Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

Before the whistle had even blown, Lu Ren had already thrown the volleyball.

Since the physics engine is on my side, there's no reason not to continue exploiting this bug.

The ball, without any spin, traced a bizarre trajectory in the air, like a drunken ghost, heading straight for Oikawa Toru's face. This wasn't just a serve; it was a blatant display of "hatred."

"Tsk."

Oikawa Tetsu frowned slightly, but his steps remained calm as he stepped aside to make way for her.

It's that same trick again.

The libero behind him, Watari Chikaharu, was prepared. Although his movements were somewhat clumsy, he still managed to forcefully send the unpredictable ball to the net with an overhand flick. The ball's trajectory was a bit off, but for Aoba Johsai, it was still within the margin of error.

Oikawa Tetsu took two steps to the landing point, without even needing to look at the attacker's position, his hands cutting into the ball's trajectory with surgical precision.

"Steamed buns!"

Hua Juan Gui Da, in position four, jumped up in response.

At the same time, Karasuno's defenses tightened instantly. The double barrier formed by Kageyama Tobio and Sawamura Daichi slammed through like two doors.

Bang!

The ball was blocked hard.

"Fill in the gap!"

Watari dives to save the ball, sending it bouncing high into the air. Chaos mode activated.

"Iwa-chan!"

Oikawa Toru's voice pierced through the noisy arena. Even for a poorly received first pass, he dared to pass it directly to the ace. Iwaizumi Hajime surged forward from the back row, facing Karasuno's quickly organized three-man block, showing no fear in his eyes, swinging his arm wide and delivering a powerful spike.

Boom!

The volleyball struck the blocker's palm, deflected violently, flew over everyone's heads, and headed towards Karasuno's backcourt baseline.

"Out of bounds? No, within bounds!"

Lu Ren's brain instantly completed the trajectory calculation. He took a step back, lowered his center of gravity, and brought his arms together.

Snapped.

The first pass was perfectly placed, with a perfect arc.

"Kageyama!"

Kageyama Tobio took his position, his gaze sweeping across the entire field. Sawamura Daichi cut in from the right flank, adopting a strong attacking stance.

"Give me!"

With a flick of his wrist, Kageyama passed the ball to Daichi. However, Aoba Johsai's defensive system acted like a self-repairing program, instantly reorganizing their previously disorganized formation. Two blockers firmly blocked Daichi's attack routes.

Snapped!

The spike was blocked immediately.

The volleyball fell vertically, about to crash into Karasuno's court.

"It's not over yet!"

Yu Nishiya glided along the ground, using one hand to backheel the ball up. But the save was too weak, flying directly towards the net without any height or accuracy.

This was a turnover.

The front row of shadows had just landed and there was no time to adjust.

Lu Ren rushed forward.

"I'll pass it on!"

He shouted and put his hands to his forehead.

At the same time, Karasuno's entire offensive team activated.

"Lu Ren! Over here!" Dong Fengxu shouted from the left flank.

"Give it to me!" Hinata Shoyo bounced around in the middle like a spring, displaying a strong fast-attack stance.

The blockers from the west side of Aoba City were instantly drawn to these two high-threat targets, and their bodies instinctively moved to the sides, leaving a fatal gap in the middle.

Lu Ren looked at the moving net on the other side of the net and a slight twitch appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Since you're all going to watch the attack, then I won't be polite.

He didn't pass the ball.

At the moment of contact with the ball, Lu Ren suddenly exerted force with his left hand, changing from a push to a spike, and deftly flicked the ball into an empty space in the opponent's court.

Second attack.

The volleyball floated lightly over the net and landed.

thump.

The Qingye City West team members stood frozen in place, watching helplessly as this seemingly effortless sneak attack scored.

The whistle blows.

21:23.

"So dirty..." Kindaichi muttered to himself from the sidelines.

Across the net, Oikawa Tetsu stood with his hands on his hips, looking at the dead fish-eyed man with a "I just pressed the wrong button" expression, and a vein throbbed on his forehead.

"These younger students these days are infuriating!"

He turned around and waved to his teammates, "Don't worry about it, we'll get it back on the next ball."

The cycle continues.

Lu Ren stepped up to serve again.

