Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

In the newly reclaimed area of ​​Tokyo Bay, a massive, silver-white domed building reflects a metallic sheen in the sunlight. This is a recently completed multi-purpose stadium, and even the surrounding greenery exudes the smell of fresh paint mixed with mud.

Hinata Shoyo, carrying his signature large sports bag, jogged from the subway station entrance. He looked up at the towering glass curtain wall and slowed down.

"Who on earth chose a place like this to meet us..." Hinata muttered, reaching into his pocket for the black invitation with gold lettering. Besides the time and address, there wasn't even a signature.

"Hey, you're blocking the way, you idiot."

A familiar, irritating voice came from behind. Hinata turned around to see Kageyama Tobio, dressed in a black tracksuit and carrying a water bottle, frowning at him. The two had just finished a fierce five-game battle in the V-League, and their muscle soreness hadn't completely subsided yet.

"Kageyama! What are you doing here?" Hinata jumped back a step.

"I walked over." Kageyama waved the same black invitation in his hand. "I was planning to do extra training at the club, but the coach said someone had asked for leave for me, so he kicked me out."

"Me too! The captain insisted that I be here on time today." Hinata leaned over and compared the two cards; they were exactly the same.

The two exchanged a glance, neither able to figure it out, and simply walked side by side toward the venue's VIP entrance. The automatic glass doors slid open, releasing a blast of cold air. Walking down the long corridor, their sneakers made a crisp, scraping sound on the gleaming hardwood floors.

My vision suddenly opened up.

Inside the internationally standardized main stadium, the lights were blazing. The competition net had already been set up in the center, while the sidelines, which should have been empty, were now as noisy as a market.

Hinata stood there, stunned.

On the left side of the court, Daichi Sawamura was patting Ryunosuke Tanaka on the shoulder, scolding him for carelessly stepping on the sidelines of the new floor; Koji Sugawara was laughing and trying to smooth things over. Yu Nishitani and Kotaro Bokuto were gesturing wildly, their noise echoing under the dome.

On the right side of the field, Oikawa Tetsu was pointing his finger at Ushijima Wakatoshi and protesting loudly. Iwaizumi Hajime kicked Oikawa in the shin without hesitation, while Kindaichi and Kunimi Hideki pretended not to recognize their senior. Kuroo Tetsuro was huddled next to Tsukishima Hotaru, chattering incessantly. Tsukishima pushed up his glasses, his face full of disgust.

Otokoma, Fukutani, Shiratorizawa, Aoba Josai... all the rising stars of Japanese volleyball, none of them were wearing their club uniforms today. Instead, they were all dressed in a variety of casual clothes, crammed together in this expensive new stadium.

"Shoyo!" Kozume Kenma sat in the shadows under the referee's chair, holding a Switch in his hands, and raised his chin in this direction.

"Grinding! Everyone's here!" Hinata ran over, his eyes shining brightly.

Kageyama followed behind, his gaze sweeping across the entire area before finally settling on Miya Yu and Hoshino Kōrai not far away. The air was thick with a growing sense of unease.

Just then, a piercing microphone test beep suddenly came from the surround sound system at the top of the stadium. The entire venue fell silent instantly, and everyone looked up in unison.

On the edge of the VIP stands on the second floor, Lu Ren, dressed in a well-tailored dark gray bespoke suit, leaned against the railing with one hand and held a microphone in the other. Qing Ze Yazhi sat on the sofa behind him, sipping a glass of iced lemon tea.

"Test, test. Very good, it seems this multi-million dollar sound system wasn't a waste of money." Lu Ren's voice echoed throughout the huge venue, carrying his unique, confident tone.

"Lu Ren!" Hinata waved his arms.

Tanaka whistled loudly from below: "The big boss really has a grand entrance! Why did he bring us all here? Is he going to treat us to barbecue again?"

"We just had barbecue the day before yesterday. Are your stomachs bottomless pits?" Lu Ren switched the microphone from his left hand to his right and slowly walked down the spiral staircase along the edge of the stands. "I invited everyone here today to take care of some important business."

He walked to the center of the court, his leather shoes clicking on the floor. He was surrounded by active professional players who were over 1.9 meters tall, but he didn't feel awkward at all. Instead, he habitually touched his chin.

"I've been in the business world for the past few years, looking at reports and discussing mergers and acquisitions every day. To be honest, it's quite boring." Lu Ren glanced at the group of people. "The day before yesterday, I was sitting in the private room watching you guys play all five games, and I suddenly had an idea."

