Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The bus traveled smoothly along the highway, the air thick with the mixed smells of sweat, liniment for bruises and sprains, and exhaustion. After a series of intense battles, the entire Karasuno crew had fallen asleep the moment they sat down. Riku Ren leaned against the window, listening to the background music from a single-player game playing in his headphones, his gaze sweeping over the rapidly receding scenery outside.

Top four in the country.

This result is nothing short of miraculous for a team once dubbed a "fallen powerhouse" and a "crow that can't take flight." Sports newspapers featured photos of their fierce battle against Sesaka in the semi-finals on their front pages. Lu Ren's deft touch on the sideline was hailed by the media as "the devil's hand that pierced through the iron wall."

The car bumped slightly and came to a stop at the entrance of Karasuno High School.

"We're here, wake up, everyone!" Wu Yangxi clapped her hands as she stood at the front of the car.

The team members scrambled to their feet, rubbing their sleepy eyes, and stepped off the bus. The moment they stepped out, a deafening roar of cheers greeted them.

A striking red banner hung above the school gate: "Warmest congratulations to Karasuno High School Volleyball Team for winning a place in the National Spring High School Volleyball Final Four!"

The roadsides were packed with students who had come to greet them, and even many nearby residents. Walking through the campus, they were constantly met with admiring glances from unfamiliar students. Even the usually strict dean of students would break into a smile when he saw the volleyball team.

"That was a great play!"

"You are the pride of Miyagi Prefecture!"

"Captain Sawamura, thank you for your hard work!"

Lu Ren frowned at the commotion and reached out to scratch his messy hair. Qingze Yazhi suddenly appeared out of nowhere and expertly handed him a bottle of chilled sports drink.

"Big star, how's the treatment for clearing the hidden dungeon?" Ya Zhi teased with a smile, her gaze lingering on Lu Ren's arm with the bandage on it for half a second.

Lu Ren took the drink, unscrewed it, and took a swig. The icy liquid slid down his throat, dispelling some of his drowsiness. "Noisy. All I want to do now is go back and start a new game to catch up on the rank I lost these past few days. This feeling of being the center of attention is an honor for others, but for me it's just junk data that increases the system load."

Ahead, Daichi Sawamura led his team in a deep bow of gratitude to the crowd. Koji Sugawara smiled broadly, waving back incessantly. Asahi Higashimine, stared at by several bold girls, blushed deeply, unsure what to do with his hands and feet. Shoyo Hinata, brimming with excitement, bounced around like a spring, loudly boasting about his spikes to those around him. Tobio Kageyama, with a stiff face, completely lost his ability to handle such an enthusiastic occasion, frozen like a wooden board.

After the hustle and bustle, life returns to its usual routine.

With the smoke of the national competition clearing, Karasuno University entered a rare lull. The third-year students, facing imminent pressure to enter higher education, began to shift their focus to cram schools and mock exams.

The volleyball hall felt empty without Daichi Sawamura's pep talk, Koji Sugawara's laughter, and Asahi Higashimine's heavy spikes. The sound of shoes rubbing against the floor was still crisp, but something seemed to be missing from the air.

Under Coach Uyang's guidance, the first and second-year team members underwent tedious basic training to maintain their physical fitness and touch.

On those afternoons when no third-year students were watching, Lu Ren would sit on the steps of the gymnasium with a legitimate reason, pulling out his handheld console. The screen flashed images of a fighting game. His character was being overwhelmed by the final boss, his health bar almost empty.

Fingers flew across the keys, executing an extremely complex combo, managing to turn the tide and secure a kill despite being low on health. The words "YOU WIN" appeared on the screen.

He whistled and put the handheld console back in his pocket. Real-life volleyball matches are much harder than this game. At least the characters in the game don't suffer muscle cramps from exhaustion or mental breakdowns from trash talk from their opponents.

He calls the current phase the "downtime after completing the main storyline." There are no high-intensity matches, no boss mechanics that require racking your brains to decipher, and the daily tasks are simply serving, receiving, and spiking.

"Boring." Lu Ren tossed the tactical board aside and looked up at the ceiling light.

"You look like a retired old man who's finished all the games and can't find any new fun," Tsukishima Hotaru said as she walked over with a water bottle, offering no mercy in her criticism.

Lu Ren glanced at him: "What do you know? This is called a tactical reserve period. When the next BOSS spawns, you'll still have to rely on me to provide the strategy."

Hotaru Tsukishima chuckled, unscrewed the kettle, and drank some water, too lazy to argue.

The off-season does not mean absolute calm.

A stark reality is looming over Karasuno Volleyball Club: who will take over as captain after Daichi Sawamura's retirement?

Everyone initially thought it would be a smooth handover, but it turned into a farcical and absurd situation.

Tanaka Ryunosuke and Nishitani Yu, two guys whom Rikuren categorized as "hot-blooded idiots," launched a full-scale campaign to win the captain's position.

In the volleyball gym's locker room, Tanaka grabbed Riku's shoulder and whispered furtively, "Ruken, if you vote for me, I'll do all your PE homework from now on. Just imagine, with me, Tanaka Ryunosuke, as captain, Karasuno will definitely dominate the nation in the best possible way!"

Lu Ren expressionlessly pulled Tanaka's hand down: "I can do my homework myself. Also, as captain, you'll be suspended from the competition on your very first day for leading the provocation against another school."

Frustrated, Tanaka turned his attention to Tsukishima Hotaru. Tsukishima expertly put on her headphones, turned the volume up, and completely shut out any external distractions.

On the other side, Nishitani Yu stood on a bench, hands on her hips, and loudly announced to all the first-year students: "Only free agents with an iron will can become the team's strongest support! Elect me as captain, and I'll teach you how to take the opponent's heavy artillery head-on!"

