Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The corridor was still cool in the early morning, and there was a faint smell of chalk dust in the air.

The atmosphere at the corner of the stairs in the third-grade teaching building was somewhat eerie.

Tall and imposing, with a small mustache, and looking like he could lift someone up and beat them up with one hand, Dong Fengxu was hunched over, leaning against the wall, looking helplessly at the two first-year students blocking his way.

This composition looks like an older delinquent extorting a younger student, but if you listen to the dialogue, you'll find that the situation is completely reversed—it's two Chihuahuas surrounding a large brown bear.

I appreciate your kindness.

Dong Fengxu scratched the back of his head, his gaze wandering, unable to look directly at the short guy with orange hair in front of him. "Seriously, why are you so concerned about someone like me... who hasn't even practiced with you guys once?"

Hinata Shoyo clutched the volleyball tightly to his chest, his eyes flashing with an unnerving intensity. Completely oblivious to social distancing, he took another step forward: "Because if Asahi-senpai doesn't come back, the second and third-year seniors will all lose their spirits!"

"Especially Nishiya-senpai!" Hinata added, "He said if you don't come back, he absolutely won't come back either!"

Dong Fengxu's expression froze for a moment, a fleeting look of guilt flashing in his eyes, but it was quickly covered by a thick layer of gloom.

"That guy is too stubborn..." Dong Fengxu gave a wry smile. "Besides, it might be better for the team if I don't go."

"Huh?" Hinata's eyes widened, and she was about to retort loudly.

Standing behind him, Tobio Kageyama raised his hand expressionlessly and delivered a precise and ruthless chop to Hinata's side.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch—!" Hinata instantly turned into a boiled shrimp, clutching his waist and tears were about to stream down his face.

"Keep your voice down." Kageyama withdrew his hand, his perpetually grumpy face coldly staring at Hinata.

Hinata gasped in pain and had no choice but to shut her mouth, feeling wronged.

Dong Fengxu shook his head as he watched this scene, a faint smile appearing on his lips: "You guys are really interesting."

He sighed, slid down against the wall a little, and looked out the corridor window at the sky divided by barbed wire.

"But, I'm sorry."

Dong Fengxu's voice lowered, as if there was a wad of wet cotton stuck in his throat, "When facing a high block... I can no longer imagine myself breaking through the block and scoring a point."

The corridor was quiet for a few seconds.

"As soon as the ball is passed to me, what comes to mind is not the sound of the ball hitting the ground, but the image of it being blocked with a 'bang'." Dong Fengxu looked at his palm, which was large and powerful, but was slightly curled up at the moment. "No matter how I jump, I always feel like there are arms in front of me, and I will definitely be blocked... My mind is filled with that cowardly, self-destructive version of myself."

This fear does not come from pain, but from "denial".

As the ace, every time his attack was thwarted, it was as if he was declaring his incompetence.

Kageyama Tobio frowned. As a setter, he found it difficult to fully empathize with the attacker's psychological barrier. In his view, as long as the ball was passed in place, all that was left was to spike it.

But Hinata Shoyo stopped rubbing his lower back.

He straightened up, and his usually boisterous face revealed a rare, almost solemn expression.

"Um..." Hinata began, "You might think it's arrogant of a first-year student like me to say something like this."

Dong Fengxu paused for a moment, then said gently, "No, what are you trying to say?"

Hinata took a deep breath, as if to expel all the stale air from his lungs.

I understand how you feel.

Hinata pointed to the top of his head. "I'm short and don't have much skill. Whether it was in junior high or now, I'm always blocked by the blockers. That feeling of everything going black is really annoying."

Dong Fengxu looked at him. Yes, with that height, he would definitely face much more pressure on the volleyball court than he did.

"but!"

Hinata's tone suddenly shifted, and he became incredibly excited, as if he'd been electrocuted. He grabbed Kageyama beside him and exclaimed, "Now I have this guy to pass the ball to me!"

Kageyama stumbled as he was pulled, his face darkening as he wanted to punch someone, but he held back.

"This guy's passes are amazing! They come so fast!" Hinata gestured excitedly. "So, no matter how high the block is, I can dodge it! It's like... the wall suddenly disappears, and the view on the other side of the net opens up..."

Hinata's eyes seemed to reflect the lights of the basketball court. "You must feel the same way, Asahi-senpai, about that scene, right?"

Dong Fengxu's pupils contracted slightly.

That kind of scenery.

How could I possibly forget?

When your fingertips touch the ball, when the blocking arm sweeps past below your field of vision, when all that's left in front of you is the empty court floor... that moment of vision is indeed so vast that it makes you want to cry.

"Then, at the highest point, I smash the ball!" Hinata made a swinging motion, creating a whooshing sound. "Thwack! The weight of the ball is steadily transferred to the center of my palm, that tingling heat in my hand... that's my favorite feeling!"

Dong Fengxu clenched his fists unconsciously. The lines on his palms seemed to still retain the rough feel of a volleyball.

"I understand..." Dong Fengxu said in a low voice, his voice trembling slightly.

"I envy you, Senior Xu."

Hinata suddenly lowered his hands, looked directly into Higashimine Asahi's eyes, and spoke with no falsehood, only naked longing, "Right now, I don't have the height or strength to break through the block on my own. To see that kind of view, I have to rely on Kageyama's passes and everyone's cover."

He paused, his gaze falling on Dong Fengxu's broad shoulders.

"But you have all of these."

Hinata's voice echoed in the empty corridor, "Perhaps you've been blocked many times, and failed many times. But... you must have scored even more points with your spikes, right?"

