CS: Demon King C, you said I was a genius?

"Breaking news: LVG's roster for EPL 19 has been finalized. Due to the recent autograph incident, player z4kr has been temporarily demoted by the club."

"The vacant position will be filled by Arrow, who just helped G2 Esports win the IEM Chengdu championship."

The video was short, only ten seconds long, but it caused a huge uproar after it was posted on Douyin, and the comment section was instantly filled with question marks.

[WTF? I bet my roommate that Xiao Zhe would definitely go to G2, but he ended up with LVG? It's not April Fool's Day, is it?]

[Hot! Arrow's turning into Prrow, what's gotten into him? Why did he suddenly decide to go back to China?]

[It's probably a short-term contract, but we can still look forward to LVG's performance.]

[Still trying to perform? With CNCS as it is now, even if zywoo came, he'd have to become fywoo; whoever comes, they'll just be forgotten.]

[It's not necessarily true. LVG did manage to get a sticker last time, and with Xiao Zhe on the team, they might even be able to put up a fight against some of the top teams.]

【…】

The comments section was filled with various opinions, some optimistic and some pessimistic, but most viewers maintained a pessimistic attitude.

When LVG qualified for the Major main event, domestic players still had a glimmer of hope.

But their subsequent results, coupled with their recent performance at IEM Chengdu, have completely eroded their confidence.

They acknowledged Su Zhe's strength, after all, he had already become the number one player in CNCS in terms of achievements.

However, once they enter the complex environment of CNCS, they fear that Su Zhe might ruin himself and become a genius who only exists for a fleeting moment.

However, the various comments online did not affect the people at the LVG base, because they simply did not have the time to respond to these comments.

No other reason than being too busy!

I don't know what's gotten into Coach GUM lately, he keeps delaying their time to leave work.

They used to leave work promptly at midnight, but now they often stay until after 12 a.m.!

If you're not in good shape or haven't met your training goals, it's possible to work until four or five in the morning.

Jee even felt that her hemorrhoids were about to flare up from sitting so much.

GUM had no choice but to silently listen to his teammates gossiping about him behind his back. However, under the boss's instructions, he dared not say that it was a task assigned by Su Zhe!
The team members don't want to work overtime, but does he want to?
Even so, the LVG team persevered because they had a role model in the training room.

For the past few days, Su Zhe has been the first to enter the training room, and his teammates don't even know exactly what time he arrives in the morning.

Anyway, by the time the second person arrived at the training room, Su Zhe's warm-up was basically over.

When Su Zhe got off work in the evening, he would conduct gun practice with each of them to find out some of their problems.

This also ignited the competitive spirit of everyone at LVG. They were all young men in their early twenties, a time when they were full of energy and passion.

We are all human beings, and they have already achieved such great results and can still persevere. Why can't we do the same?
Later they discovered... Su Zhe really was trying inhumanly.
However, with everyone's perseverance, the team's training achieved the expected results.

It's hard to say what will happen when they face a strong team, but in the training match they arranged with the Tianlu home team, they have rarely made those basic mistakes.

I'm also a little hesitant to show up, because if a review reveals any mistakes, it means working overtime.

Under these circumstances, the time gradually came until the day when the competition was about to begin.

Su Zhe shut down the computer in front of him, took out his phone to check the time, and found that it was already 2 a.m.

Jee, who was standing nearby, also came over and asked what time it was.

Besides training hard these days, they also keep their phones in hand to prevent themselves from being distracted during training.

Su Zhe certainly has the privilege of carrying a mobile phone, and no one else has anything to say about it.

After Jee saw the specific time, she looked around and, finding the coach wasn't in the training room, stretched and casually remarked:
"That idiot GUM is killing us! I've only been sleeping six hours a day for the past few days!"

As he began, a chorus of criticisms erupted.

Someone else came over to comfort Su Zhe, saying, "God A has been suffering with us lately; we weren't like this before."

Hearing this, Su Zhe didn't show any unusual expression. He just smiled and said, "It's okay. It's all for achieving good results. I can get a good night's sleep tonight, and I can fly to Malta tomorrow."

The application process for Maltese visas is relatively simple, and the entire team received their visas just yesterday.

Upon hearing that they could leave the country tomorrow, the LVG members felt much less tired and even started talking about where to go after getting off the plane.

Young people, as long as they have a goal, will grit their teeth and persevere through anything.

Seeing this team atmosphere, Su Zhe also showed a genuine smile.

He didn't want it to be like this, but he had no choice. As a professional player, if he didn't achieve results, he would be criticized even less than a dog.

It's been tough lately, but the final result will definitely be worth the effort.

