Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The referee blows the whistle. The second set officially begins.

Kageyama Tobio stood outside the baseline. He tossed the ball, took a run-up, and swung his arm. His palm struck the volleyball, producing a crisp sound. The volleyball, imbued with strong backspin, pierced the net and headed straight for the back corner.

Qiu Baohe knelt down and used his forearms to prop up the ball.

"Make amends!" Kazuki Hanayama cut in from the side and pushed the ball towards the fourth position with both hands.

Takeshi Nakajima jumps to meet the ball. Hotaru Tsukishima and Daichi Sawamura block the net. Mid-air, Takeshi Nakajima changes his hand position, attempting to brush past Tsukishima's fingertips.

Lu Ren shifted half a step to the side in the back row. The ball bounced off Tsukishima's hand and flew away. Lu Ren was positioned precisely at the landing point and raised his hand to chop the ball up. "First pass in place."

Kageyama receives the ball and makes a back pass. Hinata Shoyo bursts in from the right, leaping higher than the blocker. He swings his arm. The volleyball hits the floor.

0: 1.

Minami Wakuya's second half was filled with only panting.

Nakajima clapped his hands loudly: "It's okay! Get ready for the next ball!"

"Yes," Naruko and Kawawatari replied. Their voices were dry and weak, with a faint trailing tone.

Lu Ren sized them up through the net. Their steps were slow, their gazes wandering. The morale of this group had plummeted below the critical point.

In Lu Ren's database, this level of defensive solidity wouldn't even rank highly. During the Tokyo training camp, the defensive network built by Nekoma's Yoru Eisuke and Kuroo Tetsuro was an impenetrable wall, so solid that even the code couldn't find any flaws. It's worth noting that the essence of defense isn't simply receiving the ball, but rather space management. Nekoma's space management was a closed loop; any gaps in the front row blocking were always filled by the back row libero.

Minami Wakuya's spatial management was fragmented. Takeshi Nakajima's offense could create an opening, but when he retreated to the back row, the defensive chain suffered a fatal delay. This delay could be masked in ordinary high school games, but against Karasuno's multi-core driven offensive system, any second of lapse would be magnified infinitely.

Takeshi Nakajima was the engine that propelled the team forward, but the other parts were beginning to wear down. They tried to compensate for their lack of height with running and to fill defensive gaps with diving saves. But volleyball isn't a game where you can win simply by receiving the ball.

Without high-quality first passes, setters cannot organize effective attacks. Without effective attacks, the pressure on the defense increases exponentially. It's a vicious cycle.

It's Tanaka's turn to serve. A powerful jump serve.

Akiho managed a weak touch, and the ball flew towards the net. Kazuki Hanayama made a jump pass to Takeshi Nakajima in the back row.

Takeshi Nakajima jumped from the back row. Lu Ren seized the opportunity and positioned himself in the straight line of attack. Lu Ren easily caught Nakajima's spike.

"Counterattack!" Daichi Sawamura shouted.

Kageyama ran to the net and pushed with both hands. Higashimine Asahi jumped from outside the three-meter line. He and Kugaya Minami attempted a three-man block. Higashimine Asahi didn't dodge, slamming the ball down hard against the blocker's hands. The volleyball hit Naruko's arm and bounced directly into the stands.

0:2. A complete suppression of power.

"Good shot!" Yu Nishiya shouted from the sidelines.

Nakajima wiped the sweat from his brow. He looked at his teammates. Kazuki Hanayama was looking at the scoreboard, while Akiho was staring at the floor. They kept saying they wanted to win, but their subtle body language betrayed their inner pessimism. On the other side, Karasuno couldn't find a way to break through.

The game continued. Minami Wakuya tried to stretch Karasuno's defense by running. Kazuki Hanayama delivered a brilliant back-row pass, and Naruko spiked the ball to score.

1:2. The family cheering squad erupted in cheers.

Lu Ren turned his neck. "Occasionally, a critical hit can be triggered once or twice."

Karasuno's offensive machine is operating at full capacity.

Hyuga Shoyo's fast break tore apart the defense. Kageyama passed the ball, and Hyuga jumped. Before Wakuya Minami's block could even take shape, the ball had already landed. That unconventional jumping speed and arm swing frequency always left Wakuya Minami's defenders a beat too slow.

Hyuga's fast breaks are not only a scoring method but also a form of tactical disruption. His very presence is a high-risk anomaly, forcing Wakuya Minami's defensive system to allocate a significant amount of computational power to tracking him. This directly reduces the blocking pressure faced by Higashimine Asahi and Riku Ren.

"Left!" Akiho shouted.

But Hyuga had already scored with a spike on the right side.

Higashimine Asahi was the other extreme. As soon as the first pass was halfway through, Kageyama would hoist the ball high into the air. Higashimine Asahi would stretch his body in the air and unleash a powerful spike. Even if Wakuya Minami's blocking hand touched the ball, it would be bounced away by that brute force.

The score has widened to 4:11.

It was Lu Ren's turn to sit in the front row.

Kageyama sets the ball. Lu Ren jumps, facing a double block from Nakajima Takeshi and Hanayama. He doesn't exert force; his wrist abruptly stops in mid-air. The intended powerful spike becomes a soft lob. The volleyball slowly sails over the block and lands in the open space behind Nakajima Takeshi.

"That pass was too low, it's like a frame drop," Lu Ren said, landing and turning to criticize Kageyama.

Veins bulged on Kageyama's forehead: "Stop talking nonsense, you jumped too early!"

"I jumped at the standard frame rate; your pass was delayed by 0.1 seconds," Lu Ren argued confidently.

Hotaru Tsukishima sneered from the side, "Can you two stop rubbing salt into other people's wounds?"

