Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The whistle was short and sharp.

Standing behind the service line was the first-year student, Kindaichi Yutaro, whom Lu Ren jokingly called "Leek Head." His rhythm of dribbling the ball was a bit stiff, and his deep breathing was out of sync. Clearly, under the watchful eyes of so many "seniors" and unfamiliar expert players, this newbie's tension was a bit overloaded.

Throw the ball and swing your arm.

A very standard overhand float serve. The power is average, and the ball lands in the opponent's sweet spot.

"An opportunity ball!"

The middle-aged man in the faded sports vest across the way shouted, then nimbly moved to the target spot, his knees slightly bent, and steadily raised the ball. His movements were as practiced and natural as brushing his teeth and washing his face every morning. The first pass was perfect, finding its way directly to the slightly chubby setter at the net.

The pace quickened instantly.

The opposing left-wing attacker has already taken his run-up and jumped. Although this guy's hairline is worrying, his jumping ability hasn't really deteriorated much.

"block!"

Oikawa Tetsu's voice boomed in my ears. He and Iwaizumi Ichi jumped almost simultaneously, their four arms forming a high wall in front of the net. This blockade was so tight that not even a fly could get through; any ordinary straight or cross-court shot would have been mercilessly bounced back to the floor by this wall.

But Lu Ren saw something different.

0.5 seconds before the man swung his arm, his shoulder made an extremely unnatural inward rotation and his wrist rotated outward.

This is not a direct assault.

Lu Ren's "enemy skill warning" instantly flashed red. This was a "veteran" technique that used wrist skills to create a very wide angled, narrow cross-court shot, specifically designed to bypass tall barriers.

Ball trajectory determination: far left sideline.

Landing point prediction: Within the three-meter line, in the blind spot of the net.

His body acted before his mind. Driven by adrenaline, Lu Ren's legs slammed into the ground, and he lunged towards what seemed like an open space where the ball would never be seen, like a goalkeeper who had made a sliding tackle that went wrong.

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound of the ball hitting the ground rang out.

Sure enough, the volleyball didn't hit Oikawa Tetsu and Iwaizumi Ichi's hands. Instead, it spun strangely, skimming the inside of the net marker pole, and darted into that deserted area.

Everyone present thought the ball was doomed.

Except for Lu Ren.

He scraped the floor with a screeching sound, his arms barely together, and just before the ball touched the ground, he used the hard bones of his wrists to forcefully push the bottom of the ball.

"Thump."

The touch was terrible. Because the save was too clumsy and there was no systematic first pass training, although the ball was saved, it didn't fly to the setter's position, but flew straight towards the backcourt.

"Sorry, I pulled the monster too far!" Lu Ren rolled on the ground to dissipate the force, cursing inwardly that his body's agility was still insufficient. If he were a max-level character, he could have easily delivered the ball to the setter.

The ball flew very high and landed near the baseline.

This kind of ball can usually only be passed over, or corrected by a back-row player to play a safe ball. The offensive rhythm is essentially broken.

But suddenly a figure withdrew from the front of the net.

Oikawa Toru.

Without the slightest hesitation, he turned and sprinted towards the backcourt. He glanced up at the ball's trajectory as he ran, then jumped in an extremely awkward position. At that moment, he was facing away from the net and the attack line, suspended in mid-air.

What is he going to do?

Lu Rengang had just gotten up from the ground when he saw a scene that made his scalp tingle.

Oikawa Tetsu didn't look at the net or his teammates. He stretched his waist and abdomen in the air, and at the moment his hands touched the ball, his wrists pushed back smoothly and quickly.

Passed down from behind?

At this location?

to whom?

"Iwa-chan——!!!"

Oikawa Tetsu even had the leisure to shout out that nickname in the air.

At the same time, a dark figure, accompanied by an extremely oppressive wind pressure, cut in from the left flank. Iwaizumi Ichi was like a heavy tank that had already been fully fueled; just as Oikawa Toru touched the ball, he landed precisely on the take-off point.

There was no communication, no eye contact to confirm anything.

Only absolute trust.

The three middle-aged men on the other side were clearly taken aback by this unconventional attack, and hurriedly jumped side by side to block. Three pairs of arms blocked most of the angles.

"boom!"

Iwaizumi slammed his palm down hard on the volleyball.

There were no fancy techniques, just pure power, pure violent aesthetics. The volleyball, like an armor-piercing bullet, smashed through the middle blocker's fingers, carrying unstoppable momentum as it slammed into the court.

Score.

The floor seemed to shake.

"Nice kill!" Oikawa Toru landed, turned around with a grin, and gave Iwaizumi Hajime a thumbs up. "How was that pass? Wasn't it full of love?"

"Shut up, you almost went out of bounds." Iwaizumi shook his slightly numb hand. Although he was cursing, the curve of his mouth betrayed his feelings.

After a brief celebration, Oikawa Tetsu's gaze swept across the crowd and landed on Lu Ren, who was brushing dust off his knee pads.

The look in his eyes has changed.

It's no longer the playful observation of "interesting passersby" as before, but a cold and sharp scrutiny of the prey.

That last spike was so subtle that even he and Iwaizumi were fooled into thinking it was a direct attack. But this guy who calls himself "Baki Hanma" started moving two steps ahead of time.

That's not about having a fast reaction time.

That was a prediction.

He had already seen where the ball would land before the older man spiked it.

