Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The whistle sounded like it had cut a hole in the air.

"Nice to meet you!!"

The two teams faced each other across the net, their shouts during bows shaking the floor. Compared to the uniform, oppressive black uniformity of Karasuno's team, the opposing Sennan High School team seemed somewhat disorganized. The few members with brown hair shouted loudly, but their eyes were unfocused, clearly still shaken by Tanaka's exaggerated facial expressions.

Both sides dispersed and returned to their respective benches for final preparations.

Wu Yangxi crossed his arms, his brows furrowed, and his gaze swept across the field of Shannan like a searchlight before finally settling on his own team members.

"Listen up," Uoyo's voice was low and carried a hint of tobacco, "Although the third-year students on the other side have retired and the current lineup is mainly composed of second-year students, that doesn't mean they're easy to deal with. On the contrary, they just won the first round cleanly on this court, their bodies are fully warmed up, and their touch is red-hot."

He paused, then pointed a finger at the fierce-looking commander of Shannan.

"Especially that number 1, Towada. He's their core player. Don't be fooled by his thug-like appearance; that guy is incredibly resilient on the court. Don't let your guard down."

"Yes!" everyone responded in unison.

At that moment, Takeda Ittetsu, who had been standing to the side, took a step forward. This teacher, who was usually so mild-mannered, was now pushing up his glasses with a slight force, and his eyes behind the lenses were flashing with a light that could be called "ambition".

"Everyone," Takeda's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears, "From the end of the IH qualifiers until now, these past few months have been about challenging ourselves with areas we've never explored before. Whether it's new fast breaks or complex tactical systems, we're feeling our way across the river."

He looked at Hinata, then at Kageyama, and finally his gaze swept over everyone.

"In Tokyo, we lost about seventy games against those powerhouses from the Kanto region, didn't we?"

Seventy games.

This number felt like a stone hitting the ground. It represented countless times being hit in the face by the ball, countless failed diving saves, and countless moments of despair as I looked at the scoreboard.

"But," Takeda changed the subject, clenching his fist, "those 'new weapons' that initially always made mistakes, always stalled, and even made us doubt ourselves are no longer scrap metal. They are taking shape and becoming sharp."

"Let's erase all the regrets from previous matches with a mighty victory today, right here!"

These words were like a shot of adrenaline, piercing the very arteries of Karasuno's group of single-celled organisms.

"Ohh ...

Sawamura Daichi clapped his hands suddenly, gathering everyone into a circle.

"Kanasano, do your best!!!"

"oh!!!"

The roar was deafening.

The crowd dispersed, preparing to go on stage. Lu Ren followed slowly behind, adjusting his knee pads while nudging west Gu Xi next to him with his elbow.

"Hey, Noya-san."

"What's wrong, Ren? Are you on fire?!" west Gu was still in the afterglow of the previous excitement, her hair standing up higher than usual.

"I think," Lu Ren pointed to Teacher Takeda, who was still catching his breath, and said with a sigh, "Teacher Takeda is truly a top-notch support. He can casually utter lines that seem to have a '50% attack power buff to everyone' buff. Cultured people are just different."

Nishitani was stunned for a moment: "Huh? Really? After hearing that, I just felt like rushing up and smashing through the floor."

Lu Ren clicked his tongue, his gaze sweeping over the faces of Kageyama, Hinata, Tanaka, and Nishiya before finally shaking his head, his tone filled with the pitying look of a "top student looking at a mediocre student."

"So, the knowledge structure of our team is really problematic. Apart from Tsukishima and me, the rest of you probably can't even distinguish the subject, verb, and object in what Mr. Takeda just said, right? You only know 'burning,' but you don't understand the rhetorical aesthetics at all. That's why your tactical understanding is always stuck at the 'brute force' stage."

The air suddenly went silent for a second.

Immediately afterwards, all four heads turned around at the same time, and four pairs of eyes blazed with tangible fury.

"Huh?!" Tanaka's temples were throbbing with rage. "Aren't you indirectly calling me an idiot, Ren?!"

"I got it too!" Hinata exclaimed, jumping up and down. "It basically means... it means we're going to win by a lot of points!"

