Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The bathroom faucet was a bit old, making a harsh scraping sound when turned on. Cold water poured down, washing away the anti-slip powder and sweat stains on Lu Ren's hands.

The excitement of defeating Aoba Johsai was fading, replaced by the soreness of his brain after overworking it. Oikawa Tetsu's sophisticated "server architecture" was indeed troublesome. If Karasuno hadn't forcibly raised the overall hardware level during the training camp, it would have been hard to say who would have won today.

Grabbing two paper towels, Lu Ren looked up at the mirror.

There was an extra person in the mirror.

Tall, broad-shouldered, wearing a sports jacket with the Shiratorizawa logo. Just by standing there, he effectively blocked half of the light in the restroom.

Ushijima Wakatoshi.

The absolute king of Miyagi Prefecture, one of the top three main attackers in the country, an ultimate "numerical monster" who has maxed out his physical attributes and strength.

Lu Ren crumpled the paper towel into a ball and accurately threw it into the trash can a meter away.

"You've improved a lot since the last practice match." Ushijima turned on another faucet, his voice echoing in the empty bathroom, carrying his characteristic, flat, declarative tone.

He neither mocked nor praised; he was simply stating an objective fact.

Lu Ren leaned against the sink, took a mint out of his pocket, unwrapped it, threw it into his mouth, and chewed it.

"Leveling up requires upgrading your equipment." Lu Ren watched Ushijima wash his hands; those hands were large and well-defined, weapons naturally prepared for a powerful spike. "Your scouts from Shiratorizawa must have seen right through us, right? What, is the big boss here early to deliver a warning from the newbie village?"

Ushima turned off the tap, shook the water off his hands, and turned to look at Lu Ren.

"Oikawa Tetsu is an excellent setter. I've always felt it was a pity he couldn't come to Shiratorizawa." Ushijima's tone was extremely calm, yet every word was piercing. "Aoba Johsai is a good team, but they rely too much on Oikawa. Karasuno's victory shows that your overall strength surpasses Aoba's. However, that's where it ends."

Lu Ren chuckled as he chewed on a mint.

This guy's taunt skill is in his passive ability.

"Your 'bloodline-only' line would be the standard line for a villainous boss who wouldn't survive three episodes in an RPG game." Lu Ren straightened up and patted the wrinkles on his clothes. "Oikawa was indeed very strong, but he lost to version updates. As for Shiratorizawa... relying on your stats to crush everyone, this kind of skillless 'skipping class' playstyle will be punished by the system sooner or later."

Ushijima wasn't angry at Lu Ren's provocation; he probably didn't even understand the game's terminology.

"Volleyball is a sport where it's about who lands the ball on the opponent's court the most times. Power and height are the most direct mechanisms." Ushijima looked at Rikuren. "Tomorrow, I'll prove that with a spike."

Just as Lu Ren was about to retort, the bathroom door was slammed open with a "bang".

"Toilet! Toilet! I can't hold it in anymore!"

Hinata Shoyo, with his orange hair, rushed in like a cannonball, slipped, and almost fell flat on his face on the tiles.

Following closely behind was Kageyama Tobio, whose face was dark with anger.

"Hyuga, you idiot! You're going the wrong way! That's the cleaning tool room!" Kageyama grabbed Hyuga by the back of his collar and yanked him back.

Hinata scrambled to her feet, then looked up and froze in place.

"Ushijima Wakatoshi!" Hinata pointed at the tall figure, his voice cracking.

Kageyama also saw Ushijima. His face, which had been irritable from searching for someone, instantly turned cold, replaced by an extremely excited fighting spirit.

Ushijima turned around and looked at the two first-year students who had suddenly barged in. He remembered Hinata; the little guy who had boasted at the entrance of Shiratorizawa, saying he would defeat him.

"Number 10 from Karasuno, and number 9 too." Ushijima recognized them.

Hinata swallowed hard, his earlier urge to urinate completely gone. But instead of backing down, he took a step forward, tilting his head back and staring intently at Ushijima.

"We beat Aoba Johsai!" Hinata shouted, his voice deafening in the restroom. "Tomorrow, we'll beat you too! We're going to the National Tournament!"

Kageyama stepped forward and stood side by side with Hinata.

"Oikawa-senpai is very strong, but I will pass the ball to him in a better way." Kageyama stared at Ushijima, emphasizing each word. "Karasano's attack will completely crush Shiratorizawa's blocking."

The air in the restroom has changed.

Lu Ren leaned against the wall, watching the sudden cutscene with great interest. These two simple-minded people certainly had a natural talent for drawing aggro.

Ushijima looked at the two boys in front of him, both of whom were a head shorter than him.

"Aoba Johsai lost, which means that's all they're capable of. Your victory only means you've earned the right to challenge Shiratorizawa." Ushijima's expression remained unchanged. "Volleyball isn't something you can win by just shouting slogans. If that's all you've got, you'll get a severe beating tomorrow."

Hinata's face turned red with anger, and just as she was about to continue her rebuttal, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

"Hyuga! Kageyama! Where have you two bastards run off to again?!"

Sawamura Daichi and Sugawara Koji rushed into the bathroom, panting.

Upon seeing the scene before him, Sugawara was stunned for a moment, then gasped in shock.

Daichi glanced at the scene and immediately understood what had happened. The veins on his forehead throbbed twice. He strode forward, pressed Hyuga and Kageyama's heads down forcefully with both hands.

"I'm so sorry!" Daichi bowed to the two first-year students, his tone sincere. "Our silly junior has been so unruly and has caused you trouble."

