Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The whistle cut through the air in the stadium.

Although that anticipatory block just now really drew a lot of hate, the game has to go on. The current score is 13-10, and we're in the lead for now.

It's Hotaru Tsukishima's turn to serve.

This guy slowly walked to the baseline, twirling the volleyball in his hand, his expression like that of a corporate slave forced to work overtime, his whole body screaming "I want to go home." He didn't do any killer serves like Kageyama did, he just casually tossed the ball up and swung his arm.

A simple forehand serve.

The force was moderate, the angle was mediocre, and the landing point was safe. In the game, this is a basic "white quality" skill with no additional attributes; its only advantage is that it doesn't consume mana.

"I'll do it!"

Hinata Shoyo yelled and rushed to the ball's landing point. His catching technique was still wild, relying entirely on physical force. The volleyball hit his arm with a crisp sound, then flew crookedly into the air.

The first pass was not accurate.

"Sorry, Kageyama!"

Kageyama Tobio didn't even turn around; he simply adjusted his footwork quickly and rushed to the vicinity of the three-meter line to reach the ball.

Right now.

Lu Ren's brain instantly switched to "bullet time".

After Lu Ren blocked that ball, Kageyama's mental state must have changed. He's the kind of elite monster with extremely high self-esteem; if he gets blocked by a novice once, he definitely won't make the same mistake again immediately. Furthermore, Hyuga's first pass and half-pass were in place, limiting the conditions for initiating a fast break.

Eliminate the most dangerous weirdo's quick attack.

There are only two remaining options: either give Tanaka a counter-attack, or launch a second attack.

Lu Ren glanced at Ying Shan's movements. His wrist was stiff, lacking the relaxed feel of someone about to drop the ball.

It's Tanaka.

"Left!" Lu Ren shouted, his body already moving before his mind could react.

Sure enough, Kageyama, with his back to the net, flicked the ball directly to the left wing. Tanaka Ryunosuke had already taken his run-up and was in position, his delinquent-like face filled with the fanaticism of "Give me the ball."

"Take this! You bunch of first-graders!"

Tanaka leaps, his body arching back in mid-air, exuding power.

Although Tsukishima Hotaru looked annoyed, she reacted quickly, taking two steps to block the straight line. This bespectacled guy may have a sharp tongue, but his basic skills as a middle blocker are indeed solid; his two long arms stretched out like a roadblock.

Tanaka paused noticeably in mid-air.

He dodged Tsukishima's fingers and yanked his wrist inward.

A cross-court shot!

"I've been waiting for you for a long time."

Lu Ren was already in position. Based on Tanaka's previous spiking habits, when his straight shot was blocked by the net, there was an 80% chance he would forcefully twist his waist to hit a wide cross-court shot.

The prediction was successful.

Lu Ren lowered his center of gravity, crossed his hands, and assumed a textbook passing stance. Watching the ball whistle towards him, he was already mentally calculating his counter-attack route after receiving it.

As long as the angle is right, the ball can be launched comfortably.

"Bang!"

The volleyball slammed heavily into Lu Ren's forearm.

However, the expected smooth bounce did not occur.

The instant he touched the ball, Lu Ren felt a strange lateral force. The ball wasn't coming straight at him; it had a strong side spin!

Lu Ren's brain calculated the speed, landing point, and impact force, but he forgot to calculate the "friction coefficient" and "angular momentum".

"Holy crap..."

The volleyball seemed to hit a spring, flying directly to the right along Lu Ren's arm and slamming hard onto the floor outside the boundary.

"nice shot--!!"

After landing, Tanaka waved his fist and let out a strange yell, "How about that! This is the majesty of a senior! Don't think you can catch my ball just by using your brain!"

Lu Ren looked at his reddened arm and his lips twitched.

Careless.

Lu Ren had indeed memorized the theoretical knowledge perfectly, and the strategy book also explained how to receive spikes. But the book didn't tell Lu Ren that the balls these guys hit had special effects added by the physics engine.

My brain says: I know the answer to this question, so I'll choose C.

The hand said: No, this question is beyond the scope of the curriculum, the pen broke.

This is what is known as "operation not keeping up with awareness." Lu Ren's proficiency is too low; he simply lacks the muscle memory to make fine adjustments to a ball with such strong spin.

The score became 13-11.

"Don't worry about it." Tsukishima Hotaru walked past Riku Ren and casually tossed out a sentence, "Anyway, I wasn't expecting you to catch it."

"Shut up, I'm collecting data." Lu Ren rubbed his wrist and replied irritably, "That was a system bug."

The game continues.

It's Hinata Shoyo's turn to serve.

The kid took a deep breath, so nervous he could barely hold the ball. His recent point had restored some of his confidence, but serving was clearly not his strong suit.

"Good serve!" Daichi Sawamura shouted from the sidelines.

Hyuga tosses the ball and swings his arm.

The ball went over the net, but it was soft and posed no threat.

Tadashi Yamaguchi stepped forward and steadily raised the ball. Although this kid had a low profile, his basic skills were much more solid than Lu Ren's, and his ball-raising quality was very high.

The ball flies towards the net.

Lu Ren is currently playing the setter position.

There was no other way; since it was a temporary team, everyone had to take turns filling in. As I watched the ball fly towards me, several tactics flashed through my mind.

Give it to Yamaguchi? No, he's in the back row, it's too difficult to attack from behind.

You're trying to remove it yourself? You've already used it once, don't overdo it.

It can only be given to Tsukishima.

"Tsukishima!"

Lu Ren jumped up and touched the ball with both hands. Although the touch was a bit stiff, he still managed to push the ball to the high point of the three-position.