Oikawa Tetsu crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow: "Boss Lu's ideas usually come with the misfortune of others. So, what torturous idea have you come up with this time?"

"Don't put it so harshly, Oikawa-senpai." Lu Ren smiled. "In the V League, you're limited by club contracts, foreign player quotas, and tactical systems. What I want to see, the league can't provide."

He snapped his fingers. The large screen at the top of the stadium instantly lit up, displaying a huge overhead view of a volleyball court, with Team A and Team B divided into two sections on the left and right.

"All of Japan's new generation of volleyball players, the highest-level NPCs in my eyes, are here today." Lu Ren's tone rose, the excitement of a player bursting forth. "So, I rented this venue and bought out your time today. No coaches, no club managers, no media. Only volleyball."

Kotaro Bokuto's eyes widened instantly like saucers: "Oh! Oh! Is this going to be a super free-for-all?!"

"To be precise, it's a test of rebuilding max-level characters." Lu Ren pulled a tactical board from his pocket and uncapped a marker. "I've wanted to do this for a while. I'll assign the lineups, and we'll all have a great game. The winning team will get all their protective gear upgraded for the next season; the losing team will stay and mop the floor of this 12,000-square-meter arena clean."

The entire stadium erupted in uproar. Mopping a 12,000 square meter floor? This was even more painful than losing the game.

"Interesting." Kuroo Tetsuro stretched his neck. "Then hurry up and read out the list, great director."

Lu Ren looked down at the tactics board: "Team A. Setter: Oikawa Tetsu."

Oikawa Tetsu made a V sign, which drew a cold snort from Iwaizumi Hajime.

"Backup, Ushijima Wakatoshi."

Just a second ago, Oikawa Tetsu was smug, but now he froze: "Wait! Why did I pass the ball to the Mavericks?! I refuse! I'd rather die than be on the same team as this guy who can't read the room!"

Ushijima Wakatoshi looked at Oikawa expressionlessly: "Oikawa, as long as you pass the ball and it's a good shot, I'll score."

"Shut up! It's this kind of self-righteous tone that's most infuriating!" Oikawa snapped angrily.

Lu Renquan pretended not to hear and continued reading: "Main attacker, Kotaro Bokuto".

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Bokuto jumped three feet high on the spot, "Oikawa! Give me the highest and coolest ball!"

"Setter: Gong You."

Gong You paused for a moment, then pointed at himself: "Huh? Me and Oikawa-senpai are both on Team A? Who's starting setter?"

Oikawa Tetsu immediately turned his head: "Of course it's me."

Gong You sneered: "Sorry, given my current form, I'm not going to give up possession of the ball."

Lu Ren tapped the whiteboard with his pen: "How you arrange the players is your own business. We've played the double setter system before. Continue. Middle blocker, Kuroo Tetsuji. Libero... Is Komori Gen here too?"

At the back of the crowd, Gu Senyuan, wearing a bright yellow tracksuit, also raised his hand: "Here he is! Boss Lu has a good eye."

When Team A's lineup was announced, Sawamura Daichi and Sugawara Koji exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in each other's eyes. Oikawa, Miyayu, Ushijima, Bokuto, Kuroo, and Komori. It was practically a monstrous patchwork of aggression, tactical cunning, and absolute defense forcibly mixed together.

"Next up is Team B." Lu Ren turned around and looked at the other group of people.

"Main attacker, Hinata Shoyo."

Hinata immediately stood up straight and replied loudly, "Yes!"

"Setter: Toshio Kageyama."

Kageyama walked over to Hinata, and the two habitually kept a half-meter distance between them, giving each other a disdainful pout.

"Main attacker, Hoshino Hikaru."

As Hoshina walked out, she deliberately straightened her back as she passed Hinata. Hinata, not to be outdone, stood on tiptoe. Before the two "little giants" even started fighting, their eyes had already been locked in a fierce battle of wits in mid-air.

"Main attacker, Sakusho Seishin."

Wearing a black mask, Sakuya emerged from the corner, her brow furrowed as she stared at the gleaming floor: "Has the ventilation system here been sterilized? There are too many people."

"Don't worry, we just did a thorough disinfection last night," Lu Ren reassured him, then read out the last name, "Main attacker, Kiryu Hachi."

The burly Kiryu Hachi walked to Team B's camp and nodded steadily.

After the list was read out, the venue was quiet for a few seconds.

