Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The smell of rubber, sweat, and liniment in the provincial sports school training hall seemed even stronger than yesterday.

Lu Ren, wearing a red training vest that was clearly two sizes too big, stood on the sidelines stretching. The vest hung loosely on his body, making him look like a husky that had wandered into a pack of wolves. Opposite him were the six "giants" who were warming up by spiking.

"That's the provincial youth team's main setter, nicknamed 'Abacus' because he's quick-witted." Zhao Gang pointed to the seemingly mild-mannered guy who passed the ball with magic-like speed. "That tall middle blocker is 2.02 meters tall; he used to train in high jump. As for that bald outside hitter... you already saw him yesterday; his nickname is 'Heavy Cannon.'"

Lu Ren swallowed hard, feeling like he wasn't there to play basketball, but to be sent to his death.

"Go on, the substitutes need a backup." Zhao Gang kicked Lu Ren in the butt. "Don't embarrass me, at least make it through one round."

Lu Ren staggered onto the court. The substitute setter, a slightly more amiable-looking guy with a buzz cut, grinned at him: "Little brother, I'll give you the ball later, just spike it, if you get blocked, it's on me."

"Brother, I'm mainly in charge of the ground..." Lu Ren hadn't finished speaking when the whistle blew.

The opposing team serves.

Lu Ren instinctively lowered his center of gravity, and the "game engine" in his brain began to run at high speed. Following the rhythm of the high school league, he would first observe the opponent's server's position, predict the ball's trajectory, then calculate the landing point, and finally move.

However, reality gave him a resounding slap in the face.

"Bang!"

There were no unnecessary run-up movements, no fancy feints. The moment the ball left his hand, it was like a cannonball being fired, appearing before his eyes in an instant with a piercing whistle as it tore through the air.

Lu Ren's retina had barely caught the afterimage of the ball before his body could even give the command, and the ball had already hit him less than half a meter away from his feet, bouncing high over his head.

The vibration of the floor traveled up through the soles of my shoes, making my feet go numb.

"Within the zone!"

Lu Ren stood frozen in place, maintaining his ready-to-catch posture, like a lagging NPC.

too fast.

This isn't some kind of "powerful jump serve"; it's pure brute force. If Oikawa Toru's serve is a precision-guided missile, then these guys' serves are a barrage of attacks, completely unreasonable.

"Don't just stand there! Move!" Zhao Gang yelled from the sidelines. "Where's your prediction? Did it get eaten by a dog?"

Lu Ren gritted his teeth and patted his cheeks. Let's try again.

Over the next ten minutes, Lu Ren experienced firsthand what "the violent aesthetics of men's volleyball" truly meant.

Back in Karasuno, when facing strong opponents, we could find a breakthrough by using tactical positioning and timing. But in the face of absolute power and speed, those fancy tactics seem so pale.

The opposing middle blocker, standing at 2.02 meters, didn't need to anticipate the ball when blocking. He only needed to wait for the ball to be passed before jumping, because his wingspan and jumping ability were sufficient to cover all attacking routes. This was pure numerical superiority.

"nice shot!"

Lu Ren rolled awkwardly on the ground, barely managing to get the ball up. The ball flew towards position three, and the substitute setter quickly adjusted, pushing the ball to position two.

"For me?" Lu Ren's adrenaline surged as he watched the volleyball fly towards him.

Since we can't defend, let's attack!

He took a running start and jumped. His body stretched out in the air, and his arms swung.

Then, it got dark.

The bald main attacker and the tall middle attacker on the opposite side jumped up side by side, their four large hands forming an insurmountable wall of sighs, completely blocking out the light.

Lu Ren tried to change course in mid-air, attempting to throw his hand out of bounds.

"Snapped!"

The ball had barely left his hand when it was slammed back. It was even faster than when it went in, hitting Lu Ren squarely on the shoulder and knocking him to the ground.

"Trying to throw your hand out of bounds?" The bald man landed, looking down at him with a mocking expression. "Little brother, your actions are too obvious. Your eyes have already given you away."

Lu Ren rubbed his numb shoulders and got up, but his competitive spirit rose up instead.

He discovered a terrifying truth. These people weren't brainless; on the contrary, their minds worked faster than anyone else's.

