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

The second round match between LVG and Team X ended much faster than expected, with Team X cleanly defeating them 2-0.

Surprisingly, there weren't many abusive comments from viewers in China watching the live stream.

Anyone can see that the gap between the two teams is simply too large.

One is a top-tier international team, while the other can barely be considered a second-tier international team.

With X team unleashing their full potential, LVG had virtually no chance to retaliate.

Moreover, under Su Zhe's leadership, they also scored 17 points across the two maps, a result that was quite unexpected.

To put it in the words of a gamer: "LVG has done a good enough job in terms of discipline, and there were not many abstract operations in the whole game, but there is no way to explain it. X team's teamwork and the overall ability of the players are far superior to LVG's."

"I just hope we can keep trying and improve."

At the match, the LVG players were in low spirits after shaking hands with their opponents.

Even knowing the opponent was strong, and even having prepared for defeat, the result was still somewhat disappointing when the match actually ended.

Su Zhe's expression didn't change much. When he tried his best in the first map but still couldn't win, he knew that they were already out of the running for today.

However, he didn't say anything to comfort them. It's normal to feel a little frustrated and powerless. Only in this way can they know more about their shortcomings and become stronger in the next competition.

"Sigh~" Jee, who had been keeping his head down and silent, couldn't help but let out a long sigh and said, "Damn it! When will we be able to beat a team like this!"

"It's tough, sigh~ Actually, there was a chance to drag the match to map three today." Watermelon couldn't help but chime in from the side.

"The main problem was that when we were playing the small town map in the first map, I didn't expect the other side to suddenly speed up their attack. Otherwise, if we had won that crucial point, we might still be playing the third map now."

As the two began their conversation, the previously silent crowd started exchanging words.

Later on, it turned into a blame-grabbing contest, and the sentence structure became very formulaic, basically saying things like, "Sigh~ if it weren't for me doing this and that, things might have turned out this way."

Listening to this exchange, Su Zhe couldn't help but laugh. This was exactly the kind of atmosphere a rising team needed.

After packing their things, everyone went straight back to the hotel. After eating some junk food, they began to review the day's match.

Everyone really cherishes this competition period because such opportunities are truly rare.

Top teams are very selective about their schedules, as there are just too many major tournaments they can participate in each year, and they are afraid that their players will be too overworked.

Teams like LVG, who can only participate in a handful of international tournaments a year, naturally don't want to rush things.

Therefore, there is no sense of relaxation that comes with wanting to rest immediately after finishing a match.

After reviewing the game and doing some training, it was already past 7 p.m. Next up were the players' individual training and ranked matches.

Su Zhe also took some time to complete his system's daily training tasks.

The daily training tasks have now reduced his chances of improvement to almost nothing, but they still represent some form of accumulation.

Furthermore, he would add weight training to his daily training tasks, such as using only the Desert Eagle when conducting deathmatch training, or only using single-shot headshots when using the AK.

For him, this meant that he didn't treat the daily training as just a superficial task, but rather that it genuinely improved him.

Just as he finished warming up, his phone on the table suddenly rang. In order not to disturb others, Su Zhe quickly answered the phone and went outside.

He initially thought the call was from an unknown number, but it turned out to be Niko, who had changed his phone number.

After some conversation, Su Zhe learned that the G2 players had recently arrived in Malta and had just checked in with the help of the tournament organizers.

"Is it in training room 7013? Hmm, no need to bother you. It's not far from my training room. I'll go there myself."

After hanging up the phone, Su Zhe walked through two corridor corners and saw G2's training room.

At that moment, at the entrance of the training room, a person who appeared to be a staff member of the event organizers was seen exchanging room keys with Taz.

After receiving the room key, Taz also saw Su Zhe. He was pleasantly surprised and quickly walked over to give Su Zhe a hug.

"Hey bro! I didn't expect to see you so soon! It's only been a week!"

Taz's joy was genuine, after all, it had only been a short time since Su Zhe helped them win the championship, and the IEM Chengdu tournament was the easiest championship Taz had ever won while coaching G2.

Basically, they didn't need to use their brains at all; the players below could easily sweep the opponents aside.

During this time, Taz kept fantasizing about how wonderful it would be if Su Zhe could really join G2.

After a polite hug, Taz said warmly, "Come in, they're all inside!"

Su Zhe smiled and nodded, then followed Taz into the training room, where he found everyone busy adjusting their equipment.

Upon seeing Su Zhe, G2 and the others were filled with surprise and joy, and each of them happily came up to give him a hug.

Of all the people, only the breathing technique was unfamiliar to Su Zhe. Nevertheless, the two still gave each other a friendly hug.

Hu Xi patted Su Zhe on the shoulder and smiled, "Thank you! You brought a championship to our team. I watched the last competition, and you performed very well!"

Su Zhe smiled and echoed a few times. After the group chatted for a while, Niko and Su Zhe exchanged a knowing glance and then left the training room.

“Come to my room…” Niko said softly.

Su Zhe knew that Niko wanted to talk about the team, which was a rather private matter and naturally couldn't be discussed in the hotel corridor.

After following Niko into his room, he went straight to the balcony.

"Snapped!"

Niko lit a cigarette first and suddenly asked a strange question.

How does it feel to compete in your own country?

Su Zhe thought for a moment and answered honestly, "It's quite tiring, but I still want to achieve the best results possible."

Niko asked with a smile, "So you don't plan to stay with LVG long-term or go to TyLoo to play?"

The two have been exchanging information on social media these days, and Niko knows that he signed a short-term contract with LVG. Su Zhe smiled and shook his head: "Let's forget about it. Right now, I'm more interested in achieving results, but as for the future... who knows?"