"Wait a minute." Hotaru Tsukishima keenly noticed the problem. "Team B, including the vacant libero position, only has five players now. Moreover, they're all attacking players; there's not even a proper middle blocker. Where's the defensive system?"

"Not bad at math, Tsukishima." Lu Ren casually tossed the tactical board to Yamaguchi Tadashi on the sidelines, then reached out and unbuttoned his suit jacket.

He took off his expensive coat and casually tossed it towards the second-floor stands. Yazhi caught it steadily and tossed down a pre-prepared sports bag as well.

Lu Ren caught the bag, unzipped it, took out a black sleeveless sports vest and put it on, then changed into volleyball shoes.

"Team B is missing a backup player, who can also act as a tactical leader." Lu Ren stood up and stretched his ankles as he tied his shoelaces. He looked at the group of people in front of him, all of whom looked completely bewildered.

"That vacancy is mine."

The venue was deathly silent for a full ten seconds.

"Huh?!" Tanaka Ryunosuke was the first to exclaim, "Lu Ren, you're going to play? Didn't you retire years ago to become a boss?!"

Gong You whistled loudly: "Boss Lu, this is a real professional bureau. Can your office-bound body handle my jumping hair? Don't strain your back and then we'll have to pay for it as a work injury."

Lu Ren didn't get angry when faced with the questions. He walked to the volleyball cart on the sidelines and casually picked up a volleyball.

The volleyball spun twice between my fingertips. My touch was a little rusty, but my muscle memory was quickly returning.

"Don't misunderstand." Lu Ren took the ball and walked to Team B's half of the court. He looked at the group of monsters on the other side of the net, their hands clenched in anticipation, and his tone revealed a long-lost arrogance.

"I haven't really touched a ball much these past few years. But, in order to pay you guys' salaries and get sponsorships, I watch your game videos three times every night before bed. Your spiking habits, jumping timing, and trajectory selection have been rehearsed tens of thousands of times in my mind."

Lu Ren slammed the ball to the ground. The volleyball bounced heavily, and he caught it in his hand.

"I've never gotten tired of this kind of entertainment: sending self-proclaimed geniuses back to the beginner's village." Lu Ren pointed to Oikawa Tetsu on the other side of the net. "Especially Oikawa-senpai, that serve you practiced in Argentina had such an obvious flaw."

The smile on Oikawa Tetsu's face vanished instantly, replaced by an extremely dangerous competitive spirit. He cracked his neck, the bones making a popping sound: "Little Riku, your mouth is as annoying as ever. If I don't beat you until you're crying and begging for a beating today, I'm not Oikawa Tetsu."

Ushijima Wakatoshi walked to the net and looked at Lu Ren: "You are a very good tactician. But in volleyball, ultimately it depends on strength and height."

"Let's give it a try." Lu Ren turned to look at Kageyama and Hyuga beside him. "Hey, you two. Haven't played a Chimera strategy in ages? Are your brains still rusty?"

Kageyama Tobio reached out and twisted his wrist, his gaze sharp as a knife: "As long as you can keep up with my toss, Senior Riku Ren."

Hinata Shoyo jumped twice on the spot, his volleyball shoes screeching against the floor. He grinned, trembling with excitement: "I can fly anytime!"

Hoshino, Sakusho, and Kiryu Hachiya each took their positions. Team B's lineup was extremely unbalanced, consisting entirely of sharp spears, and Riku Ren was the central system that would use tactics to weave these spears into a meat grinder.

Off the field, Daichi Sawamura voluntarily walked onto the referee's platform and picked up the whistle. Koji Sugawara and Asahi Higashimine served as assistant referees.

"What a bunch of immature lunatics." Dadi shook his head helplessly as he watched the two groups on the field, locked in a tense standoff. But his hand holding the whistle was also covered in a thin layer of sweat because of this rare spectacle.

"beep--"

A crisp whistle rang out in the new stadium in Tokyo Bay, breaking the tension in the air.

Team A serves. Oikawa Toru takes the ball and retreats to the baseline.

Lu Ren stood in the back row, keeping his center of gravity low. He looked at the familiar figures in front of him, listening to the unique echo of volleyball shoes rubbing against the floor, and his blood began to rush.

Game version updated.

The hidden boss returns at max level.

Main quest: Slaughter all these monsters.

"Come on," Lu Ren muttered to himself, staring at the volleyball in mid-air. "Let me see just how much your numbers have improved over the past few years."