He patted the ball, his gaze once again fixed on Toru Oikawa without any attempt to hide it.

As long as this boss is still on the field directing, the dungeon difficulty is hellish. The only solution is to keep him too busy to think.

Throw the ball, take a running start, and jump.

It's another jump float.

The volleyball, with its unpredictable and erratic trajectory, headed straight for Oikawa Toru.

This time, Oikawa Tetsu did not dodge.

It wasn't that he couldn't handle it, but rather that he knew very well that if he continued to give the ball to the free agent, this bastard named Lu Ren would keep targeting that point until he completely disrupted the defensive formation of Qingye City West.

"Since you're so willing to give it to me, then I'll accept it."

Oikawa Tetsu took a step forward, slightly bent his knees, and raised his hands upward.

Bang.

He lifted the volleyball up; although it wobbled a bit, he managed to suppress its restlessness with his exceptional ball control and sent it to the vicinity of the three-meter line.

The pass was delivered perfectly.

However, when he receives the first pass as the setter, it means that he has relinquished the offensive organization.

"Kkindaichi!"

Yutaro Kindaichi quickly moved to the setter position. Although his movements were not as fluid as Oikawa's, his basic skills were solid enough.

"Kunimi!"

The volleyball was placed high to the right wing.

Kunimi Hideki, who was always listless, displayed an exceptionally high level of tactical awareness at this moment. Instead of blindly exerting force, he spotted a gap in Nishitani Yu's defense and delivered an extremely tricky straight shot.

"Nishitani!"

Karasuno's guardian reacted swiftly, diving to the side and cushioning the ball.

"Kageyama!"

An opportunity to retaliate.

Kageyama Tobio stands at the net as the volleyball falls.

Daichi Sawamura jumped again, this time choosing a wide diagonal shot.

However, the barrier in the west of Aoba City was already there waiting.

Iwaizumi Ichi, Matsukawa Kazushige, and Hanamaki Takahiro. The three of them formed a barrier, like a high wall of despair.

Bang!

A muffled thud.

Daichi's spike was blocked solidly, and the volleyball slammed heavily onto the Karasuno floor, bouncing out of bounds.

The whistle blew for a long time.

21:24.

West of Aoba Castle, the point.

"Damn it!" Dadi slapped his thigh in frustration.

The immense pressure was overwhelming. If they lost just one more point, the first set would be over.

Iwazumi stepped onto the service line.

This ace of Aoba Johsai has a serving style that, like his playing style, is simple and unpretentious yet powerful and heavy.

boom!

The volleyball whistled as it hurtled towards Karasuno's backcourt.

"I'll do it!"

Nishitani Yu met the attack head-on, taking the powerful shot with her chest and sending the ball soaring high into the air.

"Kageyama!"

One and a half passes were made.

Kageyama Tobio rushed to the ball.

Who should we give it to at this time?

Fast breaks were shut down, and key players were targeted.

Kageyama caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of his eye.

Lu Renzheng made a high-speed run up from the right rear, which was the route for the back row attack.

"for you!"

Kageyama Seiden.

The volleyball traced a precise arc and found Lu Ren, who had leaped into the air.

In front of him was a double block by Oikawa Tetsu and Kindaichi.

Lu Ren could see it very clearly from the air.

A hard spike will be blocked, and a lob will be caught.

Then there's only one option...

His gaze was fixed on Oikawa Tetsu's outer arm.

Using the attacker to go out of bounds is the safest way to rack up points.

Lu Ren swung his arm, and at the moment of contact with the ball, his wrist suddenly flicked outward, sending the volleyball with a strong side spin straight towards the outside of Oikawa's forearm.

If it touches anything, it will fly out of bounds.

however.

Just as the ball was about to touch his arm at the last second, Oikawa Tetsu seemed to have anticipated his prediction.

That man, who always wore a frivolous smile, had terrifyingly cold eyes. He held his arm out in mid-air.

"What?!"

Lu Ren's pupils suddenly contracted.

The volleyball, which was supposed to hit Oikawa Tetsu's arm, flew past his sleeve.

Without a point of leverage, this ball became a powerless out-of-bounds ball.

No, it's not over yet!

