Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The score is 3-0.

The air in the stadium felt heavy. This wasn't just because of the point difference, but also because of the eerie sense of oppression on the field. On one side was a "luxury lineup" with a genius setter and a rookie with incredible strength, while on the other side was a "ragtag army" composed of a gamer, a sarcastic guy, and a cowardly lackey.

If you've watched the training over the past few days, you'd definitely think this scene is a bug in the game.

Tadashi Yamaguchi gripped the volleyball tightly, his palms sweating. Standing at the baseline, he felt his heart pounding so loudly it could be heard throughout the entire stadium. Although his previous serves hadn't been faulty, those weak underhand serves were practically handing the opponent an opportunity in this level of competition.

"Feed".

A voice suddenly came from beside him. Yamaguchi was startled and turned around to see Lu Ren standing not far away, hands on his hips, looking at the other side with a relaxed expression, as if waiting for a game to load.

"Um... Lu Ren?"

"Don't be so stiff." Lu Ren didn't look at him, his gaze still fixed on Hyuga across from him. "Serving is like setting up a move. Using light punches all the time is stable, but your opponent is already tired of the animation. Occasionally changing the command, even if it's just randomly pressing buttons, might just break through their defense."

Yamaguchi paused for a moment, then said, "Randomly pressing buttons?"

"Right, don't think about where you have to serve it." Lu Ren pointed to the ball in his hand. "Even if it's just slightly changing the point of contact, or not trying to make the ball spin. Just make it a little 'unreasonable'."

Unreasonable...

Yamaguchi looked at the ball in his hand. Wasn't he thinking about spinning it?

The whistle blew.

He didn't have much time to think. Yamaguchi took a deep breath and, no longer as carefully as before, tossed the ball up gently, not very high.

Just as the ball was about to hit his forehead, he swung his arm. It wasn't a smash or a push, but a short, powerful strike to the center of the ball with the heel of his palm.

"Smack."

A crisp sound.

The volleyball left his hand.

The ball didn't spin. It was like a texture that had suddenly lost control of the physics engine, floating lightly over the net. Because it wasn't spinning, air resistance became turbulent on the surface of the ball, and the originally smooth parabola suddenly began to tremble strangely in mid-air.

Hinata Shoyo stood in the back row, his eyes wide open.

"I'll do it!"

He shouted and moved with lightning speed. The logic in that orange head was simple: the ball is coming, I catch it, I catch it, and then I attack.

He judged the landing point, put his arms together, and assumed the standard passing posture.

In his view, the ball wasn't fast and looked harmless.

However, just 0.5 seconds before the ball was about to touch his arm, it seemed as if an invisible hand had touched it, and it suddenly sank to the lower left without warning.

"What?!"

Hinata's pupils contracted sharply. The momentum of his body prevented him from adjusting instantly, and he could only rely on instinct to forcefully twist his arm to reach the ball.

late.

The volleyball grazed the muscles on the outside of his forearm, didn't bounce, but slammed heavily onto the floor at his feet, and then slowly rolled away.

"..."

Hinata remained frozen in his receiving position.

4: 0.

The stadium fell silent for a moment.

Tadashi Yamaguchi stood at the baseline, watching the ball roll far away, unable to believe that he had served it.

"That was... a float shot?" Daichi Sawamura raised an eyebrow in surprise on the sidelines. "Although the movement was very unorthodox, you could even say it was a bit lucky, but that ball definitely didn't spin."

"Nice Bug".

Lu Ren turned around and gave Yamaguchi, who was still in a daze, a thumbs up. "It seems that the physics engine of this game is really not very good. Even a god would have a hard time catching this kind of ball trajectory that looks like it's dropping frames."

Yamaguchi's face flushed instantly, a red of excitement. He scratched his head awkwardly and looked at Tsukishima Hotaru on the other side.

The tall man, who usually couldn't say anything nice, pushed up his glasses, glanced at the volleyball on the ground, then at Kageyama, whose face was ashen, before finally settling on Yamaguchi.

"nice shot."

His tone remained flat, without any inflection, and he didn't even turn his head.

But for Yamaguchi Tadashi, those two words were more unsettling than winning the lottery. He nodded vigorously, letting out a slightly off-key "Mmm!"

……

On the other side of the network port, the atmosphere was completely different.

That was a storm that was building up.

Ryunosuke Tanaka retrieved the ball that had rolled far away, glanced at the scoreboard, and then looked at the two first-year students beside him.

"Hey, everyone gather together."

Tanaka beckoned, gathering Kageyama and Hinata together. The usually carefree main attacker's face was now devoid of his signature wild laugh, his expression unusually serious.

"Listen carefully," Tanaka said in a low voice, "Although I hate to admit it, the current situation is very unfavorable for us. That Lu Ren on the other side... that guy is really weird. Plus, that jerk Tsukishima, their defense is much tougher than we expected."

Kageyama Tobio's face was dark, and he didn't say anything, but his clenched fists showed that he was in a very bad mood.

"We have the strongest spear," Tanaka glanced at Kageyama, then pointed to himself, "but our shield has a hole in it."

All three of them turned their gazes to Hyuga Shoyo.

Hinata shrank back, lowered her head, and whispered, "I'm sorry... I'm just too bad..."

What's the point of an apology?

