Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

In Aoba Castle West's half of the court, Kunimi Hideki stood at the serve position.

He dribbled the ball at a slow pace, exuding an extremely lazy energy-saving demeanor. Lu Ren stared at the volleyball bouncing on the wooden floor, and the character panel of Guo Jianying automatically appeared in his mind: high intelligence, energy conservationist, and a cold-blooded dagger at crucial moments.

This type of player is the kind of weird character in the game who usually goes AFK, but suddenly buys back and dives into the backline in the last five minutes.

The referee whistle blows.

Guojian Ying swung his arm, and the ball drew a straight trajectory without any extra spin, heading straight for Karasuno's sideline.

"This kind of ball doesn't even qualify as a frame-dropping attack."

Lu Ren took a step to the side, lowered his center of gravity, and precisely met the volleyball with the plane formed by his arms. He did not pursue the fastest speed of the first pass, but used the cushioning of his wrists to send the ball steadily above the net.

That was Kageyama Tobio's most comfortable processing area.

"Kageyama!"

Lu Ren shouted, then quickly retreated, preparing to enter the next rotation position in the "Chimera" system.

Kageyama Tobio stood in front of the net, his peripheral vision filled with the impenetrable netting of Aoba Castle West. Kindaichi, Matsukawa Kazushige, and Oikawa Toru, whose eyes seemed to say, "I see right through you."

Aoshima's defensive system is like a sophisticated data network, trying to predict the final direction of the ball by observing Kageyama's shoulder movements and gaze direction.

Kageyama jumps.

His fingers made an extremely subtle downward feint one second before touching the ball.

That was a disguise for a fast break.

Aoki's blockers instinctively leaned forward, and Kindaichi's fingertips were already taut. However, at the moment of contact with the ball, Kageyama's fingers shifted from pressing to supporting, and the volleyball flew in a long arc towards the back row.

Dongfeng Xu.

Karasuno's ace, with heavy steps, leaped into the air from behind the three-meter line. His broad shoulders stretched out in the air, like a heavy bow ready to be drawn.

"Attack from the back row!"

Oikawa Toru growled, but his body was a beat too slow to respond.

"Bang!"

Dong Fengxu's spike was incredibly powerful, the volleyball penetrating straight into Qingcheng's defensive gaps.

However, Aoki's libero, Watari Chikaharu, displayed a textbook diving move. Just as the volleyball was about to hit the floor, he slid along the ground and used the back of his hand to forcefully deflect the ball back up.

"Nice catch!"

The ball bounced into the air.

Oikawa Tetsu didn't need to look back at all; his footsteps were already positioned below where the ball would land.

"Kkindaichi!"

Oikawa's pass was as fast as a beam of light, precisely feeding Kindaichi Yutaro's highest run-point. Kindaichi let out a roar, a roar born of his long-suppressed desire for revenge against the "dictatorial king."

"Stop him!"

Tanaka and Tsukishima take off together.

"One touch!"

Hotaru Tsukishima felt a heavy impact on her fingertips. The volleyball was blocked and its trajectory was changed, flying towards Karasuno's baseline.

"Lu Ren!" Kageyama shouted.

Lu Ren had already turned around. He watched the volleyball fly out of bounds, and his legs unleashed an astonishing burst of power as he pushed off the ground. Just as the volleyball was about to go out of bounds, he knelt on one knee and raised his hands upwards.

This distance is at least eight meters from the network port.

Lu Ren's gaze swept across the entire room and landed on Kageyama Tobio's face.

"Kageyama, here you go, this is your 'experience pack'."

Lu Ren exerted force with his fingers, and the core strength of his entire body was transmitted through his arms to his fingertips at that moment. The volleyball did not float high like a normal pass, but instead followed an almost straight and extremely stable trajectory, spanning most of the court, and landing accurately in front of Kageyama Tobio.

The texture was so delicate it was almost unbelievable.

Kageyama Tobio looked at the volleyball that was steadily stopped in front of him and cursed inwardly: Why do these brainy guys always have such an annoyingly precise touch?

Kageyama jumps.

This time, he was no longer a setter.

He assumed a smashing stance, his sharp eyes fixed on Oikawa Toru across from him.

Aoki's block was completely drawn in by Kageyama's actions. Oikawa, Iwaizumi, and everyone else thought that Kageyama was going to personally finish the ball.

However, Kageyama's movements in the air suddenly stopped.

The moment his hand touched the ball, it transformed from a spike into an extremely subtle cross pass.

Tanaka Ryunosuke!

"Hey!"

Tanaka had been waiting diagonally across the net for a long time. Facing the completely open net, he poured all his anger into this powerful smash.

The volleyball hit the floor of Qingcheng with a dull thud.

8: 9.

Karasuno overtook them.

After landing, Tanaka frantically tugged at his jersey collar and let out a beast-like roar towards the stands.

Oikawa Tetsu stood on the other side of the net, beads of sweat sliding down his forehead and nose. He looked at Karasuno's group, his tone filled with barely concealed frustration: "What an enviable tactic. This 'multi-core' style of play is really giving me a headache."

Although every player in Aoba Johsai has a certain passing ability, Aoba cannot match the kind of precise long-distance setter that Riku Ren can deliver from the backcourt, and the kind of seamless switching between Kageyama and the attacker role that Kageyama can achieve instantly.