In high school leagues, Lu Ren got used to the three-step process of "thinking-decision-action". The speed of the ball played by high school students gave him time to think, just like in a turn-based game, you have one turn to think of a strategy.

But here, it's a real-time strategy game, and it's played at eight times the speed.

These provincial team veterans don't need to calculate like he does. Years of training and high-intensity competition have ingrained tactical awareness into their very being. The moment they see the ball, their bodies have already made the optimal decision.

This is the difference between "instinct" and "calculation".

"Again!" Lu Ren shouted, his eyes turning fierce.

If we can't calculate it, then we won't.

Lu Ren took a deep breath and forcibly shut down the messy data analysis modules in his mind. Landing probability, rotation coefficients—all of that was thrown into the recycle bin.

He focused all his attention on the ball and on his opponent's muscle movements.

The opposing team serves again.

This time, Lu Ren didn't try to predict the landing point, but instead stared intently at the wrist twitch of the opponent's server as they swung their arm.

Wrist outward rotation, is it a float shot? No, it was a wrist snap at the last moment!

His body moved before his brain. Lu Ren took a big step to the left, brought his arms together, and pressed down.

"Bang!"

The ball slammed into my forearm, sending a sharp, excruciating pain through me. But this time, the ball didn't fly into the stands; it bounced high into the air, not quite hitting its target, but at least it remained on the field.

"Great pass!" the substitute setter shouted, running over to correct the pass.

Lu Ren got up from the ground, looked at his swollen forearm, and grinned an ugly smile.

Received.

Although luck played a large part, the thrill of catching the wild beast's trail made every pore on his body tingle.

The game continues.

Lu Ren completely transformed himself into a sponge, falling down and getting up again and again. He no longer focused on perfect positioning, but instead tried every possible way to keep the ball in the air—with his hands, his feet, and even his face.

There was a ball where the opposing middle blocker executed a very quick short, flat attack from position three. Lu Ren didn't have time to think; his body instinctively lunged to the side and forward, bracing himself with one hand before landing.

The ball has been saved.

Although the opposing team scored on a counterattack shortly after, the 2.02-meter-tall man looked at Lu Ren with surprise after landing: "Pretty quick reaction, are you a monkey?"

"He's tough as nails." Lu Ren panted heavily, sweat dripping from his chin onto the floor, forming a small puddle.

Zhao Gang, standing on the sidelines, held a pen in his hand and scribbled in his notebook, a rare smile playing on his lips.

This kid is more adaptable than I thought.

Despite his rudimentary technique and frail physique, he didn't break down under such high pressure. Instead, he began to try unorthodox methods to break the regular team's offensive. This kind of tenacious, resilient nature is the most valuable talent in competitive sports.

The two-hour competition has ended.

Lu Rencheng lay sprawled on the floor, feeling as if his soul had drifted to Tianfu Square. Every bone in his body ached, especially his knees and wrists, which felt as if they had been run over by a truck.

"Get up, stop lying there pretending to be dead."

A bottle of water hit him in the chest.

Lu Ren opened his eyes with difficulty and saw the bald main attacker squatting next to him, holding a bottle of chilled mineral water.

"Thank... thank you, brother." Lu Ren unscrewed the bottle cap and gulped down half of the bottle in one go, feeling like he had come back to life.

"That was a good defensive play." The bald man patted Lu Ren on the shoulder, almost knocking him apart again. "Although the form was a bit awkward, like a dog fighting for food, as long as the ball didn't touch the ground, it's a good play."

"Brother, your style of play... is terrifying." Lu Ren smiled wryly. "It feels like I'm playing against a bunch of Gundams."

"Gundam?" The bald man chuckled. "We call this basic skills. I've seen a couple of volleyball games over there, it's too tedious. Just passing and passing, all fancy stuff. In the face of absolute power, all that is nonsense."

At this moment, Zhao Gang walked over.

"Alright, stop bragging." Zhao Gang shooed the provincial team members away to stretch, then looked down at Lu Ren. "How's it going?"

"I feel... I want to go home." Lu Ren said honestly, "Coach, is this the world of max-level characters? It's so hopeless."

"Despair is the right thing to do." Zhao Gang sat down beside him. "Do you know why I made you fight them?"

"Let me face reality?"

