Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The numbers on the electronic scoreboard jumped, turning into a glaring 10:10.

This team, named Jozenji, was like a bunch of slackers treating volleyball matches as a large-scale social gathering. They lacked rigorous tactical positioning and a suffocating defensive system; all they had was a chaotic, unpredictable style of play. Ironically, this haphazard approach was so nauseating to the Karasuno players, who were accustomed to orthodox tactical battles.

The referee blows the whistle, and the rounds change.

Dong Fengxu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and walked to the sidelines with a sigh of relief. His expression of "finally not having to face these lunatics" was all too obvious. Lu Ren gave him a high-five and walked to the baseline with the yellow and blue volleyball.

"Serve well!" Daichi Sawamura shouted at the net, his voice carrying a weighty confidence that rallied the team.

Lu Ren didn't respond. He just looked down at the ball in his hand and then glanced up at the row of glaring halogen lights on the dome of the Sendai Gymnasium.

These guys from Jozenji have ridiculously good dynamic vision and are as flexible as some kind of mollusc. A regular powerful jump serve or a simple floater looks almost like a slow-motion replay to them. To deal with these "beast-like" players who rely on intuition, you have to use some counterintuitive methods.

This is commonly known as "bug exploitation".

Lu Ren took a deep breath and, instead of retreating to the running distance as usual, only took a half step back with his right foot, lowering his center of gravity to a very low position, even turning slightly to face the net.

"Huh? What kind of pose is that?" Yuuji Teruji, the blond captain with his jersey rolled up to his waist, paused, taken aback. "Is he imitating a baseball pitcher?"

"It looks so tacky," another team member mocked mercilessly.

Lu Ren ignored him. In the game, as long as you can win, even lying on the ground and shooting is a reasonable tactical move.

He gently tossed the ball up with his left hand, very low, almost to the side of his face. Then, with his right fist, as if swinging an invisible hammer rather than hitting the ball, he fiercely "scooped" it up from directly below.

"Bang!"

A muffled thud.

Instead of shooting out like a cannonball, the volleyball soared straight into the sky. It flew higher and higher until it disappeared into the array of bright lights hanging overhead.

The free man from Jozenji Temple, who had been chewing gum, now had his neck tilted back at a ninety-degree angle, his eyes fixed on the sky.

"Where's the ball?"

"I can't see it!"

The ball seemed to vanish into thin air, melting into the blinding white light. Human pupils instinctively contract when looking directly at bright light, causing a brief blackout. Just as the Jozenji team members were being blinded and trying to blink to regain their vision, a dark figure abruptly fell from the halo of light.

There was no rotation, and there was no sound.

By the time the libero realized it was a ball, it had already smashed down at his feet like a stone.

"Thump."

The volleyball landed, bounced, and rolled to the side of the court under the "GG" sign.

The referee raised his flag and the whistle blew.

Karasuno 11:10 Jozen-ji.

"Wow—!" Terujima Yuuji wasn't angry at all; instead, she let out a loud whistle, her eyes shining brightly. "What was that? A ceiling serve? That's so cool! I want to try it too!"

Lu Ren picked up the ball expressionlessly, a cold smile playing on his lips. This kind of visual loss caused by ambient light is called a "flashbang tactic" in FPS games, but in volleyball, it's called a "physical cheat".

Since it works well, let's keep using it until the system is fixed.

Lu Ren used the same trick again for the second goal.

It was that awkward underhand serve again, and that incredibly high trajectory that shot straight to the ceiling. Jozenji's receiving formation fell into chaos once more, with several players spinning around with their heads tilted back, like a flock of dumb geese waiting to be fed.

The ball lands, a point is scored.

Third goal, score.

Fourth goal, score.

The score quickly widened to 14-10. The coach of Jozenji sighed in despair on the sidelines, while the players on the field were still excited about this "disappearing magic ball," and even started betting on who would catch the next one.

"This kind of mentality..." Hotaru Tsukishima stood in front of the net, pushing up her glasses with disdain, "It's infuriating."

"Don't be careless." Kageyama Tobio stared at the opposite side. "They're adapting quickly."

The fifth goal.

Lu Ren once again sent the ball into the light. But this time, the libero from Jozenji didn't just stare blankly at the light. He took two steps back, turned to the side, and used his peripheral vision to catch the trajectory of the ball. The moment the ball left the light zone, he sprang forward like a spring.

"Received!"

