Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

At Karasuno High School in the morning, the air still carried the earthy smell of last night's rain. The gymnasium doors were wide open, and the muffled thud of volleyballs hitting the wooden floor echoed rhythmically toward the school building.

Summer vacation has arrived, and the shadow of the representative selection competition hangs over everyone's head like a countdown.

Gu Direnhua, carrying a large basket of dirty team uniforms she had just changed out of, walked unsteadily out of the stadium. Just as she turned the corner, she froze, nearly knocking the basket over.

Behind the holly bushes by the flowerbed, a suspicious figure crouched. The person wore an excessively oversized black hoodie, the hood pulled low, and sunglasses that covered half their face. Their mouth was completely sealed shut by a large white mask. Most outrageous of all, the guy was holding an old newspaper with two holes torn in it, moving it sideways towards the school gate.

"Um... Kageyama-kun?" Hitoka called out tentatively.

The figure behind the newspaper shuddered and stiffly turned around. Sunglasses reflected an eerie light in the sunlight, and a muffled voice echoed from inside the mask: "You could tell it was me?"

"It's hard not to tell."

Lu Ren appeared behind Ren Hua without anyone noticing, carrying a bottle of sports drink. His gaze swept over the "kidnapper outfit." "This is the lowest level of disguise in the game's starting village. If you walk down the street dressed like this, there's a 99% chance you'll be taken away by the police. The remaining 1% is because the police might think you have a mental illness and plan to send you directly to a sanatorium."

Kageyama Tobio pulled down his mask, his expression so grim it was almost dripping with anger: "I just want to check on our opponents. There's one team I absolutely have to see in person during the upcoming representative selection tournament."

"West of Qingye City?" Lu Ren raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Kageyama put his mask back on, his voice a little downcast. "Even though I've watched the video many times, it still doesn't feel right. Oikawa-senpai has definitely evolved since that match. I can't train in peace unless I see the source of that pressure for myself."

Renhua suddenly realized, "So you wanted to gather intelligence. But is this disguise really okay?"

"There's a problem, a huge problem." Lu Ren tossed the drink bottle into the air and caught it again. "What you're doing is called 'forcibly entering the battle map.' It'll trigger an alarm before you even get to the entrance. Leave these professional tasks to stealth-style players. Kageyama, go change your clothes, and bring your brain with you."

Half an hour later, at the entrance of Aoba City West High School.

Two "maintenance workers" dressed in dark blue overalls and wearing yellow hard hats swaggered across the school gate. Lu Ren, who was walking in front, carried an aluminum alloy folding ladder on his shoulder and a heavy tool bag in his hand, with a section of blue plastic water pipe even sticking out of the bag.

Kageyama, who was following behind, was also dressed in work clothes, but his back was too straight and he walked with his arms and legs moving in unison. He looked more like a special forces soldier going to carry out a demolition mission than a maintenance worker.

"Be natural." Lu Ren kept his eyes straight ahead and lowered his voice to remind him, "You're acting like an off-campus thug about to start a massacre on campus. Slump your shoulders, stare blankly, and imagine you're just a lowly office worker earning a meager salary who just wants to fix the pipes and go home to drink milk."

"What is a corporate slave?" Kageyama asked in a low voice.

"It's a creature that's more complex and more despairing than volleyball."

The security guard at the school gate merely glanced at the forged work badges on the two men's collars before returning to his newspaper. In most people's blind spot, workers in overalls carrying ladders are like NPCs in the background; as long as you act confidently enough, the system won't intercept you.

The two successfully made their way to the side entrance of the stadium.

Kageyama easily found a secluded little window and was about to peek out when he discovered that Lu Ren had already pushed open the side door and swaggered in.

"Hey! We'll be found out!" Kageyama shouted anxiously, his voice low.

"What are you afraid of? We're here to 'fix the air conditioner'." Lu Ren didn't turn his head, casually took out a dark blue baseball cap from his bag and put it on his head, then found a bench facing the court and sat down. He even took out a notebook from his pocket and started scribbling on it in a serious manner.

Kageyama stood frozen in place, staring at Riku Ren's calm demeanor as if he owned the building, momentarily unable to discern who the real intruder was. After a moment's hesitation, he finally steeled himself and moved to Riku Ren's side, looking down at the court.

A high-intensity practice match is underway on the field.

Aoba Josai's opponents are a group of adults who look more mature than high school students; they appear to be college graduates who have returned to their alma mater to help out.

Oikawa Tetsuya stood at the serve position. His dribbling rhythm was as steady as ever, and as the whistle blew, his signature powerful jump serve, like a precision-guided missile, grazed the blocker's fingers and slammed into the baseline.

"The stability of receiving the ball has improved by about 15%." Lu Ren wrote a line of code that only he could understand in his notebook, "The spin angle of the serve is more tricky."

Over the next ten minutes or so, Lu Ren's expression gradually became serious.

On the court, Toru Oikawa displayed a terrifying dominance. Although it was his first time playing with those college players who had just returned to school, after just a few points of practice, Oikawa seemed to have installed the most suitable driver for these old-model machines.

