Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The whistle blew again, and the game continued.

Jozenji's serve still carried that carefree, unpredictable quality; the volleyball drifted aimlessly through the air, like a drunkard. Lu Ren, standing in the back row, didn't even need to move his feet. He simply turned slightly to the side, his arms together, and the ball bounced obediently towards the net as if drawn by a magnet.

"In place!"

Kageyama Tobio didn't even look at where the ball would land; his body was already positioned in the path of its descent. The instant his fingers touched the ball, without any further adjustment, the volleyball was flung at high speed towards the left wing.

"Tanaka-senpai!"

Ryunosuke Tanaka had already taken a running start and leaped, his posture in the air stretched out like a fully drawn bow, a beast-like roar emanating from his throat: "Take this—!"

"Bang!"

The powerful smash struck Jozenji's libero arm with a dull thud. However, despite their disorganized defense, the team displayed remarkable resilience. The ball didn't go out of bounds; instead, it bounced high and wobbled back to the net.

Was that a chance? No, the ball went too close to the net.

Tōzenji's setter, Niki Takeharu, rushed to the net. His movements were awkward; it looked like he was about to pass the ball, but his wrist angle was strangely pressed downwards.

Second attack.

In such a chaotic situation, taking advantage of the opponent's relaxed mentality when they think it's an opportunity to launch a surprise attack is a specialty of "chaotic teams" like Jozenji.

But Kageyama Tobio didn't move. Or rather, he moved faster than anyone else.

In that instant, a series of data analyses flashed through the mind of this "king of the court": the opponent's attacker's run-up was not in place, the setter's gaze was off-target, and his hand position was stiff. There was only one conclusion—attack.

Kageyama jumped from the spot.

It wasn't to pass the ball, it was to block it.

Takeharu Niki clearly didn't expect the opponent's setter to become a blocker at this moment. In his panic, he couldn't control the force in his hand, and the volleyball slammed down.

"Thump!"

A dull thud that made your teeth ache resounded throughout the entire venue.

The volleyball didn't hit the ground; instead, it bounced back to Jozenji's half of the court at an even faster speed, landing directly on the floor and scoring a point.

21:13.

Karasuno was about to cheer, but the sound caught in his throat.

Kageyama landed, swaying slightly. He slowly turned around, looking at his teammates expressionlessly. Below his nostrils, two streams of bright red liquid were flowing merrily down, instantly staining his lips crimson.

The entire room fell silent.

Standing in the back row, Lu Ren looked at the face with blood dripping from its nose but still radiating murderous intent, and couldn't help but give it a thumbs up: "Good shot. Blocking the net with your face, that's a hidden special move in fighting games, right? The hitbox is really big."

"Beep—!"

The referee stopped the game. Ukai Koshin jumped up from the coaching bench: "Clock! Clock!"

Kageyama raised his hand to wipe his nose, looked at the blood on the back of his hand, and frowned deeply: "I'm fine, I can still fight."

"Shut up!" Coach Ukai rushed up, grabbed his shoulder, and yelled, "Teacher Takeda, get tissues and an ice pack! Kageyama, you go to the infirmary to stop the bleeding, right now!"

"But..." Kageyama wanted to argue, his eyes filled with resentment. For this volleyball fanatic, as long as his leg wasn't broken, leaving the court was a disgrace.

"Listen to the coach." Sugawara Koji walked over and gently but firmly patted Kageyama on the back. "You are the core of the team, so don't let small things ruin the big picture. Leave this to me."

Kageyama looked into Sugawara's eyes, which always held a smile yet were incredibly reliable, and his tense shoulders finally relaxed. He took the towel that Takeda-sensei handed him, covered his nose, and gave a muffled reply.

Just as Kageyama turned to leave, Lu Ren strolled past him and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Go on, recovering your health is the priority. Don't worry, when you come back, you might find the match is already over. Then you'll realize that the team can actually function quite well without you as the 'dictator'."

Kageyama whirled around, his simple-minded eyes practically spitting fire: "You bastard..."

"Go now!" Coach Wuyang kicked him towards the sidelines.

With Kageyama's departure, Karasuno had to make personnel changes. Hyuga Shoyo was also substituted, with ace Higashimine Asahi coming on as a replacement.

"Why do I have to play too?!" Hinata clung to the fence at the edge of the court, looking extremely unwilling.

"Because what follows is positional warfare." Coach Ukai pressed Hinata back onto the bench, pointing to the court. "With Kageyama out, we need a more stable defense and a more solid offense. Hinata, watch closely and see how Sugawara uses 'experience' to compensate for 'talent'."

The game has restarted.

Karasuno has the serve. Tsukishima Hotaru stands at the baseline with the ball, pushing up his glasses, his expression as indifferent as if he were solving a boring math problem.

"Serve well!" Daichi Sawamura shouted from the net.

