Chapter 81

The night falls, and the fireworks of Disney bloom amidst the music.

Tiny stars of rain weave a waterfall of light upon the castle spires; in the sweet, sticky evening breeze, fairy tales and reality quietly merge.

Yet An Wenxin has lost the desire to appreciate the view, merely recording the beautiful scenery blankly with her camera, her mind still occupied by Jiao Yang's words: "Do you want to be a coach?"

Why? Why would he believe that a 1500-rated rookie could become a data analyst, a coach?

Was it just a guess that she was researching the evaluation criteria for the team members?

Or perhaps...

An Wenxin shifts her gaze a few steps away; Jiao Yang is yawning, completely oblivious.

After all, he hasn't paid that much attention, just thinking that since VG is currently short on both people and money, having someone willing to work for the love of it is quite good.

As for why he believes? Because he knows An Wenxin's CS aim is terrible, but the number above her head has already swelled to 63, so her future theoretical ability must be astonishing.

Especially after he gave her some advice, that number reached 72 directly; it seems she has enough passion for CS.

Jiao Yang has used quite a few people for experiments these past few days; normal people show no reaction after being given advice, and they likely won't have much more contact with this game in the future.

Even if there is some fluctuation, it generally doesn't exceed two digits; An Wenxin is the only one who jumped from 9 to 72 in a few days.

"What are you thinking about?" Aqing asks, slinging an arm around Jiao Yang, asking in a carefree manner.

Although it was a bit of a letdown that Yang Hai and the others left right after dinner, he is especially happy that Jiao Yang could return.

So much so that he drank a few extra glasses at the dinner party, and even with his constitution of being able to drink a thousand cups without getting drunk, he is slightly tipsy.

"Thinking about how things are going with Liang Dui over there," Jiao Yang replies.

It has been several days since they parted, and in the blink of an eye, IEM Sydney is about to begin; he doesn't know what the situation is like over there.

"No matter what, the rest is up to you over there."

Aqing directly entrusts the responsibility to him; compared to advent, Jiao Yang carries more weight in his heart. If it weren't for Jiao Yang suddenly wanting to play CS, he probably wouldn't have taken on this mess of a club.

So no matter how the results of IEM Sydney turn out, the CSGO division is Jiao Yang's responsibility; if they play poorly from now on, he should be prepared to take the blame.

"I'm a little worried about whether someone won't be able to handle the pressure."

Jiao Yang naturally knows what Aqing means, and he doesn't refuse.

Transitioning to the role of coach or even captain, he has gained a different understanding of the team; many times, what he considers is no longer just those little things in the game.

"Haha, that's fine. It feels like you've changed a lot playing CS," Aqing smiles. Jiao Yang's current appearance is completely different from when he first made that phone call. "Don't worry too much. As long as Lao Liang can hold on, those three from Qiyou won't fall apart. You just go ahead and toss them around."

He knows to some extent what Jiao Yang is thinking; it's nothing more than wanting to improve these people's levels and step onto a bigger stage.

Jiao Yang nods. The most precious thing about VG's CS division is the friendship between these few people, and it is precisely this friendship that gives him hope.

"By the way, Xiao An asked me to give this to you." Jiao Yang pulls a neatly folded piece of paper from his pocket.

"Oh? Have you read it? If it's a love letter, I'm not accepting it," Aqing jokes.

Jiao Yang laughs along, though it is a cold laugh.

If it really were a love letter, he would advise An Wenxin to thoroughly investigate Aqing's lifestyle to avoid throwing herself into the tiger's den.

"Written so formally... A resume?"

Aqing rubs his eyes to ensure he hasn't misread it.

【Intended Position — VG. CSGO Division Team Leader, Data Analyst, Coach】

【Expected Salary: 3000】

"You guys are overthinking it."

Aqing returns the resume directly to Jiao Yang and shakes his head disappointedly at An Wenxin not far away.

Under An Wenxin's bewildered expression, he says seriously:

"I cannot pay a salary of 3000, because it is simply too low."

Just kidding! Lao Yang's money will arrive soon; if he finds out he spent 3000 yuan to have his relative work as a coolie, wouldn't he withdraw the funds overnight?

Even if Xiao An is just here to play around, 3000 is really too low; it's barely enough to eat in Shanghai.

Although the club covers food and housing, which seems okay, Aqing still understands social etiquette.

Jiao Yang spreads his hands toward An Wenxin: "I told you, writing 3000 is an insult to Qing Zong."

"Have you discussed it with advent?" Aqing ignores Jiao Yang's sarcasm and asks.

"Planning to give them a surprise. aumaN says every day that the Dota2 division has an extra coach to order takeout, so this satisfies that."

Jiao Yang doesn't think those guys will refuse; there's no need to disturb their training at IEM Sydney, so he'll just wait until they reunite.

"Then if we don't play well, there's no food!" An Wenxin, having received permission, is full of excitement and makes a joke.

"Haven't even taken office yet and you're already starting to burn the fire?" Aqing teases.

"Hehe, don't you worry about our CS division's business."

