Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The referee blew the whistle, and it was Lu Ren's turn to serve.

He stood at the baseline, twirling a volleyball in his hand, his gaze sweeping across the opposite side. Qingye City West's formation remained tight, like a dungeon boss that, even in its most frenzied state, maintained precise logic.

"Phew..." Lu Ren exhaled and tossed the ball up.

It wasn't perfect, but the landing point was acceptable.

Iwaizumi across the table took a step to the left, a clean and decisive movement, his arms firmly planted under the ball. The ball, deflected, flew high towards the net.

"Great pass!"

Oikawa Tetsu quickly got into position. The man's face didn't even have a trace of extra expression; the moment his fingers touched the ball, his entire aura changed.

Is it for Iwaizumi? Or for Backfly?

neither.

The ball was incredibly fast, flying straight towards position four. There, Hanamaki Takahiro had already jumped.

"Block the net!" Daichi Sawamura roared.

Hyuga and Daichi jumped at the same time, their four hands forming a wall in front of the net.

"Bang!"

The ball hit the fingertips of the ground and bounced backward.

"One touch!"

Although the ball was slowed down, it still flew towards the backcourt with spin. Nishitani Yuu, like a small marble equipped with a tracking radar, appeared at the landing point in an instant and sent the ball near the three-meter line with a perfectly executed overhand pass.

"Kageyama!"

Tobio Kageyama stood under the ball.

At this moment, Hyuga in the front row had already begun to move. That orange-haired guy was like a tireless perpetual motion machine, stretching the western defense line of Aoba Castle horizontally. On the left, Higashimine Asahi also got into position, ready to bombard with heavy artillery at any moment.

Lu Ren stood in the back row, originally intending only to make a protective run.

But in that instant, an extremely strange feeling crept up my spine.

It's like playing a game where you don't press any buttons, but the character on the screen is forced to trigger a QTE (Quick Time Event) sequence.

Kageyama's back was ramrod straight, that posture...

Lu Ren's body reacted before his brain. He pushed off with his legs and charged forward from the middle of the back row.

No running start distance? Doesn't matter.

No prior communication? It doesn't matter.

Because the ball has already come over.

Kageyama didn't even look at anyone. His pass had an inexplicable dictatorial quality, precise, fast, and unquestionably flying towards the spot in the middle of the back row.

If Lu Ren hadn't jumped, the ball would have hit him directly in the face.

"This madman..."

Lu Ren cursed inwardly, pushed off the ground with both feet, and soared into the air.

He had never practiced back-row attacks. This kind of high-difficulty operation was a high-level skill that he, a self-taught "player," had not yet unlocked on his skill tree.

But the ball arrived.

Just as he was at the most comfortable point in his arm swing, the volleyball froze for a moment, as if to say, "Hit me."

Lu Ren gritted his teeth, exerted force with his waist and abdomen, and swung his arm down like a whip.

"boom!"

The shot wasn't perfectly aimed, but it had enough power. The ball sailed over the gap in Aoba Johsai's net, which they hadn't yet managed to close, and slammed into the heart of the opponent's court.

No one reacted in time.

Until the referee blew the whistle, he gestured towards Karasuno.

13: 18.

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

Lu Ren landed, staggered a bit before regaining his balance. He looked at his palm, then at Kageyama Tobio standing in front of the net.

That last play wasn't a coordinated effort at all.

That's "feeding." No, that's shoving food into your mouth and forcing you to swallow it by choking you.

Kageyama turned around, his usually irritating face now bearing a matter-of-fact expression, as if everything that had just happened was within his calculations.

"What's wrong?" Kageyama tilted his head, noticing Riku's constipated expression. "Was there something wrong with that ball just now?"

Lu Ren took a deep breath, walked over, and looked Kageyama up and down with the eyes of someone looking at a pervert.

"It's nothing, I just feel disgusted."

Kageyama's brows furrowed instantly: "Huh? They scored!"

"It's disgusting precisely because you scored." Lu Ren curled his lip in disgust. "You didn't even ask me if I wanted to play, did you? It felt like... 'Just jump up, and I'll take care of the rest.' Wow, where did you come from, some domineering CEO?"

Kageyama's face flushed red: "That's an opportunity! Your seat is vacant!"

"That's not the point." Lu Ren pointed at Ying Shan's nose. "This kind of dictatorial passing is really annoying. The 'submission to me' vibe is overflowing."

Kageyama clenched his fists, veins throbbing on his forehead: "What did you say? Are you Tsukishima? Your words are so harsh!"

"What did you say?!" Lu Ren's eyes widened, as if he had been utterly insulted. "Kageyama, your insults are so vulgar! How dare you compare me to that bespectacled, sarcastic guy? I'm way more sunny than him, okay?!"

……

At this moment, on the substitute bench.

Hotaru Tsukishima, who was drinking water, suddenly sneezed without warning.

"Achoo!"

Yamaguchi Tadashi, who was standing nearby, was startled and quickly handed over a towel: "Ayumi? Have you caught a cold?"

Tsukishima rubbed his nose, his eyes behind his glasses narrowed slightly, and his tone was calm but carried a chill: "No, it's just that I suddenly feel annoyed that I've been offended."

