Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

In a corner of the stadium, the air seemed to freeze.

Lu Ren sat cross-legged on the edge of the floor, his face towards the wall and his back to the group who were packing up the equipment. His posture resembled that of an Arhat meditating in contemplation, if one ignored the slight trembling of his shoulders.

*【System Status: Inactive (Duration: Permanent). Recommended Action: Delete account and start over.】*

"Give."

A bottle of ice-cold cola was pressed against his cheek.

Lu Ren was jolted by the cold and turned around to see Qingze Yazhi squatting beside him, holding another bottle of oolong tea. The girl's ponytail swayed gently with her movements, her eyes holding a hint of amusement, or rather... well, all of it.

"What's wrong? Are you shy?" Ya-zhi unscrewed the bottle cap, the bubbles hissing. "That scream just now scared all the crows in the trees outside away."

"I'm not shy," Lu Ren said, taking the cola and stubbornly denying it. "It's tactical cooling. That last big move overloaded my CPU, and it gets a bit hot. Facing the wall helps dissipate heat faster."

"Yes, yes, yes, to cool down." Ya-zhi couldn't help but chuckle. "So how are you feeling now? Does your leg still hurt?"

"Physical pain is temporary, but mental trauma is permanent." Lu Ren took a swig of cola, the burst of carbonation slightly easing the awkwardness. "I feel like the way they're looking at me is weird. Especially that four-eyed guy."

Just as he finished speaking, a tall, slender figure happened to pass by.

Hotaru Tsukishima, holding a mop, adjusted her glasses, the lenses reflecting light. "If it doesn't hurt anymore, could you please move over, 'God of Volleyball'? I need to mop the floor. After all, mortals have to do cleaning."

Lu Ren: "..."

He frantically searched for the "mute" button in his mind.

"Ignore him." Yazhi patted Lu Ren on the shoulder and lowered her voice, "Everyone's only laughing for the next few days. Once you really master that serve and become incredibly good, no one will remember what happened today."

"Really?" Lu Ren's eyes lit up.

"certainly."

"No." Hotaru Tsukishima stopped, a wicked smile playing on her lips. "If you really become powerful in the future, looking back at today's 'seal roll' will only make you laugh even more. It'll be a high-definition remake of your embarrassing history."

crit.

True damage.

Lu Ren felt as if an arrow had struck his chest.

"Waaaaah—I can't live anymore!" Lu Ren wailed, burying his head in Ya Zhi's shoulder, his body convulsing violently. "This game experience is terrible! I'm quitting! I'm reporting this NPC for cheating and insulting players!"

Ya-zhi's body stiffened for a moment.

The boy's hair brushed against her neck, making her feel a little itchy.

All eyes immediately turned to them. Tanaka Ryunosuke whistled, Sugawara Koji gave a maternal smile, and even Sawamura Daichi coughed awkwardly.

"Lu Ren..." A "well" shape appeared on Ya Zhi's forehead.

"Waaaaah..."

"That's enough." Ya-zhi's shoulders suddenly trembled, her tone switching from gentle to cold. "I've already comforted you. If you continue acting, I'll have to charge you an appearance fee."

next second.

Lu Ren suddenly raised his head. There were no tears on his face, and his expression was as calm as an old monk who had just finished his morning prayers.

"Okay." Lu Ren straightened his collar. "Now that the comforting process is over, I should log off."

He stood up and tentatively moved his right leg.

The soreness is still there, but the stiffness from locked muscles has subsided considerably.

"Huh?" Lu Ren took a couple of steps and found that as long as he stayed active, the pain would actually lessen. "It seems that this debuff is dynamically determined. As long as I don't stop, the pain can't catch up with me."

Yazhi shook her head helplessly, got up and walked to the other side: "I'm going to help Shimizu-senpai collect the net, you wait for me at the door."

"Understood, sir."

……

Ten minutes later, the setting sun dyed half the sky red.

On the campus of Karasuno High School, most club activities had ended. Only the occasional sound of a baseball being hit and the distant practice music of the brass band could be heard.

