Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The moment they stepped out of the stadium, the setting sun cast long shadows of the two of them, resembling some kind of texture with a loading error.

The heavy doors of the volleyball hall behind him slammed shut, shutting out the smell of sweat and the passion of Salonpas that filled the air. Lu Ren let out a long breath, a breath that seemed to shatter the "unfathomable" persona he had maintained in front of Sawamura Daichi.

He instantly slumped his shoulders, reverting to that languid state as if his spine had been removed.

"You're being too reckless."

Kiyosawa Aya walked beside him, her fingers twirling the strap of her backpack, her tone a mix of complaint and helplessness. "You clearly don't even know the rules of volleyball, yet you dared to accept that captain's challenge. It's 3-on-3, not child's play. That guy named Kageyama serves like a cannonball; that guy named Hinata, although he looks a bit dull, is incredibly fast. What were you doing up there on Saturday? To be a moving target?"

"This is called 'forced plot triggering'."

Lu Ren put his hands behind his head, his gaze drifting to the distant, orange-red telephone poles, and said casually, "Since the system... no, since fate has slapped this main quest in my face, refusing it will cost me a lot of reputation points. Besides..."

He paused, a playful smile curving his lips.

"That captain named Sawamura, although he seems like a nice guy, has that 'I'll kill you if you don't agree' aura that's practically the standard setup for a boss. If I had backed down back then, I probably would have had a hard time getting by in this dungeon—I mean, in this school."

"That's all nonsense." Qingze Yazhi rolled her eyes, kicking a pebble with her shoe. "So what are you planning to do? There are only three days left until Saturday. Your volleyball skills are probably just at the level of 'knowing the ball is round,' right?"

"Three days is enough to complete a medium-sized DLC." Lu Ren yawned.

The two walked down the long slope of the Sakashita Shopping Street.

The shops along the roadside gradually lit up, and the aroma of fried meat patties mingled with the noise of students leaving school, creating a unique atmosphere of everyday life in this large-scale online game called "Real Life Online".

"Lu Ren".

"Um?"

"What do you want to do in the future?"

Qingze Yazhi suddenly slowed her pace. She looked at Lu Ren's profile, which appeared exceptionally handsome in the sunset yet always exuded an air of nonchalance, and softened her voice, "I mean, if you weren't playing video games, is there anything you particularly want to do? Like getting into a good university, finding a good job, or… really playing volleyball well?"

Lu Ren stopped in his tracks.

He looked up, his gaze passing through the tangled web of power lines and landing on the sky, which was now tinged with a deep blue. A few crows flew by, cawing as they returned to their nests.

"have no idea."

Lu Ren answered honestly.

"This game—I mean life—has too much freedom, which makes you unsure of what to do. There's no clear main quest list, no auto-pathfinding, and no completion rewards." He shrugged. "It's like an unfinished open world left behind by a development team that abandoned the project halfway through."

He looked down at his palms.

"Just slowly fill the progress bar like this, be a passerby NPC, occasionally give some hints when the protagonist passes by, or shout '666' a couple of times on the side, it's actually not bad."

Qingze Yazhi looked at him quietly.

She knew Lu Ren too well. Although he said he wanted to be a nobody and drift through life, he couldn't hide his deep-seated desire for "high-difficulty challenges." He just hadn't found the goal that would ignite his "desire to conquer."

"It's okay."

Qingze Yazhi suddenly smiled. The setting sun reflected a warm, golden light in her eyes.

"Anyway, as long as I'm with you, I'm fine with any kind of life."

She stood with her hands behind her back, leaning slightly forward like a lithe cat. "Even if you're just a random NPC, I'm still the one who's responsible for giving you quests, buying you equipment, and reviving you after you die... well, a super support NPC!"

Lu Ren was stunned for a moment.

He turned his head and looked at the smiling young girl in front of him. A gentle breeze ruffled her hair, and the beauty mark at the corner of her eye looked particularly vivid in the afterglow.

The frame rate of this video is quite high.

The graphics card is getting hot.

Lu Ren looked away, coughed to cover it up, but his lips involuntarily twisted to one side, revealing his signature, punchable smile.

"Yeah?"

