Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The hands of the wall clock ticked mechanically, making an annoying "click" sound.

The special training session after dinner had already lasted for four hours.

Lu Ren threw the red pen on the table, leaned back, and slumped into the sofa. He stared at the ceiling, feeling as if his brain was being repeatedly struck by some blunt object.

Beside the four low tables in front of them, four bodies, described as "single-celled organisms," exuded a visible aura of decadence.

"No... I can't take it anymore..." Hinata Shoyo buried his face in the pile of curled-up test papers, his voice muffled, "The English words are dancing on the paper, they're laughing at me."

"Shut up, you idiot." Kageyama Tobio gripped his mechanical pencil tightly; the lead had broken for the third time. He stared intently at a geometry problem asking for area, his gaze as fierce as if he were looking at Oikawa Toru on the other side of the net. "If I just stare right through it, the answer will come out..."

"That's a math problem, not a net-blocking exercise." Tsukishima Hotaru sat in the corner flipping through a novel, too lazy to even look up. "And Tanaka-senpai, your classical Chinese dictation is full of typos. Are you trying to drive your Japanese literature teacher crazy?"

Ryunosuke Tanaka abruptly looked up, two huge dark circles under his eyes, his face filled with a death-defying resolve: "As long as it rhymes, isn't that enough! This is the soul! Don't you understand the soul?!"

Lu Ren didn't speak.

He picked up the four mock exam papers he had just finished grading.

The scores are very neat.

48 points, 51 points, 49 points, 50 points.

It was as if some mysterious force had locked their upper limit; no matter how thoroughly they explained things beforehand, the accuracy rate of these four people remained stubbornly stuck at the 50% mark. This wasn't just a matter of intelligence; it was practically some kind of despairing weapon of causality.

"Is this the limit?" Lu Ren sat up straight, his voice unusually soft.

All four of them shuddered at the same time.

"Mr. Lu... Mr. Lu Ren?" west Gu Yu swallowed hard. "Well, we've already tried our best..."

"Effort?" Lu Ren picked up the test paper with a score of only 48, pointed to a fill-in-the-blank question, and said, "I've explained this question three times. I said that what comes after 'but' is probably the key point, but you chose the content before 'and.' Is this effort? This is suicide."

The living room was deathly silent.

Lu Ren stood up, stretched his stiff neck, and made a crisp cracking sound.

"Looks like conventional strategies don't work on hardcore players like you." He walked to the kitchen doorway, glanced back at the group of trembling quails, and gave a cold smile. "Since we can't grind experience points, we'll just have to increase the difficulty."

"Yazhi, keep an eye on them for me. Anyone who dares to move an inch will have their legs broken."

Qingze Yazhi was sitting cross-legged on the carpet peeling an orange when she heard this. She gave an OK sign and said, "Don't worry, I'll help them calm down physically."

Lu Ren walked into the kitchen and closed the sliding door behind him.

Soon, the roar of a blender starting up came from the kitchen.

The sound didn't sound like food being processed; it sounded more like cement being stirred.

The people in the living room looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Hey... I have a bad feeling." Tanaka shrank his neck. "That sound sounds a lot like the concrete mixers I've heard at construction sites."

"Is Lu Ren making explosives?" Hinata covered her mouth in horror.

"Don't be silly." Kageyama was stubborn, but his face was noticeably paler. "It's probably... some kind of energy drink?"

Ten minutes later.

The sliding door was opened again.

Lu Ren came out carrying a tray. On the tray was a large glass pitcher filled with some kind of dark green, viscous, almost non-flowing liquid.

The color was a dark, almost blackish green, a green that sent chills down your spine, and there were even a few eerie bubbles rising to the surface.

An indescribable smell instantly filled the living room.

It was a mixture of the fishy smell of raw celery, the bitterness of bitter melon, and some kind of indescribable spiciness.

"Ugh—" Xi Gu Xi, with her keenest sense of smell, immediately covered her nose. "What kind of biological weapon is this?! Lu Ren, are you trying to murder me?!"