Tadashi Yamaguchi timidly raised his hand and asked, "Um... Nishiya-senpai, catching the ball with your face isn't part of the standard tactical system, is it?"

"Momentum! The key is momentum!" west Gu Xi pounded her chest forcefully.

Lu Ren sat in the corner, watching these two clowns, and sighed helplessly. If these two became captains, Karasuno's tactical system would degenerate from the precisely functioning "Chimera" to the chaotic "Wild Boar Charge," dragging the team into an abyss of no return.

Not only the second graders, but the first graders also started to stir and joined the fray.

Hinata Shoyo found a piece of cardboard from somewhere, on which the words "Hyuga Captain Supporters Club" were written in crooked handwriting. He hung it around his neck with a rope and ran around the court.

"Kageyama! Come join my fan club! Once I become captain, I'll allow you to pass me ten more balls every day!" Hinata's eyes lit up as he tried to bribe the setter with special privileges.

Kageyama Tobio snorted and spun the volleyball in his hand rapidly: "Idiot. If anyone should be the setter, it should be me. The setter is the real commander on the court. You're just jumping around with your eyes closed, you can't even remember the rotation positions."

"What did you say! What's wrong with wanting to be the captain?!"

The two started arguing as they talked, which eventually turned into a daily farce of pulling each other's hair.

Kiyosawa Aya pushed open the door of the volleyball hall, carrying several bags of gifts. Seeing this scene, she walked past Hinata and Kageyama, who were rolling on the ground, and sat down next to Riku.

"Is your volleyball team choosing a captain, or a comedian?" Ya-zhi handed a bag of snacks to Lu Ren.

Lu Ren tore open the packaging and popped a potato chip into his mouth: "The NPCs are just having pointless idle animations. Ignore them."

"And what about you?" Ya Zhi leaned closer, carefully observing Lu Ren's expression. "Don't you want to be the captain? Commander-in-Chief. With your performance in the National Tournament, they have no objections if you just ask."

Lu Ren rolled his eyes and crunched on his potato chips: "Troublesome. The team leader has to write summary reports, arrange duty rosters, and deal with the dean of students. I only have to fight monsters, not handle logistics. This kind of thankless job, let whoever wants to do it do it."

Despite saying that, Lu Ren's prestige within the team was already no less than that of Sawamura Daichi. His calm command on the field, and his imaginative yet extremely lethal tactics, earned everyone's respect. As long as he was on the field, Karasuno had a true leader.

This farce lasted for a whole week, severely impacting the efficiency of daily training.

Ukai Shishin couldn't stand it any longer, so one Friday evening, he gathered everyone together.

"Alright, all of you, be quiet!" Coach Wu slammed his notebook heavily on the table, making a crisp "smack" sound.

Tanaka and Nishiya obediently stood up straight, while Hinata and Kageyama quickly loosened each other's collars.

Sawamura Daichi, Sugawara Koji, and Higashimine Asahi also took time off to come over and stand next to the coach, watching this group of energetic juniors.

"Regarding the selection of the new captain, I've discussed it with a few third-year students and Mr. Takeda." Coach Ukai looked around. "It's not about campaigning, it's not about who has the loudest voice, and it's not about who can catch the ball with their face."

Tanaka swallowed hard, Nishiya clenched his fists nervously, and Hinata held his breath.

"Yuan Shita Riki," Coach Ukai read out a name.

The entire room fell silent for two seconds.

Yuanshita Riki froze, pointing to himself with a look of utter astonishment: "Me?"

"Yes, it's you." Sawamura Daichi stepped forward and patted Enshita Riki on the shoulder. "You don't talk much usually, but you always manage to stabilize the situation at crucial moments. Only you can rein in Tanaka and Nishinoya, those two runaway horses."

Yorishita glanced at Tanaka and Nishinoya, who looked unwilling but unable to refute him. Tanaka looked disappointed, but still gave Yorishita a thumbs up. Nishinoya shouted, "Yorishita, it's up to you!"

Yuanshita Riki nodded with a wry smile: "I understand. I will do my best."

"As for the vice-captain..." Coach Wu Yang turned his gaze to Lu Ren, who was yawning in the corner.

Lu Ren noticed the gaze, froze, and an ominous premonition welled up in his heart.

"Lu Ren, you will be the vice-captain."

"Huh?" Lu Ren almost slid off the bench. "Coach, I won't do it. I refuse to work overtime. I can't even be bothered to do my own homework, and you want me to take care of them?"

"It's not up to you." Coach Wu Yang rejected his protest without hesitation. "Your tactical command ability on the field is indispensable to the team. Yuanxia is responsible for daily management and emotional support, while you are responsible for on-field coordination. One is strategic and the other is aggressive, which complements each other perfectly."

"I agree." Tsukishima Hotaru, unusually, cast her vote in favor. "With him around, at least we don't have to worry about tactics turning into a chaotic brawl."

"I agree too!" Hinata Shoyo raised his hands.

Kageyama Tobio nodded in agreement.

Lu Ren looked at the pairs of eyes staring at him; there was no escaping it this time. In the game, this was called a forced, unavoidable quest.

He scratched his head and sighed deeply: "Fine. But let me make it clear beforehand, I'm not responsible for writing reports, creating duty rosters, or mediating your pointless arguments."

Yuan Shili walked over, extended his hand, and said with a gentle smile, "Please take care of me in the future, Vice Captain Lu Ren."

Lu Ren looked at the hand and helplessly grasped it. The warmth from the fingertips felt real.

"It's been a pleasure working with you." Lu Ren forced a smile. "Hopefully this boring lull will end soon. The next boss should be at least as tough as possible."