Young: "Thank you for your recognition, Ninth Master, but for now, I still plan to focus fully on preparing for the Major."
Seeing the strong rookie on the other side decline his offer, 259 felt a pang in his heart.
He had originally planned to make a move before Tyloo did, striking first to secure the advantage. To be honest, today’s loss hit him hard. After all, a professional team losing to a strear team—what would happen next in the GO community would be completely outrageous. The online backlash would be at full force.
But at the sa ti, the ergence of Jiang Yang, this top-tier dark horse, awakened the "talent scout" side of 259. He really wanted to bring Jiang Yang into his team.
Now that he had been rejected, 259 was feeling all sorts of pain.
The Gear-Shifting Veteran, who hadn’t managed to drift up Akina Mountain, saw the agonized look on 259’s face and burst into laughter.
Mocking his friend with a dramatic tone, he quipped, “Once, a prodigious young talent stood before , but I didn’t cherish him. Only after losing him did I regret it beyond asure!”
“As an in-ga leader, nothing is more painful than this!”
“If you could go back to that match on Dust2, would you talk to him a little longer?”
259 pondered for a mont before giving an answer that surprised Ah Zhong: "Honestly… I still wouldn’t."
Ah Zhong looked at him, puzzled.
259, now calr, had managed to shake off his initial emotions.
He explained, "The truth is, my cousin isn’t really suited for our playstyle. We’re not the right ship to carry him."
As the captain of VG, 259 had been working hard to rebuild CNCS, trying to learn from the European playstyle.
In Europe, team play was prioritized over raw individual skill. Players functioned like puzzle pieces, each fitting into a structured system.
"But my cousin's individual skill is far beyond what we initially thought. He’s the type of player born to be a superstar. He needs resources—far more than we imagined."
As one of the best in-ga leaders in Asia, 259 could feel Jiang Yang’s overwhelming presence through both match footage and their direct encounters.
All he needed was an AWP in his hands and a team playing around him, and he could take over the ga entirely.
A player who could take resources and still perform was, of course, soone 259 wanted.
But if he actually brought Jiang Yang in, it would likely disrupt VG’s entire system.
On the surface, it seed like all they had to do was insert Jiang Yang into the lineup. But CS:GO had never been that simple.
It was a five-man ga, with five different personalities and five different understandings of the ga.
Jiang Yang’s imnse skill would inevitably lead to a four-protect-one team structure, which was exactly what 259 wanted to avoid.
What he truly wanted was to raise the team's baseline, not gamble everything on one star player.
Hearing 259’s explanation, Ah Zhong raised an eyebrow. "So you do have so rationality left. You were never planning on signing him anyway, so why the long face?"
"Rationality is one thing!" 259 sighed. "But his talent is just too damn tempting!"
For an in-ga leader, discovering a player like this was like a swordsman finding the perfect blade—they just couldn't resist!
"Why did Cousin reject them outright?" Jiang Yang asked Ma Xixi.
After receiving the invitation from 259, his first instinct was to ask for his cousin’s opinion.
But after so thought, Ma Xixi didn’t tell him to accept. Instead, he advised Jiang Yang to politely decline VG’s offer.
"Think about it," Ma Xixi explained. "Right now, if you wanted to, joining Tyloo or VG would be easy."
"You’re good enough, and you’ve already beaten them. Today, VG made an offer, but I guarantee you, Tyloo will co knocking soon. And when they do, I’ll give them the sa answer—No."
"Neither Tyloo nor VG?" Jiang Yang looked at his cousin, confused. "So I just stay with Steel Helts?"
Ma Xixi rolled his eyes.
This kid was sharp in the ga, but right now, his eyes were filled with pure, innocent stupidity.
"Right now, the two top dostic teams just got dismantled by you and the Steel Helts. There’s no need to join them yet."
Ma Xixi continued, "As much as it sucks, Chinese CS is a bit disconnected from the international scene. If you really want to improve, you need to look beyond this region."
"You’re still young. If you perform well at the Major, I’d rather push you toward an international team. See where your true ceiling is."
At this point, even Ma Xixi wasn’t underestimating his cousin’s talent anymore.
After all, his performance at the Asian RMR had been undeniable.
Every single match was a standout carry performance. That wasn’t the level of an "Asian-tier" player. His true potential was far beyond this region.
Ma Xixi wanted him to test his limits. What if he could reach the threshold of a TOP 20 player globally?
If he could do that, Jiang Yang’s na would be cented in CS:GO history.
And even if things didn’t work out internationally, he could always return ho and dominate the dostic scene.
Jiang Yang was still young—Ma Xixi didn’t want him wasting his years stuck in the local circuit.
"Once this Major is over, even if your results aren’t amazing, I can still try to get in touch with Mouz. Their academy system is really solid."
"You’d learn a lot about what it ans to be a true professional there."
"But in the end, it’s up to you."
As a veteran in the scene, Ma Xixi wanted to help his cousin find the best possible path.
But only if Jiang Yang was willing.
Hearing his cousin’s suggestion, Jiang Yang hesitated.
"That ans I’d have to live overseas full-ti?"
After all, nobody wants to leave ho unless necessary.
And if he were serious about joining an international team, it wouldn’t just be a short trip. He’d be living abroad for years.
Seeing Jiang Yang hesitate, Ma Xixi laughed.
"I told you—this industry isn’t as easy as you thought."
"And even if you join Tyloo or VG, you’d still have to train in Serbia for months every year. It’s not that different."
CS:GO wasn’t an easy profession.
That’s why, back when Jiang Yang first ntioned going pro, Ma Xixi had tried really hard to talk him out of it.
The salaries weren’t high. The competition was ruthless. And players had to travel all over the world constantly.
Honestly, he felt Jiang Yang would have a better life just staying in Shanghai and being a strear.
Still, he carefully laid out the current state of the dostic scene for Jiang Yang to consider.
Jiang Yang listened closely—after all, this decision would shape the next few years of his life.
"No rush. Take your ti to think it through," Ma Xixi reassured him. "You still have plenty of ti."
But Jiang Yang quickly answered, "I’ve thought it through. If there’s a chance, I’ll go to Europe. These are just small obstacles!"
Compared to the challenges of moving abroad, he feared one thing even more—becoming just another "barely-making-a-living" strear.
"But I don’t necessarily have to go through Mouz Academy. I believe in my skills—I’ll attract plenty of offers!"
As he said this, his face was full of confidence.
Ma Xixi smiled, seeing his cousin’s determination.
"That’s the mindset you need."
"Co on, let’s go pick up your niece. Ti to celebrate—we’ve got a real pro player in the family now."
"Weren’t you a pro too? You played as a sniper, right?"
"? Nah, I was more of an escape artist!"
With laughter filling the air, they headed out for a feast.
anwhile, the news of Steel Helts qualifying for the Stockholm Major spread like wildfire across the entire GO community.
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