Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The training session ended earlier than usual the day before the qualifiers.

A calm before the storm, or rather, a sense of anticipation as a massive DLC was loading, filled the air. Ukai no longer arranged those grueling catching drills that would drive people to the point of exhaustion; he simply gave a few empty instructions like "Go back and eat more carbs" and "Go to bed early and don't stay up all night cultivating immortality," before waving him away.

"Please wait a moment, everyone!"

Mr. Takeda Ittetsu suddenly poked his head in from the doorway, his glasses reflecting the light, and he looked mysterious. "Shimizu-kun has something to say to everyone."

The group, who were packing up their knee pads and water bottles, paused.

Ryunosuke Tanaka and Yu Nishitani's ears perked up instantly, like two alert Doberman Pinschers.

Kiyoko Shimizu stood by the railing of the second-floor stands, with Aya Kiyosawa beside her, both of them holding a wad of dark fabric in their hands.

"Um..." Kiyoko's voice wasn't loud, but it was still clear in the empty gymnasium, "I'm not very good at those kinds of morale-boosting words, but..."

She and Ya-Chi exchanged a glance, and both of them let go at the same time.

Splash!

The black cloth hung down with gravity, like the night spreading out. Bold white characters exploded on everyone's retinas, simple and brutal, yet carrying a power that seemed to pierce straight to the top of their heads.

Fly!

"I found this while cleaning the storage room." Senior Jiezi gripped the railing, her knuckles tightening slightly, a faint blush rising on her cheeks. Her gaze wandered, unable to look directly at the group of single-celled organisms that were currently malfunctioning downstairs.

"It's already washed clean."

She paused, took a deep breath, as if she had made up her mind, and raised her voice slightly, but it was trembling noticeably.

"Keep it up... Keep it up!"

After saying those two words, she turned and ran like a mage who had exhausted all her MP, her footsteps so rapid it sounded like a monster was chasing her.

A deathly silence fell over the stadium.

Lu Ren looked up at the banner, then at his teammates who were frozen in place. In his vision, a series of green numbers were appearing above their heads; the "morale" status bar was rapidly increasing at a rate of 999 per second.

"Um..." Tanaka Ryunosuke's lips trembled.

"Shimizu-senpai..." Nishitani Yu's eyes filled with tears.

The next second, two fountains called "tears" shot out from the eyes of the two people.

"Waaaaaaahhhhhh!"

Not only them, but even the usually composed Daichi Sawamura turned his back, his shoulders heaving violently as he frantically wiped his face with his sleeve. Koji Sugawara covered his mouth and let out strange sobs.

"This is... the first time Shimizu has ever done this..." Daichi's voice was thick with a nasal tone, like someone who hadn't had a cold for ten years, "the first time you've seriously cheered us on!"

"Is this the legendary 'Goddess's Blessing'?" Lu Ren muttered to himself, feeling the surrounding air temperature rise by five degrees. "Isn't the effect a bit too extraordinary?"

These guys who usually complain about being tired and in pain are in such good shape now that they could practically take on the Demon King's castle one-on-one.

Sawamura Daichi suddenly turned around, his face still wet with water, his eyes red like a rabbit's, but his aura was terrifying.

"We absolutely must win this first battle!"

"Ooh ooh ooh ooh!"

The echoes made the glass in the stadium rattle.

……

The following day, Sendai City Gymnasium.

This is the holy land for volleyball players in Miyagi Prefecture, and also the entrance to the shattered dreams of countless teams.

The air was thick with the smells of antiperspirant spray, rubber flooring, and hormones. High school students in various team uniforms were everywhere, their cacophony amplified into a massive wave of noise.

The entire Karasuno High School student group was dressed in black, like a group of mafia members who had just arrived from a funeral, and silently walked through the crowd.

"Hey, look over there, that's Karasuno."

"Ah...you mean that 'fallen tycoon'?"

"I heard he used to be very strong, but now he's just a 'crow that can't fly'."

Whispers drifted into my ears.

