Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The setting sun turned the asphalt road outside the gymnasium a fiery red, and a hint of spring chill lingered in the air. The old minibus from Karasuno High School was parked by the roadside, its engine emitting a dull rumble like an old cow ruminating, and its exhaust pipe sputtering white smoke.

Everyone carried their sports bags, their steps a little unsteady. The dopamine from winning was rapidly fading, replaced by a feeling of utter exhaustion. Hinata Shoyo was still savoring the feel of that last shot, his steps slightly unsteady, occasionally waving his arms at the air.

Daichi Sawamura walked at the back of the group, not in a hurry to get on the bus. He looked at his teammates, who were still immersed in joy, but his brow was not completely relaxed.

"Although Professor Takeda's words were very eloquent, and the atmosphere just now was quite exciting..."

Daichi stopped, his tone hardening, his voice just loud enough for everyone to hear, "But honestly, if today were the fully-fledged Aoba Johsai, if we were facing Oikawa Toru who started serving from the very first game, what would the outcome have been?"

These words were like a bucket of cold water, poured directly over the heads of Hyuga and Tanaka, who were still grinning foolishly.

Lu Ren slung his backpack over his shoulder. He knew the outcome, of course. If Oikawa Tetsu played the entire game, with Karasuno's current defensive stats, he would most likely have his armor pierced by those unreasonable serves. Today's victory was, in a sense, a small reward from the system for newbie players, or perhaps a defensive immunity due to the opponent's underestimation of him.

"Our team has one fatal flaw," Daichi clenched his fist. "Receiving the ball. Against the top teams in the county, our defense is as fragile as paper."

"As expected of the commander, he sees things very clearly."

A light, airy voice suddenly came from the shadows at the school gate.

Everyone looked up abruptly.

Oikawa Tetsu leaned against the iron railing of the school gate, wearing his white and green sports jacket, twirling a volleyball in his hand. He hadn't changed back into his school uniform, and it looked like he was deliberately waiting for someone there.

"Your Majesty!" Hinata shrank back in fright and hid behind Tanaka Ryunosuke.

Tanaka Ryunosuke's reaction was almost reflexive. His chin jerked forward, his face instantly contorting into an extremely ferocious "delinquent look," and a low growl, like that of a wild dog threatening its territory, escaped his throat: "Huh? What did you say? Want to fight? Huh?!"

"Waaah—"

Hinata poked his head out from behind Tanaka, trying his best to mimic Tanaka's expression, scrunching his features together and baring his teeth as he let out a completely intimidating shout: "Want to fight! Huh?!"

Even the usually mild-mannered Yamaguchi Tadashi was affected, and he tried to put on a serious face, standing next to Tsukishima to make himself look more unapproachable.

Lu Ren watched from the side, rubbing his temples. The scene was too beautiful; it was like a max-level boss passing through a newbie village, only to be surrounded and snarled at by a bunch of level-one monsters.

Oikawa Tetsu was amused by the commotion. He waved his hand, looking relaxed, and said, "Don't be so defensive, little one. I'm not here to cause trouble."

His gaze passed over Tanaka and landed on Hinata, a signature, enigmatic smile playing on his lips.

"That last touch, and that unreasonable back-row attack, were really impressive. The speed and explosiveness of that move even surprised me."

Hinata froze, his previously fierce expression instantly crumbling, his cheeks flushing red, and he looked like a puppy caught being praised, completely at a loss for words: "R-Really?"

"but--"

Oikawa Toru changed the subject, his gaze cooling slightly. "In the next official match, I'll go all out from the start. You haven't seen my passing skills today yet. Of course, I'll continue to work on my serve."

Hinata shivered.

Lu Ren sighed inwardly. Is this the oppressive feeling of a top-tier character in this version? In the last game, Oikawa Tetsu almost broke Tsukishima's mentality with just his serves. If he had started bombarding Tsukishima from the first game, coupled with his perfect coordination with Iwaizumi, Karasuno's ship would probably have sunk long ago.

"Your offense is indeed very interesting, and that haphazard style of play is quite destructive." Oikawa Tetsu straightened up, abandoning his previous nonchalance. "But volleyball is, after all, a sport where the ball can't touch the ground. Without a solid first pass, even the strongest offense is just a castle in the air. Once the receiving collapses, your quick attacks will become like firecrackers that go silent."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, as if conducting some kind of combat capability assessment.

"Besides, I'm not the only one with a strong serve in the prefecture. The high school league preliminaries are coming up soon, and if you don't want to go home in the first round, you'd better give it your all."

After saying that, Oikawa Tetsu suddenly raised his hand, pointing his index finger straight at Kageyama Tobio in the crowd.

Kageyama, who had been staring blankly at the ground, suddenly looked up after feeling the gaze. It was as if two equally intense competitive desires were colliding in the air.

"Little Fei Xiong." The smile on Oikawa Tetsu's face completely disappeared, replaced by a coldness that seemed to declare war. "I will, in the official match, as a setter, completely crush you, my adorable junior."

Kageyama did not back down. He straightened his back, his eyes burning with black flames: "I couldn't ask for more."

Lu Ren took a step closer to Kageyama and whispered, "Hey, has your ex-senior always been like this? His lines are way too childish, especially the emphasis on 'cute junior.' Isn't he being a bit too immature?"

