Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

Teacher Takeda solemnly placed a printed A3 sheet of paper on the whiteboard, as if he were announcing a server-wide announcement. Everyone instantly gathered around; it was the match schedule for the Miyagi Prefecture preliminaries—in simpler terms, the walkthrough for this playthrough.

"Your first-round opponent is... Chang Bo?"

Lu Ren squinted, staring at the name for a long time. He searched through his mental database, but found nothing. It wasn't Aoba City West, home to the Great Demon King Oikawa Tetsu, nor was it the character with maxed-out defense, nor was it the imposing-sounding Shiratorizawa.

"Chang Bo? Never heard of him." Lu Ren stroked his chin, turning to look at Tanaka beside him. "Is he a hidden monster or just a random roadside monster?"

Tanaka Ryunosuke was in a state of inexplicable excitement. He clenched his fists and exhaled heavily through his nostrils: "Who cares who they are! We'll just blow them all up! We're going to the whole country! The whole country!"

"You're too loud, Tanaka." Sugawara Koji sighed and gently pressed Tanaka's head down, as if soothing a rabid Doberman. "Don't hoarse yourself before the match even starts. But Riku is right, we really do have very little information about Tokiwa."

"Insufficient information is a major taboo." Lu Ren stared at the name, his fingers unconsciously tapping on his side, a habitual gesture when he was thinking. "Not looking at a guide before fighting a boss can easily lead to failure on the first encounter. Although it's most likely just a low-level enemy farming experience, what if it has some instant-kill skill hidden?"

He suddenly stood up, grabbed his schoolbag, and slung it over his shoulder.

"Senior, could you help me ask for half a day off?"

Sugawara paused, before he could even launch into a lecture: "Huh? Wait a minute, Rikuren! We have targeted receiving practice this afternoon. Coach Ukai will kill us!"

"Stomach ache, go to the hospital, or your graphics card at home exploded, make up any excuse you want." Lu Ren's figure had already darted to the door, moving with the speed of a tracking missile in a dungeon. "I'll be back as soon as possible. For the team's victory, I'm going to open a map!"

"Hey! Come back!"

Sugawara's shouts were left behind as Lu Ren had already slipped out of the school gate.

……

After leaving Karasuno's sphere of influence, Rikuren didn't return to his home, which only contained a game console. He took out his phone and skillfully typed "Tokoha High School" into a map app.

It's not far; it takes about forty minutes by tram and then bus.

Sitting on the swaying bus, Lu Ren looked at the scenery rushing past the window, his mind racing with his next move. Going there in Karasuno's school uniform wouldn't be reconnaissance, it would be provocation, and he'd probably be mistaken for a challenger and beaten up.

If someone who looks like a high school student is not wearing a school uniform and is acting suspiciously outside the gymnasium, they will most likely be mistaken for a pervert or a thief and the police will be called.

"I need to change the skin."

Lu Ren got out of the car and scanned the streets near Changbo High School. His gaze eventually settled on a convenience store under renovation, where some construction debris was piled up, and a hardware store that looked to be doing poor business.

Ten minutes later.

Lu Ren emerged from the general store, his black Karasuno Gakuran jacket gone, replaced by a slightly dusty dark blue work jacket—a leftover item he'd found in the discount section. A professional-looking canvas tool bag slung across his waist contained two screwdrivers and a roll of electrical tape.

Most importantly, he was carrying a borrowed portable aluminum ladder.

"The first law of social engineering: When you're carrying a ladder, walking with a swagger, and looking down on everyone, 99% of the security guards in the world won't stop you."

Lu Ren adjusted his expression, switching his originally lazy look to a "I'm busy, don't bother me" working mode, and strode towards the gate of Changbo High School.

The security guard at the gate was listening to the radio while holding a teacup when he caught a glimpse of a blue-collar worker carrying a ladder barging straight in.

"Hey, um... what do you do?" the old man asked instinctively.

Lu Ren didn't stop walking, or even turn his head. He just pointed impatiently in the direction of the gymnasium, his tone a mix of anger and exhaustion: "Hey, light repairman. The administration office has been urging me three times already. How are these students supposed to train if it's not fixed soon? Please, sir, don't waste my time. How much are you paying me for this job?"

