Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The start of the banquet meant that Lu De's "public execution" had finally come to an end. Although the aunts still looked at him with a complicated kind of pity, as if they were looking at a "fallen youth," at least no one pressed him to ask why he didn't like Wang Erya from the next village.

A huge mahogany round table, with a turntable piled high with a dazzling array of dishes.

If Japanese kaiseki cuisine is a "puzzle game" that emphasizes plating and artistic conception, then this Sichuan full-course meal is a simple, brutal, and fully-equipped "mowing down enemies in Musou mode".

Red. Red everywhere you look.

The boiled beef is topped with a thick layer of dried chilies and Sichuan peppercorns, while the red oil in the spicy blood curd is still bubbling. The spicy chicken cubes are like a "treasure hunt" where you search for chicken pieces in a pile of chilies. The air is filled with a domineering and aggressively spicy aroma; just smelling it makes your salivary glands start working overtime, and even the tip of your nose begins to sweat slightly.

"Come on, let's eat! Don't be shy!"

The second uncle, sitting in the main seat, waved his hand and announced the start of this "battle".

Lu Ren stared at the bright red mass before him, his Adam's apple bobbing. Although he had Sichuan and Chongqing blood flowing through his veins, after eating such a bland diet in Japan for so long, whether his stomach could withstand this kind of "real damage" was truly an unknown.

He subconsciously glanced at Kiyosawa Yashiro beside him.

The girl was staring intently at the pot of boiled fish, her chopsticks already poised to strike.

"Um..." Lu Ren leaned closer and whispered a reminder, "Yazhi, even though you can speak Sichuan dialect, it doesn't mean your tongue and stomach are from Sichuan. This thing has a 'continuous blood loss' debuff, so be careful."

"It's alright." Ya-zhi said confidently, picking up a piece of fish that was still dripping with oil with her chopsticks. "I've practiced this before. When I was in Japan, I often went to Chinatown to eat Mapo Tofu."

Lu Ren's lips twitched.

Can the sweet and spicy Mapo Tofu in Chinatown, modified to cater to Japanese tastes, be the same as this "biological weapon" in front of you, which contains Pixian chili bean paste and Hanyuan peppercorns? It's as naive as someone who has leveled up to level 10 by fighting slimes in a beginner's village and thinks they can solo a max-level dragon.

"Awoo."

Ya-zhi took a bite.

Three seconds.

For the first three seconds, her expression was one of enjoyment, as the tenderness of the fish and the aroma of the chili oil exploded in her mouth.

In the fourth second, a numbing sensation shot straight to the top of my head and spread along the tip of my tongue, followed by a burning spiciness that instantly swept over the entire oral mucosa.

Ya-zhi's face flushed red at a visible speed, from the base of her neck all the way to the back of her ears. Her eyes instantly welled up with tears, her lips trembled slightly, and she wanted to open her mouth to breathe, but mindful of table manners, she could only hold it in.

"Water..." she squeezed out the word through gritted teeth.

"Drink this." Lu Ren was prepared and handed over a bottle of Wei Yi soy milk. "It's a lifesaver for relieving spiciness. It's an essential healing potion for Sichuan cuisine."

Ya-zhi took the soy milk and chug down half a bottle before feeling like she had come back to life.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

A burst of good-natured laughter erupted at the dining table.

"This girl is honest!" Uncle Er gave a thumbs up. "If she can eat spicy food, then she's one of our family! Come on, try this twice-cooked pork. This one isn't spicy, but it's delicious!"

"Yes, yes, this steamed pork with rice flour is so tender and soft!"

Seeing Ya-zhi's eyes welling up with tears from the spiciness yet still persevering, the elders' affection for her skyrocketed. In an instant, countless chopsticks reached for Ya-zhi's bowl, quickly piling up into a small mountain.

"Is this what they call 'focused fire'?" Lu Ren thought to himself as he calmly peeled a shrimp. "Except this time, the focus isn't on damage, it's on calories."

Lu De sat in the corner, silently eating the white rice in his bowl, occasionally glancing at Lu Ren with a resentful look.

"Uncle, I want to eat that braised pork knuckle," Lu De said softly.

The turntable landed in front of Lu Ren, who quickly grabbed a large piece of pork knuckle skin and put it into... Ya Zhi's bowl.

"That's too greasy. You're in the process of preparing for blind dates, so you need to control your figure," Lu Ren said to Lu De in a serious tone, "I'm doing this for your own good."

Lu De: "..."

I can't live like this anymore.

After several rounds of drinks and five courses of food,

Just as everyone was enjoying their meal and the atmosphere was at its peak, the main event began.

Lu Ren's mother, Lu Xin, pulled a thick stack of red envelopes from her bag and stood up with a smile. Immediately afterward, all the aunts and uncles also started reaching into their pockets.

"This is called 'event settlement reward'," Lu Ren explained in a low voice, kicking Ya Zhi's foot under the table. "Although we're not married yet, according to local custom, a new bride visiting the family for the first time must receive a red envelope. This is a 'mandatory plot' that can't be skipped."

