CT base and push A,” a teammate in blue responded.

With a plan in place, the group quickly followed suit.

It was a simple pistol rush, relying more on aim duels. Jiang Yang didn’t manage to get any kills and was taken out by a stray bullet during the push.

His teammates performed well, but in the final 1v1 duel, Crystal Bro clutched it and defused the bomb.

“Unlucky,” Jiang Yang consoled himself. Pistol rounds are unpredictable, and 1v1 clutch situations can go either way.

“What’s next? Buy guns or ECO?”

Thanks to “Teacher Leonkai’s” lessons, Jiang Yang knew the importance of “sacrifice rounds.” In ranked matches, he was always active in strategizing, even stepping up as an impromptu IGL if his teammates stayed silent.

As he spoke, he saw his teammates had already bought guns. That settled it—they were going for it.

Jiang Yang decided to buy full armor, a Desert Eagle, and a smoke and flash.

When the countdown ended, he headed straight to A-Short.

The CTs didn’t throw an early molly at A-Short, which made Jiang Yang even more cautious.

His pre-aiming skills were far better now, and his knowledge of Dust2’s positioning was solid. At A-Short, he channeled his inner NIKO, methodically clearing every angle like a human Roomba.

Starting with the default position, he checked the flowerpot spot, adjusted his crosshair, and peeked A-Short, hugging the wall. Then he systematically checked the platform, sandwich, and every corner near the wall.

His moves were smooth and calculated, the kind that would make even experienced players nod in approval.

Unaware of the excitement in the stream chat, Jiang Yang focused entirely on the game.

At A-Short, his Desert Eagle scouted ahead, aiming near Long Box. The moment he spotted a bullet coming from behind Long Box, he quickly peeked out.

“Bang!”

…

“This rank is a joke,” Crystal Bro bragged to his stream as he noticed someone peeking at A-Short. He fired immediately.

A second later, a sliding figure appeared, followed by a crisp headshot sound.

[Miss Excellence Is Here headshot AI Begs for Mercy with a Desert Eagle]

“Damn it!” Crystal Bro yelled into comms. “A-Short! He got me with one shot!”

After taking down Crystal Bro, Jiang Yang called for his teammates to converge on A-Site. But his own advance didn’t stop. He continued clearing angles methodically.

After clearing Long Box, he scoped out CT base—empty for now. Carefully, he searched the site, anticipating resistance.

Hearing a flashbang pop below A-2, he quickly turned and counter-peeked.

“Bang!”

The opponent didn’t even get to fire before Jiang Yang’s Desert Eagle landed another clean shot.

Two kills in hand, Jiang Yang felt his adrenaline surge. He could win this!

With the site almost clear and intel showing enemies at VIP and Jungle, the remaining CT had to be at B.

Jiang Yang pre-aimed VIP and confidently peeked left, crouching. A Scout rifle aimed his way from Jungle, but Jiang Yang’s Desert Eagle fired first.

“Bang!”

[Miss Excellence Is Here headshot Turtle’s Black Head with a Desert Eagle]

Jiang Yang quickly entered the site, spotting an MP9 under A-2. He ignored it, aiming instead to grab an M4 near Long Box.

As he moved, a CT at Arches sprayed bullets his way, nearly killing him. Jiang Yang retaliated with a single, precise shot.

“Bang!”

[Miss Excellence Is Here headshot Liyue Vanguard Keqing with a Desert Eagle]

“Guys, A-Site is clear! Bring the bomb!” Jiang Yang announced, brimming with confidence.

A Desert Eagle quad-kill to open the site—every CS:GO player’s dream moment.

In comms, his teammates erupted in cheers.

“Holy crap, are you NIKO? You just wiped the site!”

“Awesome, I’m bringing the bomb!”

“This is huge!”

Grinning smugly at the camera, Jiang Yang took his hands off the keyboard for a moment. The chat on his secondary screen was going wild:

【No way, is he hacking?】

【How did he just kill four like that?】

【Is the enemy team bots?】

【What’s happening with Cousin Jiang? Has he ascended?】

Watching the chaotic chat, Jiang Yang’s smirk widened.