Two students from another school were chatting happily while checking the match schedule, completely unaware that the air pressure behind them was rapidly decreasing.

"Can't it fly?"

A sinister voice suddenly broke in, like a chainsaw sawing through bone.

Ryunosuke Tanaka's iconic villainous face squeezed out from between the two, his neck tilted forward at a 45-degree angle, his eyes bulging, exuding a strong sense of villainy.

"Who are you calling unable to fly? Huh? Say it again if you dare!"

The two students turned pale with fright, and one of them almost dropped the water bottle he was holding.

"I'm so sorry!"

A large hand suddenly grabbed Tanaka by the back of his collar and dragged him back like he was carrying a crazed Chihuahua.

"Sorry, this guy wasn't on a leash." Sawamura Daichi had a gentle smile on his face, but there was no smile in his eyes. It was a kind of "I'll kill you if you say another word" kindness. "I'm sorry for the trouble."

The two students ran away as fast as they could.

"Don't go around stirring up trouble," Da Di scolded in a low voice, though his own expression wasn't much better.

The surrounding crowd automatically parted to make way.

This team has such a strange vibe.

Tsukishima, with his blond hair, looked at everyone with a mocking expression, as if they were trash; Kageyama Tobio exuded a menacing aura, as if he were ready to throw a ball at someone at any moment; and Higashimine Asahi, with his small mustache and long hair, became the focus of attention.

"Hey, you big guy..."

"I heard he sells some illegal drugs off-campus..."

"Really? I heard he's a gang leader who repeated five years of school and makes a living collecting protection money..."

Dong Fengxu was still trying to mentally prepare himself, but upon hearing these rumors, he visibly shrank back, his face turning pale.

"I...don't I look like a high school student?" He clutched his chest, feeling as if he had suffered a thousand real blows.

Lu Ren sighed, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and strode up to the gossiping group. Unlike Tanaka, he didn't shout or yell; instead, he lowered his eyes and spoke in an extremely calm yet chilling tone:

"Knowing too much about my older brother will lower your rank, you know."

Those people instantly fell silent, shaking their heads frantically.

"Lu Ren!" Da Di covered Lu Ren's mouth and dragged him back. "Don't you dare cause trouble! What big brother?! That's our ace! Aren't the rumors outrageous enough already?!"

"I'm helping Senior Xu build his image and increase his intimidation factor," Lu Ren struggled to explain. "It's called psychological warfare."

"This is called increasing the workload for the police!"

Just then, a commotion arose at the door.

The once crowded throng split apart like the Mediterranean Sea. Mr. Takeda walked in front, followed by two managers in sportswear.

Kiyoko Shimizu is as pure and aloof as snow, while Yazhi Qingze is full of vitality.

The simultaneous appearance of these two drastically different anime girl styles instantly dealt a critical hit to the surrounding male creatures.

"Wow, the managers at Karasuno are of such high caliber!"

"That girl with glasses is the ice queen..."

"The short-haired girl next to her is so cute!"

Several bolder boys were itching to approach and chat.

Lu Ren's radar went off.

He used "Shadow Step" almost reflexively, instantly appearing beside Yazhi and naturally reaching out to put his arm around her shoulder.

"There are a lot of random NPCs in this instance, so stay close and don't get lost." Lu Ren looked ahead and spoke calmly, but the hand around his shoulder tightened slightly.

Ya-zhi paused for a moment, then rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile: "This is a stadium, not a maze. Besides, isn't your hand a little too casually placed?"

"This is to prevent important mission items... no, important teammates from being refreshed." Lu Ren said this nonsense with a straight face, his eyes coldly sweeping over the boys who wanted to chat him up.

Seeing this, the group of people all showed expressions of indignation, thinking "Damn those normal people," and dispersed.

On the other side, Tanaka and Nishiya have transformed into left and right protectors, surrounding Kiyoko Shimizu with a 360-degree defense. Anyone who dares to linger their gaze for more than three seconds will be subjected to their laser-like stares.