The resentment from being exploited by life was so real that the security guard instantly empathized and quickly waved his hand, saying, "Oh, go ahead, go ahead. The stadium is at the end of that road on the right, don't go the wrong way."

Thanks.

Lu Ren carried the ladder and swaggered through the iron gate that seemed like an insurmountable barrier to students from other schools.

"Infiltration successful. Experience points +100."

He followed the directions to the gymnasium. Before he even entered, he could hear the sound of volleyballs hitting the floor and the creaking of volleyball shoes.

Lu Ren propped the ladder against the side of the stadium entrance, glanced at the light bulbs overhead with feigned interest, then leaned against the ladder, his gaze passing through the wide-open doors and into the stadium.

The training atmosphere at Changbo High School... well, it's pretty ordinary.

There were no monsters like Hyuga flying all over the court, no killer passes like Kageyama's, and no serves like Oikawa's that could break someone's arm. They were serious and loud, but to Lu Ren, a player who was used to "hell difficulty," their movements were as slow as a slideshow.

"The average level is probably around Lv.15..." Lu Ren silently assessed in his mind, "Attacker's strength is D, speed is D+, defensive awareness is C-. Threat level: low."

Just as he was engrossed in watching and even felt the urge to yawn, a figure blocked his view.

He was a short-haired, mature-looking boy, the captain of Tokiwa, Hayato Ikejiri.

"Um... Uncle?" Ikejiri looked at Rikuren hesitantly. "Are you here to fix the lights? The lights here don't seem to be broken."

Lu Ren's heart skipped a beat. Uncle? Am I that old? Does this workwear skin have an aging effect?

He quickly adjusted his mindset, a weathered yet friendly smile appearing on his face—the kind of benevolence that comes from someone who has been through it all: "Ah, I'm here to inspect the lines, for preventative maintenance. I was so engrossed in watching you guys play ball earlier; it made me a little nostalgic."

"Nostalgia?" Ikejiri paused for a moment.

"Yes." Lu Ren dusted off his hands, his eyes becoming deep, as if piercing through the mists of time. "Back in high school, I also played volleyball. I was young and naive then, always thinking that as long as I worked hard, I could win."

Several of Chang Bo's teammates, who were drinking water nearby, also came over. High school students are always curious about this kind of "adult with a story".

"Was the uncle very powerful before?" a small first-grader asked.

Lu Ren chuckled, adopting a "a hero doesn't dwell on past glories" attitude, but his words were quite honest: "I'm alright, I'm the brains of the team. Back then, we fought our way into the national competition."

"A national competition?!"

For a team like Chang Bo's, which was perpetually eliminated in the first round, these four words were practically a legendary holy land. The crowd's gazes instantly changed; they looked at the hidden NPC with the same intensity they would give someone.

"And then what happened?" Ikejiri pressed.

"Later..." Lu Ren looked up at the ceiling of the gymnasium and began to make up a story, "In the semi-finals, we encountered a strong school in Tokyo, Furutani Academy. That team had an ace who looked like an owl and was incredibly noisy, but he was really strong. We fought all the way to the final game, but in the end, we still lost by a narrow margin."

He sighed, his voice full of regret: "If my prediction had been just 0.1 seconds faster, the outcome might have been different."

These words were half true and half false (mostly false), but combined with Lu Ren's refined demeanor after the baptism of the battle at Yinju, they were flawless. Chang Bo's teammates listened in stunned silence, their eyes sparkling with admiration.

"Um... could you give us some guidance, senior?" Ikejiri couldn't help but ask, "Even just a little bit of advice would be great!"

Looking at this group of naive "little monsters," Lu Ren felt a slight pang of guilt for deceiving honest people. But then he thought, this was also for the purpose of gathering military intelligence.

"Alright, the foreman hasn't come to urge us yet anyway." Lu Ren put down his tool bag, stretched his wrists, and said, "I'll play along with you guys."

The next half hour became an unforgettable lesson for Chang Bo's volleyball team.