He raised an eyebrow, his tone becoming flippant. "Don't be so sure of yourself, Kiyosawa. After all, despite my terrible personality, I'm quite popular among certain groups. What if one day a hidden heroine suddenly appears and wants to start a side story with me..."

*Smack.*

A crisp sound.

Before Lu Ren could finish his harsh words, his right ear suffered a devastating blow.

"Ouch! Ouch! It broke! It's broken! My ear's durability is going to drop!"

Kiyosawa Yazhi skillfully grabbed his ear and spun it clockwise, her face still bearing that gentle yet chilling smile: "You can try it. Let's see if your hidden heroine arrives faster, or my 'Physical Correction Fist'."

"I was wrong! I was just kidding! You're the only female lead! The absolute number one! Let go!"

"snort."

Qingze Yazhi released her grip, clapping her hands dismissively. "Stop talking nonsense. The bookstore is just ahead. Didn't you say you wanted a travel guide?"

The two playfully wandered into a small shop called "Sakashita Bookstore".

The shop wasn't large, but the bookshelves were packed full. The air was filled with the smell of paper and ink.

Lu Ren rubbed his reddened ears and headed straight for the sports arena. His eyes instantly sharpened, like a max-level character picking out a powerful weapon in an equipment shop.

My fingers quickly traced the spine of the book.

"Haikyuu!! Basic Introduction". Too basic, pass.

"How to Become a Top Offensive Scorer". Too melodramatic, Pass.

"Volleyball Tactics Illustrated and Practical Analysis." This is quite interesting.

Lu Ren pulled out a thick tactics book and then took out a book called "Three-Day Crash Course: A Detailed Explanation of Volleyball Rules".

"Just reading books isn't enough; you also need real-world video recordings."

He turned and walked to the audio-visual rental area next door, rummaged through a pile of dusty discs for a while, and finally pulled out a disc - "Spring High Volleyball Classic Battle Highlights".

That's all.

Lu Ren slammed two books and a CD onto the counter with the same nonchalant motion as if he were slapping two gold bricks.

The shop owner, an elderly man wearing reading glasses, slowly scanned the QR code: "That'll be three thousand two hundred yen in total."

"Okay."

Lu Ren put his hand into his pocket.

Explore.

Explore further.

His expression froze.

His pockets were completely empty; not even a coin jingled.

The awkward feeling of "being about to buy a top-tier item but finding that you don't have enough gold coins" instantly shattered half of his previous momentum.

He turned his head and looked at Qingze Yazhi, who was standing at the door flipping through a fashion magazine.

"Um... Ya-zhi."

Lu Ren rubbed his hands together, a fawning smile plastered on his face. "Could I borrow some start-up capital? Consider it a debt I owe you. If I lose any equipment later, I'll give you half."

Qingze Yazhi closed the magazine, looking at him with a half-smile: "Where's your allowance? Your aunt just gave it to you the day before yesterday, right?"

"This..." Lu Ren's eyes darted around, "That was due to force majeure."

"to be honest."

"...Call of Duty 5 is on sale." Lu Ren's voice trailed off. "That WWII-themed FPS masterpiece, the current physics engine is amazing, and you can even drive tanks... I just couldn't resist."

"So you spent all your real-world food money on virtual games just to fight Japanese invaders?"

Kiyoshi Aya sighed, walked to the counter, took out a few bills from the wallet with a cute cat pattern and handed them to the shopkeeper.

"Thank you for your help."

Taking the change, Qingze Yazhi shoved the bag of books into Lu Ren's arms.

"You'd better actually use these things," she said through gritted teeth. "This is my money for the limited-edition pudding next week. If you lose badly on Saturday, or if these books end up just being used to cover instant noodles..."

"rest assured."

Lu Ren held the book, his eyes sharpening again. He glanced at the "Tactical Diagrams" in the bag, as if looking at a strategy guide about to be dissected by him.

"Since you've paid for it—even if it's your money—then this is paid DLC content."

Lu Ren pushed open the bookstore door and stepped into the deepening night.

"For hardcore gamers, as long as they have a strategy guide, there is no boss they can't defeat."

Even if that BOSS is a genius who can kill with his serve.