Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

Ryunosuke Tanaka's serve continues.

Once this guy gets into a rhythm, the sheer aura he exudes can really cause his opponents a lot of trouble. Although he doesn't have a serve like Toru Oikawa that can score points directly, his serve is powerful and can send the ball flying. As long as he doesn't make a mistake, he can get the ball over the net.

This time, Watari Chikaharu, a free agent from the west side of Aoba Castle, lowered his center of gravity even further and caught the ball steadily.

"The pass is perfect!"

Oikawa Tetsu quickly moved to the landing point. His gaze swept across the net without any hesitation, and with a flick of his finger, he sent the ball to the right wing. Iwaizumi took a running start, jumped, and facing the open space with only one blocker, smashed the ball to the floor with a powerful spike.

The serve changed hands.

"Don't worry about it! Get the next ball back!" Daichi Sawamura clapped and shouted.

Lu Ren stood at the net and stretched his wrists. The "finishing shot" he just hit had given him a good feel for the ball, but the real test was about to begin.

Rotation. Iwai Ichi serves.

The ball was fast and had a strong spin. Daichi Sawamura judged the situation accurately and turned to deflect the ball.

"Sorry, the net was slightly slick!"

The ball flew towards the net. If it were Tobio Kageyama, he would most likely choose to jump pass or launch a second attack to correct the off-target ball.

But standing there was Sugawara Koji.

Instead of jumping, he quickly adjusted his footwork, took a half step back, and positioned his body completely under the ball.

"Lu Ren!"

Sugawara's voice was clear, even carrying a hint of negotiation.

Lu Ren takes a running start.

Based on his muscle memory, he had to be fully focused at this moment. Because Tobio Kageyama's pass was like a precisely calculated missile; you had to be in a specific position at a specific time and height. A second earlier or later would mean missing that fleeting hitting point.

That's a hardcore action game with zero margin for error.

Lu Ren jumped, his body soaring into the air.

However, the anticipated missile did not arrive.

A feather flew over.

The volleyball, with a slight backspin, traced a gentle arc and, as if defying the laws of physics, paused briefly in front of Lu Ren's hitting point.

It is waiting.

It's not the ball that's urging people on; it's the ball that's waiting for people.

Lu Ren's pupils contracted slightly.

This feeling is so strange. If playing with Kageyama is like playing Sekiro, where you have to perfectly block every attack, then playing with Sugawara is like suddenly switching back to Mario, and in a tutorial mode with aim assist enabled.

too slow.

But it is precisely because of this slowness that the world becomes incredibly clear.

While in the air, Lu Ren even had the leisure to roll his eyes.

In front of him was the blocker from Aoba Castle West, that "Leek Head" Kindaichi Yutaro.

In Lu Ren's view, Kindaichi's arm was no longer an insurmountable wall, but a geometric shape composed of lines and data.

Kindaichi's palm was tilted inwards to block the cross-court shot. There was a noticeable blank area on the outside of his little finger.

[Collision volume edge detected.]

The decision box is exposed.

If it were Kageyama's ball, Rikuren wouldn't have had time to think about any of this; he could only instinctively blast the ball over. But now, Sugawara had given him the most luxurious thing—time.

Lu Ren waved his arm.

The movement looked like he was about to deliver a powerful dunk.

Kindaichi gritted his teeth and pressed down hard with both arms, trying to block the spike route.

Just as his palm was about to touch the ball, Lu Ren's wrist suddenly twitched.

It wasn't a heavy blow.

The side of your palm is used to gently scrape across the side of the volleyball, like applying plaster to a wall.

The volleyball changed direction due to the force applied to it; instead of flying downwards, it flew horizontally to the right.

Snapped.

The ball struck Kindaichi's right little finger precisely, then bounced off and flew out of bounds.

The thug went out of bounds.

The referee blew the whistle, the flag waved. Karasuno scored.

Lu Ren landed and looked at Kindaichi's astonished face. He silently rated the shot in his mind: one star for difficulty and five stars for exhilaration.

"This is too much of a cheat." Lu Ren shook his hand and muttered to himself.

Sidelines.

Kageyama Tobio gripped the water bottle tightly, his knuckles turning white. He stared intently at the scene that had just unfolded.

As the setter, he saw it clearly. That last play, Sugawara's pass lacked any offensiveness; it was practically weak. If it were him, he would never have made such a "completely harmless" pass.

However, Lu Ren played very comfortably.

That guy who always complains that "the ball is too fast" and "it's a waste of his brain" actually had time to observe the blocker's hand shape in the air before making the most disgusting choice.

"Kageyama."