Moreover, although the receiving posture just now was ugly, like a salted fish flipping over, and the ball wasn't even properly placed, the fact that the ball was raised high at that extreme angle gave the setter time to adjust...

"Shiratorizawa..." Oikawa Tetsu narrowed his eyes, his fingers lightly stroking his chin. "How annoying. Even a casual 'enthusiast' has this level of football IQ?"

He misunderstood.

Moreover, the misunderstanding was quite deep.

He regarded Lu Renna's "backboard skills" and "ballistic calculation" honed through years of playing video games as top-notch ball sense cultivated through long-term professional training.

"It seems that in this prefectural preliminary round, besides that monster Ushiwaka, there's another troublesome variable." Oikawa Tetsu mentally marked this "Baki Hanma" with a red "dangerous" label.

Lu Ren had no idea that he had been added to the "assassination list" by the opposing Demon King.

He is feeling very bad right now.

Very bad.

He stared at Iwaizumi, who was high-fiving Oikawa Toru, his mind still replaying the afterimage of that powerful dunk from just moments before.

That force... if you didn't take it head-on with protective gear, your arm would definitely be bruised.

"This isn't a high school student, he's a catapult in human skin." Lu Ren mentally complained. "Sawamura Daichi's defense is as solid as a mobile fortress, but he doesn't have this kind of destructive power. This Iwaizumi Ichi is simply an upgraded version of Sawamura with a tank cannon."

Next Saturday.

Karasuno faces west of Aoba Castle.

Lu Ren briefly imagined the scene: Kageyama Tobio and Hinata Shoyo's "weird fast attack" team, which was still in the debugging stage, encountered a max-level commander like Oikawa Tetsu; Karasuno only had Tanaka as a strong output point, while the other side had Iwaizumi Ichi, a heavy artilleryman who could withstand the block.

The difficulty of this dungeon jumped directly from "Hard" to "Asura".

"Hey, Fan Ma."

Oikawa Tetsu's voice interrupted Lu Ren's reverie. He turned his head and saw Oikawa Tetsu smiling at him. "What are you daydreaming about? That catch was a bit awkward, but your awareness was pretty good. It seems Shiratorizawa pays a lot of attention to observation during training."

"Ah...it's alright." Lu Ren replied vaguely, guiltily avoiding Oikawa Tetsu's gaze.

Stop praising me, or I'll give myself away. I really just got lucky and guessed the right decision point.

The game continues.

It was Kindaichi's turn to serve again.

Perhaps emboldened by that point he just scored, the boy with the scallion-shaped haircut became a little overconfident. He tried to add more power, but his movement became distorted, resulting in a pass that posed little threat.

The group of older men on the other side were seasoned veterans who had spent years on the basketball court. Being dominated by a few high school students made them lose face.

This time, they didn't give Qingye City West any more chances.

The first pass is accurate, and the second pass quickly distributes the ball.

This time it's a fast break.

The slightly chubby setter wasn't fast, but he was very skilled with his hands. The ball had barely left his hand when the tall man in the middle had already jumped.

"Quick attack!" Iwaizumi shouted, trying to cover the defense.

But it was too late.

Lu Ren was still contemplating life in the back row, while the front barrier was still incomplete.

"Bang!"

The ball slammed heavily onto the floor, right at Oikawa Tetsu's feet. It was so fast it was impossible to react.

That point was lost decisively.

The atmosphere on the court instantly froze. Kindaichi hung his head, looking remorseful, clearly believing his weak serve was the culprit. Kunimi Hideki still looked sleepy, but his brows were slightly furrowed.

The momentum that had been going so smoothly just now seemed to have been completely severed by that one shot.

The middle-aged men opposite let out a few smug shouts and looked at us provocatively.

"Oh dear, it seems the older men are angry."

A relaxed voice broke the deadlock.

Oikawa Tetsu stood in front of the net and slapped his hands together with a crisp sound, drawing everyone's attention to him.

He wore that signature smile that made you feel both reassured and want to punch him, showing absolutely no negative emotions despite losing points.

"Don't worry about it, don't worry about it. That ball was really fast, it's normal that you didn't react in time." Oikawa Tetsu pointed to the other side. "Since they want to play fast-paced, then we'll play along with them. Kindaichi, don't think too much about the next ball, just serve it, and leave the rest to me and Iwa-chan."

A simple sentence.

Kindaichi's tense shoulders instantly relaxed. Iwaizumi snorted, his fighting spirit intensifying. Even Kunimi Hide, who had been trying to slack off, silently assumed a receiving stance.

Lu Ren watched this scene from the back row, and his heart skipped a beat.

This is the most terrible.

It's not about technology, it's not about power.

Rather, it is the power of leadership that can instantly control the emotions of the entire team and forcibly bring everyone's state back on track.

"Kageyama, oh Kageyama," Lu Ren thought to himself, silently lighting a candle for that simple-minded genius setter. "What you need to learn is not just passing the ball, but this 'Manipulation of Minds' is the ultimate skill in this game."

"Alright, Hanma-kun." Oikawa Tetsu turned around and winked at Rikuren. "Now you need to get serious. Don't let Shiratorizawa's name be tarnished."

Lu Ren's lips twitched.

This misunderstanding seems to be getting harder and harder to resolve.

"One more ball!"

Lu Ren took a deep breath and lowered his center of gravity. Since he was already on this mess, he might as well finish this dungeon first. As for how he would die next Saturday… that was Lu Ren's problem to worry about next Saturday.