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

The Next Day.

When Jiang Yang woke up, it was already noon.

Perhaps due to the effects of the "Sleepy Black Tea," he had slept a few extra hours the previous night and slept unusually soundly. Although the sleep was restful, it also wasted quite a bit of time. He originally planned to wake up early today to grind ranks, but it seemed he'd need to be more cautious with the "Sleepy Black Tea" in the future.

In the master bedroom, Ma Xixi was still asleep. Taking the initiative, Jiang Yang ordered delivery for their lunch on his phone. After a quick freshening up, he went to the "dark room," turned on his computer, and prepared to embark on today’s rank-grinding journey.

Last night, MO had analyzed a match replay featuring the junior sniper m0nesy for the live stream audience. The commentary was excellent, and m0nesy’s plays were indeed impressive. However, for Jiang Yang, they were still a bit advanced.

Unexpectedly, after watching MO’s breakdown of the match, his [Awareness], [Map Understanding], and [Positioning] attributes showed slight improvements. Jiang Yang could roughly figure out why these stats had improved. So, before bed, he carefully reviewed Leonkai’s instructional videos and learned about the concept of "deliberate practice" in the CS community.

It seemed that the impressive aiming skills of professional players weren’t solely due to talent but also involved a tremendous amount of targeted training. With that in mind, Jiang Yang decided to test out the system’s capabilities.

Before practicing, he first checked his aiming stats.

[Gunplay: Amateur LV.5]

[Evaluation: The level of an amateur player with basic FPS game experience.]

But before diving into training, he needed to tweak his settings. To be fair, Leonkai, the content creator, truly offered solid advice. Yesterday, Jiang Yang not only learned about counter-strafe mechanics and aiming techniques but also picked up insights on sensitivity, resolution, and crosshair settings. While Leonkai’s voice might be a bit soporific, the content of his videos was undeniably helpful.

Determined, Jiang Yang first adjusted the resolution to 4:3, then spent a long time testing settings on a training map before settling on a high sensitivity of 400x6.66.

“Counter-strafe? Let’s see how this works.”

Holding his AK, Jiang Yang moved right while pressing the left key and firing at the same time.

Bang!

The AK-47’s bullet flew out, hitting above and to the right of the dummy.

Undeterred, he adjusted his firing rhythm. After counter-strafing, he fired again. This time, he achieved a perfect counter-strafe shot, accompanied by the crisp sound of a headshot. Jiang Yang felt a pure joy that was hard to describe.

He sped up the action, trying to counter-strafe and fire repeatedly. However, as he increased his speed, mistakes also piled up. Jiang Yang quickly calmed down, slowed his aim, and fired steadily. As he continued practicing, he noticed the system indicating that his gunplay stats were steadily improving.

So this is how the system really works? Jiang Yang suddenly felt hopeful and more motivated to train.

Outside the room, the just-awakened Ma Xixi glanced at Jiang Yang hard at work practicing and couldn’t help but sigh.

“Streaming until 2 a.m. last night, and now he’s already back at it…”

“When you’re young and trying a new game, you just want to pour all your energy into it.”

“I just hope it’s not a three-minute enthusiasm…”

...

“Done!”

After taking down another bot, Jiang Yang noticed that the scoreboard now read 5000.

[Gunplay: Amateur LV.6]

[Progress: (232/6000)]

[Evaluation: Your gunplay has surpassed the average C+ local player.]

Jiang Yang observed the system panel. After eliminating 5000 bots, his gunplay level had risen by one. Although he was still in the amateur tier, moving from Amateur LV.5 to LV.6 was a considerable improvement.

On Perfect World’s platform, the C+ rank had the largest player base, which meant Jiang Yang’s gunplay now surpassed the majority of players.

With just a little effort, I’ve already reached the limits of the C+ rank… Jiang Yang thought happily.

Eager to test his skills, Jiang Yang returned to the training map to practice counter-strafing and firing. Whether it was psychological or not, he felt the motions becoming smoother, and his success rate at counter-strafing headshots seemed to increase. Clenching his fist in excitement, he marveled at the progress.

Although there wasn’t a groundbreaking improvement overall, this was just one hour of training! The positive reinforcement was immense. Jiang Yang couldn’t help but imagine how much he could improve with consistent high-quality training over a year.

At that moment, the delivery call rang. Jiang Yang paused his training and realized his right arm was sore. Right after, familiar text floated into view:

[At thirty, your body is steadily declining. Even routine gunplay practice leaves you fatigued. Physical fitness is the foundation of progress and key to the Old Veteran Comeback System.]

[Daily Task: Run 5 kilometers. Reward: Random Comeback Point.]

Raising an eyebrow, Jiang Yang recalled that Comeback Points could be used in the shop. Though he’d browsed it briefly yesterday, most good items required more points than he currently had.

Running 5 kilometers daily sounded a bit challenging but still doable. Back in high school, they had routine running drills. Though not an athlete, Jiang Yang often played basketball, so his stamina wasn’t bad.

Running 5 kilometers is manageable—it’s sticking to it that’s tough. But if it could foster a good habit, why not?

With this thought, Jiang Yang resolved to start running after dinner, even if it wasn’t for Comeback Points. Developing a healthy habit seemed worthwhile in itself.

He snapped back to reality, grabbed the delivery, and was about to call Ma Xixi when he found him already awake.

“About your aim training…” Ma Xixi yawned, still half-asleep.

“Hmm?”

“Don’t overdo it,” Ma Xixi advised. “It’s counterproductive, especially if your goal is to rank up.”

Jiang Yang nodded.

“Then you definitely shouldn’t train like that,” Ma Xixi continued. “When you start your day, just warm up with a few hundred bots to get into the zone. Then, run through the maps and practice using utility. After that, jump straight into ranked games.”

“No aim training?” Jiang Yang asked in surprise. Based on Ma Xixi’s logic, there was practically no dedicated aim practice.

“It’s not that you don’t train,” Ma Xixi clarified. “But after finishing ranked games, spend some dedicated time before bed on it. Starting your day with thousands of bot kills will tire you out before you even start ranking up. By the time you hit ranked games, you’ll be burnt out.”

Jiang Yang could see the logic in this. Practicing heavily before ranked matches seemed counterproductive—fatigued hands would naturally make aiming less precise.

“Alright, starting tomorrow, I’ll follow your advice,” Jiang Yang agreed while eating.

As for today? He had already taken down 5000 bots and was itching for some real action!