Kageyama, clutching the ball, his face as black as the bottom of a pot, said, "As long as we win, what's a little rhetoric?"

"Lu Ren! I don't know what you're talking about, but I feel really annoyed!" Nishitani clenched his fist.

"See?" Lu Ren shrugged and pointed at Tsukishima next to him. "Even when we're being scolded, we can't grasp the main point. The average IQ of this team is being dragged down by the two of us. It's too hard."

Tsukishima took a step to the side in disgust: "Don't lump me in with you; our levels of awfulness are completely different."

Just as the group was bickering as usual, Lu Ren's gaze inadvertently drifted toward the audience seats on the second floor.

The stands at Sendai Gymnasium were very high, and the lights were a bit dazzling. But in an inconspicuous corner sat an old man wearing a hat and an old jacket. He crossed his arms, and even from this distance, his eyes shone with a hawk-like sharpness as he stared intently at Karasuno's half of the field.

Lu Ren raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, what a rare guest!"

He gestured with his chin in that direction: "Coach, look over there. Isn't that your old man?"

Wu Yangxi, who was about to sit back down on the bench, was stunned for a moment: "Huh? My old man? How could that be? He retired a long time ago..."

He looked in the direction Lu Ren pointed.

The next second, Wu Yangxi almost crushed the water bottle in her hand.

"Cough! Cough cough!" He choked on his own saliva. "That old man... why did he actually come?!"

That figure, that iconic sitting posture, is definitely from the U-Yang lineage, no doubt.

"Wait a minute," Wu Yang suddenly turned to stare at Lu Ren, "How do you know him? I don't remember taking you to meet him, did I?"

Lu Ren was doing wrist stretches when he heard this and casually replied, "Oh, didn't that guy with the orange hair always go to the secret training camp? I happened to pass by once and took a look."

Actually, Lu Ren was curious about what the legendary general who could lead Karasuno to the whole country looked like, so he went to "scout out" and observe the NPC's attributes.

"I met him once, and he seemed like a pretty stubborn NPC," Lu Ren commented. "His level is very high, but his temper is probably about as bad as Kageyama's now."

"You bastard..." Wu Yang's lips twitched. "You're probably the only one who would dare to talk about that devilish coach like that."

"beep--!"

The referee's whistle blew again, interrupting the chatter.

The competition has officially begun.

Karasuno's starting lineup quickly took its place. Front row: Tsukishima Hotaru, Kageyama Tobio, Tanaka Ryunosuke. Back row: Riku Jin, Sawamura Daichi, Hinata Shoyo.

Since it was the first set, the rotation had begun. Lu Ren stood in the service area at position 1.

He was holding the yellow and blue volleyball in his hand, standing five meters behind the baseline.

The noise in the stadium automatically filtered into background white noise in his ears. On the opposite side of the field, in the southern half of the court, six players were on high alert, and the captain, Towada, was shouting loudly for his teammates to concentrate.

"The first goal..."

Lu Ren patted the ball on the ground, and the "thump, thump" sound traveled up his palm.

Since this is the beginning, we need to set the tone.

Whether you're playing an RPG or volleyball, landing a critical hit on the first attack makes progressing through the game much smoother. This is what's known as a "blowout."

"call……"

Instead of spinning the ball to find the air hole as usual, Lu Ren tossed the ball high into the air.

approach.

One step, two steps, three steps.

The muscle memory developed during those months of grueling "hellish training" under Coach Zhao Gang is now starting to operate like intricate gears. My thigh muscles are taut, my core is engaged, and my whole body is like a fully drawn bow.

Take off.

His body stretched out in the air, his gaze fixed on the gap between the two team members in the back row of Shan Nan.

Swing your arm.

"Bang!"

The sound of the palm striking the ball was crisp and almost explosive.

This shot lacked the heavy power of Dong Fengxu's shot, which seemed to shatter the floor, but it was fast.

The ball, like a white laser beam, cleared the net almost the instant it left Lu Ren's hand. It had no spin, no arc, just pure linear acceleration.

The libero was still adjusting his balance when the ball hit the floor at his feet and bounced away.

"Beep—!"

The referee raised his hand and pointed to Karasuno's side.

"Serve and score!"

