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

In August, the weather really makes it hard to have any appetite.

Jiang Yang casually stuffed a couple of bites into his mouth before eagerly returning to his computer.

Opening the Perfect World matchmaking platform, he was just about to dive into some intense ranked matches when he noticed someone inviting him.

Looking closely, he realized it was his high school deskmate, Li Hua.

Back then, they had been at about the same skill level. During the CS:GO boom in 2019, it was Li Hua who introduced Jiang Yang to the game.

Since their skill levels were still close, and there wasn’t much of a rank gap, Jiang Yang joined the party without hesitation.

As he logged into QQ, he saw Li Hua’s message pop up.

“Hey, hey, Jiang Yang, what’s going on? Weren’t you supposed to be working in a factory? How come you have time to play right now?”

“Li Hua, don’t come at me. Didn’t you say you were losing weight this summer? Yet here you are playing too.”

“Let’s go.”

Jiang Yang glanced at the bottom right of the screen. As usual, Li Hua chose the “Old Three Maps,” the ones he was most comfortable with.

“Wow, you’re doing pretty well in your placement matches. Had a breakthrough recently?”

Jiang Yang smirked at his friend’s comment. “Breakthrough? This is just the tip of the iceberg, my dude!”

“Let’s set a small goal first: rank #1 on Perfect World!”

Li Hua didn’t dismiss the boast but instead played along, “Absolutely! With our skills, getting #1 on Perfect World is just destiny. I should try harder, too, and maybe tomorrow I’ll replace S1mple on NAVI.”

Li Hua assumed Jiang Yang was joking and didn’t make any sarcastic remarks. Jiang Yang, for his part, didn’t bother explaining. Some things are meant to be done, not said.

After finishing 5,000 bot kills earlier, his arms still felt a little sore. But after lunch, they had mostly recovered.

As they waited for a match, Jiang Yang and Li Hua complained about issues in their respective majors, shared their hopes for college, and expressed some apprehension about university life.

Finally, after nearly three minutes, a match was found.

The map was Mirage, also known as Dust2.

Jiang Yang’s team started on defense.

As the pistol round began, Jiang Yang took the initiative to communicate over voice chat, and three random teammates responded enthusiastically.

The C+ rank in Perfect World was a mixed bag—highly unpredictable.

Either you’d get a team that’s willing to communicate, or you’d end up with total mutes.

For the pistol round, Jiang Yang positioned himself mid on Dust, holding an USP.

The Terrorists opted for a simple A-short and A-long pincer strategy.

Soon after, Jiang Yang spotted three opponents advancing through A-short.

“Three on A-short!” Jiang Yang reported while engaging them with his USP.

The opponents were just as stubborn, refusing to retreat and choosing to trade fire with him on the spot.

Jiang Yang wasn’t fazed. Having recently finished his bot training, he felt his aim was sharper than ever.

Perhaps it was just psychological, but after an hour of practice, he felt a noticeable improvement in his mouse control.

With one magazine, he managed to take down two opponents. However, when the third player pushed forward, Jiang Yang only had one bullet left. Forced to shoot and retreat behind cover, he didn’t expect that final, poorly aimed bullet to land a headshot.

Even Jiang Yang chuckled at the outcome.

“Ever heard of being blessed by random spray patterns?”

As the kill feed in the top-right corner lit up, Li Hua exclaimed, “Nice! You got them like that?”

Jiang Yang’s triple kill secured mid in the pistol round. Though their teammates at A-long couldn’t hold, the main T-force being wiped at A-short left little room for the remaining two to maneuver.

With the opening pistol round won, the match quickly progressed to the second round.

Winning the pistol round was a good start, but securing the follow-up round was crucial to avoid a potential eco upset.

Jiang Yang vividly remembered several times in placement matches when winning the pistol round only led to a reversal, keeping the score tight and increasing the pressure.

He thought about how a pro like Hunter would handle such situations.

What weapons would he buy on this map?

Which positions would maximize their effectiveness?

How could he secure kills without being traded?

Suddenly, a few lines of text appeared before his eyes:

[Hunter’s Eco Clutch Technique (Beginner)]

[Progress: 0/100]

[Feature: None yet.]

“What the heck?!”

“Is this for real? Does the system provide more than just insights?”

“Does that mean I can improve other skills through hard work too?”

Jiang Yang rubbed his hands in anticipation. “System, you know I’m a natural-born Special Ops prodigy!”

Fueled with excitement, Jiang Yang purchased an MP9 and carefully pushed toward B1.

His decision wasn’t random—it was well-considered.

Given the opponent’s poor economy, rushing A-long would spell disaster. A rush B, on the other hand, seemed highly likely.

The tight corridors of B1 and B2 were perfect for an SMG like the MP9.

As Jiang Yang reached the corner of B1, he heard footsteps—lots of them—coming from B2.

“They’re at B2!”

Jiang Yang, confident in his hidden position, wanted to wait for the enemies to push further. But the Terrorists weren’t sneaking—they were rushing!

Li Hua’s panicked voice came over comms, “They’re rushing B! Get back now!”

Realizing he couldn’t stay hidden any longer, Jiang Yang sprang into action.

Emerging from B2, he found three opponents moving toward B-site, their sides completely exposed.

“This is it!”

His eyes narrowed as he focused on the closest target and unleashed a barrage from his MP9.

“Rat-a-tat-tat!”

The first enemy dropped instantly. Jiang Yang immediately shifted fire to the second and took him down with another magazine.

Unfortunately, the extended spray left him out of ammo, and the third opponent, now aware, retaliated, finishing him off with support from a teammate.

“Tsk, I got greedy,” Jiang Yang muttered, reflecting on his mistake. “I should’ve pulled back after the second kill.”

Though his death was regrettable, his aggression had disrupted the enemy’s formation. Li Hua cleaned up the stragglers rushing the site.

While their random teammates nearly threw the round with reckless pushes, the Terrorists made a blunder of their own, allowing Jiang Yang’s team to clutch the win.

This round reaffirmed Jiang Yang’s belief: in eco rounds, recklessness could lead to disaster.

From then on, Jiang Yang took every eco round seriously. He had a few rounds where he clutched spectacularly and others where he was picked off early, but all of it added to his experience.

With his determination and a cooperative team, they won Mirage 16:8. Jiang Yang delivered a strong performance, finishing with 25 kills, 3 assists, and 10 deaths.

Reflecting on the match, Jiang Yang noted that at least ten of his kills came from eco rounds. While some might dismiss those kills as trivial, Jiang Yang knew better—they had funded crucial weapon drops for his teammates.

After the match, his skill progress updated:

[Hunter’s Eco Clutch Technique (Intermediate)]

[Progress: 2/500]

[Feature: Sharper decision-making in eco situations.]

Jiang Yang could feel a tangible improvement in his understanding of eco rounds. Replaying certain moments in his mind, he saw new, better options he hadn’t considered before.

Excited by the feedback loop of progress, he eagerly queued up for the next match.

“Let’s go again!”