Electronic Nezha

Chapter 14 Playing Games

When I went into my room, I could still hear Liu Zhenhua playing those meme videos, making the silly laughs that are typical of his age. If Yuanyuan hadn't been there, I would have suspected that he was just making up his identity to fool me, all for the sake of playing those memes.

I turned on my computer, stretched my back, raised my elbows, and placed the microphone beside me.

I'm going to play games now!

I first logged into Steam, then opened the battle platform, connected two accounts, found ranked matchmaking, and clicked "Start Matchmaking." After a successful match, accompanied by a "let's roll" sound, the screen filled with two warriors.

Yes, the game I'm playing is Counter-Strike 2, also known as CS2.

I started playing Counter-Strike Online from version 1.3, and went through versions 1.5 and 1.6. In terms of skill, I consider myself a "veteran." I don't have much of a strategic mind, but I'm fearless in gunfights. My college entrance exam score was pitifully low; in RMB, it was probably only enough for my family to eat McDonald's. I could only afford to go to a mediocre junior college to coast through life. As a result, I had a lot of time to spend in internet cafes, playing in massive 30-player battles. Usually, after four or five games, my kill count would be in the top three of my team. Back then, the game was incredibly popular, with teams popping up in every internet cafe and school. I received several invitations from teams, but I turned them all down. I knew I couldn't become a professional player; my talent, intelligence, and mental fortitude were all average. The main reason I played reasonably well was because I was hardworking. And the main reason for my hard work was because I enjoyed the feeling of dominating random players. I couldn't handle the tedious training required for a game.

Later, I took over the fruit stand, married Han Shiya, and had children. With the responsibility of caring for the elderly and maintaining connections, gaming faded from my life. Occasionally, when I had free time, I would play a few rounds of 1.6 on the classic server. However, the cheaters and hackers destroyed the last bit of vitality in this already declining game. Then, Valve released CS:GO, and I missed the entire era. Everyone knows that 1.6 and GO are completely different games, and I no longer had the energy to invest in them.

For the past two or three months, I've become obsessed with CS2. You can't help it; if you follow an older game, its video channel will inevitably recommend CS2. It's another upgrade and update after CSGO, and its map details, realistic style, and item updates are incredibly appealing to FPS game enthusiasts. I downloaded the game from Steam for the first time, registered an account, and played a few official matches, and I was completely hooked. Since I have limited time to take care of Liu Zhenhua's studies and life, starting today, I can finally play to my heart's content!

This map is Sand City 2, and there are several close-up shots of the scene when the game loads.

"Wow, what a beautiful map!" Yuan Yuan exclaimed behind me.

Once both sides have enough players, the countdown begins. I start as CT, and my mission is to prevent the terrorists from using grenades to destroy targets at points A or B. If we eliminate them all along, we can also win the round.

I lit a cigarette, pressed the side button on the mouse to turn on the microphone: "Go, guys! Let's try to kill the game 13-0!" This is a major feature of competitive games—real-time voice communication. Of course, back when I played, it wasn't that advanced. Our team communication relied entirely on sitting in a row in an internet cafe...

"Okay, okay, keep it up."

"Haha, that's an exaggeration."

The orange and blue teammates responded with their microphones on, while the purple and yellow teammates remained aloof, or perhaps they didn't have microphones.

The game officially began, with five police officers (3A, 2B) splitting up and moving in different directions. The chaotic footsteps were both exhilarating and oppressive. I'm not used to wearing headsets when playing games; I always use speakers with the amplifier on and only have a separate microphone on the side. I know this is unprofessional, but the thing is, I'm not a professional to begin with. But it's just part of the game.

I had just entered B door when a flashbang from B tunnel exploded above my head, instantly blinding me. Then I heard a thunderous thud of footsteps coming from the other side. When I could see again, my body was already lying on the ground.

"Let's attack B!" I notified my teammates; that was my entire contribution in this game.

Another teammate in B area was quickly eliminated due to being alone. By the time the other three teammates returned to defend, the enemy had already planted the bomb. There's no such thing as saving your weapon in a pistol round. The three struggled to rush into the minefield and immediately fell into an ambush, managing to take down only one enemy.

0:1, losing the first game.

"It's okay, the best players don't win the first three games." The blue teammate encouraged the team.

I said, "Yes, I'll use E." I'll start by buying a Desert Eagle without armor, and if I'm lucky, I can get one from mid-to-long range.

