Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The air in Sendai City Gymnasium seemed to freeze for a moment before being filled with the cacophony of voices.

Facing each other across the net, the captains of both teams walked to the front of the net.

Sawamura Daichi's hands were broad and strong, and when he held Oikawa Toru's hand, he did not loosen his grip in the slightest despite the latter's infuriating smile.

"Nice to meet you." Oikawa Tetsu smiled without a trace of gloom, his refreshing aura making him seem like a male protagonist straight out of a shoujo manga.

But in Lu Ren's eyes, this guy's health bar was not only ridiculously long, but it was also constantly flashing a red "rage" state. Behind that smile lay a malice that was ready to devour its prey whole.

"Nice to meet you," Sawamura replied in a deep voice.

The players from both sides dispersed and began their final pre-match warm-up.

Lu Ren stood near the baseline, stretching his thigh muscles, his gaze never leaving the opposite half of the court. Every movement of Aoba Seishi appeared effortless, displaying the relaxed air characteristic of a top-tier school. In contrast, while Karasuno's momentum was equally strong, every player was on edge.

"Beep—!"

The referee's whistle pierced the air sharply.

The two teams quickly lined up at the baseline, and the sound of their synchronized bows made the floor tremble slightly.

"Nice to meet you!!"

The starting lineup enters the field.

Lu Ren stood on the right side of the back row, habitually stretching his ankles. His gaze swept across the net to Oikawa Tetsu, who was standing in position two, casually waving to the girls in the stands, eliciting a burst of screams.

"That 'socially successful' aura is really infuriating, even though I am one too," Lu Ren muttered to himself, then adjusted his center of gravity and assumed a defensive stance.

In the first inning, Udoni had the ball in the right.

Hotaru Tsukishima walked to the service area with the ball. He adjusted his glasses, his face expressionless. Instead of opting for a high-risk, powerful jump serve, he took a steady overhand float serve.

The volleyball crossed the net, its trajectory somewhat unpredictable.

"I'll do it."

In the back row of Aoba Castle West, Kunimi Hideki made almost no unnecessary movements, even keeping the bending of his knees to a minimum. He took a half step to the left, his arms steadily raised.

Snapped.

The ball was easily lifted and flew perfectly toward the setter's position.

"Well done." Oikawa Tetsu didn't even need to move his feet; the volleyball obediently landed above his head.

Lu Ren's pupils contracted slightly.

coming.

In the front row of Aoba Castle West, two attackers simultaneously started their run-up. Kindaichi on the left and Iwaizumi on the right, their cross-positioning instantly stretched Karasuno's blocking line of sight.

Kageyama Tobio stood at the net, brow furrowed, his mind racing. Should he pass to Iwaizumi? Or launch a quick attack to Kindaichi?

However, Lu Ren's gaze did not fall on the attacker; he stared intently at Oikawa Toru's hand gestures.

That action—

When passing a ball, the wrist makes a backward movement to cushion the impact. But Oikawa's fingers are too stiff; that's a precursor to direct force.

"A second attack!"

Alarm bells rang in Lu Ren's mind, and his body reacted even faster than his thoughts.

The instant Oikawa Toru jumped, he didn't pass the ball. Instead, he swung his left hand sharply and spiked the ball directly into the open space on Karasuno's field—the blind spot in front of the three-meter line.

This shot came so suddenly. Hyuga and Tanaka in the front row were completely distracted by the two attackers who were running up, and didn't have time to turn around.

But one figure rushed out.

Lu Ren slid out of the water like a fish out of water, almost skimming the floor. His eyes were fixed on the falling volleyball, his arms outstretched as far as he could.

If only 0.1 seconds faster.

My fingertips brushed against the varnish on the floor, bringing a burst of heat from the friction.

"Thump."

The volleyball landed less than five centimeters in front of Lu Ren's fingertips and bounced up.

