Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The referee blew the whistle to start the second game.

To the Kadokawa High School team members, the sound didn't sound like the start of the game, but rather like the tolling of an execution countdown clock.

Kadokawa serves.

The ball's trajectory was straight, and the power was soft; clearly, the server hadn't yet recovered from being treated like an "experience point farm" in the previous set. Sawamura Daichi didn't even need to move his feet; he simply bent his knees slightly, nudged the ball with his arms, and it obediently flew towards the net.

A textbook pass.

Kageyama Tobio was in position. His gaze swept across the net, and without any fancy feints, he pushed the ball directly to the left wing.

"dragon!!"

Ryunosuke Tanaka's roar always preceded his spike. The bald outside hitter leaped high into the air like a lit firecracker.

Kadokawa's block was a beat too slow. Although Yudai Momosawa managed to get past him with his unreasonable height, Tanaka's spike had already been launched.

Snapped.

The ball hit the outside of Bai Ze's arm and changed direction.

"One Touch!"

Kadokawa's libero, Komaki, scrambled towards the landing point, barely managing to raise the ball high. Instead of flying towards the setter's position, the ball awkwardly drifted to the vicinity of the three-meter line.

"Solve the problem! Attack directly!"

Kadokawa's setter yelled. Their middle blocker could only jump hastily, trying to clear the poorly placed ball over the net.

However, just as he swung his arm, a slender black shadow silently rose in front of the net.

Hotaru Tsukishima.

He didn't roar like a protagonist in a shonen manga, nor did he swing his arms forcefully to "block" the shot. He simply calmly assessed the opponent's only possible attack route and then placed his hands there.

It's as simple as closing a window.

thump.

The volleyball hit Tsukishima's palm, bounced straight back, and slammed onto the floor of the Kadokawa court.

0: 1.

Tsukishima landed, adjusted his glasses, turned and walked back without even glancing at the person opposite him. His indifferent demeanor seemed to say: It's only natural to stop this kind of attack that lacks any skill.

"Nice Block, Tsukishima!" Tadashi Yamaguchi waved a towel on the sidelines.

The turn begins. Kageyama Tobio steps onto the service line.

He twirled the ball in his hand, his deep blue eyes fixed intently on Kadokawa's back row. His gaze was like a hunter scrutinizing the throat of its prey.

Throw the ball, take a running start, and jump.

This set of movements is so smooth it's like watching a slow-motion tutorial video, but the explosive power at the moment of impact is terrifyingly astonishing.

Bang!

The volleyball transformed into a white streak, hurtling towards Kadokawa's left rear with a sickening whistling sound.

Kadokawa's outside hitter instinctively reached out to catch the ball, but the spin on the ball was much more intense than he had anticipated. The ball hit his forearm, bounced sideways, and crashed into the GG sign on the sidelines.

0: 2.

"Well done! You're a pro!" Tanaka laughed and patted Kageyama on the back.

Kageyama did not respond, but simply took the ball thrown to him by the caddie and stepped back onto the baseline.

It was the same ball toss again, the same jump.

This time, the ball went slightly off course, heading straight for Kadokawa's libero's chest. Komaki gritted his teeth and forced a catch with his overhand.

"Well!"

The ball was caught, but the force was too great, and it flew directly towards the stands. Kadokawa's setter rushed out to save the ball like a madman, flipping himself over the railing, but could only watch helplessly as the ball hit the ground.

"Um... are you alright?"

The audience in the stands were startled.

The setter crawled out in a disheveled state and shook his head.

Kageyama continues to serve.

Kadokawa's first pass system completely collapsed. This time, although libero Furumaki managed to deflect the force, the ball flew directly towards the net.

"An opportunity ball!"

But the ball was too close to the net.

Hotaru Tsukishima was forced to jump to deal with the ball in the front row, but as soon as he touched the ball, it bounced towards his own half.

"Tsk." Tsukishima clicked his tongue in displeasure after landing.

The ball flew out of the three-meter line.

Lu Ren was standing there.

"Hey, why do I always get to do all this dirty and tiring work?" Lu Ren complained, but his movements were incredibly fast. Instead of setting the ball, he directly used his hand to lift it up with a perfectly standard setter's hand position.

"Hinata!"

"Ooh ooh ooh ooh!"

The orange lightning bolt ripped through the air once more. Hyuga Shoyo burst out from the right flank, leaping high into the air towards the now empty net entrance, now deserted due to the chaos.

But just as he spiked the ball, a huge shadow loomed over him.

The hundred zes are magnificent.

Although this two-meter-tall giant was technically crude, the area he covered was simply too vast. He merely turned around slowly, raised his hand, and completely blocked Hyuga's attack route.

Snapped!

Hinata's spike landed squarely on Hyakusawa's palm and bounced back.

"It's over!" Hinata's pupils contracted.

The ball bounced extremely fast, heading straight for the ground.

Just then, a foot suddenly stretched out.

Lu Ren.

He didn't stop after passing the ball, but instead turned around. Seeing the ball being blocked, he almost instinctively stretched out his leg to block it.

The ball hit the instep of his foot and bounced high into the air.

The ball, with an eerie spin, wobbled and drifted over the net.

Kadokawa's players were still basking in the joy of "finally stopping it," and no one realized that the ball could come back.

The volleyball grazed the white band of the net and, like a drunkard, landed with a thud on the open ground in front of Kadokawa.

The entire room fell silent.

0: 3.

"..."

Bai Zexiong stared blankly at the ball on the ground, then looked up at the number 13 on the opposite side who was pulling his foot back.

Lu Ren shrugged, looking completely innocent: "Luck is also a form of strength. This is called 'critical hit judgment,' understand?"

Kadokawa's team members slumped in despair.

