Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The whistle that ended the second set felt like a lifesaver.

Lu Ren practically dragged himself back to the rest area. In the previous game, in order to cooperate with that "weirdos duo" to cause trouble, he, who originally just wanted to be a "fountain commander" and was just a nobody, was forced to become a support roaming the entire map.

He plopped down on the bench, feeling like all the air had been sucked out of his lungs. Qingze Yazhi handed him a bottle of water, which he took and gulped down, too lazy to even say thank you, simply waving his hand to indicate that he was alive.

Nearby, Daichi Sawamura, Koji Sugawara, and Ryunosuke Tanaka formed a circle, intensely discussing tactics for the third inning.

"Although we won a set, Iwaizumi is a tough opponent." Daichi's voice was a little breathless. "Moreover, their blocking is too adaptable, and Hyuga's baiting effect is weakening in the last few balls."

"As long as Hyuga can still run, they won't dare to completely let him go unguarded." Sugawara drew circles on his tactical board. "The key is whether Riku can keep up with the pace..."

Lu Ren heard his name called, but he chose to play dead. What a joke! If he kept running, he'd die from lactic acid buildup before the other side even had a chance to attack.

Just then, a sharp sound suddenly erupted from the stands on the second floor of the stadium.

"Aaaaaahh ...

The sound was so loud and penetrating that it was practically some kind of sonic weapon. Lu Ren, who was drinking water, trembled and almost spilled the water on his crotch.

The air in the entire stadium seemed to freeze for a second.

Lu Ren wiped the water from his mouth and looked up at the second floor with a blank expression: "What's going on? Is Ximen Chuixue here? Or is Ye Gucheng going to have a showdown at the Forbidden City? With this commotion, anyone who doesn't know better would think that some top idol has suddenly appeared on the scene."

Following the direction in which the girls were waving wildly, Lu Ren turned his gaze to the opposite side of the court.

There was one more person in the group west of Qingye City.

It was a guy wearing a light blue tracksuit, tall and slender, with slightly tousled chestnut hair. He just stood there casually, and the atmosphere around him changed. The Qingcheng team members, who had been somewhat sullen, seemed to find their backbone the moment he appeared, and even straightened their backs a bit.

Lu Ren narrowed his eyes.

Although separated by a net, he could clearly see the red ID that seemed to float above the person's head—the oppressive feeling only a high-level BOSS could give.

"Looks like the easy mode is over." Lu Ren cracked his knuckles as he squeezed the water bottle. "The hell difficulty DLC has loaded."

Across from them, on the coaching bench of Aoba City West.

Coach Irihata looked at the figure that had just walked in and said calmly, "Oikawa, you're back."

"Yes." Oikawa Tetsu had a relaxed smile on his face and stretched his ankles. "The doctor said that as long as it's not overdone, a simple warm-up match is no problem."

Standing beside him, Iwaizumi frowned, staring at the brace on Oikawa's knee: "Didn't I tell you to stay home? What are you doing here?"

"Oh dear, Iwa-chan is so cold." Oikawa Tetsu spread his hands, looking completely innocent. "That 'genius' junior is here. As a senior, how can I not come over and say hello? Besides, I'm practically going to mold at home."

"Enough with the nonsense." Iwaizumi sneered. "If you get hurt again this time, I won't carry you back; I'll just dump you on the side of the road to feed the dogs."

"That's so mean! Iwa-chan, is your heart made of stone?"

As the two were talking, the girls on the second-floor stands screamed again: "Oikawa-senpai! Look this way!"

Oikawa Tetsu immediately turned around, the smug expression he had shown when facing Iwaizumi vanishing instantly, replaced by a standard idol-like smile. He raised his right hand, waved towards the stands, and even made a somewhat greasy "V" sign.

"Aaaaaah—Oikawa-kun is so handsome!!"

The screams grew louder.

On Karasuno's side, Tanaka Ryunosuke's face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot. Pointing at the guy opposite him radiating testosterone, he gritted his teeth and asked, "Kageyama! Who's that pretty boy? I really don't like him! Can't we go over there and smash him right now?"