Jiao Yang uses Aqing's words about entrusting the responsibility to retort.

"Fine, fine. It seems I'm just redundant. I'm leaving now."

Aqing pretends to be a drunkard and walks two steps, then collapses directly onto Jiao Yang.

Jiao Yang doesn't say a word and immediately strikes a bridal carry pose, scaring Aqing into jumping up on the spot.

"Divine Doctor!"

An Wenxin, as an old priest, gives Jiao Yang a thumbs up.

Time flies to April 30th, the very day IEM Sydney begins.

Jiao Yang finishes his Dota2 training match, says goodbye to his teammates, and stays in the Training Room alone.

It's past 5 PM, and VG's match will start in a little while.

Worried about missing the match, Jiao Yang prepares to call the hotel staff to have food delivered.

But before he can even make the call, the door to the Training Room opens again, and in comes An Wenxin pushing a food cart; paired with a black and white dress, she actually looks a bit like a classical maid.

"Why are you here?" The two haven't had much interaction since that day at Disney, only chatting occasionally on Steam, and it was still related to the game.

He was busy playing training matches and didn't pay attention to the movements of others, only knowing that Yang Hai and the others were singing and dancing every night, forgetting to return home.

This time they even invited him, but he politely declined; on one hand, he doesn't like the atmosphere of nightclubs, and on the other, he is in a hurry to play CSGO.

Ever since he saw ZywOo that time, he unexpectedly discovered that the level cap for 【ZywOo's Dungeon Imprisonment】 had been unlocked.

Lv. 7 requires 320 Talent Points, and Lv. 8 requires 640 points...

Even though he has been stealing moments of leisure these past few days, he has only upgraded to Lv. 9, but the effect remains unchanged; it's likely that only by saving up 1280 points to reach Lv. 10 will he see a difference.

Sighing, Jiao Yang watches An Wenxin finish setting out the food and drinks, then she takes out a document and hands it to him.

The document is about as thick as a one-yuan coin and is still warm; it must have just been printed.

On the cover, it is clearly written—Summary of VG Team Evaluation Based on the New April Lineup, with Data on May Tournaments.

"Are you writing a thesis?"

From the table of contents, one can see that An Wenxin has very seriously followed the format of an undergraduate thesis, integrating various evaluations and suggestions from the internet into a literature review, marking the level of the people who proposed the evaluations and suggestions, and finally integrating and analyzing some viewpoints that everyone agrees on.

It is evident that she knows her level is limited and wants to help the team in this way.

But Jiao Yang still doesn't encourage this approach—it's too much like armchair strategy, and it's very easy to have situations that don't match reality.

For example, one point mentioned by most people, "advent needs to undergo aim training," is simply nonsense.

They rarely consider the energy required for a Commander to issue instructions during a match, and they haven't even thought about the fact that advent has very little time outside of matches; if he doesn't organize the opponents' data, the teammates' training will have no direction, and then it will affect the entire team.

Another example, "aumaN needs to pay attention to discipline and not casually switch to his knife to show off his movement," is also known to everyone on the team, and even aumaN will repeatedly hypnotize himself, but bad habits stemming from muscle memory cannot be changed by a few simple words.

"The solutions to the team's problems lack practical value; there's no need to waste time on this in the future."

Jiao Yang first pours a bucket of cold water, watching An Wenxin stand there blankly like a child who has made a mistake, then he offers two words of praise:

"However, the data at the back is very good; Liang Dui should like it very much after seeing it."

Flipping through a few pages casually, he has to admit that An Wenxin has done a very good job with the data; not only is there basic tactical organization, but there is also a summary of opponents' habits, and even some handling methods from other teams derived from it.

With these things, advent should be able to relax quite a bit, and only then will he have time to practice his aim.

After receiving praise, An Wenxin is still timid, and Jiao Yang can't help but think of himself during his graduation defense.

Even though he felt nothing when being watched by thousands of people at international tournaments, he was incredibly embarrassed as soon as he returned to the classroom.

He was even afraid that the Ti8 finals would conflict with his exams, but it turned out he was overthinking it.

"You won't be a good coach like this; open up a bit."

Although his original intention was just to find an assistant who could help advent organize data, it is clear that An Wenxin wants to go further.

"You saw the coach in the Dota2 team, right? The one named Bai Jie with the very loud voice."

An Wenxin nods; anyone who has witnessed that voice shouldn't be able to forget it.

"If it weren't for him, the Dota2 side would have probably fallen apart long ago. He might not be a good coach, but he should be the most suitable coach for VG."

Thinking of the group of non-human teammates around him, Jiao Yang actually admires Bai Jie quite a bit; as expected, the only thing that can defeat magic is magic itself.

"Generally speaking, a coach needs to be able to suppress the captain. And in some teams with a better atmosphere, the coach just needs to have a good relationship with the captain."

"There is only one purpose for doing this—to make the team members unite and move toward the same goal."

"So before that, you have to know what each team member is thinking."

An Wenxin is thoughtful: "Then what should I do?"

"Become friends with the team members and find a way to know their goals."

