Max-Level Account Trial Card, Human Dong Zhuo, and the Ambitions of an All-Around Useless Person

It was 5:30 AM, and before the alarm even rang, Lu Ren was already awake.

He lay in his futon, maintaining the same position he'd fallen asleep in, even his breathing careful and measured. By all rights, after last night's "torture" that sounded like a pig being slaughtered, combined with the muscle-melting workout from the day before, his body should have felt like rusted scrap metal this morning, ready to crumble at the slightest movement.

He took a deep breath and tentatively moved his little toe.

No reaction.

Next, his ankle, then his calf, then his thigh.

Lu Ren shot up from the bed, threw off the covers, and hopped twice in place.

No soreness, no stiffness, not even that heavy, sluggish feeling remained. Instead, he felt an unprecedented lightness, as if a dozen gigabytes of junk files had been uninstalled and his system speed had increased by 200%.

"Holy crap?"

Lu Ren incredulously patted the muscles in his thigh. "Did I rewind? Or did they secretly push a hotfix to patch a bug?"

He ran to the mirror. While his muscle mass hadn't changed, the "red-name, weakened state" that felt like he could fall apart at any moment had completely disappeared.

That violent healer... she was something else.

Lu Ren grabbed his schoolbag and bolted downstairs, a slice of bread in his mouth as he ran out the door. Just as he stepped outside, he saw Kiyosawa Mashiba standing under a streetlight, kicking at pebbles. She had her hair tied up high today, exposing her smooth neck, her school uniform skirt swaying gently with her movements.

Hearing footsteps, Mashiba turned her head. Her gaze swept over Lu Ren's rapidly moving legs, and she tilted her chin up slightly, her face practically screaming "Praise me!"

"Yo, you alive?" she asked with a smirk.

Lu Ren dashed in front of her and performed a high-kick in place, stirring up a gust of wind.

"You're a miracle worker!" Lu Ren exclaimed sincerely. "Last night I thought you were going to dismember me, but you actually rebuilt me. Now I feel like I could run all the way to Karasuno without even breathing hard."

Mashiba snorted, crossing her arms. Her smugness was practically overflowing from her eyebrows. "Of course. Who do you think it was? Are you ever going to doubt this manager's professionalism again?"

Looking at her condescending posture, a string named "tempting fate" in Lu Ren's mind suddenly snapped taut.

He took half a step back, his expression solemn. He clasped his hands together, bowed deeply, and declared with all his might:

"Lu Bu has wandered for half his life, regretting not finding a wise lord. If you do not disdain me, I am willing to become your sworn son—"

The air froze for a second.

Mashiba's smug expression solidified, then her eyebrows shot up. She raised her leg and kicked Lu Ren squarely in the shin.

"How dare you, Lu Ren! You're calling me Dong Zhuo, aren't you?!"

"Ouch, ouch, ouch! It's a metaphor! Do you understand metaphors?!" Lu Ren hopped on one foot, clutching his leg. "This is the highest praise for your dominance!"

"Praise my ass! Dong Zhuo was a 300-pound fatty! Am I that fat?!" Mashiba slung her schoolbag around and chased after him menacingly. "Don't run! Stop right there!"

"Your focus is completely off!"

Lu Ren took off running, the two of them a blur in the empty morning streets, reenacting a scene of "Lu Bu's Retreat from Hulao Pass."

It was 3:30 PM in the Second Gymnasium of Karasuno High School.

The air was thick with the scent of spray and the friction of rubber against the floor.

"Gather up!" Sawamura Daichi's voice was still full of energy.

Lu Ren stood in formation. While he still felt tired, the suffocating sensation that he might die at any moment had significantly lessened. After the morning's "chase" warm-up, his status now read [Good Condition].

"Today's basic training will be halved, with a focus on receiving practice," Sawamura Daichi said, holding a volleyball and scanning the group. "Tomorrow is a 3-on-3 match, which is crucial for determining whether Hinata and Kageyama can join the club. As opponents, we cannot afford to be careless."

"Lu Ren, you too," Sawamura Daichi tossed the ball to Lu Ren. "Even though you're new, receiving is the foundation of volleyball. You can't dodge it."

Lu Ren sighed and walked to the center of the court.

"Bring it on, boss," he said, getting into position.

Sawamura Daichi didn't hold back and spiked the ball. The speed wasn't overwhelming, but the angle was tricky, aiming straight for Lu Ren's blind spot on the left.

To onlookers, it was just a normal spike.

But in Lu Ren's eyes, the world transformed into a torrent of data.

The moment the ball left Sawamura's hand, Lu Ren's brain began to operate at high speed.

No need for thought, not even for physical prowess. It was like the judgment line in a rhythm game; as long as you hit the button at the exact moment of overlap, it was a perfect.

Lu Ren stepped out with his left foot, knees slightly bent, his center of gravity dropping instantly. His arms came together, straight and rigid, like a precision steel plate, cutting precisely into the ball's trajectory.

"Thwack."

A crisp impact sound.

The volleyball struck the inside of his forearm, and with just the right amount of counterforce, it bounced up, tracing a perfect parabola and landing steadily in the setter's position.

"Nice receive!" Sugawara Kōshi couldn't help but shout.

Sawamura Daichi looked somewhat surprised. He had added a bit of spin to that spike, which usually caused newcomers to miss, but Lu Ren's platform arm was as steady as if it were welded in place.

"Again," Sawamura increased the force.