Lu Ren landed hard on the ground, the momentum carrying him forward a short distance. He awkwardly propped himself up, looked at the ball rolling away, and clicked his tongue in disbelief.

"Tch, isn't the judgment range enough?"

The entire audience erupted in uproar.

"It's a second attack!"

"They dare to play like that on the very first goal? They must have a lot of nerve!"

As Oikawa Tetsu landed, a crack appeared in the composed smile that had been on his face. He looked at Lu Ren, who was getting up from the ground, with some surprise.

For a split second, he genuinely thought the ball was about to be saved.

That kind of anticipation speed... this guy's basketball IQ and observation skills are unbelievably high.

Oikawa Tetsu narrowed his eyes, looking down at Lu Ren through the net, then turned his gaze to Kageyama and Hyuga, raising a finger and curving a wicked smile at the corner of his mouth.

"I'll play the same way for the next ball."

The sound wasn't loud, but it clearly reached the ears of the Karasuno group.

"What—!" Hinata bristled instantly, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

Tanaka's forehead veins bulged, and he grimaced, ready to charge forward: "You bastard! What did you say?!"

Although Kageyama didn't speak, the atmosphere around him was frighteningly low, and his eyes looked like he wanted to devour someone.

"Calm down!" Daichi Sawamura placed his large hand on Tanaka's shoulder, his voice steady. "Don't be provoked; that's his strategy."

Lu Ren dusted off his knees and returned to his position. Looking at Oikawa Toru's retreating figure, he mentally raised the AI ​​rating of this boss by another notch.

Is this how you start drawing aggro? That's standard tank-initiating-move technique.

The score is 0:1.

Aoba Josai serves.

Matsukawa Kazushige served a steady topspin serve.

Sawamura Daichi's judgment was accurate; he turned sideways and cushioned the ball: "Kageyama!"

The pass was delivered perfectly.

Kageyama stood at the net, and the volleyball fell precisely into his control.

Almost simultaneously, Hyuga Shoyo dashed towards the net like an arrow released from a bow, his speed dazzling.

"Here it comes! The weirdo's fast break!" the spectators on the sidelines exclaimed.

At the same time, Tanaka launched a fierce attack on the left wing, shouting, "Give me the ball!!"

Kageyama flicked his wrist.

Without any pause, the volleyball shot towards Hinata's hitting point like a bullet.

Hyuga jumps and swings his arm.

"Bang!"

The palm struck the volleyball solidly.

But it wasn't the kind of satisfying sound of it landing.

"Snapped!"

As if he already knew where the ball would land, the libero Watari Chikaharu of Aoba Castle West smoothly and steadily cushioned the powerful fast break.

"What?!" Hinata landed, looking utterly astonished.

The ball did not touch the ground.

"Counter-attack!" Oikawa Tetsu's voice pierced through the noise of the stadium.

The volleyball flies back to Aoki's half of the court. Oikawa Toru takes a running start and jumps.

His posture was relaxed yet full of tension, his left hand raised high, and his eyes were sharply fixed on Karasuno's three-meter line.

That move was exactly the same as the first ball!

"Another second attack?!" Tanaka roared, his body instinctively leaping to block the net.

Hinata jumped up too, and the two of them formed a wall in front of the net with their arms.

"We must stop them!"

However, at the very moment they reached their highest point, Oikawa Tetsu's hand, which was originally about to spike the ball, suddenly became extremely gentle. With a flick of his wrist, he changed from a spike to a lift.

The volleyball drew an extremely long arc, soaring over Karasuno's three-man block and flying towards the wide diagonal line on the left.

There, Iwaquan had been waiting for a long time.

"How naive!"

With a loud shout, Iwazumi lashed out, his arm lashing out like a whip, striking the volleyball hard.

"boom!"

The volleyball hit an opening in Karasuno and bounced into the stands.

0: 2.

Lu Ren stood in the back row, watching the volleyball still rolling, and sighed helplessly.