Coach Ukai's voice came from the side. Without turning around, he simply looked at the field, "Did you understand?"

Kageyama pursed his lips and remained silent for a long time before finally squeezing out a sentence through gritted teeth: "...that pass gave the attacker a choice."

"That's right." Ukai nodded. "Your pass is an order to 'kill the opponent from this point,' while Sugawara's pass is a request to 'play freely from this position.' For someone like Riku, whose mind works faster than his body, giving him time to think is more lethal than giving him speed."

Kageyama felt as if something was blocking his chest.

He was not reconciled.

Technically, I am clearly stronger. In terms of precision, speed, and stealth, Sugawara-senpai cannot surpass me in any aspect.

But he lost when it came to "letting his teammates score".

The game on the field continues.

The western part of Aoba City was clearly very uncomfortable with this sudden change in rhythm.

They were used to dealing with Kageyama Tobio's high-pressure, fast-paced attacks, and their bodies were calibrated to "extreme speed mode." Now that Karasuno had suddenly slowed down and switched to a steady, positional warfare approach, they were somewhat at a loss.

The score is 13-11.

Kindaichi jumped again to block.

This time it's Tanaka Ryunosuke.

Sugawara's passing was still incredibly steady. Although he didn't have the speed to tear apart the defense like Kageyama, his position was extremely comfortable.

Tanaka didn't need to adjust his steps at all; his run-up, jump, and arm swing all put his power into spiking the ball.

"Ooh ooh ooh ooh!"

Tanaka roared and, facing a single defender, forcefully broke through the net.

The ball hit the blocker's hand, bounced to the backcourt, and scored a point.

14:11.

"What happened..." Kindaichi scratched his head anxiously after landing. "The ball wasn't even that fast, so why couldn't I stop it?"

"Because the rhythm is wrong."

Oikawa Tetsu stood in the back row, his eyes somewhat cold. "You jumped too early. Your bodies remembered the rhythm of Tobi's pass, and when facing Sōrō-kun's slow ball, you jumped to the highest point, but the ball hadn't even arrived yet. By the time the ball arrived, your bodies had already started to fall."

This is what is known as "time difference attack," except this time it wasn't created by the attacker, but rather naturally formed by the difference in the setter's style.

In the following rounds, Karasuno played exceptionally smoothly.

Lu Ren's activity on the right wing has attracted a lot of attention. After all, no one wants to face a "microscope" attacker who can see right through your fingers.

This gave Tanaka on the left wing and Hyuga in the middle more opportunities.

Sugawara Koji is like a patient gardener, watering each flower calmly and patiently.

16:13.

Aoba Castle West requests a pause.

Lu Ren walked to the sidelines, took the water bottle handed to him by Qingze Yazhi, and took a big gulp.

"Phew..." He let out a long breath, feeling the burning sensation in his lungs ease slightly.

Sugawara Koji walked over with a towel, his face bearing that signature gentle smile, but to Lu Ren, that smile carried a hint of malice.

"Lu Ren, that thug going out of bounds was a beautiful play," Sugawara praised.

Lu Ren wiped the water from the corner of his mouth and gave Sugawara a thumbs up.

"Senior, to be honest, your passing is like you're on 'low latency mode'."

"Huh?" Sugawara paused, then asked, "What...does that mean?"

Lu Ren pointed to his head: "When I was playing with that single-minded king, my CPU usage was constantly soaring to 99%. Just calculating his ball trajectory and landing point would burn through half of my memory. But catching your ball..."

He paused, revealing a pair of dead fish eyes: "It's like playing a turn-based game. I have enough time to take a sip of tea, check if the other side's model is clipping through, and then decide which button to press."

Although Sugawara didn't fully understand the game terminology, he could tell from Riku's relaxed expression that he was being praised.

"As long as it's easy to fight, that's fine." Sugawara smiled, his eyes narrowing into slits. "After all, I don't have Kageyama's talent, so I can only try my best to make it as comfortable as possible for you guys."

That's enough.

Lu Ren draped the towel around his neck and glanced at Kageyama Tobio, who was standing not far away with his head down, emanating black energy.

"Sometimes, even for a max-level character, if the operation is too cumbersome, it is not as practical as a one-click macro."

The whistle blew to end the timeout.

Lu Ren returned to the court.

Although his stamina bar was still warning him, his mental state was better than ever before.

Now that we've enabled easy mode, let's rack up as many points as possible before the Boss gets used to the patch.

On the other side of the net, Oikawa Tetsu watched the Karasuno team return to the court, especially the lazy-looking Riku Ren, and the smile on his lips faded a bit.