Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The referee blew the whistle. Wu Segong stood in the service area, his arm outstretched in front of him, the volleyball spinning twice in his palm.

Toss the ball, take a run-up. The soles of the shoes slammed against the wooden floor with a short, sharp scraping sound. The jump serve, with its strong downward arc, hurtled towards Karasuno's back left row.

Nishitani Yuu glided sideways. Her stance was low, arms extended in front of her, and she thrust upwards, meeting the ball's trajectory. The volleyball struck her forearm with a dull thud.

"Pass it in place!" Nishitani shouted at the top of his lungs.

Kageyama Tobio started early. Without looking at where the ball would land, relying on his spatial awareness, he moved his feet in a crisscross pattern, his hands steadily supporting the volleyball above his forehead. With a flick of his fingertips, he pushed the ball to the left wing.

Dong Fengxu takes a running start and jumps. He takes three steps in two, his body stretching out in the air. Facing the volleyball, he swings his right arm in a wide arc.

At the net in Shiratorizawa, the red-haired middle blocker, Tendo Satoru, had already secured his position. Without any extra anticipation, he jumped purely on instinct, his hands reaching over the net.

Bang! The volleyball struck Tendou Satoru's fingertips and bounced high into the air.

"One touch!" Tendou Satoru shouted as he landed.

The ball sailed over the net and landed in Shiratorizawa's half of the court. Goshiki Kou made a run from the back row, and with a quick touch of both hands, sent the ball steadily to the setter's position.

Kenjiro Shirabu didn't even look up to observe Karasuno's blocking formation. His movements were mechanical and efficient; with a flick of his wrists, the volleyball arced high into the air and flew towards the right flank.

That's where the absolute core of Shiratorizawa stands.

Ushijima Wakatoshi began his run-up. With each step, the air in the entire stadium seemed to be compressed. The left-handed power hitter soared into the air, his left arm taut behind him like a drawn bow.

Karasuno, front row. Tanaka Ryunosuke and Sawamura Daichi quickly moved closer.

The two jumped side by side. Facing a monster like Ushijima with overpowered stats, a head-on confrontation would be tantamount to giving away points. Lu Ren's strategy at the pre-match meeting was clear: abandon a complete blockade and create traps instead.

Tanaka and Daichi forcefully twisted their bodies in mid-air, tilting their arms to the right, effectively blocking Ushijima's signature diagonal spike route.

A very obvious straight gap was left in front of the net.

Ushijima spotted the gap in mid-air. Without hesitation, he exerted force with his left arm, sending the volleyball crashing down along the straight path with terrifying kinetic energy.

The ball moves at an extremely high speed; the naked eye can only catch a fleeting afterimage.

Nishitani Yu was already waiting at the baseline in the straight line. He spread his legs and lowered his center of gravity to its lowest point. The volleyball, accompanied by wind pressure, came crashing down, but Nishitani didn't back down. He brought his hands together and forcefully met the ball head-on.

The impact was dull. Nishiya was thrown off his feet by the immense force of the volleyball, his back slamming heavily onto the floor, sliding half a meter away.

The volleyball bounced high into the air, flying towards Karasuno's half of the court.

"It's connected!" Hinata Shoyo jumped up from the bench.

Kageyama Tobio activated his technique at the exact same moment Nishiya fell to the ground. Like a precisely programmed instrument, he calculated the ball's trajectory with pinpoint accuracy. Just as the volleyball was about to drop, Kageyama slid into position and caught it with both hands.

The ball flew towards the left wing again.

Dongfeng Xu didn't stop. He took a second run-up, his legs powerfully pushing off the ground, and his body soared into the air. This time, Shiratorizawa's block hadn't even had time to take shape.

Swing your arm and smash the ball.

The volleyball hit inside the Shiratorizawa boundary line and bounced out of bounds.

The referee blows the whistle. Karasuno scores.

The scoreboard flips. Shiratori Sawa 12:9 Karasuno.

Nishitani Yuu got up from the ground, rubbed his reddened forearm, and grinned. Sawamura Daichi walked over and patted him hard on the back.