Lu Ren didn't take off his bulky work clothes; he was still wearing ordinary sneakers. He didn't display any powerful spikes or fancy passes. He simply stood on the court, using a chilling calmness to show them where the ball would land.

"On the left, the crew cut needs a diagonal line."

The ball hit the left sideline as soon as he finished speaking.

"Don't jump when blocking, that's a feint."

Just as Chang Bo's setter was about to launch a second attack, Lu Ren stood in front of the net, his hands behind his back, watching with a smile. Startled, Chang Bo's hand trembled, and the ball fell directly to the ground.

"Your intentions are too obvious." Lu Ren pointed to his eyes. "Before the ball is released, don't keep staring at where it will land. Although it's difficult, it's an essential step on the path to becoming a master."

He even passed the ball to Ikejiri a few times. Although Lu Ren's setting skills were still terrible and relied entirely on theory, in a team like Chang Bo's, his occasional flashes of tactical brilliance still made Ikejiri feel like she had opened the door to a new world.

"Wow, that's amazing..." The first-year student looked at Lu Ren as if he were a reclusive master. "Is this what national-level awareness is?"

Lu Ren wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead, thinking: No, this is the survival instinct induced by monsters like Kageyama and Oikawa.

"That's about enough." Lu Ren checked the time; if they didn't go back soon, Coach Wu Yang was really going to grab a knife and start stabbing people.

He picked up his tool bag and ladder again, and walked towards the gate amidst the reluctant gazes of the group of teenagers.

"Senior!" Ikejiri suddenly took a few steps after him. "I haven't had a chance to ask your name yet! Will we have the opportunity to meet again in the future?"

Lu Ren stopped and waved to them with his back turned, leaving behind a figure that seemed to conceal his merits and fame.

"No need for a name, I'm just a repairman passing by." He lowered his voice and said in an overly dramatic, chuunibyou-esque tone, "As for meeting... we might see each other at the competition soon. Don't be scared then."

After saying that, he quickened his pace and disappeared around the corner.

……

After returning the ladder to the hardware store owner and throwing his work clothes into the trash can, Lu Ren changed back into his school uniform and ran all the way back to Wuye.

When I pushed open the stadium door, the setting sun had already turned the floor orange-red.

"Lu Ren!"

Uoyo's roar, like a boss's opening tirade, shook the glass windows. "You little brat, you finally know how to come back?! Where have you been all afternoon?!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him with a "rest in peace" expression.

Lu Ren was panting heavily, supporting himself on his knees, but a smug smile was on his face.

"Coach, I went to check on Chang Bo's training."

"Huh?" Coach Wu Yang was stunned, almost dropping the scoreboard in his hand. "You went to scout the enemy? That's a first-round opponent, right? What's the point of scouting a team like that?"

In Wu Yang's view, a team like Tokiwa could be easily crushed by Wu Ye as long as he played normally, so there was no need to go out of his way to spy on them.

"I want to confirm if this is a guaranteed win." Lu Ren straightened up, his playful smile disappearing, a rare seriousness appearing in his eyes. "I can tell."

"What did you figure out?" Daichi Sawamura walked over and asked seriously.

Lu Ren recalled the pure and eager eyes of Chang Bo's teammates, and how they, though young, gave it their all.

"They're weak, their technique is rough, and they don't have any killer moves." Lu Ren paused, then gave a thumbs up, "But they really want to win. So..."

He looked at Tanaka and Hinata, a wicked smile playing on his lips.

"If we don't go all out and crush them, that would be the greatest disrespect to these 'leveling monsters.' We can win if we go all out, and we will win completely."

Wu Yang stared at Lu Ren for a few seconds, then sighed helplessly and waved his hand.

"Alright, get back to training! If it happens again, you'll be running a lap around Miyagi Prefecture!"

"yes!"

Lu Ren quickly blended into the group and stood next to Ying Shan.

"You really went to Toshinari?" Kageyama asked in a low voice while stretching his legs, a hint of doubt in his eyes.

"I went," Lu Ren muttered under his breath. "I also taught them a lesson along the way. By the way, if that captain greets me during the competition, don't give it away. My current persona is 'a reclusive master who once rivaled Xiaogu.'"

Kageyama: "...Idiot."