Kageyama stared straight ahead, his voice stiff: "Oikawa-senpai... has always been like this. He has a terrible personality."

Before Lu Ren could finish eating this melon, Oikawa Tetsu's finger drew an arc in the air and stopped precisely in front of Lu Ren's nose.

"And you, that junior named Lu Ren."

Lu Ren raised an eyebrow: "Am I considered a cute junior?"

"No, you're the annoying one." Oikawa Tetsu said with a forced smile, "Although your basketball IQ is high and your anticipation is disgusting, your fundamentals are so bad it's unbearable to watch. That kind of opportunistic way of receiving the ball has its limits in the face of absolute power and speed."

Lu Ren shrugged. He'd been seen through.

Indeed, his current ball-catching relies entirely on data models and predictions. If he encounters an opponent like Oikawa who can instantly change the ball's trajectory, or an opponent with strength that ignores technique, his "cheat code" will fail. It's like playing a fighting game; you predict the opponent's move, but because your character's defense is too low, you'll still lose health even if you block it, or even have your guard broken.

"Practice hard." Oikawa Tetsu withdrew his hand, tucking the volleyball between his waistband. "Receiving the ball isn't something you can master overnight. Next time we meet, I'll aim for your shots."

After saying this, Oikawa Tetsu didn't linger. He turned around, waved to the crowd with his back to them, and his dashing figure made everyone's teeth itch with envy.

"Don't lose too early, everyone from Karasuno."

The tense atmosphere only eased when the white and green figure disappeared around the street corner.

Ryunosuke Tanaka scoffed, his delinquent-like demeanor vanishing. "What a pretentious guy. Next time, I'll definitely beat that handsome face of his to a pulp!"

"But he's right," Sugawara Koji said with some concern. "Our receiving is indeed a big problem. Especially when facing powerful jump serves, apart from Daichi, it's difficult for anyone else to stay steady."

Kageyama turned to look at Rikuren: "Don't take it to heart. That guy just likes to play tricks on people to shake their opponents' morale."

"I didn't take it to heart." Lu Ren yawned and opened the minibus door. "I was just thinking that what he just said, translated, was like, 'You bunch of newbies should hurry up and level up, or I'll be massacring the newbie village with red names next time I run a dungeon.' It doesn't sound nice, but it's the truth."

He climbed into the car and found a seat by the window.

Outside the car window, it was completely dark. The streetlights lit up one by one, casting shadows that were sometimes long and sometimes short.

Sawamura Daichi stood by the car door, counted the number of people, and signaled to the driver that they could start driving.

The carriage was quiet; everyone was processing Oikawa Tetsu's words. It was the arrogance of the strong, and also a stark reality.

"Indeed, there's not much time left until the high school league preliminaries." Daichi sat in the passenger seat, watching the scenery rushing past the window. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a sense of certainty.

He turned around and glanced at his teammates in the carriage, who, though exhausted, still had bright eyes.

"The problem of receiving the ball cannot be solved by current practice alone. We need more professional defense, and we need someone who can hold the ground firmly."

The corners of the earth's mouth turned up slightly, revealing a meaningful smile.

"The lockdown should be over by now."

"It's about time you returned to the team, guardian deity of Karasuno."

Lu Ren had his eyes closed, preparing to catch up on some sleep during the bumpy ride, when he heard this word, his eyelids twitched violently.

Guardian deity?

He quickly reviewed his previous memories. It seemed there were indeed a few members of the Karasuno volleyball team who hadn't shown up yet. Following the typical RPG game formula, after the tutorial, new teammates would usually be unlocked to complete the team.

The team now has a high-output warrior (Tanaka), a high-agility assassin (Hyuga), a crowd control mage (Kageyama), an intelligence-based strategist (Tsukishima), and myself, an oddball free agent/support.

The only thing missing is a pure tank.

A tank that can withstand the BOSS's ultimate attack, polish the floor until it shines, and allow all attackers to charge forward with peace of mind.

"A guardian deity..." Lu Ren muttered to himself, "Sounds like a pretty tough character."

Kiyosawa Yashita, sitting next to him, was looking down at the game data on her phone. Hearing this, she didn't look up and said, "If he's really that kind of amazing libero, then you, this half-baked opposite hitter, can finally be completely freed up, right? You won't have to gamble with your life every time you receive the ball like before."

"That's called a game of strategy. Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand," Lu Ren retorted stubbornly, adjusting his posture. "But if we really get a strong tank, I can focus on my DPS rotation. The current DPS environment is too harsh; one wrong move and the boss will target you."

Ya Zhi chuckled softly, turned off her phone screen, and turned to look at Lu Ren: "Then you'd better pray that this 'guardian angel' has a normal personality. After all, the number of weirdos in our team is already seriously excessive."

Lu Ren glanced at the row in front of him.

Hinata, drooling in his sleep; Kageyama, staring intently at the air as he reviews the situation; Tsukishima, wearing headphones and radiating an aura of "keep away"; and Tanaka, who was just fighting with the air.

"That's true." Lu Ren sighed. "If we added another normal person, they would just seem out of place in this team."

The minibus swayed and rattled as it drove into the night, heading towards Karasuno High School.