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

Waking up, Jiang Yang was greeted by the familiar ceiling once again.

The usual chatter of tourists—whether cheerful or complaining—was gone, leaving the room in complete silence.

"You're up?" A head peeked in from the door. Ma Xixi was brushing his teeth, mouth full of foam, mumbling, "Get up and eat."

Jiang Yang was back at his cousin’s place, but this time, not as a summer job worker—he was now officially a member of Steel Helmets.

After realizing Jiang Yang was serious about going pro and not just acting on impulse, Ma Xixi had struggled internally before ultimately choosing to support him.

He even went to Jiang Yang’s house himself to explain the complexities of a pro career to his parents.

Among their generation, Ma Xixi was known for his capability and level-headedness, so his words carried a lot of weight.

It took some back-and-forth, but in the end, Jiang Yang’s parents agreed.

After all, they weren’t in a position to plan his future for him. If he had a chance to carve his own path, they could only let him try.

With his parents convinced, Ma Xixi accompanied Jiang Yang to handle his leave of absence from school.

The past few days had been exhausting for both of them.

Now that everything was settled, Ma Xixi figured that if Jiang Yang stayed at home, he’d be bombarded with endless nagging from family, so he took him in again.

Jiang Yang knew his cousin was doing a lot for him.

For now, the best way to show gratitude was to perform well in upcoming matches and not embarrass him.

However, one thing puzzled Jiang Yang—he had joined Steel Helmets, but the system still hadn’t marked his "Join a Team" task as complete.

Did he need to join a fully professional team for it to count?

Unsure of the answer, he decided to let it go for now. Crawling out of bed, he headed to the bathroom to freshen up.

Ma Xixi wiped his face and reminded him, "There’s a scrim this afternoon, and you’ll be playing. Don’t be nervous—just play at your usual level."

Though Ma Xixi wasn’t the most skilled player, his game sense and understanding were solid.

After MO’s glowing evaluation of Jiang Yang, Ma Xixi had reviewed several of his gameplay recordings. The conclusion?

This kid was practically being hand-fed by the CS gods.

The improvement in his gameplay was visible to the naked eye.

And it wasn’t just his in-game skill—Jiang Yang’s mentality and approach to learning were also astonishing.

It was rare for someone with less than 100 hours in the game to actively watch replays and analyze opponents to improve.

Looking back, Ma Xixi realized that Jiang Yang wasn’t just playing—he was studying the game.

With his natural talent and methodical approach, rapid improvement was inevitable.

Back in the day, Ma Xixi had dreamed of going pro too.

But in those early days of esports, the industry was still finding its footing—no salary, no sponsorships—and sticking with it meant risking starvation.

Ultimately, he had no choice but to walk away.

Sure, lack of talent played a part, but there was still a lingering sense of regret.

Now, watching his own cousin set foot on that path, Ma Xixi couldn't help but hope that one day, he’d see Jiang Yang on the big stage.

And maybe, just maybe, he could even be in the commentary booth as part of the "family support squad" when that day came.

Jiang Yang brushed his teeth while mumbling, "So, what role am I playing in today’s scrim?"

In Chinese ranked games, players often picked roles based on their spawn position.

But at the professional level, roles were pre-assigned.

The five typical roles were:

• Main B
• Support B
• Main A
• Support A
• AWPer (usually responsible for mid-control)

Among them, one player usually had a star role—the "fragger" with high freedom to move and take fights across the map.

Ma Xixi shrugged, "Not sure. MO will decide later. I don’t interfere with that stuff."

Jiang Yang frowned. "Wait a second—didn’t chat always say you have the biggest say in the team? How do you not know this?"

Ma Xixi smirked, "Oh, my influence is huge—when it comes to choosing what takeout we order or where we go drinking. Whatever I say, they don’t dare say otherwise."

Jiang Yang fell silent.

Something felt off about that statement, yet at the same time, nothing seemed wrong.

Guess he’d have to ask MO later.

Now that he thought about it, he still hadn’t met the rest of Steel Helmets yet.

After finishing his morning routine, Jiang Yang quickly devoured a bowl of Lanzhou noodles his cousin had ordered.

Slurping down the last of it, he still felt like he could eat more.

But he knew better—if he ate too much, he’d end up feeling sluggish during practice.

Once he was done, he sat down at his PC and started his warm-up routine.

Compared to when he first started, his aim training was now significantly more polished and efficient.

He could snap to enemy heads with ease, and his reaction speed had also improved dramatically.

After some precision warm-ups, he jumped into long-range deathmatch to practice with the USP.

His pistol skills were still a weak point, but there was no shortcut—only gradual improvement through repetition.

Using the USP in rifle deathmatch was his way of adding extra pressure to his training.

After racking up 100 USP kills, he switched to the AK, focusing on spray control.

This method was something he had picked up from Elige’s aim training guide.

Due to his extremely high sensitivity settings, his rifle control was far from ideal.

However, he felt very comfortable with his AWP at this sensitivity, so rather than changing it, he chose to adapt his rifle play instead.

After a long session of practice, he finally hopped into ranked matches for more real-world combat scenarios.

For Jiang Yang, training grounds and deathmatch were mainly for warming up—ranked games were where real improvement happened.

With their constant unpredictability, they were the best way to hone his overall game sense.

Time flew by, and before he knew it, it was already 6 PM.

Ma Xixi started his livestream, while Jiang Yang joined the TS voice chat.

One by one, the members of Steel Helmets logged in.

As Jiang Yang got acquainted with them, he asked directly, "MO, what role am I playing in today’s scrim?"

Without hesitation, MO responded, "Do what you do best—pick up the AWP and hold your ground."

Privately, MO had already discussed this with the other team members.

They had discovered a diamond in the rough and were determined to let him shine on stage.