This is called "feeding". As long as the height is sufficient, the rest is up to him.

Hotaru Tsukishima takes a running start and jumps.

Although he wasn't particularly enthusiastic about this makeshift team, he would still take the shot when the ball was in his face.

However, two high walls rose up on the other side of the net.

Kageyama Tokio and Hinata Shoyo.

These two reacted incredibly fast. Especially Hyuga, whose jumping ability was simply unreasonable. Despite being much shorter than Tsukishima, their height in the air was almost the same.

"Snapped!"

Tsukishima's spike hit Hinata's palm.

One touch!

The ball didn't hit the ground; instead, it bounced high into the air and flew towards Team A's backcourt.

"Tanaka-senpai!" Kageyama shouted.

Ryunosuke Tanaka scrambled over and, with a less-than-perfect diving save, retrieved the ball.

"Pass it on!"

Unable to mount an attack, Kageyama could only jump up and tip the ball over the net.

Opportunity ball.

The volleyball wobbled back to our court.

As soon as Tsukishima Kei landed, she smoothly made an overhand return, sending the ball steadily to the net.

"Yamaguchi!"

Tadashi Yamaguchi moved to the setter position.

At this moment, Lu Ren had already cut in from the right wing.

"Give me!"

Lu Ren shouted. Although his stamina bar was already alarming and his thigh muscles were protesting, he absolutely couldn't let go of this great opportunity to rack up points.

Tadashi Yamaguchi was clearly a little nervous, and his pass was a bit too close to the net.

But it is not important.

Lu Ren pushed off the ground with all his might, throwing himself into the air.

The field of vision suddenly opened up.

But then, a shadow fell over the area.

It's those same two people again.

Kageyama Tobio and Hinata Shoyo, like persistent, vengeful spirits, instantly teleported in front of Lu Ren. Their four arms blocked all avenues of attack.

A straight line? It's blocked.

A diagonal line? Kageyama's arm stretched out very long.

At this distance, a forced spike will only give the opponent a perfect block and a point.

Lu Ren's body began to fall through the air.

Time seemed to slow down.

Lu Ren could see the murderous intent in Ying Shan's eyes, as if they were saying, "You're dead."

According to the usual strategy, at this point you should either hit the ball out of bounds or lob it.

However, Lu Ren's current hang time simply doesn't allow him to perform such complex movements. Lu Ren's core strength is insufficient; if he forces himself to pull back and drop the ball, it will most likely hit the net.

Let's gamble on luck.

If you lack the technical skills, then make up for it with your brain.

Lu Ren didn't swing his arm for a powerful dunk. Instead, at the moment of contact with the ball, his palm didn't fully cover the ball. Instead, he used the heel of his palm to rub the side of the ball hard.

This is not a spike.

This is... a slip of the hand.

It's less about hitting it and more about "scraping" the ball out.

"Smack."

A strange, muffled thud.

The volleyball didn't fly out like a cannonball; instead, it spun strangely and irregularly, grazing past Hinata Shoyo's middle fingertip.

Because the spin was too unpredictable and the force was weak, Hyuga touched the ball, but couldn't control its direction at all.

The ball brushed against his fingertips, changing its trajectory.

It didn't fly forward or bounce backward; instead, like a drunkard, it slid down the edge of Hinata's palm and fell straight onto the floor behind him.

"Thump."

The ball landed.

The entire room fell silent for a second.

Hinata Shoyo landed and suddenly turned around, looking at the volleyball that was still at his heel, completely bewildered.

Kageyama Tobio was also stunned. He turned to look at me, his eyes filled with shock, as if to say, "Was this also calculated?"

Lu Ren staggered when he landed and almost lost his balance.

But Lu Ren quickly adjusted his expression, stood up straight, adopted a mysterious look, and gently blew on the palm of his hand that had just hit the ball.

"Luck? No."

Looking at the two dumbfounded people opposite him, Lu Ren silently gave himself a thumbs up for his lucky streak, but calmly spouted nonsense:

"This is called 'Physics Engine Edge Detection Attack.' As long as you calculate the friction and the hardness of your fingertip, you can create this kind of undefendable ricochet ball."

Actually, Lu Ren really messed up that last time.

The palm didn't actually touch the target area; it just brushed against it.

But who cares?

A point is scored as soon as the ball touches the ground.

The scoreboard flips over.

14:11.

Match point.

"This works?!" Ryunosuke Tanaka grabbed his bald head, looking utterly bewildered. "Was that shot a fluke? It was definitely a fluke!"

"Whether it was a lucky guess or calculated," Daichi Sawamura said, arms crossed, looking at Riku Ren with a complicated expression. "Any shot that scores is a good shot. But... that wrist movement Riku Ren made just now, it really did seem like it was intentional."

Only Lu Ren himself knew that his back was covered in cold sweat just a moment ago.

If the ball hadn't grazed Hinata's finger, it would have been a basic mistake, going straight out of bounds. In that case, Lu Ren would have really had to find a crack in the ground in the gymnasium to crawl into.

"Nice Bug".

Hotaru Tsukishima walked over, adjusted her glasses, and said in a voice only Riku could hear, "Although the movements were terribly awkward, the effect was quite good."

"Thank you for the compliment." Lu Ren grinned. "That's called pragmatism."

Lu Ren turned around and looked at the other side of the net.

Kageyama Tobio's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. To be scored on in such an inexplicable way by an amateur was an insult even more painful than losing the game for a technically gifted genius like him.

"Again!"

He growled through gritted teeth.