Lu Ren dusted off his hands and looked at Oikawa Tetsu's face, which was full of resentment. Suddenly, an absurd thought flashed through his mind: if Oikawa Tetsu joined Karasuno, then Karasuno would have a "4-2 pass" formation.

The changes in tactics will likely increase exponentially, directly burning out the opponent's CPU.

Unfortunately, such top-tier players are unlikely to join the team.

Lu Ren walked to the serve position.

He dribbled the ball in his hand, his gaze fixed on Qingcheng's number six player—Guo Jianying.

"I'm returning that serve to you."

Lu Ren took a running start and jumped.

His arm swing was extremely fast, but at the moment of impact, his palm made a clear wrapping motion around the ball.

A powerful jump.

The volleyball produced a strange vibration in the air, like a frame-by-frame image constantly jumping in the airflow.

Kunihiro stood at the receiving position, his usually listless eyes showing a serious expression for the first time. Just as the ball approached his chest, it suddenly deflected downwards.

Guo Jianying tried to adjust his center of gravity, but the force with which the volleyball hit his arm was astonishing.

"Thump!"

The force of the impact caused Guo Jianying to stagger, and the volleyball blew through his defense, flying out of bounds and slamming hard onto the GG sign.

8: 10.

"Nice serve!" Hinata Shoyo jumped up and waved his fist.

Lu Ren stood expressionless at the service line, calling for the ball again.

He continued to set his sights on meeting with the British.

This targeted, "name-calling" attack is Lu Ren's favorite tactic. Since you're focused on energy conservation, I'll make you use up all your battery power just by catching the ball.

Lu Ren serves again.

Same action, same trajectory.

This time, Guo Jianying was smarter; he chose to retreat the moment the ball landed, trying to create space to observe.

"Crossing!"

Aoki's libero, Watari Chikaji, moved like lightning to fill the gap and caught the ball right in front of Kunimi Hide.

The ball was caught high, but the landing point was a bit awkward, drifting directly towards the top of Karasuno's net.

Opportunity ball!

Without any hesitation, Kageyama Tobio jumped up from the spot, preparing to deliver a clean second dunk to Aoki at the net.

"Take it back!" Kageyama growled.

However, just as his fingers were about to touch the ball, a shadow fell over him.

Oikawa Toru.

The leader of Qingcheng seemed to have anticipated Yingshan's impatience. He ignored the back row defense and instead focused all his efforts on guarding the net.

Oikawa stretched his arm out extremely high, like an insurmountable iron gate.

"Bang!"

Kageyama's spike struck Oikawa Toru's hand, and the volleyball plummeted straight down, landing in Karasuno's court.

9: 10.

Oikawa Toru landed, clapped his hands, and looked at Kageyama with a teasing, elder-like gaze: "Tobio, impatience is a major taboo for setters. I'll take this ball."

Kageyama Tobio gritted his teeth, his eyes almost overflowing with black energy.

Lu Ren walked over and patted Ying Shan on the shoulder: "Don't play the 'King's Wrath' with me here. We'll get the ball back next time."

"You don't need to tell me!" Kageyama spat.

It's Qingcheng's turn to serve.

Middle blocker Kazushige Matsukawa stood on the baseline. His serves weren't as powerful as Oikawa's, but they were tricky, specifically targeting gaps in Karasuno's defensive transitions.

The volleyball flew over the net, heading straight for the space between Hinata and Rikuren.

"mine!"

Lu Ren slid to the side and lifted the ball up with an extremely steady posture.

"Kageyama!"

The moment Kageyama Tobio landed the ball, his entire demeanor changed. He didn't look at Oikawa, nor did he look at the blocker.

Fast attack.

The volleyball was like a bullet fired from a gun, shoving straight into Hinata Shoyo's hand.

Hinata's figure flashed past the net, a fleeting afterimage too fast to be caught.

"Thump!"

However, what greeted Hinata was not the trembling of the floor, but Watanabe Chikaharu's arms, which were as steady as a rock.

Qingcheng's defensive resilience was on full display at this moment.

The ball flew back.

As Oikawa Tetsu jumped, his posture in the air was stretched to its limit, as if he wanted to take control of the entire court.

"Iwaizumi-senpai!"

Oikawa delivered a back pass.

Iwazumi burst out from the flank; his smash was devoid of any fancy moves, only pure power and decisiveness.

Karasuno's three-man block was a beat too slow.

The volleyball slipped through his fingertips and slammed heavily onto the baseline.

The referee blows the whistle, and the flag is raised horizontally.

10: 10.

The score is tied again.

The air in the stadium seemed to freeze at that moment. Lu Ren wiped the sweat from his chin, looked at the imposing Qingye Chengxi team opposite him, and then glanced at his teammates beside him, who were breathing heavily.

"The dungeon difficulty has increased again."

Lu Ren muttered to himself, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes. This kind of evenly matched tug-of-war, this feeling of competition where every statistic was jumping wildly, was what he found most addictive.

Oikawa Tetsu stood opposite him, spinning a volleyball between his fingers, his eyes burning with a flame called "obsession".

The battle has only just entered its true deep waters.