Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

Uyang Xixin stood on the sidelines, tapping his finger heavily on the tactics board, and blew the whistle to change formation.

"Substitute!"

Hinata Shoyo was substituted off with a bewildered look, replaced by Sawamura Daichi. At the same time, Tanaka in the front row was also replaced by Sugawara Koji. At this moment, Karasuno's lineup on the court became extremely strange: in the front row were Tsukishima Hotaru, who was responsible for blocking; Kageyama Tobio, who had the attributes of both setter and attacker; and Riku Jin, the statistical monster; in the back row were the defensive anchor Nishitani Yuu, the rock-solid Sawamura Daichi, and the tactical lubricant Sugawara Koji.

This is not a standard volleyball formation at all.

"What is this? All-out defense?" Konoha Akiki looked at the group of guys on the other side of the net, who had lowered their center of gravity and looked like hungry wolves, and felt a chill run down his spine for no reason.

Lu Ren stood in position two, stretched his ankles, and gave Akaashi Kyoji a standard "nuclear-kind" smile.

"Welcome to 'Tower Defense Mode,' Akaashi-kun. This is a paid DLC prepared especially for you."

Akaashi ignored Riku's trash talk, but his mind was racing. Karasuno had removed their strongest decoy, Hyuga, and also Tanaka, whose breakthrough ability was extremely strong; they were clearly going to hold their ground. Since that's the case…

"Bokuto-senpai!" Akaashi passed the ball. Since the other side wants to defend, then pierce them with the strongest spear.

Kotaro Bokuto leaped high into the air, the sound of his arm swinging clearly audible throughout the gymnasium. Facing a double block from Tsukishima and Kageyama, he chose to forcefully hit the ball out of bounds.

The ball slammed into the outside of Tsukishima's arm and flew out of bounds.

"We scored!" Wood Rabbit was about to raise his hand and cheer.

A dark orange figure slid across the floor. It was Nishitani Yu, the guardian of Karasuno, who, with an almost acrobatic move, caught the ball just before it hit the ground.

"Well done!" Daichi Sawamura shouted.

The ball flew towards the three-meter line.

At this moment, Owl Valley's nightmare began.

Normally, a counter-attack requires attackers to quickly get into position. But now, almost everyone on Karasuno's team, except for Tsukishima, has passing ability. Sugawara Koji makes a run from the back row, feigning a pass. Kageyama Tobio jumps simultaneously from the front row, also feigning a pass.

Who should get the ball?

Akagi's gaze flickered between the two for a moment. In that instant, Rikuren moved. Instead of taking a running start like a typical opposite hitter, he cut across the net directly, like a scalpel piercing the heart of Ootori's defenses.

Sugawara didn't pass the ball; instead, he made a feint to set a screen. The real setter was Kageyama—who, in mid-air, pushed the ball directly with one hand towards the figure cutting in.

"A fast attack?!" Washio Tatsuo exclaimed in shock.

Lu Ren jumped, without any fancy moves, and delivered a light combination of a hit and a drop shot to the empty inside of the three-meter line.

The volleyball landed with a crisp sound.

21: 20.

"Disgusting." Kuroo Tetsuro stood on the sidelines with his arms crossed, his expression more of admiration than disgust. "A defensive wall of four strong defensive players, plus endless passing between two setters. This isn't Karasuno, this is clearly Otoko in crow's clothing, and with sharper teeth."

In the next few minutes, everyone in the Owl Valley team experienced what it meant to be "stuck in a quagmire".

Bokuto's powerful spike was easily received by Sawamura Daichi; Konoha's time-difference attack was anticipated by Riku Ren and directly shut down at the net; Onaga Wataru's fast attack was slowed down by Tsukishima Hotaru's cold touch, and then easily corrected by Nishitani Yuu.

The ball just won't touch the ground.

No matter how Fukutani attacked, the volleyball seemed to be under a spell, always managed to be retrieved by Karasuno at the last moment. And once the ball returned to Karasuno's feet, counterattacks would surge in from all directions. Sometimes it was Kageyama's powerful second attack, sometimes it was Sugawara's clever back pass to Tsukishima, and sometimes it was even Rikujin acting as a setter, feeding the ball to Sawamura Daichi who was making a run into the back row.

"That's it... If you don't lose health, the BOSS is just a wooden stake with a long health bar." Lu Ren wiped the sweat from his chin and said, panting heavily.

His physical strength was at its limit, but his spirit was terrifyingly high. The thrill of slowly grinding down a formidable opponent through precise calculations and teamwork was a hundred times more exhilarating than a direct spike to score.

24:23. Karasuno Match Point.

"The last ball!" Daichi Sawamura's roar was already a little hoarse.

