Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The referee blew the whistle to substitute a player.

Nishitani Yu stood on the sideline holding her number. Hinata Shoyo walked off the field with his head down, took the towel from Shimizu Kiyoko, and vigorously wiped his face. He was unwilling to give up, clutching the edge of the towel tightly.

"Leave it to me." Nishitani Yu patted Hinata on the back and jogged onto the field.

On the other side, Higashi Mineaki stretched his shoulders to replace Tsukishima Hotaru.

The blockers from Hokusaya Minami reminded each other. Karasuno's ace entered the game. That guy with the ponytail, whose mature appearance didn't fit the typical high school student stereotype.

Karasuno's defensive and offensive cores are in place simultaneously.

Lu Ren stood in the back row, scanning the lineup in front. This setup had a high margin for error. On defense, there was Nishitani Yu and Sawamura Daichi, and on offense, there was Higashimine Asahi. Karasuno's foundation had become more solid.

"Take it easy," Daichi Sawamura clapped his hands, reminding the team.

Minami Wakuya serves.

The serving player stands at the baseline. He tosses the ball and swings his arm.

The volleyball crossed the white ribbon and headed straight for the back row.

Lu Ren took a half-step to the side. He planted his feet firmly and lowered his center of gravity. The volleyball bounced between his arms.

"The first pass is in place," he announced the landing point.

Kageyama Tobio and others stood at the net, their fingertips touching the ball.

Dong Fengxu in the back row stepped to the beat and leaped into the air behind the three-meter line.

The heavy artillery unleashed its power. The volleyball, propelled by the wind pressure, hurtled towards the other side.

Matsushima from Wakuya Minami fell to the ground and rolled, using one arm to prop up the ball.

"Make amends!" Nakajima shouted.

Hanayama runs and passes the ball to Naruko on the left wing.

Naruko met the ball with a powerful strike.

Nishitani Yuu took a tricky stance, bending his knees. The volleyball hit his wrist.

The ball bounced too high.

The trajectory veered off course, not flying towards the usual setter position, but drifting towards the right side of the net.

Kageyama Tobio is too far away to make it.

Lu Ren didn't say anything, but directly cut in from the back row. His jump was crisp, and he caught the volleyball with both hands in the air.

Sawamura Daichi cut in from the left.

Lu Ren flicked his wrist. The volleyball flew a short straight line and was delivered to Sawamura Daichi.

Tobio Kageyama watched the pass from the net, assessing its quality. The arc was perfect, and the landing point was precise.

Daichi Sawamura didn't waste the opportunity and swung his arm to grab it.

The volleyball hit the floor.

2: 4.

In the stands, Qingze Yazhi chewed gum, her hand resting on the railing.

"A max-level support's self-awareness." She muttered softly as she watched Lu Ren return to his original position.

Coach Wu Yang stroked his chin on the sidelines. Lu Ren's positioning awareness was even sharper than the data panel showed. His understanding of the field was based on precise coordinates.

Rotation. Tobio Kageyama stands in the service area.

He twirled the volleyball in his hand, adjusting his breathing.

Toss the ball, take a run-up, and leap into the air. The arm strikes the volleyball.

boom.

The volleyball travels over the net with a downward force.

Kawawatari from Wakuya Minami attempted to catch the ball with his upper hand. The volleyball hit his forearm, changed direction, and flew towards the second-floor stands.

The referee raises his flag. Out of bounds.

A point is scored from a serve.

2: 5.

The support group for Minami Wakuya let out a unified sigh. The young woman holding the baby patted the infant in her arms, while the old woman with a cane shook her head.

"Great serve, Kageyama!" Sugawara Koji shouted from the sidelines, his voice brimming with excitement.

With a blank expression, Kageyama Tobio caught the volleyball thrown to him by the ball boy and stood at the baseline again. He twirled the ball in his hand, searching for that subtle feel.

"One more ball!"

"Don't let him cross the net so easily!"

In Wakuya Minami's half, the atmosphere didn't become tense because of the serve point. Their libero, Akiho Kazuya, patted his cheeks and lowered his center of gravity, like a stubborn rock preparing to meet an impact.

"Hoo..." Kageyama adjusted his breathing and tossed the ball.

This time the ball traveled flatter, heading straight for the back corner.

"I'll take it!" This time, Akiho didn't give the volleyball any chance to dart around. He stepped to the side, his arms like precise calipers, and steadily caught the ball with backspin.

"Nice catch!"

Setter Huashan quickly got into position.

At this moment, the front line of attack had already spread out. Karasuno's blocking team moved almost reflexively.