"I really want to, but that's against the rules." Kageyama Tobio was adjusting his knee pads when he heard Tanaka's words, and his movements visibly stiffened. He looked up, and a rare hint of seriousness, even a touch of...fear, appeared in his usually deadpan eyes.

"He is Toru Oikawa." Kageyama's voice was a little tense. "He is the captain of Aoba Castle West and also the setter."

"Setter?" Hinata Shoyo peeked out curiously. "Like Kageyama?"

Lu Ren added quietly from the side, "No, to be precise, he's currently the best at understanding the concept of 'teamwork' among all the setters on this server. If Kageyama is a single-player gamer who relies on numerical superiority, then this guy is a top-tier guild commander who can buff the entire team. His nickname is—King Jiji."

"What the hell is this 'King Jiji'?" Sugawara couldn't help but complain.

"Don't worry about the details," Lu Ren shrugged. "Anyway, he's a troublesome guy."

Kageyama Tobio took a deep breath and continued, "Oikawa-senpai is an extremely aggressive setter. His offensive prowess is among the best in the entire prefecture. Especially his serve... it's a nightmare."

At this point, Kageyama paused, a complicated expression on his face: "Moreover, his personality is exceptionally bad. Perhaps even worse than Tsukishima's."

Hotaru Tsukishima, who was drinking water nearby, paused and raised an eyebrow: "Hey, I heard you."

Hinata Shoyo's eyes widened in horror: "Even worse than Tsukishima? Then it's on par with a demon king!"

"Yes," Tanaka Ryunosuke said, rubbing his hands together eagerly. "Since he's Kageyama's senior, then he must have graduated first from Kitagawa, right?"

"Yes, he was my senior from junior high school." Kageyama nodded.

Hinata Shoyo counted on his fingers: "The king of the court is Kageyama, so the king's predecessor... is that the Great King?"

"Pfft—" Lu Ren couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Your Majesty? Hyuga, did your history teacher teach you physical education? Your predecessor should be the Supreme King or the Supreme Emperor. Of course, according to my way of addressing him, you can also respectfully call him 'King Jiji'."

"Snapped!"

A scorebook landed squarely on the back of Lu Ren's head.

Qingze Yazhi withdrew her hand, expressionless: "Don't mislead the newbies. Also, if your stamina bar is full, run around more and talk less in the next round."

Lu Ren covered his head, furious but unable to speak out.

Just then, Oikawa Tetsu on the opposite side seemed to have finished warming up and slowly strolled to the net.

Through the net, his gaze landed precisely on Kageyama Tobio. His brown eyes held a smile, but that smile sent chills down one's spine.

"Yo-ho~ Long time no see, Tobio." Oikawa Tetsu's voice was light and airy. "Judging from your expression, how's it going being the king?"

His gaze swept over Hinata Shoyo, and Hinata immediately hid behind Tanaka, only revealing a tuft of orange hair.

Kageyama straightened up, his expression serious: "I learned my serves and blocks by watching my seniors. I don't want to lose today's match."

"Oh?" Oikawa Toru raised an eyebrow. "You've learned it? Tobi-o is still so confident. But some things can't be learned just by watching."

Hinata, trembling behind, tugged at Tanaka's clothes and whispered, "Kageyama's killer serve is so terrifying, he learned it from this guy? Does this guy's serve smash through the ground?"

"Hmph, who cares who he is." Tanaka cracked his knuckles. "Dare to put on airs in front of Karasuno? Whether he's a king or a prince, I'll smash him to pieces!"

Oikawa Tetsu smiled, ignoring Tanaka's provocation. His gaze casually swept across Karasuno's group, as if searching for something.

Suddenly, his gaze fixed on the bench.

Lu Ren was hunching his shoulders, trying to use the broad shadow of the earth in front of him to hide himself. He silently chanted, "You can't see me, you can't see me," wishing he could learn the art of invisibility on the spot.

