Chapter 107: Xu Beifang's ambition

Having won the ZOTAC Cup Masters championship, VP spent the next day under the guidance of coach Kuben conducting a deep, comprehensive review of the entire final, after which the whole team entered vacation mode.

However, this vacation was not the months-long break typical of an off-season, but a brief one-week period.

This was because on the 5th of next month, they had an online ESEA tournament to attend.

Starting on that same day was the 2018 FACEIT London Major Challenger stage, which was incredibly important for every professional player!

At the previous Krakow Major, VP's performance had not been good, so for this London Major.

They, too, would have to compete like ordinary pub teams, starting from the Major qualifiers to fight for a chance to enter the group stage.

Aside from his daily practice to maintain his form, Xu Beifang spent the rest of his time sightseeing and checking in at various landmarks in Hong Kong with the senior players, living a very pleasant life.

On the day before they were set to fly to London, Xu Beifang, who was packing his luggage, suddenly heard a knock at the door.

"Nice, come out and let's talk."

Xu Beifang turned his head and saw Kuben, with his bald head, standing outside the door.

He stopped what he was doing, having a rough idea of what was about to happen.

Beside him, Pasha raised his eyebrows at him, silently saying something with his mouth.

Xu Beifang felt a warmth in his heart and nodded at him.

Kuben led him to the balcony, and looking at the surging traffic on the street below, Kuben began: "Nice, I really didn't expect that Pasha's unintentional act would bring you out of the amateur scene. In this ZOTAC Cup, it's a good thing we had you, otherwise we might have stopped at the second round."

These words came from his heart; in this ZOTAC Cup, as the tournament MVP, the young man before him was worthy of such praise.

Moreover, as a coach, he understood even better that if they hadn't made a substitution and had still let the temporary stand-in Morelz play, the performance in this tournament would have been disastrous.

Sometimes, you don't know the gap until there's a comparison; only with a comparison can people's positioning be more accurate.

"It was also the team giving me the opportunity to perform, otherwise I might still be grinding the FACEIT ladder." Xu Beifang did not act humble and calmly accepted the coach's praise.

Having played on FACEIT for so long, no team had been willing to extend an olive branch to him; VP was the first.

Even if this team's general strength was lacking, it was still a proper first-tier gatekeeper, allowing Xu Beifang to shine and show his worth in competition.

Furthermore, after joining VP, except for the first day of the IEM Shanghai tournament, the temporary stand-in Morelz had basically just been there for a vacation, and Xu Beifang had received all the playing opportunities.

From this perspective, VP had treated him quite well.

"Previously, because you were a pub player without a track record, we could only sign you to a short-term contract. Now that we've won the championship, I've argued with the VP manager and the boss, and negotiated a formal contract for you." Kuben handed over a contract, signaling for Xu Beifang to take a look.

Xu Beifang took the contract and began to read it carefully. Even though he had no intention of staying at VP for long, Kuben meant well, and he saw no need to make things awkward for him.

After spending ten minutes or so reading through the content of the contract, Xu Beifang shook his head and said: "The salary level is indeed good, but the contract duration is too long."

Within this contract, the overall terms were quite good for him at his current stage.

But that was only for the current stage. Once the London Major was over, if Xu Beifang could maintain this level of performance, his market value would surely skyrocket.

Of course, it could also plummet.

However, Xu Beifang believed he could perform at his expected level, even if what followed was the highest level of CS: GO competition!

As a professional player, the first thing one must do is have confidence in oneself!

In the ladder, there are many players who use professional players' IDs and avatars, and even perfectly replicate their settings. Many of them are not loyal fans; they just think the player is strong and that using their settings will allow them to pull off the same eye-catching plays.

Yet they forget one thing.

You don't even dare to use your own ID; you've lost the most basic confidence!

In CS: GO, a competitive game, without confidence, you will have nothing.

Even though he hadn't participated in a single Major, Xu Beifang still held aspirations for his future and harbored the thought of getting better and better.

"Three years isn't actually that long," the coach in front of him said.

"But Kuben, I'm already 22. After 3 years, I'll be 25, about the same age as Byali. By then, my competitiveness will decline. Not everyone is Forest Brother." Xu Beifang replied sincerely:

Forest Brother, at over thirty years old, could still shine on the professional stage and constantly break the record for the oldest professional player; this was truly breathtaking.