"Huh?" Yazhi was stunned for a moment, and before she could react, a bulging red envelope was stuffed into her hand.

"Take this! It's a small token of my appreciation from your second aunt!"

"This is from your third grandmother, buy some good food!"

"This was given to me by my cousin-in-law. It's not much, please don't mind!"

Yazhi stared blankly at the ever-increasing number of red envelopes in her hand. While the custom of giving New Year's money existed in Japan, she had never seen anything like this before. The sheer thickness and quantity of the envelopes were like a mountain of gold coins dropped after defeating a boss in a dungeon.

"This...this is too much, I can't accept it..." Yazhi subconsciously wanted to refuse, looking at Lu Jianguo and Lu Xin with pleading eyes.

Lu Jianguo, his face flushed from drinking, waved his hand dismissively: "Take it! A gift from an elder should not be refused! That's the rule!"

"That's right!" An elderly woman grabbed Yazhi's hand, her tone firm and unyielding. "If you don't accept it, you're looking down on us poor relatives!"

That hat is way too big.

Yazhi could only look to Lu Ren for help.

Lu Ren shrugged and made a "take it" gesture: "Accept it. On this server, refusing an NPC's reward will cause your favorability to drop significantly, and may even trigger a hidden 'nagging' penalty mechanism."

Yazhi blushed and kept saying "thank you" as she carefully accepted the heavy tokens of her gratitude. She secretly glanced at the thickness of the red envelope and gasped inwardly: This wasn't just for buying some treats; it was enough to buy several pairs of top-of-the-line volleyball shoes!

After dinner, the adults gathered together to play mahjong, the clattering sound of shuffling the tiles becoming the background noise.

Lu Ren and Ya Zhi slipped into the courtyard.

Although the air in the countryside was cold, it had a crisp, refreshing quality. The occasional crackle of firecrackers echoed in the distance, and a single, not particularly dazzling firework occasionally bloomed in the night sky.

Lu Ren leaned against the railing, holding a sparkler he had just taken from the house, and lit it with a lighter.

sizzle-

Golden sparks danced in the darkness, illuminating the faces of the two people.

"How does it feel?" Lu Ren asked softly, looking at the burning fireworks in his hand. "This is my hometown. It's noisy, tacky, and full of the smell of cooking oil and the sound of mahjong tiles."

Yazhi held a cup of hot tea in both hands, which Lu Xin had specially brewed for her. She looked at the fairy wand, her eyes reflecting tiny glimmers of light.

"It's very warm," she said.

"Um?"

"It's noisy, but lively. It's spicy, but very satisfying." Yazhi turned her head to look at Lu Ren, a slight smile playing on her lips. "Besides, everyone here likes you. Even that nephew you tricked, I saw him secretly give you a bottle of Coke just now."

Lu Ren paused for a moment, then smiled. He took out a can of Coke from his pocket, pulled the tab, and the sound of the bubbles overflowing was particularly clear in the night.

"Yes." Lu Ren took a sip. "This is what they call a 'safe house,' right?"

There was no pressure of competition, no anxiety of having to pass the level, and no suffocating competitive spirit. Here, he was no longer the cunning "tactical mastermind" of Karasuno, nor the sharp-tongued and ruthless "Lu Ren," but simply the somewhat mischievous and lazy "youngest uncle" of the Lu family.

"Hey, Lu Ren."

"Um?"

"That red envelope..." Yazhi looked at her bulging pockets with some hesitation, "There's really a lot of money in it. I feel unworthy of it."

"Then let's use it." Lu Ren tossed the burnt-out sparkler into the bucket of water next to him, clapped his hands, and said, "Convert it into fighting power."

"Combat strength?"

"After we get back to Japan, I'll buy Kageyama two bottles of good yogurt, Hinata a decent knee brace, and treat everyone to a meat feast." Lu Ren looked at the night sky, his eyes gradually sharpening. "After all, our 'leveling up' journey has only just begun. Since we've taken the 'sponsor's' money, we have to achieve some results to justify all the fan service and cash, right?"

Ya Zhi looked at Lu Ren's profile. Although he was smiling, that sharp edge that belonged to the basketball court seemed to be rekindling in this little bit of warmth.

"Okay." Yazhi nodded vigorously. "Then I'll buy a new notebook too! I need to remember everyone's data clearly!"

"Then it's settled."

Lu Ren reached out and ruffled Ya Zhi's hair.

"But before that..."

"What?"

"Could you lend me some money? My mom took my New Year's money under the pretense of 'keeping it safe,' and I want to buy a pack of fireworks to have some fun."

"……roll!"

"Don't be so stingy! I'm a mage, setting off fireworks is my professional skill!"

"No way! That's my volleyball club's activity fund!"

The sounds of the two playfully fighting came from the courtyard, but were quickly drowned out by the cheers of "I won! A pure suit!" coming from inside the house.

For Lu Ren, this Spring Festival was not just a holiday, but also a complete "recharge".

Once the "Home" buff is fully stacked, the crow that suffered a crushing defeat in Miyagi Prefecture will finally take flight again with a more robust and powerful presence.