The ball, which should have gone out of bounds, was caught by Iwaizumi, who was covering from the back row, because of Oikawa Tetsu's dodge.

"An opportunity ball!"

Iwaizumi easily lifted the ball.

Aoba Castle launches a counterattack from the west.

This time, Karasuno's defenses have completely collapsed.

With a crisp spiking sound, the volleyball landed on the ground.

21:25.

The first game has ended, with Aoba Josai emerging victorious.

……

Lu Ren stepped off the stage and grabbed a towel to vigorously wipe his face.

"Tsk."

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "That bastard, he definitely stopped only after seeing my movements. His reaction speed is inhuman."

The feeling of having planned everything perfectly, only to have it all broken through by the opponent's sheer strength at the last step, is absolutely awful.

"Lu Ren, you've worked hard."

Ukai Shishin handed her a bottle of water. "That last shot wasn't your fault. It was just that Oikawa guy was too unpredictable. Take a break for the second set on Tsukishima Island."

"……yes."

Lu Ren took the water and plopped down on the bench.

Although he was very unwilling, his stamina bar was indeed already in critical condition. Fighting against a team of this caliber would kill his brain cells faster than his muscle cells.

"Actually, you're quite easy to understand."

Qingze Yazhi walked over with a tactical board and sat down next to him.

Lu Ren paused as he unscrewed the bottle cap, his dead fish eyes rolling back: "Huh? I'm the most unpredictable tactical mastermind on the whole team."

"Come on."

Yazhi rested her chin on her hand, watching the team members changing sides on the field, and said leisurely, "You're like this when you play games. When you encounter a boss with high health, high attack, and complex mechanics, your first reaction is never how to fight it head-on, but to look for invisible walls, use terrain to your advantage, or try to find loopholes in the AI's logic to skip the game."

Lu Ren froze as he was drinking water.

"I don't want to face it head-on because I'm afraid my stats won't be high enough to get instantly killed." Yazhi turned her head and smiled as she exposed him. "On the last ball just now, you could have tried to force your way through or lob the ball, but you still chose the seemingly 'smartest' option of hitting the ball out of bounds."

"...That was a tactical choice," Lu Ren stubbornly insisted.

"It's an escapist choice," Yazhi said mercilessly. "How could a player of Oikawa Tetsu's caliber let you keep using bugs to beat the game?"

Lu Ren remained silent for a long time before finally sighing helplessly and covering his head with a towel.

"You figured it out, how boring."

At this moment, Coach Wuyang clapped his hands and gathered everyone together.

"Alright, listen to me!"

"Let's adjust the lineup for the second game. The front row is Daichi, Asahi, and Tsukishima, and the back row is Hinata, Tanaka, and Y's."

Ukai Koshin drew several circles on the tactics board. "We can't afford to be passive anymore when facing Oikawa's serve. Since we can't return it, let's use a few elite players! Daichi, Nishiya, expand your defensive range, and the rest of you, don't interfere with them!"

"yes!!"

The whistle blew to end the timeout.

Lu Ren stood up and looked at his teammates who were about to go on the field.

He suddenly reached out and grabbed the last person on the ground.

"Senior Daichi."

Sawamura Daichi stopped in his tracks. "What's wrong?"

Lu Ren glanced at Kageyama, who was spinning the ball and trying to find his rhythm not far away, and lowered his voice: "With me off the court, that single-minded king is left unsupervised, and he might have another meltdown. If we notice him trying to take on the other side one-on-one..."

He made a fist-throwing motion, "Don't hesitate, just punch him to wake him up."

Sawamura Daichi paused for a moment, then burst out laughing.

He glanced at Ying Shan, then at Lu Ren, his eyes filled with trust.

"It's fine."

Daichi tightened his knee pads, his tone firm, "After so many matches, I think Kageyama already knows what to do. And..."

"We're not just teammates who watch him make mistakes."

After saying that, Dadi turned and ran towards the field.

Lu Ren stood on the sidelines, looking at that not-so-tall but exceptionally reliable figure, and scratched his head.

"Tch, they're all so hot-blooded."

He sat back down on the bench, his eyes fixed on Oikawa Toru across from him.

I'll let you be arrogant for now. Once I'm fully charged, I'll definitely take you down, Boss.