Lu Ren, carrying his schoolbag and clutching a half-empty bottle of cola, walked side by side with Ya Zhi down the slope.

As they passed the side entrance of the second gymnasium, a series of rapid hitting sounds and roars caught their attention.

"Too slow! Hinata! I told you to be faster!"

"sorry!"

Lu Ren stopped and looked through the barbed wire fence.

There were only two figures on the empty stadium.

Kageyama Tobio stood at the net, holding the volleyball, his face contorted with frustration and disappointment. Opposite him, Hinata Shoyo was panting heavily, his hands on his knees, his forehead covered in sweat.

"Again!" Kageyama roared.

Hinata immediately assumed a posture, her eyes resolute: "Oh!"

The ball was tossed up.

As Kageyama jumped, the instant his fingers touched the ball, his wrist flicked with incredible agility. The volleyball, like a precision-guided missile, shot towards the other end of the net at breakneck speed.

Hinata Shoyo took a running start, jumped, and swung his arms.

"call--"

His hand swung at empty air.

The ball had already grazed his fingertips and slammed into the boundary before he could even swing his arm.

"Still too slow!" Kageyama landed, his brow furrowed. "You need to spike the ball the instant it reaches its highest point! Don't waste my pass!"

Hinata landed, scratching his head in frustration: "But... that ball was so fast! It just whizzed past!"

"That's to avoid the block!" Kageyama explained impatiently. "Only with this speed can you score before the opponent's block is formed! You just need to jump, and the ball will be in your hands!"

"But I can't reach it!"

"Then jump higher! Run faster!"

The two argued incessantly on the field.

Watching this scene from outside the barbed wire fence, Ya-zhi exclaimed, "How passionate! Even after being kicked out, they're still practicing so hard."

"Passionate?" Lu Ren raised an eyebrow. "To me, it looks like we're stuck."

He lifted his schoolbag up and walked to the barbed wire gate.

"Feed".

The two people in the room turned their heads at the same time.

"It's Riku Ren-san!" Hinata blurted out.

Lu Ren's lips twitched slightly: "Drop that prefix! Just call me Lu Ren!"

Kageyama Tobio frowned: "What's wrong? We're training right now."

"I've been watching for a while," Lu Ren said, pointing to the ball on the ground. "I have a question I'd like to ask. I'm a beginner and don't really understand the rules, so please don't mind if I'm wrong."

Kageyama said coldly, "Speak."

Lu Ren took a sip of his cola and said slowly, "In games... uh, I mean in volleyball, is the role of a setter similar to 'support'?"

"Support?" Kageyama paused for a moment, clearly not very familiar with this online game term. "The setter is the team's command tower, the one who controls the rhythm of the attack."

"Pretty much." Lu Ren nodded. "That means the person responsible for buffing the DPS characters or grouping the monsters together for the DPS to attack."

He pointed at Hyuga: "This guy is clearly a highly agile, low-intelligence melee assassin. His strengths are speed and jumping ability, but his technical attributes are practically zero."

Hinata: "Hey! Who's got low intelligence?!"

Lu Ren ignored Hinata's protest and looked directly at Kageyama: "And you, a mage with maxed-out technical attributes. Your pass was extremely fast and accurate; it certainly looked impressive."

Kageyama raised his chin: "Of course."

"But," Lu Ren changed the subject, "if your teammates can't even receive your pass, then the skill's accuracy is practically zero, right?"

Kageyama paused, then said, "That's because he's too slow! He needs to get used to my speed!"

"Why should he adapt to you?" Lu Ren asked, puzzled. "If I'm in a dungeon and my teammate is a noob... cough, a newbie. I throw him a god-tier buff that requires 0.1 seconds of reaction time, and he misses it, causing a wipe. In that situation, should I blame my teammate for being bad, or should I reflect on whether I adjusted my skill timing according to my teammate's skill level?"

The air suddenly became quiet.

Kageyama Tobio's pupils contracted slightly.

