Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

In games, time is usually something that can be skipped with a click of "skip" or by watching a black screen cutscene. But in this real-world online game without a fast-forward button, Lu Ren has no choice but to grit his teeth and run those repetitive daily tasks.

Memories from Tuesday to Friday are like compressed low-resolution textures.

The morning was a passive "listening" session. Lu Ren sat in the back row, his eyes focused on a virtual point between the blackboard and the teacher, his brain automatically filtering out the complex Japanese grammar and mathematical formulas, retaining only the frequency of the bell. The afternoon was a forced physical exertion session—volleyball club training. Under the watchful eyes of Kiyosawa Aya, who seemed to see right through his slacking off, Lu Ren was forced to roll and catch the ball on the hard wooden floor, turning what was supposed to be "meditation time" to replenish his stamina bar into a hellish scroll of sweat-drenched exertion.

Nighttime was his only solace. Although Ya-zhi had a sharp tongue, her massage skills were indeed at the level of a top-tier physician. As his muscle soreness subsided, Lu Ren could always hear the notification sound indicating that his HP was fully restored in his half-awake state.

And so, the pre-battle storyline for the "Saturday" boss battle was finally completed.

The morning air was a bit chilly, and a slightly old minibus was parked at the entrance of Karasuno High School. Mr. Takeda was standing by the door, holding a roll call list, and like a responsible NPC guide, he was calling everyone to get on the bus.

Lu Ren yawned, tears welling in his eyes, and slowly made his way into the car. He had just found a window seat when he saw an orange head in the row in front of him shaking at an unnatural frequency.

Hinata Shoyo's face was deathly pale. It wasn't just ordinary discomfort; it was more like a screen flickering caused by an overheated graphics card. He exuded a sense of utter despair, as if he were about to crash at any moment.

"Hey, little one." Lu Ren leaned over and waved his hand in front of his face. "Look at that face of yours, anyone who didn't know better would think you were going to the execution ground. Motion sickness?"

Hinata jerked his neck back, stiffly turned his head, and forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: "N-no...no! I'm fine! I'm very...fine!"

His voice was trembling, and his teeth were chattering.

Tanaka Ryunosuke, who was standing next to him, tossed his luggage onto the overhead rack and casually leaned over: "Oh? Hinata, are you nervous? Don't worry, don't worry, your seniors are here!"

"I...I'm not nervous!" Hinata practically shouted, but the volume seemed more like an attempt to cover up his guilt.

Lu Ren shook his head and shrank back into his seat. This wasn't just not nervous; it was clearly a sign that his stress level was off the charts and his Sanity was about to plummet to zero.

The car started, the engine's roar carrying a slight vibration throughout the cabin. The scenery outside the window began to rush past, changing from familiar streets to rolling fields and distant mountains. Sunlight streamed in through the glass, warming the cabin cozy.

For Lu Ren, there was only one option in this situation: catch up on sleep.

He adjusted the back of his chair, trying to find a comfortable angle to recline. Beside him, Qingze Yazhi was flipping through a notebook filled with densely packed data from Qingye City West.

"This kind of weather is perfect for sleeping," Lu Ren sighed lazily.

Ya-zhi didn't even look up, her pen scratching on the paper: "Where you are you, are there any days that aren't suitable for sleeping?"

"Of course there's a reason for it," Lu Ren said with a straight face, spouting nonsense. "Spring brings drowsiness, autumn brings fatigue, summer brings naps, and winter brings hibernation. All things considered, the only time of year that's not suitable for sleeping is when you're playing games at night."

Yazhi put down her pen, turned to look at him, her gaze as if she were looking at a hopeless good-for-nothing. She sighed, turned her face to look out the window: "Save your twisted logic for Oikawa Tetsu; see if he laughs so hard his stomach hurts that he misses his serve."

Mentioning Oikawa Tetsu instantly dispelled half of Lu Ren's drowsiness. That name was now like a Damocles' sword hanging over his head, ready to fall and kill him at any moment.

"Don't mention that name, it's bad luck," Lu Ren muttered, pulling his coat over his head in an attempt to escape reality.

However, the noise from the front row made it impossible for him to fall asleep.

Hinata Shoyo's incessant chatter echoed like a demonic murmur throughout the train car. One moment it was "I'm not nervous," the next it was "I need to go to the bathroom too," and then it was "What if I make a mistake on my serve?"

As the car entered the city of Miyagi Prefecture, the road conditions became somewhat complicated, with traffic lights and frequent braking. Each time the car braked, the resulting swaying caused Hinata's face to turn even paler.

Finally, the bus slowly drove into the gate of Aoba Josai High School.

"We're here! We're here!" Tanaka stood up excitedly, ready to grab his luggage. "Hinata, stop spacing out, get off... Waaaaaah!!"

A scream shattered the tranquility of the carriage.

Lu Ren pulled off the coat covering his head and witnessed the horrific scene.

With a slam on the brakes, the car came to a smooth stop. But Hinata Shoyo's stomach clearly didn't have that kind of braking system. The tension and motion sickness that had been building up all the way overwhelmed him in that instant.