"Murder? No, no, no." Lu Ren placed the tray on the coffee table, the glass clinking against the surface. "This is a 'Potion to Enhance All Attributes' that I specially made for you."

He picked up an empty glass and filled it to the brim.

The liquid flowed out slowly, clinging to the cup wall, refusing to slide down.

"Rich in vitamins, dietary fiber, and special ingredients that refresh the mind." Lu Ren swirled the glass. "Although it doesn't look very appealing, it's definitely good for your health, especially for the brain."

Just then, the sound of a door opening came from the entrance hall.

The third-grade group who went to the convenience store to buy late-night snacks have returned.

Sawamura Daichi was carrying two large bags of meat buns, Sugawara Koji was holding several bottles of mineral water, and Higashimine Asahi was carrying a case of milk.

"Oh? Everyone's still studying." Sugawara smiled as he changed his shoes and walked in. "You've all worked hard. Come and have something to eat to replenish your energy... Hmm? What does it taste like?"

Dong Fengxu sniffed, looking at the green liquid on the coffee table with a puzzled expression: "Is this a matcha latte? The color is a bit dark."

Lu Ren's gaze fell on Dong Fengxu.

In that instant, a predator's glint flashed in his eyes.

"Senior Xu." Lu Ren picked up the glass of liquid, a harmless smile on his face, and walked over. "You're back just in time. Everyone was so tired from studying, so I made some vegetable juice. Would you like to try some?"

"Huh? Did you make this especially for me?" Dong Fengxu was a little flattered. As the team's ace, he had always been a soft-hearted and easy-going person, even a little bad at saying no. "Well... then I won't be polite. I'm a bit thirsty."

"Asahi! No—" Nishitani Yu was about to speak up to stop him.

Lu Ren shot him a glare, and west Gu immediately shut up, swallowing his words.

Dong Fengxu took the cup without any warning.

"Looks very healthy." He smiled憨厚ly, then tilted his head back and took a big gulp.

Time stood still at this moment.

Everyone stared wide-eyed at Dong Fengxu's face.

one second.

two seconds.

three seconds.

Dong Fengxu remained motionless, his head tilted back.

Immediately afterwards, his expression began to change drastically.

First it turns red, which is the instinctive reaction of humans to the fear of the unknown; then it quickly turns green, as if the chlorophyll in the body has suddenly exceeded the standard; finally it turns pale, which is the color of the empty shell after the soul leaves the body.

"Asahi?" Sugawara sensed something was wrong and called out tentatively.

Dong Fengxu did not answer.

His eyes rolled upward, and his Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty, as if he wanted to swallow the liquid, or perhaps he was suppressing a scream that was about to erupt.

"Um...uh..."

A broken groan escaped from the throat of the burly man who was over six feet tall.

The next moment, Higashimine Asahi suddenly covered his mouth, shoved the cup into Sugawara's arms, and stumbled towards the bathroom like an out-of-control tank.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way now!!!"

That mournful cry was so heartbreaking that it brought tears to the eyes of anyone who heard it.

"Asahi! Asahi, what's wrong?!" Sawamura Daichi exclaimed in shock, dropping his meat bun and chasing after him.

"Cheer up, Asahi! Don't die in the toilet!" Sugawara panicked, still holding the cup with the remaining green liquid in his hand, his hands trembling as if he were shaking.

The bathroom door was slammed shut, followed by a deafening sound of vomiting.

The living room fell silent once again.

A deathly silence a hundred times more terrifying than before.

Hinata Shoyo's face had turned the color of that drink. Kageyama Tobio shrank back, trying to hide behind the sofa. Tanaka and Nishinoya huddled together, trembling.

"Lu...Lu Ren..." Tsukishima Hotaru closed the book, her voice unusually tinged with reverence, "What exactly did you add to it?"

"It's nothing." Lu Ren slowly took the cup back from Sugawara, poured a little more, and smelled it. "Bitter melon, cilantro, ginger, garlic, mustard, and a little bit of spinach juice for color. All natural ingredients, very healthy."