Although the form was awkward and the ball flew out of control, landing near the commentary booth outside the court, it was indeed a successful catch.

"That's no problem!" Shout the setter from Jozenji, Takeharu Niki, as he rushed out of bounds to save the ball.

Then, something astonishing happened.

Logically, when the setter saves a ball, the attacker should adjust the pass and set it for someone else to attack. However, the attackers from Jozenji had no awareness of covering for the ball; instead, they all rushed to the net to prepare for an attack.

Takeharu Niki made an extremely casual back pass from the sidelines, and the ball flew back into the field in a high and graceful arc.

"You can fight with this?" Tanaka Ryunosuke was so shocked his jaw almost dropped.

Terujima Yuu rushed up from the back row, ignoring whether the ball was in position or not, and jumped directly from near the three-meter line, twisting his waist forcefully in the air to dunk the lousy ball.

"This is too reckless!"

Lu Ren slid in from the back row and steadily cushioned the ball.

"Kageyama!"

The ball flew towards the net. Kageyama Tobio jumped, and Tanaka Ryunosuke responded on the left wing. Although Jozenji's block was chaotic, their physical attributes were undeniable, and the two of them managed to block Tanaka's cross-court shot with their reaction speed.

"Bang!"

The ball was blocked.

"I'll do it!" Daichi Sawamura demonstrated the reliability of a captain, making a perfect diving leap and using one hand to lift the ball.

The ball didn't fly high, and its position was awkward, right near the three-meter line. Kageyama had just landed and didn't have time to organize the attack.

At that moment, a figure cut in from the back row.

Lu Ren didn't jump to spike the ball; instead, he held the ball with both hands overhead, his movements so precise it was as if he had practiced in that position ten thousand times.

"Kageyama!"

The moment he heard the call, a pure, ecstatic gleam shone in Tobio Kageyama's eyes. It was the release of his instinct, a desire he had always yearned to unleash as a setter. He didn't need to think; his body had already completed the run-up and jump before his brain could even process it.

Lu Ren's pass had a subtle pause, hovering precisely at Kageyama's striking point.

"boom!"

Kageyama Tobio's hand slammed into the volleyball, the sound louder than any spike. Like a cannonball, the volleyball pierced through Jozenji's practically useless single block, bouncing two meters into the air after hitting the floor.

15: 10.

"Awesome!" Kageyama clenched his fist after landing, his usually gloomy face now showing a ferocious excitement.

Lu Ren flicked his wrist and looked at the opponent: "Looks like the golden age of the ceiling serve is over."

For the sixth goal, Lu Ren switched to a regular jump float.

As expected, Jozenji, the libero, who had adapted to those extreme high balls, handled these regular float balls with ease. The first pass was accurate.

The following rounds completely shattered the worldviews of the Karasuno members.

After setting the ball, Jozenji's setter, Takeharu Niki, didn't land to defend but instead mingled directly into the group of attackers. At the same time, their middle blocker surprisingly moved to the setter position and delivered a quick ball to Niki.

The setter scores with a spike?

15: 11.

Lu Ren stood on the sidelines, watching the group of guys high-fiving and celebrating, his brows furrowing slightly.

"What's wrong?" Daichi Sawamura walked over. "That ball was really hard to defend. Who would have thought the setter would launch a quick attack?"

"It's not a problem that's hard to defend against." Lu Ren stared at Terujima Yuu's nonchalant smile. "These guys... they have absolutely no concept of 'professionalism'."

In traditional RPG games, tanks are responsible for absorbing damage, healers are responsible for healing, and damage dealers are responsible for fighting monsters. Each role is the foundation for completing the game.

But this entire group from Jozenji is a "bucket" (meaning they're all incompetent).

Everyone can pass twice, everyone can spike twice, and everyone's receiving is above average. They are like those oddball players who distribute all their attribute points evenly. Although they don't have an extreme strength, their chaotic style of play, where "whoever has the ball is the setter and whoever is open is the attacker," makes Karasuno, who are used to predictive tactics, extremely uncomfortable.

"It's like playing against a bunch of random amateur players who just have their microphones on and all they can do is yell 'Charge! Charge! Charge!'" Lu Ren summarized.

The game continues.

Jozenji serves. The ball goes straight, and Sawamura Daichi returns it easily.

"Kageyama!"

The ball ended up in Kageyama's hands. This time, he didn't try any fancy tricks.

Hotaru Tsukishima feinted an attack in the middle, drawing the attention of two opponents. Although Jozenji's blocking was sloppy, his wariness of taller opponents was instinctive.