GUM then returned to the training room. He coughed somewhat awkwardly, then said in a deliberately authoritative tone:
"Everyone has worked hard lately, so get a good rest tonight! Meet at the club at 12 noon tomorrow, so as not to miss your schedule."

After saying that, GUM looked at Su Zhe with a resentful gaze, like a wronged little wife, and then walked away.

Everyone gave GUM the middle finger, silently complained to themselves, and then went home. After leaving the club, Su Zhe strolled leisurely for about ten minutes before arriving at the hotel room Jeff had arranged for him.

Back in his room, Su Zhe was about to take a shower when he heard a "ding" sound.

[New mission received: EPL 19 tournament detected. Please help the team achieve excellent results in the tournament.]

[After the competition, an evaluation will be generated based on the host's performance, and a random reward will be given (the evaluation level can be up to SSS or down to D).]

"Is there a new mission?"

Su Zhe opened the task panel, glanced at it casually, and just as he was about to close it, he noticed something strange.

"The upper limit is SSS level? Is the EPL league really that much more prestigious than the IEM series of events?"

After thinking for a moment, Su Zhe found the reason: he realized that the upper limit of the score was most likely calculated based on the difficulty of the challenge for the team.

G2 actually had a chance to win the championship even without him, but the probability would have been much lower.

But if you can lead a team like LVG to win the EPL league championship, then you really deserve an SSS-level reward.

It is probably even more difficult than NIko winning the Major championship.

However, Su Zhe's goal this time is to strive to enter the main competition, and then do his best to move forward. Every step he takes is a gain.

……

The EPL league boasts a prize pool of $75 USD and is considered an S+ level event.

Before CS2 arrived, its tournament level was actually the same as IEM Chengdu.

However, because the tournament has a very tight schedule, many strong teams are happy to participate in it to further refine their lineups.

Therefore, the number of strong teams participating this time is also very high. For example, NAVI and Little Bee, who are in the off-season after the Major, will also participate in this event.

Most of these strong teams secured their spots early in the main tournament, quietly awaiting challenges from newcomers.

Even so, there are many strong teams in the qualifiers, such as traditional international powerhouses like Team X, GL, and FNC, as well as NIP after a roster overhaul.

There are also many strong second-tier teams emerging internationally, since only a few teams can directly qualify for the main tournament.

A total of 16 teams participated in the qualifiers, which used a Swiss-system format with a 50% elimination rate.

This is a significant challenge for LVG, who want to advance to the main tournament.

On the afternoon of April 21, Su Zhe arrived in Malta with the LVG team, along with the TyLoo team from the same region.

The members of TyLoo were naturally envious and jealous of Su Zhe's ability to join LVG.

You're both stuck in the CNCS mess, so why did you secretly hire boosting services?

259 also regrets it. If he had known, he should have asked the boss to test the waters. Maybe Su Zhe would be wearing a Tianlu team uniform by now.

If Su Zhe knew about 259's idea, he would probably choose LVG over 259 in China.

Because the players on Tianlu are getting a bit older... they can't keep up anymore.

Moreover, Tianlu's tactics are more like an academic style, which may not be suitable for Su Zhe. If the tactical style is changed temporarily, Tianlu may not be able to adapt in a short period of time.

In comparison, LVG is the most suitable.

However, Tianlu and his group felt a little awkward when they learned that they would be on the same flight to Malta as Su Zhe.

After all, Su Zhe went to NIP because he couldn't find any hope of joining the TyLoo main team within a year. The relationship between the two is somewhat similar to that between Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran.

The Tianlu members were genuinely afraid that Su Zhe would utter the phrase "Three months east of the river! Three months west of the river!" to embarrass them.

But they seemed to be overthinking it. Su Zhe wasn't the kind of person who liked to show off or embarrass himself. He chatted and laughed with the Tianlu group along the way.

After disembarking from the plane, the two groups boarded buses to their respective hotels, arranged by the event organizers.

This year's EPL series is once again being held at the InterContinental Hotel in Malta, which is only a ten-minute drive from the airport.

Su Zhe was quite curious about the scenery outside the window, and kept looking at it along the way. There was the beauty of modern cities, as well as the blue sea.

The rest of LVG were already chatting casually. The recent EPL tournaments had all been held in Malta, and this wasn't their first time here.

They came here once during EPL Season 18, and apart from Mitsuha, it was the same original team.

However, the outcome wasn't good. LVG was first knocked into the lower bracket by G2, and then sent back home by Liquid.

Jee, who had always been the one to liven up the team atmosphere, fell silent at this moment.

He recalled the humiliation of the recent competitions he had participated in, the insults he had received online, and the relentless training he had been undergoing day and night.

Jee clenched her fist tightly.

"This time, the ending will definitely be different." (End of Chapter)