Jiao Yang actually doesn't have experience being a coach either; what he said is just what a coach should look like in his mind.

"Then what is your goal?"

"Earn enough money, then retire." Jiao Yang doesn't even think about it.

"What a simple and unadorned goal... Then should I find a way to help you earn enough money now?"

"You should convince me that I can only earn enough money if I achieve results."

"Otherwise?" An Wenxin couldn't think of how else to earn money besides playing matches for a moment.

"If I find that streaming earns much more money than playing matches, I should probably retire on the spot."

In recent years, with the gradual stabilization of the streaming platform wars, users have gathered on a few platforms, and the rewards for streaming are getting higher and higher.

Unless one stands at an absolute peak, playing matches is far less profitable than streaming matches; this has slowly become an industry law.

After all, the commercial value brought by the audience in the streaming industry is far greater than that winner-takes-all prize money.

"You probably wouldn't be a good streamer." An Wenxin has already started the persuasion mode.

"Why?" Jiao Yang frowns upon hearing the negative words.

"Your skill is too good! The money earned by skill streamers is always limited. And entertainment streamers need to create content, and creating content is very tiring!"

Jiao Yang thinks about it, and it really is that logic.

If he hadn't accidentally awakened the system, he wouldn't have immediately chosen to be a streamer even if he retired; this is just a fallback.

"However, being a professional doesn't necessarily require results to have money." Jiao Yang's meaning is match-fixing, but he doesn't explain it in detail.

An Wenxin also thinks of the filth after the matches at this moment and sighs: "It's so complicated."

"Alright, let's watch the match."

The match between VG and NRG has already started; the first round is a BO1, the map is Mirage, and VG is starting as the Terrorists.

Given that he is watching with An Wenxin, he turns the volume of the stream down a little.

He originally wanted to provide some commentary, but it turns out An Wenxin speaks first:

"The tactic NRG likes to use for defense in the pistol round is biased toward gambling on sites."

Speaking of this, An Wenxin puts on her glasses and flips through the data.

"As of now, in the matches of NRG's new lineup, the situation where the defensive side is biased toward B in the Mirage pistol round accounts for 60%."

Sure enough, on the minimap, the five members of NRG are defending from the back, 3 at B, 1 in VIP, and 1 at A.

"It seems they are very afraid of the B-site flying to the second floor in the pistol round."

"Liang Dui knows their preference! There is only one person defending A!" An Wenxin watches as the five members of VG are already prepared to unfold from A1 and the second floor; it is clear they have researched their opponents.

At this moment, in the main perspective, daps, who is alone at A, has already retreated directly to the Police Base, completely emptying the bomb site; VG only needs to rush in to take the A bomb site directly.

But Jiao Yang is not that optimistic—

"Look at the minimap."

An Wenxin follows Jiao Yang's reminder and looks at the top left corner; Ethan at B has already pressed into the B second floor, and the defensive line has already begun to shrink toward the A site.

"They definitely don't like playing this tactic just because they assume so; daps retreats, CeRq in VIP confirms no one is at the Terrorist Entrance and holds the connector, and tariK at B-short has a shooting position."

Before the words are finished, a kill notification pops up—

【tariK used USP to headshot aumaN】

The observer didn't give aumaN's first-person perspective, but the bomb has been dropped on the minimap.

"The details are too bad." Jiao Yang can't help but complain.

Because they couldn't clear the Police Base at the first moment, the connector's shooting line has been harassing them, so aumaN wanted to plant the bomb at B-short.

But he didn't notice his teammate's position at all; no one was helping him hold B-short.

"Why didn't Freeman stay?" An Wenxin watches the minimap; Freeman could clearly have helped hold B-short, but he still rushed toward the Police Base alone.

Jiao Yang roughly knows the situation, but before he can say it, a flashbang flies over.

Freeman just wants to dodge, but there is an extra head on the wall of the spawn point in his perspective.

Da da

【daps used USP to headshot Freeman】

Fortunately, zhokiNg and Kaze pounced out together and solved the double-boosted daps, and advent also adjusted his position and planted the bomb at the Police Base.

A 3V4 clutch, the Police Base bomb is defending the Police Base, it's still playable.

Just see Brehze cooperate with the last flashbang, a big pull, directly two headshots.

"Ah? Such fast positioning!" An Wenxin opens her small mouth, somewhat shocked.

"This black fat ball is indeed very strong."

After Jiao Yang met ZywOo and unlocked the level cap, he directly read through the data of all the first-tier players, recording details including nicknames, preferences, hometowns, and so on.

This Brehze and his teammate CeRq, because of their identical round body shapes and different skin colors, are affectionately called "Black and White Fat Balls" by domestic players.

The main reason for having a nickname is generally that the strength is strong enough, or there is indeed some content.

For example, at this moment, in the main perspective, the armorless advent is squatting in the dead corner.

The bullet screen is full of 【Allegorical saying: Lao Jiu's clutch—】

Watching the captain show off a wave of back-facing USP empty shots, and then being beaten to death by the enemy.

Jiao Yang opens the food box and begins to taste the delicious food:

"Hmm, so fragrant."