But not everyone could reach that point; he was, after all, an exception.

The decline in Pasha and Neo's form was visible to the naked eye. If they could still maintain their competitiveness on the professional stage.

Who among them wouldn't want to fight for a few more years?

The problem is they can't!

If they were to keep clinging on until they became the team's weak link, they would only end up losing their 'dignity in their twilight years' at the end of their careers.

Retiring while at their peak was the best choice for them.

"I'm not a young player like Han Wang who debuted at 16. Perhaps he has struggled for many years, and by the time I reach his age, I might have already lifted my first Major trophy."

"But I'm different, I realized things too late, Kuben." Xu Beifang looked at the hurried pedestrians on the street and said with some emotion, "I want to go to more competitive teams, to G2, FaZe, NaVi, MOUZ, Liquid—teams with the strength to win championships."

Kuben subconsciously wanted to retort, to ask why VP didn't have the strength to win a championship?

But the words reached his lips, and he swallowed them back.

The VP of the past was the Polish Giant Bear that could fight until the very end against Astralis in a Major final, losing by a hair's breadth.

But the VP of today, where would the competitiveness come from?

After the London Major, Pasha had clearly stated he would enter a semi-retired state.

Neo was also going to start leading second-tier teams to make use of his remaining value.

Byali had also clearly told him that if Nice stayed, he would choose to stay and give it a try.

If Nice wasn't there, he would have to look for another team.

Following the end of the London Major, even if they found two new players and kept both Nice and Byali.

But how could they guarantee the performance of those two new players??

With the cautionary tale of Morelz here, it made them understand even more that not everyone is Nice.

So Kuben was also speechless. As a coach of a competitive discipline, it should be a good thing for a teammate to have ambition.

But the fact that there was no room for him to perform within the team was a regrettable matter.

"It's okay, you think about it first, there's no rush to sign the contract." Kuben still held a glimmer of fantasy in his heart, "Maybe after the London Major, the club will find suitable players?"

"Then you could just stay at VP."

But even as he said this, Kuben didn't believe it himself.

He had been urging the team manager to recruit a psychological trainer, but for several months, that side hadn't paid any attention to it at all.

This ZOTAC Cup championship had left a good impression on the manager and the boss.

But the fundamental attitude of looking down on CS: GO could not be changed. In this situation, wanting them to spend money and effort to find some genius players for reinforcement was better than counting on Pasha to find a few more from FACEIT.

Regarding Xu Beifang's choice, Kuben felt some regret, but he could still understand it.

After all, if he had the chance to go to Astralis as a coach, he would run away in a heartbeat too.

People always strive for better things.

If Pasha and Neo still had competitiveness, he could still let VP charge forward while shouting about "bonds and friendship."

But with his two senior brothers who were leading him both planning to run away, there was nothing to be done in such a situation.

Kuben's conversation was just a small interlude for Xu Beifang.

If Pasha and Neo were still there, he would indeed consider staying at VP for a while.

But since the senior brothers had reminded him to "run fast," he couldn't possibly be impulsive and stay at VP.

In the future, he might be tied to a certain team by various emotions, but it certainly wouldn't be now.

Pasha was leaning against the wall doing push-ups; hearing footsteps, he turned his head and winked, silently asking.

Xu Beifang smiled and shook his head at him; everything was understood without words.

Seeing the silent encrypted chat between his teammates, Neo also breathed a sigh of relief.

This matter had made them very concerned; after all, Kuben had previously mentioned giving a new contract, and today, seeing him being pulled out, they were very worried that the young man might be soft-hearted and get tricked if he wasn't careful.

Now it seemed that, as expected of a university student, he had his own judgment on all sorts of matters.

With this matter resolved, they could go all out in the upcoming London Major.

For the two of them, this was basically their last dance, and they would absolutely give it their all.

And the young man, wanting to establish his market value, would exert his full strength and not slack off.

……

In the room, only the sound of Byali and MiChu playing Dota 2 remained.

But before he had finished packing his clothes, his phone rang again.

"This phone usually doesn't get a single call, why is everyone looking for me today?" Xu Beifang was somewhat speechless.

But picking up the phone to look, he saw it displayed—Xu Nanfang.

Had they docked?

Xu Beifang took out his phone and answered it directly in the room, even turning on the speakerphone.