……

Back on the field.

The score has widened to five points. This is a fairly safe distance for the final game, but with Aoba Johsai as their opponent, no one dares to let their guard down.

Lu Ren stepped up to serve again.

Since that "dictator" is working so hard, I, as a "player," can't afford to slack off too much.

He patted the ball and took a few steps back.

Run-up, jump.

It's not a powerful jump serve, but a float serve.

The ball remained motionless in the air, drifting leisurely towards Aoba Castle's backfield.

"I'll do it!"

Chikaharu Watari, the libero from Aoba Castle West, quickly pressed forward. But the ball's trajectory was too unpredictable; just as he was about to catch it, the ball suddenly dropped.

Watari reacted extremely quickly, managing to prop himself up with his forearm.

The ball went high, but that gave Aoba Johsai time to adjust.

Oikawa Tetsu stood under the net, watching the volleyball fly towards him. Even though he was down by five points, there was not a trace of panic on the man's face.

"Steamed buns!"

Oikawa Back Story.

Hua Juan Guida cuts in from the left and jumps to smash.

But this time, Karasuno's blocking was well-prepared.

Hotaru Tsukishima, Tobio Kageyama, and Ryunosuke Tanaka.

The three-man block was like an insurmountable wall, completely blocking all attack routes.

"Thump!"

Without any suspense, the volleyball was decisively blocked on the field of Aoba City West.

13: 19.

"Yay!!!" Tanaka excitedly waved his fist, turned around and bumped chests with Nishiya in celebration.

Did Aoba Castle West request a pause? No.

Coach Irihata sat calmly on the sidelines, as steady as a mountain.

The game continues.

Lu Ren serves for the third time.

This time, Aoba City West's first pass was in place.

The moment Oikawa Tetsu received the ball, Lu Ren even had the illusion that this guy didn't care about the score at all.

That composure made Lu Ren feel a little uneasy.

"Kkindaichi!"

With a flick of his wrist, Oikawa sent the ball flying like a bullet to the right.

Kindaichi Yutaro leaped high into the air; that was his highest point.

"Bang!"

The block was a beat too slow, and the ball hit the floor.

14: 19.

Aoba Seishi pulled one back.

"Don't worry about them! Cut them off!" Earth clapped and shouted.

It was Iwaizumi's turn to serve.

This ace's serve is always powerful and heavy.

"Bang!"

The ball hurtled through the net with a whooshing sound.

Nishiya turned sideways and steadily cushioned the ball's movement.

"Kageyama!"

Kageyama was in position. Hyuga had already shot off like an arrow.

The weirdo's fast attack.

This is Karasuno's sharpest spear, and also their trump card that has allowed them to fight their way to this point.

Kageyama passes the ball. The ball is extremely fast, precisely targeting Hinata's swing point.

however.

Just as Hinata swung his arm, an arm suddenly appeared on the ball's path.

It wasn't a double block; it was Matsukawa Kazushige's solo defense.

But his positioning was spot on.

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound.

Hinata's spike was forcefully blocked and landed on Karasuno's field.

15: 19.

Hyuga landed and paused for a moment.

Kageyama's expression also darkened.

"It's not over yet!" Iwaizumi Hajime served again.

This time, Lu Ren took over the first pass.

"In place!"

The ball flew towards Kageyama.

Hyuga started up again. He didn't believe in superstition, and neither did Kageyama.

"One more ball!"

Same route, same speed, same freakish fast attack.

The moment Kageyama flicked the ball with his fingers, Lu Ren's heart skipped a beat.

It's too quiet across the street.

The silence was like a hunter watching his prey fall into the same trap once again.

Oikawa Tetsu watched coldly from the back row. Matsukawa and Hanamaki in the front row jumped at the same time.

It wasn't a blind jump; it completely blocked Hyuga's diagonal and straight lines.

"Smack!!!"

A louder sound than last time.

The volleyball bounced back as if it had hit an iron wall, landing heavily at Kageyama's feet.

16: 19.

Two consecutive shots were blocked.

The air in the entire stadium seemed to freeze.

Hinata was panting heavily, looking at his palms with a hint of confusion in his eyes.

Kageyama stood still, his hands maintaining the posture after passing the ball, his fingertips trembling slightly.

That was the feeling of being completely seen through.

Lu Ren walked over and patted Ying Shan on the shoulder.

Kageyama turned around abruptly, his eyes fierce like those of a wounded wolf.

"Don't glare at me." Lu Ren looked at him expressionlessly, his voice calm to the point of being cold. "Admit it, the weirdo's quick attack has failed."

Kageyama opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but no sound came out of his throat.

"This is a real game, after all. It's not like you can just press the right keys and unleash an infinite combo." Lu Ren pointed to the opposite side, where Oikawa Tetsu was smiling at his teammates. "The BOSS has already filled your skill bar. If you keep using it, you're just giving away points."

Kageyama gritted his teeth, staring intently at the floor. After several seconds, he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence through his teeth.

"……I know."

"Good to know." Lu Ren withdrew his hand and turned his gaze to the scoreboard.

The score difference is now only three points.

That seemingly safe distance is now collapsing at a speed visible to the naked eye.