Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

When the Tokyo sun rose for the third time, Lu Ren felt as if his brain was being boiled by the scorching heat of Saitama Prefecture.

The tactical notebook in his hand, which originally contained only a few pages of drafts, was now as thick as a brick. The spine was worn and frayed from repeated use, and the inner pages were densely covered with marks left by black, red, and blue ballpoint pens. If you didn't look at the cover and only saw the scribbles and data models inside that only he could understand, you would probably mistake it for some kind of cult summoning book.

"vomit--"

Hinata Shoyo leaned against a trash can near the gymnasium entrance and gagged. It wasn't from food poisoning, but simply from running and vomiting.

This is what's called "leveling up." There are no system notification sounds, no dazzling upgrade effects, only the soreness from lactic acid buildup and the stinging sensation of sweat getting into your eyes.

"Stop pretending to be dead, the next match is Ikawa." Lu Ren walked past Hinata and kicked his calf with his toe. "Go and replenish your health bar."

Hinata suddenly sprang to her feet, tears still streaming down her face, shouting, "Meat! I want to eat meat!"

Lu Ren ignored the single-celled organism, found a shady corner to sit down, and opened the "brick" book.

This page records the third game against Senran High School yesterday afternoon.

[Experimental Project: 3-2 Passing System (Pseudo)]

Result: Failure.

[Cause: Kageyama Tobio and Sugawara Koji's positioning overlapped, creating a vacuum in the mid lane. Because I (Lu Ren) was greedy for damage output, I not only failed to launch a second attack but also blocked Nishinoya's vision.]

[Note: It's like three drivers trying to grab the steering wheel and driving the car into a ditch.]

Lu Ren bit the pen cap and drew a circle over the three words "greedy output".

The past two days in Karasuno have been like a program undergoing extensive code refactoring. Old logic has been overturned, and the new algorithm hasn't even run yet, running it is full of bugs.

Sometimes they can pull off astonishing plays—for example, Kageyama feigns a pass while actually retreating, allowing Riku to surge forward from the opposite position. At that moment, Hyuga and Tanaka in the front row jump simultaneously. The formidable blockers are truly bewildered; they don't know who to defend, and ultimately watch helplessly as Riku effortlessly lobs the ball into the open space.

But more often than not, it's a "blue screen" crash.

For example, Hyuga rushed too fast and knocked down Kageyama; Sawamura Daichi collided with Nishiya while trying to cover for him; and Riku Ren miscalculated the turn and committed a service violation.

"This isn't a chimera, it's a complete failure of Frankenstein." Lu Ren closed his notebook and rubbed his throbbing temples.

"Senior Lu Ren, Coach Wuyang is calling us to assemble." Yamaguchi Tadashi ran over, carrying a water bottle, looking somewhat flustered. This kid has been practicing jump float shots lately, and although his success rate is appalling, at least he dares to serve.

"Here I am." Lu Ren stood up, supporting himself on his knees, his joints making a cracking sound.

Their opponent this time is Ikawa High School. Those guys are all serving maniacs.

Less than five minutes into the game, Karasuno's first pass was riddled with holes.

"Sorry!" Tanaka caught the ball face down, fell backward, and the ball flew towards the stands.

"Never mind! Next shot!" Daichi Sawamura's voice sounded a little hoarse.

Lu Ren stood at the net, facing Ikawa's outside hitter. Instead of focusing on the ball as usual, he glanced at Tsukishima Hotaru beside him out of the corner of his eye.

The utility pole is casually raising its hand, ready to block the net.

"Hey, glasses guy," Lu Ren suddenly said.

Tsukishima turned his head, giving him a "you're annoying" look.

"I won't block this shot later," Lu Ren said matter-of-factly. "I'm tired and want to slack off."

Tsukishima's eyebrow twitched: "Huh?"

"I'm going to provide support from the back row. You're in charge of the front row." Lu Ren pointed to the sky above. "If we get hit, I'll cut your headphone cord."

Before Tsukishima could refute, Ikawa's serve had already come over.