On the stands, Qingze Yazhi chewed gum and said, "This person is really something, winning the game but still disgusting his own people."

Minami Wakuya's coach requested a timeout from the sidelines.

Nakajima took the towel. He gulped down water, trying to calm his racing heart. "Listen, they have many points of attack; we can't let ourselves be led by the nose. Keep a close eye on number 10 and number 13!"

"Captain..." Hanayama Kazuki hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping himself. It wasn't a matter of whether they could keep a close watch on each other. The number 10 was flying in the sky, while the number 13 was counting on the ground. They weren't even playing the same kind of volleyball.

The pause has ended.

Nakajima serves fiercely.

The ball flew straight to the back row. Daichi Sawamura caught it steadily.

"Lu Ren!"

Lu Ren moved up from the right. Wakuya Minami's defensive focus shifted entirely to the right.

Lu Ren glanced at the opposing team's positions from mid-air. Instead of spiked the ball, he swung his arm and pushed it horizontally to the left.

Dong Fengxu had been waiting there for a long time. No one tried to stop him.

The volleyball slammed hard onto the floor. 4:12.

"This kind of code, which uses a feint attack, is the easiest to write," Lu Ren clapped his hands.

Nakajima gritted his teeth. He jumped again, trying to score by hitting the ball out of bounds. But this time, Tsukishima Kei stopped early. The ball went out of bounds.

4: 13.

"The same trick won't work on someone with a high IQ." Hotaru Tsukishima pushed up her glasses.

Wakuya Minami's defenses completely collapsed.

Their teamwork did occasionally allow them to score a point or two. Nakajima Takeshi capitalized on a gap in Karasuno's block, creating a time difference. Hanayama Kazuki scored on a second attack. The score climbed steadily to 8 points.

But this is just a drop in the ocean.

Karasuno's scoring efficiency is ridiculously high.

Hinata Shoyo tirelessly jumped at the net. Every move he made was wearing down the stamina and patience of the defender, Hisaya Minami.

"Damn it, he got away again!" Naruko missed her target.

Dongfeng Xu's powerful spike directly destroyed the defense. Qiu Baohe caught a powerful spike, but his arms were red and swollen, and his next catch was distorted, causing him to deflect the ball away.

Lu Ren was the one who rubbed salt into the wound.

He always manages to find the weakest point in Minami Wakuya's defense. Whether it's hitting the ball out of bounds, lobbed shots, or cutting the line, his playing style has no discernible pattern; it's entirely based on real-time calculations of the on-the-spot data.

The score came to 10:20.

Lu Ren serves.

He stood outside the baseline, spinning the volleyball in his hand.

Throw the ball, take a running start, and jump.

No spin. A powerful, bouncing floater.

The volleyball traced a straight trajectory through the air, then suddenly plummeted to the left just as it cleared the net. Akiho dived to save it, barely managing to touch the ball with his fingertips. The volleyball changed direction and struck the "GG" sign outside the court.

Serve to score. 10:21.

"One more ball!" Tanaka Ryunosuke shouted.

Lu Ren tossed the ball again. This time, it was a powerful jump serve.

The ball was extremely fast and hit the corner of the baseline. The referee raised his flag; it was in play.

10: 22.

The players from Wakuya Minami stood on the court, reduced to puppets without commands. Nakajima Takeshi stared at Karasuno across the court; they were an insurmountable mountain. He wanted to win, more than anyone else. But volleyball is not a one-man sport. When teammates' steps become heavy, when the defensive chain breaks, individual will becomes utterly useless.

"The last ball." Lu Ren patted the ball.

He glanced at Takeshi Nakajima. The short, sharpshooter's eyes were still bright, but the spark within them had become so faint it was almost extinguished.

"Let's end this boring tower defense game."

Lu Ren tosses the ball. He then delivers a powerful jump serve.

The ball goes over the net. Qiu Baohe desperately tries to bounce the ball up. The ball flies towards the net.

Kazuki Hanayama made a jump pass to Takeshi Nakajima.

Nakajima leaped. This was his last jump of the game.

Karasuno's three-man net is blocked. Higashimine Asahi, Riku Ren, and Tsukishima Hotaru.

Three pairs of arms formed a high wall in the air.

Nakajima swung his arm violently. The volleyball hit Lu Ren's palm and bounced back to Kazuya Minami's half of the court.

boom.

The ball landed.

The referee blew the long whistle. The game was over.

10: 25.

Karasuno won the match with a total score of 2-0.

Both sides lined up.

Nakajima Takeshi looked at Riku Ren through the net. "You guys are strong."

"It's just a hardware difference on the data panel," Lu Ren said calmly. "It's interesting that your attackers go out of bounds, but the margin for error is too low. Try a higher version of the strategy next time you play ranked."

Nakajima was taken aback for a moment, then smiled wryly: "You really don't mince words."

"I'm just stating the objective facts." Lu Ren turned and walked towards the rest area.

Qingze Yazhi handed over a towel: "Finished and calling it a day?"

"I've finished grinding for experience points." Lu Ren wiped his sweat. "But I'm getting into the swing of things. I should be able to withstand a few more rounds of attacks from the next opponent."

Coach Ukai walked over with a tactical board: "Well done. Minami Wakuya's defense is very resilient. You guys were able to disrupt their rhythm so quickly, which exceeded my expectations."

"That's because their own defensive system has flaws." Lu Ren took a sip of water. "This kind of play won't work against a truly impenetrable defense."

He looked up and gazed at the other side of the stadium.

The Aoba Castle West team members were warming up. Oikawa Toru stood on the sidelines, twirling a volleyball in his hand.

Lu Ren threw the empty water bottle into the trash can.

"The real challenge is just beginning."