Tsukishima tossed the ball and swung his arm. The volleyball sailed over the net, landing in an extremely tricky spot, heading straight for the weakest point in Jozenji's defense—the back corner. Although Jozenji's libero reacted quickly, his receiving form was still not standard; the ball was hit too high and went directly beyond the three-meter line.

"Make amends!" Jozenji's setter shouted as he made a run and managed to pass the ball to position four.

Terujima Yuji jumped again, this time without using any fancy tricks, but instead used his excellent core strength to forcefully smash the ball.

"One touch!"

Higashimine Asahi and Sawamura Daichi formed a double block in the front row. Although they couldn't block the ball directly, they effectively slowed it down. The volleyball bounced high and landed in Karasuno's backcourt.

"I'll do it!"

Daichi Sawamura positioned himself firmly and passed the ball with both hands. The quality of that pass was outrageously high; the volleyball landed precisely at the setter's position with a soft arc.

Sugawara Koji stood in front of the net and took a deep breath.

The familiar atmosphere of the stadium is still so captivating.

Unlike Kageyama, he didn't pursue extreme speed and pressure; his movements were softer and more inclusive. His gaze swept across the entire court, instantly capturing the position of every attacker.

No complicated tactics or thrilling fast breaks are needed.

Sugawara gently held the volleyball with his fingers and then pushed it to the right.

"Lu Ren!"

Lu Ren took a running start and jumped.

When he saw the volleyball flying towards him from the air, he felt a long-lost sense of comfort.

If Kageyama's pass is an "command," requiring the attacker to be there at a specific point and at a specific time, then Sugawara's pass is an "invitation."

The ball was not fast, had very little spin, and stopped at the highest point where Lu Ren's arm swing was most comfortable.

The ball seemed to be saying: Do whatever you want with it, you can hit it anywhere.

"Is this what they call 'nanny-level' support? I love it!"

Lu Ren mentally gave Sugawara a thumbs up and waved his arm. Since he didn't need to adjust the ball's position, he could focus all his energy on observing the opponent's defense.

The defenders at Jozenji Temple were still blocking the straight shots, leaving the diagonal shots wide open.

Lu Ren flicked his wrist, without even using his full strength, and deftly smashed the ball into the wide open space on the diagonal.

"Snapped!"

This shot wasn't violent, but the angle was extremely tricky. The libero from Jozenji made a desperate diving save, his fingertips touching the ball, but it still flew out of bounds.

22:13.

"Good shot! Riku Ren!" Sugawara shouted excitedly, clenching his fist.

Lu Ren landed and gave Sugawara an "OK" sign: "That was such a comfortable pass, Sugawara-senpai. Playing this kind of ball is as easy as playing a tutorial."

Hinata, watching from the sidelines, stared wide-eyed: "Amazing... Although it doesn't have that 'whoosh' feeling like Kageyama and I, everyone's playing so smoothly."

Coach Ukai nodded: "That's Sugawara's value. He can get the attackers to attack in their most comfortable state, which is crucial for stabilizing morale."

Tsukishima continues serving.

This time, Jozenji was clearly desperate. Although his returns of serve were still off, the blond-haired Terujima Yuuji shouted at the net, "Never mind! Attack!"

Setter Takeharu Niki gritted his teeth and passed the ball to the middle.

The middle blocker from Jozenji made a quick attack move, jumping very early.

"It's a fast break!" Higashimine Asahi and Narita Kazuhito, who had just rotated up, instinctively jumped to block.

However, at the very moment they jumped, the middle blocker didn't spike the ball; instead, his body began to fall. The real attacker—another player from Jozenji—emerged from behind him and jumped after a very obvious "time difference."

"Damn it, I've been tricked!" Dong Fengxu cried out inwardly.

Without the obstruction of the block, the attacker had a wide-open space in front of him. He spiked the ball powerfully, sending it straight to Karasuno's backcourt corner.

Lu Ren, sitting in the back row, witnessed the entire scene. His brain quickly calculated the landing point, and his body reacted instinctively.

Fish leap.

He slid across the floor, his arms outstretched as far as possible.

"The judgment range is... insufficient."

The fingertips were only centimeters away from the volleyball. The volleyball slammed heavily onto the floor, making a crisp sound.

22:14.

Lu Ren lay on the floor, watching the volleyball roll away, and helplessly punched the floor.

"Tsk, even though they're a bunch of gibberish monsters, they do occasionally trigger critical hits." He got up, dusted himself off, and his eyes became even more focused. "Looks like these monkeys have evolved; they've learned to use feints to trick the system's judgment."

The Jozenji team celebrated wildly, as if this point had given them hope of turning the tide.

Lu Ren narrowed his eyes, looking at the group of teenagers opposite him who had rekindled their fighting spirit, and a cold smile appeared on his lips.

"Since you want to play mind games, then I'll play along."