Hinata struggled to lift his head: "Captain! I wasn't wrong! We have to defeat him!"

"Shut up! You idiot!" Daichi tightened his grip, forcing Hinata to swallow his words.

Sugawara tried to smooth things over, saying, "Haha, the finals are tomorrow, the kids are getting a little too excited. Ushijima-kun, don't mind them."

Ushijima looked at the two people whose heads were being held down and spoke calmly.

"It's okay. Pre-match verbal sparring won't change the outcome of the match."

Daichi released his grip, and Hinata and Kageyama stood up straight, clutching their heads.

Sawamura Daichi straightened up, his apology completely gone. He looked at Ushijima, and as the captain of Karasuno, he exuded a calm aura that was in no way inferior to Ushijima's.

"Those two boys were indeed noisy and rude," Daichi said, his tone gentle yet weighty. "But what they just said wasn't just their opinion."

Sugawara stopped smiling and stood beside the earth.

Lu Ren stopped chewing the mint and stood up straight.

The earth gazes directly into Udo Island's eyes.

"Defeat Shiratorizawa and march on the national stage. This is the will of the entire Karasuno team." Daichi's voice resonated powerfully in the small space. "Nice to meet you tomorrow."

Ushijima Wakatoshi's gaze swept across the faces of Karasuno and the others.

He refrained from uttering any more words of disdain. As a king, he could distinguish between bluff and genuine fighting spirit.

"I got it." Ushijima nodded. "See you tomorrow."

After saying that, he strode past the crowd and out of the restroom.

With Udo's departure, the oppressive atmosphere finally dissipated.

Hinata let out a long sigh, then clutched his stomach: "I can't take it anymore! Toilet!" He dashed into a stall.

Kageyama snorted and walked to the pool to wash his face.

Dadi turned his head and looked at Lu Ren, who was leaning against the wall.

"You were just watching the show from the sidelines, weren't you?" Dadi sighed and rubbed his temples.

Lu Ren spread his hands: "Captain, I call this gathering enemy intelligence. Besides, I think you guys performed quite well; this pre-match provocation deserves full marks."

Sugawara walked over and patted Lu Ren on the shoulder: "Alright, stop joking. Hurry up and get ready, the bus is still waiting for us outside."

A few minutes later, Karasuno and his group walked out of the stadium.

The cool night breeze dispelled the heat of the competition.

Lu Ren walked at the back of the group, his mind racing through Shiratorizawa's data.

Wakatoshi Ushijima, a left-handed player, possesses immense power in his spikes, producing a strong right spin on the ball. This combination of spin and power makes it impossible to receive the ball with conventional catching techniques; the ball will simply fly out of bounds.

Shiratorizawa's tactical system is extremely simple and brutal: raise the ball high, pass it to Ushijima, and Ushijima spikes the ball to score.

This is an absolute numerical crushing victory.

In the game, there are only two ways to deal with this kind of numerical monster. Either your stats are higher than itss, so you can fight it head-on; or you can use complex mechanics and tactics to prolong the battle and wear it down little by little.

Karasuno's facilities are clearly no match for Ushijima's.

Then we have no choice but to use a mechanism.

The "Chimera" tactical system was designed to deal with such extreme situations. It involves multi-point attacks, unpredictable movement, and everyone being a soldier. It uses the most chaotic attacks to tear apart the opponent's defenses and the most tenacious defense to wear down Ushijima's stamina.

"Hey, Lu Ren."

Hotaru Tsukishima, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped and turned to look at him.

Lu Ren stepped forward: "What's wrong? Has Tsukishima-kun finally developed a love for volleyball and is about to ask me for advice on defensive techniques?"

Tsukishima adjusted his glasses, his tone as irritating as ever: "Stop being disgusting. I was just wondering, did that 'negative status stacking' theory you mentioned really work on that monster?"

Lu Ren smiled.

"Of course it will work." Lu Ren looked at Tsukishima. "No matter how strong a BOSS is, as long as he has a health bar, he will eventually be worn down. Ushijima is also human. He gets tired, he gets impatient, and he makes mistakes. As long as we can drag the game into a quagmire and disrupt his rhythm, the odds are in our favor."

Tsukishima didn't say anything, turned around and continued walking forward.

"Tomorrow," Tsukishima's voice drifted from the front, "Don't hold us back."

Lu Ren stretched as he watched Tsukishima's retreating figure.

"Don't worry," Lu Ren said in a low voice, "Tomorrow's version update will definitely surprise Shiratorizawa."

The bus was parked on the side of the road.

The entire Karasuno crew boarded the train one after another. The carriage was quiet. After the fierce battle with Aoba Castle West, everyone was exhausted, but their eyes shone brightly.

That is a longing for tomorrow.

Lu Ren walked to the last row and sat down by the window. Qingze Yazhi handed him a bottle of water.

"You were in the toilet for so long, did you fall into the pit?" Ya-zhi teased.

Lu Ren unscrewed the bottle cap and took a sip: "I ran into a difficult NPC, so I took the opportunity to do some pre-battle pep talk."

Ya-zhi looked at him: "Are you confident?"

"It's a 50/50 chance." Lu Ren looked out the window at the receding street scene. "When playing games, the harder the boss is, the more satisfying it is to defeat it."

The bus drove into the night, heading towards Karasuno High School.

The final round in Miyagi Prefecture is about to begin.

This is the ultimate showdown between "Chimera" and "Absolute King".

Lu Ren closed his eyes, recalled Shiratorizawa's formation diagram in his mind, and began the final data calculations.

Tomorrow, he'll show the entire Miyagi Prefecture what a tactical dimensional reduction attack looks like.