In front of the bench, Lu Ren held his number plate and stretched his wrists.

"Rotate," Coach Uyang gestured from the sidelines.

Lu Ren walked onto the court and high-fived Nishitani Yu.

"Well done, Nishiya-senpai. You even withstood the normal attack damage from that numerical monster. Is your armor durability still sufficient?" Lu Ren teased.

"Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and catch up!" Xigu glared at him and walked to the sidelines.

Lu Ren stood in the back row and glanced at Ushijima Wakatoshi on the other side of the net.

The game panel unfolded in Lu Ren's mind. Ushijima's stamina bar hadn't decreased significantly, but Karasuno's defensive mechanics had figured out his attack patterns. They forcibly blocked diagonal attacks, lured attacks into straight lines, and then had a high-defense free-roaming character tank the damage. This "main tank pulls the monsters, off-tank fills in" tactic was slowly eroding Shiratorizawa's margin for error.

The serve went to Karasuno. Ryunosuke Tanaka took the volleyball and walked to the service area.

He took a deep breath, tossed the ball high into the air, took a running start, and jumped. His powerful jump serve carried a fierce momentum, heading straight for Shiratorizawa's back row.

With steady footwork, Shion Ohira shifted half a step to the side and caught the ball firmly with both hands. The ball was slightly off-center, but the pass was perfectly accurate.

Kenjiro Shirabu sprinted forward, adjusting his stance three meters from the net. No further thought was needed; his only task was to pass the ball to the ace.

With a flick of both hands, the volleyball flew to the left flank.

Ushijima Wakatoshi jumped again.

At the front row of Karasuno, Higashimine Asahi and Sawamura Daichi leaped side by side. This time, they didn't leave any openings, but chose to block head-on. Two pairs of arms erected a wall in front of the net.

Ushijima swung his left arm, and the volleyball hit Dongfeng Xu's fingers.

"One touch!" Dong Fengxu shouted through gritted teeth.

The ball's speed was reduced, its trajectory changed, and it flew towards Karasuno's back row.

Lu Ren was already positioned at the landing point. Instead of passing the ball directly, he lowered his body, took a half step back with his right leg, and gently tapped the ball in the direction of its descent.

The volleyball traced a gentle arc in the air and landed precisely on Kageyama Tobio's head.

"A beautiful pass," Kageyama muttered, holding the ball with both hands.

Ryunosuke Tanaka surged forward from the back row towards the net. His run-up was incredibly fast, like a wild beast unleashed from its cage. He jumped and swung his arm.

Shiratorizawa's block was drawn to Higashimine Asahi's screen movement. Tanaka met the ball head-on and delivered an extremely tricky diagonal spike.

The volleyball grazed the fingertips of the defender in Shiratorizawa and hit the floor.

The whistle blows. Karasuno scores another point.

Shiratorizawa 12:10 Karasuno. The score difference has narrowed to two points.

In the stands, Qingze Yazhi pounded on the railing with an inflatable stick. "Aren, stop slacking off! Get another point!"

Lu Ren rolled his eyes, too lazy to pay attention to the noise from the stands. He stared at Shiratorizawa's half of the field, his mental data model constantly updating.

Kenjiro Shirabu's passing patterns are too predictable. This tactic, which concentrates all resources on a single offensive core, is known as "four-protect-one" in the game. It has a low margin for error and is easily countered. As long as the connection between the setter and the outside hitter is severed, or the outside hitter's stamina is constantly depleted, this system will collapse on its own.

Ryunosuke Tanaka stepped up to serve again.

He patted the volleyball, his eyes fixed on Shion Ohira across the table. He tossed the ball, jumped, and unleashed another powerful jump serve.

The volleyball whistled through the air as it flew over the net.

Ohira Shion's footwork is extremely stable. With a quick lift of both hands, he sets the ball towards the net. The first pass is perfect.

Kenjiro Shirabu ran into position and raised his hands. Without any unnecessary feints, his gaze was fixed on Wakatoshi Ushijima.

