Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The air inside the examination room was as stuffy as a pond before a downpour.

All that could be heard was the scratching sound of pencil lead rubbing against the paper, interspersed with a few suppressed coughs, and the resonant frequency of the tables and chairs caused by someone shaking their leg.

Lu Ren twirled his pen, gazing listlessly out the window.

He finished the test ten minutes ago. For him, these kinds of questions weren't even as easy as slimes in the beginner's village; they were more like roadside pottery to be crushed. He turned his head, his gaze sweeping across the other end of the exam hall.

Kageyama Tokio was sitting there.

This "king" of the court held his pen as if it were a dagger, ready for a hand-to-hand battle with the exam paper. His brows were furrowed in a tight knot, and the beads of sweat on his forehead were more than he had in a full five-set match. He wasn't thinking; he was trying to use his mental power to grab the answer from thin air.

Now look at Hinata Shoyo in the front row.

The little guy was vibrating at a high frequency. Every time he wrote a word, he had to stop and take a deep breath, as if the word might suddenly jump up and bite him. His eraser was worn down to the size of a fingernail, and the table was covered with gray eraser shavings, like the wreckage left by a fierce battle.

And Tanaka and Nishitani.

The two were in different exam rooms, but Lu Ren could easily imagine their state—probably facing classical Chinese dictation questions, desperately praying to the gods, or trying to move the examiners with their "perseverance."

"Collect the papers."

The proctor's voice was both heavenly and death knell.

The pen in Kageyama's hand snapped with a "crack." Hinata slumped onto the table, his soul seemingly floating out of his mouth.

Lu Ren stood up and tidied up his stationery.

This "Final Exam" instance has finally come to a forced end. As for whether the loot will be a "Tokyo Expedition Ticket" or a "Cram School Hell Experience Ticket," that depends on whether these single-celled organisms can unleash potential beyond human limits under the threat of death from vegetable juice.

……

A few days later, at the gymnasium.

The atmosphere was so heavy it felt like the end of the world was about to be announced.

Professor Takeda held a few thin sheets of paper in his hand, his expression inscrutable. He pushed up his glasses and glanced at the four "sinners" standing in a row in front of him.

Hinata, Kageyama, Tanaka, Nishitani.

The four people clasped their hands together, closed their eyes, and their faces were deathly pale as they muttered incantations. If you listened carefully, you could probably hear muttering things like "Buddha bless me," "Don't want to take extra classes," and "I want to go to Tokyo."

Sawamura Daichi stood to the side, arms crossed, his expression also not good. If these four key players couldn't go, then Karasuno would basically be sent to Tokyo as cannon fodder.

"cough."

Teacher Takeda cleared his throat.

The four people's bodies trembled violently, as if they had been electrocuted.

"Regarding the final exam results..." Mr. Takeda paused, seemingly enjoying the feeling of holding life and death in his hands, or perhaps simply organizing his thoughts, "Although the process was very thrilling, and I barely passed a few subjects..."

Hinata suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils dilating violently.

"But!" Mr. Takeda's face broke into a smile, "Everyone passed! No one failed!"

Quiet.

A deathly silence.

One second later.

"Waaaaaaahh ...

The eruption of cheers nearly blew the roof off the stadium.

Hinata and Kageyama, who usually fight like sworn enemies, were now hugging each other and weeping bitterly. Tanaka took off his shirt and waved it in the air, while Nishinoya knelt on the ground and roared like a wild beast at the ceiling.

"Great!! No more tutoring!!"

"Tokyo!! Here we come!!"

"Barbecue!! Top school!! Coach Nekomata!!"

Looking at this group of crazy guys, Lu Ren stood in the corner and couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Is it really that big of a deal?" he said coolly. "It's just a passing grade. In an RPG game, that's barely enough to avoid being kicked off the server. You don't even get an achievement trophy."

"Lu Ren! You have no idea!" Tanaka rushed over, tears streaming down her face, wanting to hug Lu Ren, but Lu Ren disdainfully turned away. "Do you know what we've been through these past few days? It was hell! It was purgatory!"

"Every night I dream about English words chasing me!" Hinata cried, snot bubbles coming out of her nose. "If I don't memorize them all, I'll have to drink that green poison... Waaaaah..."

"That's vegetable juice," Lu Ren corrected. "It's rich in vitamins and good for your health."

"That's a biological weapon!" Kageyama actually chimed in, it seems that the psychological trauma from those few cups of vegetable juice was even greater than that from Oikawa Tetsu's serve.

Sawamura Daichi breathed a sigh of relief, his whole body collapsing: "That's great...that's really great...I was prepared for only half of us to go to Tokyo."

Sugawara Koji chuckled and patted Daichi on the shoulder: "Now we can all go out. Thanks to Riku Ren's special training."

"Don't thank me." Lu Ren waved his hand. "It's just that their survival instinct is too strong. When faced with the dual threats of 'social death' and 'food poisoning,' human intelligence does temporarily take over."

Just as these idiots were celebrating their narrow escape, the stadium doors were opened again.

Kiyoko Shimizu walked in.

Behind her followed a small, trembling figure.

That was the girl Hinata had tried to "preach" to before, Hitoka Yachi.

She was wearing Karasuno's school uniform, cowering behind Kiyoko Shimizu like a frightened hamster. Seeing the group of shirtless, roaring beasts in the gymnasium, her face turned deathly pale, looking ready to call the police at any moment.

"Um..." Kiyoko Shimizu clapped her hands, signaling everyone to be quiet.