Kyoji Akaashi looked at the group of people on the other side of the net. Although everyone was exhausted and could barely stand up straight, their "absolutely must win" spirit was palpable. He passed the ball to Bokuto.

This is the destiny of an ace.

Bokuto leaps, and Karasuno and his two teammates block the attack.

"Don't even think about going there!" Hotaru Tsukishima shouted, a rare occurrence for her.

The ball hit the blocker's hand, bounced high, and landed in Karasuno's backcourt. Was this a chance? No, the ball landed in the corner of the baseline.

Lu Ren and west Gu rushed over at the same time.

"I'll go!" Lu Ren shouted, but he didn't reach for the ball with his hands. There wasn't enough distance. He flew out and used the instep of his foot to cushion the ball's impact before it hit the ground.

The ball flies towards the net.

"Kageyama!"

At this moment, Tobio Kageyama displayed the full value of his genius. He jumped while extremely unbalanced, twisted his waist forcefully in mid-air, and corrected the extremely poor first pass into a perfect rainbow ball.

Landing point, left wing.

Standing there is Dong Fengxu, who was just substituted on to serve and hasn't rotated out yet.

"Get out of my way!!!"

Like a wild beast breaking free of its chains, Dong Fengxu unleashed a spike that channeled all his power. The volleyball blasted through Xiao Gu's block, slammed heavily onto the floor, and bounced into the second-floor stands.

The whistle blew.

25: 23.

competition is over.

The entire stadium was silent for a second, then erupted into cheers loud enough to lift the roof off.

"We won!!!" Hinata and Nishiya rushed onto the field, pouncing on Higashimine Asahi and knocking the big guy to the ground. Tanaka Ryunosuke took off his shirt and waved it above his head, then was slapped on the back of the head by Enoshita Riki and made to put it back on.

Lu Rencheng lay sprawled on the floor, staring at the lights on the ceiling, feeling as if his lungs were on fire.

"Cleared..." he muttered to himself, "This is... the real... Hard mode..."

A hand was stretched out in front of him. It was Akashi.

"Although I hate to admit it," Akaashi's expression remained calm, but his eyes held a hint of approval, "your notebook does have some merit. But next time, expired data won't fool us."

Lu Ren grabbed Chi Wei's hand, used it to help him stand up, and grinned: "Don't worry, I'll remember to collect your patent fees next time I update the version."

……

Half an hour later, on the lawn next to the Third Gymnasium.

The rich aroma of meat filled the air, and the charcoal fire crackled. This place had become a scene of carnage... no, a hellish battlefield where hungry ghosts were reincarnated.

Dozens of ovens were lined up in a row, covered with sizzling pork belly, beef tongue, and diaphragm.

"Meat! It's meat!!"

Hinata Shoyo gripped his chopsticks tightly, his eyes brimming with tears as he stared at the grill pan with an almost devout expression, as if performing some kind of religious ritual. Kageyama Tobio, standing beside him, didn't speak, but the frequency with which he swallowed his saliva betrayed him.

"Don't grab it! That one's not ripe yet!"

"Even if it's not cooked, I can still eat it! I'm a beast!" Yamamoto Tiger tried to grab a piece of half-cooked beef from the grill, but was kicked in the butt by Yoruichi.

This is a war without referees.

Lu Ren, carrying a full plate of grilled premium beef short ribs, hid behind a tree, ready to enjoy this spoils all to himself. He had rescued this from Kuro-o and Moku-to's chopsticks using the tactics of "blind spots" and "hatred diversion."

"Hey, isn't this our tactical genius?"

A sinister voice came from behind the tree. Kuroo Tetsurou, holding a bottle of oolong tea, blocked Lu Ren's path with a grin. Beside him followed Mokuto, whose mouth was stuffed full of meat and cheeks bulged like a hamster's.

"They really tricked us badly in the match just now." Kurowei raised an eyebrow. "What 'version update'? I think it's just a scam."

Lu Ren protected the plate, speaking with righteous indignation: "All's fair in war. Besides, the notebooks I gave you have a lot of descriptions of how handsome you are."

"Mmm! (Really!)" Wood Rabbit's eyes lit up, and she swallowed the meat. "What did they write about me?"

"Your intuition for writing about single-celled organisms is comparable to that of wild animals, extremely rare," Lu Ren said in a serious tone, spouting nonsense.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Did you hear that, Blacktail! I'm a rare animal!" Wood Rabbit excitedly patted Blacktail's back.

Black Tail nearly spat out his oolong tea from the slap, rolling his eyes in exasperation: "He's calling you an idiot, don't you understand?"

Not far away, the "mama-sans" from each team gathered together.