"Left!" Daichi Sawamura shouted.

But Huashan flicked his wrist backward, and the ball flew towards position four.

That's their captain, Takeshi Nakajima.

"Stop him!" Dongfeng Xu and Zecun Daichi jumped at the same time, with Lu Ren following closely behind.

Three people blocked the net.

This was a top-tier defensive wall in high school volleyball. Three pairs of arms blocked all of Nakajima Takeshi's straight and diagonal spike angles. The shadow loomed over him; for Nakajima Takeshi, who was only a little over 1.7 meters tall, this was an insurmountable wall of despair.

Lu Ren stared at the short, offensive player from the air.

Where is he looking?

Nakajima Takeshi's eyes showed no panic whatsoever; in fact, they were frighteningly calm. He paused noticeably in mid-air, his gaze sweeping over the fingers on the net.

It wasn't a re-dunk.

Lu Ren's pupils contracted slightly.

Nakajima Takeshi's arm swung extremely fast, but at the moment of contact with the ball, his wrist scraped hard against the outermost edge of Lu Ren's palm, as if smearing paint on a wall.

"Smack."

The volleyball didn't penetrate the block; instead, it struck Lu Ren precisely on the outside of his little finger.

An unpleasant friction sensation spread from my fingertips throughout my body.

The ball changed direction due to the force and bounced high into the air, but it did not go out of bounds. Instead, it flew back to Minami Wakuya's field with a strange spin.

"Chance ball!" Nakajima shouted after landing.

Lu Ren landed on the floor, his brows instantly furrowing into a tight knot. He looked at his right little finger; the sensation... was like being brushed by a fly, sticky and uncomfortable, making him feel physically unwell.

"Tsk."

Lu Ren finally understood why Tsukishima Hotaru had looked like she'd eaten shit earlier.

The feeling of having all routes blocked, yet being forced to create opportunities by the opponent using "collision volume," is just as disgusting as when the opponent uses a model clipping bug to block bullets in an FPS game.

"Despicable locals," Lu Ren muttered under his breath.

The game continues.

The ball flew back to Minami Wakuya's half, and Akiho easily tapped it in to adjust the rhythm.

"One more time!" Takeshi Nakajima took another running start.

Still coming?

Without hesitation, Huashan passed the ball to his ace once again.

"Don't underestimate me." Lu Ren gritted his teeth. He was very unhappy about being treated as a "tool" to repeatedly boost data.

This time, Takeshi Nakajima chose a direct attack.

"Bang!"

The volleyball passed through the gap in the net and hit the floor.

"Received it!!"

An orange figure glided along the ground. It was Nishitani Yu, the guardian of Karasuno, who caught the ball a split second before it hit the ground. Though the movement was somewhat clumsy, the ball survived.

"Kageyama!"

The ball flies towards the net.

Kageyama Tobio moved into position quickly.

Lu Ren, watching from the back row, took a running start and jumped. His movements were decisive and carried an air of venting his anger.

Give me the ball!

Although he didn't shout it out, his resentment almost materialized.

Kageyama clearly received the signal. Back pass, quick ball.

Lu Ren stretched his body in the air.

Minami Wakuya reacted extremely quickly, and a three-man block was formed instantly. Takeshi Nakajima, Hanayama, and that guy named Naruko, three pairs of arms blocked Rikuren's way.

An eye for an eye, huh?

Lu Ren let out a cold laugh in the air.

He didn't choose to avoid the block, nor did he choose to use a powerful shot. His gaze locked onto the edge of the outermost blocker's arm—that was Nakajima Takeshi's hand.

Since you enjoy playing with physics engine judgments, I'll play along with you.

Lu Ren swung his arm down, and his wrist made an extremely tricky outward flick at the moment of contact with the ball.

"Snapped!"

The volleyball slammed hard into the outside of Nakajima Takeshi's forearm.

This shot was much more powerful than Nakajima's earlier one. The volleyball bounced off the court at an exaggerated angle and crashed into the GG sign.

The referee whistle blows.

2:6.

Lu Ren landed, flicked his wrist, and looked at Nakajima Takeshi through the net. He didn't say anything, but just twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a very standard "nuclear-kind" smile.

In the stands, Tsukishima Kei adjusted her glasses: "That guy, he's really vengeful."

Yamaguchi Tadashi shrank back: "Senior Lu Ren seems to be very happy..."

"That's the gratifying feeling of retaliating after being disgusted," Tsukishima commented casually. "In a sense, he and the captain on the other side are the same kind of people."