Niko took another deep drag of his cigarette and said with a sigh, "I wish I had thought like you back then."

When Niko first debuted, he played for a small team in his own country. Not only did he not achieve any results, but he also wasted several years of his career.

Later, he joined Mouz and became the first generation of the prison.

After letting out a silent sigh, Niko got down to business, saying, "I've spoken with management several times in the last few days."

Su Zhe stared intently at Niko, waiting for his next message, feeling even a little nervous.

If joining G2 is truly hopeless, should he just find any long-term team, or continue being a mercenary like he is now?

This frequent team changes are quite distressing. You finally adapt to the environment, only to have to look for a new job again after a while.

There are still various details to consider, such as the adjustment period, and he wants to settle down as soon as possible.

Niko seemed to sense Su Zhe's thoughts and didn't keep him in suspense any longer, saying directly, "When I first contacted the management, they didn't give me any response."

He chuckled as he spoke, and continued, "Later, I kept bothering the general manager, calling him several times a day to inquire, until he finally gave me a clear answer after he got fed up with me."

"He said the team is interested, but for the sake of the team's stability, it's not good to blindly change players, so he still wants you to go to headquarters to talk to them in person."

"Uh"

Su Zhe was surprised by this response. He thought it would be the same as when he joined NIP, where as long as he was willing, he could go for a tryout and then discuss the contract, and that would be the end of it. Why did G2 make it so complicated?

If you want it, you want it; if you don't want it, you don't want it. Let's talk about this in person and see what's going on.

Niko wasn't surprised by Su Zhe's reaction, but she still tried to comfort him:

"Don't rush, that's how our management is, they're not decisive at all. When I transferred from FaZe to G2, the contract dragged on for at least a few months. Kid did the same thing back then, he also had a few months of wrangling. I know them very well now."

"Actually, giving such a response already means they are very interested in you, but they still want to find a way to manipulate you on the contract."

With Niko's explanation, Su Zhe felt much more at ease, but he still asked in confusion, "Does this mean I'll have to wait several months before there's any hope?"

Niko stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray next to him, raised an eyebrow and shrugged, saying, "These managers are such idiots, but it shouldn't take that long. After talking to them a few times a few days ago, I think they also intend to replace them."

"I'm still a little unsure about who to replace them with. I've been putting some pressure on them during this period, and it should take at most a month."

"A month?" Su Zhe murmured.

NIko nodded and said with a smile, "A month is neither short nor long. Besides, there aren't any major tournaments after this EPL ends, so you can treat it as a vacation."

Su Zhe hummed in agreement.

For a team like G2, the tournament results they care about most throughout the year are actually Katowice, Cologne, and the Major.

This is similar to why, in 23, G2 only won two championship trophies, but many viewers still considered that year to be G2's peak.

Because the two championship trophies they won were the highly prestigious Katowice and Cologne trophies.

Other S-level events are also important, but they are more like icing on the cake.

The EPL will end no later than mid-May, the Cato tournament has already ended, Cologne is still a long way off in August, and the Shanghai Major is not until November.

The e-sports World Cup, which has been generating a lot of buzz lately and is being hosted by oil tycoons, is scheduled for mid-July.

Even if Su Zhe joins G2 a little later, he won't miss any important matches, and there will even be ample time for him to integrate with the team.

After finishing this discussion, NIko talked to Su Zhe about contract negotiation techniques.

Su Zhe lacked experience in this area, as the contracts he signed were all short-term and relatively simple.

If they join G2 this time, it will be a contract of at least two years, with many more restrictions and conditions, and there will be a lot of disputes along the way.

It was past 8 p.m. when Su Zhe finally left Niko's room. The discussion that lasted for more than an hour had been very beneficial to him.

Only now does Su Zhe truly realize how important Niko is to a team.

They have a long professional career, rich experience, and most importantly, they can still deliver bursts of brilliance in matches from time to time. Even when they are not in good form, they can still play other roles in their position.

"There are rumors online that Niko is holding the kids back. If Niko really leaves the team, the entire G2 team will probably fall apart soon."

"Sigh~ Let's focus on doing well in this EPL tournament first, so that we can use our performance as leverage when negotiating with G2 later."

After calming down, Su Zhe returned directly to LVG's training room, intending to continue completing the system's daily training tasks.

Friday, September 4st.

After losing to Team X in the second round of matches yesterday, LVG will face their third opponent.

However, when everyone learned about their opponent, the LVG players' expressions were not very good. Their opponent today was the FlyQuest team from Australia.

It's not that this team is particularly strong, but rather that the team members have questionable character and like to use underhanded tactics.

Su Zhe, who had already taken his seat in the player's area, had never encountered this team before, so he didn't quite understand the reaction of the LVG players. However, when he looked at the Green Leaf player's seat on the other side and saw the player Dexter, he found it rather amusing.

At first glance, Dexter looks remarkably like Liu Kun, a host on a Chinese seafood channel.

He just learned that this contestant's nickname in China is Liu Kun.
While everyone was warming up, Coach GUM suddenly came up behind them, patted Su Zhe's shoulder, and then put some food at Su Zhe's feet.

He said, "God A, don't get annoyed by the opponents during the match. Just play your own game well. If you're really bored, you can have some snacks."

Su Zhe turned to look at GUM, his head full of question marks.

The competition is about to start, how could I possibly be bored? Is this because I'm afraid of dying too quickly and want to take out my phone to scroll through Douyin?

Seeing Su Zhe's puzzled look, GUM sighed and said, "Sigh~ You'll find out soon enough. Be prepared for a long battle." (End of Chapter)