Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The whistle cut a slit in the air.

Lu Ren stood at the baseline, spinning the yellow and blue volleyball in his hand at breakneck speed. There were no fancy preparatory movements; he simply stared at the towering giant opposite him, his gaze as if he were looking at a model with a malfunctioning texture.

"Aim at that huge hitbox."

Throw the ball, jump.

He didn't spike with full force; the sound of his hand hitting the ball was muffled. The volleyball, without spin, drifted erratically across the net, its trajectory as unpredictable as a drunken ghost, heading straight for Bai Zexiong's large chest.

Bai Ze was clearly taken aback by this unpredictable ball. He instinctively raised his arm, his movement stiff as a rusty mechanical arm. For a beginner, a bouncing float ball, something that defies physics, is simply a game-changer.

"I'll do it!"

The middle blocker next to him, who looked like a nanny, probably anticipated that his ace player was out of sorts. He slid in and awkwardly raised the ball.

"The first pass was inaccurate!"

Kadokawa's setter had to run out of the three-meter line to correct the ball. At this point, tactics were irrelevant; his only option was to throw the ball high, high, onto the head of that two-meter giant.

"Baize!"

The sound was less like a pass instruction and more like a call for air support.

Bai Zexiong began to retreat, taking a running start. His stride was long, each step thumping loudly on the floor. Although his movements were utterly lacking in grace, and could even be described as full of flaws, all technique became pale and powerless when that behemoth rose into the air in front of the net.

That was pure biological suppression.

On Karasuno's side, the front three-man barrier was already in place: Kageyama, Tanaka Ryunosuke, and Sawamura Daichi. The wall formed by their three arms might be insurmountable to an average high school student, but to Hyakusawa, it was merely a slightly higher threshold.

boom.

With a swing of the arm, the volleyball hit the fingertips of the blocker and flew off course towards the backcourt.

"Nishitani!"

No reminder was needed; the guardian in the orange jersey had already appeared at the landing point, and just as the ball was about to touch the ground, he slammed his hand under it.

Snapped.

The ball went very high, but its position was slightly off, flying towards the outside of the three-meter line.

Kageyama Tobio had just participated in the block and had just landed on the ground.

Who will deliver this message?

Without any hesitation, Lu Ren took two steps to the ball. After being forced to practice "all-team setter" for so long in the Tokyo training camp, if he were to watch the ball land now, Coach Ukai would probably twist his head off.

He didn't use an overhand pass; that move was still a bit too much for him at his current level. He stood sideways, arms outstretched, his gaze sweeping over the small, orange-clad boy.

"Go, bait."

Passing through the pad.

The ball traced a smooth arc as it flew towards the net.

Hinata Shoyo was like a shark smelling blood, his running start was incredibly fast. He jumped in front of the net, and the explosive power in that instant made him look like he was flying.

"So fast!" exclaimed the Kadokawa team members.

But there is a wall that is faster than him, or rather, higher.

Bai Zexiong hadn't even fully landed; he merely adjusted his stance slightly and stretched out his arms again. To him, the airspace above the net entrance was his private territory.

Hinata gritted his teeth, staring at the massive, overwhelming hand, trying to gain a timing advantage. But against such absolute height, the timing was compressed to almost nothing. He swung his arm and spiked the ball.

Boom!

The volleyball slammed into Bai Ze's palm with a dull thud that made your teeth ache, and then bounced back even faster than it had come, slamming straight onto the floor at Hyuga's feet.

5: 5.

Hyuga landed, stumbling back two steps in a somewhat disheveled manner, and looked up at the expressionless giant, her face filled with resentment.

"Damn it! I jumped to the highest point!"

"Don't worry about it." Lu Ren walked over and patted Hinata's head, but his gaze went over the net and landed on Bai Ze, who was high-fiving his teammates. "After all, he has a physical cheat code. If you could overtake him so easily, wouldn't his two-meter height be a waste?"

"But……"

"That pass was a bit too low, my fault." Lu Ren took the blame without any sincerity, but a playful smile played on his lips. "However, the data collection is almost complete. That big guy, when he jumps, is like a wooden stake with only a vertical judgment box."