The sense of helplessness practically leaped off the screen. Their skills were completely outmatched, their height advantage was rendered useless, and now even luck was on the other side's side. How could they possibly fight?

"Don't worry about it! Next ball!"

Although there was a hint of weakness in their voices, Kadokawa did not give up. After all, they were a team that had won all the way up, even if they relied on a single tactic.

Karasuno continues serving.

This time, Kadokawa finally regained their composure. Although the first pass was inaccurate, the setter desperately tried to throw the ball high.

"Baize!"

Simple, direct, and without any pretense.

Bai Zexiong stood near the three-meter line, watching the ball fall high into the air. He didn't need a running start, he didn't need a feint, he didn't even need to look at the blocker.

He simply jumped up from the spot and swung his arm.

On the other side of the net, Kageyama and Tsukishima formed a double net. Their hands had blocked most of the angles.

But Baize's hitting point is just too high.

Even if he jumps like a rusty robot, his two-meter height plus wingspan still constitutes absolute air superiority.

boom.

The volleyball flew over Kageyama's fingertips and slammed heavily into Karasuno's backcourt.

1: 3.

"Great shot!!" Kadokawa's bench erupted in cheers, as if this one point could save the world.

"Tch." Kageyama glared at his hands after landing, annoyed. "A little higher and I could have touched it."

"It's okay, it's fine if they get one point." Daichi Sawamura clapped his hands to encourage them. "As long as these kinds of shots aren't always perfect, we'll be fine."

Rotation.

Hinata Shoyo moved to the back row and reluctantly took his number plate and left the field.

"It's up to you, Nishitani-senpai!"

"Don't worry!" Nishitani Yu swept her hair back, her eyes instantly becoming sharp.

Kadokawa serves.

The ball's trajectory remained mediocre. Nishitani Yu even felt a little bored. He deftly turned to the side and passed the ball to Kageyama.

A-level first pass.

Kageyama's fingertips touched the ball.

In the front row, Tanaka is on the left and Lu Ren is on the right.

Kadokawa's blocking was clearly biased towards Tanaka—after all, that spike just now was quite impressive.

But Kageyama flipped his wrist, and the ball flew out backwards.

Pass it on from behind!

Lu Ren takes a running start.

Although Bai Zexiong was slow, he had long legs and reached the net in just two steps.

Facing the two-meter-high wall, Lu Ren remained completely calm. He stared at Bai Ze's enormous hands in the air, his mind racing.

If it were Hinata, she would probably be thinking about how to avoid it.

If it were Tanaka, he would probably be thinking about how to smash through the wall.

But Lu Ren is a player.

Players never choose to confront this kind of boss with high defense and low agility head-on.

Utilization mechanism.

Lu Ren swung his arm, seemingly aiming for a powerful dunk. Bai Ze instinctively pressed his palm forward, trying to block the ball's path.

In that instant, Lu Ren subtly flicked his wrist outward.

The ball didn't hit an open space, but instead struck the outside of Bai Ze's right little finger.

Snapped.

The ball grazed Bai Ze's fingers, changed direction, and flew out of bounds.

The thug went out of bounds.

1: 4.

"Beautiful!" Sugawara clenched his fist in the audience.

Lu Ren landed and looked at Bai Ze, who was rubbing his fingers in confusion. A mischievous smile crept onto his lips. "Big guy, having big hands can be a burden sometimes. With a hand this big, it's hard not to rub against it."

Bai Ze gritted his teeth; the feeling of being toyed with made his chest feel tight.

Daichi Sawamura serves.

This serve was extremely tricky, heading straight for the baseline. Kadokawa's first pass was once again inaccurate, so he had to raise the ball high again to find Momozawa.

"Again?"

Lu Ren stood in the back row defensive position, his eyes turning cold.

Bai Ze jumps to spike the ball.

This time, he learned from his mistakes and did not exert himself blindly, but instead tried to hit a deep target.

The ball cleared the front row of the block.

But Lu Ren was already standing at the ball's landing point. He didn't even dive; he simply crouched down, his arms steadily raised.

"Too slow."

The ball hit Lu Ren's arm with a dull thud, but it didn't bounce off.

Perfect pilling.

"Counterattack!"

Kageyama jumps to pass the ball from the three-meter line.

"Tanaka-senpai!"

Quick attack!

Ryunosuke Tanaka burst out from the middle.

This time, Bai Zexiong reacted a little faster than before. Perhaps provoked by Lu Ren's words, he desperately reached out to grab the ball.

My fingertip brushed against the ball.

One Touch.

The ball changed its trajectory and did not land directly, but was saved by Kadokawa's libero.

"Received! Give it to Baize too!!"

The entire Kadokawa team was roaring.

Once again, predictably, the ball flew towards the giant.

Bai Zexiong was panting heavily; the continuous jumping had made his thigh muscles ache. But looking at the ball in the air and at the expectant eyes of his teammates, he gritted his teeth and jumped again.

This time, he didn't look at the blocking or think about any tactics.

He simply used all his strength to smash the ball down.

Superb.

The ball sailed over Tsukishima's head and hit the sideline.

The referee raises his flag; the ball is in play.

2: 4.

Bai Ze landed, his legs buckled, and he almost knelt on the ground. But he braced himself with his knees and looked up at the other side of the net.

In those eyes that were originally filled with only confusion and fear, a spark of "wildness" finally ignited.

Lu Ren raised an eyebrow as he looked at the giant who was teetering on the brink of collapse yet still managed to score.

"Oh? The health bar is thick, but it's finally starting to lose health."

He dusted off his basketball shorts, his eyes showing no emotion.

"Let's see if you'll die from exhaustion first, or if we'll wear you out first."

The competition has only just begun.