Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The third-grade corridor was unusually quiet during lunch break, a stark contrast to the zoo-like atmosphere of the first-grade students, where a chase could break out at any moment.

Sugawara Koji stood at the back door of Class 3-3 and took a deep breath.

He peered through the glass window in the door. In the corner of the classroom, that incongruously large figure was huddled in a chair, staring blankly at the withered branches outside the window. His long hair was casually tied into a bun at the back of his head, and he sported his signature mustache.

Despite having a face that could stop a child from crying at night, her back view exuded an indescribable desolation.

Sugawara pushed open the door and walked straight over.

"Asahi."

The figure jerked and turned around. Seeing it was Sugawara, his tense shoulders relaxed, revealing a somewhat forced smile: "It's Sugawara... It's been a long time."

Sugawara pulled up a chair in front of him and sat down. Without beating around the bush, he went straight to the point: "Please, Asahi, come back."

Dong Fengxu's gaze wandered, and his fingers unconsciously dug at the corner of the table.

"Nishiya's suspension is over, and he has returned to the team." Sugawara stared into his eyes.

"Is that so..." Asahi's eyes lit up for a moment, then dimmed again. "That's great. With Nishiya behind us, everyone feels more at ease."

"You too." Sugawara leaned forward. "With you calling for the pass from the front, everyone feels much more at ease."

Asahi gave a wry smile, a smile full of helplessness: "I appreciate your kindness. But Sugawara, you know what happened back then... Even if I went back, I would only hold everyone back. That feeling of being blocked no matter how hard I tried, I don't want the team to stagnate because of my mistakes again."

"Snapped!"

Sugawara slammed his hand heavily on the table, the sound startling several girls eating their lunchboxes nearby.

"Listen to me!" Sugawara said defiantly, "Although I'm very unwilling, we really have some amazing freshmen this year. There's an incredibly talented setter with exceptional skills, a short but incredibly powerful decoy, and another one..."

Sugawara paused, seemingly thinking about how to describe Lu Ren.

"We also have a support player whose fundamentals are a complete mess, but whose mind works incredibly fast and whose tactical awareness is outstanding. We won't let you shoulder all the burdens alone anymore!"

Asahi stared blankly at the excited Sugawara.

"With new fighting power, plus the return of Nishiya and you, Karasuno will no longer be the 'fallen powerhouse' that others talk about." Sugawara's voice was lower, but more powerful. "Now is the time for the team to transform. We need a true ace who can hold the fort."

Xu opened his mouth, but before he could speak, the squad leader's voice came from the doorway: "Dongfeng! It's your turn to be the route instructor. Go to the office."

The conversation was interrupted.

As if grasping at a straw, Asahi hurriedly stood up: "Sorry, Sugawara, I have to go."

Meanwhile, at the base of the outer wall of the corridor in Group 3 of the 3rd year.

Three heads were arranged in a tiered pattern, sneaking in furtively.

"You should go, Kageyama." Hinata Shoyo shrank his neck, almost pressed against the wall, his face pale. "I heard that senior named Toumine... is really scary."

"Huh?" Kageyama Tobio looked impatient, still clutching a carton of milk in his hand. "You were the one who insisted on coming to see Ace vs Ace, weren't you? Get out of the way, you idiot."

"But..." Hinata swallowed hard, "What if I get beaten up?"

Lu Ren, who was standing on the far side, was looking down at his phone and pressing something. Hearing this, he calmly looked up and said, "Don't worry, I've already brought up the emergency call interface. As soon as that 'Destruction Dragon' makes a move, I'll press the call button immediately. The ambulance will be there within ten minutes."

Hinata's face instantly went from deathly pale to ashen: "An ambulance?! Is it that serious?!"

"What do you think?" Lu Ren pushed up his glasses and spoke nonsense with a straight face. "According to the information from Qingze, this senior Dongfeng is known as the 'North High Destruction Dragon.' I heard that he not only collects protection money outside of school, but also has a twisted mentality due to repeating a year for five years. He likes to beat up cute first-year students."

In truth, Lu Ren wasn't sure either.

According to game logic, characters with "villainous faces" and terrifying legends usually only have two possibilities: one is a hidden ultimate BOSS with outrageous stats and a brutal personality; the other is a comedic character with a contrasting cuteness.

But seeing Nishiya's unwavering devotion, Lu Ren leaned towards the former—after all, Nishiya, that hot-blooded idiot, was easily captivated by violent aesthetics.

"What are you doing here?" Kageyama glanced at Rikuren sideways. "Don't you usually avoid these kinds of troubles the most?"

"Collect BOSS data." Lu Ren put away his phone, hands in his pockets. "And while I'm at it, see if I can trigger any hidden quests. Also..."

He pointed inside: "If a fight really breaks out, I'll have to be responsible for dragging your two corpses back, otherwise I'll have to play setter in the next game, that's real hell."

"Don't you have a single nice word to say? And isn't there Sugawara-senpai too?" Kageyama's temple throbbed.

Just then, the back door of the classroom was opened.

A huge shadow was cast down.

"Wait, Asahi!" Sugawara chased after him.

Dong Fengxu stopped and turned around.

Hinata Shoyo felt everything go black.

Backlit, the man was nearly 1.85 meters tall. His long hair seemed out of place in the strict high school, and the stubble on his chin gave him a weathered, bandit-like air. He lowered his head slightly, and the lines between his brows, furrowed with worry, were automatically filtered into a fierce expression in Hinata's eyes that said, "I'm going to kill you all."

"babble!"