No one in the room was sleeping; everyone was doing their own thing.

He wasn't afraid of them hearing the conversation; after all, it was Chinese mixed with dialect, and this group of Poles wouldn't understand a thing!

"Hey, brother, where have you docked this time?"

Xu Nanfang was his biological brother; the two were not twins, and the origin of their names was very simple.

One was born in the south of our country, the other in the north; there was no special meaning.

"Docked here at Taizhou Port. Brother bought a watch in Japan, wait for you to come over tomorrow and see if it fits." Xu Nanfang's happy voice came from the other end of the phone, "Let me tell you, this time I found a sister-in-law for you in Suzhou, you buy a ticket and come over tomorrow, I'll take you to meet her."

Drifting on the sea day after day, Xu Beifang was the anchor they relied on when docking, so whenever there were good things in various places, he would always save them for his younger brother.

It was hard to dock for once, and it just so happened that his younger brother was on summer vacation, so he hurriedly called him over to get together.

"I'm in Hong Kong." Xu Beifang replied to his brother while packing his things.

"Ran to Hong Kong for a trip? Is the money you have enough? You didn't run off to work a summer job in a factory again, did you?" Xu Nanfang's voice was a bit dissatisfied.

His education was only high school; after graduation, he came out to work on ships with his father.

He knew how hard it was to earn money with physical labor, so naturally, he didn't want his younger brother to follow this path.

He was already thin enough to be blown over by the wind, and last winter and summer vacation, he had gone to work in a factory for only 10 yuan an hour; what was that good for?

He didn't earn much money, but instead wore himself out.

In Xu Nanfang's view, his younger brother just needed to study hard now, and they would handle the financial matters.

Xu Beifang was silent for a long while, then opened his mouth to say: "Brother... I've suspended my studies to play professionally, and a few days ago I just won a championship in a tournament in Hong Kong."

He knew this matter couldn't be hidden forever; eventually, he would have to come clean to his family.

"What the hell?? Suspended your studies??" Xu Nanfang's voice on the other end was very surprised.

"What's the situation? Tell me in detail. You know you won't get past me, and Dad will take his belt to you."

Xu Beifang didn't intend to cover it up either, and carefully told his brother everything—from him grinding CS: GO, to being scouted by Tyloo and realizing he had talent, then being discovered by VP, and going to IEM Shanghai to play in the tournament.

"You aren't lying to me, are you? Like something out of a novel. If you're lying, this time I'll beat you up together with Dad!" Xu Nanfang's voice grew louder, as if that could scare his younger brother, and then he turned his head and shouted, "Xiaoya! Come over and help me check something, you search for..."

"What was the name of that tournament of yours?"

"IEM Shanghai, you can find it by searching on Bilibili, or you can search for my account directly, 'Hard-Training Nice'..." Xu Beifang answered weakly; perhaps due to bloodline suppression, he felt he was going to get a 'bamboo shoot stir-fried meat' beating in a couple of days.

Xu Nanfang was on the phone, telling his brother not to hang up, and then signaled his girlfriend to help him check the IEM Shanghai tournament on Bilibili.

"Why check this?"

"That little rabbit Beifang said he's playing professionally, I feel like this guy is framing me." Xu Nanfang said decisively, "I played CS 1.6 back in the day too, our Xu family doesn't have that talent at all."

Wang Xiaoya, with a skeptical look, searched for the IEM Shanghai tournament on her phone and then found VP.

Seeing that the VP members appearing on camera were five unfamiliar faces, she immediately shouted at the phone: "Beifang, just wait to be beaten when you get back. Now you even dare to lie to your brother, and you even dared to suspend your studies!"

"Look at the second match!! I was a stand-in for the first match and didn't play." Xu Beifang said hurriedly.

Wang Xiaoya also hurriedly flipped through, finding the next match.

Sure enough, as soon as it started, she saw a face similar to her boyfriend's appear on camera, but overall it was much softer.

"You really weren't lying to me?"

"Why would I lie to you??"

"No, I used to skip class every day to play 1.6, and my level wasn't outstanding either..." Xu Nanfang was very puzzled.

"Is it possible that it's not that the Xu family lacks talent." Wang Xiaoya looked at her boyfriend with a smile, "It's that the talent is all with the uncle."

Xu Nanfang: "..."

(End of chapter)