"Bullshit," Zhao Gang cursed. "It's to open your eyes. The kind of high school volleyball you play emphasizes 'coherence' and 'maintaining the flow.' But at a higher level, it's about 'closing the game.' Every ball must be played as if it were the last. Attack aggressively, defend toughly, there's not much time for you to contemplate life."

Zhao Gang pointed to the provincial team members who were fooling around: "They're not brainless, it's just that their brains have become one with their bodies. What you need to learn is not their strength, you can't learn that in a short time. What you need to learn is their 'rhythm'."

"Rhythm?"

"Yes, that sense of oppression." Zhao Gang gestured, "That 'I'm going to kill you with this shot' attitude. You play too civilly, too reasonably. When you go back, take some of that bandit-like spirit with you."

Lu Ren seemed to be deep in thought.

Bandit-like?

His mind conjured up images of Oikawa Toru's delicate face and Kageyama Tobio's well-behaved demeanor. What if he suddenly unleashed the raw, untamed energy of the "Sichuan Provincial Team" during the match…

The scene is too beautiful to imagine.

"Going back to Japan tomorrow?" Zhao Gang asked.

"Yes, the plane ticket for the day after tomorrow."

"Okay." Zhao Gang stood up and took a volleyball out of his pocket. The ball looked a bit old, with a badly worn surface, but it was fully inflated.

"Here, take this." Zhao Gang tossed the ball to Lu Ren.

Lu Ren caught the ball and found it covered with signatures.

"These are the training balls these kids used when they won the National Youth Championship last year," Zhao Gang said casually. "Take them back, touch them now and then, feel the texture. Don't forget the suffering they endured here."

Lu Ren hugged the ball, feeling a sudden tightness in his chest. Although he had been tortured to the point of exhaustion these past few days, he was actually a little reluctant to leave behind the smell of sweat.

"Coach, can I bring back some local specialties for my teammates?" Lu Ren asked, "Like hot pot base or something?"

Zhao Gang sneered, "What's the point of bringing any special ingredients? That's tacky. Take back the results of your training these past few days; that's the best souvenir."

He paused, his eyes sharpening: "Go back and tell those Japanese kids that volleyball isn't just about passion and bonds; it also has something called 'violent aesthetics.' Let them taste the 'spicy flavor' of Sichuan."

Lu Ren paused for a moment, then smiled. His smile was bright, revealing a set of white teeth.

"Understood, Coach. I'll make them cry from the spiciness."

……

It was completely dark when we left the training hall.

Qingze Yazhi stood at the door, carrying two large bags. Seeing Lu Ren limping out, she hurriedly went to greet him, but instead of teasing him as usual, she silently stuffed a bag of steaming hot candied fruit into his hands.

"Still alive?" she asked softly.

"Half-dead." Lu Ren took a bite of the candied fruit; the sweet, soft, and chewy texture instantly soothed his fatigue. "But, it's great."

"What did Coach Zhao say to you?"

"He said I should bring back some local specialties." Lu Ren held up the volleyball covered in signatures and examined it under the streetlight. "Yazhi, do you think everyone would hate me if I brought this 'train until you drop dead' style back to Karasuno?"

Ya-Chih imagined the scene. Hinata Shoyo would probably jump up excitedly, Kageyama Tobio would take notes seriously, Tsukishima Kei would practice with a look of disgust but her body would honestly follow along, and as for Yamaguchi Tadashi... he would probably cry.

"I don't know if I hate him or not." Ya-zhi tidied his messy hair. "But I know that this year's Spring High School Qualifying Tournament will definitely be very interesting."

Looking at the bustling night view of Chengdu, Lu Ren took a deep breath of the moist air.

This "return to town for supplies" dungeon is finally cleared. Although I lost a lot of health, the experience points and equipment I gained were definitely worth it.

"Let's go home and pack our bags." Lu Ren stuffed the last bite of the candied fruit into his mouth and mumbled, "I also need to figure out how to fit that box of hot pot base into the checked baggage box. It's for Tanaka; that guy will definitely love it."

"Didn't you say it wouldn't include a base sauce?"

"The coach said I wouldn't bring any, not that I wouldn't bring any for my teammates. I'll save a pack of those super spicy ones for Oikawa Toru, and give it to him next time we meet. It'll make that peacock burn with spice."

The two figures gradually blended into the night.