CS: I’m Only 16, and You Want Me to Stage an Old Veteran Comeback?

【Hextech: Dungeon Boss: Currently Transforming, Remaining Time: 0.1 Hours...】

As Jiang Yang anxiously waited, the countdown finally ended. He noticed that the 【Hextech: Dungeon Boss】 had disappeared. In its place, an unfamiliar item appeared in his personal inventory.

【Hextech: Choose Your Opponent】

Description: In this Hextech instance, you can select your opponent. By spending a certain amount of Comeback Points as an entry fee, you can engage in simulated matches.

PS: Please adjust the difficulty to suit yourself!

Enter Hextech: Choose Your Opponent?

Jiang Yang wouldn’t be surprised by any type of Hextech scenario at this point. However, the ability to directly choose his opponents felt incredibly practical.

After all, he still had no idea what his actual skill level was. The system ranked him as Amateur Level 3, which was only average among professionals. Yet, despite this modest rank, he had completely obliterated Newhappy, treating them like fish in a barrel. This baffled even Jiang Yang himself.

In his heart, he had a theory: the system's rankings might be based on the standards from his 30-year-old self's era.

Given his Amateur Level 3 rank, it wasn’t unreasonable that he could beat Newhappy.

With this thought, Jiang Yang's confidence surged.

And now this Hextech instance... If he could really pick some top-tier opponents, he could finally determine where he stood.

Enter Hextech: Choose Your Opponent?

“Yes!”

With a single thought, Jiang Yang confirmed. The scene in front of him shattered, and suddenly he found himself seated in front of a computer.

This time, the surroundings weren’t obscured by fog but instead placed him on a massive stage.

What greeted his eyes was a sea of people. In the dimly lit arena, the audience’s phone cameras glittered like stars, their flashes constant. The deafening cheers and chants surged towards him, igniting a competitive fire that gave him goosebumps.

Soon, he noticed that the cheers were formulaic, stopping and resuming with his thoughts.

He brushed it off and focused on the screen in front of him.

System text appeared in small font:

【At 30 years old, you wish to reclaim your place among the world’s best. But the opponents of the past and present block your path. You must continually fight and seize every opportunity to raise your level. Now, face the fears buried deep in your heart.】

Jiang Yang raised an eyebrow.

Fears buried in his heart?

Does that mean the players who caused his eventual retirement?

His competitive streak was ignited. He wanted to see which player could push him to that point.

Jiang Yang always prided himself on his strong mentality. Losing matches never devastated him. But to be mentally crushed into retirement? That sounded absurd.

Then, five IDs appeared in front of him:

S1mple (2021), ZywOo (2023), donk (2024), Karrigan (2022), ropz (2022)

The first two IDs immediately overwhelmed him with pressure.

They were, after all, the current top players in the world, two CSGO legends often referred to as gods among men. These two were peerless, their skill levels described as practically inhuman.

S1mple? Aimbot incarnate.

ZywOo? Wallhack embodied.

Comparing them to soccer, they were Messi and Ronaldo. The aura they carried was crushing.

Karrigan and ropz were familiar names too—Karrigan, a legendary in-game leader (IGL) for FaZe, and ropz, one of the best lurkers in Mouz.

Karrigan’s reputation as the world’s greatest IGL made his inclusion understandable.

Meanwhile, ropz, with his phenomenal lurking ability, was downright annoying and memorable.

But who the heck was donk?

Jiang Yang frowned. That ID was completely unfamiliar. He had expected to see NIKO in this lineup. Yet, in the mind of his 30-year-old self, donk posed a greater threat than even NIKO. That was peculiar.

While pondering, the IDs vanished, and the simulation began.

Jiang Yang quickly checked the scoreboard and froze.

Wait, this isn’t a multiple-choice question?!

He realized that in this simulated match, his teammates’ IDs were hidden and represented by colors instead. The system stated that his teammates matched the skill of top-tier pros.

Jiang Yang settled his nerves and got to work.

The map? Nuke.

In these simulated matches, Jiang Yang could issue general commands—like executing an A-site rush, positioning on the outer yard, or coordinating complex angle plays.

For the pistol round, Jiang Yang opted for a standard A-site rush.

But against the monstrous IDs on the opposing side, his teammates were instantly obliterated. Jiang Yang managed to take down Karrigan and S1mple before getting traded.

The next round, Jiang Yang equipped an AWP to test his mettle against the world’s best snipers.

He was the first to peek, jumping to gain information in the outer yard. The moment he revealed the tiniest sliver of his head, a gunshot rang out.

【ZywOo (2023) used AWP to wallbang headshot young】

Jiang Yang: ?

Bro... I only showed a fraction of my head for less than a quarter of a second. How did you hit that?!

The system, sensing his confusion, provided a death replay.

Through ZywOo’s perspective, Jiang Yang saw his own head—a barely visible speck, only a few pixels. Yet ZywOo had pre-aimed perfectly and flicked in an instant.

“Aaaagh!” Jiang Yang groaned, clutching his forehead.

This was ridiculous.

Extreme dynamic vision + lightning-fast reflexes + pinpoint accuracy + predictive skills = ZywOo’s sniper abilities.

Jiang Yang prided himself on his talent. He had never met someone with faster reflexes in ranked games. But this? Hitting such an impossibly small target was unreal.

The lesson? Sometimes, a sniper needs to shatter conventional logic.

In the next round, Jiang Yang attempted a sneaky play. He threw a smoke and walked silently toward K1. He hoped to exploit the narrow terrain for close-range fights with a pistol.

But as he crept forward, bullets pierced through the smoke.