Kadokawa serves.

The ball traveled straight, and Daichi Sawamura caught it easily.

"Kageyama!"

Tobio Kageyama has returned to his position. The volleyball seems to be under a spell in his hands, flying precisely to the right wing.

Lu Ren took a running start and jumped.

This series of movements was fluid and graceful, carrying a fierce momentum. Kadokawa's three-man net instantly gathered in front of the net, with Hyakusawa Yuta in the center, his long arms once again forming a despairing high wall.

"Spiking? Or a foul that went out of bounds?" Kadokawa's setter stared intently at Lu Ren's wrist.

Lu Ren, suspended in mid-air, looked at the thick wall of flesh before him and suddenly laughed. His smile held no trace of tension, but rather a mischievous slyness.

His arm, which was swinging in a wide arc, suddenly stopped just before it touched the ball, and his palm changed from a slapping motion to a gentle push.

Drop ball.

The volleyball floated lightly over Bai Zexiong's fingertips, as if mocking him, and slowly fell downwards.

Bai Zexiong was stunned.

His brain was still processing the defensive command for a "powerful spike," and his body was still in a full-throttle blocking posture. When he realized the ball had already passed over his head, he tried to turn around to save it, only to discover an extremely embarrassing fact.

He's too tall.

For players of average height, turning and diving to save the ball after landing is a basic maneuver. But for this two-meter-tall volleyball beginner, shifting his weight was as clumsy as an elephant turning around. The ball landed less than half a meter behind him, near his heels.

This is a case of the darkest place being under the lamp.

He frantically tried to bend down and grab it, but his long torso and limbs became a hindrance at that moment. His fingertips were only centimeters away from the volleyball, yet it felt like an insurmountable chasm.

pat.

The volleyball lands.

6: 5.

Bai Zexiong stared blankly at the ball on the ground, feeling for the first time that his once-proud body was so unresponsive. The frustration of being unable to use his strength made him frown deeply.

"Luck...it must be luck," he muttered to himself.

"It's not luck." Lu Ren landed and made a gesture across the net, a "taunt" gesture from the game. "It's called 'model blocking.' You're too tall, so low balls at your feet become your blind spots and dead zones. It's like a tank's cannon can't reach the infantry at your feet."

Although he couldn't understand what tanks and infantry were, Bai Ze could sense the condescending intellectual contempt the other party was showing.

Rotation.

Bai Zexiong was moved to the back row.

Lu Ren narrowed his eyes. The presence of Bai Ze in the back row meant that Kadokawa's front row height had instantly dropped a notch.

"Now, the invisible wall is gone."

Tanaka serves for Karasuno.

"Watch this!!" Tanaka Ryunosuke roared, his serve carrying tremendous force.

Kadokawa's libero barely managed to receive the pass, and the first pass was only halfway through.

"Old English Sheepdog!"

Kadokawa's setter passed the ball to the middle blocker. Without Momozawa as their dominant force, their offensive tactics reverted to traditional methods.

But in Karasuno's eyes, this attack was like slow motion.

Lu Ren and Sawamura Daichi jumped side by side. Without the oppressive feeling of being two meters apart, Lu Ren felt as if he were strolling in a park. He even had the leisure to observe the opposing middle blocker's eyes and wrist direction.

"It's so obvious, their intentions are written all over their faces."

The two jumped in perfect synchronization, their four hands blocking all attack routes.

Boom!

The volleyball hit Lu Ren's palm and was blocked back onto Kadokawa's court without even bouncing, remaining firmly planted on the floor.

7: 5.

"Yay!!" Tanaka rushed over and bumped chests with Lu Ren. "Great job stopping them! Without that big guy, these guys are just average!"

"Indeed." Lu Ren rubbed his chest, which was still sore from the impact, and looked at the slightly flustered formation on the other side. "This is the drawback of a single-core team. Once the carry is moved to the back row, the output in the front drops. Apart from that setter who has some brains, the others are just filler NPCs."

Kadokawa called a timeout, but the game quickly resumed.

Tanaka serves again.

This time, Kadokawa received the first pass well.