Tanaka and Nishiya, who were still going crazy, froze instantly, then quickly straightened themselves up, stood at attention, and put on what they thought were their most handsome (actually very greasy) smiles.

"Senior Jiezi! What can I do for you?"

Kiyoko Shimizu stepped aside for the girl behind her: "This is Hitoka Yachi. Starting today, she officially joins us as the new manager of the volleyball team."

The air froze again.

Renka Yachi clutched her clothes tightly, not daring to lift her head, her voice trembling like a leaf falling in the wind: "P-please take care of me! I-I don't know anything...I might cause trouble for everyone...I'm sorry!!"

After saying that, she bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle, almost hitting her head on the ground.

"Ooooooooooo!!!"

The cheers, ten times louder than the earlier celebrations of passing the exam, resounded through the sky.

"New manager!!"

"It really is a new manager!!"

"We're going to have three managers now!!"

Tanaka and Nishiya were moved to tears. They knelt on the ground, raising their hands as if worshipping a goddess.

Hinata jumped up excitedly, "Tanichi-kun! You really came! That's great! I told you the volleyball club was fun!"

Faced with this group of overly enthusiastic creatures, Hitoka Yachi looked like she was about to faint. She looked at Tanaka and Nishiya in horror, then at Kageyama next to her who had a fierce look on his face (actually he was just spacing out), and tears were welling up in her eyes.

Lu Ren sighed and stepped forward.

He stood in front of the group of idiots who were releasing excessive hormones, looking down at the newcomer who was about to die of fright.

"Ignore them." Lu Ren pointed behind him. "These guys just came down from the execution ground of failing their exams, so they're a bit off their minds right now. They're usually idiots, but they're not usually this noisy."

Renka Tani looked up at the boy in front of her who looked a little more normal.

"My name is Lu Ren." Lu Ren introduced himself simply, "The team's backup, part-time tactical analyst, and occasionally the caretaker of these single-celled organisms."

"A... a zookeeper?" Yachi Hitoka was taken aback.

"That's right." Lu Ren pointed at Hyuga. "Especially that orange one. If we don't keep a close eye on him, he might exhaust himself on the court. So, we need someone to help watch him."

He paused, looking into Gu Direnhua's eyes: "The manager's job isn't easy. Washing clothes, filling water containers, recording data, and enduring the smell of sweat. It's not a glamorous role. In the game, it's pure logistical support, no damage output, no MVP reward screen."

Gu Direnhua shrank her neck.

"However," Lu Ren changed the subject, "for a team, support is just as important as damage dealers. Even in long dungeons, without supplies, no matter how high your damage output is, you'll still die. We need you."

It's not "Welcome," nor "Please give me your guidance," but "We need you."

Gu Direnhua was stunned.

She had always felt like a villager, B, an insignificant character in the background. No one had ever told her so bluntly: you are needed.

"Okay, okay!" she stammered, still trembling, but with a glimmer of light in her eyes. "I'll try my best! Even... even if it's just Villager B, I'll do my best to deliver good water!"

"That's right." Lu Ren nodded in satisfaction.

Over there, Hinata rushed over and started introducing the others to Yachi Hitoka.

"That's Kageyama! He may have a grumpy face, but his passing is amazing!"

"I'm Hinata! I'm going to be the ace!"

"That's Tsukishima. He has a terrible temper. Be careful!"

Watching Gu Direnhua gradually integrate into (or be forcibly dragged into) the group, Yazhi moved closer to Lu Ren and nudged him with her elbow.

"Well, Lu Ren, you said you found it troublesome, but what you said just now was quite the sweet talker."

"I'm just stating the facts." Lu Ren stared expressionlessly at the tactics board in his hand. "The Tokyo expedition is a series of battles. Without sufficient logistical support, these idiots won't last past the third day. With one more manager, our endurance will increase by at least 30%."

"Yes, yes, yes, you data maniac," Yazhi teased with a laugh. "You just took pity on the little girl because she was about to cry."

Lu Ren didn't reply, he just looked at the scene.

Everyone is present.

Pass the exam.

Equipment update (although it was just adding an auxiliary item).

"Alright." Daichi Sawamura clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention back. "Now that everyone has passed and the new manager has joined, let's move on—"

His eyes sharpened, and the captain's aura was fully unleashed.

"Our goal is Tokyo! We're going to face off against top schools nationwide! This is the best opportunity to hone our skills before the spring high school preliminaries in a month! No one can afford to fall behind!"

"yes!!!"

The responses were uniform and resounding.

Even the four who were just complaining about how hard it was to memorize vocabulary words now had a greedy expression on their faces, as if they wanted to devour Tokyo completely.

Lu Ren closed the tactical board, a slight smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Although they were just a bunch of idiots who barely passed the minimum standard, although the new support was still a level 1 alt, and although their equipment was tattered.

But this team is finally about to leave the starting village and see the real world boss.

"Hey, Rikuren!" Hinata called from afar, "Come quick! Kageyama said he wants to try out that new fast attack!"

"They're here."

Lu Ren walked over slowly.

"Don't get too excited," he said, pouring cold water on the idea as they walked away. "Those owls and wildcats in Tokyo are much tougher than a final exam paper. If you end up crying, I won't be giving you any vegetable juice."

"Huh? Who would cry!"

"That's right! I'm going to beat them all to a pulp!"

Sunlight streamed through the stadium's high windows, casting long shadows on the wooden floor. Dust swirled in the beams of light, mingling with the smells of sweat and rubber.

This is their summer.

The game has only just begun.