"This is poison! This is definitely poison!" Tanaka screamed in despair. "Asahi-senpai is our ace! Are you just going to sacrifice him like this?!"

"Don't put it so harshly." Lu Ren placed the cup back in the center of the coffee table. The green liquid shimmered eerily under the light. "This is called a buff. Although there will be a brief negative effect, it can greatly increase mental resistance."

He turned around and looked at the four guys who were practically pissing themselves in fear.

"Alright, the game rules have been updated."

Lu Ren picked up the red pen and twirled it in the air.

"From now on, anyone who completes a test paper with an accuracy rate below 60%..."

He pointed to the large jug of liquid that resembled a swamp.

"Have a drink."

"No--!!!"

Four screams nearly lifted the roof off.

"This isn't fair!" Hinata jumped up. "60% is too difficult! We barely made it to 50% just now!"

"Then use your brain." Lu Ren looked at him coldly. "Don't want to drink? Then go and memorize it, analyze it, and engrave those damn formulas into your brain. Human potential is limitless, especially when it comes to the will to survive."

"But..." Kageyama looked at the drink, his throat dry. "Drinking that... will kill you."

"Don't worry, he won't die." Lu Ren pointed towards the bathroom, where Da Di's anxious voice could still be heard, "Senior Xu is in such good physical condition, he'll be fine after vomiting for a while. As for you guys..."

Lu Ren revealed that signature smile that sent chills down the spines of all his opponents.

"If you don't want to cry in cram school later, you might as well laugh in hell now."

"The next round of testing will begin in ten minutes. Timer started."

As soon as he finished speaking, the four of them pounced on the table like madmen.

"This problem! How do I do this problem! Tsukishima! Teach me!" Hinata grabbed Tsukishima's collar and shook him frantically.

"Stop shaking! Idiot! We need to use the Pythagorean theorem here!" Tsukishima's glasses almost fell off from the shaking, but he didn't dare to refuse because he was also afraid that these lunatics would affect him.

"Over there! Don't block the light!" Kageyama Tobio's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, his pen sparking as it scratched across the paper. "If it's 60%... as long as I get all the multiple-choice questions right and skip half the fill-in-the-blank questions... it'll work! It'll definitely work!"

"Memorize it! Memorize it all!" Tanaka roared, pulling at his hair. "Even if it's alien language, I'll memorize it! I absolutely refuse to drink that stuff!"

Nishitani Yu tightened her headband even further, entering a "super libero" state, her eyes frighteningly sharp: "As long as I don't misread the line... as long as I don't misread the line, it's victory! This is even more exciting than receiving Ushiwaka's spike, you bastard!"

Looking at this group of guys who suddenly unleashed their survival instincts, Lu Ren nodded in satisfaction.

now it's right.

For players, nothing can stimulate their skill ceiling more than a "penalty mechanism".

The so-called bottleneck is simply because the consequences haven't been severe enough yet.

"Lu Ren..." Ya Zhi leaned closer and whispered, "Is that... really safe to drink?"

"Theoretically, it's drinkable," Lu Ren shrugged. "It's just that the taste is a little... impactful."

At that moment, the bathroom door opened.

Higashimine Asahi was helped out by Daichi and Sugawara. This usually imposing ace was now pale and unsteady on his feet, as if he had just walked through the gates of hell.

He raised his hand tremblingly, pointed at Lu Ren, his lips quivering for a long time before finally managing to utter only one sentence:

"This...this taste...it reminds me of...the fleeting moments of life..."

After saying that, he slumped softly onto the sofa.

Upon hearing this, the four students who were working on their problems swung their pens even faster, almost sparking.

Lu Ren watched this scene, picked up a meat bun, and took a bite.

"It seems to be working well."

He glanced at the clock on the wall.

Tonight is still long.

This "special potion" should be enough to get them past the 60% mark. After all, between "passing" and "social failure," humans often unleash astonishing potential.

This is the art of strategy.