The serve wasn't great, and Nishiya made a diving save to get the ball up smoothly. Kageyama was in position and passed it to Tanaka on the left wing. Tanaka spiked the ball to score, regaining the serve.

Rotation.

Ikawa orchestrated the attack. The ball was passed to their number four, their ace.

Just as he predicted, Lu Ren did not jump to block the net the moment the opponent jumped. Instead, he took a step back and adopted a "I'm watching the show" attitude.

This resulted in a large section of Karasuno's netting wall being missing instantly.

Hotaru Tsukishima's pupils suddenly contracted.

This bastard senior is serious!

What should have been a double block has now become a one-on-one situation for him. If he doesn't block the diagonal shot, the defensive area behind him will be completely exposed.

"cut."

Tsukishima gasped, his body reacting instinctively. He didn't jump blindly, but waited until the moment the other swung his arm, then stretched his arms out to the left as far as he could.

"ONE TOUCH!"

The ball hit Tsukishima's fingers and bounced back to the backcourt.

"NICE!" Daichi Sawamura made a save.

Lu Ren received the ball in the back row, but instead of passing it to Kageyama, he directly passed it to Hinata, who had rushed to the net.

"Quick attack!"

Hinata, like a flea with a spring, intercepted the ball in mid-air and slammed it down.

Score.

"That was a good touch." Lu Ren walked back to the front row and deliberately bumped into Tsukishima with his shoulder as he passed by. "Looks like you can do the work of two people by yourself."

Tsukishima pushed up his glasses, sweat dripping down his jawline, his tone icy: "You did this on purpose."

"What?" Lu Ren feigned ignorance. "That was a tactical retreat."

"You're trying to dump all the defensive pressure on me? Is this your tactic?" Tsukishima sneered. "What a despicable adult."

"As long as it works," Lu Ren shrugged. "Besides, your blocking technique just now was much stiffer than before. Were you forced into a corner before you started using your full strength?"

Tsukishima didn't reply, but turned and walked back to his seat, his back looking a bit stiffer than usual.

Lu Ren watched his retreating figure and made a mental note: [Tsukishima Hotaru, the pressure was effective, but the hatred level is too high; be careful with the degree of pressure.]

After a full day of competition, Karasuno's record was abysmal.

More losses than wins.

The "Chimera" tactic can occasionally produce brilliant results and startle strong teams, but more often it just confuses its own players.

During the free practice time after dinner, the gymnasium was still brightly lit.

Lu Ren didn't go to practice. He sat cross-legged on the floor, with several A4 sheets of paper scattered around him, on which new formation diagrams were drawn.

"If Kageyama pushes forward here, I'll have to drop back to position five," Lu Ren muttered to himself, biting his pen. "But then, the screen for the fast break will be gone."

Are you drawing a maze?

A voice came from above.

It was the sole claw of the Sound Horse grinding. This pudding-headed cat was holding a game console and looking down at Lu Ren's blueprints.

"I'm writing a strategy guide." Lu Ren said without looking up. "We're working on a dungeon called 'National Tournament,' but we're stuck right now."

Moyan sat down next to him, his gaze falling on the chaotic running path on the blueprint: "It's too complicated. If every gear has to think, the rotation speed will slow down."

"There's no other way. If the hardware isn't enough, we'll make up for it with software." Lu Ren pointed to Hyuga and Kageyama in the distance. "Those two are single-threaded beings; they can only act based on commands. What I want to do is install a multi-core driver for them."

"Be careful not to overload and burn it out," Mo Dan commented casually.

"If it burns out, just restart it." Lu Ren crossed out a line on the paper and drew a new one. "Just make sure it doesn't crash."

At that moment, Coach Wuyang walked in and clapped his hands: "Everyone assemble! Meeting!"

The members of Karasuno trudged over, their steps heavy. Exhaustion was etched on their faces, but their eyes still shone.

That's what makes this team so terrifying. They don't know what giving up means; all they know is "one more goal!"

"I've seen today's recording." Ukai Shishin pointed to the TV screen, which showed a frozen image of Riku Ren and Nishitani colliding while fighting for the ball. "It's chaotic! It's so chaotic! Are you guys doing square dancing?"