"It's him again." Lu Ren squinted in the back row.

Ushijima began its run-up. The wooden floorboards emitted a dull groan of protest.

In front of Karasuno, Tanaka and Sawamura Daichi quickly approached each other.

"When facing a numerical monster, don't think about ending the battle with a single beautiful block. That's unrealistic. What you need to do is stack negative status effects on him. One successful return, two net touches, three blocked routes. Use soft blocks to annoy him, make him feel like every spike is hitting cotton. Once his stamina, patience, and touch are worn down, the numerical monster becomes a paper tiger."

Tanaka jumps. He doesn't extend his arm straight out, but rather slightly tucks his wrist and tilts his fingertips backward, making a standard soft block stance.

Sawamura Daichi cooperated from the side, completely blocking the straight route.

Ushijima Wakatoshi spread his left arm in mid-air. He saw Tanaka's hand gesture and sensed the blockade in the straight line. Without hesitation, he chose to force his way through the diagonal.

The volleyball hit Tanaka's finger.

There was no harsh, teeth-grinding sound. Tanaka's fingers followed the force of the volleyball, deflecting most of the destructive power of the powerful shot.

The volleyball bounced high and landed in Karasuno's half of the court.

"One touch!" Tanaka landed and shook his hand.

Lu Ren quickly started moving from the back row. He anticipated the ball's landing point, and before the ball hit the ground, he knelt on one knee and used both hands to baffle it.

"Kageyama!" Lu Ren shouted.

Kageyama Tobio ran to his position and held the ball with both hands.

Karasuno's offensive gears began to turn again. Hyuga Shoyo cut in at high speed from the right, like an orange lightning bolt. Shiratorizawa's blockers instinctively followed his movement.

With a flick of his wrist, Kageyama sent the volleyball flying to the left instead of passing it to Hyuga.

Dong Fengxu was there. The star spiker leaped high, facing an empty net, and swung his arm heavily.

The volleyball smashed through Shiratorizawa's defense.

Shiratorizawa 12:11 Karasuno.

Shiratorizawa's coach, Washi Takumi, sat on the sidelines, his brows furrowed deeply. He picked up his water glass, took a sip, and stared coldly at the field.

Karasuno's resilience exceeded his expectations. This team was no longer a ragtag bunch relying solely on passion and instinct. They had sound logic, targeted tactics, and a defensive system capable of dragging the game into a quagmire.

The number 13 standing in the back row is the key player in this system.

Lu Ren stood near the baseline, wiping away sweat. The intensity of the match was extremely high, and his physical strength was being depleted much faster than usual. But he didn't feel tired; instead, he felt an exhilarating excitement, like conquering a high-difficulty challenge.

"Keep going," Lu Ren said to his teammates in the front row. "Their main damage dealer is starting to drop frames."

Ryunosuke Tanaka holds the ball, preparing to serve for the third time.

At Shiratorizawa's half, Ushijima Wakatoshi shook his left arm. The continuous powerful spikes had left his muscles slightly sore. He glanced at the Karasuno players on the other side of the net, his gaze remaining calm.

Tanaka tosses the ball and jumps. His jump serve goes straight to Shiratorizawa libero, Yamagata Hayato.

Hayato Yamagata leaps to save the ball, pushing it towards the net.

Kenjiro Shirabu holds the ball with both hands and passes it to Ushijima again.

Ushima takes a running start and jumps.

In the front row of Karasuno, a three-man net was formed. Tanaka, Higashimine, and Daichi. Three pairs of arms built a high wall in front of the net.

Lu Ren lowered his center of gravity in the back row. He stared intently at Ushijima's hitting point, his mind racing.

Physical determination, parabolic trajectory, wind resistance, and landing time.

All the data converged in my mind into a clear coordinate.

Lu Ren moved one step to the left.

Ushijima swung his arm. The volleyball hit Tanaka's fingertips, changed direction, and flew towards the coordinates where Riku was located.

With both hands together, push the volleyball upwards.

The ball flew steadily toward Kageyama Tobio.

Karasuno's counterattack has begun again.