In that instant, an orange bolt of lightning ripped across the field.

Hyuga Shoyo burst out from the right wing, his speed so fast it left an afterimage on my retina. Kageyama's ball seemed to have eyes, precisely delivered to the trajectory of Hyuga's swing.

"Weird Man's Quick Attack!"

"Thump!"

When the ball landed, Jozenji's blocker didn't even have time to jump.

16: 11.

This kind of attack, which completely surpasses reaction speed, usually makes the opponent feel desperate or panicked. But when Lu Ren looked across the net, he found Terujima Yuuji and Niki Takeharu huddled together, their eyes shining with a light as if they had discovered a new toy.

"Hey, that was so cool!" Terujima pointed at Hinata. "How did he do that? He just disappeared in a flash!"

"It seems like he's just waving without looking at the ball?" Takeharu Niki stroked his chin. "As long as the ball is passed fast enough, it's fine, right?"

"Give it a try? Let's give it a try!"

Their conversation was completely undisguised and clearly reached the ears of the Karasuno group.

Lu Ren's eyelid twitched.

When it was Karasuno's turn to serve, Ryunosuke Tanaka stood on the baseline with the ball in his hand, muttering, "My serve is flawless."

The serve went over the net. Jozenji's first pass was still mediocre; the ball went almost over the net.

Just then, Terujima Yuuji suddenly started moving.

He made no tactical gestures or planned his run-up; he simply charged straight towards the net, yelling, "Give me the ball! The fastest one yet!"

Niki Takeharu was also a madman; faced with such an unreasonable demand, he didn't hesitate at all.

He jumped up and, with all his might, hurled the ball towards Terujima like a grenade.

"These guys..." Kageyama Tobio's pupils dilated in shock. "Are they trying to replicate Monster Quick Attack?"

"No, this is called a suicide attack," Lu Ren calmly stated.

The core of the "weird fast break" isn't speed, but rather Kageyama's abnormally high ball control precision and Hyuga's complete trust. Jozenji possesses neither of these qualities.

really.

Terujima Yuuji jumped very high, his body stretching out in the air like a fully drawn bow. He closed his eyes and, imitating Hinata, swung his arm with all his might.

"Take this—!!"

That momentum seemed to cleave the air, cleave the net, and cleave this damned victory and defeat.

"call--"

That was the sound of a hand slicing through the air with extreme sharpness.

Extremely crisp, extremely awkward.

A full half-second after Terujima swung his arm, the volleyball that the setter had flung out with excessive force slowly flew back to the spot where he had just swung his arm.

The ball flew over the net all by itself, and because it had no spin, it wobbled and fell slowly through the air.

Terujima Yuuji was still in the cool landing posture after the smash, half-squatting on the ground, her palms supporting her on the floor, slowly raising her head.

The volleyball hit him right on the head.

"Smack."

The entire room fell silent.

Even the most boisterous Tanaka and Nishiya were speechless, their mouths agape, unsure whether to laugh or not.

The referee hesitated for a second before blowing the whistle.

Karasuno 17:11 Jozen-ji.

"Pfft..." Someone couldn't hold back first, and then a huge burst of laughter erupted from Jozenji's side.

"Hahahaha! Terujima, you idiot!"

"It swung and missed! It completely missed!"

"That's so lame! It's the funniest scene of the year!"

Far from feeling ashamed, Terujima Yuuji, the person involved, scratched the back of her head and laughed along, saying, "Oh dear, it seems that little guy's tricks aren't so easy to learn! The timing was completely wrong!"

Looking at the group of guys laughing so hard they were doubled over, Lu Ren felt a throbbing pain in his temples.

"I take back what I said earlier." Lu Ren turned around and said to the bewildered Ying Shan, "They're not just random players; they're the kind of 'fun criminals' who will sell out their teammates without hesitation in ranked matches just to test a crazy move that could lead to a team wipe if it fails."

"This kind of opponent..." Lu Ren sighed, his eyes turning somewhat pitying, "If you put even a little pressure on them, their systems will collapse on their own due to logical conflicts."

"Don't let their rhythm get you off track!" Da Di clapped and shouted, "Next ball!"

Lu Ren nodded, but his gaze remained fixed on Zhaodao.

That kind of carefree, ignorant joy is indeed the purest thing in competitive sports. But in the cruel world of winning and losing, joy alone is not enough.