Kadokawa's setter didn't pass the ball to the front row, but suddenly passed it to the back.

"Back row attack?!" Kageyama Tobio shouted.

Bai Zexiong jumped from behind the three-meter line. Although he didn't have the overwhelming presence of the front row, his two-meter height, combined with his run-up, still resulted in an incredibly high hitting point.

Lu Ren raised an eyebrow: "Oh? It can do that too? Looks like this BOSS isn't completely without AI after all."

This shot came with great force, but because of Baize's rough technique and lack of downward pressure on his wrist, the shot was very flat.

"I'll do it!"

Nishitani Yu didn't even need to leap; she simply took a side step and steadily disarmed the heavy cannon.

"That's perfect! This kind of shot is a free point for Nishinoya!" Sugawara shouted from the sidelines.

The ball rises, and the shadow mountain is in position.

Lu Ren has already started his running start.

"Give me!"

Kageyama's pass found Lu Ren in the air with pinpoint accuracy.

Although Kadokawa's three front-row blockers jumped desperately, Lu Ren found their height incredibly difficult to gauge. He could even see the terrified look in the opposing blocker's eyes.

Where to deduct?

A straight line? A sharp diagonal line?

Lu Ren had only a fraction of a second to think while in the air. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bai Zexiong standing in the center of the field, adopting a defensive stance.

That massive body covered a huge defensive area. Logically speaking, as long as the ball was within a meter of him, his wingspan should have been enough to reach it.

However... encountering and connecting are two different things.

Lu Ren flicked his wrist and spiked the ball.

The volleyball didn't go for the open space, but flew straight towards Bai Zexiong's left side.

The landing point was very important.

It is about two meters away from Baize.

For a skilled libero, this is a standard diving save distance. With a simple push-off and dive, they can easily catch the ball.

But for Yuudachi Hyakusawa...

He instinctively reached out to grab it. The long arm was indeed astonishing; the fingertips were almost touching the volleyball.

But it's only "almost".

His feet seemed rooted to the ground, his upper body leaning desperately, but because he hadn't mastered the technique of diving to save the ball, his body was as stiff as a chopstick about to break.

He couldn't reach it.

That distance was just outside the limit of what he could reach by standing and reaching out, and it was also the "fear zone" that a beginner like him dared not leap over to pounce on.

Snapped.

The volleyball grazed his fingertips and hit the floor.

8: 5.

Yudai Hyakusawa remained stuck in that awkward, outstretched hand position, watching the volleyball roll away, his face filled with confusion. It was so close... why couldn't he move his body?

Lu Ren landed and whistled softly.

"As expected."

He looked at the huge figure opposite him, and another red checkmark appeared on his mental tactics panel.

"Everyone has a defensive radius. For an average person, it's one meter, for you it might be two meters. But in volleyball, to expand this radius, a skill called 'dive' has evolved."

Lu Ren turned and walked back. As he passed Ying Shan, he whispered something:

"That guy is a half-finished product with only a standing module. As long as you hit the ball on the edge of his defensive radius, the so-called 'place where you need to use your brain to catch', he's done for."

"Tangent?" Kageyama frowned, clearly not very fond of this geometric term.

"It's that kind of spot... that makes him feel like he can 'reach out and touch' it, but actually he 'has to use his foot to catch it.'" Lu Ren pointed to his head. "For a novice who plays by instinct, this kind of shot is the most mentally taxing. It's called 'flying a kite with your brain.'"

In the stands, Coach Lao Wuyang stroked his chin, looking at the lazy number 13 on the field, a smile appearing on his lips.

"Exploiting the opponent's lack of experience, specifically targeting the blind spots where their skills fall short... This kid's got a dirty mind."

"However," he paused, his eyes sharpening, "that's what volleyball is all about. Using your brain to compensate for the height difference—that's what makes this sport so fascinating."

On the field, Lu Ren took his position again, staring at the giant opposite him who was still staring blankly at his palm. A hunter's eyes flashed with the light of seeing his prey fall into a trap.

"Alright, we've figured out the BOSS's weaknesses and mechanics. Now it's time for some fun scoring!"