Even though they were former pros, they knew their time had passed.

Some still held onto lingering regrets, but they understood their declining skill levels.

They stayed in the scene out of nostalgia and passion, but they weren’t chasing championships anymore.

Worried that Jiang Yang might feel pressured, MO added, "Just play like you do in ranked. I’ll use this game to evaluate where you need adjustments."

This scrim was also a test.

They had seen plenty of ranked warriors—players who dominated ladder games but crumbled under professional pressure.

If Jiang Yang could deliver in real matches, they’d gladly step aside and support his rise.

But if he wasn’t up to par?

No amount of connections could force him into the pro scene.

Jiang Yang took a deep breath—the pressure was on.

MO’s words didn’t just mean he was playing as the team’s AWPer. He was being put in the star role.

A slightly stuttering voice with a broad accent chimed in through the voice chat, "D-Don’t let Liu Ke scare you. Just play your game. I watched your replays, and no matter what, you’re better than Liu Ke’s AWP."

"Thanks, DD," Jiang Yang responded.

DD, however, was immediately annoyed. "Man, I really shouldn’t have picked this ID. Now some kid is using it to mess with me."

The Steel Helmets crew erupted into laughter.

With Jiang Yang now set as the AWPer and star player, the team’s lineup was locked in:

• IGL (In-Game Leader): MO
• AWPer: Jiang Yang
• Riflers: DD, Xiaosage, Karsa (aka Su Di)

Among them, MO, DD, and Karsa all had history with Tyloo.

MO and DD were part of 2018 Tyloo, while Su Di had previously been a coach for the team.

Xiaosage, on the other hand, had bounced around smaller teams in China. He had never found real success in his pro career and eventually retired to become a streamer.

But in the Chinese CS scene, most players knew each other—either through competition or mutual respect earned from past battles.

In this team, internal conflicts weren’t a concern.

After all, they had "World’s Top Prince Snatcher" watching over them.

Perhaps because Jiang Yang was so much younger, the team members were extra friendly towards him, which helped him relax and focus on preparing for the match.

"Everyone ready? Join the server," MO called out.

On the other side…

QUQU joined the server and immediately noticed a strange username on the opposing team:

"Ma Xixi, I'll Destroy You."

Then, he saw the ridiculously cursed profile picture attached to it.

"This must be Ma Xixi’s ‘prodigy cousin,’ right? He’s officially playing today?"

18YM, sitting nearby, nodded. "Yeah, and he’s actually pretty good. I ran into him in ranked before—his reflexes are insane."

QUQU wasn’t impressed. He had seen clips of Jiang Yang dominating in matchmaking, but many so-called "prodigies" crumbled when they stepped into serious games.

"Doesn’t matter. Let’s destroy him today. Show him just how strong we ‘Too Standard’ really are!"

"Alright, alright, time to ban maps," someone reminded.

After a quick veto process, the three maps for the match were set:

1. Mirage
2. Dust2
3. Ancient

With the BP phase over, the match began.

Steel Helmets vs. Too Standard

T-Side (Too Standard): QUQU, Savage, 18YM, TB, Franke19

CT-Side (Steel Helmets): MO, "Ma Xixi, I'll Destroy You" (Jiang Yang), DD, Xiaosage, Karsa

MO gave a quick reminder: "Usually, scrims are played out to all 30 rounds. But since we’re all streamers here, we tweak things a bit—winning and losing makes for better content."

As the first map loaded in, MO stuck to his word and put Jiang Yang in the star role.

Steel Helmets started CT-side, with Jiang Yang holding mid on Dust2 with his USP-S, playing it safe.

Right away, he noticed the difference.

Even though Too Standard wasn’t a fully pro team, their execution felt much more coordinated than ranked games.

Early into the round, an Xbox smoke dropped in mid, while B site saw a fake execute.

Too Standard had used their utility, signaling that they were about to commit to a push.

Jiang Yang read the situation and called in voice chat:

"MO, can I rotate to A?"

"Go for it. No pressure on B, just be careful at A site."

Silently, Jiang Yang repositioned from CT spawn to A site.

Moments later, a wave of footsteps thundered in from Short.

"A Short is speeding up! Xiaosage, watch out!" Jiang Yang alerted.

Hearing this, Xiaosage, positioned on A Ramp, got ready to take action.

As the Ts rushed up Short, he snapped into action, landing three quick kills within five seconds.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yang secured another kill from below, and DD finished off the last attacker pushing Long A.

The round ended in a flash.

"Damn, Xiaosage, that was crisp!"

"Looking sharp with the pistols today, huh?"

"No doubt—when it comes to pistols, you’re the GOAT!"

Hearing the teasing, Xiaosage rolled his eyes.

"Alright, you old geezers, chill out—there’s a kid here," he grumbled.

Then, he turned to Jiang Yang and said, "Nice bait, bro. You pulled their attention off me completely."

Jiang Yang had only gotten one kill, but his positioning and presence had made a huge impact.

Steel Helmets secured the pistol round, 1:0.

Seeing the 1:0 scoreline, and knowing the Ts didn’t get a bomb plant, Jiang Yang’s ECO instincts flared up.

He quickly asked MO, "Captain, can I buy an MP9 and rush for fun?"

MO’s first instinct was to reject the idea.

Then, he remembered how Jiang Yang loved playing like a ‘special forces agent’ in ranked games.

In matchmaking, he could get away with crazy plays—but pro-level games were different.

Still, some things had to be learned the hard way.

"Go ahead and try," MO decided. "You don’t need to ask me about everything. You’re in the star role—if you have an idea, go for it."

Hearing this, a grin spread across Jiang Yang’s face.

As the buy phase ended, he grabbed an MP9 and sprinted straight to B site.