"vomit--"

A rainbow-like parabola struck Tanaka Ryunosuke precisely in front of him.

To be precise, it was Tanaka's crotch.

Time seemed to stand still for three seconds.

Everyone on the bus was stunned.

Tanaka remained in the position of reaching for his bag, looking down at his crotch, which was instantly soaked and smelly. His expression changed from excitement to blankness, and finally to horror.

"Hinata!!!"

Lu Ren was stunned for a moment, then burst into a thunderous laugh.

"Hahaha! Absolutely amazing!" Lu Ren pointed at Tanaka, laughing so hard he slapped his thigh. "Tanaka-senpai, your look is so avant-garde! Anyone who didn't know better would think you'd peed your pants!"

The location, the humidity, the color—no matter how you look at it, it looks like the product of an adult losing control of their bladder in extreme fear.

Tanaka's face turned a deep purplish-red. He frantically tried to wipe himself, but didn't know where to start. In despair, he could only shout, "Paper! Does anyone have paper? And pants! Where are my spare pants?!"

Chaos erupted in the carriage. Sawamura Daichi, his face dark, roared for order, Sugawara Koji frantically searched for tissues, while the culprit, Hinata Shoyo, was already out of his mind, foaming at the mouth and slumped in his seat.

Ten minutes later, in the parking lot.

Ryunosuke Tanaka changed into spare sweatpants, carrying what looked like a "biological weapon" in a plastic bag, with a look of utter despair.

Hinata shrank to one side, looking several sizes smaller, and kept bowing, saying, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Tanaka-senpai! I...I..."

"Alright, alright!" Tanaka looked annoyed, but seeing Hinata's expression as if he was about to commit seppuku, he waved his hand. "Luckily I brought spare pants, otherwise I would have had to wear my underwear into the Aoki Stadium today, and then I would really be famous in Miyagi Prefecture."

Lu Ren leaned against the car, still savoring the scene from earlier, unable to suppress a smile: "Actually, streaking isn't so bad. Maybe it can inflict a psychological attack on Qingcheng and directly declare us the winner."

"Shut up!" Tanaka glared at Lu Ren, then turned around and patted Hyuga hard on the back. "Don't worry about it! It's just that you're not feeling well! Just do your best in the match later!"

His words only made things worse, because his words of comfort seemed to pull Hinata's already tense nerves even further.

"Compared to...the...competition...performance..." Hinata's pupils dilated, and he muttered these words, his face visibly turning pale again.

"That's right!" Tanaka, completely oblivious to the atmosphere, gave a thumbs up. "Today's fast break depends on you! Show them what Karasuno is all about! Don't mess it up!"

This isn't encouragement; it's adding pressure to a pressure cooker.

Hinata's body stiffened like a board, making strange "gurgling" sounds, then she suddenly turned around, covered her mouth, and ran wildly towards the nearest toilet.

"Huh? Why did that guy run away again?" Tanaka scratched his bald head, looking bewildered.

Sugawara Koji sighed and rubbed his forehead: "Tanaka... that's putting pressure on you, it's definitely putting pressure on you."

"Huh? I was encouraging him!"

On the other side, Kageyama Tobio watched Hyuga's fleeing figure, the oppressive atmosphere around him almost solidifying. His knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists, and his usually fierce face now contorted into a grotesque villainous boss.

"That idiot..." Kageyama gritted his teeth, the voice squeezed out from between his teeth, "He's utterly disgraceful. He's already acting like this before even stepping onto the field. I'll go punch him awake, give him a physical reboot and he'll probably be fine."

As he spoke, he strode toward the toilet, his aggressive manner suggesting he was going to seek revenge.

"Wait! Kageyama!" Sugawara exclaimed in alarm, grabbing Kageyama by the waist. "Violence is forbidden! Hyuga isn't the type to calm down after being hit! You'll kill him!"

"How will you know if you don't try!" Kageyama continued to struggle, his eyes fierce. "That guy's processor is completely frozen right now; we have to force a shutdown and then restart it!"

"What kind of repair method is this?!" Sugawara was almost unable to stop this bull-like creature and turned to shout, "Tanaka! Come help! Don't let him charge in!"

Tanaka threw down his dirty pants and rushed over to grab Kageyama by the neck: "Calm down, Kageyama! I also think that kid deserves a beating, but if we hurt him now, we'll be one less person!"

"Let me go! Just make him feel more pain than tension!"

"What kind of twisted logic is that!"

Watching the three people wrestling over there, Lu Ren stood under the shade of a tree, hands in his pockets, with a look of schadenfreude on his face.

"It's so full of energy!" he exclaimed.

Ya-zhi stood next to him and coldly added, "I hope you'll be just as energetic when you see Oikawa Tetsu later."

Lu Ren's expression froze instantly.

Almost forgot, compared to Hinata's tension, there was an epic disaster mission on his side called "Revealing Identity" that was counting down.

He looked up at the imposing teaching building in the west of Qingye City and silently wondered: Is it too late to pretend to be sick and run away now?