Kageyama's icy voice pierced through like a knife, "Can an apology bring back the points you lost? Can an apology suddenly improve your catching skills?"

Hinata's body trembled, and she lowered her head even further.

"That ball wasn't difficult to catch," Kageyama continued, "It was just a slight change of direction. If it were Daichi-senpai, or even Tanaka-senpai, they could easily catch it. Aren't your reflexes supposed to be excellent? Why can't you even handle a ball like that?"

"Um... Kageyama, could you be a little more lenient with this..." Tanaka tried to smooth things over.

"There won't be any leniency in this competition." Kageyama interrupted Tanaka, his eyes sharp and frightening. "If you want to win, don't drag the team down."

Hinata suddenly raised his head.

There were no tears, no dejection. A near-obsessive flame burned in his brown eyes. He stared intently at Kageyama, as if trying to burn a hole through him with his gaze.

"I'll catch it."

Hinata's voice was a little hoarse, but he emphasized each word, "I'll catch the next ball. No matter what kind of ball it is, even if I have to use my face, I'll block it!"

Kageyama looked at him, remained silent for two seconds, and then looked away.

"Such unfounded assurances have no tactical value whatsoever."

Kageyama turned to Tanaka and said, "Tanaka-senpai, we need to adjust the formation for the next round. Hyuga's receiving is a weakness, and the opponent will definitely exploit that. We can't let him participate in the first pass."

"Expand the defensive area?" Tanaka immediately realized.

"Yes." Kageyama gestured in the air. "Tanaka-senpai and I will be responsible for receiving serves, covering as much of Hyuga's defensive area as possible. Hyuga, you only need to do one thing."

Kageyama looked at the short guy again, "Don't get in the way in the backcourt, run forward as fast as you can. As soon as the ball leaves your hand, you get to the net."

"But..." Hinata hesitated for a moment, "If I can't receive the ball, I can't pass it to you..."

"I don't need you to pass the ball," Kageyama said coldly. "As long as the ball goes high, even if it's not perfectly in place, I'll pass it to you. But—"

His tone became extremely stern: "If you don't run fast enough or jump high enough, and waste my pass, I will never pass you the ball again."

This is a final ultimatum issued by the setter to the attacker.

It's also a kind of arrogant confidence—as long as you can jump, I can get the ball to you.

"And another thing," Kageyama paused, a flicker of hesitation crossing his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by determination, "that kind of fast break... although its success rate is pitifully low now, it's necessary to use it if we want to break through the opponent's defense. Can you hit it?"

Normally, this is impossible. It's simply a pipe dream to expect a novice who has only been playing volleyball for a few days to cooperate with a genius setter who demands extremely high precision and launch a super fast attack in a real match.

But Hinata did not hesitate at all.

Give me the ball!

He stepped forward, his intense heat almost hitting Kageyama's face. His pupils contracted, revealing nothing but a burning desire for volleyball.

"As long as you pass the ball to me, I'll be there! No matter how fast or how high, I'll be there!"

That look in his eyes not only didn't deter him from Kageyama's oppressive aura, but it seemed as if he wanted to devour Kageyama whole.

Kageyama was forced to lean back slightly by this imposing aura.

"...Tsk."

Kageyama turned his head away, concealing the momentary shock in his heart. "Then shut up and run. If you miss, you're dead."

"Alright, alright!" Tanaka slapped Hyuga hard on the back with a loud crack. "Now that we've decided on the tactics, let's teach those arrogant guys a lesson! Especially that Lu Ren, I'll let him know that some things can't be written in the strategy guides!"

"Oh!!!" Hinata clenched his fists and roared.

The roar was powerful and resonated throughout the entire stadium.

On the other side of the network port.

Lu Ren was bent over, his hands resting on his knees, as if waiting for a monster to spawn.

Hearing the noise from the other side, he raised his head slightly and squinted at it.

Although the specific tactical details couldn't be heard through the net, the visible change in atmosphere was undeniable. The previous low mood caused by lost points had vanished, replaced by a more frenzied and dangerous atmosphere.

Especially that orange-haired hairstyle, it looked like steam was coming out of the top of his head.

"Hey, four-eyed guy."

Lu Ren turned his head and said to Tsukishima beside him, "It seems the other side has triggered the plot. This is a typical Japanese RPG trope: the protagonist group is in dire straits, and then through a series of persuasive words and flashbacks, they are forcibly given a bond buff, increasing all attributes by 50%."

Hotaru Tsukishima coldly looked at the trio across from her, who were full of enthusiasm, with an undisguised look of disdain on her face.

"A boring shonen manga plot."

Tsukishima pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting a cold light. "No matter how loud you shout, you won't suddenly grow ten centimeters taller, nor will your skills suddenly improve. That kind of argument that you can win as long as you have perseverance is truly nauseating."

"That's true..."

Lu Ren watched as Kageyama Tobio returned to his position. The genius setter's stance had changed, and so had his gaze. His eyes were no longer merely fixed on the ball; they were scanning the entire court like a hunter, calculating every possible attack.

"But," Lu Ren straightened up, stretching his still slightly sore thigh muscles, "when the boss enters its second-phase berserk mode, it's usually unreasonable. Are you ready? This next wave of AOE damage might hurt a bit."

Tsukishima gave a soft hum, not replying, but his body was clearly tense, ready to move at any moment.

The whistle blew again.

The game continues.