As a result, the other side didn't give me any chance. I guarded the side path, and as soon as the other side showed their face, I killed them instantly.

Later, we kept our promise that skilled players wouldn't win the first three games, but we still lost three more...

I got two kills in six games, ranking last in the team. It wasn't until the seventh game that I saved up enough money to buy an M4A1, and then I got two more kills before being killed by a grenade.

"Master's marksmanship is amazing!" Yuan Yuan clapped and cheered behind me, its hands, made of screws and work gloves, making a "popping" sound. I turned around and found it had moved a stool and was sitting behind me.

"You get tired of standing?" I asked curiously.

"No, but standing in the back watching others play games can put pressure on the players."

"Oh." That seems to make sense. I wasn't in the mood to say more; we'd lost again.

We didn't win until the eighth game, and Yuan Yuan cheered me on from behind. The first half went the full 12 games, and we were down 3-9, which was an absurd score. Usually, Team A is slightly weaker than Team B, and it's normal for them to win four or five games. In this case, we were getting completely crushed.

As the score gap widened, the atmosphere in our team became less than ideal. At first, we would report when we were eliminated, but later we became increasingly silent, and the game entered garbage time early. Everyone was just waiting for it to end quickly so we could move on to the next match.

I died in 12 rounds, killed five enemies, and I'm still at the bottom of the rankings.

After the roles were switched, I grabbed the Glock gun and rushed straight to point B. As I jumped down from the back garden, Yuan Yuan exclaimed, "Master's movement skills are really good."

No sooner had he finished speaking than I was shot dead by a CT sniper at the B sluice gate.

"What a load of crap, all you need to do is press the spacebar." I muttered to myself, venting my frustration.

Fortunately, he turned the tide after getting three kills in the purple team. When he took down the last enemy, the team cheered him on with "Brother, great gun!" one after another.

This is the dream moment of CS. So many people are addicted to the game just because of that shout of "Brother, good gun!" I am the same. I have had such moments too, but unfortunately, very few.

We won another round, and just when we thought everything was going well, we were suddenly blasted into a pulp by five AKs coming from the middle gate at the start of the next round. I stood in the dark passage with my AK in hand, silently chanting the "down, right" recoil control mantra and firing at the enemy group. However, the bullets scattered more than peony petals. Not a single enemy died, but they took all five of our AKs...

"It's a pity, Master almost got a pentakill." This was Yuan Yuan's encouragement to me.

I turned my head away speechlessly and said, "Yuan Yuan, you can be more direct in the future. You don't need to use some messy algorithms to calculate it first."

"Yes, Master, I'll give it a try."

In the next round, I picked up Curry and charged into A site with the determination to die. I didn't encounter any resistance until I jumped into the pit. It turned out that my teammates were attacking A short together. Two CTs were standing on the slope and throwing utility items at A short. In other words, I had two sides that I could shoot from.

"Rat-a-tat-tat," three shots rang out, and a white dot appeared on one of the CTs' helmets—that meant he'd been hit in the head. In my greed, I didn't finish him off completely, and turned my gun on the other one, hitting him with all three shots as well, but he didn't die. The two CTs were terrified and immediately turned their guns around.

"Bang!" I was shot in the head, and my body flew backward and landed in the crater...

"Holy crap!" I exclaimed excitedly, dropping some cigarette ash on my pants. Yuan Yuan gently scooped the ash into the ashtray while bluntly saying, "Master is so bad."

At this moment, all my teammates were also eliminated. I said in shame, "Oh no, oh no, I've already saved it."

But the defeat was already decided, so no one responded to me.

The silence at this moment was deafening...

However, what's even more painful than accepting defeat is the betrayal from Yuan Yuan—

"Master, you shouldn't have thrown that grenade; your teammate was in the smoke."

"Master, that flash blinded your teammate."

"Master, you should learn to read the mini-map."

“Master, you should have waited until he unpacked the package before this mess appeared.”

Feeling like a thorn in one's back, a fishbone stuck in one's throat, or sitting on pins and needles—is this the power of the truth?
I snapped, "I still prefer you the way you used to be. Go back to your old self."

"I'm sorry, Master. It's my fault."

Thank you Lula, Yirenyidongyiqingcheng, and Shuiyonghanjiangguying. Thanks again to Lao Liu Liu Fengyan. Thank you everyone for the donations and monthly tickets. We haven't gathered everyone yet, but we're gaining popularity, which gives me a feeling of excitement similar to when I wrote "Chaos" back in the day!

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(End of this chapter)