However, Murphy's Law tells us that what you fear most is what will happen.

Oikawa Tetsu's eyes lit up.

That look in his eyes was like that of a child who had discovered a new toy, or like that of a disciplinary committee member who had caught a truant.

"Oh?" Oikawa Tetsu's voice suddenly rose an octave. "Isn't this... Shiratorizawa's 'Baki Hanma'?"

The entire room fell silent.

All eyes—including Wuye's teammates, Qingcheng's team members, and the girls on the second floor—suddenly focused on Lu Ren.

Lu Ren froze.

He slowly peeked out from behind the ground, a stiff, fake smile on his face, his tone extremely perfunctory: "Huh? Who are you calling? I don't know any Hanma Baki, you've mistaken me for someone else, sir."

As long as I'm not embarrassed, it's others who are embarrassed. Lu Ren decided to continue playing dumb to the end.

"Eh—? Did you mistake me for someone else?" Oikawa Tetsu blinked, a mischievous grin on his face. "But that hairstyle, those dead fish eyes, and that body that looks like it'll collapse after running two steps... It's clearly the 'Hanma-kun' who worked so perfectly with me at the Civic Gymnasium a few days ago."

"You've really mistaken me for someone else." Lu Ren said with a straight face, "My name is Lu Ren, and I'm just an ordinary passerby in Karasuno. As for the Hanma Baki you mentioned, he's probably my twin brother. After all, it's easy to have the same face."

Tanaka and Hinata, standing nearby, looked completely bewildered.

"Baki Hanma?" Hinata scratched his head. "Does Riku-senpai have such a domineering name? It sounds really strong!"

"Strong my ass." Tsukishima sneered from the side. "That's the name of the strongest creature on earth in the manga. This guy is just trying to make himself look good."

Oikawa Tetsu looked at Lu Ren, who was stubbornly refusing to admit his mistake, and his smile deepened.

"Really? Random guy?" Oikawa Tetsu slowly pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket. It was the roster for the practice match. "But I just checked Karasuno's roster, and there doesn't seem to be a name called Baki Hanma on it. But there is a first-year student named Riku Jin, and his position is... opposite hitter?"

He waved the paper in his hand, grinning like a sly fox: "Besides, that 'Fan Ma' was also the one providing backup that day. What a coincidence!"

Lu Ren felt like he was cracking open.

Has this box been opened? Is this what they call doxing?

This Oikawa Tetsu is not only good at basketball, but he's also incredibly cunning! He even went to check the roster!

"Uh..." Lu Ren's forehead was sweating, his brain was working at a rapid pace, trying to find a new excuse.

"And besides," Oikawa Tetsu wasn't going to let him off the hook, continuing to add insult to injury, "Didn't you say you were a first-year student at Shiratorizawa the other day? How come you transferred to Karasuno after only a few days? Were you expelled by Shiratorizawa?"

The lie was exposed in public, and it was such a ridiculously childish lie.

Lu Ren felt the harsh reality of society. He could even feel the disdainful look that Ya Zhi was giving him from behind.

"Ahem." Sawamura Daichi stepped forward at this moment. As the captain, he had to protect his own. "Um, Oikawa-kun, although I don't know what happened, the match is about to start..."

"That's true." Oikawa Tetsu knew when to stop, stuffed the list back into his pocket, and winked at Riku Ren. "But since it's not Shiratorizawa's 'Hanma-kun,' then I won't hold back. Riku Ren-kun, I'm looking forward to seeing your... reckless passes again."

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the finish line, his back view so dashing that it made you want to kick him.

Aoba Castle West's coach, Nobuteru Irihata, watched Oikawa return and reminded him, "Oikawa, don't overdo it. Even though it's a practice match, you still need to take it seriously."

"Hey hey—" Oikawa Tetsu replied casually, but when he turned to face the court, the smile in his eyes had completely disappeared, replaced by a cold focus.

On the Karasuno side.

Lu Ren slumped in his chair, feeling like he had already experienced social death.