Everyone lowered their heads in shame.

"But," Uyang changed the subject and pressed play.

The scene continues. Although the two collided, the ball miraculously bounced up, and Dong Fengxu followed up from the back row, scoring with a powerful spike.

"Winning amidst chaos, that's who we are now." Wu Yang looked at the group of teenagers. "Don't be afraid of making mistakes. The mistakes we make now are to avoid making mistakes in the future. Lu Ren's multi-point attack system may look like a pile of shit now, but there's gold inside."

Lu Ren thought to himself: Coach, can you use a more elegant analogy?

"We'll continue training tomorrow." Ukai waved his hand. "Dismissed! Lu Ren, Kageyama, and Tsukishima, the three of you stay behind."

The others dispersed, and the three stood in front of the coach.

"Lu Ren, let me see your notes."

Lu Ren handed over the book, "The Brick".

Ukai flipped through a few pages, his expression turning somewhat strange. It contained not only tactical analysis but also complaints about each teammate, and even a record of how Ikawa, that guy with the powerful serve, habitually touched his nose before each serve.

"You're very observant." Wu Yang closed his notebook. "But have you considered that if all the pressure were distributed among everyone, who would break down first?"

Lu Ren paused for a second and looked at Tsukishima.

Tsukishima was staring at the floor, seemingly lost in thought, but Riku knew he was listening.

"The defensive pressure is indeed concentrated on Tsukishima right now," Lu Ren admitted. "Because we need his height and intelligence to act as the first line of defense. If he collapses, this system is ruined."

"So I didn't collapse." Tsukishima suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, but it was very clear in the empty stadium.

He raised his head, and his eyes, which always held a mocking tone, were unusually devoid of laughter at this moment, showing only a stubbornness born of being cornered.

"Don't assume I'll break down." Tsukishima looked at Rikuren. "Although your tactics are infuriating, always making me fill the gaps, as long as it's a reasonable judgment, I can keep up."

Lu Ren paused for a moment, then smiled.

This kid has finally taken the bait.

"Oh? Is that so?" Lu Ren raised an eyebrow. "Then I'll have to step up my efforts tomorrow. Don't come crying to your brother later."

Tsukishima's face darkened: "Go to hell."

"Alright, alright," Wu Yang interrupted their bickering. "Kageyama, your problem is that you're too eager to cooperate with them. You're the setter; you need to control the rhythm, not let them lead you. If Rikuren's positioning is off, don't pass to him; just yell at him."

Kageyama turned to look at Rikuren, his eyes gleaming with eager anticipation: "Can I curse him?"

"You can try," Lu Ren said, cracking his knuckles. "Let's see who makes whom cry first."

When the meeting ended and I walked out of the stadium, the night breeze was already a bit chilly.

Lu Ren looked up at the starry sky. There were far fewer stars in Tokyo than in Miyagi Prefecture; their light was obscured by the neon lights on the ground.

"Hey, Lu Ren." Kageyama, walking beside him, suddenly asked, "Can we really become stronger?"

"Nonsense." Lu Ren put his hands behind his head. "We're patching things up right now. Every time we lose a goal, we find a bug. Once we fix all these bugs, we'll finish the game."

"What happens after you clear the level?" Hinata suddenly appeared out of nowhere and asked, joining in the fun.

Lu Ren stopped and looked back at the stadium behind him, then at his teammates who were exhausted but still making a lot of noise.

"After clearing the level?" Lu Ren smiled, took a mint out of his pocket and threw it into his mouth.

"Then let's start a second playthrough and fight an even harder boss."

From afar came Qingze Yazhi's shout: "Lu Ren! If you don't come back to take a shower soon, Xigu will take all the hot water!"

"They're here!"

Lu Ren responded and ran off.

"Nishiya, leave some for me! Don't practice freestyle in the public bathhouse!"

This is everyday life in Karasuno. Chaotic, noisy, and full of bugs, but it is slowly but unstoppably climbing upwards.

The tactics notebook in Lu Ren's pocket will probably be several pages thicker by tomorrow.