Every pass landed precisely at the attacker's most comfortable hitting point, and the initially slightly awkward teamwork became incredibly smooth under Oikawa's orchestration. He didn't need the attackers to adapt to him; instead, he instantly collected data on everyone on the court and provided the optimal solution.

"The ultimate form of a commanding setter," Lu Ren murmured, drawing a circle on the paper with his pen. "He's not playing volleyball; he's optimizing the entire team's system. As long as he's on the court, the team's floor will be raised infinitely."

Kageyama stared intently at the arena, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked. He could sense that Oikawa Toru was much more at ease than during the qualifiers. That style, which perfectly blended personal charisma with tactical thinking, was currently the biggest hurdle for him to overcome.

Lu Ren quickly performed modeling calculations in his mind.

Karasuno, with its multi-core "Chimera" tactic, possesses immense explosive power in chaotic battles. However, against Aoba Johsai, who operates like a precision instrument, once caught in their rhythm, their chances of victory will be gradually eroded.

"If Aoba Castle West had another high-damage dealer like Ushijima Wakatoshi..." Lu Ren frowned, then relaxed. "No, the probability of that is extremely low. There are only two months until the representative selection tournament. To find a monster who can perfectly integrate into the Oikawa system and is also very strong in such a short time, unless the other party is also a transmigrator."

He was certain that, with the current setup, Karasuno had about a 70% chance of winning against Aoba Johsai. But the remaining 30% uncertainty rested entirely on Oikawa Tetsu, the "system administrator."

After the practice match ended, the players walked towards the rest area in twos and threes.

Just as Kageyama was preparing to retreat in the chaos, he noticed that Lu Ren stood up, picked up his toolbox, and walked straight toward the group from Aoba Castle West who were wiping their sweat.

"Hey! What are you doing!" Kageyama tried to stop him, but it was too late.

Yutaro Kindaichi was holding a water bottle when he saw a "repairman" wearing a baseball cap approaching. Somewhat puzzled, he asked, "Uncle, is the air conditioner fixed?"

Lu Ren didn't say anything, but took out a red, square object from his toolbox and handed it directly to Oikawa Tetsu.

Oikawa Tetsu paused for a moment, looking at the package with hot pot base and chili pepper patterns printed on it, and then looked up at Lu Ren's face, which was mostly covered by the brim of his hat.

"A gift from a fan?" Oikawa Tetsu raised an eyebrow, his tone flippant. "While I prefer milk and bread, this is the first time I've received such a hardcore gift as hot pot base. Could this repairman be one of my male fans?"

Lu Ren raised his head, his dead fish eyes under the brim of his hat revealing a hint of mockery.

"This is a 'specialty' brought back from Chengdu, specially designed to cure any kind of stubbornness," Lu Ren said calmly. "Next time, we will still be the winners."

The scene instantly fell into a deathly silence.

Oikawa Tetsu's hand, holding the hot pot base, froze in mid-air, and the signature smile that had been on his face crumbled like shattered porcelain. He stared at Lu Ren, his pupils suddenly contracting.

"Iwa-chan...am I hallucinating?" Oikawa Tetsu asked without turning his head, "When did this annoying junior come in?"

As Iwaizumi walked over, a vein throbbed on his temple after he saw Lu Ren clearly: "Looks like it's been there ever since you started showing off your new ball skills."

Kunimi Hide, sitting on the steps to the side, yawned and added, "To be precise, he's been sitting there watching the show ever since Oikawa-senpai joined the competition. By the way, the 'repairman' in overalls next to him, whose breathing rate is as fast as a broken bellows, sounds exactly like Kageyama."

Seeing this, Kageyama Tobio, who was not far away, could only awkwardly take off his helmet, his face turning a deep purplish-red.

Lu Ren reached out and patted Oikawa Tetsu on the shoulder, the force neither too light nor too heavy, yet carrying a strange provocation: "Good luck, Oikawa-senpai. If you don't work hard to beat us, this talent might become obsolete, just like some outdated tactics."

After saying that, he turned around nimbly and told Kageyama to retreat.

Oikawa Tetsu stared at the hot pot broth, gritting his teeth as he squeezed out a sentence: "...This kind of unlovable personality is really infuriating."

"Everyone assemble!" Oikawa Tetsu suddenly turned around and shouted, his voice filled with ignited anger. "Extra training! Practice all the defensive lapses from that game a hundred times!"

As he walked out of the west gate of Aoba Castle, Kageyama Tobio was still in a daze.

"Lu Ren, that last move of yours..." Kageyama hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.

"This is called the 'Trash Talk Debuff'." Lu Ren slung his toolbox over his shoulder, the setting sun casting long shadows of the two men. "The intelligence gathering is complete, and the opponent's strength has been confirmed. Next, it's a matter of whether our 'Chimera' can wipe out that last 30% chance of victory within two months."

Kageyama glanced back at the campus behind him, the confusion in his eyes disappearing, replaced by an almost obsessive longing.

"I will win," he whispered.

"Nonsense, if we lose, I'll recoup the cost of that hot pot base." Lu Ren yawned, put his headphones back on, and said, "Let's go back and practice. Version updates don't wait for lazy people."