Hinata let out a short, mournful cry and instinctively darted behind Kageyama like a frightened hamster, revealing only a pair of terrified eyes.

Although Kageyama did not dodge, he subconsciously tensed his muscles and entered a state of combat readiness.

Lu Ren took a half step back, his finger hovering above the phone screen, ready to dial the non-existent emergency number at any moment.

Is this the legendary ace?

This character model... it's really something. Lu Ren mentally rated this character as "danger level S". This doesn't look like a high school student, this looks like a yakuza boss who just stepped out of the Yakuza movie set.

"Um?"

Dong Fengxu noticed the three strange first-year students at the door and paused for a moment.

Sugawara also came out and, seeing the three of them, asked in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

The atmosphere froze for a moment.

Hinata was shaking like a sieve, while Kageyama drank his milk expressionlessly to hide his embarrassment.

Only Lu Ren, adhering to the spirit of "better to die than to die for others," decided to take the initiative and test the BOSS's aggro mechanism with words.

He cleared his throat and spoke in a tone that was both resigned to his fate and full of curiosity: "Um... I heard that Senior Dongfeng has a nickname outside of school called 'Bloody Hand Butcher' or 'Midnight Metro Killer'. We came here specifically to pay our respects and also to ask how much the membership fee is."

The air was dead still for three seconds.

"ha?!"

The expression on Dong Fengxu's fierce face instantly collapsed.

"Blood... Blood-Handed Butcher?!"

The man who looked like he could kill a bull with one punch was now staring wide-eyed, his face filled with terror and grievance, his voice even trembling, "When did this new nickname come about! 'Destruction Dragon' was already outrageous enough!"

Lu Ren: "..."

Wait, something's not right with this reaction.

Why does this boss look... a bit weak?

"Um..." Dong Fengxu waved his hands frantically, his usual yakuza boss aura completely gone, replaced by a pitiful weakness. "I didn't collect protection money, and I didn't repeat a grade for five years! I'm only a senior in high school this year! And that midnight subway incident..."

He was sweating profusely with anxiety: "That's completely a rumor! A rumor! I was just working at the convenience store. The owner accidentally bumped his face while moving goods, and I just happened to help him up! How did it become a rumor that I injured him?!"

Sugawara covered his face, seemingly expecting this scene, and shrugged as he suppressed a laugh.

"Huh?" Hinata peeked out from behind Kageyama, blinking. "Isn't he... a delinquent?"

"Of course not!" Dong Fengxu cried, on the verge of tears. "Do I really look that much like a bad guy?"

Lu Ren silently put his phone back in his pocket.

Case solved.

This isn't some hidden boss at all; it's clearly an unlucky guy forced to bear countless urban legends because of his terrifying appearance. And judging from his personality, his physical defense might indeed be very high, but his mental defense is probably negative.

He's a big guy with a fragile heart.

"Let me introduce them." Sugawara finally finished laughing and came over to smooth things over. "These three are first-year students who recently joined the club. Hinata, Kageyama, and the one who was talking nonsense earlier is Rikuin."

"Hello..." Dong Fengxu greeted them somewhat awkwardly, even giving a slight bow.

"Although they haven't been in the club long, they're all very promising guys." Sugawara patted Asahi's arm.

Looking at the tall boy in front of him, still troubled by the rumors, Lu Ren suddenly found it interesting. This kind of extremely contrasting character setting, if placed in an RPG game, would usually lead to a powerful awakening plot later on.

"I'm sorry, senior." Lu Ren apologized insincerely, "It's just that your aura is too strong. If it weren't for a touch of legendary charm, I would feel like I was doing a disservice to this face."

Xu's lips twitched. Was this a compliment?

He sighed, his gaze falling on Hyuga. Although the small man had been trembling just now, his eyes now gleamed with a light that made him afraid to look directly at him.

Asahi reached out and gently placed his hand on Hinata's shoulder.

Keep it up!

His hands were large and his palms were warm.

After saying that, he turned around and prepared to leave, as if he had completed some task.

"that!"

Hinata suddenly called out to him.

"Aren't you going to cheer us on?" Hinata stared blankly at him. "I want to become an ace! Even though I'm still weak and short, I really want to become an ace like the 'Little Giant'! So... I want to see Karasuno's real ace with my own eyes!"

Xu stopped in his tracks.

The wind in the corridor ruffled his long hair. He stood with his back to everyone, silent for a long time.

"Dongfeng! Hurry up!" the teacher urged again from afar.

"Feel sorry."

Xu's voice was very low, so low that it was almost inaudible.

"I'm not an ace."

He didn't turn around, but strode away as if fleeing, quickly heading towards the office, leaving behind only a more forlorn figure.

Hinata stood there, stunned, and looked at Sugawara with some confusion: "Sugawara-senpai, did I say something wrong?"

Sugawara looked in the direction Asahi had left, shook his head with a complicated expression, and said, "No, you're right. It's just... that idiot needs a little more time."

Lu Ren leaned against the wall, watching the tall figure disappear around the corner.

"A psychological trauma debuff..." he muttered to himself. "Looks like I can't win him back with just words. I need to find a way to force him into the dungeon. Only by fighting him in the dungeon can I remove the negative status."

"What are you muttering about?" Kageyama asked.

"It's nothing," Lu Ren shrugged. "It just feels like our team is becoming more and more like a circus."

A setter prone to crashing, a decoy prone to nervousness, a libero prone to outbursts, and now there's a fragile outside hitter prone to withdrawing.

"This is really interesting." Lu Ren's lips curled into a playful smile. "Only a hellish start like this is worthy of my skills."