Lu Ren continued his downward spiral with his "game logic": "You say you're the 'command tower.' But if the soldiers can't execute the orders issued by the commander, is that the soldiers' problem or the commander's problem?"

"If you want to win, if you want to clear the level..." Lu Ren shrugged, "Shouldn't we use the safest method to get the ball to the best position for the attacker to spike? Even if that shot is a little slower, even if that shot isn't that cool."

"After all, only attacks that deal damage are considered effective, right? What's the use of looking cool if you miss?"

These words may just be common sense to those who are not familiar with volleyball.

But for Tobio Kageyama, who was known as the "King of the Field" and was used to being self-centered, it was like a heavy hammer blow to his solid cognitive barrier.

He has always believed that as long as the perfect pass is received, the attacker should spike the ball.

But they never considered that the so-called "perfection" was relative to whom.

Hinata Shoyo blinked his big eyes. Although he didn't understand what "DPS" or "Buff" meant, he understood the last sentence: "Yeah! If I can get the ball, I'll definitely slam it down! No matter what kind of ball it is!"

Kageyama Tobio stood still, the volleyball slipping from his hand and hitting the floor with a thud.

He looked at his hands, his gaze gradually shifting from confusion to complexity.

Lu Ren knew when to stop.

The essence of showing off lies in stopping short of revealing your true colors; otherwise, you'll be exposed. After all, he hasn't even mastered the standard hand position for a setter.

"I'm leaving." Lu Ren turned around and waved to Ya Zhi, who was staring in disbelief. "Going home. My mom made braised pork today, and my dad ate it all if I got home late."

Yazhi snapped out of her daze, took a deep look at the seemingly petrified genius setter on the court, and then looked at the nonchalant back of the person in front of her.

"Lu Ren".

"what?"

"What you just said..." Ya-zhi quickly caught up, "surprisingly, it was kind of cool."

"Really?" Lu Ren tossed his bangs smugly. "That's because I saw through the surface to the essence. That's the strategic vision of a pro player."

Speak like a human.

"I was annoyed by that guy's 'I'm the boss, you all have to listen to me' look, and I wanted to talk back to him."

"..."

The setting sun cast long shadows of the two of them.

Inside the stadium.

Kageyama Tobio remained silent for a long time.

"Hinata."

"Huh? Here!" Hinata was startled, thinking she was about to be scolded again.

Kageyama turned around, his expression somewhat stiff, as if he were making an extremely difficult decision.

"That ball just now... if... I mean, if..."

He took a deep breath and said through gritted teeth, "If I pass it a little slower, a little higher... would you be able to dunk it?"

Hinata was stunned.

Immediately, a bright smile spread across his face: "Of course! As long as there's a ball, I can jump! I can dunk!"

Kageyama picked up the ball, and the anxiety in his eyes seemed to dissipate somewhat, replaced by a new light, one filled with a desire to explore.

"Then... let's try again."

……

on the way home.

Lu Ren sneezed.

"Who's insulting me?" He rubbed his nose.

"Maybe it's that genius you enlightened," Ya Zhi laughed. "But Lu Ren, if you help them so much, what about the match on Saturday? If they get stronger, won't it be even harder for you to win?"

Lu Ren paused in his steps.

Oops.

I was so busy showing off that I forgot about this.

That's the enemy faction's boss! Was I just giving the boss a strategy guide?!

"Don't panic." Lu Ren forced himself to remain calm, his eyes sharpening (though his legs were still trembling). "The stronger the BOSS, the better the equipment it drops. And..."

He clenched his fist, and the book "Illustrated Guide to Volleyball Tactics" flashed through his mind.

"Since it's a game, there's no dungeon that can't be conquered. They have talent, I have... strategy guides and grinding!"

"And me too," Ya-Chih added.

"Yes, and you as a food reserve."

"Lu Ren! Do you want to die?!"

The sounds of playing and laughing gradually faded into the distance on the street.

And the gears of fate began to turn faster because of a gamer's careless remark.

Saturday's 3-on-3.

It’s just a good show.