The game continues.

Karasuno's morale is high. Kageyama Tobio serves again.

This time, Minami Wakuya's first pass, Akiho, finally adapted to Kageyama's ball trajectory. He steadily passed the ball to setter Hanayama.

"Naruko!"

Huashan Back Transmission.

Naruko, the middle blocker with a buzz cut, burst out from the right wing.

Karasuno's blocking was slightly slowed down by Nakajima Takeshi's continuous attacks.

"Bang!"

Naruko scores with a spike.

3:6.

Wakuya Minami's resilience was on full display at this moment. They didn't panic because they were behind in the score; instead, they were like a group of patient hunters, slowly searching for an opportunity to counterattack.

"Don't worry about it! We'll get the next ball back!" Daichi Sawamura clapped to encourage his teammates.

It's Minami Wakuya's turn to serve.

Their captain, Takeshi Nakajima, is standing on the service line.

He dribbled the ball, his gaze sweeping over Karasuno's formation before finally settling on Nishitani Yu. Clearly, he wasn't planning on challenging Karasuno's libero, but rather targeting the open space in the back row.

Serve.

The ball's trajectory was tricky, heading straight for the corner of the sideline.

"I'll do it!"

Nishitani Yuu's movement speed was astonishing. With a side slide, he brought his hands together and steadily cushioned the ball that was about to hit the line.

"Nice, Noya!"

The ball soared high and landed in front of the net.

Kageyama Tobio stood under the net, his hands raised.

Hinata Shoyo started running in the front row, while Tanaka Ryunosuke also got into position on the left. Wakuya Minami's blocking players were on edge, staring intently at Kageyama's hand gestures.

Is it a fast break? Or should we give them our ace?

Just when everyone thought Kageyama was going to pass the ball, he suddenly exerted force with his left hand and made a push motion for a second attack.

"Second attack!" Huashan shouted, instinctively lunging forward to save the ball.

Nakajima Takeshi was also momentarily stunned by the feint, shifting his weight forward.

however.

Kageyama's wrist abruptly stopped at the last moment before touching the ball.

That was an extremely realistic feint.

The next second, he twisted his wrist and pushed the ball behind him.

That area was a hollowed-out area.

Lu Ren had already pulled up from the back seat, like a vulture that had been waiting for a long time.

"You've been fooled, you stupid AI."

Lu Ren scoffed inwardly.

Facing an empty net opening, he even had time to adjust his posture in mid-air.

Swing your arm and smash the ball.

"Bang!"

The volleyball landed without any obstruction within the three-meter line of the Wakuya South Court, making a crisp sound.

The floor seemed to shake.

The referee blew his whistle and gestured towards Karasuno.

3:7.

The entire stadium fell silent for a moment, then erupted in a huge cheer.

"Was that second attack just a fake?!"

"That setter's finger strength is terrifying! How could she pull back from that position?"

After landing, Kageyama Tobio clenched his fist. He turned to look at Riku Ren, and although he didn't say anything, his eyes clearly said, "How did the news go?"

Lu Ren walked over and gave Ying Shan's hand a perfunctory pat.

"Not bad acting. That feint just now, the frame rate was perfectly timed," Lu Ren said casually. "Looks like your CPU has been upgraded. Before, it could only do straightforward single-threaded calculations, but now it's learned these dirty tricks too."

Kageyama frowned: "What CPU? I'm talking about passing the ball."

"I'm praising your intelligence," Lu Ren rolled his eyes, "though you're still a bit simple-minded."

Minami Wakuya requested a pause.

Nakajima wiped his sweat, his expression becoming even more serious as he watched the two on Karasuno's side bantering with each other.

"That number 13..." Nakajima took a big gulp of water, "He's not only technically versatile, but also incredibly quick-witted. His coordination with that setter is more complicated than I imagined."

"And that feint," Hanayama said, somewhat annoyed. "We were completely fooled."

"Don't rush." ​​Nakajima put down his water bottle, his eyes regaining their determination. "Their pace is fast, but the faster they go, the easier it is for them to make mistakes. As long as we keep the score close and utilize shots that go out of bounds and counter-attacks, we'll definitely have our chances."

"yes!"

The pause has ended.

Both teams' players returned to the field.

Lu Ren stood in front of the net, looking at the short captain opposite him whose eyes were still clear, and the excitement of encountering a powerful BOSS in the game grew stronger and stronger.

"Still not giving up?" Lu Ren cracked his neck. "Then let's see if your health bar is bigger or my damage output is higher."