【donk (2024) used M4A1 to wallbang headshot young】

Good lord, was the smoke even real?!

Jiang Yang was bewildered.

This encounter sparked his competitive spirit, and he started focusing all his efforts on the outer yard.

In one round, he finally managed to take out both donk and ZywOo with his AWP, making his way toward K1. Just as he peeked out, confident that the enemy was looking elsewhere...

Bang!

【S1mple (2021) used AWP to wallbang headshot young】

Jiang Yang collapsed into his chair, smiling in disbelief.

This is inhuman.

After cooling down, Jiang Yang continued to grind through the simulation, determined to secure a single win.

Though repeatedly crushed, he learned a lot from the match. Even in unwinnable situations, he found opportunities to push into clutch scenarios, only to be ruthlessly dismantled.

Despite the crushing losses, Jiang Yang felt invigorated.

To face legends like these—two gods, alongside ropz and the others—was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

After the grueling match, Jiang Yang finally understood why donk became one of his heart’s inner fears.

The man’s rifling ability was utterly terrifying. With impeccable fundamentals and lightning-fast reflexes, donk was a player who could instantly retaliate if you didn’t kill him on sight.

Jiang Yang found himself losing countless direct duels, as donk’s aim and decision-making were impossibly precise. If Jiang Yang missed even a single shot with the AWP, donk would counter and eliminate him instantly.

Meanwhile, ropz was equally frustrating. His sneaky playstyle and knack for lurking made him the perfect opportunist. Twice, ropz even used a taser to kill Jiang Yang, sending him into a spiral of annoyance.

The only opponent who felt somewhat manageable was Karrigan, the in-game leader. Jiang Yang couldn’t sense anything particularly intimidating about him. But, considering the caliber of Karrigan’s teammates, it made sense that his leadership wasn’t needed for them to dominate.

When the match finally ended, Jiang Yang sat in a daze, mentally drained.

For the first time in a long while, he had been completely shut out of a game. It wasn’t because of intricate strategies or tactical outplays—it was raw, unrelenting skill. His opponents were so mechanically gifted that even the tiniest mistake on his part led to instant death.

Despite the crushing defeat, Jiang Yang couldn’t help but feel a spark of hope.

After all, he had held his ground on several occasions, managing to push the match into late-round situations, even if he ended up losing. Those moments gave him confidence.

Facing off against such a lineup—two “gods,” alongside the likes of ropz and Karrigan—was an experience that only dreams could offer. In reality, this level of competition would be impossible to encounter casually.

And yet, Jiang Yang didn’t feel completely powerless.

Exhaling deeply, Jiang Yang leaned back and finally noticed a new interface appear before him:

【Hextech: Choose Your Opponent】

So that earlier match... was just a tutorial?

Who in their right mind designs a tutorial with final boss-level opponents? Jiang Yang couldn’t help but internally rant.

Inspecting the system, he saw that he could now use Comeback Points to add opponents daily. He had the option to randomly add them or choose specific players to simulate matches.

However, each opponent came with a price tag. The stronger the opponent, the higher the cost.

Testing the system, Jiang Yang added MO (2018) to the roster. The interface displayed a fee of 500 Comeback Points.

As expected, 2018 was Captain MO’s peak year—of course he’d be expensive, Jiang Yang thought.

Curious, he then added Tyloo’s full 2018 roster, and the fee jumped to 2000 points.

This confirmed his suspicion—fielding an entire team of top-tier opponents was an expensive endeavor.

After browsing the options, he finally checked the fees for his “tutorial bosses”:

• Karrigan (2022): 5000 points
• ropz (2022): 7000 points
• S1mple (2021), ZywOo (2023), donk (2024): 10,000 points each

Jiang Yang let out a low whistle. These prices were steep, but he understood the logic. To truly improve, he needed to face the best, no matter the cost.

At his current rate, Jiang Yang could only earn around 1000 Comeback Points per day. This meant he’d need to save up significantly to challenge the legends again.

With a sigh, Jiang Yang logged out of the Hextech interface, stood up, and grabbed his running shoes. Turning to Ma Xixi, he said, “Let’s go for a jog.”

Over the next two days, Jiang Yang’s name continued to spread across the community. After defeating Newhappy, both he and his Steel Helmets teammates grew in confidence.

The second day’s match went smoothly, largely thanks to DD, who spearheaded the team’s attacks with unstoppable momentum. Jiang Yang, meanwhile, found himself in fewer engagements, often watching as the match ended before he could make a significant impact.

Even so, Jiang Yang finished the day with a 1.2 rating, which was a respectable performance. However, it was nowhere near his explosive debut, leading many fans in CSBOY’s livestream chat to jokingly taunt him:

“Cousin’s aging already!”

“Little Bro’s washed up!”

On the third day, Steel Helmets faced a Mongolian team called Checkmate in a best-of-three (BO3) series.

This match pushed Steel Helmets to their limits. Checkmate didn’t rely on standout riflers or flashy plays but instead had a masterful in-game leader: BLitz.

BLitz’s tactical brilliance put Steel Helmets on the brink of elimination. His strategies constantly outmaneuvered them, making every round a struggle.

Despite this, the Steel Helmets showed remarkable resilience. Jiang Yang, in particular, stepped up during critical moments. In the end, they barely clinched victory, securing a spot in the Asian RMR tournament.

Their next opponents? Tyloo and VG, two of China’s strongest teams.

For Jiang Yang, who had spent the past week grinding simulated matches in the Hextech interface, this was the opportunity he’d been waiting for.

He couldn’t wait to see how these two teams measured up against the legendary lineups he had faced in the simulation.