The scoreboard flips: Karasuno 1:0 Okina.

"Good shot—!!" Tanaka roared, waving his fist at the net.

Lu Ren landed and rubbed his wrist expressionlessly. That last strike felt pretty good, probably around 90% of his usual training level.

The expressions of the Shannan team members opposite him changed.

"So fast..."

"What happened with that ball just now? I couldn't see its trajectory."

Towada gritted his teeth and yelled at the back row, "Don't stand there! That's a jump serve! Take a step back! That guy may look lazy, but his serve is powerful! Focus!"

Shan Nan's formation immediately changed. The three men in the back row clearly took a half step back, lowered their center of gravity, stared intently at Lu Ren, and tensed their muscles, ready to receive a heavy artillery bombardment.

Lu Ren took the ball and returned to the service line.

He glanced at the menacing expression on their faces and a barely perceptible smirk played at the corners of his lips.

That's just how humans are.

Once intimidated by something called "power" or "speed," their thinking becomes rigid. Right now, they probably only have one thought left in their minds: catch that fast ball.

"Since you're so looking forward to fastballs..."

Lu Ren tossed the ball again.

The movements were exactly the same as before.

The rhythm of the run-up, the height of the jump, and the amplitude of the arm swing were almost a copy-paste of the scene just now.

The free agent from the south of the mountain narrowed his eyes and instinctively pulled back, his arm muscles hardening like stone, preparing to take the blow head-on.

Just as the palm was about to touch the ball.

Lu Ren's waving arm suddenly paused strangely. The movement, which had been like a whip lashing out, instantly turned into a gentle push.

Gently cut the ball slightly below the center with the lower part of your palm.

No sound.

The ball flew out lightly, clearing the net without even making a sound. It traced a not-so-high parabola in the air, and then, to the horrified gaze of the free agent, plummeted like a drone that had suddenly run out of fuel.

"Front...front!!" Towada shouted sternly.

The free agent from the south desperately tried to regain his balance, stumbling forward as if he were about to kneel and kowtow.

But it was all in vain.

The ball landed two centimeters in front of his fingertips, bounced lightly, and rolled toward the sidelines.

"Beep—!"

"Kanasano scores! 2-0!"

Dead silence.

The entire first half of the match seemed to have been paused. The feeling of sprinting with all their might only to stumble and fall left each of them with a look of bewilderment and frustration on their faces.

"Wow—!!"

This time, it was Nishiya's turn to jump up from the sidelines: "That's so sneaky! Ah Ren is so sneaky! I was fooled by that move too!"

Lu Ren stood at the baseline, gave the libero lying on the ground opposite him an extremely "friendly" smile, and even politely raised his hand to signal.

But in the eyes of the Shannan team members, that smile was more terrifying than a demon.

Second floor stands.

Uyang stared at number 13 on the sidelines, a playful expression appearing on his originally serious face.

"interesting."

The old man stroked the stubble on his chin, his voice hoarse, "Insufficient strength, unable to break through defenses with brute force like that kid named Dongfeng, so you honed your speed and technique to the extreme? The first ball used speed to establish intimidation, and the second ball used the opponent's inertia to create a time difference."

He chuckled, his eyes showing a mixture of admiration and disdain.

"He's a guy who plays with his brain. That's just his personality..."

The old man shook his head. "That's outrageous. This kind of fighting style, treating your opponent like a monkey, clearly shows a wicked person."

Standing not far from him were Kiyosawa Aya and Taniguchi Hitoka holding cheering megaphones. Upon hearing this, the two exchanged a glance.

Gu Diren muttered to herself, "Who is that old man? He clearly doesn't know Lu Ren, so why is he so accurate?"

Kiyoshima looked at Lu Ren on the field, who was receiving high-fives from his teammates and had an "I'm so innocent" expression on his face, and couldn't help but laugh.

"Probably because..." Ya-zhi blinked, "that kind of aura called 'malicious' can be smelled even from two floors away."

On the field, Lu Ren caught the ball thrown to him by the caddie and spun it around in his hand twice.

"Alright," he said, glancing at the increasingly flustered formation opposite him, his mind racing with calculations. "Tutorial over. Now, time for the main course."