Dong Fengxu suddenly raised his head.

"You possess the strength and height to single-handedly carve a hole in a wall," Hinata said earnestly, clenching his fist. "That's why everyone calls you—the ace!"

trump card.

This word struck Dong Fengxu's cracked heart like a heavy hammer. It wasn't blame, nor was it demanding; rather, it was an almost blind affirmation.

Just then—

"Ring ring—!!"

The shrill pre-class bell rang out without any regard for the surroundings, instantly shattering the otherwise passionate and dramatic atmosphere.

The two rushed out a few steps, but Kageyama suddenly stopped.

He turned around and looked at Dong Fengxu, who was still standing there in a daze.

Kageyama's expression remained somewhat stiff, clearly unaccustomed to this kind of psychological counseling. He hesitated for a moment before finally speaking dryly:

"Well... one person definitely can't win."

Dong Fengxu looked at him.

"There are six people on the court." When Kageyama Tobio said this, his gaze shifted slightly to the side, as if he was thinking of someone. "However... I only recently came to understand this myself, so I'm not qualified to lecture you."

After saying that, he didn't linger and disappeared around the corner of the stairs, dragging the wailing Hinata along with him.

"Goodbye!"

The corridor fell silent once more.

Dong Fengxu remained in the position of leaning against the wall.

The morning light slanted in through the window and fell right at his feet.

"Six people...?"

He muttered to himself, raising his hand to look at his large palm. It felt empty, yet it was as if something was breaking through the soil, making his chest feel bloated.

……

In the classroom of Grade 1, Group 4.

Lu Ren sat by the window, his pen spinning rapidly between his fingers, leaving afterimages in its wake.

The math teacher on the podium was passionately explaining quadratic functions, spittle flying everywhere, but Lu Ren didn't hear a single word.

A smile he couldn't suppress lingered on his lips, his eyes fixed on the blackboard, but his focus had long since wandered elsewhere. His expression was like someone who had just exploited a bug in a game to obtain a god-tier item—both smug and slightly irritating.

"Feed".

A ballpoint pen gently poked his arm.

Lu Ren snapped out of his daze and turned his head to look.

At the next table, Qingze Yazhi was resting her chin on her hand, drawing a cute little turtle on her textbook with her other hand. She lowered her voice, her eyes filled with inquiry: "What's wrong? Why are you laughing so disgustingly?"

"...Disgusting?" Lu Ren's lips twitched. "That's called a shrewd, calculating smile."

"Come on," Yazhi rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "You disappeared right after class, and this is the kind of person you are when you come back. Anyone who didn't know better would think you found money in the bathroom."

Lu Ren stopped twirling his pen, leaned back, and the chair wobbled precariously with its two legs on the ground.

"I'm happier than if I found money."

Lu Ren glanced out the window, where he could see the third-year school building. "We're about to welcome our fully-formed ace."

Yazhi paused, her pen still in her hand, and turned around in surprise: "What? Did you try to persuade Senior Xu during that break?"

She knew that although Lu Ren had a sharp tongue, he would use any means necessary to pass the level. If Lu Ren were to take action, he would most likely use some kind of data analysis or reverse psychology to trick that sensitive big guy into giving up.

"without."

Lu Ren shook his head and reclined his chair. "I was indeed planning to go after class. After all, I'm stuck on a level, and someone has to push through the story."

He recalled the scene he had witnessed while hiding on the stairs.

"As soon as I reached the corner, I saw those two single-celled organisms had already started," Lu Ren shrugged. "I didn't show myself; I just hid up there and secretly observed them."

"Peeping tom," Ya-Chih aptly remarked.

"That's intelligence gathering," Lu Ren corrected, then sighed, "But I have to say, some things only have a real impact when said by a brainless, hot-blooded idiot."

He recalled Hinata's statement about "wanting to see the view from the top" and Kageyama's clumsy remark, "There are six people on the court."

There are no fancy words or logical traps; it's just a direct attack.

Against a meticulous and overthinking "high-defense, low-magic" unit like Dongfeng Xu, a logical and cunning individual like Lu Ren might actually be able to defend against it. However, Hyuga's unreasonable "sincere critical strike" completely ignores defenses and inflicts true damage.

"This is what they call 'natural talent overcomes tsundere,' and 'straightforwardness overcomes sensitivity,' right?" Lu Ren stroked his chin thoughtfully. "It seems that from now on, we'll have to leave these NPC side quests to the main character."

Ya-zhi was confused, but she roughly understood what he meant.

"So, Senior Xu is coming back?"

"Definitely." Lu Ren nodded firmly. "Although it's not completely finished loading, the progress bar is already at 99%. The remaining 1% just needs a little stepping stone... or rather, a reason that forces him to step in."

At this point, a glint flashed in Lu Ren's eyes—the excitement of a player seeing a BOSS with low health.

Looking at his expression, Yazhi couldn't help but shake her head: "After all, some people love to cheat and use underhanded tricks when playing games."

"What do you mean by 'cheap tricks'?" Lu Ren retorted, dissatisfied. "I'm just making good use of the rules. Why fight a stat-based battle when you can use terrain to your advantage? Why waste stamina when you can resolve things with words?"

Yazhi chuckled softly and didn't refute further. She simply pushed the finished chibi-style turtle drawing in front of Lu Ren.

"Alright, strategist. So, how about we see you causing trouble again during the upcoming Golden Week training camp, with all your mischievous schemes?"

Lu Ren looked at the little turtle with black circles drawn on its eyes and couldn't help but laugh.

"Absolutely."

He picked up a pen and drew a volleyball next to the little turtle.