Sugawara Koji, Yoru Eisuke, Hishinyuki, and Akashi Kyoji from Fukutani (although he's only a second-year student, he's as concerned about her as a mother).

"These kids can really eat a lot." Sugawara looked at Hyuga and the others wolfing down their food with a kind but heartbroken smile. "I'm afraid the headmaster will nag me to death about the food expenses for this training camp when we get back."

"Be content." Yoru sighed, pointing to Yamamoto, who was fighting with Lev for meat. "These guys in our family not only eat a lot, but they're also incredibly mischievous. Lev almost overturned the grill just now; I really wanted to shove him into the charcoal fire and roast him."

"Taking care of kids isn't easy," Akaashi nodded empathetically, glancing at Bokuto, who was flexing his muscles with Rikuren. "Especially with those emotionally unstable giant babies."

The four exchanged a glance, raised their teacups (or cola), and felt a poignant sense of shared fate.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Kiyoko Shimizu and Hitoka Yachi were surrounded by a group of "fanboys".

Of course, the main rivalry was between Yamamoto of Otokoma and Tanaka and Nishitani of Karasuno.

"Senior Jiezi! This is the best beef tongue I've ever grilled! Please try it!" Tanaka knelt down on one knee and presented the plate.

"No! This is my roasted diaphragm! It's cooked to perfection!" Yamamoto retorted.

Kiyoko Shimizu calmly took the two plates and handed them to Hitoka Tani behind her: "Hitoka, eat more, you're too thin."

"Eh?! I...can I?" Yachi Hitoka was flattered.

Lu Ren finally escaped the clutches of Kuro-o and Moku-to, and carrying the half-eaten plate, he approached Kageyama.

This talented setter was focused on stuffing his cheeks full, making them bulge out like a squirrel eating.

"How does it feel? You feel like you've won." Lu Ren nudged him with his shoulder.

Kageyama swallowed the meat in his mouth, choked so badly his eyes rolled back, and he had to drink a big gulp of water to recover. He was silent for two seconds, looking at Hyuga who was comparing his height with Lev not far away, and then at his own palm.

"Not enough."

"Huh?" Lu Ren raised an eyebrow.

"The teamwork wasn't good enough. If that last corrective shot had been five centimeters higher, Higashimine-senpai would have had an easier time spiking it," Kageyama analyzed seriously. "And that 'ironclad defense'—I hesitated for 0.3 seconds when switching offense, which is fatal in the National Tournament."

Lu Ren stared at Ying Shan for a long time, then sighed helplessly and put the largest piece of meat from the plate into Ying Shan's bowl.

"Just eat your meat, you volleyball idiot," Lu Ren said irritably. "Don't do any post-game analysis now. Would it kill you to give your brain a rest?"

Kageyama looked at the piece of meat, his eyes lit up, and he mumbled, "Thank you."

At the other end of the lawn, the team captains—Sawamura Daichi, Kuroo Tetsuro, and Bokuto Kotaro—were sitting together.

"That's great, everyone's evolved now." Kuroo waved the skewers in his hand, his eyes sharpening. "The next time we meet will be on the national stage, right? Of course, that's assuming you crows can fly out of Miyagi Prefecture."

Sawamura Daichi took a sip of water, his signature composed smile on his face, but his tone carried an undeniable firmness: "Don't worry. Whether it's Aoba Castle West or Shiratorizawa blocking our way, we'll peck them through."

"Oh? Quite the boaster." Bokuto laughed. "Then I'll be waiting for you in Tokyo! If you dare not come, I'll storm Miyagi and roast you alive!"

"That's illegal, Mokuto-senpai," Akaashi said coldly as he passed by.

As night deepened and the smoky aroma of the barbecue gradually dissipated, the boys' passion remained undiminished.

Lu Ren leaned against a tree trunk, watching the group of guys frolicking, fighting for food, and exchanging threats under the moonlight. The system interface flickered at the edge of his field of vision, but he didn't click on it.

No data analysis or strategy tips are needed.

He could sense that this team called "Wuye," this crow that once had broken wings, had completely transformed tonight.

Skeletal reconstruction, full wings.

Next, it's time to take off and hunt.

"Hey! Lu Ren! There's one last piece of Wagyu beef! Let's play rock-paper-scissors!" Hinata's loud voice broke Lu Ren's thoughts.

"Here it comes!" Lu Ren instantly switched from "philosopher mode" to "food-grabbing mode," and charged forward. "You dare play rock-paper-scissors with me? I'm a level 10 mind-reader!"

"Stop lying! Rock, paper, scissors!"

That night, the moonlight in Tokyo was beautiful, the meat smelled delicious, and the future... seemed very long.