The procession continued forward.

As they ventured deeper into the venue, more and more eyes turned to them.

"That short guy... isn't that Yuu Nishitani from Chidoriyama? The best free agent in junior high?"

"And that setter, Kitagawa's number one, Tobio Kageyama! The 'King of the Court' actually went to Karasuno?"

The aura of celebrities is always dazzling.

Just as Lu Ren was finding the cutscene of being watched a bit boring, a figure suddenly blocked his way.

"Lu Ren!"

The voice was loud, trembling with excitement.

The whole team stopped.

Lu Ren looked at the boy in front of him, who was wearing thick-rimmed glasses and an unknown school uniform, and his mind raced.

I don't remember.

"Who are you?" Lu Ren tilted his head.

"It really was you!" The boy clenched his fist, his eyes behind his glasses burning with a fierce fire. "For the past three years, I've always considered you my target!"

The Karasuno team members around them immediately became alert.

What kind of plot is this? A nemesis? A teammate who was seduced and abandoned by Lu Ren? Or a victim he once brutally defeated in a game?

"Could it be a rival from the junior high volleyball team?" Sugawara asked softly.

"I don't remember." Lu Ren shook his head honestly. "My brain has limited storage space, so I don't store miscellaneous data. Besides, I didn't play volleyball in junior high school."

Upon hearing this, the boy's expression grew even more grief-stricken: "You don't remember me? Well, to a genius like you, I might just be an insignificant passerby. But!"

He suddenly stepped forward and pointed at Lu Ren's nose.

Three years ago! In the National Junior High School Mathematics Olympiad! You came in first place, and I came in tenth!

The entire room fell silent.

Tanaka almost strained his back while preparing to watch a passionate volleyball drama.

"Huh?" Kageyama looked bewildered. "Mathematics?"

The boy was completely absorbed in his own world: "After that day, I vowed to surpass you! I studied countless practice problems, researched your problem-solving strategies, and finally got into this high school with an extremely high college entrance rate! Today, when I saw your name on the list, I made a special trip here..."

"Stop, stop, stop." Lu Ren raised his hand to interrupt his chanting. "Are you here to play volleyball?"

"No, I'm the logistics data analyst for the volleyball team." The boy pushed up his glasses, looking proud.

Lu Ren: "..."

The Karasuno members: "..."

"Sorry, I'm here to play volleyball." Lu Ren sighed, patted the other person on the shoulder, and said, "Although I don't know who you are, I wish you... happy math."

After saying that, he pulled Yazhi away.

The boy stood there, stunned, as if he had been dealt a huge blow: "You... when you participated in the competition, wasn't it to pursue the ultimate truth of mathematics? Weren't your exquisite auxiliary lines a sacrifice to the aesthetics of geometry?"

Lu Ren paused, his expression stiffening.

Ya-zhi burst out laughing next to him.

"Um..." Ya-zhi turned her head and looked at the academic genius who was about to break down, cruelly revealing the truth, "Actually, he heard that the prize for first place was enough to buy that limited edition 'Touch' figure, so I dragged him to take the exam."

Click.

There was a sound like something breaking.

Lu Ren quickly covered Ya Zhi's mouth, glanced back at the boy who had turned gray, and said with a pained expression, "Stop talking! You're destroying a top student's Dao heart! This is crueler than deleting his save file!"

"Mmm!" Ya-zhi tugged at his hand, laughing so hard she couldn't stand up straight.

Dadi sighed and pushed the two of them from behind: "Alright, alright, stop acting out this skit, the competition is about to start."

The team restarted, leaving behind the data analyst, bewildered in the wind, still muttering to himself about the difference between "figurines" and "truth."

Lu Ren released his hand and wiped away non-existent sweat from his forehead.

"Seriously, why do NPCs in real life always act so much?"

"That's because you're the main character, Lu Ren," Ya Zhi teased with a smile.

Lu Ren glanced at the noisy stadium not far away, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"The protagonist? Then let me see just how much health this first boss has."