"Is this how a max-level character operates?" He rubbed his temples. "Using the residual skill effects from the previous round to feint, baiting out our defensive ultimate, and then switching targets to deal damage... That's some amazing maneuvering."

This is the western part of Qingye City.

This was completely different from the previous practice matches. Back then, Aoki was like a machine still being broken in, but now, with Oikawa Tetsu's guidance, the machine was running at its peak. He not only studied Karasuno's videos, but even made targeted deployments for that "weird fast attack" strategy.

"Don't worry! Next shot!" Daichi Sawamura clapped and shouted, trying to calm the team down.

But everyone could feel an invisible pressure looming over them. It was the suffocating feeling of being completely seen through by their opponent.

Matsukawa Kazushige continued serving.

This time, the ball found its way to Lu Ren.

Lu Ren took a deep breath and lowered his center of gravity. Although his technical attribute panel was still hovering around C level, it didn't mean he was the kind of vulnerability that could be easily exploited.

"Get up!"

He brought his arms together and used the force of his body pushing off the ground to deliver the serve steadily to the front row.

"Nice catch!"

Kageyama quickly moved into position.

At this moment, Karasuno's offensive machine began to operate at full speed.

Hinata Shoyo cut in from the middle, and the exaggerated running sound attracted the attention of Aoki's blocker, Kunihiro.

Ryunosuke Tanaka was yelling for the ball on the left wing, and no one dared to ignore his fierce and menacing appearance.

Sawamura Daichi moved up from the back row, setting up a back-row attack.

Three points of attack, three approaches simultaneously.

The defensive line west of Aoba City tightened instantly, and the blockers' eyes darted frantically between the three points.

Who will it be given to?

That short guy? Or the bald guy on the left?

Oikawa Tetsu stood in front of the net, his sharp eyes fixed on Kageyama's hand.

Kageyama jumped.

The moment his hands touched the volleyball, he did not pass it to any of the attackers.

He suddenly exerted force with his left hand, pressing down on his wrist in a very subtle way.

The volleyball didn't fly to either side, but went straight over the net and landed gently in the open space at position one in the west of Aoba City.

There was no one there.

Oikawa Tetsu's pupils contracted sharply, and he tried to make a save, but his center of gravity had already been shifted by Hyuga's movement.

"Thump."

A soft, muffled thud.

The volleyball lands.

1: 2.

The entire stadium was silent for a second, then erupted into a huge cheer.

"Kageyama!!!" Tanaka rushed over and roughly ruffled Kageyama's hair.

Lu Ren stood in the back row, watching this scene, and finally couldn't help but smile.

"This is the 'tit-for-tat' mechanism of retaliation." He put his hands on his hips, looking at the usually serious, simple-minded setter. "Although he usually looks like a berserker who only knows how to fight head-on, he is indeed a vengeful brat at heart."

Tobio Kageyama ignored his teammates' celebration.

He turned around, walked straight to the net, and looked directly into Oikawa Toru's slightly surprised eyes through the net.

The two setters were like two lions fighting over their territory.

With a blank expression, Kageyama, in an extremely calm yet extremely provocative tone, returned verbatim the words that Oikawa Toru had just said:

"I'll play the same way for the next ball."

"Please play good defense, Oikawa-senpai."

The air seemed to ignite at that moment.

Lu Ren clearly saw that the veins on Oikawa Tetsu's forehead throbbed twice, and the "effortless" mask that he had maintained so well was completely shattered.

"Ha..." Oikawa Tetsu let out a short, cold laugh, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "How unlovable, Tobio."

Lu Ren shivered in the back row and rubbed the goosebumps on his arms.

Although he was a little scared, the fire in his eyes burned brighter and brighter.

now it's right.

If it's an easy mode, then what's the point of playing this game?

"Come on." Lu Ren licked his dry lips, got into position to catch the ball, and said, "Let me see what kind of top-tier equipment the fully upgraded Aoba City West can drop."